THE TUFTS DAILY VOLuME LXVII, nuMBER 60
Where You Read It First Est. 1980 TUFTSDAILY.COM
Sunday, May 18, 2014
COMMENCEMENT 2014
“I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” — Maya Angelou
Inside this issue
Today’s sections
Type the inside here... don’t resize the boxes; they’ll take care of themselves Evans....
Type the second inside here... Evans...don’t mess with the alignment like you usually do
see SECTION, page X
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Sunday, May 18, 2014
The TufTs Daily
NEWS
fEaTurES
Former Senior Vice President for University Development Thomas Murnane passes away at the age of 77.
Professor of Sociology Susan Ostrander will retire after the fall 2014 semester.
see MurNaNE page 4
see OSTraNDEr page 4
An addition to Robinson and Anderson Halls will benefit science and engineering students.
Rabbi Jeffrey Summit was nominated for the Best World Traditional Album by the Independent Music Awards.
see aDDITION page 4
see COffEE page 5
Juniors Tara Kola and Tony Cannistra are working to revamp TuftsLife.
see page 11 The Daily sat down with commencement speaker AnneMarie Slaughter to discuss her multifaceted career.
see page 12 Tufts Medical Center and Lowell General Hospital will form a partnership.
The Daily breaks down 2014’s commencement statistics.
see LOWELL page 5
see COMMENCEMENT page 5
arTS | LIvINg Boston offers a plethora of restaurants to visit with your family over the weekend.
Tufts 11th annual Research Day focused on data science.
see page 13
Former Jumbos excel in artis- As this summer’s television tic professions off the Hill. series are about to air, the Daily looks into which to see aLuMNI page 19 watch and which to skip.
Alumnus Scott Brown (LA ’81) is running for U.S. Senate in New Hampshire.
see page 12
see PrEMIErES page 20
The Daily explores this summer’s biggest movies. Carla Fernández displays her visionary fashion and see rESTauraNTS page 19 see MOvIES page 19 design at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum.
As the Class of 2014 departs from the Hill, the Tufts Daily Features Department profiles a few of Tufts’ talented seniors.
see fErNÁNDEZ page 21
see page 14
hIghLIghTS
Check out photographs from this year’s Spring Fling, which brought Childish Gambino, The New Pornographers and Flosstradamus to the Hill
see page 27
SPOrTS After winning the NESCAC championship, the men’s lacrosse team is en route to a national title.
The women’s tennis team lost in the third round of the NCAA tournament after beating Scranton and Skidmore.
see MEN’S LaCrOSSE page 54
see WOMEN’S TENNIS page 53
The softball team is off to NCAA Super Regionals after winning all its games in the regional round.
The baseball team fell short of the NESCAC championship title, losing to Wesleyan in a close final game.
see SOfTBaLL page 54
see BaSEBaLL page 52
Senior Jana Hieber ran the sec- The crew team’s season comes ond fastest time in Div. III his- ends at the Eastern College tory in the 400-meter hurdles. Athletic Conference Invitational.
see WOMEN’S TraCK page 53
see CrEW page 51
From 2010 to 2014, graduating seniors have seen a lot happen on the Hill, and the Daily has a recap of it all.
see pages 28-29
OP-ED Although Tufts has submitted changes to the OCR regarding its sexual assault policy, the university needs to do more to support its survivors.
Rising senior Molly Rothschild contextualizes the debate over Tufts hosting the President of Rwanda, who spoke on campus last month.
see EDITOrIaL page 33
see page 35
The TCU Senate should reform its requirements students need to meet to run for TCU President.
Graduating senior Elayne Stecher explores what commencement means to her.
see EDITOrIaL page 36
see page 35
Stay informed. Stay connected. Stay tuned.
www.tuftsdaily.com
PHOTOS: FRONT, Back aNd iNSide cOveRS BY Nick PFOSi / THe TuFTS dailY
Today’s sections News 3 Features 11 Arts & Living 19 Four Years in Review 28
Editorial Op-Ed Sports
32 33 54
Sunday, May 18, 2014
The TufTs Daily
3
News
Monaco discusses Green Line, residential life by Stephanie Haven and Jamie Hoagland Daily Editorial Board
Increasingly active on campus — and Twitter — University President Anthony Monaco has settled into his home on the Hill after three years at its helm. Discussing issues from the Green Line extension to Tufts Divest, Monaco spoke with the Daily about his thoughts on this year's hot-button topics. A lightly edited version of the conversation the Daily had with Monaco follows. The Tufts Daily: Although it's a few years away, what changes do you expect the Green Line extension will bring to Tufts? Anthony Monaco: Well, first of all, it's going to provide a direct line into Boston for our students and our community, which I think is definitely a positive. It will also ... connect our campuses better because the Boylston Street stop is not that far of a walk from the Boston health sciences campus, so I think for those types of interactions it will be great.
Freshman Audrey Chu addresses the crowd on the Tisch Library roof during the rally for Title IX compliance on May 1.
TD: What measures, if any, do you have in place to prepare for the changes that will come to campus?
Tufts works to remedy Title IX violation
AM: What we've done so far is worked with the MBTA to see their plans for the station. Now we're in the early stages of discussing what that will mean for that intersection and for what we might want to build around that over the next 10 years. [They’re] very early discussions, but that's the stage we're at now. TD: Building in what sense? AM: It's going to change the character of that part of campus. We don't have any particular plans, but they're thinking only about plunking a station down, and we have to think about the wider campus master planning given that there will be a station there. see MONACO, page 9
NICK PFOSI / THE TUFTS DAILY
by Stephanie Haven Daily Editorial Board
Reversing Tufts’ “revoked” signature from the university’s agreement with the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR), University President Anthony Monaco said he has made 22 changes that bring the school’s sexual assault policy into compliance with Title IX. The Department of Education is in the process of reviewing those revisions, all of which Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Catherine Lhamon detailed for Monaco when they spoke on the phone April 30 — two days after the OCR announced Tufts was in violation of Title IX, the federal law that bans gender discrimination on
campus. If the OCR approves these adjustments, it will indicate Tufts has a “corrected noncompliance.” Policy revisions include training all individuals on Tufts’ three campuses about sexual assault, hiring two new positions — a confidential coordinator and an education specialist — and explicitly stating certain elements of the sexual assault procedure that are already in place but are not listed, Monaco said. Monaco said he resolved the contested areas in fewer than 48 hours. “I would have preferred if we were to make the changes, submit them and then we wouldn’t have had this issue,” Monaco said. “It just doesn’t seem [like] an unreasonable thing to ask, given that the changes were not things that took months to plan and implement.”
TCU Senate: a year in review
see TITLe IX, page 8
Berger-Sweeney leaves lasting legacy at Tufts
by Josh Weiner
Daily Editorial Board
The Tufts Community Union (TCU) Senate concluded its 2013-14 session last month, marking a year of many accomplishments and little conflict. Former TCU Senate President Joe Thibodeau, a graduating senior, explained that one of his primary objectives for the Senate this year was to achieve a meaningful and productive analysis of pertinent, on-campus dilemmas, and to follow through by drafting and passing corresponding resolutions. "This year we tried to foster a setting that encouraged civil debate and talk about issues that impact a lot of students in their everyday lives — issues of equity and justice," he said. Over the course of the year, the Senate debated and passed a number of resolutions, with some resulting in new school-wide policies. In early September, the school added a Good Samaritan clause to its alcohol policy, limiting the judicial consequences for students found to be under the influence of drugs and alcohol. The change was initially proposed in a Senate resolution passed last school year. Other policy changes supported by the Senate are currently pending administrative approval, including the establishment of an undergraduate education major and the construction of an outdoor beach volleyball court. The resolutions reflected senators' broad range of objectives, including facilitating student transportation in and around campus, assisting students with the voter registration process, improving the school's extracurricu-
After meeting with Lhamon in Washington, D.C., on May 8, Monaco said he has agreed to allow the OCR to continue monitoring and reviewing the university as it makes further changes to its sexual assault policy. Following a four-year investigation into a student-filed Title IX compliant in 2010, Tufts had signed a voluntary agreement with OCR on April 17. Tufts “revoked” its signature on April 26 after the OCR notified the university that its current sexual assault policies violated Title IX. The university has said it would not have signed that agreement if it had been aware of its noncompliance. The Department of Education, howev-
by Victoria Leistman Daily Editorial Board
undergraduate education major, club volleyball players were consulted on the resolution calling for a new outdoor volleyball court and members of the Tufts Garden Club helped to push for the construction of an on-campus greenhouse. "I'm happy that we were able to talk about a lot of projects with our key stakeholders, rather than just hearing from members of the Senate," Ruggiero said. "We made sure that a lot of student voices were heard, and we were recep-
Dean of the School of Arts and Sciences Joanne Berger-Sweeney will leave Tufts this summer to become the 22nd President of Trinity College in Hartford, Conn. Berger-Sweeney, who served as dean for four years, will be replaced by an interim dean who is expected to be named soon, Provost David Harris told the Daily in an email. Harris said the search for a permanent dean will follow. During her tenure, Berger-Sweeney's focus has been in supporting interdisciplinary programs, improving diversity and inclusion across the university and making changes to undergraduate admissions. Dean of Academic Affairs for Arts and Sciences James Glaser said BergerSweeney's support for both strategic hiring efforts, which have linked faculty across departments, and interdisciplinary programs was particularly noteworthy. "We have strengthened across departments, and I think it's allowing us to have a whole that's bigger than the parts," Glaser said. University President Anthony Monaco emphasized Berger-Sweeney's initiative to hire clusters of individuals in departments that share interdisciplinary studies. "Dean Berger-Sweeney was a strong supporter of interdisciplinary programs without ever forgetting that such programs must have,
see seNATe, page 8
see BeRGeR-sweeNeY, page 6
CAROLINE GEILING / THE TUFTS DAILY
TCU Senate President Robert Joseph (right), a rising senior, will lead the student body next year. lar athletics programs, enhancing oncampus social life for upperclassmen by building an on-campus bar and eliminating economic barriers that may prevent students from enjoying the complete Tufts experience. According to former TCU Vice President Stephen Ruggiero, a graduating senior, the Senate was particularly successful this year in using input from outside organizations while drafting its resolutions. For instance, the Department of Education contributed to the resolution calling for an
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The TufTs Daily
Former administrator Murnane passes away
Sociology professor to retire next year by Daniel Bottino
by Sarah Zheng
Daily Editorial Board
Daily Editorial Board
Tufts former Senior Vice President for University Development Thomas Murnane (A ’58, D ’62, DG ’65, AG ’68), who was an influential member of the Tufts community for nearly 50 years, passed away on March 20 at the age of 77. While working at Tufts, Murnane helped raise over $1 billion for the university, according to current Vice President for University Advancement Eric Johnson. After receiving a Doctor of Dental Medicine, an Advanced Dental Certification and a Ph.D. from the university's Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, Murnane practiced dentistry for a short time. He quickly moved into an administrative role, however, and became the interim dean of the School of Dental Medicine in the early 1970s. "He did that for a few years before [former University President] Jean Mayer tapped him to take on a fundraising and alumni relations role," Johnson said. "Even though he wasn't a practicing dentist, he still kept his hand in it, since he taught anatomy classes at the dental school." Murnane worked closely with Mayer, who was, at the time, the associate dean of the School of Dental Medicine. Together, they established a veterinary school, which had not existed in New England for 75 years, according to a March 17 Tufts Now article. "We were pretty sleepy at the time — a regional school just staggering along — and we didn't know what we were doing as a college or as university," Alice and Nathan Gantcher University Professor of Judaic
Sunday, May 18, 2014
News
COURTESY RICHARD HOWARD
Thomas Murnane jumpstarted fundraising for Tufts. Studies Sol Gittleman said. Gittleman, who served as Tufts' provost during most of Murnane's tenure, emphasized the important partnership Murnane formed with Mayer. "He was remarkable in that he played as much [of ] a role as the president did in transforming Tufts," Gittleman said. "[Murnane] and Jean Mayer started really the first capital campaign in Tufts history in 1979," Johnson added. James Stern (E ’72), the former chair of the Board of Trustees, explained that when he first joined the board during Mayer's presidency, there were three people who were known as the "troika:" Gittleman, who — as provost — ran the academic side of
the university, Steven Manos, who served as executive vice president and Murnane, who raised the money required to bring Mayer's vision for Tufts to life. Upon joining the board, Stern said he understood that the university's last attempt at a capital campaign to raise $7 million had failed. When Murnane first proposed an ambitious capital campaign to raise around $20 million, many of the board members resigned, according to Gittleman. "They thought he was crazy, that we couldn't raise that kind of money, but we did," Gittleman said. Mayer subsequently put see MURNANe, page 7
Professor of Sociology Susan Ostrander will retire after the fall 2014 semester following 34 years of service to the university. Although this will be her last semester teaching, Ostrander will maintain a formal relationship with Tufts until December, at which point she will become a professor emerita, according to Professor of Sociology Paul Joseph. Reflecting on her time at Tufts, Ostrander noted that she is proud of her role in developing both the Jonathan M. Tisch College for Citizenship and Public Service and the current Women's, Gender and Sexuality Studies program. Ostrander emphasized the influence of her courses on raising awareness about modern inequality in the United States. "I'd also like to think that I had some impact, over the many years, on student learning about the profound and unnecessary inequalities that exist in U.S. society and ways, both personal and institutional, that all of us can take part in creating a more just society," Ostrander told the Daily in an email. Ostrander explained that the university has undergone numerous changes during her time as a professor. In particular, she noted Tufts' increasing emphasis on promoting diversity. "Changes include a commitment at the institutional level to building a more supportive climate for racial, ethnic and gender diversity [and] understanding that we cannot be a top university without that," she said. "We still need to work on diver-
sity in terms of socio-economic class." Ostrander noted that Tufts has maintained an emphasis on high quality education and teaching while it has transformed over the last three decades into a major research university. She said she is guardedly optimistic about the future of sociology as an academic field, noting that in the present political climate, American policymakers understand the dangers of modern society's high level of poverty and inequality. Although sociology is not often considered, Ostrander said these problems should be addressed with an understanding for the underlying social and economic conditions of the country. "Sadly, I think that the larger societal perspective that sociology offers is often overlooked in favor of a single-minded emphasis on the individual," she said. Following her retirement, Ostrander said she looks forward to having a free schedule with fewer commitments. Nevertheless, she added that she suspects she will soon become active again in local issues. "[Soon] I'll be itching to travel, to get more involved in local projects around the issues I care most about, and maybe take some classes to learn more and make myself a more effective advocate," she said. According to the Chair of the Sociology Department Pawan Dhingra, Ostrander's tenure at Tufts has been impressive. It is marked by her academic producsee OsTRANDeR, page 7
University planning addition to Robinson, Anderson Halls by Daniel Gottfried Daily Editorial Board
A major addition to Robinson and Anderson Halls is currently in the planning stages. The new building extension, which would continue to serve the science and engineering communities, is expected to be completed by the spring of 2017. The addition will incorporate interdisciplinary experimental research labs, multidisciplinary teaching labs and core facilities, including a vivarium and a social center, according to Executive Vice President Patricia Campbell. "We really wanted to reinforce one of the key attributes of Tufts — the ability to integrate undergraduate and graduate experiences that we often talk about," she said. "We needed to provide some additional modern facilities." Campbell added that the university's science facilities have been in need of an upgrade for some time. "We took the Board of Trustees on a tour of Barnum [Hall] and Dana [Laboratory], and the quote I remember was, 'My high school son or daughter's biology classroom looks more modern than this,'" she said. The project is expected to cost $98.4 million, according to Vice President for Operations Linda Snyder, who explained that the lack of adequate facilities can hurt the university's ability to attract high quality faculty and students. "This science complex, integrated with Anderson and Robinson, is an incredibly powerful symbol of the future," Snyder said. "It will be on every tour and every brochure, and [it will] say to prospective students and faculty
CAROLINE GEILING / THE TUFTS DAILY
An addition to Robinson and Anderson Halls will serve the science and engineering departments at Tufts. recruits that this place is committed to performing at the highest level in the sciences, and the time you spend here will be your best time and your most productive time."
Dean of the School of Engineering Linda Abriola emphasized the benefits she believes engineers will receive from the addition. "For the School of Engineering, the
construction and renovation of stateof-the-art laboratories and educational spaces is currently, and has been for see ADDITION, page 8
Sunday, May 18, 2014
The TufTs Daily
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News
Tufts Medical Center, Lowell General Hospital join forces by Abigail Feldman Daily Editorial Board
tive inspired him to return and produce an additional album. "I found out that the coffee farmers were writing music about this topic — they were writing songs about the importance of interfaith harmony, the importance of fair trade, the economic impact of fair trade," he said. "I thought, 'This is everything I love in the world: coffee, music and world peace,' and I thought [that I had] to do more work on this. I went back to Uganda on three subsequent research trips, and I recorded about 400 coffee farmers singing." According to the liner notes that accompany the album, the music consists of traditional East African sounds, like village guitar groups, women's choirs, drums and other East African instruments. Atesh Sonneborn, the associate director for programs and acquisitions at Smithsonian Folkways Recordings, explained that the album provides a glimpse into a lesser-known music genre.
Tufts Medical Center and Lowell General Hospital recently announced a partnership to allow more widespread access to low cost, high quality healthcare in eastern and metropolitan Massachusetts. The union links the Boston-located teaching hospital with the primary healthcare provider in Merrimack Valley, according to Tufts Medical Center CEO emeritus Ellen Zane. Plans for the partnership developed within a climate of change for local healthcare. According to Zane, many large city hospitals recently began acquiring smaller hospitals, seeking satellite providers to supply traffic and facilities. When CEO of Lowell General Normand Deschene first contacted Zane about a partnership last September, he expressed the need for a community hospital. "Rather than be gobbled up by a big Boston hospital, he was much more interested in partnering with a Boston hospital," Zane said. Tufts Medical Center CEO and President Michael Wagner said the union between Tufts Medical Center and Lowell General is not a power play for one of the healthcare providers, but rather the start of a collaborative healthcare strategy. "It's the coming together of two likeminded organizations to form a new system, and that new system's goal is to focus on executing and making population [healthcare] a reality," he said. Under a signed memorandum of understanding, which outlines basic aspects of the new relationship, Deschene will become CEO of the companies' parent organization, which is yet to be named, and Zane will become chairwoman of the organization's board. According to Zane, the partnership is designed to allow the two hospitals autonomy. The daily activities of Tufts Medical and Lowell General will continue mainly as they are now. Meanwhile, the job of the new parent organization, Zane explained, will be to facilitate "population healthcare," a system that examines ways to service groups of patients, rather than individuals, more efficiently. Wagner explained that both Tufts Medical and Lowell General have respected histories on managed care contracts, making their partnership beneficial to both the hospitals and their patients.
see COFFee, page 6
see LOweLL, page 7
COURTESY RICHARD SOBOL
Rabbi Jeffrey Summit, who is also a professor of ethnomusicology, produced an album with a Jewish community in Uganda.
Album produced by Rabbi Summit nominated for Indie Music Award by Justin Rheingold Daily Editorial Board
An album produced by Rabbi Jeffrey Summit, the Neubauer Executive Director of Tufts Hillel, was nominated in March for the Best World Traditional Album by the Independent (Indie) Music Awards. "Delicious Peace: Coffee, Music and Interfaith Harmony in Uganda" was produced with the Smithsonian Folkways label and released earlier this year, according to Summit, who is also a professor of ethnomusicology in the Department of Music. Summit explained that he has done extensive research in Uganda and previously worked with a local Jewish community, the Abayudaya, to produce an album before “Delicious Peace.” "The Abayudaya initiated a fair trade coffee cooperative with their Muslim and Christian neighbors as a way to promote economic justice and interfaith harmony," Summit said. "[It is] significant
that they're doing this work to promote interfaith relations between these groups where there had often been a lot of conflict in that society." According to Summit, the cooperative was initiated by JJ Keki, a Ugandan farmer and businessman who had a life-changing experience after witnessing the collapse of the World Trade Center buildings while visiting New York City in 2001. "When JJ found out that this terrorism was connected to religious divisions, he said, ‘Everyone has to do something to bring peace to the world,’" Summit said. "He went back to Uganda, and he literally walked door-to-door to his Muslim and his Christian neighbors and asked if they would join this interfaith cooperative. He said, ‘If you have a body, don't use your body to cause chaos, use it for peace. If you have music, use your music for peace.’" Although Summit thought he had completed his research in the community, the music from the coffee coopera-
University to award nearly 3,500 degrees during today's commencement ceremony During today's commencement ceremony, the university's 157th, Tufts will award 3,470 degrees to students from across its undergraduate and graduate schools. The ceremony will take place on The Green between Bendetson and Ballou Halls, and will run from 9 to 11 a.m. Following the academic procession, with graduates from each of Tufts’ schools, the university will award five honorary degrees, including one to Anne-Marie Slaughter, the CEO of the New America Foundation and this year’s commencement speaker. Other honorary degree recipients will include the Reverend James Lawson, a civil rights activist; Jill Lepore (LA '87), a historian and Harvard professor; Haruki Murakami, a Japanese novelist and James Stern (E '72), the former chair of the Board of Trustees and chair of the Cypress Group LLC. Faculty emeriti will also be recognized, and the Board of Trustees will grant graduating students their degrees. Following the university-wide commencement, individual schools and departments will hold ceremonies and luncheons for their graduates from 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Of the degrees awarded today, 1,509 will go to undergraduates and 1,961 will go to graduate students, according to a May 8 tally from Tufts University Public Relations.
The School of Arts and Sciences and the School of Engineering will distribute 921 Bachelor of Arts degrees, 312 Bachelor of Science degrees, 95 Bachelor of Fine Arts degrees and 181 Bachelor of Science in Engineering degrees. Students of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences will receive 550 degrees, including 50 Ph.Ds and two Doctor of Occupational Therapy degrees. University officials will also award 193 Master of Arts degrees, 75 Master of Arts in Teaching degrees, 24 Education Specialist degrees, 76 Master of Fine Arts degrees, nine Master of Public Policy degrees and 121 Master of Science degrees. The Graduate School of Engineering will award 227 degrees, including 32 Ph.Ds, 18 Master of Engineering degrees, 89 Master of Science degrees and 88 Master of Science in Engineering Management degrees. The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy will distribute 331 degrees, including seven Ph.Ds and 10 Master of Laws in International Law. Eight Master of Arts in Humanitarian Assistance degrees, 73 Master of Arts degrees, 40 Master of International Business degrees and 193 Master of Arts in Law and Diplomacy degrees will also be given out. The School of Dental Medicine will award 219 degrees, including 192 Doctor of Dental Medicine degrees and
27 Master of Science degrees. One-hundred and eighty-three students of the School of Medicine will receive degrees, including 130 Doctor of Medicine (M.D.) degrees. One student will receive a joint M.D. and Master of Arts in International Relations degree, six students will receive an M.D. and a Master of Business Administration in Health Management and 17 students will receive an M.D. and a Master of Public Health. Additionally, 29 students will receive an M.D. as part of the Maine Track Program. The School of Medicine will also award 177 degrees from its Public Health and Professional Degree Programs, including 89 Master of Science in Biomedical Science degrees, nine Master of Science in Health Communication degrees and two Master of Science in Pain Research, Education and Policy degrees. Students will also receive 63 Master of Public Health degrees, five joint Doctor of Veterinary Medicine and Master of Public Health degrees, five joint Master of Science in Biomedical Sciences and Master of Public Health degrees and four joint Master of Science in Biomedical Sciences and Master of Business Administration in Health Management degrees. The Sackler School of Graduate Biomedical Sciences will hand out 37 degrees in total, including 23 Ph.Ds, 10 Master of Science degrees and four joint Ph.Ds and M.Ds.
From the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy, students will receive 104 degrees, including 11 Ph.Ds and 45 Master of Science degrees. Eight students will receive a joint Master of Science and Combined Dietetic Internship degree, 11 students will receive joint Master of Science and Master of Public Health degrees, five students will receive joint Master of Science and Master of Arts in Law and Diplomacy degrees and four students will receive joint Master of Science and Master of Arts in Urban and Environmental Policy and Planning degrees. Ten students will receive Master of Nutrition Science and Policy degrees and 10 students will receive Master of Arts in Humanitarian Assistance degrees. Students at the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine will receive 138 degrees in total, consisting of one Ph.D., 101 Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM) degrees, 11 Master of Science in Animals and Public Policy degrees and 11 Master of Science in Conservation Medicine degrees. The school will also hand out DVM degrees jointly, including three with Master of Science in Comparative Biomedical Sciences degrees, six with Master of Science in Laboratory Animal Medicine degrees and five Master of Public Health degrees. —by Justin Rheingold
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Berger-Sweeney focused on interdisciplinary studies, diversity BeRGeR-sweeNeY continued from page 3
as their foundation, outstanding scholarship in each discipline," Monaco told the Daily in an email. "Exemplifying this were the school's cluster hires in areas such as environmental studies; race and ethnicity; food, science and society and digital humanities." Interdisciplinary programs started in the past four years include the Africana studies major and minor, the cognitive science Ph.D. program, music engineering and the finance minor, as well as a colonialism studies minor that the faculty approved on May 7, according to Berger-Sweeney. "It's not just that we've hired additional faculty," Glaser said. "It's that we're hoping that there will be some synergies that happen between these new members of our community, particularly with regard to pedagogy, and [from which] our students would benefit." Berger-Sweeney also left a legacy at Tufts based on the strides she has taken toward diversifying the faculty at Tufts, according to Glaser. "I care deeply about diversity and have tried to approach it from many different angles to make the school a more inclusive place," Berger-Sweeney said. Glaser said that faculty diversification has been a priority, and that much planning has been going into the hiring process, but the process itself does require time. "It has been something that has been an overall goal for the division," Glaser said. "For the faculty, it's required the participation of many people, but I think the tone was set at the very top and the goal was set at the very top and there's been demonstrable results." Berger-Sweeney said that the school has added 50 more full-time faculty members in the past 10 years, and that, in the past four years, the racial and ethnic diversity of the faculty has increased by 10 percent. "We really moved the needle," BergerSweeney said. "Not just brought people in while others left, but actually increased the overall diversity of our faculty." Berger-Sweeney said she worked with
Dean of the School of Engineering Linda Abriola and Associate Dean of Faculty Affairs of the Engineering School Margery Davies to articulate policies that afforded faculty better support during parental leaves and time off for family and nonacademic issues. Diversity also increased within the university's leadership, specifically in the Board of Advisors of the School of Arts and Sciences, who are ambassadors for the school and serve as philanthropists and advisors, Berger-Sweeney said. Berger-Sweeney also opened the Center for the Study of Race and Democracy and served as vice chair of the Council on Diversity with Monaco, where she drafted a set of recommendations that defines the role diversity plays in the university's mission. Though the strength of enrolled students and the university's popularity has increased over the last four years, continued diversification will be important to ensure Tufts' relevancy, Berger-Sweeney said. In this regard, financial aid has also been a point of focus. "There is still not enough financial aid to go around to admit all of the incredible, strong students that we want to," Berger-Sweeney said. "We're giving a higher percentage of our money to financial aid and still trying to do some of these other really great things. But still, you want to do more." In terms of policies and procedures, Berger-Sweeney said, during her time at Tufts, there have been several positive changes, including revisions to the advising system for undergraduate students. "We're on a better trajectory," she said. "We still have a ways to go, but we're so much further than we were four years ago when I walked in the door." Glaser added that the Bridge to Liberal Arts Success at Tufts (BLAST), an initiative that gives support to students from disadvantaged backgrounds, has been another major success Berger-Sweeney initiated. "It has been a very ambitious and already successful venture in supporting a cohort of students who the university was not supporting well before," Glaser said. "I know that's a very big accomplishment of hers, and
NICK PFOSI / THE TUFTS DAILY
Berger-Sweeney will be Trinity College’s first African American and first female president. I think she has taken great pride in that." Glaser said that Berger-Sweeney has done an impeccable job leading the school. "There's a public function of the department — you are the public face of the school — and she has been a really fantastic public face," Glaser said. "She's such a charismatic and compelling person, and so I think that's enabled her to do that part of the job very well." Berger-Sweeney attributed many of her achievements to the help of willing faculty. "These things that I've spoken about are not things that I could have done alone," she said. "Maybe I set a little tone and said, 'I think this is important,' but it was those faculty members that had the commitment to go out and
actually make those things happen." Berger-Sweeney added that, from Tufts, she has also learned lessons about achieving progress and building working relationships with other leaders. She said she is confident that the current leadership will continue this progress. Monaco thanked her for her contributions and said they will leave a lasting impact on the university. "Joanne Berger-Sweeney has left the School of Arts and Sciences and the university an even stronger, more collaborative institution than it was upon her arrival," he said. "Each year, the school attracts ever more talented students, faculty and staff. She has played an important role in that upward trajectory."
Music details interfaith harmony of Ugandan coffee farmers COFFee continued from page 5
"Everywhere in Africa, there's music ... [if ] you can talk, you can sing — if you can walk, you can dance," he said. "African music is typically embodied with the whole self. It's not just a headsinging; it's a whole body and spirit singing. Within that sense, East African music at the villagelevel is much less known, and this provided kind of a bay window with several perspectives on music in the region." David Horgan, the marketing and licensing manager for Smithsonian Folkways, emphasized the album's cultural significance and explained that the Smithsonian seeks to create an "encyclopedia of sound" with its record label. "It needs to be part of a tradition ... rather than something that is a new trend or a hot commercial trend that might disappear in a couple of years," Horgan said. "I think it's a great example of using modern technology to make available the cultural expression of a group of people in one part of the world, and making that available to everyone around the world. Each person who hears it can take something for themselves." Director of Dining and Business Services Patti Klos heard about the story when Summit brought some of the farmers to campus in the early 2000s and worked with him to bring the coffee to campus. Students today can still purchase it in the Tower Café in Tisch Library. "The library director was very interested in having some
COURTESY RICHARD SOBOL
The Indie Music Awards nominated Summit for Best World Traditional Album. featured items in the Tower's menu that were unique and distinct, [and] it seemed like the perfect combination," she said. "It's really delicious coffee ... It filled a need in terms of our program, and it gave the growers yet another outlet that directly connected to Tufts and the work that Rabbi Summit has done.”
Summit described Smithsonian Folkways as the "record label for the United States of America," and said working with them for a second time was a great experience. After having his previous album, "Abayudaya: Music from the Jewish People of Uganda" nominated for a 2005 Grammy Award, Summit
described the Indie Music Award nomination for his newest album as an honor. "I was thrilled to hear that it was nominated," he said. "The Indie Music awards are more edgy than the Grammy's — they're not the Grammy's, but they're pretty cool. It's a way really that a lot of new music
is recognized that might not be in front of peoples’ popular radar screens." A spokesperson for the Independent Music Awards program could not provide a specific date for when the winners would be announced, but suggested that decisions would be made later in May.
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Tufts administrator remembered for fundraising prowess MURNANe continued from page 4
Murnane in charge of fundraising campaigns with a new goal of raising $145 million, Gittleman explained. According to Director of Public Relations Kim Thurler, Murnane completed that campaign and then ran two more successful ones, including one for $250 million and another for $600 million. "This was a school that was not known to raise money," Stern said. "In each of these campaigns, the dollar goal of the campaign exceeded our endowment when we first started the campaign." Murnane's efforts put Tufts fundraising in line with other accomplished universities, Johnson added.
"Prior to 1980, places like Brown and Dartmouth and some of our peer institutions had been raising funds for years, while Tufts didn't have a history of fundraising," Johnson said. "But at the end of [Murnane's] tenure, Tufts was raising similar amounts as peer institutions and that is largely due to [Murnane]." With the money raised, when Mayer advocated for new professional schools to improve the undergraduate college, Tufts was able to build new schools for veterinary medicine and nutrition, according to Gittleman. He said the campus center was also built as a result of Murnane's fundraising campaigns. "Tufts today is unrecognizable to the Tufts when Tom Murnane took over
development," Gittleman said. He described Murnane and Mayer's relationship as symbiotic because of their deep trust in one another — a view which was also echoed by Manos. "Tom and Jean Mayer were perfect soul mates because they were both very creative, both dreamers [and] they were both ambitious." Manos said. "They were both ready to take chances, were both ready to court failure [even], because they had a vision of something better." Gittleman added that Murnane and Mayer's charisma contributed to their fundraising prowess. "Tom had a political gene, and he was wired in the State House in Massachusetts," Stern said. "He was very well-connected
there, and it was important for Tufts ... He was what you would expect of someone doing that kind of work, but Tom was a good guy — a real good guy." Johnson said Murnane was a mentor who taught him how to manage and organize, as well as how to effectively build relationships with other people. The current students at Tufts, and the generations of students who will follow, are the major beneficiaries of Murnane's efforts, Stern added. "For those of us who were lucky enough to be a part of it, it was a lot of fun to watch and to play a small part in," he said. "But I cannot underestimate the role that [Murnane] really played in the university's development."
Ostrander emphasized social inequalities, service learning in teaching OsTRANDeR continued from page 4
tivity, including publishing five books. Dhingra praised Ostrander’s commitment to social issues and noted that she was widely admired by her fellow faculty members, who chose her to serve on a range of committees. "She has integrated service into teaching," he said. According to Joseph, a longtime colleague of Ostrander's in the Department of Sociology, her most recent research has focused on the topic of civic engagement, which she incorporated into her latest book about Somerville. "She looks at the way decisions are made in the city and, in particular, with ... the immigrant population," he said. "It's exciting. She has received a lot of attention for a book that's just out ... Not only has [Ostrander] written about Somerville, but she's played a role by serving on the board of
The Welcome Project, which is an organization that seeks to facilitate the entry of immigrants into the city." Joseph added that Ostrander's struggle against social inequality is a major legacy she will leave behind. A concrete example of this dedication is her championship of affirmative action at Tufts, he noted. "[During] many of the searches we have done in this department to find our new junior faculty, she has really placed a strong weight on making sure that we do a systematic job with recruiting people of color," he said. Ostrander reflected that, although she hopes her retirement will be the best time of her life, she has enjoyed her year at Tufts "I leave Tufts with many warm thoughts and memories and a genuine gratitude for feeling valued and respected during my years here," she said.
COURTESY ALONSO NICHOLS / TUFTS UNIVERSITY
Susan Ostrander has focused her most recent research on communities in Somerville, Mass.
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On one level, Wagner believes the partnership will be effective in bringing together the hospitals' physician groups and combining their information technology systems to allow the hospitals to track patients from one healthcare system to another. A stronger union between the institutions will allow Tufts Medical to more easily distribute academic medical services to Lowell and augment the care the community hospital is able to provide, Wagner explained. Currently, instead of requiring patients to be transferred to Boston, Tufts Medical supplies pediatric doctors and neonatal experts to Lowell where patients can be treated faster, without the added stress of traveling. "We think there's a great opportunity for us to look at expanding and bringing expertise where [Lowell General] needs it in other specialties and this provides a platform for us to do that in a collaborative way," Wagner said. Zane explained that , unlike Tufts Medical and Lowell General, many Massachusetts facilities are overpaid by insurance companies to provide quality care. Despite this fact, Tufts Medical and Lowell General often see patient care outcomes that are as high or higher than the outcomes seen at other hospitals. Zane believes that, by joining forces, the two hospitals will be able to provide more efficient healthcare to a wider community. "We can be the beginning of
ASHLEY SEENAUTH / TUFTS DAILY ARCHIVES
Tufts Medical Center, pictured above, will partner with Lowell General Hospital to create community-centric medical care. a new system where patients can access great care at a more efficient price, and in today's healthcare world that is an incredibly important combination," she said. "It is the definition of healthcare value."
While most of the planning has already been done, there are still a few things left to finalize in the partnership, Zane said. Both hospitals must still sign a definitive agreement after receiving approval
from various state and federal regulators. If all goes according to plan, the alliance will be settled within the next four to six months. For now, Zane and Wagner are excited to see stronger ties
between the two organizations. "Every Boston teaching hospital would have loved to have done a deal with Lowell General," Zane said. "We feel thrilled to be working in partnership with them."
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Building addition to incorporate science, engineering communities ADDITION continued from page 4
many years, a top priority," she said. "Quality research and teaching space is needed to offer a cutting edge education in engineering and to recruit topnotch faculty." Snyder explained that the addition will help increase collaboration between the School of Engineering and the School of Arts and Sciences. "This will be the most prominent space on campus for gathering informal meetings and will lead directly to the new state-of-the-art teaching labs," she said. "With a common space, the collaborative space and four stateof-the-art teaching labs, this will be an incredibly dynamic space for science and collaboration." The specific location for the new facility was chosen so that it would be easily accessible to many different spaces on campus and help integrate various departments, Campbell said. "We want to be able to have this building stand on its own as serving the right purpose in the right way, but
also have the capacity to do things in the future — hence the design proposal that integrates Robinson and Anderson," she said. "It has the ability to progress so much to address the needs in those buildings, and set the stage for additional things there in the future. The location is close to psychology, the current vivarium, near math, not hard to access by walking from the chemistry building, near computer science — the only places that it isn't near are 200 Boston Avenue and biology." The university has started to design the building and recently attained permits from the city of Medford, Campbell said. "The boundary for Somerville and Medford runs right through Robinson, so we decided to build in Medford," Campbell said. "We made it past the first hurdle of permitting, as we learned this week that Medford will give us the approval that we needed. This space has been a good choice as far as community relations [are concerned]." The university began reviewing proposals for new science facilities in 2004, but it rejected those plans due to loca-
tion and expense, Campbell added. "We hired a master planner to come in and help the senior leadership and the Board of Trustees look at what available space there [was] on this campus," she said. "There was a belief that we had run out of available options for building on this campus, but when the sophisticated knowledge of these architects was applied to this campus, they actually said, 'No, there are quite a few opportunities.'" Plans for new science facilities were later postponed due to the economic recession, Campbell explained. "With all candor, Tufts was saved from making a poor decision about where to locate a new science building by the economic downturn," she said. "[From] 2008 to 2009 we made a decision to not move forward with that project and put it on hold while we weathered the worst of the economic downturn. We then returned to [figuring out] where might be the best place and what [we] would want a new building of science to look like." Snyder said she believes that this
addition will aid Tufts in its mission to provide opportunities to both undergraduate and graduate students. "The proximity of high quality multidisciplinary teaching labs [for undergraduates] to graduate students and faculty working in research in the same building, visible to one another, is the highest priority for the university as it continues to build the strength of the school," she said. According to Abriola, some faculty members in Anderson and Robinson Halls will be displaced from their offices during construction, including members of the Department of Physics and Astronomy, who will move to the space currently being renovated at 574 Boston Avenue. Members of the Department of Mechanical Engineering will also be relocated, she added. "It is now our top priority to work with the architects and the members of the mechanical engineering department to develop a plan to minimize the disruptions and to create an exciting vision for the mechanical engineering department space, post construction,"
Senate sees success with improved collaboration seNATe continued from page 3
tive of a lot of student groups." During the fall semester, senators passed a resolution calling for a late-night dining option to be available with meal swipes, and they saw their idea come to fruition this semester when the Commons Deli and Grill began accepting meal swipes on Friday and Saturday nights. In order to make the change, Director of Dining and Business Services Patti Klos worked closely with members of the Senate Services Committee. Newly elected TCU President Robert Joseph said he hopes the Senate will continue to work with outside groups to make necessary and important changes across campus. "The biggest success for the Senate was that we came together to work with student groups across campus, which allowed us to lay down the foundation for even more great projects," Joseph, a rising senior, said. Joseph added that senators were generally able to function well together as a unit, and he hopes that the organization will continue to maintain this positive collaboration. "There were very few, if any, internal conflicts on the Senate
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er, contests that assessment, stating Tufts has been aware of the circumstances since they signed. “The reason that we revoked the agreement is because we wanted to be able to talk to them about it,” Monaco said. “We weren’t trying to defy their authority in this matter.” News broke about Tufts’ noncompliance a day before the White House released guidelines for how colleges should handle sexual assault on April 29. There have been a number of highly publicized sexual assaults at colleges nationwide that led to President Obama’s creation of a task force to address campus rape. Two Tufts students, rising senior John Kelly and Wagatwe Wanjuki (LA ’09), who have identified themselves as survivors of campus sexual assault, attended the April 29 events in
this year, and none of them were particularly big," he said. "We were able to cooperate well and move forward on a lot of projects. We [laid] down the groundwork for next year, [and] I'm really excited to see a lot of these projects come to fruition." Ruggiero said he is confident that the Senate will continue to serve a valuable role on campus next year, especially as the university enters a transitional period marked by a major fundraising campaign and the arrival of several important new deans and administrators. "Next year is a big year on [the] Senate and a big year for Tufts," he said. "I think [the Senate] will be able to get ideas on the table and build things effectively." With his tenure as TCU President now over, Thibodeau said his experience on the Senate was worthwhile. "It has been a real honor and a real privilege to serve in the positions we've held over the past year," he said. "We're really grateful for the opportunities the Tufts community provided for us and the trust which they instilled in us. This has been one of the most challenging and rewarding experiences of my Tufts career, and it has helped me to grow as a person."
TCU Senate looks to repeat its productivity and success again next year when TCU President Robert Joseph (not pictured), a rising senior, will lead the student body.
Washington, D.C., where they spoke with several politicians about Tufts’ related policies. Later in the week on May 1, Kelly helped lead the school’s largest protest since the late 1980s. “How did it feel to be named by the federal government to be not protecting your students?,” Kelly said at the rally, which began on the Tisch Library Roof. Outside the Medford/ Somerville campus’ administrative offices in Ballou Hall, more than 100 students marched and chanted around the building for over three hours, protesting the university’s noncompliance with Title IX and its handling of sexual assault in general. Leading to a joint statement from administrators and the student protest organizers who met as the rally unfolded, the protest marked the culmination of a week-long social media campaign in which students voiced their support for survivors of
sexual assault on campus. “The university regrets that recent events had the unintended consequence of causing some members of our community to feel unsupported,” the statement reads. “The conversation did not begin today and must not end today.” Although several elements of their discussion remained unresolved, the university made several promises, including requiring the Office of Equal Opportunity to notify individuals when the adjudication process takes longer than 60 calendar days. Students have long criticized the length of time it takes Tufts administrators to resolve sexual assault reports. While the OCR recommends universities conclude all sexual assault reports in 60 days, Tufts has, in some cases, taken between 120 and 210 days to complete this process, Kelly
CAROLINE GEILING / THE TUFTS DAILY
said. It’s a duration, Monaco said, that can be attributed to breaks in the school year, finals period and summer. But this duration of cases was not among the issues OCR found to be in violation of Title IX. Rather, in the letter of findings the OCR sent to Monaco on April 28, the Department of Education faulted the time Tufts takes to respond to each report and the lack of clarity regarding to whom students can speak about the investigation and procedures, as well as what academic and housing adjustments survivors can request. The Department of Education is currently investigating 55 universities, not including Tufts, for Title IX compliance issues. Concluding these investigations with a “voluntary resolution agreement” — what Tufts signed on April 17 — is par for the course. The University of Montana and the State
University of New York System also went through this process after issues arose with their Title IX compliance. But Tufts is the first and only school to have “revoked” its agreement, Department of Education press secretary Dorie Nolt told the Daily in an email. As discussions continue between Tufts and the OCR, the university’s task force on sexual misconduct prevention will, over the summer, reevaluate the sexual assault policy the university had put together in 2013. Several of the students who participated in the protest are also members of the task force. “In order to effect the changes, it can’t just be adversarial; we have to do this in partnership and, to their credit, those students were right back in working with us the next week,” Monaco said. “I celebrate their activism because, to me, it shows that they’re really responsible citizens in our community.”
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Transportation, residential life working groups to solve related issues MONACO continued from page 3
TD: Is there any plan to combine Dean of Student Affairs Mary Pat McMahon's prowess about residential life, which she helped reform while working at Bowdoin, with the likelihood that student off-campus housing prices will increase as a result of the Green Line? AM: I have asked David Harris, the provost, to begin this summer bringing together a group to look at our residential life and housing strategy, which, of course, would include people like Mary Pat, John Barker and others, to think about how we want to use residential life. What do we need to think about, not only in programming, but also in structure? Do we need new dorms? Where would we put them? We can't get into the dorms and really renovate them thoroughly in the summer — all you can do is the bathrooms and the common rooms. It would be nice to build a program where, in the future, if we built a new dorm, it would give us the swing space to then go through the older dorms and really renovate them over a longer period of time, and then bring them back online and then keep moving. This would be a very long-term plan, but that's the idea behind having this working group — to start thinking through that — of course, we would have to then think about how we would fund a new dorm in the campaign. TD: The Steve Tisch Sports and Fitness Center was the first wave of a series of planned improvements to the gym. When is the next wave of construction going to begin? What will be involved in that?
AM: We have a working group looking at the master planning for athletics. There are certain things that we would like to achieve in the near term. We'd love to get a second astroturf pitch. We're trying to figure out a location for that. The idea is that it could be used for soccer, lacrosse, rugby — the normal varsity or high-level club sports — but also it would allow a lot of intramural and club sports to have better access to fields. So that's one of the bigger priorities. The second is we'd like to make some changes to the softball field. It needs some improvements. Bello Field needs to have a new surface on it — it’s the natural cycle of needing a new surface. So those are short-term measures. The longer term measures we are thinking about are a swimming pool replacement, international squash courts, the fitness room for the varsity sports and the changing rooms. The whole area in back of the Steve Tisch Sports and Fitness Center needs to be replaced over time. We have to figure out the funding mechanism, which would have to come from donations. Also, how do we want to achieve that? One big bang where you demolish everything in the back, or do you want to do it in a piecemeal fashion? There are many questions that need to be asked, and the master planning for that — looking at all the options and seeing what the cost would be — is what the current work is. TD: Divesting from fossil fuels remains an important issue to many students on this campus. Why do you think so many students across the country see this as one of the biggest issues?
NICK PFOSI / THE TUFTS DAILY
Monaco has created several working groups to tackle the issues on the Hill. AM: We care about the environment and we care about the effect that burning carbon has on our planet. We did work with them to figure out how divesting from fossil fuels would affect our endowment, as the students themselves voted that they wanted to do this as long as it didn't unduly financially affect the university. Our work showed that it would be hugely expensive at this time. We left the door open. We would be happy to look at this over time. Not right now, but give it a little while, and
we're happy to revisit it to see if there's any change. TD: What do you hope seniors will walk out of Tufts thinking and saying about their experience here? AM: That Tufts changed their lives. It's different for everyone. Some have a transformative experience because they really got passionate about a particular subject matter, and got to a know a faculty member and did research with them and really gained almost graduate-level expertise in that —
and that, for them, pushed them in a direction for their career or their profession. For others, it might have been because they were in a drama production or a particular group that they bonded with and put performances on — and that, to them, was the best thing about their experience here, and they really found out a lot about themselves, about their friends and about the world. We want people to have that kind of transformation here, but also launch them into the next stage of their lives.
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Lex erath | Sugar & Spice
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Caroline GeilinG / THe TUFTS DailY
Tuftslife, which was revised last year, will undergo another overhaul spearheaded by juniors Tara Kola and Tony Cannistra.
New project to revamp TuftsLife in progress by Kendall Todd Daily Editorial Board
When TuftsLife launched a redesign last March in an effort to streamline the site and make it more accessible from mobile devices, many students were disappointed with the changes. Finding the new version difficult to navigate, some stopped using the website altogether. Now, the website is primarily used to post classified ads, but juniors Tony Cannistra and Tara Kola are heading a small team of student programmers to bring TuftsLife back to its original role: an aggregator of all events happening on and around the Tufts campus. "TuftsLife became basically dead," Kola said. "Tony and I were both among the students who didn't feel too positively about the redesign, which is why we wanted to take another shot at it." Last year's relaunch was not executed with the average user in mind, Cannistra explained. Rather than updating event postings and classified listings, the students in charge of that redesign focused on features many students don't want or use, such as adding apps and news. Additionally, many found the threecolumn layout confusing; some even said creating a simple post became problematic. John LiBassi, a staff assistant for the Department of Sociology, has been trying unsuccessfully to use TuftsLife since last year's redesign. "As a staff member, I often need to publicize department events to the Tufts community," he told the Daily in an email. "Without access to TuftsLife, staff and faculty are limited to posting on department websites, taking out advertisements in the Daily and circulating flyers. None of these methods are as convenient or immediate as TuftsLife, and they are likely to reach a smaller audience." The site's plunge in popularity has caused the Tufts community to question its ownership and management. According to Joseph Golia, director of the Office for Campus Life (OCL), staff and administrators often assume the OCL is in charge of the site and call him when they experience difficulties using it. In the past year, however, the students in charge of the new TuftsLife have not contacted the OCL at all. "It's a point of frustration for our office," Golia said. "We don't have any
answers. ... We are just as lost and in the dark about TuftsLife. It's a student organization, [but] we have no contact information. We don't know that much about it." Junior Tyler Lubeck, who has been working on the project since the beginning of the semester, said that TuftsLife is a student organization that receives Tufts Community Union (TCU) Senate funding, which goes toward paying for server space and the site's domain name, among other things. "The university definitely does have involvement with the site," he said. "They let us do what we want, but they also do the funding so we can exist." Kola said further administrative support would be helpful, particularly if the university were to pay students to work on TuftsLife. "It's not uncommon for the university to pay students who work on other things, like Tufts WebServices," she said. "[TuftsLife] is a product that is so useful to the student body, and a better product might come out of it if students felt like they were being paid for their work." Golia said TuftsLife has come up in recent discussions with the TCU Senate. While students have been working on the site all year, no one in the OCL has been updated on their progress, he said. In particular, there have been some discussions about whether TuftsLife should remain a student group or be operated by the administration. "There are so many different ways to look at it — whether it does become a university thing or [remains] a student group that's funded [by TCU]," Golia said. "If they come to us, certainly, we would help ... it was a student thing, and if students want ... [support], then they should bring it back. We would be interested if students wanted to come talk to us about how the administration can help them manage this year to year." Regardless of whether TuftsLife seeks out administrative assistance, Cannistra said he believes the new site will be ready for the Tufts community in the coming months. "Ideally, it will be available in the fall," he said. "I'm going to stand by that." Kola explained that the group has been designing the new TuftsLife from the ground up, Kola said. "One of the issues with the current TuftsLife is that the code is so messy, [so] we are starting completely from
scratch," she said. "We're going a lot slower with building the site, so as a result, we're spending a lot more time talking with people and making sure we've created features that are meaningful to the student population. Cannistra explained that one of the issues that is particularly relevant to professors and faculty is automatic post approval. Unfortunately, this feature sometimes fails to work. The team is hoping to find a better solution and incorporate it into the revamped version. Cannistra also noted that the layout of the site will change, making it easier for users to find events that appeal to them. "The new TuftsLife is going to feature a pretty calendar-heavy approach," Cannistra said. "We're definitely still going to have a classifieds section, but the main focus is getting the word out about events." "We're focusing on separating events and listings into two separate pages or tabs on the same page, so people aren't bombarded with both," Kola added. One feature of the upgraded TuftsLife that Kola and Cannistra are particularly excited about is the ability to personalize the types of events and listings each user sees. "You can say things like, 'I want to go to lectures that have lunch,' and those are the events that will be showing," Cannistra said. "You can choose the kinds of things you want to see. You can kind of wade through everything." Kola said that listings will also be categorized with labels like “psych study,” “sublet” and “lost and found,” which will streamline the process and make it easier for students to find what they are looking for. "Basically, we're trying to make interaction with TuftsLife more efficient and more conducive to personalized search," she said. Cannistra and Kola both advocate for their student-run approach to the project, citing it as a learning opportunity for student programmers. Lubeck said the group has received input and feedback from a number of students on campus, which they will use to make the new version of TuftsLife have a more user-friendly platform. "I think the coolest part is ... we've made it available, so that anyone who wants to work on it can come work on it," Lubeck said. "Everyone feels involved with it."
his will be my last year of living with a roommate, as I will (finally!) have a glorious single in an off-campus house next year. While my current roommate is amazing, gorgeous, intelligent, hilarious and charming (while this is all true, it's also allowing me to get away with telling embarrassing stories about her for the rest of this column), there will definitely be some things I won't miss about being with her 24/7. For example, Sophia and I get along very well, but there's one little minifight that we always have. You see, I like to keep the door to our room open (we live in a Latin Way suite), and she likes to hang out in our room naked. This is, quite obviously, a conflict of interests. I can't tell you how many times I've accidentally (or "accidentally") left the door open when she's right there in her birthday suit, or how many times we've almost come to blows over her refusal to just put on a robe. Another time, a mystery sock appeared on my side of the room, so I tossed it onto her bed and didn't think twice about it. But then that sock continued to appear in all sorts of strange places. I may not be the sharpest tool in the shed, but I eventually realized it wasn't her sock either. She was doing the exact same thing to me — except we were both secretly replacing the sock when the other wasn't home. We ended up playing this passive-aggressive game of pass-the-sock before I confronted her about it, at which point we go into a half-serious, half-giggling argument, threw the sock away and promptly forgot all about it. Sophia has recently developed a penchant for books on tape, and she now likes to lay in her bed listening to them. I probably wouldn't even have noticed, except she will laugh or make some sort of surprised noise every five minutes or so. It's extremely odd to be sitting in a room with someone who appears asleep, and then have them chuckle or gasp to themselves. Let me tell you, it scared the crap out of me the first time she did it. If you know me at all, you'll know I have a bit of a sweet tooth. Sophia, on the other hand, has a cheese tooth — if that's even a thing. Boys, if you're ever trying to get in good with her, some quality cheese (I recommend Dave's) is 100 percent the way to go. While I have a whole arsenal of cheese anecdotes with which to regale you, I think I'll settle on one that's short and hilarious. A certain male friend of mine was telling me about how he walked Sophia home one night and felt pretty attracted to her. He was on the verge of making a move when she pulled out a big block of cheese and just started going to town. Needless to say, that sort of killed the mood, and the story didn't come out until several months later. (But, hey — there are upsides, too. I don't understand exactly how this works, but Sophia has a magical bed that gives you all the best matches on Tinder when you're sitting on it.) In any event, I really will be sad to say goodbye to Sophia until next January. They say you don't really know someone until you live with them (hear that, engaged people?), and let me just say, at this point I know Sophia better than I know myself, and I'm happier for it. There — this column finally did live up to its name: While the middle was pure spice, that ending was all sugar.
Lex Erath is a rising junior majoring in economics. She can be reached at Alexandra.Erath@tufts.edu.
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Graduation: as seen on TV
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he first graduation I remember experiencing was not my own, nor was it a family member's or a friend's. It was Lizzie McGuire's. For those of you who missed "The Lizzie McGuire Movie" (2003), please pull it together and watch it; it's a classic. The flick opens with Lizzie's eighth grade graduation (the most important of all graduations). The class president, who was supposed to give a speech, is too sick to attend, and Lizzie is forced to step up to the plate. She freaks out mid-speech, trips and destroys the whole stage. Then her little brother puts a video of the debacle on the Internet, which (obviously) goes viral. This fiasco really puts a damper on Lizzie's big day. This was my first idea of what a graduation would be like. You will be very nervous, if anything goes wrong you will be devastated and if you are the kind of girl who has a long-lost twin who is an Italian pop star, you might even end up as the bad kind of Internet celebrity. While "The Lizzie McGuire Movie" may not be the most realistic movie out there (unless everybody who goes to Rome gets to ride around on Vespas with handsome singers trying to save their careers; I've never been there, so I wouldn't know!), it follows the trend of hyping up graduations to which most movies and TV shows subscribe. When I go to real life graduation ceremonies, I can't help but carry some of these expectations with me. I expect the graduates to be freaking out as they put on their caps and gowns, and I expect the entire audience to be teary-eyed and obsessed with reflecting on their loved one's past experiences. Find me a good graduation episode of any sitcom that doesn't include a photo montage set to sappy music — I dare you. In movies and on TV, any graduation ceremony has to have some sort of dramatic twist. A couple has to break up, or there has to be a big family blowout or reconciliation, or somebody has to make a spur of the moment, life changing decision as they give their speech or receive their diploma. If there was nothing dramatic about a TV show’s graduation episode, we’d all be pretty disappointed. But these movies and TV shows leave a lot out. For instance, they never seem to discuss how hot the weather is during most graduations. Throwback Thursday to my middle school graduation, when we packed 300 hormonal preteens and their families into a tiny gym with no airconditioning in late June. It was a blast. No movie warns that you will have to listen to every single graduate's name being called, no matter how many there are. What I remember most about every one of my older brothers' graduations is not the misty-eyed, heartfelt reminiscing as seen on TV, but rather struggling to see over the people sitting in front of me to catch a glimpse of the ceremony. (I'm very #blessed to be so vertically challenged). My high school graduation was nice, but it didn't have the "first day of the rest of your life" feeling I was promised — probably because after it was over, I went back to the house I had lived in for my whole life and stayed there for the next two months. I can't blame the media for hyping up graduation ceremonies. Despite all my kvetching, I realize that they are lovely experiences and important milestones. Of course, what's more important is everything that comes before the ceremony and everything that will happen after the caps are thrown into the air. The media often makes us forget that graduation is more than just a day. Sometimes we forgot that as special as the occasion is, what graduation represents is even more special. Congrats to the Tufts Class of 2014. Here's to hoping that none of you pull a Lizzie McGuire and trip on your way to getting your diplomas! Rebecca Hutchinson is a rising sophomore majoring in international relations. She can be reached at Rebecca.Hutchinson@ tufts.edu.
The TufTs Daily
Sunday, May 18, 2014
FeatureS
interview | Dr. anne-Marie SLaughter
Slaughter talks about work, Millennials by Sabrina McMillin Daily Editorial Board
Anne-Marie Slaughter will deliver the commencement address to Tufts' Class of 2014 today. The president and CEO of the New America Foundation, Slaughter was the first woman to serve as the Director of Policy Planning for the United States Department of State from 2009-2011. In 2012, she published "Why Women Still Can't Have it All" in The Atlantic, which sparked a national dialogue about gender equality in the 21st century. Slaughter is also an esteemed name in the field of education, holding titles at Harvard Law School and Princeton University, where she was the dean of the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs. She will receive an honorary doctorate of laws at the commencement ceremony. A lightly edited version of the conversation the Daily had with Slaughter follows. The Tufts Daily: Will the commencement ceremony on May 18 be your first visit to Tufts? Anne-Marie Slaughter: No, goodness, no. I taught at Harvard Law School for many years, so from 1994 to 2002 and before that, I was a student in Cambridge and visited Tufts often. TD: With the announcement of the commencement speaker, many students have been discussing your contribution to the ongoing dialogue on work culture and the potential changes it can have on family life. Is work-life balance a theme you wish to address during the Tufts commencement speech? AS: Yes. I will be talking about work life in, I hope, some new ways. I'm going to be talking about that much more than foreign policy. TD: It's been nearly two years since the publication of your article "Why Women Still Can't Have It All" in The Atlantic. What is the most memorable response you have received since then? AS: Oh my goodness, that's an impossible question to answer. I've gotten hundreds and hundreds of letters and emails, and I've spoken to ... thousands of people since in different speeches. I would say there's just been an extraordinarily rich tapestry of comments and writing and talking ... This turned into my life for the last few years, so the most astounding thing was that [the article] went up online on a Wednesday night, and a week later, a million people had read it, or at least a million people had gone on the website. You had a million unique visitors and in just one week — that's an extraordinary response. One of the things that did surprise me was how many responses I got from men. TD: Many students are graduating with some job experience, typically through on-campus work study or internships. What are some of the ways that college students can address the problems of our modern work culture at the university level? Is it possible for Millennials to address these issues before fully entering the workforce?
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anne-Marie Slaughter has had a long career in public policy. matters transcend these fields? Do you offer similar advice to aspiring doctors, artists, engineers, etc.? AS: Yes. I talk about work and life in terms of breadwinning and caregiving, but it touches everybody. For people who don't have kids, they have parents or siblings or spouses or friends. The need to balance connection to others and relationships with others and your professional identity with others — that's pretty universal. TD: As a lawyer who has shifted into the nonprofit sector through the New America Foundation, what are the predominant policy issues you are focused on?
AS: I think that Millennials are addressing these issues by themselves [by] thinking about the kind of life they want. And many Millennials do, I think, place a healthier emphasis on things like having time to work out, and question why they always have to be sitting in an office when they can do that work just as well from home or at Starbucks ... So I think the best thing Millennials can do is ask questions ... [like] 'Why do we have to do it this way? Why can't it be done a more flexible way, a way that will fit my work and non-work life together?'
AS: New America focuses on a wide range of issues. We have a whole set of foreign policy issues. We're mounting a big project on the future of war, which is, of course, quite far from work and life. We have a very active education policy program, everything from early education to pre-K through 12 to higher education, and we're thinking a lot about that. We do social policy and financial inclusion, [surrounding] how you can build assets for people in the population who don't have them. We are doing a bunch of policy issues around breadwinning and caregiving [and] things like the coming retirement crisis. I'm expecting a lot of parents to start moving back in with their kids.
TD: Your work is primarily in public policy and the nonprofit sector. Obviously, your expertise appeals to the vast number of students who are looking toward careers in government and public service. But how do these
TD: Do you see more of the "sandwich" generation — where people are taking care of kids while also taking care of their parents — as something one particular generation identifies with, or is that something that will
continue with Millennials? AS: I think that's going to continue. It's going to continue in part because everybody is going to live longer. You are going to find that you may not be sandwiched, but you are certainly going to have the experience of having to care for your parents and your children, should you have children. But again, this issue of taking care of your children, ... it could be your biological family, it could be a constructed family ... [but] it's the people in your life who have cared for you and ... you also will care for them. TD: In your article, you address this issue by suggesting that schools should adjust to fit their schedules around the work schedules of men and women. Is there any sort of tangible effort you have seen in that regard? AS: Yes. There are a growing number of corporations that are experimenting with much more flexibility. TD: On your Twitter you've proclaimed yourself to be a "foodie." What's one favorite dish of yours that we should know about? AS: [Laughs] Oh my goodness. I love all different kinds of food. Probably my favorite thing in the world is oysters and champagne. TD: That sounds like something the seniors should try when they graduate. AS: Exactly ... And please do let all of your readers know just how excited I am to be able to be coming to Tufts.
Sunday, May 18, 2014
The TufTs Daily
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FeatureS
anaStaSia KoroLov | bacK to the preSent by Caitlin McClure
Maximum entropy
Daily Editorial Board
Tufts University’s Office of the Vice Provost for Research hosted its 10th Research Day on May 2, focusing on the emerging field of data science — a topic that looks to analyze enormous amounts of data collected by modern technology, such as sequencing techniques, electronic medical records and social media outlets. "Now, thinking about data science is almost like how we used to think about reading and writing," Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering Shafiqul Islam said. "How do we get insight? Most of the data is noise. The challenge then for academic communities is to figure out ways to get the signal from the noise." Associate Professor in the Department of Computer Science Soha Hassoun, chair of the Research Day Committee, proposed data science as this year's topic because the field is expanding and she feels that Tufts should join the dialogue surrounding the subject. Hassoun explained that the committee had three objectives for the Research Day. First, it wanted to identify what problems are being worked on in data science at Tufts, what techniques are being used and what data sets could be shared. Next, the committee wanted to identify people with different skills who can collaborate on big data issues. Lastly, it aimed to start a conversation at Tufts to discuss enhancing infrastructure for research and education in data science. "There are lots of people from different disciplines talking about data science," Hassoun said. "Harvard, MIT, Columbia, University of Virginia and other schools are already ahead of us in their various initiatives, and it would be really good for us as a community [to see] what we can do with our resources." The day was broken up into three rounds of lightning talks. The first session, "Big Data Analysis: From Fundamentals to Engineering Applications," provided attendees with background information about data science, according to the Office of the Vice Provost for Research. Session two, "Data-Driven Discoveries," examined how researchers use large data sets and what they are discovering within those sets. The third session, "Data Enabling Medicine," explored medical applications for large data. "[The Research Day] features three very different areas to give you a flavor of what's going on here at Tufts," Barbara Booras, project administrator in the Office of the Vice Provost for Research, said. "Broadly, we are using the day as an educational tool to educate about resources that we have already available to faculty and students related to data." The lunchtime digital poster session gave graduate and Ph.D. candidates the opportunity to share their research in areas of data science. According to the Office of the Vice Provost for Research, the goal of the Research Day was mainly to educate the Tufts community about the available resources connected to data. Tisch Library, for example, had a
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This year’s research Day hosted presentations focused on data science. table during the poster session to answer questions and talk about its data management plan that is currently in place for students and faculty. "So many times faculty say, 'We want to collaborate across campuses but how do we facilitate those collaborations?'" Booras said. "This is an opportunity to bring people together to start a conversation that can continue outside of the event, as well." Sophomore Mary O'Kane, a quantitative economics major, was one of approximately 10 undergraduate students who attended the event. O'Kane said she appreciated hearing about all the opportunities to get involved with Tufts research in the field of data science through the poster session, but wished that more undergraduates had been able to attend. "Listening to what the graduate and Ph.D. candidates are doing was really cool," she said. "It would have been great if Tufts had scheduled it at a different time. If it wasn't during finals period ... [they] probably would have gotten a better undergraduate response." The day concluded with a panel presentation that focused on the infrastructural and educational importance of continuing to develop data science at Tufts. A discussion and question and answer session followed, in which participants and attendees debated how Tufts could best improve its data science courses. Some panelists, including Professor of Computer Science Carla Brodley, advocated for the strategic hiring of more data science researchers. Others, like Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Associate Dean for Research Elena Naumova, argued that the priority should be pooling Tufts' preexisting resources in order to broaden course offerings. "We don't have a statistics department," Naumova said. "I feel that's a tremendous limitation. I feel our students have very
limited access to high level courses in statistics. We need to put more resources into building a wide range of courses our students can take." Namouva also emphasized the importance of communicating across various departments and levels of the university. Islam echoed Namouva's sentiments. "I think the first thing we need to do is to pull together the resources we currently have," Islam said. "Once we do that, we can identify the knowledge gaps. Then we can decide what can be done to fill these gaps." O'Kane agreed. "One thing that stood out to me that was brought up was the lack of cohesiveness between the departments," she said, reflecting on the panel discussion. "[We] just ... [need to] have an awareness of what people are doing and utilize [that] expertise. They talked about needing to hire a lot of people, and a lot of it comes down to simple infrastructure issues and management." Now in its 10th year, the annual Research Day aims to discuss research-related issues with the community, create opportunities for collaboration and identify areas to grow and improve as a university, according to the Office of the Vice Provost. "I really hope that people start having dialogues within their own departments about what they would like to see happen," Hassoun said. With over 200 attendees from across the university and the Boston area, Hassoun said she considered the event a success and hopes it will serve as a springboard for future expansion of data science resources, research and awareness at Tufts. Souvaine felt similarly about the event. "I had been pushing for a data science event like this for years," she said. "[This] Research Day on data science is our opportunity to learn about the broad applications of this exciting new field and its extraordinary potential for the future."
Alumnus Brown running in New Hampshire by Shannon Vavra Daily Editorial Board
Tufts alumnus Republican Scott Brown (LA '81) on April 10 announced his campaign for a New Hampshire Senate seat against Democratic incumbent Senator Jeanne Shaheen. Brown lost his run for the Massachusetts Senate seat to Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) in 2012. As the Nov. 4 election approaches, the coming months will be key to Brown's campaign. The race is currently heating up, with both sides firing accusations of illegal campaign tactics, according to a May 4 Boston Herald article. Brown's first foray into politics was during his undergraduate years at Tufts, where he served as a Tufts Community Union (TCU) Senate representative. Since graduating, Brown continued his political career in Massachusetts, working as a state senator from 2004 until 2010, when he won the special election to fill the late United States Senator Ted Kennedy's seat. Brown won the election with 52 percent of the vote against Attorney General Martha Coakley, who held 47 percent of voters.
Michael Gottfried (LA '80), who was vice chairman of the TCU Senate when Brown served as a senator, discussed Brown's political accomplishments during his time at Tufts. "I introduced a resolution to donate some student fees to Oxfam, and we didn't have the authority to do that, and [Brown] held a referendum for the student body," Gottfried said. "The student body overwhelmingly voted to donate, and we had students elect to donate a meal." Gottfried said that during their time on TCU Senate, he and Brown changed the process by which student clubs received funding — changes that are still is in effect today. "We committed [to] allocating various funds to clubs with respect to their budget requests," Gottfried said. "[Brown] was an active and contributing member like everyone else was." Aside from serving on TCU, Brown played on the Tufts men's basketball team for four years. It was here that he earned his nickname "Downtown Scotty Brown" for his excellent jump shot, according to David Rabin (LA '83),
a college friend of Brown's. "I think Scotty was a big factor in boosting school spirit, as people really rallied around the basketball team," Rabin told the Daily in an email. "Those games were great for the Tufts community, and Scott was a great representative of the school." According to a Jan. 20, 2010 Tufts men's basketball press release, Brown only missed three games during his entire undergraduate career at Tufts. He also served as co-captain of the team from 1980 to 1981. Rabin told the Daily that he met Brown primarily through sports. "I played lacrosse," he said. "I knew all the guys on the hoops team well. A lot of guys my year were starters with Scotty, so I met him through them and through a few of my housemates." Gottfried said that though they would often talk about basketball, he and Brown rarely discussed Brown's potential future career. "We certainly didn't talk about him going into politics when we were back see brown, page 17
ast spring I went through a period of depression. I took naps all the time. The only time I left the house was to go to school. (I was living at home while attending community college.) I used to start crying every time I would drive anywhere, because I was alone with my thoughts for too long. I thought a lot about suicide, but I never tried anything. The thought of how my loved ones would feel if I died usually made me feel worse, but it also meant I was never willing to actually try and take my own life. If you look at my life for the year preceding that spring, my depression makes a lot of sense. Once the school year ended, I slowly started feeling a lot better, but the fear remains — the fear of becoming like that again. The self-loathing you feel when depressed, for me, at least, was the worst part. Lying in bed, unable to fall asleep. Going over and over in your head about how worthless you are. "Why do you feel bad?" I'd ask myself. "Your life is great. You have nothing to feel bad about." Looking back, of course, I realize that I did have things to feel bad about. I did, in fact, have legitimate problems. But at the time, they felt as stupid as I thought I was. Just one more example of how terrible of a person I was being. Believe me, I know how unproductive those thoughts are. I still have them whenever I get sad, so I try not to get sad. It doesn't always work, but usually it does. The times when I can't hold it back anymore are terrible. Ever since last spring, whenever I would get sad, I would cry for a bit and then slowly come out of it. Lately, it has been lasting longer, and every time I can't stop myself from crying, the fear rises. The fear that this is just who I am; that I'm going to be miserable and full of guilt forever. The fear of having to fight this every day just to get to class, to get my homework done. For a lot of people, this is their reality. The constant heaviness that sits inside. The embarrassment of being weak. It feels like you can’t talk to anyone, because how could they understand? How could they understand what you’re going through when you yourself don’t understand? It's a scary feeling, not being able to handle your own emotions. It feels like drowning. It feels like you're suffocating. It feels like you're sleeping and you can't wake up and you hope it's a dream, because you just want to wake up and be yourself again. There's no cure. There's therapy and mediation and sunlight and laughter, but there's no cure. One day you just wake up and things are a tiny bit better. And then another day things are a tiny bit better. And then every day, things get a tiny bit better. Because things do get better — in physics, the universe tends toward maximum entropy. This comes from the second law of thermodynamics (slimmed down a bit, of course). But there's no universal law like this for human emotion. There's no rule that says that humans tend toward maximum happiness. Except for the fact that humans are resilient creatures. We've survived plagues, and natural disasters. We've survived other humans. Humans manage to find beauty in the worst situations, to find light in the pitch-black of night. Many humans do tend toward being happy. Sure, some just relish complaining and being miserable, but most people get used to their situation. Of course, it helps to be in a living situation where you’re comfortable, but even people who aren’t do eventually find happiness. There's no sure way to tell what your future will be. You just have to keep going and hope for the best. Because that's all you can do.
Anastasia Korolov is a rising sophomore who has not declared a major. She can be reached at Anastasia.Trombly@tufts.edu.
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The TufTs Daily
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Sunday, May 18, 2014
Spotlight on the Class Jonathan Bird
Brian McLaughlin
Jessica Laporte
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Senior Jessica Laporte is dedicated to causes both on and off campus. In addition to holding leadership positions in the Interdenominational Christian Fellowship (ICF) and Tufts Mountain Club (TMC), Laporte is working to develop international clean water solutions. In less than a month, Laporte will move to Haiti, where she will work for a year with Community Chlorinators — a home water chlorination business that will train entrepreneurs to test and treat water, as well as to educate others about water treatment. Community Chlorinators will be the first enterprise launched by the Archimedes Project, an initiative working to bring clean water and sanitation measures to global populations in need. After working as a freshman intern at LIFT — an organization which pairs disadvantaged individuals with advocates who help them attain economic stability — Laporte has spent much of her senior year working with the Archimedes Project to promote and develop Community Chlorinators. Laporte attended the Clinton Global Initiative University Conference in Phoenix, Ariz. this past spring, where she presented her work with Community Chlorinators. She also received a grant from the Tisch College for her upcoming work in Haiti. Laporte advised undergrads to be aware of how much grant funding is at their fingertips. "I felt like I found a hidden treasure every time," she said. "I think there were definitely things early in my Tufts career that I said, 'No, I can't do that, I don't have the money to do that, I need to travel there ... or I need to make money this summer and work.' I ended up getting the summer internship grants and that allowed me to do some things I thought I had to give up." Laporte will graduate with a degree in international relations, concentrating in global health, and has remained active in various activities on campus. However, of the many groups she is involved with, Laporte said that she has made her closest friends through ICF. She also added that, over the years, she has witnessed positive growth in certain groups, particularly in TMC through her role as a caretaker and stewardship director. "TMC has just gotten so much more professional since my freshman year," she said. "We have a board of directors, we talk to Joe Golia all the time — it's great. I love serving with them. [The members of TMC] just have taken really clear steps to be in communication with the administration and to learn from [them.] And they're starting to be able to just get a lot more done and to use their resources better because of that kind of mentorship." After having established such a strong home base during her four years at Tufts, Laporte is eager to embark on a new adventure in June with Community Chlorinators. "I was hesitant at first, because one of the things I said I wanted my first year on the ground working in Haiti was ... to be learning from people who had done it before, and so it was really hard for me to say, 'Yes,'" she said. "But I have really bought into the idea and am really excited to be a part of making the program [Community Chlorinators] happen."
Students may recognize Jon Bird as the chair of Tufts University Programming Board, the best male model winner at the LUX fashion show, the guy who frequently wears the Jumbo mascot suit and, of course, the person who smiles at everyone he passes. Active in the Tufts community and chock full of enthusiasm, Bird is truly the embodiment of school spirit. This is a legacy Bird began cultivating before he arrived at Tufts. At his high school, in the small town of Merrimac, Mass., Bird was the student who participated in everything. He was on sports teams, he was a peer adviser, he appeared in musicals, he went to nearly every game and pep rally — and he always cheered the loudest. "I was used to knowing everyone on campus and being known by everyone," Bird said. "I was a big fish in a very small pond, but when I came to Tufts it was different." The transition to college was difficult for Bird, who said he did not have a positive housing situation or a lot of friends his freshman year. He longed for the life he had at his small high school. "I started going back home for soccer games or to watch my sister play volleyball," he said. "At first, it would only be for an afternoon, but then I started staying over at my house. It turned into a situation where I would be home five nights a week, and my mom would be driving me to school every day. I was basically a commuter student." In the spring semester of his freshman year, Bird considered transferring. He began touring other New England schools, looking for a place that would suit him better than Tufts. "At every school I toured, I kept thinking about all of the different clubs and activities I'd like to be involved in on campus — but they had all of those things at Tufts, too," Bird said. Looking back, Bird said he realized that it wasn't Tufts, but college itself that was the problem. "I was very different from who I am now — it just wasn't me," he said. "I got to Tufts, and I wasn't ready for college, and I just shut down." Things started to change for Bird at the very end of his freshman year, when he was randomly assigned to work on a Spanish project with a student who would later become his best friend. "She asked me where I was living next year," Bird said. "I told her Waterville, Maine. She was like, 'Waterville, Maine — what?' ... I explained to her that I was transferring to Colby College. I told her about all the difficulties I was having here and how I wanted to start over. She was very sympathetic, and she said that I should hang out with her and her friends at the Tuftstonia's Day carnival ... I had a great time, and they're some of my best friends now." Bird ultimately decided not to transfer. "I got involved in Programming Board and Spirit Coalition, ... and started loving it at Tufts," he said. Now, Bird is practically entrenched in the Tufts community — along with his involvement in the LUX fashion show, he has also participated in Tufts Burlesque, was co-chairman of the Tufts Spirit Coalition in 2013 and has worked hard to organize important programming for the Tufts student body. Bird is majoring in sociology and minoring in communications and media studies, but as for his post-graduation plans, Bird said he still hasn't found a definitive career path. "As of right now, I'm looking at careers in advertising and marketing in the Boston area," he said. Whatever he decides, Bird's experience at Tufts has taught him at least one important thing about the future. "You never know when your life is going to change — that person you're randomly assigned to work with in Spanish class might just end up being your best friend," Bird said. "Never give up. ... You have to work for happiness. It won't find you. You have to find it for yourself."
Not every student can say that he can run a four minute and 20 second mile, has performed at the South by Southwest (SXSW) music festival in Austin and will be receiving a degree in Electrical Engineering after four years at Tufts. Yet senior Brian McLaughlin somehow found a way to do it all. As an engineering student, varsity cross country runner and the lead singer-songwriter of The Rare Occasions, McLaughlin seamlessly — and successfully — integrated his wide-ranging interests into his Tufts career. As a freshman, McLaughlin found it challenging to balance all his commitments, but credited his track coach for advising him to continue working hard, while avoiding "burning out." Though many of McLaughlin's interests initially seem very different, he explained that there are more connections than one may assume. "Electrical engineering connects to music," he said. "Lots of people who like music — if they're engineers — tend to be more interested in electrical engineering because it's all about signals and systems ... So if you tend to think in terms of audio and signals ... it's a similar way of thinking." McLaughlin's involvement in the Tufts music scene took off during his sophomore year, when he, along with rising junior guitarist Peter Stone and two students from Berklee College of Music — drummer Luke Imbusch and bassist Jeremy Cohen — founded The Rare Occasions. While attending Barrington High School in Providence, R.I, both McLaughlin and Imbusch played together in a band called The Valar; their partnership continued into college with the formation of The Rare Occasions, which released its latest EP, "Feelers," on May 6. Along with SXSW, the band has performed at several clubs in New England and various Tufts events, such as Spring Fling and AppleJam productions. McLaughlin described his role as a band member. "I sing, I write most of the music ... [and play] guitar, keyboard and ukulele ... But I'm mostly just the singer and songwriter," he said. "There was actually a pretty great music scene at my high school, which helped a lot in terms of pushing myself as a musician." McLaughlin said he has received support for his music from avid fans, as well as from his cross country teammates, who have been an integral part of his Tufts experience. "Being on a team in college was a good way to introduce myself to college life, because from the start I sort of had a family," he said. "Every day, I ... know that I can sit at this table [in the dining hall] with these people and have a good conversation. Just that stability itself was good to have freshman year and all four years." In addition to his successful music group, McLaughlin also boasts an impressive cross country record. He was also the men's cross country team's second-place runner at the NESCAC and Regional Championship in 2011, where he earned All-Region honors. "As a high school runner, I was pretty competitive," he said. "My coach sort of was a driving factor in high school. He told me to work up to my full potential, and so I raced a lot." For the past two summers, McLaughlin has worked at Kurzweil Music Systems, a company that makes electronic instruments. He said he hopes to pursue a career in music and electronics before potentially attending graduate school, and also sees The Rare Occasions as part of his future plans. Imbusch's plans to move to Los Angeles next month have inspired McLaughlin and his fellow bandmates to contemplate relocating the entire band to southern California, where McLaughlin would be able to work in a vibrant tech hub while the band explores the music industry. However, the group will wait until 2015 when their younger bandmates, Moore and Cohen, have graduated to make the move. Until then, McLaughlin hopes to work as an electrical engineer in the Boston area.
—by Sophie Laing
—by Maya Blackstone
—by Sabrina McMillin
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Sunday, May 18, 2014
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of 2014: Senior profiles Joshua Youner
Nicola Chang Yessenia Rivas
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Though Joshua Youner was initially interested in Tufts' international relations program, as a senior, he now focuses on economics, exploring business practices both inside and outside the classroom. An economics major and entrepreneurial leadership studies (ELS) minor, Youner has also served as vice president of Alpha Epsilon Pi and has helped run Up to Us, a campaign that works to raise awareness about the federal debt on campus. One of Youner's biggest accomplishments at Tufts has been helping establish the university's chapter of 180 Degree Consulting, an international organization that pairs student teams with local nonprofits to help them achieve a greater social impact. Over the course of a semester, student teams work on financial projects throughout the community. "We had five projects this semester, and, basically, we helped nonprofits in the area improve their operations, improve their donor base, improve ... their marketing — [we do] a whole host of different things," Youner said. "We're hoping to grow next semester, [and] we'll hopefully have eight projects, as opposed to just five." Youner explained that the Tufts chapter of 180 Degrees is incredibly beneficial — not just for nonprofits, but also for students, especially those who are looking to gain consulting skills. "It [gives] students an opportunity to really get some real-world skills on the ground, as opposed to just learning about stuff in the classroom," he said. "As an ELS minor myself, I think it was really important to get some experience outside the classroom. I think the ELS minor is great, [and] they do great things, but you can only take it so far ... This [is] a very real-world thing with tangible results." 180 Degrees Consulting's mission aligns with students’ interests, especially because active citizenship is such an important concept at Tufts, Youner said. "It's the perfect mix," he said. "We're active citizens. We like to be involved and help the social causes, but it also gave us a business environment to learn more about ... the business track." While Youner's interests have shifted from international relations, he has not completely ruled out politics as a career path, and hopes to one day get involved with education public policy. However, after he graduates, Youner will continue to concentrate on economics at Deloitte — a large company better known for its tax and accounting services, which also has a growing consulting division — where he will work as a generalist in the company's management consulting branch. Youner noted that he's looking forward to the next stage of his life, both on a personal and professional level. "I'm excited because of the variety of the work [I'll be doing], since I don't really know what I want to do yet permanently [for] the rest of my career," Youner said. "[Deloitte is] a great place to really learn about what interests me and what I'm good at. And what am I looking forward to most after graduation? You know — growing up, moving on to the next stage in life, maturing. Having my own apartment; that's really exciting." Though he is optimistic about the future, Youner also said he will miss the community he is leaving behind at Tufts. "I applied [to Tufts] early decision, and when I was a junior in high school, I knew immediately when I set foot on campus ... I wanted to come here," Youner said. "I've just loved the people I've met here so far. I love my friends. [It] kind of sounds cliché, but, honestly, I think that's the best part of Tufts."
At Tufts, Nicola Chang found her niche in music. A lifelong percussionist and music enthusiast, Chang has played with a variety of groups during her time on campus, but has spent much of her time in Banging Everything At Tufts (BEATs). "I've been drumming for three years with them," Chang said. "It [is] the group that has led me to grow as a musician the most here at Tufts." Chang, a native of Hong Kong, has been drumming since she was six years old. She completed her degree in three years, with majors in economics and international relations, concentrating in economic development, as well as a minor in music. Along with BEATs, Chang has performed in the Portsmouth Symphony Orchestra in New Hampshire and with Tufts' Javanese Gamelan Ensemble. She also works on the Musical Events Technical Staff. "There are definitely a lot of outlets here at Tufts to play music, and it's almost an equal playing ground, too, in terms of getting involved," she said. "It's not like a conservatory, where everybody has to be of a certain skill set. It's more like, if you're interested, you get to do it." Chang explained that her performances at Tufts have redefined her musical experiences. "It's been a refocus to entertainment, rather than playing for myself," Chang said. "When you practice and you do lessons, you're playing for yourself, mainly, but then after a certain point you start being more involved in performance groups ... [where you] start playing for other people." Chang, who grew up speaking Cantonese, also knows Mandarin. As an international student, she explained that music has served as a social facilitator for her at Tufts. "Coming in freshman year, I did International Orientation, [so] to a certain extent my social circle was very based on [the] Hong Kong Students Association [and] the Asian-American Center," Chang said. "Then, as I became more involved in music ... I knew more people from music circles." Having studied international development, Chang is interested in early musical education as a force for good. "There's a program in Venezuela that's called El Sistema, and it fundamentally gives every kid an instrument," she said. "It keeps them off the streets, it makes them go to band [practice]. Some kids really hate it, but it also increases human capital, social capital, teaches them how to work together [and how] to collaborate ... to make a final product." Inspired by El Sistema, Chang aspires to implement similar programs in her hometown. "Eventually, I want to bring this model back home to Hong Kong and also involve some of BEATs in it — have kids play percussion," she said. "You learn so much from doing music ... [like] developing people skills [and] how to work well with people." As she prepares to leave college, Chang reflected on the positive benefits of having a student community, and urged others to take advantage of this network while they still have time. "I'll really miss the fact that this is probably the last point in my life when I'm going to be surrounded by people of similar ages and similar responsibilities," she said. "If you asked me to give some advice to anybody, it would be, 'Don't lose sight of the fact that [college] is about people, too.' [I graduated] in three years ... [you] definitely [can] rush things ... [but], at the same time, you rush relationships [and] you rush interactions with people." While Chang isn't certain about her future plans, she said that music will continue to play an important role in this next chapter of her life, just as it did throughout her college career. "[I'm] hoping to change things, hoping to touch as many lives as I can through music," she said.
Yessenia Rivas — a choreographer for Spirit of Color (SoC), Torn Ticket II and Sarabande, as well as an actress and dancer — is a star both on and off the stage. In addition to the many performances she has been involved in, Rivas has also worked behind the scenes, as both the vice president of Sarabande and the department liaison for Pen, Paint and Pretzels (3Ps). Originally a clinical psychology major, Rivas switched to drama after realizing her true passion was in the arts. "I come from a really small town in Texas," Rivas said. "Drama is not really a big thing there, so they don't offer a lot of drama classes ... they're joke classes. So, for me, the closest outlet was dance, and then I ended up falling in love with that." Rivas, who has been dancing since she was two years old, has appreciated the respect that the Tufts student body has for the arts. "One of the main reasons why I chose Tufts ... is that I saw how supportive people were of the arts here, and that was really new for me because where I'm from ... sports are real big, so sports would always get all the [funding]," Rivas said. "It was really cool to come here and be like, 'Wow. I have friends that'll actually come to my dance shows,' when at home I would have to beg people to come. ... [It was great] to see how supportive the [Tufts] community is of the drama ... and the dance departments here." Within the arts community, Rivas said she has become especially close with her fellow dancers in Sarabande. "They've become such a close family to me, and they've helped me through so much," Rivas said. "That group of people is my life." During her sophomore year, Rivas shared a personal story through one of her most memorable dance performances called "Love is Louder." "When I was younger, I had an eating disorder, and things happened here at Tufts that kind of brought that feeling back — that feeling of being empty and not ... good enough," Rivas said. "I found a program online ... called 'Love is Louder' that was all about making yourself feel better ... [and] realizing love is louder than all the hate." Rivas said the program inspired her to choreograph a dance for Sarabande. In "Love is Louder," dancers encouraged each other to be strong in their personal struggles. "For me, dancing is really cathartic, and it gives me my escape and my release when I can't deal with ... other aspects of life," Rivas said. "All the dancers told me it was really nice for them to be able to finally say these things ... that they were worried about. ... We all ... realized we were in this together, and we don't have to go through these things alone." Rivas channeled a similar theme in her senior drama project titled "Nuestros Ojos," which told the stories of 11 Tufts Latinas and their experiences of being part of the minority on a predominantly white campus. "One of the overlying themes that I found was that all of us questioned whether we were Latina enough or American enough," Rivas said. "And then at the same time realizing [that] we don't have to ask that, obviously we're enough of both sides, [and] we don't have to do anything." After graduation, Rivas will be attending the three-year Master's program in the Actors Studio Drama School at Pace University. After graduate school, she hopes to begin acting professionally. "I'd really love to act ... on stage, maybe get involved in some films and TV shows," Rivas said. "And one day, I'd love to start my own company and be a director."
—by Jessica Mow
—by Jake Taber
—by Jessica Mow
niCK PFoSi / THe TUFTS DailY
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Captured: Tuftonia’s Day
The TufTs Daily
FeatureS
Sunday, May 18, 2014
Sunday, May 18, 2014
The TufTs Daily
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FeatureS
caMpuS coMMent
eva bataLLa-Mann | vaLuabLe DeLuSionS
Seniors: What does it mean to be graduating as a Jumbo now? “I chose to come to Tufts to be a part of the diverse community that was so openly advertised, but when I got here in the summer of 2010, I realized that I needed to seek out a community that I would feel welcomed in, and fortunately, I ultimately found people that I call family now. Graduating now, I can’t thank Tufts enough for showing me that no place is perfect, but dealing with imperfections is what makes a community stronger.” — Timothy Peng, economics “It feels really great knowing that everyone I know in the Class of 2014 has an area of their life that they are super passionate about and are pursuing. I feel very privileged to have met so many of us over the past four years, and I’m looking forward to meeting many more over the coming years.” — Bhushan Deshpande, quantitative economics “In my application, I wrote that Tufts is the right school for me because, when I visited and sat in on a class, I was so impressed by how articulate and interesting all of the students were ... Now, I’ve had the opportunity to engage with professors in a variety of departments and have enormous pride to be graduating with such a smart body of students. From the start, I wanted to be a Jumbo because the student body is so diverse, smart, driven and creative, and I’m proud to say that my answer to “Why Tufts?” hasn’t changed, but only been proven over and over again by the friends, classmates and teammates I’ve met and engaged with here.” — Anika Ades, international relations
“I am a completely different person now than I was when I first arrived on campus as a freshman. My best friends here at Tufts are my family, and the experiences I have gained have been the best of my life. Being a Jumbo has completely shaped who I have become.” — Robin Armstrong, biology “As I graduate a Jumbo, I have a much better sense of who I am and what I want to spend my life doing. Tufts has been a place that challenged me and shaped me, helping me to grow as a student and a citizen of the world.” — Catherine Coughlin, biology “Tufts is a place that has really taught me to expand my mind. Everyone I meet is passionate about something unique, so every new person I talk to has something they can teach me, and learning from my peers is probably what I have valued most over the past four years.” — Sarah Gannon, biology
“Jumbos are known for their great work ethic and intellect. To be associated with such an amazing school full of amazing people from the past, present and future is a true honor.” — Anya Kaufmann, environmental engineering “Graduating as a Jumbo means that whenever I see an elephant, I smile.” — Bethanne Goldman, mathematics
Tufts Democrats plan to campaign for Brown's opponent brown continued from page 13
at Tufts," Gottfried said. "When he first ran for state representative, I thought that was interesting." In his current campaign, Brown is up against four other Republicans, but in an April 10 Boston Globe article GOP Strategist Dave Carney predicts that Brown will emerge victorious come Sept. 9. Tufts students shared their own speculations. TCU Senator James Golden said that Brown could improve his answers to tough political questions. "I've actually met him and ... I asked him a very normal question," Golden, a sophomore, said. "He was going to vote against a bill that would've stopped the student loan interest rates going [up]. ... I asked him, 'Why?' [because] that's really important to people in school like me. He said, 'I can't talk right now.'" Working against Shaheen, who has held the position since 2009, may prove even more difficult for Brown, according to Golden. "Shaheen has a really strong establishment in New Hampshire," he said. "She's kind of a political legacy in New Hampshire, so it's going to be hard to dethrone [someone] like that. It would be like someone running against a Kennedy [in Massachusetts]." On top of this, Brown's political career has been primarily based in Massachusetts. According to Golden, this could also be a disadvantage for Brown in New Hampshire. "No one likes a carpetbagger," Golden said. "That's a saying for a reason." Gottfried noted, however, that despite Brown's absence in New Hampshire politics, he is no stranger to the area.
"I understand he has had a place in New Hampshire for a very long time," Gottfried said. Regardless of whether voters consider him a local, Brown's voting record may make him a more appealing candidate. According to an April 28 Boston Globe article, between 2011 to 2012 Brown voted with Republicans 66 percent of the time and Shaheen with Democrats 96 percent of the time. Golden believes this record may cast him in a more moderate light and could even the playing field between him and his opponent. "That's definitely something that I know people have seen as his strong point," Golden said. Despite these potential advantages, Shaheen's recent 45 percent approval ratings are still topping Brown's 39 percent, according to a WMUR Granite State survey released on April 10. On the other hand, spending for this campaign season could indicate a more aggressive front from both sides, indicating that victory for Shaheen may not be as certain as Democrats would hope. While spending during the 2008 New Hampshire Senate race rose to $37 million, this year could see record levels increases to around $50 million, according to a May 4 Boston Herald article. Incoming co-president of Tufts Democrats junior Sam Kelly said that Tufts Democrats plan to actively campaign for Shaheen in the fall. Golden noted student involvement may affect the outcome of the election. "There's going to be busloads of people fighting against [Brown] in New Hampshire," he said. "There's
CoUrTeSY rYan GranDeaU
Brown graduated from Tufts in 1981. not as much passion on the Young Republicans' side." Gottfried noted that Tufts students have always been opinionated and proactive, especially regarding politics. "I certainly thought that Tufts was a pretty vibrant school, and people were engaged in what was happening around the world," he said. "I think that sort of environment certainly encouraged people to be active." Rabin noted that the Republican Party is lucky to have alumnus Brown campaigning in New Hampshire. "Even though I joke with him all the time that he should switch parties, I've always thought Scott was a good guy, and the Republicans could certainly use some sane people running for office."
Sandwich Monday
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n high school I was a day student at a boarding school. I watched my friends from out of state and country fill ginormous suitcases and pack boxes to send far away, while I threw things in my car and drove 10 minutes to my house. Now I think I'm paying for it. Across the country from my hometown, I am faced with the daunting task of finding storage and filling one of those suitcases that you see being dragged begrudgingly around at the international terminal of the airport. The free cycle box has never looked so beautiful. The year has almost come to a close, so it's time to relax, right? Wrong. Sometimes I think that preparing for the summer — with internship applications and interviews galore — is actually harder than going to school. I remember talking to my mom in mid-April when she said, "No one's really thinking that much about summer plans yet, are they?" Meanwhile, I, along with everyone I knew, was scrambling to have something to fill our summer hours and that blank spot on our résumés. We get so caught up in the search for a summer activity that we forget that it's also a time to do something for ourselves. I will finally have the time to regularly play my new guitar, keep up with my daily horoscope and read my favorite NPR blog, "Sandwich Monday" — it’s totally disgusting and shows us a lot of what’s wrong with America, but at the same time it is hilarious and, dare I say, groundbreaking. I also think it's a chance to do something out of the ordinary and maybe even scary. While I was sitting at the Tufts Burlesque show after the last day of classes, I was thinking about confidence. What is true confidence, and who actually has it? Later that same night, I was having a conversation with someone about how difficult freshman year was. In the moment, it looks like everyone is having fun and making friends, but in reality, everyone is just as scared as you are. Often, in an attempt to cover up our vulnerability, we exude false confidence. The moments that have given me the most confidence were those where I risked failing — like leaving the country by myself for the first time scared out of my wits or completely botching an audition (who knew that “Seussical The Musical” would become the bane of my existence). The summer is a time to take those chances. To take an improv class or a trip someplace where you don't know anyone. It's quite a shock to go from having every moment of your life filled with class and homework and social events, to all of a sudden having some unscripted time. But it's a good opportunity to see ourselves outside of the context of Tufts, which I think is very necessary. We become married to the roles we play on campus, but when we leave we get to apply what we have learned to the outside world. We get to question and observe and see the optimism in things even when we are deeply familiar with the harsh realities. This makes me think about the Leonard Cohen song, "Anthem" and the line that says, "Ring the bells that still can ring / forget your perfect offering / there is a crack, a crack in everything / that's how the light gets in." After a semester of classes that have shown me so many things that are wrong with the world, this song helps me reconcile these problems with the beauty that the world has to offer. Things can be scary and difficult, and we will see failure, but there is always something remedial that can be salvaged. So I'm excited to have a few months to get away and be a little productive, but even more so, I'm looking forward to taking chances and doing those things that I forget about when I'm at school. But most importantly, I will get to read "Sandwich Monday." Eva Batalla-Mann is a rising junior majoring in peace and justice studies and community health. She can be reached at Eva.Batalla_Mann@tufts.edu.
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The TufTs Daily
captureD
Sunday, May 18, 2014
Captured: Senior Gala
all photos by nick Pfosi
Arts & Living
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tuftsdaily.com
restauraNt review
Natalie GirshmaN | love oN screeN
Boston area boasts varied cuisine
Happily (n)ever after
by Anthony Martinez Daily Editorial Board
The month of May is an especially festive time for Boston: Students are graduating and heading out into the world to make something of themselves. Of course, any good celebration should be commemorated with a little (or a lot of) food. And this is where things can get tricky. Boston is home to 58 institutions of higher education and approximately 250,000 students, many of whom are graduating at roughly the same time. Knowing where to go is important if you're going to celebrate in style, and if you don't know, well, Anna's Taqueria awaits. Certainly some places are better than others, while some are simply more fun. In the interest of beating the crowds and having an enjoyable dining experience, here are a few suggestions for your culinary perusal. Kirkland Tap and Trotter Located at 425 Washington St. in Somerville, Kirkland Tap and Trotter is the kind of pub that will impress your grandparents. Simultaneously hip and conservative, innovative and classic, it's the culinary equivalent of a dashing motorcycle technician wearing an impeccable suit with a knit tie. The proprietor claims that the items on the menu are things you've seen before, and to some extent this is true — most people have heard of a cheeseburger. But there's a fairly good chance most diners haven't had one that comes with kimchee Russian dressing and emmanthaler. It's also likely that they haven't heard Swiss cheese be referred to as emmanthaler in a while, either.
A
Courtesy MiCHAel PiAzzA
Kirkland tap and trotter provides unique twists on classic dishes. Kirkland Tap and Trotter is an effortless blend of casual and lavish dining, and on top of its impressive ambiance, it's virtually impossible to order something bad off of its menu. If you choose to visit this eatery, do yourself a favor and order the Maine mussels. Yume Wo Katare It's impossible to tell if this restaurant is the ultimate gimmick or the most unique dining experience you'll ever have. Located near in Porter Square at 1923 Massachusetts Ave. in Cambridge, Yume Wo Katare has a reputation as a local hot spot — and for good reason. Its
menu boasts two items: ramen with two pieces of pork and ramen with five pieces of pork. This hyper-specialized comfort food makes Yume Wo Katare the ultimate ramen destination. This restaurant is no delicate concoction; there are no frills or complimentary mints with the check — in fact, there aren't even checks. Yume is a pre-order kind of place that follows the time-honored Japanese tradition of communal dining. There are four long tables where people sit side-by-side, forming a phalanx of intensely focused patrons. Intensely focused on see RESTAURANTS, page 21
movie Preview
Summer 2014 full of potential blockbusters by Dan O'Leary Daily Editorial Board
tHe Western sKy viA FliCKr CreAtive CoMMons
tufts alumnus Gregory Maguire (lA ‘90) is the author behind the 'Wicked' franchise.
Tufts alumni enjoy esteemed careers in arts by Drew Robertson Daily Editorial Board
Each May another batch of Jumbos graduates, triggering an aura of optimism and nostalgia around campus. Students reflect on years spent at Tufts, while commencement celebrations remind us that this time is both a beginning and an end. Almost inevitably, moments spent reminiscing about the past lead to contemplations of that most intimidating and exciting topic: the future. As graduating seniors leave for every corner of the globe — whether they are terrified, excited or a little bit of both — it may also be helpful to remember Tufts alumni that have made the same leap, blazing trails in their fields and perhaps inspiring fellow Jumbos to achieve their own goals. (And, no, not all of them were science and engineering majors.)
After a particularly long winter in Boston, the cold has dissipated and spring is finally here. What better way to celebrate our new warm weather than by watching all sorts of things explode on a massive screen in surround sound? As usual, this summer's movie season is filled with spectacle and the expected blockbuster fare. With no current clear-cut frontrunner for box office champion, however, a few intriguing films may end up being breakout hits. To give you an idea of what to see this summer, the Daily Arts section has a roundup of this season’s upcoming movie slate.
The overachiever Best known as the author of the best-selling novel "Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West" (1995), which inspired the hit Broadway musical of the same name, Gregory Maguire (LA '90) earned his
Superheroes, superheroes, superheroes If there is one thing that the annual summer lineup proves, it is that we are living in the age of the superhero blockbuster. This summer will see no less than four comic book adaptations hitting screens, and studio executives are surely hoping to find the next billion dollar hit, á la "Iron Man 3" (2013) and "The Avengers" (2012). Leading the charge is "The Amazing Spider-Man 2," which premiered in American theaters a little over two weeks ago and brought in $92 million during its opening weekend. A sequel to the 2012 franchise reboot, "SpiderMan" finds Peter Parker (Andrew Garfield) balancing being a hero with other aspects of his life, including an ongoing relationship with Gwen Stacy (Emma Stone). In this latest outing, Spidey also finds himself battling not one, but three sepa-
see ALUMNI, page 21
see MOVIES, page 23
The following Tufts alumni have gained recognition for their flourishing arts and media careers, and each of their stories reminds us that success can come in many different forms. So, members of the Class of 2014, after you read about the accomplishments of some of our most esteemed alumni, look to your left and right, and see if you can spot the future stars in the sea of robes and tassels around you.
nd they lived happily ever after." When we were little, we all read those words at the end of our favorite fairy tales, or saw them spelled out in swirling letters during the final moments of one of the Disney princess movies we so raptly watched. Now that we're older and wiser, we should know better than to expect that good always wins. Yet we still hope for a happily ever after. We long for a glimmer of happiness in the darkest, grittiest places. Even when our beloved antiheroes sink further down into their spirals of self-destruction, we look for the saintly stranger who can save them. The idea of happily ever after is a trope too old for its origins to be discernible. In the oldest of myths, heroes like Perseus manage to overcome all obstacles, slay the monster and win over the princess. But the idea of happily ever after as we think of it today probably starts with fairy tales, one of the truly global forms of literature. One of the best examples is the story of Cinderella, which appears all over the world in similar yet varied forms: Our titular character wears golden slippers in Vietnam, moccasins in the Zuni tale of "The Turkey Herd" and the famous glass slippers in Charles Perrault's 1697 version. But no matter Cinderella's trials and tribulations, — even when her wicked stepsisters attempt to take her place — she ultimately marries her prince and finds happiness. There's something reassuring about the idea of happily ever after. It promises us that even after we close the book, the characters go on living harmoniously. A happily ever after is far from the kind of ambiguous endings that forever tug at the edges of our minds; it is a guarantee of safety and stability in a fictional world, when our reality is tumultuous. More than that, it's a kind of fictional immortality: The characters go on living as we age and change. With a happily ever after, we know that we can always return to the story, assured of and comforted by its ending. Most of all, a happy ending can be a daring choice. In our modern age of Don Drapers ( Jon Hamm) and Walter Whites (Bryan Cranston), where we worry more about the fates of well-loved antiheroes than those of the people they hurt, it's rather unusual to see a story where good wins, evil is defeated and everyone lives happily ever after. It's one of the reasons why ABC's "Once Upon a Time" (2011-present), with its mantra that "villains don't get happy endings" and its stubborn insistence on the innate goodness of its main characters, is so distinctive among scripted dramas. Often, it's the shows that are never considered for prestigious awards — the ones that people don't always admit they watch — that are willing to give their characters a happy ending. Another prime example here is "Gossip Girl" (2007-2012), a teen soap that most people rolled their eyes at even before they heard its latest plot twist, but which allowed its characters to have their happily ever after in the end. Maybe creators should be brave and dare to try a happy ending — to imagine that redemption is possible and that, sometimes, good can actually win. In an age when we're increasingly more unsure and insecure, perhaps we need the reassurance that, at the end of the day, everything will work out, and that even the most hopeless among us can eventually make the choice to be happy. Natalie Girshman is a rising junior majoring in history and drama. She can be reached at Natalie.Girshman@tufts.edu.
20 RyAN BUELL | ThE BEAT
Why i love hip-hop
A
side from the occasional Smash Mouth CD I purchased as a child, the first group that ever caught my attention — and the first band that I could ever say I was a fan of — was the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Their album "Stadium Arcadium" came out in 2006, when I was in the sixth grade. It was probably around that time that I first began listening to "Snow (Hey Oh)" and "Dani California," and a few months later, I began digging into the Chili Peppers collection via illegal Limewire downloads. The band got me through a particularly difficult point in my life by exposing me to a world I hardly knew existed: the world of music. As the years went by, my music preferences expanded and shifted, but the Chili Peppers remained a staple, something I could always turn to when nothing else was quite doing it for me. Then I found the Wu-Tang Clan. I was in the 10th grade when a friend played me a song off "Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)" (1997). I don't even remember what the song was, but something about Method Man — his charisma, his energy — caught my attention. "Is It Me," off his album "4:21 ... The Day After" (2006), was my first real hiphop obsession. I must have listened to that song nearly 100 times that summer. From there I was hooked; I began digging into the immense Wu-Tang collection. "Wu-Tang Forever" (1997) was an instant favorite, and GZA's "Liquid Swords" (1995) had a certain darkness that I'd never really felt in music before. My more hip-hop-inclined friends began turning me on to classic artists and albums — Nas, Tupac, 50 Cent. I started reading Wikipedia profiles of artists and downloading albums that I considered essential to building a rounded understanding of this newly discovered music and the culture surrounding it. A turning point came when Jay-Z and Kanye West released "Watch the Throne" in the summer of 2011, right before my senior year of high school. Up to that point I would have never considered listening to so-called mainstream hiphop. I was all about older rap, as well as music by lesser-known new-school artists — like the album "Section.80" (2011) from some guy by the name of Kendrick Lamar. However, the same friend convinced me that I had to listen to "Watch the Throne," and that Kanye and Jay-Z, despite their reputations for ego and excess, were making incredible music. And, just like Wu-Tang and the Chili Peppers before them, Jay and 'Ye changed my auditory world forever. Once again, I began digging into a new collection and analyzing every subtle inflection in the music. As much as I love the emotions that music evokes and the diverse but often universally applicable messages contained within lyrics, it is the sense of discovery and understanding that I love the most. Whether it's finding new groups or dissecting the meanings of songs I have heard countless times before, music to me is all about seeing the bigger picture, looking through the window into the artist's mind and understanding the world a little bit more because of it. For this, I would like to thank everyone who has encouraged me in writing this column this year: my editors, those who have read it and those that have even listened to some of the music I've written about. I don't think I could have articulated my passion for music without being forced to scrape together a coherent opinion on something — anything — hip-hop related each week. And above all, I would like to thank the musicians — from the Chili Peppers to Jay-Z, from the ones I have yet to discover to those making music in their basements just for the sake of it — for inspiring me and for making my world a more enjoyable one. Ryan Buell is a rising junior who is majoring in psychology. He can be reached at Ryan.Buell@tufts.edu.
The TufTs Daily
Sunday, May 18, 2014
arts & liviNG
Summer TV season offers up fresh entertainment by Dana Guth
Daily Editorial Board
Summer is right around the corner, and we all know what that means: lazy days, no homework and countless hours of guilt-free television binges. Luckily, just as your Netflix favorites are beginning to feel stale and overwatched due to excessive procrastination during finals, TV's best networks are roaring back with their annual assortment of summer debuts. Here is a rundown of the upcoming season's potential hits and misses. The inventive and promising Although summer television usually offers ample fluff and a general lack of substance, there are a few novel ideas in the mix this year. Premiering first is "Penny Dreadful" (May 11 on Showtime), a gothic horror series in which literature's creepiest villains, including Dorian Gray (Reeve Carney), Dr. Frankenstein (Harry Treadaway) and characters from "Dracula" (1897), are all brought together in Victorian London. The show promises excess violence and drama, along with what Showtime describes as a "literary flourish." On the lighter end of the spectrum is "Almost Royal" ( June 21), BBC America's first-ever original comedy series. The show will follow two British aristocrats as they visit the United States for the first time, and will provide an optimistic contrast to the dark sci-fi drama and fellow BBC America staple "Orphan Black" (2013-present). The star-studded Viewers will be treated to celebrityheavy casts this summer, with everyone from Halle Berry to Chris O'Dowd gracing the small screen. Many of these are shaping up to be promising comedies — or at least lighthearted guilty pleasures. Among these big-name projects is Amy Poehler's "Welcome to Sweden" (premieres July 10 on NBC), which will star the comedienne's own brother, Greg Poehler, as a devoted husband who follows his wife to her new job in Stockholm. So far, everything Poehler has touched has turned into TV gold, including "Parks and Recreation" (2009-present) and her latest success "Broad City," so fans can likely expect good things from this new venture. Next up is the debut of "RIOT" (May 13 on FOX), an improv comedy show
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Halle Berry will star as an astronaut grappling with emotional turmoil when she returns to earth in steven spielberg's 'extant.' produced by Steve Carrell's Carousel Television. The network says this show will literally test the players' minds and bodies "as they face song, dance and sketch challenges, all while navigating the ... set, tilted at a 22 degree angle." Following in this gimmicky vein is CeeLo Green's "The Good Life" (premieres June 23 on TBS), a new (and admittedly scripted)
reality show that follows the singer and his friends in their journey to release a longawaited album. Perhaps the most highly anticipated of these celebrity-sprinkled premieres will be "Extant" (July 9 on CBS). This new sci-fi drama features Berry as an astronaut who see PREMIERES, page 22
TOP 10 | hIP PLAcES TO BRINg yOUR fAMILy dURINg cOMMENcEMENT Hey, seniors! Are you looking for a way to convince your parents that Tufts’ outrageous tuition was worth it? Is Boston Burger Company just not cutting it for your preteen sister anymore? Are you upset that Grandma scoffs at the Museum of Bad Art in the basement of the Somerville Theater? Well, the Daily Arts Department has decided to compile a list of bizarre, exciting and, ultimately, super hip places to bring your families and loved ones during this exhilarating time. Take this opportunity to prove to your relatives that the suburbs of Boston are just as exciting as the city itself. 10.) Taza Chocolate Factory Tour: We know your mom is obsessed with all things fair trade, even if she doesn't quite understand what that means. Located just a short drive away from campus in Somerville, the Taza Chocolate Factory offers tours nearly every day of the week. Full of samples, charismatic employees and heavy machinery, the Taza Chocolate Factory tour is only $5 and is odd enough to be one of the highlights of your week. (Check out Taza's website at www.tazachocolate.com/Tours to make reservations.) 9.) Brattle Theater: Always screening independent and foreign movies, the Brattle Theater in Harvard Square is a great place to enjoy some challenging and exciting cinema. Known for its unique film series and retrospectives, the Brattle Theater will impress even the most preten-
tious film snob — we're looking at you, cousin in a Stanley Kubrick T-shirt. 8.) The Shops at Porter: Hidden in plain sight in Porter Square's shopping mall is a Korean and Japanese food court that boasts delicious, authentic Asian cuisine. What's more, the food is quick and cheap — a perfect lunch break for families with adventurous palates. 7.) High Energy Vintage: Tucked away in Teele Square, High Energy Vintage boasts an eclectic mix of clothing, shoes, CDs, cassettes and vintage video games. Perfect for a chagrined younger brother or wistful mother, High Energy Vintage is low-key homerun for relatives who have an affinity for outdated fashion and technology. 6.) True Grounds: Located in Ball Square right across the street from Sound Bites (the Mecca of brunch), True Grounds has an extensive coffee, tea, wrap and sandwich menu that features fresh, organic ingredients. For your crunchy, tree-hugging friends, True Grounds is the perfect choice for an early Sunday coffee. 5.) Guitar Stop: Just a few blocks from the Porter Square T station, Guitar Stop is a little music store with an impressive array of instruments, sheet music and musical accessories. With helpful employees and a chill atmosphere, Guitar Stop promises a fun experience for all music lovers.
4.) Porter Square Books: Another gem in Porter Square is Porter Square Books. With a nice variety of titles and a quaint café just inside its doors, Porter Square Books offers a relaxing environment for the eager and overwhelmed tourist. 3.) Nathan Tufts Park: Just off of Powderhouse Square, Nathan Tufts Park is a pleasing patch of green amidst Somerville's streets. With a historical relic and peaceful, shady places to sit, the park is great for a little sentimental reflection with friends and family. 2.) Comicazi: For fans of action figures, cartoons, classic comics, collectibles and cool T-shirts, Comicazi is a great place to stop when you find yourself in Davis Square. Just past The UPS Store on Highland Avenue, Comicazi is chock full of interesting characters and passionate nerds — the community is spectacularly inclusive and fun. 1.) Museum of Science, Boston: Okay, so we know this isn't necessarily close, but the Museum of Science is just off of the Green Line and hosts some great community events that are often cheap or free of charge. If you’re staying in the area for the week, we at the Daily strongly recommend you check out their free Friday night stargazing on the roof of the museum. — compiled by the Daily Arts Department
Sunday, May 18, 2014
The TufTs Daily
Gallery review
Carla Fernández combines traditional craftsmanship with modern aesthetics by Grace Hoyt Daily Staff Writer
"Carla Fernández: The Barefoot Designer," which opened on April 17, is a landmark show for the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum: It is the museum's first fashion exhibition. Born in Mexico in 1973, Fernández served as an artist in residence at the Gardner museum in 2013 and is known for her trademark ability to blend traditional Mexican elements with modern fashion. Her "Barefoot Designer" exhibition is a fusion of recent history and contemporary culture, encompassing a variety of textures and forms to create a colorful, dynamic experience. The exhibition actually begins outside the main gallery room with a timeline of Fernández's career displayed on a long wall. According to the museum text, Fernández studied art history in Mexico City and fashion design at a small school directed by a Spanish tailor who "had worked for the great couturier Cristóbal Balenciaga." The timeline highlights important moments in Fernández's life and fashion career, including the opening of her first store, the births of her children and the publication of "The Barefoot Designer: A Handbook," a 2013 book about her collaborative craftsmanship methodology and other fashion processes. Structural elements of the exhibit itself reflect Fernández's unique abilsee fERNÁNdEZ, page 22
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what, exactly? There's the rub. Upon finishing their meals, diners receive one of three ratings from the chef depending on how much of their meal they finished (from worst to best): "almost," "good job" or the much-coveted "perfect job." Eating at this restaurant is not for the faint of heart. But then, what true accomplishment ever is? Bistro 5 Located on 5 Playstead Rd. in our fair city of Medford, Bistro 5 is probably the best restaurant within a two-mile radius of Tufts. It's the kind of place that makes you rethink the way food should taste, and not in an experimental way. Bistro 5 is simply that good. The food is exquisite, and each bite is a symphony of flavors. With a dimly lit interior, a handsome wine menu and luxurious Italian cuisine, the only thing you'll dread is having to leave. Be wary, however: It's a ritzy joint, and business casual attire is recommended — they won't provide a blazer for anybody who arrives in a Hawaiian shirt. Ittoku On the off-chance that you feel like going to Allston (perhaps to experience the purgatorial delight of riding
dANI BENNETT | ScENES fROM SPAIN
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GrACielA iturBide / Courtesy MAttHeW derosier
Carla Fernandez's pieces combine traditional Mexican styles and contemporary fashion.
Boston's diverse eateries will satisfy, surprise customers RESTAURANTS
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the Green Line), there is a sake bar par excellence known as Ittoku, which is located at 1414 Commonwealth Ave. Boisterous and elegant, it combines all the thrill of informal dining with the atmosphere and cuisine of a refined venue. Ittoku is an authentic Izakaya -style pub, which, for the lay diner, basically means that it's a Japanese tapas bar. This spot is perfect for group dining, and even better for group partying. Of course, a more sober experience is easily and readily available. A small note: If you miss the Belgian waffle dessert, you essentially didn't go to this restaurant. Anna's Taqueria In "Sideways" (2004), Paul Giamatti ends up drinking that '61 Cháteau Cheval Blanc out of a Styrofoam cup in some anonymous dive. Point being: Forgive the earlier aspersion to Davis Square's own Anna's Taqueria. Because, all things considered, there may not be time for candlelight and blueberry goat cheese during a hectic graduation day. People need fallbacks — places that don't judge and always deliver. Anna's is your best bet for something quick, filling and delicious. Humility is the final virtue; bring a nice wine and make an occasion of it. Anna's is always there for us.
AntHony MArtinez / tHe tuFts dAily
the Belgian waffle dessert at Allston sake bar ittoku is not to be missed.
Fellow successful Jumbos can inspire graduates ALUMNI
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Ph.D. in English and American literature from Tufts. Although he is a respected writer and teacher of fiction, fantasy and children's literature, Maguire said in a 2006 interview with Barnes & Noble that there were a variety of career paths he could have pursued. If not a writer, he might have been "an artist (watercolors), a singer/songwriter like Paul Simon (taller but not very much more), an architect (domestic), [or] a teacher." "Actually, in one way or another I have done all of the above," he said. The prodigy Renowned as both a musician and a social activist, Tracy Chapman (LA '87) graduated from Tufts with a B.A. in anthropology and African studies. On May 23, 2004, she was awarded an honorary degree in fine arts from Tufts at that year's commencement ceremony. Upon presenting the award, then-president Lawrence Bacow recognized Chapman's music, which he said "underscores the importance of conscience and reveals the power of poetry." As an undergraduate, Chapman performed at Boston venues and recorded songs at WMFO. In 1988, one year after graduating, she released her first album, "Tracy Chapman." Today, the singer-songwriter has multiple platinum records and four Grammy awards to her name. Her biggest hits include "Fast Car" (1988) and "Give Me One Reason" (1995). The kid who sort of, kind of, actually made it Although future comedic actor Hank Azaria (LA '85) walked the stage with classmates on his graduation day, he was actually two credits short of graduating. It took a few more years, and some credits earned at the University of California, Los Angeles, for him to receive his degree in drama. Since then, he has won four Emmys and a Screen Actors Guild Award, among other honors. Notably, he has acted as the voice of multiple characters in "The Simpsons" (1990-present) and teamed up with fellow Jumbo Oliver Platt (LA '83) to create the critically acclaimed television drama "Huff" (2004-2006). Though it may have seemed an unlikely achievement in 1985, Azaria was given the Light on the Hill Award in 1999, a testament to years of hard work and an undeniable gift for making people laugh.
or this column, I am keeping in mind the imminent end of the semester. Though it is rapidly coming to a close — and this commencement issue of the Daily indicates that the seniors are about to become alumni — I'd prefer to gaze optimistically into the future, instead of offering a borderline depressing look at the past. To all graduating seniors, especially those who did not have the opportunity to study abroad their junior year, or who have not taken a gap year: Consider making travel a part of your post-graduation activities. This is not a novel concept for you, and I'm fully aware of that — but I just want to reiterate this point. Find an internship or a job abroad. You're a Tufts student, and you most likely took a language at some point. Go to one of the countries that speaks that language! You could teach English or find a different job through the Tufts Career Center. Contrary to popular belief, this is possible and affordable — and all it takes is some creativity and thick skin. Just think about it. One place you might consider going is Spain, whether or not you have any proficiency in Spanish. If you fall into the latter category, you will inevitably learn an incredible amount just by living there — and, more importantly, the place is fascinating for those interested in economics, foreign policy, history and culture, among other things. You will learn what it's really like to watch an FC Barcelona-Real Madrid soccer game, replete with the infamously crazed fans and emotional players. You will see the late-night eating habits, the real siestas and the paella con mariscos (paella with seafood). You will hear about the conservative Catholic masses and listen to complaints of Spain's poor economic climate (and how Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy isn't really helping). You will experience the "dos besos" greeting style, in which people give each other two kisses on either cheek. And if you're in a big group, the first few minutes of any given meet-up could consist entirely of "dos besos" because, in Spain's collectivist culture, the group mentality is very real. As for any potential relationships with a non-native English speaker, I implore you to go that extra mile. While it may be mentally draining to speak English with someone who has trouble making complete phrases, you will change their language proficiency exponentially by carrying on a conversation. I can't count the number of Spaniards who have taken even five minutes out of their day to talk to me, a non-native speaker. Plus, there is a fair amount that is in it for you. The next time you meet a non-native speaker, ask them about their family traditions and culture. Your cultural awareness will also grow exponentially, much more so than if you had simply read a chapter in a textbook about the same subject. Reading about a Spanish bullfight is not the same as listening to a Spaniard recount one, and skimming an article about Spain's economic climate is not the same as hearing a personal story from someone whose family was affected by la crisis (which is how Spaniards refer to their country's economic situation). Again, I know you would probably do many of these things anyway, or at least think about them, but this is just a reminder to keep an open mind and to explore via experiential learning, in whatever way possible. Hasta luego y buena suerte en el futuro, amigos! (Until next time, and good luck in the future, friends!)
Dani Bennett is a rising senior who is majoring in English and spent this semester abroad in Spain. She can be reached at Danielle.Bennett@tufts.edu.
22 Nash simPsoN | throwblack thursday
one step back, two steps forward
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hese are the times of a slow and drawn-out death of racism in America. But the fact of the matter is that it is still alive, albeit in forms that can be nearly impossible to see and, therefore, difficult to protest. Recently, the owner of the Los Angeles Clippers, Donald Sterling, purportedly made intensely bigoted comments about black people to his 31-year-old girlfriend, V. Stiviano, while she recorded their conversation. Even though he may have believed at the time that he was expressing his racist views to only one person, the fact of the matter is that any man of his position simply cannot hold such opinions. Sterling stated on the recording that, as his lover, Stiviano should avoid being seen with black people on Instagram because he felt embarrassed by it. According to Sterling, people were calling him to complain about the photos, and he felt compelled to heed to their expectations. Sterling went as far as to request that Stiviano not bring black people to his games. Maybe if a normal person had said something like this we could just shake our heads and move on with our lives. But Donald Sterling is no normal person. He is the owner of an NBA team with an estimated worth around $575 million, though some place the number higher. Furthermore, Sterling is a key figure in the NBA, a league where in any given season 70 to 80 percent of the players are black. To allow an even privately racist man to lead such an organization would be akin to supporting the age-old dynamic of black laborers being tolerated and perhaps even glorified, as long as they stay in their place of subservience: "I support them," Sterling said to Stiviano, "and give them food, and clothes, and cars and houses ... Do I make the game, or do they make the game?" Wow, great question, Don! I'm sure you're an expert at shooting 3-pointers. In the infamous recording, Sterling insisted that he doesn't think there's anything wrong with minorities and even says he loves blacks. Loves blacks as long as they make him money? Hmm, where have we heard that train of thought before? It's 2014, not 1814. By banning him from the league for life, the NBA admirably took a firm stance against the type of lingering racism illustrated by Sterling's rant. It challenged the status quo that allowed people to complain to Sterling about how it's somehow distasteful for his girlfriend to be in a photo with a black person, who — by way — happened to be Magic Johnson. It was important for NBA commissioner Adam Sliver, the owners of the teams and the players alike to set a precedent by publicly dissociating themselves from Sterling. In doing so, they directly countered the oft-ignored culture of accepted hush-hush racism. This action sends a powerful message to the all the Sterlings left in the world who secretly bolster a professional sports culture that closely parallels slavery. Those who haven't gotten the message yet need to learn that today, whether they like it or not, the death of racism is imminent. The cultural phenomenon that author William C. Rhoden calls the "40 million dollar slave" is a very real manifestation of modern racism, which comfortably hides under the cloak of universal colorblindness or a general refusal to acknowledge race. Just like members of the NBA, we, as American citizens, should openly discuss these issues. We, as a society, must face the problem of this lingering bigotry by embracing the dialogue on race. Kudos to the NBA. Now it remains to be seen whether the rest of us will follow suit.
Nash Simpson graduates today with a degree in English. He can be reached at Nash.Simpson@tufts.edu.
The TufTs Daily
Sunday, May 18, 2014
arts & liviNG
New summer series range from poignant to bizarre PREMIERES
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returns to Earth and attempts to reconnect with her loved ones. With Steven Spielberg as the executive producer, "Extant" will certainly add some gravitas to this summer's lineup. The intriguingly weird With every new TV season comes a fresh batch of oddball shows that make us wonder whether there was any real demand for these pilots or if our favorite networks have just run out of ideas. Either way, for those with loads of free time and no shame, this summer will provide a good amount of bizarre reality fodder to keep viewers laughing and scratching their heads. Most notable of these premieres might be The Discovery Channel's "Alaskan Bush People" (May 6), which centers on a family living in the wilderness of Alaska's Copper River Valley. This clan, comprised of a husband, a wife and seven children, is so removed from society that six to nine months may pass before the group has any contact with outsiders. After the government seizes their cabin, these so-called "Alaskan Bush People" move even further into the wild. As an added bonus, they refer to themselves as the "wolf pack." If this show is ridiculous enough, it might just rival the success of A&E's "Duck Dynasty" (2012-present). At the very least, it's guaranteed to provide some good laughs. Finally, this summer marks the arrival of VH1's brainchild "Dating Naked" (July 17), the title of which is not a metaphor: Contestants will, quite literally, shed their clothes to go on two dates in a remote location, after which they will choose the most worthy suitor. The network is attempting to pass this off as a genuine human interest piece, describing the premise as "what it really means to be naked in the search for love ... no clothing, no jewelry, no phones or conventions of society. Just you." Nice try.
WorldsCreen.CoM viA FliCKr CreAtive CoMMons
Greg Poehler will see some time in the limelight as the protagonist of sister Amy's new comedy 'Welcome to sweden.'
Fernández's exhibit engages viewers at Gardner museum fERNÁNdEZ
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ity to work with a diverse collection of mediums. The wall to the left of the exhibition's first room includes a map of Mexico. It is a wooden cutout of the country, and certain areas of significance to Fernández are marked with colorful identifiers. Below the map is a shelf lined with books that relate to textile work that is influential in Fernández's own designs. The exhibit also features videos by filmmaker Ramiro Chavez that depict the meticulous design and production process of clothes-making — the dark, dynamic space where they are projected contrasts nicely with the stark, white wall where the map and books are located. The highlight of the exhibition, however, is situated in the Hostetter Gallery, which is part of a recently renovated wing of the museum. High ceilings with long hanging lights mirror the well-known central courtyard in the main part of the museum, and floor-to-ceiling windows look out over a lush yard. Indeed, this space provides beautiful lighting for the exhibit, which makes the viewing experience that much more engaging. The room includes several freestanding rectangular, wood-framed units with wheels. These stand at varying of heights and are painted different colors, including light purple, teal and aquamarine. Others are not painted, but instead feature a photograph of Fernández's work. Like the map of Mexico, the wooden texture is repeated in the frames of these modules. Mannequins — as well as other multimedia works — are attached to the wood-framed units, and this contrast of colors and textures works well with Fernández' own complex pieces. One rectangle's photograph has strands of orange yarn cascading over it that drape down below the frame. An article of clothing hangs on one unit, while, elsewhere, a bright red mannequin is adorned with clothes, a mask and a wooden cane. When seen after watching the exhibition's videos, each garment seems all the more complex and impressive.
CleMents PHotoGrAPHy And desiGn / Courtesy MAttHeW derosier
the blend of colors and textures on these wood-framed units reflects Fernández's own multifaceted work. This show exemplifies Fernández's ability to transform traditional Mexican fashion into something new and dynamic. As explained on the museum's website, one of Fernández's methods is called "the Square Root," which is "based on the Mexican tradition of creating clothing with squares and rectangles." According to the website, this approach "highlights the styles and techniques of five states: Chiapas, Yucatán, Campeche, the State of Mexico and Mexico City." The Gardner website also features a particularly fitting quote from Fernández: "I want people to understand that you can find happiness many different ways, and one way is by creating goods by hand and making things unique to the artist ... You can create a whole economy based on the artists, and how their work is made." Fernández's passion for the process of
creating — along with her love for mobility of mediums, history and culture — is evident throughout her show. The museum has developed special programming in conjunction with the exhibition. On April 17, the museum hosted an opening reception that provided music, drinks and crafts for visitors. A talk given by Fernández herself followed on April 19. Additional events have included a lecture by curator Marta Turok and writer Marcella Echavarría, as well as thematic tours and drop-in "mobile textile labs," in which viewers can see the process of conserving textiles. These exciting events have helped attract even more attention to an already incredible show. Hopefully, Carla Fernández's innovative "Barefoot Designer" exhibit will spawn a renewed respect for cultural traditions in the fashion world.
Sunday, May 18, 2014
The TufTs Daily
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rate villains ( Jamie Foxx, Dane DeHaan and Paul Giamatti). While some believe that the "Spider-Man" franchise is growing stale, two other comic book adaptations promise to be bold, or at least not boring, risks this summer. First up is "X-Men: Days of Future Past" (May 23), which finds Bryan Singer returning to the fold to direct his third "X-Men" project. What makes this latest entry unique, however, is that it unites the casts from the original "X-Men" trilogy (2000, 2003, 2006) and 2011's "X-Men: First Class" reboot in a dystopian future timeline that finds mutants on the brink of extinction. While it remains to be seen how the film will pull off a complex plot involving time travel, just seeing Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen together on screen should be worth the price of admission. Then there is the year's second offering from Marvel Studios, which has recently seen both critical and commercial success with last month's "Captain America: The Winter Soldier." This time, however, none of the heroes featured in "Guardians of the Galaxy" (Aug. 1) are household names. Possibly Marvel's riskiest venture to date, "Guardians" is a scifi comic book adaptation that includes a talking raccoon and a tree-like alien among its various team members. This may not seem like the recipe for box office success, but if viewers and critics have learned anything over these past few years, it's to never bet against Marvel. Non-superhero explosions In other summer movie news, there will indeed be blockbusters that don't feature any superheroes at all. Perhaps the most promising of these is "Godzilla," which opened on Friday. After a lengthy absence, the famous city-destroying movie monster returns to the big screen. It would be easy to write the film off as a campy remake, but this "Godzilla" should not go overlooked. Indeed, every "Godzilla" trailer released prior to this weekend's debut has featured a serious edge, full of ten-
Courtesy niKo tAvernise / sony PiCtures
'the Amazing spider-Man 2' is one of the many superhero films making its way to screens this summer. sion-filled shots of the carnage wrought in cities and only occasional glimpses of the titular monster (who also happens to be awe-inspiringly massive). On top of that, the film stars Bryan Cranston, who lends it much more credibility. Heisenberg vs. Godzilla: It's happening, folks. A couple other science fiction films will be competing with "Godzilla" this summer. After 2011's highly successful franchise reboot, the sequel "Dawn of the Planet of the Apes" (July 11) continues the story of leader Caesar (Andy Serkis), as he leads a nation of genetically enhanced apes. The sequel takes place a decade after the events of the first film, and will examine how the remaining human survivors (including Gary Oldman and Jason Clarke) struggle against the apes for control of the planet. This summer's third sci-fi offering comes courtesy of the
Wachowski siblings (filmmaking duo Lana and Andy) with "Jupiter Ascending" (July 18), which follows janitor Jupiter Jones (Mila Kunis) as she realizes the destiny that her genetic code has given her. With previews that promise fascinating visuals, "Jupiter" could be a return to form for "The Matrix" (1999) directors.
ultimately end up as soulless affairs, aiming for the lowest common denominator. Need further proof? The first trailer for "Transformers" ends with a shot of Optimus Prime (voiced by Peter Cullen) riding a robot T-Rex. Let the sheer ridiculousness of that image sink in, and then run far, far away.
Bad vibes Unfortunately for moviegoers, not all blockbusters are created equal. And no one understands this better than Michael Bay, who has arrived just in time to rain on everyone's parade with not just one, but two productions this summer. Producing a liveaction "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" (Aug. 8) and returning to direct "Transformers: Age of Extinction" ( June 27), there's a good chance that — based on his track record — they'll
For your inner child Many students here today are about to enter the post-Tufts real world, but sometimes it's good to feel like a kid again. And often the best opportunities to reconnect with your inner child come in the form of films made for children and young adults. (For example, many graduating seniors will still associate "Toy Story 3" with leaving high school in 2010). The end of the month will see Angelina Jolie return to the big screen for the first time in four years as the titular character in Disney's "Maleficent" (May 30) — a live-action adaptation focusing on the villain from Disney's animated "Sleeping Beauty" (1959). Nearly two weeks later, the sequel to 2010's critical and commercial smash hit "How to Train Your Dragon" will continue the adventures of Hiccup (Jay Baruchel) and his dragon, Toothless. Perhaps the most highly anticipated young adult film of the summer is the adaptation of John Green's 2012 bestselling novel "The Fault in Our Stars" ( June 6). The movie follows 16-year-old cancer patient Hazel Grace (Shailene Woodley), who falls in love with fellow teen Augustus (Ansel Elgort) at a cancer support group.
Courtesy KiMBerley FrenCH / WArner Bros. PiCtures
'Godzilla,' starring Bryan Cranston, looks to be one of this season's largest spectacles.
Laughin' it up Believe it or not, Tufts actually has an — admittedly minor — role to play in one of this season's upcoming comedies. Scenes from "Sex Tape" ( July 25), featuring stars Cameron Diaz and Jason Segel, were shot on Tufts' campus last semester. Alas, while the Jumbo spirit will only be felt in one film this summer, there are numerous other comedies making their way to theaters. Last week saw the release of summer's first comedy with "Neighbors," which had been riding a wave of critical buzz
since first screening at Austin's South by Southwest festival earlier this year. The film features a face-off between Seth Rogen and Zac Efron, with Rogen starring alongside Rose Byrne as a couple with a newborn baby caught in constant conflict with the fraternity that moves in next door. Efron, naturally, leads the frat. Rounding out the comedy slate this summer is Seth McFarlane's "A Million Ways to Die in the West" (May 30) — which looks to be a Western comedy in the spirit of Mel Brooks' "Blazing Saddles" (1974) — and "22 Jump Street" ( June 13), in which Channing Tatum and Jonah Hill return as undercover cops, this time infiltrating a local college. The indie alternatives In case you were looking for a low-key alternative to some of this summer's bigger movies, there are a few upcoming indie films to fit the bill. From the director of moviemusical "Once" (2006) comes "Begin Again" ( July 4), which tells the story of a singer-songwriter (Keira Knightley) who bonds with a music business exec (Mark Ruffalo). Much like "Once," "Begin Again" looks to have an impressive soundtrack — though whether it will also be adapted for Broadway remains to be seen. Additionally, Zach Braff returns to the director's chair with "Wish I Was Here" ( July 18). The former "Scrubs" (20012010) leading man will also star in this production as a struggling actor and father who starts homeschooling his children. By far the most intriguing film of the bunch (and perhaps of the entire summer) is "Boyhood" (July 11), which has already earned rave reviews at early screenings. Director Richard Linklater cast the film's protagonist Mason (Ellar Coltrane) back in 2002 and filmed the movie over 12 years with the same cast, so audiences can literally see Mason grow as he progresses through childhood. Watching the same actor actually mature and develop on screen is a groundbreaking experience, and one that will likely make "Boyhood" one of the most memorable films of the summer.
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Captured: Spring Fling 2014
Photos by: Nick Pfosi
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Sunday, May 18, 2014
Four Years in review
Four Years MEREDITH KLEIN / TUFTS DAILY ARCHIVES
ALEXANDRA GOLDMAN / TUFTS DAILY ARCHIVES
The 2010-11 academic year was one of many transitions for the university. In November, Tufts announced that Anthony Monaco, a former professor of human genetics and the then-pro-vice-chancellor for planning and resources at the University of Oxford, would replace Larry Bacow as president. In an interview with the Daily, Monaco spoke about his excitement with joining Tufts' community, and said that his priorities for the coming years included bettering the undergraduate experience, moving the university toward need-blind admissions and enhancing Tufts' focus on active citizenship, particularly with an international perspective. Along with President Lawrence Bacow, several other longtime administrators left the university. Provost and Senior Vice President Jamshed Bharucha, Dean Robert Hollister of the Jonathan M. Tisch College of Citizenship and Public Service, Dean Eileen Kennedy of the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy and Dean Lonnie Norris of the School of Dental Medicine all announced their departures from the university. Upon annoucing his departure, Bahrucha said in a May 21, 2011 Daily article, "I leave Tufts feeling very, very fulfilled. I've been part of something great."
JENNA LIANG / TUFTS DAILY ARCHIVES
At the beginning of the year, the university announced a change to its alcohol policy. While any alcohol offense would have formerly placed an offender on level-one disciplinary probation, the new policy differentiated between types of offenses and offered two new tracks for disciplinary action. Dean of Student Affairs Bruce Reitman suggested that many of the changes came as a result of a lengthy, on-campus discussion on the merits of the previous, more severe policy. Dining Services also made several significant changes by eliminating trays from all of Tufts' dining halls and other campus eateries following efforts by environmentalist groups on campus. In March of 2011, the university announced that 2010’s Naked Quad Run (NQR) would be the university's last. The tradition, in which students ran naked around the Residential Quad to mark the end of the fall semester and beginning of exams, had to stop, according to then-President Bacow, due to the risks to student safety resulting from alcohol consumption, icy conditions and freezing temperatures. In an op-ed submitted to the Daily, Bacow suggested that this was the only choice he could make, and that "... NQR would end some day. The only question is whether a student has to
COURTESY CAROLINE RAMIREZ
2010-2011 die first." Reactions from students were mixed: Some engaged in protest runs around the Residential Quad, while others agreed with Bacow's position. In response to student demands and the passage of a resolution by the Tufts Community Union Senate, the university, led by Dean of the School of Arts and Sciences Joanne Berger-Sweeney, announced the creation of a task force on African Diaspora studies. At the time, Berger-Sweeney suggested that her preference was not to create an entirely new department, but to break down barriers between existing departments to better address the issues of academic diversity and inclusion. After the annoucement, several dozen students gathered on the Academic Quad during the Office of Undergraduate Admission's April Open House event wearing T-shirts reading "Ask me about white privilege at Tufts" or "Ask me about being a student of color at Tufts." Students spoke to prospective freshmen and handed out flyers detailing their personal and collective experiences at the university. Dean of Undergraduate Admissions Lee Coffin said that the students' actions were harmful to the cause of furthering diversity at Tufts and
that the April Open House was the wrong venue for such a protest. Issues surrounding race at Tufts also emerged after a safety alert was sent out to students regarding an African-American male carrying what one caller to the Tufts University Police Department thought was a gun, but was actually a ratchet wrench. Several students, in both op-eds printed in the Daily and posters placed around campus, suggested that the incident was reflective of a greater problem of incidents of racial bias at the university. Several notable speakers came to campus this year, including Representative Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) for the Alan D. Solomont Lecture, journalist and news anchor Katie Couric at the Edward R. Murrow Forum and author and journalist Bob Woodward for the Richard E. Snyder Presidential Lecture Series. Finally, the Class of 2011 was replaced by the Class of 2015, which boasted some of Tufts' most impressive admission statistics to that point. The university's acceptance rate dropped from 24.5 to 22 percent because of a nearly 11 percent increase in applicants from the previous year. Demographically, the Class of 2015 was very similar to 2014 and financial aid remained near the previous year's level.
2011-2012
VIRGINIA BLEDSOE / TUFTS DAILY ARCHIVES
JUSTIN MCCALLUM / TUFTS DAILY ARCHIVES
The 2011-12 academic year saw a new face at the helm of Tufts University. Following a decade of service to the school, University President Emeritus Lawrence Bacow was officially succeeded by University President Anthony Monaco on Aug. 1, 2011. In his first semester at Tufts, Monaco was forced to deal with a number of controversial issues on campus. With the cancelation of the Naked Quad Run (NQR) the previous year, Monaco stood behind President Bacow's decision to shut down the longtime tradition. Tufts Programming Board created a weekend-long series of events called WinterFest as a replacement for NQR, but due to a lackluster turnout that December the festivities were discontinued the following year. Monaco also faced backlash from students who were dissatisfied with the newly formed Africana studies program. The program had been created in September, but just months later in November students marched to Ballou Hall, occupied an administrative office and presented a list of demands for the fledgling program to Monaco, Dean of the School of Arts and Sciences Joanne Berger-Sweeney and interim Vice President Peggy Newell. After two hours of negotiations, students and administrators signed an agreement that, among other things, stipulated that three tenure-track faculty members would be hired and ensured that student input would be incorporated throughout the academic program's ongoing development. The fall also saw off-campus protests pick up steam. By October, the Occupy Wall Street movement had swept the city. A Tufts Occupy Boston group sprang up, and some members participated in marches in both Harvard
Yard and downtown Boston, joining the hundreds of other citizens protesting corporate corruption, the inequity of the American economic system and the lack of affordable education in the United States. Though the movement lost traction in the spring, many Tufts Occupiers continued to participate in demonstrations, the most notable of which was a kiss-in protesting student debt, which was held in Dewey Square in April. Amid the Occupy Boston campaign, a number of incidents related to freedom of speech also cropped up back on campus. In September, Keith Ablow, an assistant professor at the School of Medicine, published an editorial on Fox News’ website that was widely considered discriminatory against transgender people. Many questioned Ablow's association with the university, and some called for his resignation. In the wake of the fallout, Monaco and several other administrators responded with an open letter on Sept. 19, 2011 that reaffirmed Tufts' commitment to providing "a learning environment that is free from discrimination or harassment" but simultaneously acknowledged that the university "supports the freedom to express and test ideas through vigorous debate and criticism." After Tufts Friends of Israel published a full-page advertisement in the Daily featuring the signatures of seven Tufts Community Union (TCU) Senators, members of Tufts' Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) filed a complaint with the TCU Judiciary (TCUJ). SJP alleged that the senators had violated a Senate bylaw that barred members from using the body's name to promote causes not already approved by the Senate — in this case, the support of the relation-
ship between the U.S. and Israel. TCUJ ultimately ruled that the senators who signed the ad did so as individuals and did not intend to represent the Senate as a whole. Consequently, they were not in violation of the bylaws. Even Spring Fling featured controversy surrounding freedom of expression. After wearing matching tank tops with the phrase "Check out our cox" — a joke referring to the crew position of filed against the men's crew team. The team was initially suspended, but the decision was later overturned by President Monaco. Many Greek organizations saw housing changes in the fall. After a spring semester party left its residence severely damaged, Sigma Phil Epsilon lost its house on 114 Curtis St. Delta Upsilon returned to its residence at 114 Professors Row in September after members were forced to move out for structural repairs earlier in the semester. Alpha Epsilon Pi left its temporary residence at 98 Professors Row, which had formerly belonged to Delta Tau Delta (DTD), and relocated to 45 Sawyer Ave. DTD returned to Professors Row in October following major renovations to the building. Over the course of the year, Tufts also welcomed several renowned speakers to campus, including NBC Nightly News anchor Brian Williams, Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Michael Oren, Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley, Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick and former White House Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove. Rove's visit, in particular, made waves on the Hill; a group of students protested his alleged support of torture by staging a waterboarding reenactment outside of Cohen Auditorium.
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Four Years in review
In Review
—by Stephanie Haven, Jamie Hoagland and Caroline Welch
2012-2013 Bookended by natural and manmade disasters, 2012-13 was hardly a slow news year on the Hill. Tufts Christian Fellowship (TCF), the university's chapter of a national evangelical Christian organization, was at the center of a months-long debate over religious expression and discrimination. Tufts Community Union Judiciary (TCUJ) derecognized TCF after finding that the group's constitution barred students from applying to leadership positions unless they followed a strict list of tenets. TCF appealed the decision to the Committee on Student Life (CSL), which then allowed religious groups to apply for a "justified departure" from the university's nondiscrimination policy. Many students were outraged by the decision, which the TCU Senate condemned in two resolutions. As Provost David Harris began his position at Tufts in the fall and the search continued for a new dean of the Jonathan M. Tisch College of Citizenship and Public Service,
MEGAN MARRS VIA FLICKR CREATIVE COMMONS MARC NOZELL VIA FLICKR CREATIVE COMMMONS
the university community turned its focus to finding a leader outside the Hill. In the months leading up to November’s presidential election, Tufts Democrats actively campaigned for then-candidate Elizabeth Warren, who successfully ran against Republican Scott Brown (LA ’81) to fill Secretary of State John Kerry's Senate seat. Tufts Republicans, on the other hand, teamed up with a statewide organization, Students for Scott Brown, to support the Tufts alumnus, who had previously served in the Senate from 2004 to 2010. Tufts Votes, a nonpartisan group, worked to increase voter registration overall. On election day, however, some students who had registered to vote at Gantcher Center were told their names weren’t on the voter rolls. Later in the day, those individuals were able to vote using provisional ballots. Hundreds of students gathered in the Mayer Campus Center as election results came in. The crowd erupted twice in the night: first
In its final year at Tufts, the Class of 2014 witnessed a marked difference in universitysponsored social events, as the administration reformed myriad traditions in the wake of alcohol-related misconduct. The last class to remember the Naked Quad Run, the seniors witnessed the transformation of both Fall Ball and Winter Bash to Fall Gala and Winter Ball, with earlier start times and fewer tickets sold to discourage excessive drinking. The kicker came last December when Tufts University Police Department (TUPD) shut down Tufts Dance Collective's (TDC) biannual show. TUPD cut the show short after multiple alcohol-related medical calls, as well as unsafe and unsanitary conditions within Cohen Auditorium. Though many students thought this might be the end of TDC, the spring show was not canceled. Instead, it was restructured the following semester with the performances starting earlier. Despite the changes to these classic Tufts activities, some aspects of the social landscape did improve. Recently, the MBTA implemented late-night weekend service, and many members of the senior class ventured into Boston to take advantage of the T's new closing time of 3 a.m. Back in Medford, Tufts Community Union (TCU) Senator Isabella Kahhalé, a rising sophomore, worked with Dining Services to launch late-night dining at the Commons Deli and Grill in January. Unfortunately, rowdy and disrespectful crowds caused the Commons to roll back their newly extended hours from 2 a.m. to 1 a.m. in April. In other TCU Senate initiatives, graduating senior Senator Andrew Hunter organized a number of successful "buy-outs" of the Hotung Café mini-fridge, as part of his campaign to create an on-campus pub. Tufts bid adieu to many long-time members of the administration this spring. In
when television networks declared now-Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) victorious, and again when it was clear that incumbent President Barack Obama had won a second term. Two months after the Steve Tisch Sports and Fitness Center opened on Sept. 1, Hurricane Sandy swept across the university's three campuses, closing school for a day. The Grafton campus lost power, but there were only minor electricity issues on the Medford/Somerville campus, where a couple of trees fell due to the strong winds. Several public safety incidents influenced changes in campus policy, including revamped nighttime ride services — known as SafeRide — from the Department of Public and Environmental Safety and a new video security system on all three of Tufts' campuses. Somerville and Public Safety officials also installed a speed radar sign, pedestrian crossing signs and a new LED traffic light at the intersection of Powderhouse Boulevard and Packard Avenue,
late March, Dean of the School of Arts and Sciences Joanne Berger-Sweeney announced that she would leave Tufts in June to become the next president of Trinity College, and in January, Associate Provost Mary Lee decided to step down after 27 years of service to the school. The university also mourned the death of three faculty and community members: Assistant Director of Tufts Career Services Donna Milmore and Professor of English Emeritus Jesper Rosenmeier, as well as Anne Heyman, a board member of Tufts Hillel. Tufts hosted a number of famous speakers over the course of the school year. As part of the ninth annual Edward R. Murrow Forum, Arianna Huffington discussed the changing nature of journalism and the growing popularity of online media. Saturday Night Live's Kenan Thompson also visited the Hill in April for Tufts Entertainment Board's spring comedy event. Some guests, including Rwandan President Paul Kagame and United States Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia sparked controversy. Scalia, who spoke at the Richard E. Snyder President's Lecture Series about interpreting the Constitution, prompted a group of approximately 20 students to protest the event outside of Gantcher Center. Controversy was not just limited to visiting speakers at Tufts, as many highly debated issues came to a head during the 2013-14 year. In February, the Committee on Student Life announced major changes its December 2012 "justified departure" policy. The policy now requires all Religious and Philosophical Student Organizations (RPSOs) to adhere to the TCU Judiciary's non-discrimination policy, and has redefined the roles of the TCU Judiciary and the Tufts University Chaplaincy in the RPSO recognition process. This year's TCU presidential elections also generated some buzz after the Tufts Election
CAROLING GEILING / THE TUFTS DAILY
where a student had been struck by a car and hospitalized on Nov. 8. Public safety, both from Tufts and Boston, was also involved in the year's then-annual Winter Bash, where approximately 15 students received treatment for excessive intoxication. Because of the high volume of individuals who required assistance, Boston EMS classified the event as a mass casualty incident. The Westin Copley Place Boston Hotel refused to host Winter Bash again, and the university planned to revise the event for future years. For the TCU Senate, the spring semester kickoff began with the addition of a community representative for the Women's Center and resolutions that pushed Tufts’ administration to revise several important policies. The task force on alcohol policy responded in April, submitting a plan for a Good Samaritan amnesty policy and a modified medical amnesty policy. Then-junior Joe Thibodeau won the TCU Senate presidential race in
Commission (ECOM) experienced technological problems with a new electronic voting system. ECOM was unable to declare a winner until 12 hours after voting had concluded. The similarities between the two presidential candidates’ platforms — rising seniors Robert Joseph and Andew Núñez — compelled rising senior Ben Kurland to create a website and Facebook page for a fake "Generic Candidate." Kurland initially remained anonymous, but revealed his identity toward the end of the race, explaining that the project was a “way to ... raise a discussion about what it means to be at a school where your two choices are so similar.” Robert Joseph was declared the eventual winner of the election. On the last day of classes, the Department of Education's Office of Civil Rights (OCR) revealed that Tufts was in violation of Title IX in its handling of sexual assault on campus. Following a four-year investigation of a 2010 student-filed Title IX complaint, Tufts signed a voluntary agreement with the OCR on April 17, in which it pledged to make various changes to its sexual assault policy. The university “revoked” its agreement on April 26 after the OCR informed Tufts of its Title IX violation. The announcement triggered a protest — the marched around Ballou Hall for more than three hours. Twelve of the march's organizers met with the Tufts administration to discuss the school's Title IX compliance. Students and administrators released a joint statement at the end of the day in which Tufts promised to create several new positions to aid students through the process and announced a plan to review the sexual assault policy over the summer. University President Anthony Monaco has met with Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Catherine Lhamon and submitted changes, which he said put Tufts back in compliance.
April. Voter turnout increased from 49.79 percent the previous year to 57.5 percent. As the semester wound down, an event held a few T stops away became the year's defining day. As Tufts Marathon Team members ran from Hopkinton to Boston, and students cheered along the sidewalks, the Boston Marathon became the site of tragedy as two bombs exploded, seconds apart, by the finish line. The Tufts community banded together in the aftermath to support the runners and the victims. School closed on Friday of that week as Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick put Boston on lockdown to allow police to search door-to-door in Watertown, Mass. for Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, one of two brothers who set off the bombs on Marathon Monday. His brother died in a shoot-out with police the night before, after killing MIT police officer Sean Collier. Police found the younger Tsarneav in a boat behind a Watertown house that Friday night.
2013-2014
NICHOLAS PFOSI PHOTOGRAPHY
ETHAN CHAN / THE TUFTS DAILY
COURTESY MICHAEL JAMES
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captured
Sunday, May 18, 2014
Captured: Tufts Perfomances
All photos by Nick Pfosi
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Sunday, May 18, 2014
The TufTs Daily Editorial
THE TUFTS DAILY Caroline A. Welch Editor-in-Chief
EDITORIAL
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Editorial
New dean of student affairs must address ResLife reform
Tufts administrators in February announced the appointment of Mary Pat McMahon to the newly revamped position of dean of student affairs. Since April, McMahon has overseen administrative policy pertaining to judicial affairs, medical issues and interventions, the Group of Six and the Office of Residential Life and Learning (ResLife). McMahon, who has received high praise from Bowdoin students for her achievements and attitude while serving as the college’s director of Residential Life, is a necessary addition to this campus where we are in great need of reforms to our own Office of Residential Life. ResLife does not have the best reputation on campus, which is unfortunate, because it plays a huge role in the lives of students. For underclassmen, ResLife means dorms; for upperclassmen, ResLife signifies the yearly exodus off-campus in search of almost-reasonably priced housing. Though it is a crucial part of student life, ResLife has failed to live up to the task of meeting student needs. First and foremost, ResLife must become more transparent. While the organization has made strides in the past by putting its lottery process online, it can still be difficult to get information on ResLife’s policies. At the same time, ResLife's core staff — RAs — are banned from commenting about ResLife to the press while employed by the Office. Though this does prevent negative attention, it highlights the overall state of difficulty in reforming ResLife policy and getting information about the institution. It also puts RAs in a tricky position: though they are perhaps the best-versed students in housing issues on campus, they are unable to advocate for a better system. Though it does have resources on its website to help upperclassmen find off-campus housing, those resources are limited: The most recent estimates of prices for off-campus housing come from 2008. ResLife also fails to sufficiently advertise those resources available to rising juniors and seniors who, unfortunately, go into the off-campus housing process bewildered after having the comforts of guaranteed housing for their first two years at Tufts.
Caroline GeilinG / THe TUFTS DailY
While ResLife does not have total control over housing policy, it has failed to make an effort to alleviate a major problem for upperclassmen: the growing cost of living off-campus. Because Tufts does not guarantee housing for juniors or seniors, upperclassmen are often forced into an increasingly expensive housing market, which does no favors for students who may already be at Tufts on tight budgets and massive loans. In addition, while the lottery process has certainly improved things, it does not take into account student need. Junior students who would find off-campus housing to be a real financial difficulty get no extra chance to live on campus, as the lottery intends to provide equity regardless of student background. While its current policies are not up to par, even bigger challenges await. Though it may seem far off, the advent of the Green Line extension is not far away. The influx of even more people into Medford and
Somerville who want to work in Boston means prices will rise faster than they already have been, leaving upperclassmen out to dry. Now more than ever, ResLife and the administration have to come together to look at some way to provide more housing for our students. This is not an easy agenda to face coming into a new position, but McMahon brings with her a record of effective management and progressive decision-making when it comes to housing — which will, in all likelihood, be needed to get things done. From RA dissatisfaction to the growing problem of off-campus costs and an overall lack of transparency, problems seem to plague ResLife from all corners. It will be up to McMahon to take her accomplishments from Bowdoin and translate those into improvements at Tufts. We urge her to take notice, and wish her luck and success in her new position as dean of student affairs in the coming years at Tufts.
BEnjamin BovEntEr
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Editorial
Tufts must comply with Title IX
It's not often that the federal government comes knocking at the door. It's even rarer that they come to tell a famously liberal New England university that it has failed to comply with Title IX regulations concerning sexual assault. Yet that is more or less what has happened in the last month. A student, who was a survivor of a sexual assault, filed a complaint under Title IX in 2010. After a four-year review, Tufts signed a Voluntary Resolution Agreement (VRA) with the Office of Civil Rights (OCR). The agreement, which included 10 different categories describing current Title IX policy successes and failings on the part of the university, was signed by Mary Jeka, senior vice president for university relations and general counsel. She then "revoked" her signature when she was notified Tufts was not in compliance. Subsequently, the federal government threatened legal action and students protested in the biggest numbers seen since the late 1980s, leading the administration to acknowledge that while they had revoked their agreement with the OCR, they now have resigned it. Again, it's not a normal occurrence — this is the first time that a university has revoked its VRA — but it shouldn't be a terribly surprising one. Days after the first announcement of the revoked agreement, the Department of Education released the names of 55 universities it is investigating for problems with sexual assault policies. Sexual assault is a health crisis in America — and it's one that affects universities in particular. Tufts has a notoriously bad record. A blog called "Raped at Tufts" was founded to expose the weight of the problem and the unversity’s failure to properly respond: The “about” page for the website intones the solemn fact that "one in four college-aged women is raped, and this is no exception at Tufts. It then claims that the administration fails to properly support its survivors and is resistant to changing its policies." Tufts students have been advocating for reforms to sexual assault policy for several years now, with the most recent on-campus discussion coming from the Tufts Community Union (TCU) Senate presidential elections. Although he was not the winner, presidential can-
KEvin CrisCionE | ill litEratEs
Time to start your real education
S
nick PFoSi / The TuFTS Daily
didate Andrew Núñez, a rising senior, proposed expelling rapists from campus — an idea that stands in striking contrast to recent stories from universities nationwide about survivors of sexual assault, in effect, being forced to leave campus instead of their attackers. These seemingly backwards stories are pervasive. A story published in the Harvard Crimson on March 31 detailed the experience of a survivor who was not even allowed to change housing from the building where the perpetrator of the assault was also living. What is most surprising is that things have gotten this bad — that we have reached this point at all. Our school has plenty of liberal students, a large number of moderately liberal students, a smattering of conservatives and a vocal group of radical students who have all expressed opinions on the crisis of sexual assault on campus over the years. What they can all probably agree on is the basic, almost axiomatic logic of complying with Title IX regulations. There can surely be no magic required
to meet a list of requirements. Failing to comply must mean either bureaucratic failure or moral failure. This is barely a question or debate about ideology, or the intensity of one's activism or even about bureaucracy. It is instead the cold, simple truth that our school has failed in its commitment to protect our students from sexual assault, and then decided to threaten its own funding instead of simply owning up to its failure and making the necessary changes. There must be no greater priority for the administration to pursue than the safety of its students. Simply complying with Title IX will not somehow solve all the problems of sexual assault on campus. Far from it. But surely it is not too great a task for Tufts to step up and set its policies in order, or at least some semblance of order. While Tufts catches up to where it should have been all along, survivors wait to see a change. Survivors need support from an administration that has so far provided little for them. They've needed that help for a very long time.
nick PFoSi / The TuFTS Daily
pring has sprung, the fling has been flung (well, as much as it could be in the pneumonia-inducing weather of that Saturday) and summer is thundering along toward us at this very moment. Like many students, I plan on taking a nice little break from heavy mental concentration right after exams end, letting my brain off the hook for a few days while I make use of a friend's Netflix password. This little post-exam vegetation period, when my brain makes no attempt to be anything other than the mishmash of sickly-looking grey pudding it resembles, is vital for a number of reasons. Primarily, it is a reward for toughing it out through the hundreds of pages of reading and hours of cramming, writing and editing that I thought would be oh-so-manageable at the beginning of the semester. Personally, it's a chance to emerge from my pop-culture-proof cave and see what all this "Game of Thrones" (2011-present) nonsense is about. Somehow, even in my cave, I managed to absorb the series' biggest spoilers through "cultural osmosis." There's another reason, too — one that I didn't realize was inspiring my inner sloth until recently: Going brainless for a short, but intensive period following exams enables me to forget the toil of the previous few weeks, allowing me to reclaim reading as something that can, in fact, be fun. After all, a collegiate experience at an institution like Tufts is a tremendously valuable opportunity, but it also means nothing if you don't ensure that such educational momentum carries over into the way you live your life outside of classes. Tufts can be a lovely place to live and learn, but it is also an undeniably insular environment. It takes a serious devotion to success to get into Tufts, and this devotion can keep students myopically fixed on learning only certain knowledge in only certain ways, prohibiting us from carving out time to take part in the stressless self-directed exploration that is so essential to gaining a richer understanding of the world. This summer, I dare you to read essays arguing in favor of an ideology you have spent your life vigorously arguing against. I dare you to try reading a novel of a genre you don't fully click with. Speaking of clicking, I dare you to moderate your computer usage, and instead try to spend a little more time out in the sun with a nice book. At Tufts, we have a culture of filling free time with activities that challenge us. This summer is as good a time as any to work on incorporating challenge, introspection and true intellectual exploration into our unstructured adult lives. Whether you are a senior or a freshman, I urge you to use this summer to remind yourself of the value and excitement that a self-assigned curriculum can offer. Read for pleasure, of course, but also read to explore and push your own boundaries — and discover the pleasure and satisfaction therein. Of course, you also should have fun, preferably in the sun. All I ask is that as you venture out of the Tufts bubble, remember that reading can be just as liberating as streaking on a beach at midnight. What you do with your free time is what you will become. Books that I need to recommend before this column fades away into the abyss of the Daily archives: "The Corrections" (2001) by Jonathan Franzen, "White Teeth" (2000) by Zadie Smith, "HardBoiled Wonderland and the End of the World" (1985) by Haruki Murakami and "Just Kids" (2010) by Patti Smith.
Kevin Criscione is a sophomore majoring in English. He can be reached at Kevin. Criscione@tufts.edu.
Op-ed pOlicy The Op-Ed section of The Tufts Daily, an open forum for campus editorial commentary, is printed Monday through Thursday. The Daily welcomes submissions from all members of the Tufts community; the opinions expressed in the Op-Ed section do not necessarily represent the opinions of the Daily itself. Opinion articles on campus, national and international issues should be 600 to 1,200 words in length. Op-Ed cartoons are also welcomed for the Campus Canvas feature. All material is subject to editorial discretion and is not guaranteed to appear in the Daily. All material should be submitted to oped@tuftsdaily.com no later than noon on the day prior to the desired day of publication; authors must submit their telephone numbers and day-of availability for editing questions. Submissions may not be published elsewhere prior to their appearance in the Daily, including but not limited to other on- and off-campus newspapers, magazines, blogs and online news websites, as well as Facebook. Republishing of the same piece in a different source is permissible as long as the Daily is credited with originally running the article.
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adam KaminsKi | thE Cool Column
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Sunday, May 18, 2014
alEx andrEws
a man and his hair
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riting "The Cool Column" this year was as fun as describing it to others was difficult. Not until I read an old "letter from the editor," did I find a concise explanation: It's a column about getting acquainted to college as a freshman. But it's about more than that. It's about providing a new perspective on mundane things mentioned once — on campus or in life in general — but not significant enough to reconsider. In honor of my last column of the academic year, I want to write about a choice I made. In a lot of ways this choice exemplifies the silly, "noobie" whims of a college freshman. But really, I think this is a silly, "newbie," freshman-esque choice we have all made once in our lives. Ladies and gentleman! I present to you, "A Man and His Hair." It took me three days, several passive aggressive texts and more courage than I've ever had to muster. I am, of course, talking about cutting my own hair — without losing an ear — and going out in public without fainting from embarrassment. These are accomplishments I've decided to put on my curriculum vitae. Why, you ask, did I decide to murder my luscious (albeit dandruff-ridden) locks? You would have had to have asked me a week ago, because I honestly don't remember. I used a barber set: scissors, clickers, shavers and all. (It's a set my mother bought me as an absolute joke.) But I guess the joke was on me. My hair is now patchy (not tufty, as I had envisioned it) like the fur of some diseased canine, and short like that of some hulking jock — neither of which I'd like to be. What's worse is that I miss my long hair; it took me hastily chopping it all off to recognize this love. And now for a brief-I-swear tangent, I present the beholders of what I consider to be the best hair at Tufts. My picks include senior Jeremy Ravinsky, that tall guy with the dreadlocks and that taller guy with the dreadlocks. I only know and received consent from one of the three to mention their names. Can you guess which one? After the murderous deed, leaving my hair in a South Hall bathroom (I promise most of it found its way to the trash) was like leaving some piece of my soul in the sewer. It has been a learning experience. It has shaped my perspective; now there aren't any bangs to interfere with my field of vision. The benefits to my rash decision have been educational, in that I now know something about myself that I didn't know before. I now know my hair is precious to me, even with the dandruff. I now know that I'm a fool ... but let's save that for later. These realizations underscore the importance of alternate perspectives — the impetus of this column — by providing a few laughs at someone who lacked it. If I had been wiser, cooler maybe, I would have been able to see what I considered my mundane hair as it truly was, gnarly and dashing. What do I possess now that is as gnarly and dashing as I thought my hair wasn’t? My long finger nails? My crooked nose (I swear to you that it is in fact crooked)? Maybe even non-physical features, like my charm or personality or something. Maybe. I guess it would be difficult to willfully alter such untouchable characteristics for a weekend, but weirder things could be done ... like I could un-crook my nose. As I take my hiatus from university life this summer, my perspectives will surely change again. I'll no longer be that freshman with that freshman column, but a sophomore (with that sophomore column?). I'll also, thankfully, have my hair. It won't be the same — you can never really go home again — but it will be me. And while leaving you all is difficult, reuniting with those who return, either next semester or some other time for those pesky graduates, will be enriching. Adam Kaminski is a rising sophomore who has not yet declared a major. He can be reached at Adam.Kaminski.edu.
op-Ed
Reflections on my career as dean of the School of Arts and Sciences at Tufts University by Joanne Berger-Sweeney Last month, I shared the news that I was selected to be the 22nd president of Trinity College in Hartford, Conn. While I am excited about the new stage in my career, I leave Tufts with some sadness that I will no longer be part of this great community. Since the announcement, I have had the opportunity to reflect on my time at Tufts and everything I will miss about this remarkable institution. I am extremely proud of our achievements during my tenure, but any positive changes are, of course, the result of a team effort. In my various roles as dean, faculty member, committee chair and working group member, I was privileged to work with an extraordinary group of students, faculty, staff, alumni and friends. I arrived at Tufts passionate about diversity and am especially pleased by our progress in this area. Working with other administrators, faculty and students, we launched a bridge program for students from underserved high schools (BLAST), increased diversity in tenure stream faculty, developed the Dean's Graduate Fellowships for Diversity and opened the Center for the Study of Race and Democracy, among other notable initiatives. I served as vice-chair of the Diversity Council with University President Anthony Monaco, and was privileged to help draft the recommendations for more clearly defining the place of diversity in our mission, and strengthening the diversity-related skills and sensibilities of our students, faculty and staff. In the School of Arts and Sciences, there were a number of "small things:" The Department of Chemistry doubled the number of women tenure track faculty; with the help of Associate Dean of Faculty Affairs Margery Davies, Dean of the School of Engineering Linda Abriola and I articulated better policies related to non-academic leaves that support both female and male faculty members. I also sought to increase diversity in the appointments for which I was directly responsible. From my direct reports to the board of advisors — more professional women and more minorities were named or hired. I know that others will continue this important work after I leave. I care deeply about this work, and I
want to reiterate that progress in this area is vital to ensure that the academy remains excellent and relevant with the changing demographics of our country. I am also proud of the work that we have done to strengthen interdisciplinary studies at the school. Cluster hires of faculty members will support our interdisciplinary programs in environmental studies; race and ethnicity; food, science and society; and digital humanities. We now have interdisciplinary programs of study in Africana studies, Asian-American studies, cognitive sciences and music engineering, as well as a minor in finance that did not exist prior to my arrival. I remember well the sit-in in Ballou in my second year here and the students' desire to have a more inclusive curriculum. On this front, we have made important and necessary progress, and both the undergraduate and graduate curricula are stronger than they were when I arrived. Each year that I have been here, undergraduate student admissions (headed up by Dean of Undergraduate Admissions Lee Coffin) have increased the number of applicants and yield, and student quality metrics have improved. Simply stated, Tufts is hot! I only wish there were more financial aid to support all of these incredibly strong applicants. Since the arrival of John Barker, dean of undergraduate and graduate students, there has been a dramatic and steady increase in the number of students receiving prestigious fellowships and awards; there have been considerable improvements to our student advising system, and our policies and procedures related to student matters are in greater compliance with federal standards and best practices. Our BLAST program is a national model. All of these were accomplished without increasing the budget of that division above the rate of inflation. As I look across our beautiful campus, I am gratified to see improvements to our facilities as well: 200 Boston Ave., home to a portion of the Department of Biology, represents the most up to date laboratory facilities in Medford, and the new Tisch Sports Center has enhanced the quality of life of our entire community. Our graduate school has a stronger infrastructure and an improved admissions process that will result in better outcomes for
the school, faculty and students. Among my favorite personal memories is my first faculty meeting at Tufts. I remember looking out at the brilliant group of academics who were about to become my new colleagues. I recall saying, "We may not always agree, but may we always be engaged." And in the years since, we did engage over discussions about tenure, faculty governance, curriculum proposals, academic advising and planning, diversity, online learning and the Tufts Effectiveness in Administrative Management project. Even when we disagreed, I appreciated your considerate responses and thoughtful suggestions about the challenges facing our school. I believe these discussions were so animated because we cared so deeply about this precious institution, even while we sometimes may have disagreed about how to strengthen it. I learned a tremendous amount from Tufts students, faculty and staff — more than you know — and will truly miss our lively discussions and debates. I will transition to Trinity in July. I leave behind an outstanding leadership team committed to continuing the work we began together when I arrived in 2010: increasing diversity and inclusion; building and maintaining a world class faculty; improving our research and teaching facilities; providing greater access to a Tufts education for underrepresented groups; and creating a safe and supportive environment for all students on campus. Vickie Sullivan, chair of the Department of Classics and professor of political science, will complete the Arts and Sciences strategic planning process this summer with the interim dean. I am confident that their efforts will lead our school to even greater heights and success. Working to make this impressive institution even better has been a highlight of my professional career. Whatever changes we were able to make together, it is because we all care deeply about Tufts, University. I will miss you and Tufts and am grateful that I, too, have been made better by my association with the largest school in this great university. Joanne Berger-Sweeney is the dean of the School of Arts and Sciences. She can be reached at Joanne.Berger-Sweeney@tufts.edu.
Sunday, May 18, 2014 op-Ed
The TufTs Daily
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op-Ed
Looking at Kagame in context, and why democracy is a privilege
by Molly Rothschild
This past month, Tufts invited President Paul Kagame of Rwanda to speak. After President Kagame’s lecture, an op-ed was submitted to the Daily criticizing the university for giving him a platform on our campus. The article — written by Alex Gladstein and published on April 24 — was one-sided in a way that is detrimental to any attempt at a complete discussion about the country and President Kagame's leadership. When analyzing Rwanda, it is necessary to look at the country's history. An open political space is a privilege of countries without legitimate worries about the takeover of genocidal ideology. It is true that, under President Kagame's leadership, there have been massive human rights violations. The Rwandan Patriotic Front takeover in 1994, while not genocide, did result in great casualties and war crimes, and the subsequent invasion of Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo) was similarly tainted. There is not complete freedom of speech in the country, nor is there space for dissenting political opinions. Rwanda is not a full and thriving democracy, but 20 years after the genocide, can it be? Twenty years ago, Rwanda was destroyed. After the genocide, in the wake of an unprecedented judicial backlog, ruined infrastructure and endless trauma, the country needed strong leadership. Today, that leadership is still needed. A 2010 survey showed that 39.9 percent of Rwandans agreed with this statement: "Although it is against the law, some Rwandans would try to commit genocide again, if conditions were favorable." I am not saying this to give President Kagame a free pass for political oppression, but for some people to slam the quelling of free speech without contextualizing the issue is rash and ill-advised. It is true that only two questions during the Q&A session were "hard-hitting," and those questions were important and deserve space in a discussion. But why delegitimize questions about economic development and regional and continental integration? Rwanda, while still an incredibly impoverished country, has seen notable economic growth. Eighty percent of firms in Rwanda were started between 2006 and 2011, and the country continues to attract foreign investment by being the safest country in the region. President Kagame is vocal about wanting to move the country away from dependence on foreign aid, and Vision 2020, an economic plan for Rwanda,
by Elayne Stecher Saying "commencement" leaves a bittersweet taste in my mouth. On the one hand, it's a promise that graduation is simply another beginning for the class of 2014; that great, golden things still glitter on our horizons, as long as we are willing to run and reach to catch up to them. On the other hand, it asserts that our lives are episodic, defined by subjective periods that would have some believe they are adults by merit of living 21 years or holding an empty canister representing a diploma in their hands. Commencement draws a distinction between a college undergraduate career and the "real" world. I'll be the first to admit, Tufts has sheltered us from some of the realities that await us outside of its verdant campus. We pay for this — not just for the landscaping, but for the safety and the sense of community that comes from living with a few thousand other students on the same big hill for four years. We pay quite substantially (the second-highest tuition rate in Massachusetts) to surround ourselves with critical thinkers, passionate learners and the opportunities that distinguish Tufts from other institutions. However, this does not invalidate the experiences that we've gathered in the last four years as unreal, unimportant or finite. The grades that you earn in your classes may not matter to you in a few years — or sooner, if you confirmed a
Today is Qumran
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caroline Welch / The TuFTS Daily
hopes to make the nation a middleincome economy in the next six years. It is not a given that these goals will be accomplished, but it's worth talking about. In the face of a devastated economy in 1994, Rwanda needed a forceful leader. It was under President Kagame's leadership that the country has had such notable achievements. Only 20 years ago, the country needed to completely rebuild — basic necessities, like food and shelter, were prioritized. It is unreasonable to assume that a country where people struggled to survive is capable of implementing a democracy. President Kagame is not comparable to former president of Iran Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. If we are going to start clumping together all leaders who have committed human rights abuses, we should add many United States presidents and other democratic leaders to the list. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees has issued a Cessation Clause for Rwandan refugees, essentially saying that it should be safe for all Rwandan refugees to return to the country and that Rwanda wants them back. This is indicative of the strides the country has taken to reconstruct the security and human rights status of the
nation. President Kagame's actions must be contextualized by the real security threat Rwanda faces from political opponents and genocide deniers. Making radical comparisons does nothing to contribute to a conversation about why Rwanda might need a more authoritarian regime. I did not write this to minimize the many problems with the Rwandan government, but I do think it is necessary to take into consideration the context of Rwanda before hitting President Kagame with un-contextualized criticism. Twenty years ago, Rwanda was in the midst of genocide. Democracy does not happen overnight, and political freedom is a privilege. If we are going to make a space at Tufts for a discussion about Rwanda as it is today, then it must include both the criticism and an understanding of Rwandan society. Rwanda is still healing. The effects of the genocide are still relevant, and that must be taken into consideration when understanding the country today. I'm excited to have a dialogue about Rwanda on campus, but if it is not holistic, it will be unproductive. Molly Rothschild is a rising senior majoring in international relations. She can be reached at Molly.Rothschild@tufts.edu.
You, uninterrupted
op-Ed
niCholas GoldEn | Just passinG throuGh
job sometime this past year and passed through finals in a coffee-scented haze. You will probably forget the name of your freshman year Spanish professor (lo siento, Professora Cantú), and there's a good chance you will fall out of touch with those peripheral friends you sat with in The Rez when no other tables were available during open block. You will stop thinking about the person you shouldn't have kissed, and you will forget about that paper you thought was good, but on which you only scraped a B. You may lose some of the details, but to suggest that the end of college is essentially a beginning ignores the continuity of experience and the perpetual growth of identity. It ignores the very real achievements of students who have transcended the classroom these past four years, doing more with their limited free time than some people manage to do in their entire lives. I have friends who started organizations with global impact; friends who coded applications that thousands downloaded to their smartphones; friends who performed lifesaving volunteer work throughout the world. I have friends who were arrested during protests; friends who asked essential questions of dictatorial presidents, Supreme Court justices and their own university. My classmates are already published, acknowledged, certified, critical, qualified and filled with boundless potential. They do not begin when their time at Tufts ends.
So, to my peers: Your lives began long before you turned 21 years old. Having someone decide that you are sufficiently qualified to provide some sort of service will not suddenly inspire you to really live if you've been waiting this long. If you have felt stuck these four years, then the idea of commencing may be reassuring to you. Run from this idea. Embrace your discomfort. The extent to which you can exhibit grace under pressure says a lot more about you than your LinkedIn updates ever will. In the timeless words of Tyler Durden, "You are not your job. You're not how much money you have in the bank. You're not the car you drive. You're not the contents of your wallet. You're not your f***ing khakis." You are an uninterrupted stream of consciousness, the culmination of what you have done and seen and wish to do. Whether you wear the badge of "student" as you do these things is irrelevant. So forgive me if I do not want to commence from this institution. I will wear the bruises and triumphs I have accumulated throughout my years proudly, recognizing that it is not a diploma or any finite achievement that defines me or gives me value. May 18, 2014 is just one more day out of the many we will have, and have already been given. Happy graduation. Elayne Stecher is graduating today with a degree in international relations. She can be reached at Elayne.Stecher@tufts.edu.
t's not easy writing a column for commencement. But it's also unavoidable. Whatever subject a column discusses, it's still in the commencement issue, with all the baggage, literal and figurative, that comes with graduation. So I think that, especially given the rather general nature of this column's subject matter, it's a matter of what angle one takes. As only a sophomore, I don't know a great deal about commencement, graduation, finding jobs, choosing a career or the like. As a student, I certainly don't have the wisdom, real or fake, that we expect from whomever we recruit to speak to our graduating class each year. (AnneMarie Slaughter should be awesome, on a side note. Side-side note: Hers is real wisdom.) So I'm going to take this opportunity to reflect a bit on the nature of learning, which is something I would hope to be a little bit well-versed in by now, this being my 14th year of formal education. Like many, I didn't have the easiest time acclimating to a new college environment, despite living only 40 minutes away from campus. There are a variety of reasons why, but one of them was that it was just hard to find a new niche to fit into; a new sense of self to replace the old one that had served its purpose and needed to be shed like the skin of some creature baking in the sun. It has been a process, and not a terribly easy one. One thing that really grabbed me and made freshman year easier was, cifically Bon Iver's "For Emma, Forever Ago" (2008). Now, yes, I recognize that this takes me so far into tropesville that I may as well be swallowed by the giant mayor trope, with its tropey claws and teeth — that a suburban white boy likes Bon Iver! — but as often happens with me and music, I didn't hear the album, or its major hit, "Skinny Love," until long after its initial release and subsequent popularity. The album came out in 2008, when I was a freshman in high school, four years before my freshman year here at Tufts. Yet despite the four-year gap, I was still struck by it. The myth-making surrounding the album concerns the story of frontman Justin Vernon's return home to Eau Claire, Wis., after his band broke up, his girlfriend dumped him and he caught mononucleosis. His subsequent experience of introspection living in a cabin in the Wisconsin winter while writing "For Emma" reached me quite a bit. There is a sense of progression, from the pain of "The Wolves (Act I and II)" — which plays out with the closing, haunted refrain, "What might have been lost" — to the sense of revelation embedded in the first line of "Re: Stacks:" "This my excavation, and today is Qumran." As a freshman in Lewis, this progression was like experiencing a state of drift — Justin Vernon, having lost so many of the anchors of his life, asking perhaps if he had lost himself — to eventually finding a new way of living: Qumran is the place where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found, providing the earliest known manuscripts of many stories of the Hebrew Bible, helping to further form the identities of the religions which draw upon those stories. I can listen to Bon Iver all day long, but listening to someone else's process of introspection is no substitute for doing it yourself. It's not a new thought that college is about formation of the self, more, junior or even a senior reading this on your graduation day or at some point long afterward, it's a process that happens each and every day with every voyage somewhere new, with every dive into the watery depths and canyons, the forests and hills and valleys of who we are. Mapping them out, like performing a poem, or writing a function, or engineering a chemical compound, is about learning. I hope I never stop. Nicholas Golden is a rising junior majoring in international relations and the current executive editor of the op-ed section of the Tufts Daily. He can be reached at nicholas. golden@tufts.edu.
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Jonathan moorE | politiCally ErECt
The students, united
F
or starters, I would like to thank everyone from the bottom of my heart who has read "Politically Erect" this semester and everyone who has given me feedback. Writing this column has truly been one of the greatest experiences I have had at Tufts thus far, and I hope to continue writing in the fall. Since the winter, we've been having conversations about the realities of issues like race, sexual assault and denial on campus. We've also talked about everything from Palestine and Michael Sam to Barack Obama and the Malaysian Airlines tragedy. To put it bluntly, I've taken this column all over the place, and I am grateful to have had readers for every second of the journey — you folks are awesome. I am writing this column a mere six hours after a student protest over Tufts' alleged noncompliance with federal Title IX requirements. While at the protest for a few hours this afternoon, I felt uplifted and inspired by the courage and persistence that students on this campus showed throughout the day: the rally on the roof of Tisch where stories of survival were shared, the marching, the many students linked arm-in-arm around Ballou Hall and, of course, the negotiations inside with the administration. Consequently, I was reminded of all the work left to be done in making this campus a place less concerned with being “politically correct,” and more aware and responsive to the real and diverse needs of the student body. Repeated over and over again during the protest was the chant, "The students, united, will never be defeated!" As a freshman new to Tufts and the vibrant community of activism that exists here, this was a powerful refrain to hear. Often, when a question of student action arises, it is about whether we can come together as a community to do what needs to be done. But more and more I am finding that the question we should be asking is "how?" What I witnessed today was a raw and resounding “yes” to the question of, “Can we come together as a community?” As students tied together by our campus and our community, we can overcome the odds, push the limit and fight for those who need our support the most. This week, it happened to be the survivors of sexual assault. Yet it shouldn't take national headlines and showdowns with the federal government to bring us out of our dorm rooms and onto the Academic Quad to stand up for what we know is right. We may often ask, "What incentive do we have as students to stand up and 'cause a scene' on behalf of those whose lived experiences or cultural identities may differ from ours?" I'm not here to deliver an answer, nor should those in need of further rights and attention on this campus be expected to plop on a silver platter and showcase like unprivileged waiters, begging for a chance to be heard. When I set out to write this column, it was my intention to introduce into campus conversations questions that students had rarely considered or frequently fled from. Understandably so, this created instances where the questions presented were so daunting that my lack of answers was, for some, unsatisfying. But this is how it should be. To have these conversations with one another, we must first acknowledge that answers will remain ellusive so long as we focus on being politically correct rather than being compassionate and aware. I can only hope to continue many of these exchanges and start more going next year in order to help turn talk into action. Stay in touch! Yours in political erection, Jon-Jon. Jonathan Moore is a rising sophomore majoring in American studies and political science. He can be reached at Jonathan. Moore581594@tufts.edu.
Editorial
Sunday, May 18, 2014
Election requirements need reform
Tufts loves its cultish groups. There's Tufts Mountain Club, which releases questionable mass emails and sneaks out in the dead of Halloween night to place pumpkins on the highest vantage points of campus. There's The Public Journal and The Canon, both of which appear next to stacks of the Daily a couple times per year. And there's a whole slew of acronyms — sQ!, TDC, 3Ps, anything ending in SA, for student association — that are advertised on flyers plastered around campus. While all of these groups are fun and open to new members, their elusiveness and air of impenetrability often leave the larger student body wondering just how — and if — "outsiders" would actually be able to get involved. But what about the Tufts Community Union (TCU) Senate? If there is any student organization that is open, welcoming and easy to join shouldn't it be the group that is responsible for coordinating the "voice, opinions and activities" of the entire undergraduate student body? This, unfortunately, is not the case. Regardless of the TCU Senate's apparent commitment to representing "the interests and desires" of the Tufts community, not just any member of the Tufts community has the opportunity to run for the position of TCU Senate President. According to Article VI, Section B, Subsection 1 of the TCU Constitution, it is up to the Senate itself to "nominate presidential candidates from among its members." It is only then that these presidential candidates — who have already been selected with a "vote of confidence" from two-thirds of the Senate — are presented to the more than $5,000 other undergraduate students in the general presidential elections. This electoral system ensures that the person in charge of the 28-member
op-Ed
Editorial | op-Ed
group (33, including community representatives) — and who, more importantly, speaks for the entire student body — is chosen by the existing group members rather than the Tufts community as a whole. It's no wonder that the annual TCU Senate presidential elections do not garner much attention. This year, a mere 32.5 percent of the undergraduate population cast their votes for their preferred candidate, down from 57.5 percent of students voting the year before. Perhaps even more notably, 8.6 percent of the less than third of the student body who voted opted to "abstain," making their lack of enthusiasm about, or downright dissatisfaction with, the available candidates known. But the inability to get the campus involved in the election process is not the only problem with the self-selectivity of the TCU presidential candidates. In order to understand the extent to which the Senate is an insular group, we must also consider how those running earned the opportunity to be chosen as candidates in the first place. First-year students who are hoping to secure one of the seven TCU Senate positions open to members of their class hold their campaigns in the beginning of the fall semester of their freshman year. These campaigns, like most other campaigns on campus, consist primarily of mass-produced posters, catchy chalkdrawn slogans and Facebook bombardment with promises of action or change. While these methods of gaining public support are typically as effective as they are unavoidable, they are especially, if not entirely, make-or-break methods to freshman candidates who have no history on campus and whose supporting votes consist solely of those who have seen their advertisements often enough
to recognize their names on a ballot. The seven elected novices to campus government spend the first year in their seat getting accustomed to their role and working with their senior counterparts, all while proving that they are deserving of their positions before they must run again — if they so desire — in the spring semester of the same year. In this year's election, all seven freshmen on the senate were re-elected for the following TCU Senate term. Why does this happen? Arguably, it is a result of the political climate on campus, which does not work to encourage students to get involved and become competently educated about what each candidate has to offer. Those who do not vote for their friends or by name recognition alone may vote for those with a term or more experience under their belt, assuming that experience alone makes them a better choice. But perhaps more importantly, what does this mean for the student government as an organization? This means that those with new ideas, perspectives and voices may never get their foot in the door of student government. It means that year after year, presidential candidates, who are drawn from the same pool of senators — and who were picked because they represent at least the two-thirds majority opinion of the governing body — are never pushed to think above and beyond for fear of disrupting or losing support from the ideological majority of the Senate. Without open presidential elections, the student government will never truly be a representation of the entire student body, but rather a sampling of those whose political ideas have already been tailored by the standards necessary to gain public approval by a minority of the undergraduate population who voted for the names they recognized.
Why college should not be the best time of your life by Benjamin Hosking
College is not the best time of your life, nor should it be. College is four years of hardship and struggle. We leave the forge of high school life to find ourselves in the crucible. Many students arrive and burn out within the first year, myself included. However, I had a realization: I was not ready for Tufts. So I used my Australian citizenship and worked for half a year in Sydney — a time in which I grew immensely. Then I returned to Tufts in Fall 2013 for the full academic year, and again, I grew. Tufts catalyzed my change, indirectly and directly, and I am grateful for it. I was lucky. I was able to take such an opportunity; however, many students do not see that path or are discouraged from taking it. I firmly believe in the "gap year," and the new encouragement from the Tufts administration for students to have such experiences is a positive force for the university. Done well, gap-year programs can give students the opportunity to develop their talents, personalities and perspectives. As I have spent the past academic year at Tufts, I have noticed many students without plans for the future, without a forward-looking perspective and without long-term dreams. They find themselves bogged down by schoolwork, social troubles, emotional distress and more. This perspective — focusing on the flaws of the present and nostalgia for the past — leads to a negative outlook. To cope with these stresses, many students end up trying to drink their problems away. Drinking to excess is often considered an inherent, if not necessary, part of college, as are parties. I'm not criticizing drinking or parties, but I am saying that the meaning of college does not lie in the depths of a bottle or the fever pitch of a dance. College should not be about staying in one's comfort zone, trying to be perpetually happy or solely having fun. It should be a roller coaster ride with a positive trajectory. Sure, it has its ups and downs, but over the course of the ride we understand difficulties, evaluate solutions and grow to new heights. It is when we cease
MarSMeTTin TallahaSSee via Flicker creaTive coMMonS
to see the bigger picture — when we lose sight of our own growth and focus only on who we were yesterday — that we see that trajectory slide downward. We need to see the bigger picture, the tapestry of our lives that we are weaving, consciously and unconsciously. We need to focus not only on studying and partying or networking, but on the greater experience. We need to grow. High achievers are those who fought difficulties, made realizations, saw new paths and took the road that climbs up life's mountain. Life is not easy. Nor should it be. Human beings grow through struggle, not complacency. I sometimes hear others say that college is, or was, the best time of a person's life. I do not envy them, because if those four years of life were the best, then their
next 50 must be a disappointment. Look to your aspirations, your dreams and your ambitions for inspiration, because nostalgia cripples progress, and so does an obsession with living in the present. You only live once, so make the most of your life. College is an important stage of life, but even more important is the future. Don't fall into complacency; don't wallow in the past or the present. Go forward, young student, go forward, and conquer your future. Life is a tapestry that is ever-unfurling, a tapestry that only you can weave. Choose to weave it well. No one else will weave it for you. Benjamin Hosking is a rising junior majoring in history. He can be reached at benjamin.hosking@tufts.edu.
Sunday, May 18, 2014
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Captured: Senior Brunch
All photos by Nick Pfosi
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Captured
Captured: Club Sports
Sunday, May 18, 2014
Courtesy tufts Club taekwondo
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Sunday, May 18, 2014
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Beau Wood by Alex Schroeder Daily Editorial Board
Looking through the men's lacrosse team's record books, graduating senior tri-captain attackman Beau Wood's name is scattered all over the pages. Six goals scored in a game on three separate occasions, three behind the team record of nine. Third on the leaderboard for most goals scored in a season with 65. The program leader for goals in a career with 164 over four years of play for the Jumbos as of the team’s game against Cortland St. on May 14. Under head coach Mike Daly, from the 2011 season through this year, Wood has been one of the most integral players in establishing the Jumbos as a perennial contender for the NCAA Div. III Championship. Coming in as a freshman one year after Tufts captured its first-ever national championship in 2010, Wood saw limited playing time, playing in just four games and finishing with one goal and one assist in 2011. The experienced Tufts team returned to the national championship game, but fell one win short of back-to-back titles as Salisbury University avenged its loss from the year before. Despite his limited role as a rookie, Wood described the atmosphere the team has established since he first set foot on the Hill four years ago. "It's hard for me to describe how much being part of this program has meant to me these past four years," he told the Daily in an email. "I couldn't have asked for a better group of teammates that I have been able to play with since I was a freshman. Since the minute I stepped on campus I had an incredible group of friends and mentors that have taught me a ton on and off the field." Though the Jumbos fell short of a national championship title again in 2012, this time in the Div. III Championship semifinals,
Wood's sophomore campaign saw signifcant increases in playing time and contributions. Starting all 21 games in this breakout year, Wood stepped into the spotlight and solidified his role as a leader for the program. Statistically, Wood led the team and NESCAC in goals with 51, finishing second in the team and in the conference in total points with 66. The attackman was selected to join the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (USILA) Div. III All-American third team. He was also picked to the 2012 New England Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association's (NEILA) All-New England first team. Lastly, Wood was a first team All-NESCAC selection and won NESCAC Player of the Week on March 19, 2012. A highlight from the 2012 season for Wood was his game-winning goal in the second overtime of the NESCAC Championship at home against Bowdoin. With 1:50 remaining in the period, Wood converted a pass from midfielder Geordie Shafer (LA '12) into a goal to secure the Jumbos' third-straight NESCAC Championship and second overtime win in a row. He finished with a goal and two assists in the second of four NESCAC Championships he has won with the team in four years at Tufts. Wood followed up his sophomore year with USILA Div. III All-American third team honors and NEILA Div. III All-New England first team honors his junior year. Again, he led the team and the NESCAC in goals, this time netting 47 as Tufts advanced to the NCAA Div. III Championship quarterfinals where it fell to Rochester Institute of Technology. Tufts captured its fourth conference title in a row, Wood's third, in an 11-6 victory over Wesleyan. Wood finished with a pair of goals and a pair of assists in the win. In his senior campaign this year, Wood and the No. 6 Jumbos have been explosive on offense, leading the country with just under 19 goals per game as a team. Wood is currently
KATY MCCONNELL / THE TUFTS DAILY
second on the team in goals (65) and third in points (93), both of which will only grow as the postseason continues. Wood also received the NESCAC Player of the Week honor for the second time in his career on March 17 after notching 15 points on 10 goals and five assists over the course of two games against Stevens Institute of Technology and Colby. In his last NESCAC championship as a Jumbo, Wood netted a game-high five goals to lead Tufts over Amherst 20-13. Though not all of the 2014 season accolades have been awarded so far, Wood has already been named to the All-NESCAC first team. The accomplishments he and the team have had throughout this season and his career, according to Wood, is a credit to the efforts of the coaches to establish both cama-
William Haeger by Steven Hefter Daily Staff Writer
Although the teams that play on Bello Field or in Cousens Gymnasium often overshadow other deserving Tufts varsity squads who shine in less visible locales, graduating senior Will Haeger's sailing career has been impossible to ignore. Haeger joined the sailing team a year after it qualified for the InterCollegiate Sailing Association's (ISCA) Team Race Championships in 2010 and, in a fitting end to his senior year, helped bring the Jumbos back to the Team Race Championships for the first time since 2010 this spring. It has not always been a smooth road for Haeger, who struggled at times in the middle of his career. "I think that sailing is such an inconsistent sport in that the conditions are always changing, and it can be really frustrating when you get into a rut," Haeger said. "I had a couple of bad regattas in a row my sophomore year, and it was
really hard to get back in the groove and get back together." However, his senior season — in which he was named one of the team's three captains — has echoed Haeger's successful sophomore fall performance, in which he, along with seniors David Liebenberg, Paula Grasberger and Solomon Krevans, helped bring the Jumbos and head coach Ken Legler to their first-ever ICSA Match Race Championship. This year, Haeger helped the Jumbos achieve a fourth-place finish at the New England Team Racing Championship. The high finish qualified the team for Nationals, which will take place between May 31 and June 2 in St. Mary's City, Md. Despite his impressive individual accolades, Haeger explained that the team itself has played an important role in his Tufts experience. "What I've enjoyed most is definitely the team as a whole," Haeger said. "We've spent so much time
raderie and readiness. "All the success we have had is really just a reflection of how much the coaching staff cares about us and how well they have prepared us for challenges both on the field and off the field," he said. "I'm happy to say that after this season our entire senior class will be leaving with some incredible memories and an even more incredible group of friends." Though Wood has yet to capture an NCAA Div. III Championship, the Jumbos are on the right track this season, after winning their fifthstraight NESCAC Championship and advancing to NCAA semifinals. Regardless of the end result to his senior season, Wood will graduate having made an impact on the men's lacrosse team that has become a standard of excellence in the school's athletic community.
Jana Hieber together over the last four years. ... I think all that team bonding and time we've spent together is really my favorite part." Haeger has also been sure to make memories on the water, as well. His ability to make such an impact on a prestigious team — his coach has won 20 national championships with the sailing teams — is a testament to his passion for sailing. "I love to sail for a couple of reasons," Haeger said. "I think, first of all, any kind of athletic endeavor is really good kind of catharsis from the normal schoolwork that we have," Haeger said. "Secondly, sailing is kind of a clean and pure sport, and [it is great to know] that you are just out on the water, using the wind — and it's kind of got a romantic notion to it." Although next year will be a transitional period for Tufts with the loss of Haeger and his fellow classmates, Haeger's sailing legacy will not be forgotten.
COURTESY KEN LEGLER
by Chris Warren Daily Editorial Board
Graduating senior Jana Hieber's career reached its pinnacle just over a week ago, when Hieber ran a time of 58.58 seconds in the 400-meter hurdles on May 10 — the second-fastest time in Div. III history. However, Hieber has been making her mark on the women’s track and field program since she joined the team as a freshman. Hieber first showed off her talent on Feb. 4, 2011. Although she had a few strong performances in her first few career meets, none were stronger than her pentathlon performance at the Tufts Stampede. There, she won the event with 3,015 points — almost 300 points more than the secondplace finisher. Though her marks in the first four events were impressive for a freshman, it was her 800-meter time that was most remarkable. Hieber obliterated the competition in this fifth and final event by running a time of 2:19.27 to take the event and to clinch the pentathlon. The second-place finisher ran 17 seconds slower, crossing the line in a time of 2:36.68. Outdoors, Hieber again proved her talent by qualifying for the NCAA Div. III Championships in the 400-meter hurdles, running a time of 1:03.42 in the event for 20th place overall. As a sophomore, Hieber was able to improve her score in the Tufts Stampede pentathlon by tallying 3,236 points, which included a crushing time of 2:19.47 in the 800-meter to win her that event. She qualified for the NCAA Div. III Indoor Championships, where she became an All-American for the first time with her third-place finish of 3,401 points. Outdoors, she returned to the 400-meter hurdles and improved greatly upon her 20th place finish as a freshman, as she took fourth place at Nationals with a new personal
record (PR) of 1:01.02 seconds. "I was seeded 12th going into Indoor Nationals as a sophomore, so I was a dark horse," Hieber said. "The only event left was the 800, my strongest, and after I PR'ed in the event, I bumped my final place up all to way to third. This was a very proud moment in my track career at Tufts." Hieber started off her junior year slowly, only managing 2,591 points at the Tufts Stampede pentathlon for sixth place. However, by season's end, she recovered and qualified for Indoor Nationals with her 3,287point score at the Div. III New England Championship meet. At Nationals, Hieber improved on her season-best score, gaining AllAmerican status with her eighthplace finish and 3,353-point total. As she had done her past two seasons, Hieber moved back to the 400-meter hurdles in the outdoor season. There, she ran a slew of sub-62-second times, but none were more impressive than her PR of 1:00.26 that she set at Outdoor Nationals, where she took yet another All-American honor by placing fourth. Hieber's final indoor campaign of her career in 2014 started off very well, as she smashed both the school record and her PR in the pentathlon at the Tufts Stampede Invite, scoring 3,622 points. She broke the school record once again at Indoor Nationals, as she posted an incredibly high 3,691 point score, bolstered by her huge PR in the 800-meter in which she ran a time of 2:14.90, to take third place in the pentathlon and AllAmerican honors. Hieber’s final outdoor season has already been one of her best, highlighted by her performance 400-meter hurdle. As she performs in her final meets this spring, however, she already has done enough to make her marks in the record books and on the track last well past the end of her career.
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class leaves lasting legacy Jo Clair
Johann Schmidt
by Zachey Klieger Daily Editorial Board
The softball team's senior cocaptain Jo Clair has distinguished herself as one of the nation's premier hitters over the course of her collegiate career. It didn't take long for the 6'0" catcher from Glastonbury, Conn., to make a name for herself. As a freshman, Clair broke the program's single-season home run record, blasting 16 long balls — a pace better than a homer every other game — to surpass former shortstop Courtney Bongiolatti's mark of 14 dingers set back in the 2005 season. Clair finished her rookie season with a .361 average and 42 RBIs to go along with the 16 homers. In her next three seasons she surpassed many of those numbers, proving that her freshman campaign was no fluke. As a sophomore, she posted a .441 average and 57 RBIs while hitting another 14 home runs, and as a junior she hit at a .417 clip and drove in 51 runs while tacking on 13 more long balls to add to her career total. Clair was awarded All-American honors her sophomore and junior years, and has been named NESCAC Player of the Week six times in her career. She credits the continued success to her ability to make adjustments. "Softball is a game of adjustments," Clair said. "Every year coaches and pitchers find new ways to scout you and try new ways to get you out. But coach Cheryl has helped me a lot along the way, and I feel like we've always been one step ahead of everyone else and found ways to make adjustments and persevere." The team has improved each year along with Clair, jumping from 23 wins in 2011 to 41 wins in 2012 and 46 wins in 2013 en route to con-
by Tyler Maher Daily Editorial Board
CAROLINE GEILING / THE TUFTS DAILY
secutive NESCAC Championships. In 2013, Tufts reached the pinnacle of the sport, winning their first NCAA Championship to cap off their best season in program history. In the Championship game against SUNY Cortland, Clair went 2-4 with a critical homerun to help the Jumbos grab a 6-5 comeback win. "The highlight has been winning the national championship," Clair said of her Tufts career. "It had always been a childhood dream of mine to play at the collegiate level, and I think every player dreams of winning that last trophy. Only a select few athletes actually achieve that goal and reach that game, so to say that I was able to do that amidst all the things that I've accomplished in my career is really special." This year Tufts has not slowed down at all. The team is 40-3 as of its game against Endicott on May 11, and on May 4, wrapped up its third-straight NESCAC title with a 10-2 victory over Williams. Once
again, Clair has been in the middle of the team’s success, hitting a team-best .455 with 58 RBIs. More impressively, Clair solidified herself as the most prodigious homerun hitter in Jumbos’ history, breaking her own single-season record by blasting 19 homeruns. While her numbers have always been impressive, Clair has continued to grow as a leader. "When you're young you take a lot from the seniors and upperclassmen," Clair said. "In that time you determine what characteristics you like in a leader, and you kind of form your own philosophy. Hopefully I've been able to pick up some stuff and teach the younger players." Judging from how her teammates speak of her, it seems fair to say she has accomplished this goal. In her four years, Clair has set herself apart as a fierce competitor, a leader on and off the field and one of the best hitters to ever put on a Tufts uniform.
This past year, graduating senior diver and tri-captain Johann Schmidt reaffirmed his reputation as one of the best divers in his sport across the country and in Tufts' history. Schmidt dominated during the dual meet phase of the Jumbos' season, either winning or finishing second in every event in which he competed. Virtually unbeatable off the boards, he blew the competition out of the water with his consistent excellence. But the regular season was just a warm-up for Schmidt, who continued to shine in the championship meets. In the NESCAC Championships hosted by Bowdoin in late February, Schmidt was named Diver of the Meet after winning the NESCAC one-meter title for the third time — the sixth conference victory of his career with the highest score he's ever had in the event. His score of 578.15 set a new pool, school, NESCAC and conference-championship meet record. The Nanuet, N.Y., native also finished a close second to freshman teammate Matthew Rohrer in the threemeter, narrowly missing out on his fourth-straight conference title in that event. Schmidt reached and maintained such a high level of success largely due to his intense devotion to training, which required four hours every day for lifting, practicing and stretching. Head diving coach Brad Snodgrass credited Schmidt for his tremendous work ethic and inner drive to be the best. "As gifted as Johann is and
as much as he makes everything look easy, there has been an untold amount of hard work he's put into his diving," Snodgrass said, echoing the praise Schmidt received from teammates and coaches throughout his career. All that effort came to fruition at the 2014 NCAA Div. III Championships in Indianapolis, when Schmidt put the exclamation point on his career by winning the one-meter diving championship and placing fourth in the three-meter event. After finishing third in the one-meter preliminaries, Schmidt scored 522.95 points in the finals to secure his second national one-meter title; his previous victory came as a sophomore in 2012. He received Diver of the Meet honors as well as his sixth and seventh AllAmerican awards. Schmidt contributed 35 points to the Jumbos' total, helping the team score its highest finish at Nationals since 2010. Gracious and humble to the end, Schmidt refused to take credit for his incredible performance. "I want to thank [coach] Brad [Snodgrass], [women's head coach] Nancy [Bigelow], and coach [Adam] Hoyt for an amazing career at Tufts, as well as my teammates," Schmidt said. "There is no way I could have accomplished this championship and Diver of the Meet without them all." A respected team leader and exceptional diver, Schmidt leaves behind an impressive legacy and an even bigger hole for Tufts' diving to fill. The Jumbos will be hard-pressed to find another diver as remarkable as he.
Jenny Hu by Maclyn Senear Daily Editorial Board
Jenny Hu has been a stalwart for the women's swimming and diving program throughout her career at Tufts. The graduating senior and four-time all-NESCAC breaststroker from Oakland, Calif., did not take long to adjust to the rigorous world of collegiate swimming, winning the 100-yard breaststroke — which would prove to be her signature event — at her first-ever Tufts swim meet in the fall of 2010. The trend continued throughout her freshman year, as she racked up seven more individual wins — winning each of the season's breaststroke events at least once — and quickly became a consistent member of the team's medley relays. She capped off her debut season with significant contributions at the NESCAC Championships, swimming the breaststroke legs of Tufts' sixth-place 400-yard medley and third-place 200-yard medley relay, both of which recorded national B cut times. More impressively, Hu placed third in the 50-yard breaststroke and second in the 100-yard breaststroke. If there were any doubts about the rookie, she silenced them with a national B cut and school record-breaking time of 1:06.28 in the 100-yard breaststroke. Coming off a successful first year, Hu's sophomore season did not begin as favorably. She started the 2011-12 season sick with bronchitis and strep throat, and was unable to compete in the first four meets. Though she returned and swam for the majority of the season, she failed to win a single individual event. But Hu finally returned to form in February of 2012, placing second in both the 50-yard and 100-yard breaststroke at NESCACs, setting school records in both events and recording a national B cut time in the 100-yard. Her
times were good enough to qualify for the NCAA Championships in March, where she competed in four events. She placed 27th in her trademark 100yard breaststroke, and was part of Tufts' 14th-place 200-yard and 400-yard medley and 25th-place 400-yard freestyle relay teams. The outstanding performance earned Hu two honorable mention All-American awards. Riding the momentum of her NESCAC and NCAA success, Hu was dominant in her junior year. She won 10 individual events, three of which came in a single meet against Wellesley. Every meet of the season saw Hu take at least second place, and she ended the season as one of the Jumbos' top point scorers. At the 2013 NESCAC Championships, she solidified her status among the top swimmers in New England, winning the 100-yard breaststroke and again setting a new school record and national B cut time. She also finished fifth in the 50 breaststroke. Though she was ranked 14th in the nation, Hu's time in the 100-yard failed to qualify her for that year's NCAA Championships, as only the top 12 swimmers were accepted. Hu's senior year was arguably both her most challenging and her most impressive. Expectations were high for the already three-time all-NESCAC swimmer, but unfortunately it seemed that Hu would have an inauspicious start to the 2013-14 season after she breaking her pelvis in September. Yet by the team's first meet in November, Hu had more or less recovered, taking second in the 100-yard breaststroke; at the following meet she earned NESCAC Performer of the Week honors after winning three events. Though the women's swimming and diving team struggled this past season, Hu remained a con-
CAROLINE GEILING / THE TUFTS DAILY
stant point scorer, garnering at least one win for the team in nearly every subsequent head-to-head meet. In what would be the final meet of her collegiate swimming career, Hu won a conference title in the 50-yard breaststroke, broke school records in each of the three breaststroke events and swam two national B cut times at this year's NESCAC Championships. She was also awarded second place in the NESCAC Senior High Point Award for her contributions over her four years. Despite qualifying for the NCAA Championships, she declined to compete. She credits the support of her team-
mates and the strong bonds she formed for her success. "My time on the swim team has been my most rewarding experience at Tufts," Hu said. "Being on the team feels like being a part of a huge family of very different girls, all of whom you love to death. I guess swimming over 70 miles in two weeks [during the team's winter break training trip] can have some crazy side effects." With her three school records, two NESCAC titles and invaluable point contributions, Hu will be remembered as one of the top Tufts swimmers to ever take the pool.
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moments from the 2010-2011 sports seasons
CAROLINE GEILING / THE TUFTS DAILY
10. Dahlman takes home a trophy Rising senior and women’s squash player Paige Dahlman won the B Draw Championship of the Div. III Individual Championships held at Bowdoin College on Feb. 9. Dahlman played in the No. 2 position in team play, but shined individually. She won the championship the first year the tournament was held; this was the second year the tournament has been scheduled, but it was canceled last year due to inclement weather. In the round of 16, Dahlman beat rising senior Samantha Rosado of Mount Holyoke. In the quarterfinals, she topped Conn. College rising senior Leah Puklin, and then cruised past Colby rising senior Elizabeth Brehman in the semifinals. In the finals, she finished off her championship with a win over rising sophomore Chloe Polikoff of Bowdoin. There were 16 total participants in the B draw, and 14 schools sent individuals to the tournament, but Dahlman rose above the competition to score a victory for Tufts. 9. Softball team adds to its awards mantle The softball team has done a lot of winning in the past calendar year. In 2014, it added some serious honors to its trophy collection. The Jumbos nearly swept the NESCAC awards this year, taking home conference Player of the Year, Pitcher of the Year, Coach of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year Awards en route to winning the NESCAC title. Player of the Year went to graduating senior co-captain catcher Jo Clair. Clair, who sits atop almost every softball record list, turned in arguably the finest performance of her prolific career to earn her first Player of the Year Award, batting .455 while swatting 19 homeruns and driving in 58 runs as of Tufts’ game against Endicott on May 11. Rising junior Allyson Fournier took home the Pitcher of the Year award thanks to yet another stellar season on the mound. Fournier was once again unhittable, striking out 251 batters to go alongside a miniscule 0.44 earned run average. Rising junior shortstop Christina Raso, unlike Fournier and Clair, is new to the awards process, but was just as worthy of her Defensive Player of the Year award. Raso was the focal point of a Jumbos’ defense that led the league with a .967 fielding percentage. Finally, at the helm of the ship was head coach Cheryl Milligan, who earned her seventh Coach of the Year honor. If the softball team continues the run its been on for the past several years, there is no reason to expect her tally to stop there. 8. Koh scores medalist honors Rising junior Brendan Koh treated his teammates to a sight they had never seen before: a Tufts golfer claiming individual medalist honors. Koh's first-place finish at the Rhode Island College Spring Invitational was easily the highlight of an up-and-down season for the golf team. With a two-day score of 154
(79, 75), Koh beat out 82 other golfers to claim the title honors. Graduating senior Bill Hutchins of Husson University was in the individual lead after shooting a 75 on the first day, while Koh's seven-over par 79 was tied with Tufts rising sophomore Owen Elliott for fifth individually. On the second day, Koh found himself twounder par after the first six holes, but faced his biggest challenge by four putting on the seventh, exhibiting a short game that had been unreliable all tournament. Despite the minor setback, Koh shot a 40 on the back nine to build off his 35-stroke front to take the title. 7. Seniors leave Bello Field on a high note The Tufts women’s lacrosse team played Bates in a key NESCAC game that also happened to be the final home game for the team’s graduating seniors: attacker Gabby Horner, midfielder Eliza Halmo, midfielder Kate Applegate and defender Kelley Cohen. With seven minutes left, Tufts was down by one goal. Halmo had already made her mark with three second-half scores to keep the Jumbos close. Horner then took over, netting her second goal of the game to send the teams into overtime. Rain poured down on the field, and up to 40 miles per hour wind gusts affected each team’s ball movement. The Jumbos’ offense controlled the tempo throughout overtime, and Horner received the ball in front of the net, but was fouled before she was able to score. Bates rising sophomore goalkeeper Hannah Jeffrey had an excellent first half, but the weather and general fatigue seemed to catch up to her. The whistle blew; Horner took a step and fired her free position shot towards the bottom of the net, just past Jeffrey’s stick. Tufts had a 10-9 lead, but Bates still had an opportunity to tie the game. The Jumbos’ defense was too strong though, and the home team was able to maintain possession for nearly the entire overtime period. With 37 seconds left, Horner sprinted past the Bobcats defense and scored her fourth goal of the game, her final at home, to cement an important NESCAC victory and send her fellow classmates home with a win to remember. 6. Men’s lacrosse: ‘All they do is win’ The men’s lacrosse team just keeps winning. With its 20-13 victory over Amherst on May 4, Tufts wrapped up its fifth-consecutive NESCAC championship. For the seniors on the team, 2014 also meant that every year they have suited up for the Jumbos, their NESCAC season has ended with a conference trophy, an impressive feat in one of Div. III lacrosse’s notoriously competitive divisions. More impressive was the sheer dominance the Jumbos displayed all season, as the team’s seniors combined to turn in possibly the best performances of their storied careers. From 2011, Tufts has won the title game of the NESCAC tournament by a combined
NICK PFOSI / THE TUFTS DAILY
Sunday, May 18, 2014
CAROLINE GEILING / THE TUFTS DAILY
seven goals; this year however, Tufts equaled that margin of victory in the championship. The Jumbos’ offensive fireworks, which led the team to score 20 or more goals nine times before the NCAA tournament, was one of the biggest catalysts of the team’s domination in the NESCAC. Only a 15-8 upset at the hands of Williams on April 1 marred an otherwise flawless conference performance. Tufts avenged that loss with a 17-6 blowout of Williams in the NESCAC semifinals. The only question remaining for the class of 2014 is if they can round out their collection of trophies with an elusive National Championship. 5. Rohrer makes his mark Rising sophomore diver Matthew Rohrer was outstanding in the first conference meet of his collegiate career, upsetting graduating senior teammate Johann Schmidt and Amherst graduating senior Colin White to win the NESCAC three-meter diving title. Rohrer had never competed in the three-meter prior to this season, making his championship even more unlikely. He scored 533.70 points to beat out Schmidt, who was a close second with 524.45. Rohrer also placed in the onemeter to help Tufts finish fourth in the conference meet. Rohrer went on to compete at Nationals, finishing 10th in both the onemeter and three-meter events. With Schmidt graduating, Rohrer appears ready to take over the reins as the team's top diver and has a bright future in front of him. 4. Men’s Track and Field wins NESCAC title This season, the men’s track and field team wanted to repeat its feat last year of winning the NESCAC title. Unlike last year when the Jumbos crushed the field, the team, missing star graduating senior Graham Beutler, needed a historic performance on all fronts to win the title this year. And that they did. On a rainy Saturday afternoon at Colby College, the team edged out Middlebury, who was the favorite coming into the meet, 178.9 to 166.5. Many Jumbos performed impressively, including rising senior Brian Williamson who upset NCAA leader and Bates rising senior Sean Enos to take the shot-put title with a new personal record of 53’ 1/4”. Graduating senior Jamie Norton also had an incredible day on the track, as he won the 1,500-meter in 3:54.33 and doubled back to take third in the 5,000meter in 14:54.61. However, on a day in which every point mattered, all attention was focused on eighthplace finishers. Rising senior Greg Hardy unleashed a ferocious kick over the final 400 of the 10,000-meter run, covering the final lap in 65 seconds, and just edging out Amherst rising sophomore Raymond Meijer for eighth place. In a similar fashion, graduating senior Brian McLaughlin passed a few runners over the final 200 meters to take eighth in the 5,000meter. Rising sophomore Henry Zhou also ran
a strong race in the 400-meter hurdles to take eighth place out of the slower heat in 57.06. With such strong performances, the Jumbos were able to keep the NESCAC title in their hands for at least another year. 3. There's a first for everything The women's basketball team tied the knot on its best regular season in team history by winning its first-ever NESCAC Championship, defeating Amherst 62-46 in the finals at Cousens Gym on March 2. Rising senior forward Hayley Kanner led the Jumbos in the contest with 21 points, while rising sophomore center Michela North added 10 points and 14 rebounds off the bench. Junior guard Kelsey Morehead played all 40 minutes, tallying 10 points, three assists and three rebounds. With the victory, Tufts matched the school record for single-season victories (26), tying the 2007-08 team that finished 26-4. In the following weeks, however, the Jumbos shattered that record, winning their first four games of the NCAA Tournament en route to a 30-3 overall record and the program's first-ever Final Four appearance. 2. Schmidt wins second national title In the final meet of his collegiate career, men's swimming and diving graduating senior tri-captain Johann Schmidt went out on a high note by winning the NCAA Div. III one-meter championship at the Nationals in Indianapolis. After placing third in the preliminaries, the four-time NCAA qualifier totaled 522.95 points in the finals to win the national title for the second time (he also won as a sophomore in 2012). Schmidt, who also came in fourth in the three-meter event, was named 2014 NCAA Div. III Diver of the Meet. The seven-time All-American contributed 35 of the Jumbos' 50 points, helping his team place 19th. 1. The shot heard 'round the Hill With the score tied at 54 and 4.6 seconds left in overtime of the Tufts women’s basketball team’s second-round NCAA tournament game against University of New England, graduating senior tri-captain Liz Moynihan made a play that will forever live in Tufts sports lore. Moynihan caught an inbound pass near half court from rising senior forward Hayley Kanner. Then, with three dribbles, Moynihan pushed her way to the top of the key. She jump-stopped behind the 3-point line and heaved an off-balance, line-drive shot toward the rim. It rattled home, sending Cousens Gymnasium into a frenzy. Moynihan, who was 0-for-7 on 3-pointers before the game winner, gave the Jumbos a 57-54 victory and sent them to the Sweet 16. They would go on to reach the Final Four. In four years with the women's basketball program, Moynihan made 267 field goals. She will be best remembered for just one. —compiled by the Tufts Daily Sports Department
NICK PFOSI / THE TUFTS DAILY
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After overcoming obstacles, team reaches NESCACs
Jumbos set expectations high for Nationals
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forced to cheer on his teammates from the sidelines and was unable to recover in time to compete this season. In the midst of injuries, the team faced another blow when several players decided to not continue with the tennis program. Perhaps the team's biggest loss was rising junior Nik Telkedhiev, who decided to leave the team to focus on his studies. Telkedhiev was ranked 25th when he quit. "Nik was obviously a tough loss for us because he's a great player, but we moved on and continued to focus on achieving our goals for the season," Glickman said. The Jumbos finished with a 9-9 record — a strong showing for a team that was never able to compete with its preseason full lineup. Instead, the dearth of top players forced other players to step up and fill their places. "What is amazing about our team this season is that we were extremely deep and experienced at the lower end of the lineup," Jacobson said. "This ended up being a huge asset for us when players higher in the lineup dealt with injuries. Our team has a lot of heart and a lot of grit, and when we were in difficult positions, everyone was hungry and ready to prove to the competition that hard work pays off, and our results definitely show that." In particular, the Jumbos received key performances from younger players, such as rising sophomore Brad Wong. Wong showed promise early on, winning matches at both the Middlebury Invitational and Wallach Invitational in the preseason. Wong was also
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and rising senior attackman Kyle Weber answered for Endicott to pull the score to 6-5 in favor of Tufts headed into intermission. After halftime, rising senior attackman Cole Bailey started the scoring off with an unassisted goal. Rising senior attackman Nick Pinciaro of Endicott answered with his first of two goals before Schoenhut and he traded goals until the end of the third period to set the score at 9-7. Weber hit a shot at the 13:27 mark to pull Endicott within one point of leading, but Gill's strike four minutes later would push the score back to 10-8. Junior attackman Jonathan Morgan netted the Gulls' final goal at the 6:10 mark, but ultimately it would be one too few to force an overtime period. Despite being a man down after a penalty at the 2:10 mark, Tufts was able to keep the ball in the offensive zone to run down the clock and secure the win. "[Endicott] has a great offensive group and a tough defensive group," head coach Mike Daly said of the close contest. "[I] was a little disappointed at times; I felt we had opportunities to gain some momentum and put a little bit of distance on them, but Endicott made every play it needed to make to keep [the game] close, and our guys made every play ... We knew it was going to be a dogfight." Watkins finished the day with 16 saves, making five in both the second and third quarters. Daly earned his 200th career victory in his 16th season leading the Jumbos. The Tufts lacrosse program, making its seventh NCAA Championship appearance, is no stranger to the contested play that comes with advancing into the later stages of the tournament. "I think our past experience playing in May just helps us understand how special this time of year truly is — there's only a handful of teams nationwide that end up playing well into May," McDermott said. "Earning the opportunity to spend more time with our teammates and coaches is as great as it gets." Eight Jumbos recently received AllNESCAC honors with the conclusion of conference play. Bailey was named Player of the Year while Daly split Coach of the Year honors with Williams' George McCormack. Bailey,
given the chance to join Glickman and Telkedhiev at the ITA Regional Championships, and although he fell in the first round, he gained valuable experience against some of the region's top competitors. Wong was especially impressive during the team's trip to California over spring break, where he did not drop a single match, going 6-0. In fact, Wong's first loss of the spring season came against top-ranked Amherst, who beat Tufts 9-0. "Brad has definitely become a leader both on and off the court," Glickman said. "He's a talented player who has quickly adapted to playing high-level college tennis." With players like Wong stepping up, the team was able to keep its sights set on securing a playoff spot. With a 3-5 record in the NESCAC, Tufts recorded a tight 5-4 victory over Colby, which ended up pushing the team into the NESCAC tournament as the sixth seed. "We try not to take the highs too high and lows too low, but we were all pumped to make NESCACs because we were in close contention for a playoff spot and managed to secure some important victories at the end of the season to ensure it," Glickman said. While this season proved to be one filled with adversity and obstacles, the Jumbos will continue to focus on working cohesively and ensuring that every player is prepared to step up. "We worked extremely hard all season, knowing that the hard work would pay dividends," Glickman said. "We have a lot of talent, so we'll continue to work on bringing out the best in all of us and try to build off of this past season."
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chase. His time of 9:03.82 bested that of Vermont's Aaron Anderstrom by more than 10 seconds. While not his seasonbest time, Wallis ranks fifth in the nation in the event and will join Norton on the trip to the NCAA Championships. Like Norton, Black also broke his school record in the 800-meter, which he set last year. Black's time of 1:50.13 is an improvement of three-tenths of a second over his previous best, and has propelled him to third in the nation. When it comes time to travel to Nationals, Black will join both Norton and Wallis as the three individuals most likely to represent Tufts. Rising junior Veer Bhalla backed up his classmate in the 800-meter, clocking in at 1:53.98 to finish 22nd. Between Bhalla and Black, Tufts was one of three Div. III teams, along with Williams and MIT, to land two runners in the top-25 in the 800-meter. Rising junior Alex Karys, rising senior Allan Yau and graduating senior tri-captain David Sutherland took fourth, fifth and sixth — the final three spots — respectively; in the decathlon, which took place on the first two days of competition. Although none of Tufts' participants won any of the 10 component events, both Karys, who led the way with a personal best of 5,477 points, and Sutherland each registered at least one second-place finish apiece. Combined, Karys, Yau and Sutherland contributed 12 of Tufts' 38 points — nearly one-third of Tufts' total. Off the track, rising senior thrower Brian Williamson heaved the shot-put 51' 9" to place seventh out of 23 entrants. In the discus throw, rising junior Atticus Swett finished 19th out of 24 athletes with a toss of 133' 6".
Impressive individual and team results aside, Tufts, beset with injury and pressed for time, will face formidable obstacles in the coming weeks. "We had a pretty solid performance at the [NEICAAA Championships] this weekend," rising junior Alex Kasemir said. "We accomplished some of the things that we wanted to accomplish, but we still have some important work to do next week." While Norton, Wallis and Black have all but assured themselves of a spot at NCAAs, graduating senior Graham Beutler, who has suffered various injuries and ailments over the past month or so, and the 4x400meter relay team, which competed at the NCAA Indoor Championships in March, have yet to qualify. "The [4x400-meter relay] hit another bump in the road when [rising junior] Francis [Goins] hurt his hamstring in the open [400]," Kasemir said. "We still put together a really fast [4x400meter relay] with two freshman and two sophomores, but it was not enough to qualify." Still, buoyed by an underdog victory at the NESCAC Championship, Tufts' outlook remains positive. "The NESCAC victory was completely unprojected based on seeds, and it still sounds surreal that we came home with the [win]," rising junior Woody Butler said. "I'm looking forward to see some Jumbos competing not just for AllAmerican titles, but for podium finishes." Barring several key injuries, Tufts seems primed for yet another successful NCAA Championships, something of a constant over the past few years. It will be the last hurrah for seniors Norton, Wallis and Beutler, who will surely look to go out with a bang. If history is evidence, there is little reason to doubt their mettle.
Jumbos play strong amid program overhaul Wood, Uppgren, Helfrich and graduating senior tri-captain Kane Delaney all earned first team All-NESCAC honors. Schoenhut and graduating senior tri-captain Dan Alles were second team All-NESCAC honorees. This season matches 2007 for the greatest number of players receiving accolades. It is just one of the many accomplishments that display the team's stellar work ethic and eagerness to compete. "The defining quality of this year's team is just a bunch of great guys that love spending time with the team," McDermott said. "Every day guys come to play and it's the best part of all our days — that's the kind of team everyone wants to be a part of, and now we're just looking to maximize this opportunity. I'm most proud of our overall consistency and attention to detail — we had two loses earlier in the season, and our team has responded to this adversity by increasing our focus and commitment to our primary goal: to win a national championship." As the last remaining NESCAC team in the NCAA Championship hunt, the Jumbos have a tough stretch ahead. The quarterfinals matchup saw them take on a familiar foe at Bello Field: the No. 8 SUNY Cortland Red Dragons. For the fourth time in the last five seasons these two teams met in the tournament, and this time the Jumbos emerged with a resounding 15-5 victory. The game was shaping up to be another close battle for Tufts, as after the first period Cortland led 4-3. The Jumbos’ offense, however, erupted to score 12 straight goals, while Cortland was held scoreless for over two periods of play. Wood notched a game-high five goals, Uppgren netted four, Bailey scored three and Gill added two. Watkins finished with 14 saves, and three Tufts defenders finished with two turnovers caused: graduating senior tri-captain midfielder Kane Delaney, and rising senior defensemen Cem Kalkavan and Garrett Read. It will be the Jumbos’ fourth appearance in the NCAA semifinals in five years. Tufts will travel to take on top-ranked Rochester Institute of Technology in a semifinals matchup today. The championship game takes place May 25 in Baltimore at M&T Bank Stadium.
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fielder Eliza Halmo and rising seniors Kali DiGate and Lindsey Walker, provided offensive leadership, and between them combined for 87 total goals on the season. However, the offense was largely run by two rising juniors: midfielder Brigid Bowser (second team AllNESCAC) and Ross. Bowser finished fifth in the NESCAC in assists, while Ross had the eighth most goals in the conference. These two combined for 59 goals and 32 assists, and they will only get better as they look toward their junior seasons. "We all worked very hard in practice both in the offseason and regular season," Ross said. "It clearly translated, but I think that we can definitely improve and be an even better team next season. The whole team will work very hard this upcoming offseason, and we will find many ways to motivate ourselves." Second team All-NESCAC rising senior defender Emily Wright anchored the team's defense in Farrell's new system. Wright finished tied for first in the NESCAC in caused turnovers, and she was second in the conference in ground balls.
The Jumbos will lose a defensive standout in graduating senior Kelley Cohen, but the team will look to Wright and rising junior defender Jaymi Cohen to replace her imposing presence. "Looking back, I had so many fond moments as a Jumbo, but I think going to the NCAAs my freshman year is what I will remember most," Cohen said. "We beat Middlebury in the NESCAC tournament, which was huge. Then we won our first round matchup of the NCAAs too. I am so proud to be a part of this year's team which really competed at a high level all year." The season ended on a sour note with a loss to Williams in the NESCAC quarterfinals, and while the team held out hope for an NCAA bid, it did not receive one. Expectations are very high for next season. After finishing the 2014 season at 10-6 (6-4 in the conference), the Jumbos seem to be well-prepared moving forward. The team will lose just four players, and current players have already adjusted to Farrell's offensive and defensive schemes. After exceeding expectations in 2014, the Jumbos will have to adjust to one more change: entering 2015 as the favorites.
Caroline GeilinG / The TufTs Daily
The women’s lacrosse team played well this season under new head coach Courtney farrell.
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SportS
GOLF
Strong performances from underclassmen headline spring season by Alison Kuah Daily Editorial Board
With Tufts' two best golfers — rising seniors Alex Zorniger and John Wawer — abroad for the spring semester, the golf team saw strong performances from rising sophomore and junior players, who rose to the challenge with increased playing time afforded by Zorniger and Wawer's absences. Rising junior Brendan Koh led the Jumbos with team-best scores for all three tournaments — earning medalist honors at the Rhode Island College (RIC) Invitational, tying for 34th place at the Hampton Inn Invitational and for 17th individually at the Western New England Invitational. "For me, spring has always been a better season than fall because spring training plays a big part," Koh said. "The more tournament experience I get, the better [I get], and I've reached the limit for the amount of experience I need. I expect strong performances from myself from here on [out]." Koh came in first of 83 golfers at RIC's Invitational. With a two-day score of 154 at the par-72 Valley Country Club (79, 75), Koh led a strong Tufts team that placed fifth out of 17 teams, recording its best finish of the spring season. The host, RIC, took first place overall, with its highest individual finish coming from rising junior Jonathan Cooper's tie with Tufts rising sophomore Owen Elliott. The finish for Elliot marked an outstanding spring season in his first year. "My most vivid memory of this season was when Brendan [Koh] and I were trying to win the [RIC Invitational] at Valley Country Club, tying for the lead back and forth," Elliot said. "I came in and bogey-bogeyed for the finish, and I was looking up at the board and I didn't see anyone ahead of me, so I'm like, 'Did I win?' And Coach P[endergast] turns around and he's like, 'No, you finished second to Brendan.' That's really memorable because it's one of the better results Tufts golf has had." The second tournament of the short spring season was played at
UMass Dartmouth's Hampton Inn Invitational, where the team placed 14th out of 18 teams at the par-72 Allendale Country Club. The Jumbos were five strokes better (346) as a foursome on the second day to total 697 over two days, but were unable to move up in the team standings, tying Worcester State for 14th place. The weather, a factor for the Jumbos all spring, was especially harsh during the tournament, affecting the greens and the players' putting. "It's been a long and cold winter, so the course was three weeks late in the set up and the grass was just starting to grow," Elliott said. "The conditions weren't hospitable to play, which didn't really affect us in the first tournament, but in the second tournament [the weather] really got into our heads." "The conditions were brutal, and it was pretty cold so the grounds were a little wet," Koh added. "It's hard to putt well because speed and gradient [of the greens] were inconsistent." Despite the conditions, which made the short game difficult, Koh led Tufts on the first day with an 83 and his 168 for two rounds tied for 34th out of the 89 players who started the tournament. Elliott scored second for the Jumbos with an 86 on the first day and tied with Koh at 85 on the second. His two-round total of 171 was good enough for 47th place overall. Elliott, who missed out on playing time during the fall season, benefited from the experience gained from the spring. "In spring, the season is shorter, and the coaches give the younger players the opportunity to play in the tournaments," he said. "It gives [players] the opportunity to show if [they] can play or not. I'd say I'm in a decent shape to play in the fall." Another standout this spring season was rising sophomore Ben Ruskin, going 89-88-177 at the Hampton Day Invitational and playing a key role on the team for all three tournaments. "We've had a very strong spring season, and it's been a good chance to develop our freshmen, Owen [Elliott] and Ben [Ruskin], and they've both
played much better," Koh said. Amherst College took both the team (634) and individual victories behind rising graduating senior Josh Moser's second day score of 73. Moser ended up winning the tournament with a two-day score of 152. For Koh, whose brother, Nicholas Koh, is the graduating senior captain of the Amherst team, the tournament was an especially significant one. "I was playing at the No. 1 position [for Tufts] after winning the RIC Invitational and my brother was supposed to play No. 1 for Amherst, but the coach moved him to No. 3 so he wouldn't be distracted," Koh said. "I've trained with all the guys on the Amherst team so it makes things very competitive." In Springfield at the Western New England Invitational, Koh shot a 79 to lead the team at the Veterans Golf Course, where Tufts placed seventh out of 10 teams. The Jumbos' four best scores totaled 335 strokes, 33 strokes behind the champions and hosts Golden Eagles' score of 302. Elliott was second for the Jumbos with a score of 81 and Ruskin came in with an 86 on the par-72 course. The tournament — the last of the season for the Jumbos — also served as a farewell to graduating seniors David Carson and captain Kenny Alperin. "Kenny [Alperin] and Dave [Carson] played and they're both seniors — two of the guys on the team I'm closest to," Koh said. "It was good that they got out there and played, and we're definitely missing two big guys [next year]." After the Jumbos' NESCAC hopes ended last fall by placing sixth in the Sept. 28-29 competition at Bowdoin, two spots out of qualification, the strong performances by the underclassmen could be the spark the Jumbos need for their NESCAC push next season. "Spring has prepared us for the fall," Koh said. "The [rising sophomores] have gained valuable experience, prepped them for next year, and for me, winning a tournament has given me confidence and challenged me to continue my strong performance in the fall."
Sunday, May 18, 2014 WOMEN'S LACROSSE
New head coach takes Tufts to new heights by Wil Glavin Daily Staff Writer
The 2013 women's lacrosse team was a talented group, but was unable to string together enough conference wins to be a legitimate threat to the NESCAC powerhouses. The 2014 season appeared to be a rebuilding year for the Jumbos, as teams rarely find immediate success after bringing on a new coach. However, the hiring of head coach Courtney Farrell in the offseason proved to be a boon for the women's lacrosse program. "Coach Farrell revitalized the team," graduating senior Kelley Cohen said. "We had a great offseason, and everyone worked really hard to learn our coach's new system. The fresh coaching blood definitely helped our team spirit and chemistry." Tufts started off the year with a 2-2 record (0-1 in the conference), but its win on March 15 over conference-rival Colby appeared to be a turning point in the season. "Colby was our best game all season," rising junior attacker Caroline Ross said. "It was the first time in a couple of years that we were able to pull out the win. Winning on the road against a top team really fired us up." After defeating Colby 16-14, Tufts went on to win four of its next six games, including two big wins over NESCAC opponents Conn. College and Hamilton. Tufts' calling card throughout the season was its speed and aggression on the attack. The team's mantra appeared to be "shoot early and often," as it tied with Williams for most shots in the NESCAC. Graduating senior co-captain attacker Gabby Horner finished off a tremendous career as a Jumbo, scoring 33 goals over the entire season. She is one of just 16 Tufts players to reach 100 goals in her career. Horner's presence was always felt, but her best play came late in games. The clutch captain came through for the Jumbos countless times. Her final act of brilliance was scoring the final three goals in an overtime win over conference-rival Bates on April 15. Horner, a second team All-NESCAC selection, along with fellow graduating senior midsee WOMEN'S LACROSSE, page 45
SAILING
by Steven Hefter Daily Staff Writer
Coed Sailing The Tufts coed sailing team continued its string of strong performances at the New England Dinghy Championship at Coast Guard over the weekend of April 26. On the line was one of New England's eight berths into the Inter-Collegiate Sailing Association National Championship semifinals, and, with a sixth-place finish, the Jumbos qualified for a spot. Although the team had already qualified for competition at Nationals, their performance at the New England Championship assured them a spot in the semifinals. Tufts accrued a total of 226 points over fourteen races in two divisions. The Jumbos received a stronger performance from their A Division boat, which came in fourth place with a total of 94 points, while the B Division boat had difficulty, coming in eleventh place with a total of 132 points. "We definitely struggled a little bit at first," graduating senior tri-captain David Liebenberg said. "It took a little while to figure out the conditions. They were a little bit tricky and a little different than the conditions we get at our lake, but we figured it out and made a run on the second day." Yale won the New England Championship with a total of 111 points, followed by Dartmouth with a total of 174 points. The other teams that earned berths into the National Championship semifinals were Boston College, U.S. Coast Guard Academy, Brown, Bowdoin, Connecticut College and Harvard. The semifinals will take place at St. Mary's College in Maryland on June 3. Graduating senior tri-captain Will Haeger
skippered all 14 races for the A Division boat. Fellow graduating senior Paula Grasberger crewed for the first through sixth races and the ninth through 14th races. Filling in for her for the seventh and eighth races was rising junior Casey Gowrie. The A Division boat won the fifth and 12th start and finished in the runner-up position in the 10th start. In the B Division boat, rising senior Alec Ruiz-Ramon skippered for 13 out of the 14 races, with Liebenberg skippering for the seventh race. Rising senior Sam Madden crewed for the first through sixth and the 14th race. Crewing for the seventh through 13th races was rising sophomore Alex Tong. The B Division boat came in third place three times over the 14 races. The Jumbos now have a long break before Nationals. With a slew of strong performances in the last month of competition, the Jumbos will be riding a sizable wave of momentum into their most important race of the season. Women's Sailing The women's sailing team had a short spring season, only competing in two regattas: the St. Mary's Intersectional regatta on the weekend of March 15 and the New England Championship at Dartmouth College on the weekend of April 19. At the St. Mary's regatta, the Jumbos came in last place out of 18 teams, totaling 451 points. At the New England Championship, Tufts came up short again, finishing 14th out of 17. Despite the disappointing results, there were several bright spots for the Jumbos, including the A Division boat's performance. Rising sophomore skipper MaryClaire Kiernan and rising junior crew Kate Wasynczuk started the St. Mary's regat-
CourTesy Will haeGer
The coed sailing team’s performance over the last few competitions has secured a nationals berth. ta with two fourth-place and two fifth-place finishes in the first five races. "The biggest struggle of [the New England Inter-Collegiate Sailing Association's Women's Championships] was adjusting to sailing [Flying Juniors] in current," Kiernan told the Daily in an email. "We usually practice in Larks on Mystic Lake, so the new conditions and boats forced us to change our sailing strategy. We could not adapt to the changing conditions at the same pace as the other teams. However, we were still able to have a couple good races."
Although Tufts did not earn one of the eight qualifying spots to the Inter-Collegiate Sailing AssociationWomen's Championship, hosted by the Naval Academy in late May, the relative success the Jumbos did have has generated excitement for a young team moving forward. Comprised mostly of freshmen and sophomores, the team has viewed 2014 as a building block for the next several years. With many young sailors showcasing their considerable talents against top competition, the future looks bright for the Jumbos moving forward.
Sunday, May 18, 2014
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SportS
MEN'S TENNIS
Players step up in season marred by injuries by Jorge Monroy-Palacio Daily Editorial Board
It's never easy to begin a season without a top player and it doesn't get easier losing another two key players midseason. Yet these are the exact obstacles the men's tennis team faced this year. Despite an unprecedented amount of adversity at the top of the lineup this season, the Jumbos pulled off several late-season wins to make it to the NESCAC tournament. The team's off-season work was focused on doubles play and increasing fitness, which produced early results with wins against Denison, Sewanee and Occidental. "The weight training we did in the off-season was crucial to adding both agility and strength to our games," rising junior Jay Glickman said. "Our coaches added extra emphasis on doubles work this year because we've struggled with it in the past. That, combined
with some crucial tactical work, definitely helped us as well." However, before the season even had a chance to get going, Glickman, who regularly played in the No. 1 spot, found himself in a tough position. "I sprained my wrist the first day of the regular season," Glickman said. For most of the season Glickman sat on the sidelines, but once classmate Rob Jacobson sustained an injury in mid-April, Glickman returned to match play. "The recovery process for tendons is pretty long, so unfortunately my wrist is still not 100 percent pain-free," Glickman said. "Now that the season is over, though, it should heal a lot faster." Jacobson was accidentally hit in the eye with a tennis ball while volunteering at a Special Olympics event. With a scratched cornea, he was see MEN'S TENNIS, page 45
Caroine GeilinG / The TufTs Daily
There were many roster changes on the men’s tennis team this season.
tufts Daily Sports Awards Male Athlete of the Year: Johann Schmidt Two years after making a name for himself by winning the Div. iii national Championship in the one-meter dive, graduating senior tri-captain Johann schmidt solidified his passion as one of the top divers in school history by claiming his second championship in the one-meter. schmidt capped off his prestigious career in fitting fashion, by saving his best season as a diver for Tufts as his last. schmidt's 35 points at nationals tied his highest championship total since 2012, when he also won the one-meter competition. his performance, which included a fourth-place finish in the three-meter, also earned him Diver of the Meet honors. earlier in the season, schmidt made sure to take the time to cement himself in as many record books as possible at the nesCaC Championships, in which his 578.15 point victory in the one-meter set pool, school, nesCaC and conferencechampionship meet records. The following weekend, schmidt also set the school record in the three-meter event with a score of 592.50 at the nCaa Zone Diving Qualifier. although Tufts has seen many impressive performances on the big stage this year, few athletes have come through as often and consistently as schmidt did in 2014, making him the Daily's pick for Male athlete of the year. Co-Female Athlete of the Year: Jo Clair Graduating senior co-captain Jo Clair used 2014 to put the final touches on her outstanding softball career, winning her first nesCaC Player of the year award en route to leading Tufts to its third-straight nesCaC title. Clair has been crushing the ball since she stepped on the field for Tufts as freshman, but she took her offensive performance to another level this year, leading the conference with 51 runs scored, 60 hits, 19 home runs, 58 runs batted in, 132 total bases, a 1.000 slugging percentage and a .529 on-base percentage, as of Tufts’ game against endicott on May 11. Clair also finished a close second for the batting title, hitting .455. she set new school records in rBis, total bases, slugging percentage and home runs. in the process of being named Player of the year, Clair was also named to her fourth all-nesCaC first team and cemented herself as one of the best offensive performers in Tufts and nesCaC history. With the softball team gearing up for another run deep into the nCaa tournament, Clair, who has now achieved nearly every accolade possible during her career, will once again be the focal point for the Jumbos as they seek their second-straight nCaa title.
Co-Female Athlete of the Year: Allyson Fournier it was impossible to pick just one member of the dynamic battery that consisted of graduating senior co-captain catcher Jo Clair and rising senior pitcher allyson fournier, so both players took home this year’s Daily award for female athlete of the year. While Clair brings home the praise at the plate, fournier performs just as impressively on the mound. following up on her sophomore year in which she won Div. iii athlete of the year and led the Jumbos to a national championship, fournier has not let up one bit. she was awarded nesCaC Pitcher of the year after leading the conference in every important pitching category as of Tufts’ game against endicott on May 11: wins (21), complete games (18), shutouts (11), strikeouts (251), batting average against (.100) and era (0.44). fournier's most dominant performance was on april 17, when she tossed her fourth career perfect game against Bridgewater state in a 2-0 victory. fournier struck out 15 batters in the outing in what was one of her top performances on the mound in an already extraordinary career. What has been most noticeable this year, though, has been fournier's ability to pitch at any time, in any situation and put her team in a position to win. in the nesCaC tournament, fournier pitched complete games three days in a row as the winning pitcher for Tufts in every game it played, pitching 19 innings throughout the whole tournament and allowing only 3 runs. While this will be the last year that Tufts will enjoy the fournier/Clair duo, it will get one more year of fournier on the mound, and there is little doubt that the team will enjoy every inning of it. Coach of the Year: Courtney Farrell although there were plenty of Tufts coaches that led their teams to successful seasons — Carla Berube, Mike Daly, John Casey, Cheryl Milligan — there were none that made such an immediate change on a program as Courtney farrell of the women's lacrosse team. farrell came into the position following a 2013 season in which the Jumbos went 3-7 in the nesCaC, and often looked leagues away from their competition. however, it seems as if farrell's presence alone infused her team with a new sense of excitement and urgency, as every player embraced their coach's new style of play. farrell's aggressive offensive and defensive schemes led the Jumbos in a number of high-intensity games, and, unlike last year, they were prepared to compete when the score got tight. although the Jumbos were denied a berth in the nCaa tournament, their season was an unqualified success, after having improved their nesCaC record from 3-7 last year to 6-4 this year. More impressively,
Tufts' four losses came against the top-four teams in the nesCaC, and were all close games: a 12-8 loss to Middlebury, an 11-7 loss to Trinity, a 10-5 loss to Williams and a 15-9 loss to amherst. Meanwhile, the Jumbos beat every team they were favored against and made it clear that they are well on their way to joining the top echelon of nesCaC competition. Team of the Year: Men's Lacrosse sometimes when a team is so good for so long, it's easy for it to get overlooked. But after winning its fifth-straight nesCaC title, the Daily found few teams more deserving of recognition than the men's lacrosse team. The no. 6 Jumbos have been powered this year by their offense, which has averaged an incredible 18.75 goals per game, the most in the country, as of their game against endicott on May 10. The team is led by a slew of hard-shooting, stick-handling phenomenons: rising senior attackman Chris schoenhut is second in the nation with 3.90 goals per game and leads the nesCaC with 79 total goals; graduating senior tricaptain midfielder Beau Wood is second in the nesCaC with 60 goals scored; rising junior attackman John uppgren leads the conference with 111 points and rising senior attackman Cole Bailey is not far behind with 101 total points. it has not just been that the Jumbos have been scoring at a record-breaking pace; graduating senior goalie Patton Watkins has also played a huge role on the other end of the field. The May 5 nesCaC Player of the Week recipient has consistently shut down opposing offenses that try to keep up with the fast-paced Tufts attack, and he has been a key factor in many of Tufts' one-sided victories. With yet another nesCaC Championship to add to the trophy case, the men's lacrosse team has proven to be one of the most consistent teams in the conference and worthy of this year's award for Team of the year. Male Rookie of the Year: Hunter Sabety if a student were to quickly peek inside Cousens Gymnasium, he or she might have wondered why the los angeles Clippers were practicing in Medford. although rising sophomore hunter sabety doesn't quite resemble Blake Griffin yet, his raw athleticism and talent both brought a new level of excitement to the men's basketball team this year, and makes him the Daily's Male rookie of the year. sabety, who famously chose Tufts over several Div. i schools, has been one of the few Jumbos in recent memory who could truly dominate a game above the rim. he also translated his superior athleticism into meaningful contributions for a Tufts team that was ravaged by injuries. The Jumbos, who were without last year's nesCaC rookie of the year rising junior Tom Palleschi and, for a good chunk of the
season, the 2012 nesCaC rookie of the year rising senior Ben ferris, had to rely on their newest star freshman to carry the load. sabety filled the shoes of his predecessors admirably, leading the team with 14.8 points per game and 2.79 blocks per game. although sabety was denied the chance to represent Tufts as the nesCaC rookie of the year for the third-straight time, the Daily finds him more than deserving of the Male rookie of the year award. Female Rookie of the Year: Cassie Ruscz on a team as talented as softball, it can be hard to stand out. rising sophomore first baseman Cassie ruscz did just that, however, and in the process earned herself the Daily's female rookie of the year award. ruscz seemed right at home in the talented Jumbos' lineup, hitting in the cleanup spot in every single game this year. ruscz has certainly given head coach Cheryl Milligan no reason to move her, hitting .373 with 10 homeruns and 47 rBis as of Tufts’ game against endicott on May 11. More impressively, ruscz has shown poise in big situations for a team that will face many more as it moves deeper into the nCaa tournament. ruscz tallied four rBis over three games in the nesCaC tournament, which was her first collegiate postseason experience. ruscz' impressive offensive performance as a freshman also earned her all-nesCaC first team honors to go along with her cherished Daily award for female rookie of the year. Most Improved Player of the Year: Greg Jenkins Compared to many of the teams that are in this awards section, the hockey team was relatively less successful. however, a season marred by injuries also included several bright spots, none brighter than the surprising emergence of graduating senior goalie Greg Jenkins. Jenkins, without injuries, probably would have ended his career as a Jumbo in ignominy. he was slotted third on the depth chart, behind last year's starter, graduating senior Brian Phillips and rising sophomore ryan Kellenberger. an injury to Phillips just five minutes into the season forced Kellenberger into action earlier than expected. however, Kellenberger was inconsistent between the pipes and also fell victim to injuries as the season wore on, pushing Jenkins into action. Jenkins, who had played in three games before this year, showed that he was more than capable of tending net for the Jumbos, finishing sixth in the nesCaC in save percentage (.912) and ninth in goals against average (2.96). although the Jumbos were unable to capitalize on Jenkins' performance in net, he is still more than deserving of this year's Most improved Player award. —by Jake Indursky
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Fall and Winter Sports Recaps Men'S Soccer Coming off an impressive 2012 campaign and returning its top-four leading scorers, the men's soccer team had big expectations heading into 2013. A three-game winning streak at the beginning of the year, in which the Jumbos outscored their opponents 10-0, only further heightened those expectations. A mid-season lull, however, hit Tufts hard, as it lost three-straight games — including two crucial conference games — to MIT, Williams and Hamilton. Rising senior Maxime Hoppenot was once again a star, leading the team with six goals on his way to being named to the All-Conference First Team. The Jumbos also saw an impressive performance from rising junior Tal Smith, who was second on the team with eight points. However, with rising senior forward Gus Santos only able to play in 11 games and the Jumbos delivering inconsistent play, the team could only muster a 6-4 conference record and a matchup against Bowdoin in the first round of the NESCAC tournament. The Jumbos suffered a crushing defeat to the Polar Bears, who won in penalty kicks after a late goal from Tufts rising junior defender Monil Patel tied the game, sending it into overtime. Looking ahead, Tufts should have another promising year, as its intimidating attack led by Hoppenot, Santos and Smith should terrorize NESCAC goalies in 2014.
WoMen'S Soccer The women's soccer team advanced to the NESCAC Championship semi-finals for the first time since 2009 this season. Tufts finished 9-7 overall, with a 5-5 NESCAC record, to earn the No. 6 seed in the conference tournament. After upsetting the third-ranked Bowdoin in the first round, Tufts fell 2-1 in a heartbreaker to No. 1 seed Middlebury, who went on to win the NESCAC Championship the following weekend against Williams. Tufts will graduate six seniors this year, including goalkeeper Kristin Wright, who started 12 games and posted a .781 save percentage, and tri-captain forward Anya Kaufmann, who led the Jumbos and was fifth in the league with 17 points (eight goals, one assist). Four of Kaufmann's goals came in conference games, including winners against Colby and Amherst. She also set the program's single-game scoring record with seven points (three goals, one assist) against Suffolk. But plenty of talent will remain on the Jumbos' roster. Rising sophomore forward Jess Capone had an impressive rookie campaign, tallying three goals and a team-high five assists. Rising sophomore keeper Eileen McGarry allowed just one goal in her three appearances this year, and both Kaufmann and rising senior defender Catharine Greer were named to the All-Region Women's Soccer Team. According to head coach Martha Whiting, who will coach her 16th season next year, Greer was at her best when the pressure was highest. Expect Greer to assume the role of captain next year.
Blair Brady Defender
The season was also a success for the Jumbos off the field. For the eighth time in nine years, Tufts was awarded the National Soccer Coaches Association of America Academic Honor, which recognizes college programs that have excelled in the classroom and on the field. The Jumbos achieved a 3.41 cumulative grade point average.
footbAll Four of Tufts’ eight losses this season were by margins of 14 points or fewer, and the team scored first on five occasions. But a victory remained elusive, and Tufts football went winless for a third straight season and 31 consecutive games. The season kicked off with Tufts playing in the NESCAC’s first-ever night game at Wesleyan, and it quickly became clear that the freshman class would carry much of the load. Rising sophomore running back Chance Brady put up impressive numbers in his first season, with 227 rushing yards and an average of 5.7 yards per carry. Classmate Mike Rando ranked third in the conference with 553 return yards. Rising sophomore quarterback Alex Snyder replaced injured rising senior Jack Doll midseason, and threw for 302 yards and four touchdowns in his first start at Williams. Rising sophomore defensive back Mike Stearns was third on the team with 63 tackles. But, despite young talent and an experienced linebacking corps, the Jumbos fell just short on several occasions. Most notably, Tufts lost on a last-minute touchdown at Bates and a last-minute, goal-line interception against Bowdoin. On Sept. 20, Tufts will begin a new season hosting Hamilton — the same team that Tufts defeated in its most recent win on Sept. 25, 2010.
Men'S croSS country Although the men's cross country team was plagued by the flu in the middle of the season, Tufts persevered and delivered several strong performances. In the second meet of the season, graduating senior tri-captain Ben Wallis led the team to a second-place showing at Bowdoin, winning the eight-kilometer race with a time of 25:28.52. Tufts ran consistently throughout the season, as those among the middle of the pack often finished less than 10 seconds apart from each other. At the New England Intercollegiate Amateur Athletic Association Championship, where the team placed eighth overall, runners three through six all crossed the finish line within six seconds of each other. Later in the season, the Jumbos returned to the NESCAC Championships looking to defend the title they won in 2012. Unable to repeat as champions, Tufts settled for third place behind Middlebury and NESCACchampion Williams. With the NCAA Regional Championships around the corner, the Jumbos elected to rest their top-seven runners for the ECAC Championships. Head coach Ethan Barron sent the junior varsity team,
comprised of runners 8-through-14, in their place. Led by rising senior Marshall Pagano's fourth-place finish, the JV squad came in second behind Williams. After qualifying for Nationals with a fourth-place finish at the regional meet, the Jumbos traveled to Hanover, Ind. to compete in the NCAA Div. III Nationals. But with disappointing performances from Wallis and fellow graduating senior tri-captain Jamie Norton, neither of whom scored in the meet, Tufts finished 17th — a far cry from its seventh-place finish the year before.
WoMen'S croSS country This past fall, the women's cross country team continued its tradition of excellence with multiple top-five
finishes at several invitationals, culminating in the NCAA Div. III Cross Country Championships in November. In the second week of the season, the Jumbos moved up in distance from a five-kilometer to six-kilometer course at the Bowdoin Invitational. Undeterred by the extra distance, Tufts outran the competition and finished first overall. As she did in the first meet of the season at the University of Southern Maine, rising junior Olivia Beltrani led the Jumbos, this time with a resounding first-place finish. She was at the front of a Jumbo herd that took 11 of the top 15 spots in the race to score 19 points for the win. After a 12th place finish at the New England Intercollegiate Amateur Athletic Association Championships and a win at Conn. College, Tufts took third overall at the NESCAC Championships with 90 points, behind Williams and conference champions Middlebury. Graduating senior tri-captain Abby Barker paced the Jumbos with her fourthplace finish. Following its top-three finish at NESCACs, Tufts placed third at the ECAC Championships and fourth at the NCAA Div. III Regional Championship to punch its ticket to Nationals in Hanover, Ind., where the Jumbos finished 13th among a field of 32 teams.
fielD Hockey A year after claiming its first national title in school history, the field hockey team had another strong follow-up campaign, finishing 15-3 overall and 9-1 in the NESCAC. The Jumbos entered the NESCAC tournament with only one loss, a tight 3-0 defeat against the Amherst Lord Jeffs on Sep. 28. Tufts dispatched Williams in the first round of the tournament, 3-0, to play Bowdoin in the semifinals. The Polar Bears dealt the Jumbos a surprising 4-2 loss though, playing the spoiler to their dreams of a NESCAC title for the second straight year. Tufts had a chance for redemption in the NCAA tournament, but was unable to recapture last year's magic, losing to Salisbury 1-0 in the second round. Although they fell short of a national title repeat, the Jumbos had a very strong 2013 season and show no signs of slowing down. While they will lose their second- and third-leading scorers in graduating senior forward co-captain Chelsea Yogerst, and graduating senior midfielder Emily Cannon, rising junior midfielder Dakota Sikes-Keilp — who led the team with 16 goals and 38 points — will return next year. Rising senior goalie Bri Keenan, who started all 18 of the Jumbos' games last year, will also continue her strong play next season.
VolleybAll One of the most consistent teams on campus had another strong campaign in 2013. The volleyball team finished 20-8 overall and made it as far as the NESCAC Championship semifinals before losing to Williams in three sets. Tufts was on a roll before falling to Williams, winning eight games in a row, including a hardfought 3-2 victory over Conn. College in the quarterfinals. Coach Cora Thompson's Jumbos went 7-3 in conference play to finish fourth in the NESCAC. Tufts was able to sustain winning streaks all season, losing consecutive games only once. The Jumbos were also nearly unbeatable at home, winning 11 of their 13 matches at Cousens Gymnasium. Several Jumbos received individual awards. Graduating senior defensive specialist and tri-captain Virginia Clay earned NESCAC All-Sportsmanship Team honors and was also selected to play in the 2013 New England Women's Volleyball Association (NEWVA) Senior Classic as one of New England's 32 top seniors. In addition to making the NESCAC AllConference first team Middle hitter Isabel
Alex Synder Quarterback
Kuhel, a rising senior, was named to the NEWVA All-New England second team. Rising sophomore Elizabeth Ahrens was one of seven players in the region to make the All-Rookie team after leading the NESCAC with 1.14 blocks per set. The impressive play from younger players on the team bodes well for the Jumbos’ future.
Men'S SquASH The men's squash team held its own this season against difficult conference competition, finishing 6-18 with impressive wins over Denison, Haverford and Vassar early on. Co-captain and rising senior Zachary Schweitzer and rising junior Aditya Advani were the team's leading performers. After studying abroad in the fall, Schweitzer returned ready to continue where he left off last spring. The results followed as Schweitzer, who consistently played in the No. 2 position, dropped a mere two matches during the regular season. In the No. 1 position, Advani was equally as impressive with wins against Hamilton at the NESCAC Championship, where he uncharacteristically dropped the second game 7-11, but came back in the third and fourth to win 11-3, 7-11, 11-7, 11-7. While the season did not prove to be one of the program's most successful, there were several individual highlights. Advani qualified and reached the second round of both the College Squash Association's Individual Championships and the Div. III Individual Championships, which were played for the first time after last year's inaugural competition was canceled due to inclement weather. Along with Advani and Schweitzer, rising sophomore Josh Lee proved to be a worthy member at the top of the ladder, as all three players participated in the Div. III Individual Championships. The Jumbos, led by their returning core of Advani, Schweitzer and Lee, will look for significant improvement next season with another year of experience under their belts.
WoMen'S SquASH The women's squash team had a successful spring campaign, finishing the season with a 12-11 record and ranked 27th in the nation. One of the brightest spots was an individual performance by rising senior Paige Dahlman. She won the B Division Draw at the Div. III Individual Championships, winning her last match against rising sophomore Chloe Polikoff of Bowdoin. Dahlman's individual success came after a disappointing showing in the NESCAC tournament. Tufts lost two of its three matches and came in 10th place out of 11 teams, finishing above only Conn. College. The team season ended with the College Squash Association's Team Championships. Tufts entered the competition as the No. 1 seed in the D division expecting to emerge victorious. The team’s hit a roadblock in the semi-
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finals against Virginia, however, and Tufts ultimately fell 5-4. The tournament ended as Tufts defeated William Smith in the consolation bracket by a match score of 5-4. Although the Jumbos' on-court success was not always consistent, the team was happy with its effort and chemistry, and will look to channel its positive attitude from this season into a successful campaign next year.
Men'S SWiMMing AnD DiVing Though the men's swimming and diving team was without its home pool for the spring semester, coach Adam Hoyt's team persevered and enjoyed a fine season highlighted by tremendous individual performances. After going 4-3 in dual meets during the regular season, Tufts came in fourth at the NESCAC Championships in late February, led by divers Johann Schmidt and Matt Rohrer. Schmidt, a graduating senior tricaptain, won the one-meter event and Rohrer, a rising sophomore, took the threemeter. Tufts set six school records at the meet, including three backstroke records by rising junior Michael Winget. The Jumbos sent four representatives — Schmidt, Rohrer, Winget and rising sophomore William Metcalfe — to the NCAA Div. III championships in Indianapolis over spring break. Schmidt starred in the final meet of his collegiate career, claiming his second one-meter national championship and placing fourth in the three-meter to earn Diver of the Meet honors. Rohrer finished 10th in both diving events, while Winget and Metcalfe each set school records as they helped Tufts place 19th — its highest finish at the national meet since 2010.
WoMen'S SWiMMing AnD DiVing In a season marred by the closing of Hamilton Pool in January, the women's swimming and diving team struggled to match last season's impressive third-place finish at NESCACs. The Jumbos finished their 2013-14 season taking seventh place out of 11 teams at the NESCAC Championships, which were held at Williams from Feb. 14 to 16. During the regular season, the team tallied a 1-4 record in dual meets and an 0-2 record in tri-meets. Without a home pool for much of the season, the team was forced to relocate to alternate facilities with 6 a.m. practices at the Mystic Valley Regional Charter School in
Malden and 9 p.m. practices at MIT. These inconveniences undoubtedly affected the team's training in the second half of the season and challenged the team's morale. Tufts fell just short in its only home meet against Keene State on Nov. 23, losing 163131. The team rallied to trounce Wheaton and pick up a much-needed victory at its senior day meet on Jan. 25. Though the season did not go as well as head coach Nancy Bigelow and her swimmers and divers may have hoped, there were a few bright spots. Graduating senior breaststroker Jenny Hu was a prolific point-scorer for Tufts all season long, and the team's divers, led by graduating senior Sami Bloom, were undefeated through the first half of the dual-meet season. Expecting a talented recruiting class and renewed motivation with a newly renovated Hamilton Pool, the Jumbos will look to return to the top of the NESCAC next year.
During the Tufts Last Chance Meet on March 6, Bhalla seized one final opportunity to qualify for the NCAAs, running the fifthfastest 800-meter time in the nation. In all, six Jumbos in all qualified for Nationals. The penultimate competitions of the season took place the week before the NCAA Championships, at the Eastern College Athletic Conference Championships and the Intercollegiate Association of Amateur Athletes of America (IC4A) Championship. While five of the NCAA Championshipbound sextet took the week off, rising junior relay racer Francis Goins utilized the IC4A Championship as a tune-up for the following week. Goins ran the 400-meter and finished 23rd with a time of 49.01. In Lincoln, the first day of competition proved to be a resounding success as Buetler broke the university's 18-yearold indoor 400-meter record and all four competing Jumbos qualified for the finals. The second day was equally impressive, as Tufts tied for 15th, with Black, Bhalla, Beutler, Goins and rising junior Alex Kasemir earning All-American honors for their top-eight finishes. It was a fitting end to yet another solid campaign for the Jumbos, will likely see success again next year with four of their six nationally-qualified runners returning.
WoMen'S inDoor trAck AnD fielD The women's track and field team had a successful indoor campaign, which culminated at the Div. III National Championships hosted by the University of Nebraska in March. As a team, Tufts relied on its depth and balance to finish among the top-20 teams in the nation. The Jumbos started off the season strong, winning the Tufts Invitational, the Bowdoin Invitational and the Tufts Stampede Pentathlon. Tufts also posted strong finishes at the Tufts Stampede Invite and the New England Div. III Championships, coming in second and third, respectively. Individually, graduating senior pentathlete Jana Hieber was the story of the season for the Jumbos, as she proved once again to be one of the top multi-eventers in the nation. Hieber contributed on all fronts, often placing high in events ranging from the long jump to the 4x400-meter relay. At the Tufts Stampede Invite on Jan. 31, she smashed the school record in the pentathlon, scoring 3,622 points — the highest Div. III score in the nation at the time. At Nationals, she broke the record again, scoring 3,691 points to take third overall and earn the third All-American honor of her career.
Men'S bASketbAll The men's basketball team's up-anddown season ended with an 87-77 overtime loss at Williams in the NESCAC Quarterfinals. After winning five of its first six games, the team ended with a 13-12 overall record and earned the No. 7 seed in the NESCAC Championship Tournament where it was pitted against No. 2 Williams in the first round. The Jumbos gave the Ephs all they could handle in front of their home
crowd, but unfortunately a win eluded them. With 1:13 remaining in regulation, graduating senior guard and tri-captain Kwame Firempong hit a floater to give Tufts a 66-62 lead. The Jumbos couldn't hold on in the final minute, and the Ephs tied the game at 67 to force overtime. Williams outscored Tufts by 10 points in the extra session, pulling away with late free throws. Williams beat Middlebury in the NESCAC Semifinals the following week before losing to Amherst in the finals. The team will graduate four seniors in May, but its three leading scorers will all return next season. Rising sophomore center Hunter Sabety, who averaged teamhighs in points per game (14.8) and blocks per game (2.8), along with 6.6 rebounds per game, and rising junior guard Stephen Haladyna, who pitched in with 12.4 points per game, will both be back in the brown and blue. In addition, rising senior guard Ben Ferris, who averaged 12 points per game and led the team in rebounds with 6.9 per game, will also return to the Cousens court. Ferris will undoubtedly assume more of a leadership role next year as the Jumbos look to work their way back into the NESCAC-elite.
Graduating seniors and tri-captains Liz Moynihan, Caitlin McClure and Ali Rocchi led the women's basketball team to its most successful season in program history, headlined by its first-ever NESCAC Championship and unprecedented Final Four berth in the NCAA Div. III Tournament. Tufts started the season with 21 consecutive wins — the longest winning streak in team history — and ended the regular season a near-perfect 23-1, with the sole loss coming at the hands of non-conference opponent Babson. Hosting the NESCAC Championship for the second straight year, Tufts was able to defeat Wesleyan, Trinity and defending champions Amherst en route to the NESCAC title. Their stellar results earned Tufts the home court advantage for the first four rounds of the NCAA Tournament, a benefit the team thrived on — highlighted by a buzzer beater in overtime by Moynihan against University of New England — before suffering a closely contested 42-39 loss to eventual champions Farleigh Dickinson University-Florham. Rising senior Kelsey Morehead was named to the All-Conference first team and All-Northeast second team, and classmates Hannah Foley and Hayley Kanner were both named to the All-Conference second team. Kanner was named All-Northeast Player of the Year as a member of the first team, and head coach Carla Berube was awarded NESCAC Coach of the Year honors for the fourth time, coupled with her first ever WBCA NCAA Div. III Regional Coach of the Year award. With the team returning its topfour leading scorers — Kanner, Foley, rising sophomore Michela North and Morehead — Tufts looks poised to add to its newly-minted NESCAC title next year.
ice Hockey
Katy McConnell
Oliver Cohen Guard
WoMen'S bASketbAll
Men'S inDoor trAck AnD fielD The men's track and field team, bolstered by a talented incoming class, started off its indoor season with a bang and never looked back. From the first meet, Tufts Invite No. 1, and onward, the Jumbos compiled a slew of top finishes throughout the season, which culminated in five All-American honors at the NCAA Championships in Lincoln, Neb. Led by graduating senior Graham Beutler and rising juniors Mitchell Black and Veer Bhalla, Tufts defeated runner-up Amherst by a whopping 24 points in the season-opener. The Jumbos remained hot over the next two weeks, recording consecutive secondplace finishes prior to the championship portion of their schedule.
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This season was a trying one for the ice hockey team. Losing captain and graduating senior Cody Armstrong before the start of the season, as well as classmate and goalie Brian Phillips five minutes into the second game, the team had to deal with a multitude of injuries and tough breaks. The Jumbos finished the season with an overall record of 4-19-1 and a NESCAC record of 2-15-1. After starting the season 3-8, Tufts endured a 10-game losing streak, nine of which came against NESCAC foes. While the team finished last in the NESCAC, the season was not without individual standout performances. Graduating senior forward Kyle Gallegos led the team, ending a strong four-year career with 53 goals and 81 points. While Gallegos has been a key cog within the Tufts offense throughout his career, fellow graduating senior Greg Jenkins spent the previous three seasons on the bench as a backup goalie. Given the opportunity to start this winter, Jenkins posted a .912 save percentage overall, and was named to the Codfish Bowl All-Tournament team in January. For the Jumbos, the season
may very well be remembered for two of their last three games. Six days after tying NESCAC runner-up Amherst, Tufts defeated eventual NESCAC champions Bowdoin in the final game of its season.
WoMen'S fencing The women's fencing team began its winter season with an undefeated performance at the Vassar Multi-Meet Scrimmage in November. Tufts downed all eight of its opponents, including a tight 14-13 win over Div. I Cornell University. Never before had the Jumbos gone undefeated at Vassar, nor had they taken down a Div. I school prior to their stint against the Big Red. Rising junior Alexandra Boden stood out for the sabre squad, amassing a 22-0 record over the course of the meet. Despite falling in its next meet at Harvard by a score of 22-5, the team rebounded well after the winter recess. The Jumbos started the second half of their season in late January with two meets in two days, first in a New England Intercollegiate Fencing Conference (NEIFC) meet and then at the Wellesley College Fencing Invitational. Over the two-day stretch, Tufts won eight of nine matches, including impressive wins over Brown and MIT, who finished 15th and 18th, respectively, in the NCAA Fencing Championships held March 20-23. Following its hot start, the squad, led by graduating senior co-captains Shelby Bean and Julia Hisey, traveled to the Northwestern Duals tournament, in which Tufts faced three of the top 10 teams in the country: Princeton, Northwestern and Temple. The weekend yielded mixed results for the Jumbos, who posted a 5-7 record, but was highlighted by several impressive individual performances. Rising sophomore Anna Gooch went 16-9 in epee over the 12 matches, including two wins against Temple and wins against Princeton and Northwestern. Boden also stood out for Tufts, going 20-7. Two weeks later in the NEIFC Championships, Tufts took fifth place out of 14 teams competing. The sabre squad, of Bean, Hisey and Boden, finished tied for first in its class by winning 32 of its 38 bouts. In their last competition of the season on March 9, the Jumbos traveled again to Wellesley for the NCAA Northeast Regionals. The sabre squad put in another strong performance, placing all three in the top 25. Gooch also placed in the top 25 for epee along with freshman Juliet Hewes, who placed 25th in foil.
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WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
An ode to the women's basketball team by Jake Indursky Daily Editorial Board
The women's basketball team wasn't the only Tufts team to win a NESCAC Championship this year, or even go deep into its NCAA tournament. But it was the only team, and has been for several years, to generate a level of buzz around the Hill typically reserved for activist marches or the Hillel Bagel Brunch. Starting the year, Tufts was expected to again be one of the top teams in the NESCAC under the guidance of head coach Carla Berube. The team's goal was straightforward: win the NESCAC championship. But the team did so much more than that. "We sat down and our goals were: let's host the NESCACs, let's go and be the No. 1 seed in the NESCAC tournament and then let's go and win NESCACs," graduating senior tri-captain Liz Moynihan said. For seniors like Moynihan and fellow tri-captains Caitlin McClure and Ali Rocchi, the season was also a chance to leave a lasting legacy. With a 63-56 win over Amherst on Jan. 17, the first win over their conference-rival since 2007, the seniors began to cement their legacies and the team began to realize that this year was going to be different. "The game against Amherst was one of those 'sports moments,'" rising senior Hayley Kanner said. "[Amherst was] a huge monkey on our back and having the opportunity to beat them took a lot of pressure off of us and made us realize just how good we were." As Moynihan pointed out, this season was a season of "lasts" for the seniors, and they made sure that their final year as Jumbos was also their best. "To have the best year of my four years be my senior year was an absolutely amazing experience," Moynihan said. "The past two years making it to the NCAA tournament and the Sweet 16 got us ready to be on a national stage, and coming so close the past two years to the NESCAC title really prepared us." Rattling off the Jumbos' achievements — an undefeated NESCAC season, a NESCAC title, a trip to the NCAA Final Four — has been done on these pages numerous times. Instead, what
niCK Pfosi / The TufTs Daily
The women’s backetball team celebrates after the second half of the Women’s Basketball nCaa Championship Quarterfinals in which they beat ithaca, 61-59. made this year so special for everybody involved in the Jumbos' success — fans, coaches and players alike — was the level of enthusiasm shown all over campus. For one month in March, sports became the talking point on campus like it had never been before. "Towards the end of the year, I will never forget those two or three NCAA games where the gym was packed," Moynihan said. "I remember three minutes left in overtime [against University of New England in the second round] and walking out onto the court, and just
feeling the entire gym shaking because of the absolute huge number of people there. Walking around campus and people that we didn't know congratulating us on our success was definitely something freshman year I wouldn't have expected." As Kanner pointed out, it's not usually the women's basketball program that galvanizes many fan bases in collegiate athletics. "If you're looking at any other women's basketball program — Div. III up to the Div. I level — it's not a sport that usually gets a lot of fans and university
and community support, so the fact that we were filling Cousens Gymnasium ... and hearing your name from classmates that you don't even really know was absolutely incredible,” Kanner said. “I felt like I was a professional athlete, and to have that experience while playing at Tufts University was incredible." While that feeling may or may not come back for Kanner next season, for at least this year the women's basketball team accomplished something less tangible, but also more lasting than a NESCAC championship — it brought sports back to Tufts.
Jumbos prepare to make run at Nationals WOMEN'S TRACK
continued from page 53
a time of 3:55.25 for 11th overall — another season best for Tufts. The Jumbos still have two meets left on the season. A few Jumbos may run in the Eastern College Athletic Championships (ECAC), held May 15-16 at Rennselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, N.Y. However, in past years, most Tufts runners have
skipped this meet to prepare for the Div. III National Championships, which will be held this year at Ohio Wesleyan University. Currently, only a few Jumbos rank in the top 25 in their events. The top 17 in each event qualify for the championships, but with scratches, it's possible that those athletes just outside of the top 17 could also compete. Hieber has the best shot out of any Tufts athlete to win a national title. She and Little
currently outpace the field by almost two seconds, so the battle for the 400-meter hurdles crown will likely be between them, with the winner likely being decided by fractions of a second. "I have run fast times without close competition," Hieber said. "I definitely think that running with competition will motivate me and hopefully propel me to an even faster time."
annie levine / The TufTs Daily
The women’s track team has several athletes looking to compete in this year’s Div. iii national Championships, to be held at ohio Wesleyan university.
Hieber also ranks 21st overall in the 400-meter as of May 12, though even if she does make the event after scratches, she may choose to focus solely on the 400meter hurdles. "I'll be running the 400 at ECACs, so we'll make a decision what to run at nationals afterward," Hieber said. "Obviously I'd love to compete in multiple events in Ohio, but we'll see how things shake out after this weekend." Gould is perhaps the next most likely candidate to run at Nationals. She is currently ranked 23rd in the nation in the 5,000-meter. Most of the women in the field have broken 17 minutes, which Gould has never done. If she makes the national championships, Gould will be able to take advantage of the momentum she has built coming into nationals, and can count on running a fast race against women of her caliber. In addition to placing second at NEICAAs, she won at NESCACs on April 26 by running a time of 17:30.26. The 4x100-meter relay team of rising senior Christina Harvey, Kaufmann, Allen and Harrison also have an outside shot of making Nationals with their race in Div. III New Englands a few weeks back. After Nationals, the team will lose stars such as Hieber, Kaufmann, Barker and Creath to graduation, but as the past few years have shown, the Jumbos have done a remarkable job filling such voids. With a tradition of strong leadership and excellence, the Jumbos look to step up next year and stay at the top of the NESCAC. "Summer training is going to be crucial for our team this year," Gould said. "Obviously we have a ton of talent in the freshman class that just needs some fine tuning. I think we can surprise people next year if people do things right over the summer."
Sunday, May 18, 2014
The TufTs Daily
51
SportS AARON LEIBOWITz | ThE FAN
CREW
by Jake Indursky Daily Editorial Board
Men's Crew The men's crew team took the water one last time on May 11, for one of its most challenging meets of the year at the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) National Invitational Championships. The meet featured teams mostly from the New England area, with a range of crews across all divisions. Tufts managed to hold its own against difficult competition, finishing 12th out of 21 for the team trophy. "A lot of the schools that come down are fast," rising senior co-captain Krzystof Danielewicz said. "We knew we were going to have to fight for it ... I think people were looking to see how we were going to place relative to other people, but didn't have huge expectations. We'll use the meet as a building block for the summer and next year." The best race of the day came from the Open Four boat, which finished second in its opening heat with a time of 7:09.815, just seconds behind Bucknell College's A boat, which led the heat with a time of 7:04.852. The second-place finish qualified the Jumbos for the grand final — the only one Tufts qualified for that day. Tufts finished fourth out of six teams with a time of 7:10.062, edging out Ithaca College, who came in fifth with a time of 7:16.345. "We did moderately well, but could have done better" Danielewicz said. "We sort of let our bodies dictate our technique, which broke down in the second half of the race." Meanwhile, the Varsity Eight boat was not able to channel the same level of success as the Open Four boat, finishing last out of 20 teams overall, after finishing last in its opening heat and then losing to Hamilton in the fourth and final race, 6:31.783 to 6:25.09. The Novice boat also succumbed to the challenges of racing against some of the region's top teams, finishing last in their race with a time of 6:53.918. However, as
Danielewicz pointed out, the disparity between the Novice team and its competition was even greater than for the other Tufts boats, because some of the crew had only just begun rowing this year. "Our Novice boat was half-composed of guys that had just started rowing in the winter, whereas teams like Wesleyan, Williams and Michigan have novices that have already been rowing for four years in high school," he said. With the season finally at an end, the biggest focus for the Jumbos will be on making tangible strides forward from this year to the next. This season, Danielewicz noted, was about continuing the long-term improvement of the team. "We've definitely improved bounds over last year, in terms of attitude on the team; people buying in and people getting committed," Danielewicz said. "But we still don't have the raw horsepower and toughness to apply it when it matters." The team, which will graduate only two seniors, appears to be on the right track to continue making the improvements necessary to compete against the better teams in the country. Women's Crew The women's crew team also wrapped up its season at the ECAC National Invitational Championships, performing well across all three of the varsity boats en route to an eighth-place finish for the team trophy out of the 21 teams competing. The goals for the First Varsity Eight boat entering the meet were the same goals the team has had all year: upset victories. "We've been kind of coming up recently, and I don't think people had particularly high expectations [for us], but our goal was to surprise them," graduating senior tri-captain Caroline Ricard said. The First Varsity Eight started with a third place finish in its opening heat with a time of 6:59.935, qualifying for the petite finals. Going up against No. 5 William
Smith and No. 6 Ithaca College in the petite finals, Tufts had the perfect opportunity to score an upset to end the year, but missed out by a fraction of second, rowing a time of 7:11.831 to finish third, behind Ithaca's second-place time of 7:11.624. Although the First Varsity Eight was unable to beat out the other top boats in its final race, Ricard thought the team rowed a fantastic race from start to finish. "It was a great race to go out on as a senior," Ricard said. "The fight everybody put into the race was incredible; we would be ahead one seat, and then Ithaca would be ahead one seat, and then finally we were up in the sprint and they just caught up to us [at the end]." The Jumbos got equally impressive races out of their other varsity boats, with both securing top-10 finishes in their respective races. The Second Varsity Eight rowed a time of 7:20.581 in their qualifying heat, and were in the petite final only two seconds off their qualifying time, rowing a time of 7:22.553 to finish fourth in the race and 10th overall. The Third Varsity Eight managed to engineer an impressive turnaround after barely qualifying for the petite final with a fifth-place finish in their heat with a time of 7:55.097. In the petite final though, the Jumbos turned on the heat and shaved over 20 seconds off their qualifying time to win the race with a time of 7:34.9. The Novice Eight was the one boat that did not fare well, coming in last out of 12 teams. Looking back at the season, Ricard saw the increased commitment from the team as one of the biggest reasons for a successful year, and as a good sign for the future. "Our winter training was taken much more seriously, and when we got on the water, the results were tangible," Ricard said. "Everyone was able to make tangible gains in the weight room, and it paid back so much once we got on the water ... It was a really great year for everyone."
niCK Pfosi / The TufTs Daily
The women’s crew team performed well at the eCaC national invitational Championships, placing eigth of 21 teams.
MEN'S TRACK AND FIELD
by Sam Gold
Daily Editorial Board
Now deep into the season and with a NESCAC Championship — its second in as many years — in tow, the men's track and field team earned a fifth-place finish at the New England Intercollegiate Amateur Athletic Association (NEICAAA) Championship at Westfield State on May 9 and 10. Southern Connecticut State trounced the competition with a resounding 37-point victory over runnerup University of Rhode Island. The University of Connecticut and the University of Vermont finished third and fourth respectively, the latter of whom edged out Tufts by just five points. The Jumbos, who finished first among Div. III teams, received their biggest contribution from graduating senior tri-captains Jamie Norton and Ben Wallis, and rising sophomore Mitch Black, who combined for 24 of Tufts' 38
annie levine / The TufTs Daily
The men’s track team won the nesCaC Championships thanks to good results in several events, total points. On Saturday, Norton finished second in the 1,500-meter with a time of 3:49.78, dipping below the 3:50.00 mark for the first time in his career and breaking the school record he set on April 18 of this year. Norton currently sits at No.
11 in the nation for the 1,500-meter and will head to the NCAA Championships at Ohio Wesleyan University on May 22. Wallis claimed the lone Tufts victory of the meet in the 3,000-meter steeplesee MEN'S TRACK AND FIELD, page 45
Why i'm a fan
T
his would have made for a good introductory column, but better late than never, so here it goes: Why am I a sports fan? I'm not talking about why I'm a fan of sports. That's easy: The games are incredibly fun to watch. The athletes are exceptionally talented. the emotions are unparalleled. I'm talking about why I'm a fan of particular sports franchises. Why do I root for grown men I don't know? Why do I root for the filthy-rich businessmen who pull the strings? Namely, why the hell do I root for the New York Mets? I've had this conversation dozens of times, but I always fail to reach a definitive conclusion. Usually, the conversation ends with, "Yeah, it's weird," or, "Yeah, it's interesting." This time, I want answers. In breaking this down, let's start by acknowledging that blind loyalty, as a rule, is bad. Let's then acknowledge that the blind loyalty of sports fans is often manipulated to breed loyalty in other areas — like, oh, I don’t know, let's pick one out of a hat: the military, perhaps? Next, let's admit that professional athletes are regular humans who happen to be good at sports and who have worked very hard to get even better at them. Finally, let's add to the equation that the people who run the New York Mets have never done anything to remind me why I'm loyal to their franchise. Most of what they do — such as sending out an email blast asking "True New Yorkers" to sign a letter supporting the team — makes me wonder why in the world I care. Soon, I'll attempt to enter the professional sports journalism world, where reporters tend — or at least claim — to eternally shed their fandom the moment they set foot in the press box. Maybe that will happen to me, too. I don't think it will. I'm armed with an understanding of the absurdity of sports fandom, and yet here I am, caring whether the Mets win baseball games, worshipping David Wright (within reason) and occasionally dreaming about the Mets winning the World Series. But why? After all these years, I think I've got an answer. It's quite simple, really. It's love. I love the Mets. I love them like family. Actually, no, that's not it. I love them like I love a part of myself. That's what the Mets are, really. They're a part of me. They're a part of every person who pledges allegiance to the orange and blue. The people who run the entity called the Mets will have you think it's the other way around. The fans, they say, are a part of the team, and you can prove it by signing a letter that says so. But that's not how this works. The Mets — not the players, not the owners, not the general manager, but the living, breathing thing that is "The Mets" — are in my blood. Wherever I go, I carry them with me. When they win, part of me wins, and when they lose, part of me loses. That stopped being a choice when I was four. When I watch the Mets, I'm watching a bunch of guys who I don't know play baseball. I'm fully aware — sometimes hyper-aware — of that fact. But I'm also watching myself — my childhood, Sundays at Shea Stadium with my dad, nights at home in front of the TV doing homework between pitches. Being a fan has brought me joy and pain and, as I revealed in my very first column, it has made me cry. Today, most of the time, I'm able to temper those emotions. But the love — it's the love that just won't go away. Aaron Leibowitz is a graduating senior who is majoring in American studies. He can be reached at Aaron.Leibowitz@ tufts.edu.
52 TyLER MAhER | BEANTOWN BEAT
ortiz is hall worthy
P
ersonal bias aside, David Ortiz is a Hall of Famer. Even if he retired tomorrow, he would still deserve a plaque in Cooperstown. The two keys to a Hall of Fame career are longevity and a terrific peak, and Ortiz has both. From 2003 through 2007 he was the American League's best hitter, ranking first among AL players in doubles, walks, RBI, and OPS, second in home runs and third in the FanGraphs version of Wins Above Replacement. Big Papi batted .302/.402/.612 over this five-year stretch, averaging 42 home runs and 128 RBIs per season, and finishing in the top five of MVP voting every year. After a few down (but still good) seasons, Ortiz reclaimed his status as one of baseball's best hitters, batting a combined .311/.401/.571 from 2011 to 2013. Even at 38 he seems to have plenty of juice left in the tank, and if that is indeed the case then several milestones, such as 500 home runs, appear to be in reach. As for longevity, Ortiz has sustained his greatness for more than a decade and compiled some very impressive career numbers along the way. The nine-time All-Star just recorded his 2,000th hit and 500th double last year, and continues to climb the all-time leaderboards. He ranks in the top-50 in slugging percentage, OPS, doubles, home runs, extra base hits and AB/HR ratio. Strictly based on his regular season body of work, Ortiz already has a compelling case for Cooperstown, and there are a host of other factors that strengthen his case even more. One of the best clutch hitters of alltime, Papi deserves extra credit for his legendary postseason heroics that spurred Boston to a trio of World Series titles since he joined the team in 2003. His three walk-off hits in the 2004 postseason come to mind, as do last year's game-tying grand slam against Detroit in the ALCS and his World Series MVP performance versus the Cardinals. His name is plastered all over the postseason leaderboards, which comes as no surprise given that the man they call "Señor Octubre" always seems to rise to the occasion. Ortiz has been exemplary off the field, as well, embracing his status as a local legend and role model in the community. He founded the David Ortiz Children's Fund in 2007. The following year, he released his own charity wine label (with all proceeds going to his children's fund) and received UNICEF's Children's Champion Award. In 2011 he received the Roberto Clemente Award, given annually to the player who "best exemplifies the game of baseball, sportsmanship, community involvement and the individual's contribution to his team." A leader on the field and off, Ortiz finished third in Boston's 2013 mayoral race with 560 write-in votes. Lastly, Ortiz deserves to be recognized as one of the best designated hitters (DH) in baseball history. His seven Outstanding Designated Hitter Awards and six Silver Slugger Awards are tops for a DH, and The Sporting News named him "Designated Hitter of the Decade" from 2000-2009. With the most hits, home runs and RBIs by a DH, he's reached heights that no other designated hitter has. Ortiz's offensive numbers aren't otherworldly — especially for someone who rarely plays the field and is a liability on the base paths — but they're still Hall of Fame-caliber. As one of the best hitters, Red Sox players, designated hitters and postseason performers of alltime, Ortiz has done more than enough to merit induction. It seems his teammates were on to something when they bestowed a new nickname upon him last year: "Cooperstown."
Tyler is a rising senior who is majoring in economics. He can be reached at Tyler.Maher@tufts.edu.
The TufTs Daily
SportS
Sunday, May 18, 2014
BASEBALL
Tufts falls just short of NESCAC title in loss to Wesleyan by Maclyn Senear Daily Editorial Board
Tufts benefitted from a combination of walks, hit batsmen and a few timely hits all tournament long, but that was not quite enough to carry the baseball team to its third NESCAC championship title in five years. After playing four games in less than three days from May 9 to 11, Tufts lost the final championship game Sunday afternoon to Wesleyan, 6-4. Tufts finished the regular season the weekend before, splitting a doubleheader against Bates before sweeping one against Middlebury. The Jumbos ended with a 30-5 record overall and 9-3 in the conference, which was enough to claim the top spot in the NESCAC East. Tufts played host to this year's postseason tournament, which followed a double elimination format and featured the top two teams from each division — Tufts and Bates in the east, and Wesleyan and Amherst in the west. All but two of the games were at Huskins Field. The Jumbos opened the tournament with a 9-5 win over a tough Lord Jeffs team on May 9. Amherst jumped out to an early 1-0 lead in the first inning against Tufts lefty starter and de facto ace, rising senior Kyle Slinger. But the momentum changed in the fifth when Slinger picked off an Amherst runner to deflate a threat in the top of the inning, before an RBI single from rising senior center fielder Connor McDavitt and a bases-loaded double from rising junior shortstop Matt Moser put the Jumbos up 4-1 in the bottom of the inning. Tufts went on to add five more runs and stave off an Amherst comeback in the ninth to seal the win. Slinger battled his way through six innings, giving up three runs on six hits, before rising junior Andrew David earned the save and preserved the win for Slinger. McDavitt finished 5-for-5 for the Jumbos, while Moser ended up with five RBIs on three hits. "I tried to stay within myself and not do too much," Moser said. "I was just looking for good pitches to hit and was able to put good swings on them when I saw them. My main approach was to stay relaxed at the plate and enjoy the situation." With the win, Tufts moved on to play Wesleyan, who had defeated Bates in the winner's bracket on May 10. Jumbo rising sophomore starter Tim Superko waged a pitchers' duel against Cardinals graduating senior Jeff Blout. The game remained scoreless through the first four frames. Tufts struck first and opened the scoring with a run on a pair of doubles by graduating senior third baseman Wade Hauser and graduating senior first baseman Max Freccia. In the sixth, Wesleyan tagged Superko with three runs on three hits, which proved to be the only hits the Cardinals got in the game against an efficient Tufts pitching staff. Though the Jumbos responded with an RBI single from Moser in the seventh, they were unable to retake the lead and fell 3-2. The loss sent Tufts into an elimination game against Bates, who had knocked out Amherst earlier that day. Tufts graduating senior starter Christian Sbily and rising senior reliever Tom Ryan held Bates to just one unearned run on four hits. Wild pitching helped give Tufts, which only tallied four hits in the game, seven runs. Tufts scored five times in the third, with two runs coming from hit batsmen with the bases loaded and another two from a two-out double to left center from graduating senior second baseman Tim Mitropoulos. The Jumbos held on to win 7-1. As per the double elimination format, Tufts then had to beat Wesleyan twice to win the title, while Wesleyan had to win just once. In game one on
niCK Pfosi / The TufTs Daily
relief pitcher Tom ryan, pictured above, helped the baseball team win against Bates in the elimination round of the nesCaC tournament. the morning of May 11, the Jumbos' bats came alive as they lit up the Cardinals' pitching for 10 runs, while rising senior starter Willie Archibald, making his first start in a month, threw 126 pitches to blank the Cardinals over nine innings and lead the Jumbos to a 10-0 win. The win set up a decisive final game that afternoon, with the winner taking home the NESCAC title. The game got off to a much different start than game one as the Cardinals scored once in the first and then again in the fourth when rising senior first baseman Sam GoodwinBoyd launched a long solo homerun to center field. Tufts failed to find any real offensive rhythm against Wesleyan starter, graduating senior Chris Law, who only gave up one hit through the first five innings until he was pulled after backto-back singles to lead off the sixth. The threat was neutralized when Blout came on to face Tufts again and got a pair of stellar defensive plays behind him to get out of the inning. "The starting pitcher in the second game threw a knuckleball, which we haven't really seen all year, so he was able to keep us off balance for most of the game," Moser said. "There were a few situations I wish I could have had better at-bats but got myself out early in the at-bat." Tufts fell behind 6-0 in the seventh, and the pressure dialed up. The Jumbos found some life in the eighth when Cardinal relievers began having trouble finding the plate. Wesleyan's Blout, Goodwin-Boyd and rising senior Nick Cooney combined to walk four batters and hit another two before the inning was over, giving Tufts three runs without a hit. "That's part of our approach," head coach John Casey said of the team's patience at the plate, which led to 20 walks and 19 of their hitters hit by pitches. "We're sitting on certain pitches, and that is something our kids have done the best. The [opposing pitchers] are trying to throw [inside] with some arm-side run and we aren't moving." The Jumbos threatened the Cardinals again in the ninth when a
McDavitt single drove in rising sophomore pinch runner Harry Brown to bring the Jumbos within two runs. But they weren't able to get any closer, as Wesleyan sealed its first-ever conference title with a final score of 6-4. Though it did not earn the automatic bid to the NCAA tournament that comes with a conference title, Tufts was one of the 16 teams to receive an at-large bid, along with conferencerival Amherst. Tufts went on to compete at Whitehouse Field in Harwich, Mass., May 14 to 18 in a field with seven other teams that included MIT, who Tufts beat on March 15 and 16, and Eastern Connecticut State, who beat Tufts on April 28. Results were not available at press time. In a sign that they would be able to hold their own playing against teams outside of their conference, the Jumbos were dominant in their spring break trip, going 11-1 in Virginia against a host of east coast teams. Tufts also had the benefit of a brilliant pitching staff that included three of the top starters in the NESCAC in Slinger, Superko and Sbily, and solid relievers in Ryan and David. "Tufts has a very talented group of baseball players who seemed to be very disciplined," Wesleyan rising sophomore Robby Harbison said. "It is exciting to see the NESCAC represented so well at the regional tournament, and I'm certain they will perform well at Regionals." Reflecting that talent, the Jumbos took home several individual awards: McDavitt earned the NESCAC Defensive Player of the Year award, Slinger won NESCAC Pitcher of the Year honors and Superko was named NESCAC Rookie of the Year. Moser and rising senior catcher Nick Cutsumpas joined Slinger on the All-NESCAC first team. Sbily was chosen for the AllNESCAC second team. Regardless of how Tufts performs in the NCAA tournament, Casey sees this season as a success. "It's more about from the day we started, until today, did we get better?" Casey said. "I think we've [shown that improvement]; it's not about winning, it's about doing it the right way, and the other stuff sort of happens."
Sunday, May 18, 2014
The TufTs Daily
WOMEN'S TENNIS
Tufts falls in third round of NCAA tournament by Jason Schneiderman Daily Editorial Board
After an up-and-down regular season, and an early exit from the NESCAC tournament, the women's tennis team entered the NCAA tournament without the momentum of some other top teams. Tufts put any critics to silence however, advancing to the third round of the tournament before ending its season against Williams College on May 11. The tournament started well for the Jumbos, with a 5-0 win over the Royals from the University of Scranton on May 9. Tufts kicked off the match by winning easily at No. 2 and No. 3 doubles, taking both matches 8-0. Graduating senior Shelci Bowman and rising sophomore Jacqueline Baum then rallied from a 4-3 deficit at No. 1 doubles to win 8-4 over graduating senior Stephanie Boccuzzi and rising senior Nicole Mahaffey. Graduating senior Samantha Gann and rising sophomore Alexa Meltzer then quickly sealed the Tufts victory at No. 1 and No. 2 singles, winning their matches 6-0, 6-0 and 6-1, 6-2, respectively. Following an evening of rest, Tufts was back at it the next morning to play Skidmore, who was coming off of a firstround bye. In a match played indoors due to morning showers, the Thoroughbreds immediately jumped out to a quick lead after they took two of the three doubles matches over the Jumbos. Skidmore opened the scoring with an 8-5 victory over Gann and Meltzer at No. 2 doubles, which was answered shortly thereafter with a tight win at No. 1 doubles by Bowman and Baum 9-7. Rising sophomores Conner Calabro and Chelsea Hayashi then took graduating senior Mellisa Hirsch and rising senior Yumi Karlshoej to a tiebreak at No. 3 doubles, but were unable to finish them off, losing 9-8(4). Entering the singles portion of the match facing a 2-1 deficit, Tufts needed to win four of the six remaining matches to avoid elimination. "It was disappointing to go down 2-1 after doubles," Gann said. "Our meeting in between was all about positive energy and staying confident because we knew we could win every singles match." Calabro was first off the court for the Jumbos, winning her match at No. 3 singles 6-2, 6-2, and leveling the overall score. Meltzer and Bowman followed with wins of their own at No. 2 and No. 4 singles, 6-4, 6-0 and 6-4, 6-3, respectively, meaning the Jumbos needed only one more point to clinch a spot in the third round. Scranton graduating senior Lee Ford made Tufts wait a little longer with her win at No. 1 singles over Gann 6-3, 2-6, 6-3, but graduating senior Rebecca Kimmel came through at No. 6 singles in straight sets, 6-0, 6-1 to win the match for Tufts. "I think everyone brought their 'A' games in singles," Meltzer said. "The energy was better than anything we had all season, and I think it annoyed Skidmore, helping us get those wins." After winning its first round match against Scranton and its gruel-
Caroline GeilinG / The TufTs Daily
shelci Bowman and Jacqueline Baum, pictured above, formed one of the women’s tennis team’s most important doubles partnerships this season. ing second round match against No. 14-ranked Skidmore, Tufts was set to play for the third day in a row against No. 3-ranked and six-time-defendingnational champion Williams College, a rematch from an April 12 match that Williams won comfortably, 9-0. This time it was much of the same for the Jumbos, who were unable to get any momentum in doubles play, and then could not recover from the early deficit in singles play. Williams switched up two of its doubles pairings from the early season meeting, but the different pairings yielded the same results — three comfortable victories. Calabro and Hayashi had the tightest match at No. 3 doubles, falling to fellow rising sophomores Hannah Atkinson and Linda Shin, 8-3. Bowman and Baum fell at No. 1 doubles 8-1, while Gann and Meltzer were shut out at No. 2 doubles, 8-0. Williams then wasted little time in singles play, winning three quick matches, which provided more than enough to guarantee the victory. Gann started quickly in her match at No. 1 singles against fellow graduating senior co-captain Kara Shoemaker, but failed to put forth a significant challenge in the second set, falling 6-2, 6-1. Calabro and Bowman lost by identical scores of 6-1, 6-1 at No. 3 and No. 4 singles, sealing the victory for Williams. The other three singles matches were halted once Williams had guaranteed its victory, with
Meltzer taking the lone set of the day for Tufts, 6-3, at the No. 2 position. "We knew Williams would be really tough having already played them once and as the defending national champion," Meltzer said. "It was tough having to play to decision because we want as many wins as possible, but in the end [winning the first set] was irrelevant because as a team we lost." With more than half of this year's team made up of freshmen, the future is bright for the No. 16-ranked Tufts women's tennis team. "I'm super confident in the group we have,” Meltzer said. “Everyone is so eager to put in hard work. We had a team meeting about offseason goals, like working on foot-speed, quickness on the court and to keep playing matches to keep our match mentality fresh for the fall. I'm really excited to see what next season has in store." While Gann, Bowman and Kimmel will certainly be difficult to replace both on and off the court, a few more cracks against the top competition in the country may well prove to be all the team needs to make the jump from a good squad to one seriously competing for a national championship. "I'm really confident in this group, and really hopeful that there's a national championship in the future," Gann said. "The team's mentality and work ethic are great, and I can't wait to see what the future holds for this team."
Hieber runs into record books Daily Editorial Board
On May 10 at the New England Intercollegiate Amateur Athletic Association Championships (NEICAA), graduating senior Jana Hieber ran one of the most jaw-dropping races in Div. III history. Hieber, who had never broken the 60-second barrier in the 400-meter hurdles, smashed that mark by running a time of 58.58 seconds to outpace the field by almost three seconds. She first broke the 60-second barrier in the preliminaries, running 59.86 to advance to the final. Hieber's mark is now the second fastest time in NCAA Div. III history for the event. The all-time mark was set this season by Wheaton College graduating senior Ashante Little, who ran just 0.02 seconds faster than Hieber at the New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference Championships on April
SAM GOLD | ThE GOLD STANDARD
excuse the pomp
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WOMEN'S TRACK AND FIELD
by Chris Warren
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26. Both marks are significantly faster than the previous Div. III record in the 400-meter hurdles, held by Augsburg's Carolyn Ross, who set the standard at 58.99 seconds at the 1989 NCAA National Championships. "I really just went after it this weekend," Hieber said. "I have been working on the first half of my race lately so getting out faster in the first half was really key this weekend. It seemed to work." Rising junior Audrey Gould also had an impressive day on the track in the 5,000-meter. Gould was the runnerup in a very fast race, which brought her a personal record and a 17:09.07 finish. Gould's time currently ranks 23rd in the nation, making her dreams of competing at the national championships a strong possibility. Gould was second only to Williams graduating senior Kaleigh Kenny, who won in 16:55.19. Graduating senior Abby Barker placed 13th overall in a time
of 17:44.82, while graduating senior Lauren Creath placed 24th, running a time of 18:26.08. Both times were season bests. "I think being in a faster field really helped." Gould said. "I had girls that went out at exactly the pace I wanted to run and was able to hang on them and pick them off towards the end." In the 100-meter hurdles, rising junior Alexis Harrison took 13th overall, running a time of 12.45, while graduating senior tri-captain Anya Kaufmann finished in 12.52, which was good enough for 17th overall. Rising junior Marilyn Allen ran a strong 100-meter hurdles race with a time of 14.88, but that only earned her ninth place out of the preliminaries meaning she was unable to advance to the final. The 4x400-meter relay team of rising senior Lauren Gormer, Allen, rising sophomore Hannah Loss and Hieber ran see WOMEN'S TRACK page 51
eople often ask me, "Why sports ethics?" Well, not really. But, if they did, my answer would be twofold: sports on their own are too dull, and I like to preach. This column has been my soapbox for the past several months, during which time, (I'd like to believe), I have produced something of value. Countless issues have come to a head within the past few months, including touchy subjects like racism, exploitation of labor, image appropriation and being an LGBTQ athlete. Contrary to popular belief, and odd as it may seem, many of these issues would probably not have garnered the national spotlight years ago, before globalization took off under the auspices of the World Wide Web and cellphones. While sports on the whole were once downplayed, they have risen meteorically in the media, bespeaking a trend vital for curtailing misuse and abuse at the highest, most lucrative levels of competition. Reasonable people disagree on whether sports are a good thing, particularly when it comes to collegiate athletics. There are pros and cons to the increased scrutiny of sports, about which reasonable people also disagree. Disagreement has evolved, however, into war, which is currently being waged in myriad arenas nationwide. So long as money corrupts and is at stake en masse, consensus-building will prove daunting, but that goal is not ultimately why I have taken to my soapbox. I love sports — always have, always will. Unfortunately, that love might diminish if people do not rally to stand up to ubiquitous and increasingly powerful malevolent forces. I have taken to my soapbox to alert readers to the machinations of industrygone-wrong, hoping to salvage the object of my devotion before it's too late. Each year, major sports in this country attract millions of viewers and reap billions of dollars in revenues, the latter having hijacked the consciences (so I tell myself, anyway) of the upper brass and thus cast players — the employees — to the wayside. Once upon a time, before most of us could walk, this was not the case; basketball's universal appeal, for example, only blossomed with the advent of Bird and Magic. Back then, sports sections were — and still are — relegated to the back pages of newspapers, tossed out by the urbane and merely glanced at by everyone else. My love for sports did not translate into writing until I read — voraciously, I might add — Shirley Povich, the legendary sports columnist for the Washington Post in the mid-20th century. He earned himself quite the reputation as a firebrand. I don't claim to write with the same vigor, but I'd like to think I've found my niche, tackling the same sort of issues that he once did. He was far too insightful for his generation, and he would be appalled at how the more things have changed, the more they have remained the same. Sports are no longer the laughing stock of media outlets; they cannot be. There is too much money, too much power to downplay their impact on society. Accordingly, we must be wary of and act quickly upon the injustices they beget. We must recognize that the system is damaged, if not broken entirely, and that remedies will come not from the perpetrators, but from the populace, who possess the ability to effect prodigious change. With historical movements as our model, we can undoubtedly reform what demands reformation and reconcile what demands reconciliation. History has assured us of this fact. If my column has caught the eye of a few people, so be it; popularity for its own sake is unimportant. No matter the readership, the thought-provoking content that I have imbued with my own opinions and beliefs has lived, and that is enough. Sam Gold is a rising senior who is majoring in religion. He can be reached at Samuel_L.Gold@tufts.edu
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JORDAN BEAN | SACKED
Guilty until proven innocent
o
ur judicial system promises us the chance to be considered innocent until proven guilty. But public figures, and athletes in particular, are not afforded the same opportunity. In the court of public opinion, a leak of support, verified or not, can spell disaster for the reputation of a player, team or significant member of an organization. Is this fair? The honest answer is more complicated than it appears on the surface. On the one hand, public figures are held to a higher standard. In the era of TMZ, Twitter, sports blogs and other media agencies, a player's personal life is no longer just his or her own. The onus is on players to understand their positions when they sign a professional contract. With money and fame comes a certain responsibility. This isn't to say that they have an obligation to be role models, because they don't — but they have to at least understand the consequences that come with stardom. On the other hand, compromising information needs not necessarily be true or credible to be detrimental. As I mentioned earlier, through the explosion of social media, the days of verifying facts before publication are long gone. It has become a race as to who can hit send first, instead of who can get the information right. Often the initial facts prove to be correct, but it only takes one instance of incorrect information to ruin a person's life. The early information surrounding some recent major events have proven to be accurate, which leads credence to whomever is quickest on the draw. For example, Lance Armstrong's drug usage, Donald Sterling's comments and Ryan Braun's steroid use all proved to be true. In general, I would even argue that it's better to err on the side of believing rumors despite the adamant denial of perpetrators. A reporter is always looking to break a story. The better and earlier the news is published, the more page views and notoriety that is generated. In turn, more revenue is earned and it creates a feedback cycle rewarding who can get information. In this day and age, it is all about getting the media and public's support on national issues. With this in mind, there is everything to gain from denial and nothing to gain from acceptance. If a loophole is found, or there isn't significant enough evidence to prove guilt, then a player can come off as a hero who took on the league and won. If they are proven guilty, they get the same reaction as if they had accepted the punishment in the first place. The convoluted situation encourages athletes to lie to the public in order to gain its support. Now-a-days, any public relations firm will tell you that with the support of the masses brings a pressure on teams and leagues to act in ways that they may not choose to otherwise. Sometimes this can be good, as it can create swift and immediate action. This quick decision process, however, can lead to inaccuracies and oversights in the process. Public figures are held to a different and higher standard than the average person. It is expected that they will conduct themselves in a respectful manner. While this definition varies from athlete to athlete depending on upbringing, culture and personal beliefs, in general, players have been able to successfully maneuver the system to stay out of the public eye. While it may seem like there are more incidents today than ever before, the truth is, the issues have always existed, but we now have more access to them. In this new world, players have to acknowledge the facts. Unlike the rest of Americans, they are guilty until proven innocent, and until they realize this — you're sacked!
Jordan Bean is a sophomore majoring in economics and Spanish. He can be reached at Jordan.Bean@tufts.edu.
SOFTBALL
Tufts moves on after Regionals clean sweep by Jake Indursky Daily Editorial Board
The softball team showed no signs of slowing down its pursuit of a second-straight national championship, going undefeated in the regional round of the Div. III NCAA Tournament. The tournament featured a double-elimination regional round from May 9 to 11. Sixteen teams emerge to compete in a Super Regional round from May 16 to 17, followed by the final round, from May 22 to 27, hosted by The University of Texas at Tyler. In the first round, Tufts beat Lesley College 9-1, with the game stopping after six innings due to the mercy rule. In a close game, Tufts clung to a 2-0 lead until a seven-run explosion in the sixth. As has been the case all year, graduating senior Lauren Giglio dominated, going the distance and allowing three hits and three walks with one unearned run. In the top of the first, graduating senior cocaptain catcher Jo Clair blasted a homerun to right center, staking Giglio an early 1-0 lead. Tufts manufactured one more run in the third inning off of an RBI single from rising senior outfielder Michelle Cooprider, but was kept off the scoreboard for most of the game. "We didn't have a lot of runners on base and weren't pushing a lot of runners along in the first few innings, but were making pretty solid contact throughout the entire game," rising junior shortstop Christina Raso said. "We were just hitting it right at the Lesley players. There were hard line drives ... everywhere that were getting caught. Lesley did a good job making plays.” In the top of the sixth inning the Jumbos' luck turned, and they put up seven runs, including a three-run homer from Cooprider. "In the [sixth inning] we were finally getting balls to drop," Cooprider said. "Finally ... the 'softball Gods' were on our side. We were pretty happy with how we did offensively even though it didn't show for a while." Tufts advanced to play Williams in the winner's bracket. The matchup was the culmination of a year-long battle between the two teams, and the rubber match in a season-series that was, until then, split 2-2. Williams had beaten Tufts twice in the regular season, but Tufts had come back to beat Williams twice in the NESCAC tournament to claim its third-straight NESCAC title. "Williams always gives us good competi-
Caroline GeilinG / The TufTs Daily
The softball team continued its dominant season in the regional round of the nCaa tournament. tion, and we were just trying to step up and beat them when it counts," Raso said. On May 10, the Jumbos again emerged victorious when it mattered, dispatching the Ephs 4-2 and advancing to the final round of regional play. Rising junior Allyson Fournier pitched all seven innings, striking out eight and giving up three hits. The team also allowed two unearned runs due to uncharacteristically sloppy play from a Tufts' defense that was first in the NESCAC in fielding percentage. Williams rising sophomore Brooke Bovier toed the rubber for the opposition and performed admirably, matching Fournier through three innings before allowing three runs in the fourth and one in the fifth. "They threw a different pitcher against us, so we were just trying to make adjustments and win the game," Raso said. Once again, a three-run Cooprider homerun did most of the damage in the fourth. "I think it's always easier to play at your best when you have things to play for," Cooprider said of her offensive explosion this weekend, in which she tallied eight RBIs. "I was very zoned in all of the [weekend's] games. Also, everything is scheduled [for] these weekends [in the] NCAA tournament, so having the consistency gets you in game mode ... I was definitely ready to go for all these games, which was probably helpful." The three runs were all Fournier needed. Although the two unearned runs allowed in the bottom half of the fourth made the game interesting, the Ephs were unable to get Fournier to budge in the last three innings. Tufts played Endicott in the final round of
the regional bracket and broke out in a big way, no-hitting Endicott over five innings while putting up 11 runs to end the game in only five innings. Fournier and Giglio combined for the no-hit effort, with Fournier striking out 10 of the 12 batters she faced, and Giglio pitching the fifth inning to seal the win. At the plate, the Jumbos jumped out to a quick 4-0 lead in the bottom of the first before tacking on five more in the third, and two in the fifth. The knockout punch came from Raso in the third inning, when the diminutive shortstop blasted a grand slam. "I was just looking to hit the ball as hard as I could and make good contact," Raso said. "When I hit it, I didn't think [the ball] was going to go out. I thought it was going to drop between the left fielder and the center fielder, but it ended up staying in the air long enough to go out, so I was pretty happy." The blowout of Endicott is also a clear sign that Tufts has not lost its desire or ability to fight for another national title. If anything, the team is hungrier the second time around. "I think we know the potential is real, because we've [won a national championship] before, so we know there's a chance we can do it again," Cooprider said. "When we said we wanted to win last year, it was sort of like the impossible dream, but then we were able to [win]. Now ... we still have the same dream, and we know it's a possibility." With a clean sweep of the competition in the regional round, Tufts advances to play Bridgewater State in a best-of-three series in the Super Regional round on May 16-17. Results were not available as of press time.
Men'S lAcroSSe
Tufts continues championship run by Alex Schroeder Daily Editorial Board
Endicott rising senior midfielder Jeremy Morgan took a shot with under two minutes remaining in the second round NCAA Championship game, which clanked off the goal post, allowing Tufts to maintain a 10-9 advantage. It was the closest the Gulls could come to evening the score, as the Jumbos ran out the clock, holding on to advance to the NCAA quarterfinals for the fifth year in a row. It was a rematch from a bout on April 8 at Bello Field that Tufts won more comfortably 18-13. This time, when the stakes were higher, the Gulls proved to be much more difficult for the Jumbos to handle. Tufts was coming off a resounding 24-2 victory over Emmanuel College in the opening round of the tournament. In typical fashion, the Jumbos had an explosive first period, converting 12 goals in the first 15 minutes to set the pace for a big win. Fourteen Jumbos scored in the game, as graduating senior tricaptain midfielder Beau Wood led the way with five goals and an assist. Prior to that victory, Tufts captured its fifthstraight conference title against Amherst in a 20-13 win. Graduating senior goalie Patton Watkins stopped a career-high 24 shots while Wood once again led the way offensively with five goals. Graduating senior midfielder Peter Bowers' three goals proved to be the spark during a 6-1 run that broke a 9-9 tie between the two teams at the beginning of the third quarter. The win gave the Jumbos an auto-
Caroline GeilnG / The TufTs Daily
The men’s lacrosse team celebrates their nesCaC Championship win over amherst. matic berth to the NCAA Championship. In the matchup with Endicott, things started much slower than usual for a Tufts offense ranked second in the nation in scoring. Endicott struck first and kept a 2-0 lead until the waning minutes of the first quarter. Tufts then scored four on two goals from Bowers, one from rising senior midfielder Peter Gill and one from rising junior attackman John Uppgren building a 4-2 lead a minute into the second period. From then on, the two teams alternated goals until the final whistle. Though it was the closest game all year for the Jumbos, the team was prepared after facing tough competition from NESCAC and non-conference opponents alike throughout the regular season.
"We play a competitive schedule top to bottom and we have been in a few close games this season — our players believe in each other and believe in the process," senior midfielder Jack McDermott told the Daily in an email. "We know that we have done everything to that point to prepare, it just takes one or two guys to step up and make a play. We were able to do so against a high-caliber team like Endicott." In the remainder of the first half, rising senior attackman Chris Schoenhut and Bowers netted goals for Tufts, while rising senior midfielder Harrison Cotter, rising sophomore attackman Colin Bannon see MEN'S LACROSSE, page 45
Sunday, May 18, 2014
The TufTs Daily
“I’ve got a theory that if you give 100 percent all of the time, somehow things will work out in the end.” — Larry Bird
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Sunday, May 18, 2014
“We must be willing to let go of the life we have planned, so as to have the life that is waiting for us.” — E. M. Forster