The Tufts Daily - Tuesday, March 1, 2022

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T HE T UFTS DAILY

VOLUME LXXXIII, ISSUE 22

MEDFORD/SOMERVILLE, MASS.

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Tuesday, March 1, 2022

Vernon Miller named director of new Indigenous Center

by Coco Arcand News Editor

In a Tufts Community Union Senate meeting on Feb. 6, TCU Diversity Officer Jaden Pena announced the creation of a seat for the newest senator of the Indigenous Center. In addition, Student Life sent out an email on Feb. 10 introducing the new Indigenous Center director, Vernon Miller.

Adding a new community senator seat requires obtaining a petition with 250 supporting signatures. This requirement was added under a previous amendment to the TCU Constitution.

Pena, a junior, explained that although this process is outdated, the petition will not hinder the search process, and he hopes to address some of these outdated processes in the upcoming election cycle.

“A petition with 250 signatures is one of the requirements to create a new community senator seat,” Pena wrote in an email to the Daily. “While I have called this an ‘outdated’ requirement — this is relatively pretty easy … I hope to have a referendum concurrently with the TCU

Presidential election this year, that addresses the ‘outdatedness’ of some of these requirements and processes.”

To find candidates for the position, Pena explained that he will be working closely with the Indigenous Students’ Organization at Tufts, while also publicizing the position.

“I will collaborate with [the organization] to find a student representative (or multiple), to then participate in a school-wide election this spring (roughly the first week of April, when we elect our next senate),” Pena wrote.

“This search process will be filled with many social media posts, [and] publicity.”

Hannah Norton, co-president and founding member of the Indigenous Students’ Organization, spoke about the importance of having Indigenous representation within the Senate.

“It really is helpful to have the Indigenous voice in [the Senate] … because we do have a lot of people that are of course willing to help us, but willing to help us is different from having the representation,” Norton, a junior, said.

KATRINA AQUILINO / THE TUFTS DAILY

The Indigenous Center on 112 Packard Ave. is pictured on Feb. 22.

Jonah Apo, founding member and co-president of the organization, echoed these sentiments, explaining that an Indigenous representative will allow for clearer communication about the needs of Indigenous students on campus.

“It’s important to have representation in the Senate and

US Ambassador Brian Nichols speaks on DEI and diplomacy

by Rohith Raman Staff Writer

The Fletcher School hosted a conversation about diversity, equity and inclusion in diplomacy with Brian A. Nichols (LA ’87) on Feb. 24. Nichols, U.S. assistant secretary of state for western hemisphere affairs, previously served as a U.S. ambassador to the Republic of Zimbabwe.

Nichols said he initially anticipated going into finance.

However, the international prestige of Tufts and Fletcher sent him on the path of foreign affairs by convincing him to try an international relations class.

“I started taking more [IR] classes and ended up being a political science major,” Nichols said.

While studying at Tufts, a diplomat-in-residence inspired Nichols to join the Foreign Service.

“I took the Foreign Service exam … I graduated in May of ’87, and my first day on duty was 33 years ago on Tuesday,” Nichols said.

Nichols opened the discussion by describing the inextricable links between foreign and domestic events.

“Foreign policy of any country necessarily reflects the political situation of that country,” Nichols said. “When I was an undergraduate, the wars in Central America were a very hot topic on campus. Apartheid in South Africa was another very salient topic … There was a great dynamic as to what America’s role in the world should be.”

He also emphasized the importance of minority representation in government.

“America is producing great African American diplomats,” Nichols said. “When we take advantage of our full diversity, that makes America stronger.”

Nichols discussed the diverse backgrounds of those who enter the Foreign Service.

“We’ve got people who have all sorts of backgrounds. One of my classmates when I joined the Foreign Service … she’d been a taxi driver, a nun, a groundskeeper at a summer camp,” Nichols said. “I married a fellow Foreign Service officer, and she came in without a Foreign Service background. She was a physiology major in college and just heard about the Foreign Service when she was working at 4-H

in Washington … [she] took the exam and passed.”

While the field of diplomacy has become more diverse, Nichols pointed out that racism and discrimination are still prevalent.

“America is a diverse country, and when [people] see an African American or an Asian diplomat or an Arab American diplomat, that’s something they might not expect,” Nichols said. “When I was a vice consul in Lima, Peru … They weren’t entirely happy with me. They would say ‘You are not the vice consul. I want to talk to the vice consul.'”

To improve the diversity of diplomatic fields, Nichols suggested expanding the scope of searches for candidates.

“We need to make sure we are hiring a diverse cadre of diplomats,” Nichols said. “That means recruiting not only [from] prestigious northeastern universities like Tufts … but also from schools that have not historically fed people into the Foreign Service.”

Nichols also discussed the unavoidable risks that come see NICHOLS, page 2

have a member with a seat that is Indigenous and more focused on what Indigenous students would need,” Apo, a senior, said. “[The representative] would be able to be that voice to help us out through the Senate.”

Pena highlighted the positive feedback that the TCU Senate

has received in response to this announcement.

“I have heard quite literally only positive feedback throughout this entire process,” Pena wrote.

“We have the full support from the Senate, the DSDI, and everyone else I’ve spoken with about it.” see MILLER, page 2

TCU Senate hears supplementary funding requests, Black Legacy Month presentation

by Tess Harmon

Assistant News Editor

The Tufts Community Union Senate heard supplementary funding requests and a presentation on Black Legacy Month in a meeting in the Sophia Gordon Multipurpose Room on Sunday night.

After roll call, TCU Treasurer Elizabeth Hom introduced eight supplementary funding requests.

The student government of the School of the Museum of Fine Arts requested $6,700 to fund several spring events, including its annual SPROM — or Second Prom — and a trip to Comic-Con for the Graphic Novel Club. The Allocations Board recommended full funding of the request, which passed with 22 senators voting in favor, none opposed and one abstaining.

Tufts Hillel requested $3,125, which had already been bookmarked for the organization to send 44 students on a first-year student retreat. The Allocations

FEATURES / page 3

ARTS / page 4

SPORTS / back

International students navigate the visa process

Tool tears the roof off TD Garden

Women’s track and field falls just short to Williams

Board unanimously voted to fund the request, which passed with 22 senators voting in favor, none opposed and none abstaining.

The Taiwanese Association of Students at Tufts requested $460 to fund a collaborative ice skating event with the Taiwanese student association at Harvard University. The Allocations Board unanimously voted to fund the request, which passed by acclamation.

Tufts United for Immigrant Justice requested $8,413 to pay for an alternative study abroad trip for undocumented students. The Allocations Board unanimously voted not to fund the trip, because the board deemed the request not to be central to the club’s mission. The Allocations Board’s recommendation passed with 14 senators voting in favor, three opposed and six abstaining. see SENATE, page 2 NEWS

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ARTS & POP CULTURE

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FUN & GAMES

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OPINION

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SPORTS

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THE TUFTS DAILY | News | Tuesday, March 1, 2022

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Indigenous Students’ Organization at Tufts commends decisions to hire Miller, add Indigenous senator seat MILLER

continued from page 1 Miller’s appointment as director of the Indigenous Center follows the establishment of the Indigenous Center as the newest of eight identity centers on Tufts Medford/Somerville campus in October 2021.

According to the email, Miller is a member of the Thunder Clan from the Omaha Tribe of Nebraska and Iowa, and served as the tribal chair-

man of the Omaha Tribe in 2014. In addition, he previously worked at Cornell, where he served as the residence hall director of the American Indian and Indigenous Studies Program house.

Members of the Indigenous Students’ Organization were involved in the interview process for the new coordinator and were able to give feedback about potential candidates.

Apo spoke about Miller’s pos-

itive reputation and the skills he believes will benefit the Indigenous Center.

“I think he has a really great track record with his time at Cornell,” Apo said. “We’ve heard good things from the natives at Cornell too, and also [about] his work within his tribe as a tribal council member and a tribal chair … We’re excited for him to get on campus and sit down to really work with him more.”

Norton spoke about their excitement about getting to meet Miller and welcome him to Tufts.

“We’re all extremely excited because a lot of his experience seems very applicable to us, and … he just really seems like he cares about the students,” Norton said. “We’re excited that we were able to interview him, meet him and see the beginning of his journey at Tufts.”

Nichols discusses challenges in Foreign Service NICHOLS

continued from page 1 with working in the Foreign Service.

“I dealt with a serious terrorism threat in Indonesia,” Nichols said. “My family, my wife and children were ordered to leave the country, along with all the other families, due to the terror threat that we faced.”

Drawing upon his experience, Nichols shed light on current issues, including the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine. Nichols said that Vladimir Putin was

acting over the objections of the people of Ukraine, who have had elections.

“We have the opportunity to work as an international community to send a collective message to President Putin and the Russian Federation that its conduct is unacceptable,” Nichols said.

Nichols emphasized the importance of hard work and passion for students interested in Foreign Service.

“If you join the Foreign Service, and you enjoy it and you love it and you work hard, you will advance,” Nichols said.

OLIVIA BELLO / THE TUFTS DAILY

Flags hanging inside The Fletcher School are pictured on Feb. 28.

TCU Senate confirms Spring Fling, Tuftonia’s Day will take place this semester SENATE

continued from page 1 The Tufts Muslim Students Association requested $13,900 to fund Ramadan celebrations.

The money will go toward care bags, speakers, Eid al-Fitr decorations and Eid al-Fitr meals.

The Allocations Board voted to fully fund the request, which passed with 21 senators voting in favor, none opposed and two abstaining.

The Indigenous Students’ Organization at Tufts made a new group budget request of $2,050, which will fund speaker events, an indigenous arts workshop and a member potluck this semester. The Allocations Board unanimously voted to fully fund the request, which passed with 22 senators

voting in favor, none opposed and one abstaining.

The Japanese Culture Club requested $900 to fund speakers for its Day of Remembrance event, which recognizes Japanese internment in the United States. The request passed by acclamation.

The Vietnamese Student Club requested $1,440 to fund a trip to an empowerment conference in Copley. The Allocations Board recommended that the TCU Senate fund 90% of the request based on constitutional limits on TCU funding for travel.

The modified request passed by acclamation.

Next, TCU Parliamentarian Ibrahim Almuasher introduced a proposal submitted by TCU Diversity Officer Jaden Pena

TESS HARMON / THE TUFTS DAILY

Members of the TCU Senate are pictured during their meeting on Feb. 27.

calling for the compensation of community senators with a “student leadership stipend,” which would provide each community senator with $150 per semester.

The proposal would result in a $2,700 budget increase for the senate. TCU will read a complete draft of the resolution and vote on it in a future meeting.

TCU Vice President Tim Leong then opened the floor for updates from committee chairs.

Education Committee Chair Claire Bolash updated the body on the resolution which supports the adoption of open education resources at Tufts. Bolash, a sophomore, discussed her strategies to create a strong resolution so as to urge professors to adopt open education resources.

Services Committee Chair Arielle Galinsky gave updates on the committee’s ongoing projects, including a resources fair, a headshot day and an initiative to make contraceptives more accessible on campus. She also discussed her committee’s plans to hold a clothing drive for the Class of 2024 Prom.

Africana Community Senator Hadiya Giwa gave a presentation on Black Legacy Month at Tufts.

She began with a brief overview of Black History Month before continuing with an exploration of “Another Light on the Hill,” a digital exhibit showcasing Black history at Tufts. Giwa, a sophomore, highlighted the accomplishments of notable Black faculty and alumni including Lena D. Bruce, Eddie Dugger Jr. and Anita Griffey. Giwa also emphasized the success of the Leading While Black project.

TCU Diversity Office Jaden Pena then opened the floor for updates from community senators.

LGBTQ+ Community Senator Blake Anderson announced that he met with Director of Educational Technology Systems and Services Janet Hill and Associate Director of Student Support Services Linda Snell to discuss creating an option for students to designate that they use “he/they” or “she/ they” pronouns in the Student Information System. Anderson noted that Hill and Snell were open to the possibility, but the option may not be available until April.

First Generation College Student Community Senator Ayomide Oloyede updated the body on his plans to reestablish the presence of the QuestBridge Association on Tufts’ campus. He hopes to create mentorship programs, webinars and overall support for first-year students who are admitted through QuestBridge.

Giwa updated the body on different projects she is working on, including a women and gender minority hour at the gym and plans with Tufts Dining for students who celebrate Ramadan.

TCU President Amma Agyei then called for an open forum, during which members of the executive board confirmed that Spring Fling and Tuftonia’s Day will happen in the spring.

The body conducted a closed session before adjourning the meeting.

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Features

An uneasy path: International students’ job search process in the US

by Tobias Fu

Contributing Writer

Have you ever considered working abroad? While working in a country where you did not grow up might seem exciting, it can be a challenging process from finding a position to getting to know the work culture.

International students comprise about 15% of the Tufts undergraduate student population, a minority compared to the vast number of U.S. domestic students.

International students at Tufts who seek to take a job in the United States can face many added challenges, the most common of which being the work visa authorization process.

Undergraduate international students are eligible to work in internships through the auspices of Curricular Practical Training or Optional Practical Training, opportunities that are offered for students with F-1 visa status. However, both authorizations are only temporary and are limited to work in a student’s area of study.

CPT allows a maximum of 12 months of full-time employment before graduation and is mostly used for undergraduate internships. OPT, on the other hand, can be continued for one year after graduation and is extended an additional 24 months months for STEM majors specifically.

For international students who seek long-term U.S. employment, however, the H-1B visa is often the only option.

Applicants of an H-1B need a sponsorship from their employer in order to enter the lottery process, which sets a limit on the number of H-1B visas designated to international students each year.

H-1B visas give international workers a chance to eventually become Green Card holders, which could possibly lead to eventual permanent U.S. citizenship.

Notably, the CEO of Tesla, Elon Musk, was born in South Africa and received an H-1B to stay in the United States after graduating from university.

The director of the Tufts International Center, Andrew Shiotani, has been working with international students across dif-

ferent institutions and has guided international students at Tufts in navigating the visa sponsorship process for decades.

“A lot of U.S. employers recognize that international students have a lot of skills and talents that are really important, [such as] language skills, cross-cultural skills in addition to the academic and the other specific training that they’ve gotten through their degrees. So international students bring a lot of benefits and a lot of value,” Shiotani said. “But the visa process, I would say, is the most challenging part of this process.”

He felt that although the demand for H-1B visas has been high in recent years, the number of H-1B visas offered sometimes does not match the demand.

Although the number of international students has been rising, the amount of H-1B visas offered each year has remained constant, which is part of the reason many international students feel that it is hard to find a job here.

Junior Wendy Xu, who has completed internships in both China and the United States, thinks that although the situation varies depending on each person’s career goals, networking and getting to know people can be a very important part of becoming familiar with the opportunities in the United States.

For her, getting involved in clubs like the Tufts Trading Fund paved a path to employment. “[Networking] with juniors, or seniors or alumni … helps [you] to know which field you want to look into first,” Xu said.

In addition, she also found other useful resources such as The Herd, a Tufts mentoring program that helped her connect to a professor whose startup she worked for last winter.

Xu found Tufts alumni to be helpful in the job search process.

“Tufts is a really small school, and it’s a liberal-arts school, so a lot of big companies don’t target us, but because we are [a] small school, it’s more likely for [alumni] to reach out,” Xu said.

Haruka Noishiki is a former Tufts international student who graduated in 2021

GRAPHIC BY MICHAEL WU

and is currently working for a non-profit in Washington, D.C. In comparing big companies and small companies, Noishiki explained that big corporations may be more capable of helping you find a job internationally when the visa process isn’t working out. “[Big corporations] have a more robust legal team. Whereas if you’re at a small company, you don’t really have those resources — you might be the one driving the whole application process,” Noishiki said.

In recent years, conservative politicians have been critical of the H-1B visas, culminating in the Trump administration’s 2020 proposal to change the H-1B program that would significantly raise the minimum wage that companies are required to pay employees with an H-1B visa. This would have made it much harder for recently graduated international students to get hired in the United States. Fortunately, the policies were halted by a federal court ruling in 2020 before they could be implemented.

“The previous proposals would have limited H-1B visas only to the most highly paid workers. So that means [for] a lot of people who had only bachelor’s degrees or master’s degrees, it would have been very difficult for them to get the H-1B visas,” Shiotani said.

When asked to comment on the potential for political debates to affect an employer’s willingness to hire international students, Shiotani was not discouraged.

“I think employers [and] business groups in general have been very supportive of the H-1B visa program,” he said. “I think everybody knows that the immigration and visa policy is affected by political developments and we all have to live with that.”

Though the previous 2020 Trump-era proposal has been stopped, for many international students, the psychological effect of policies such as these are real.

Noishiki recalled her reaction to a Trumpera executive order from the summer of 2020 that suspended access to H-1B visas.

“Even if I wasn’t really sure what the practical implication for me was, it was a really scary moment,” Noishiki said.

3 Tuesday, March 1, 2022

Humans of Tufts Sophia Grekin

Kate Edeburn ‘22

S

ophia Grekin (SG): Do you think that everything happens for a reason?

Kate Edeburn (KE): No. … I mean, I feel like there’s kind of no reason or no purpose in this world at all.

SE: Do you find that comforting?

KE: Yes, yes. I like, not necessarily that anything in particular is to blame, but I like knowing that some things can’t be controlled, and some things can be controlled. Nobody really knows what’s up.

SG: So you’re very much into like free will?

KE: I mean, like, yeah, we kinda do have our own paths, but I’m very much into the concept of like, overall, nothing matters. Like, there’s not anything that’s predestined, or whatever, predetermined. Um, but ultimately, like, you can’t f--- it up that bad, so pretty neutral.

SG: My next question is harder to answer, but if you can, think about what the saddest moment in your life was.

KE: I feel like middle school was not my happiest time period. … Trying to figure out your group, which I feel like is a classic thing, and part of that’s probably on me — I could have been way better at socializing.

But yeah, … other than that, I remember, not necessarily feeling sad because it was in the past, but I remember my first time being like, “Oh, this is bad,” is like when my grandmother died in the seventh grade. … I remember my dad got a phone call around [1 a.m.], and I just like heard him in the living room, and I was like, “Why are you up, Daddy?,” and he was like, “Oh, my mother died,” and I was like, “oh, sucks.” Which, like, I have a feeling that was pretty sad then, but it kind of fades with time.

SG: Would you ever go back in time and change [something]?

KE: No. I like who I am now, and I don’t know who I would be if I didn’t have those experiences. And I don’t think it’s worth the risk that I would end up like — part of what I really like about me is my willingness to help out strangers and the willingness to reach out to be the first person … to extend the hand of friendship. That’s something that I really value about myself now, and so it’s kind of like, if I didn’t have such trouble making friends in middle school, would I still be like that? I wouldn’t want to lose it.

SG: Now that we’re talking about life in a sort of … existential way, … what is a fulfilling life to you?

KE: I want to be happy. Different things make me happy at different times, so I don’t want to put anything, like, long-term on it. But, like, being with my friends makes me happy, being with my family makes me happy, … going to amusement parks makes me happy.

So I guess just doing things that make me happy. Hopefully finding a job that makes me happy.

SG: So there’s no definition [to] happiness?

KE: It’s a vibe.

Sophia Grekin is a sophomore studying cognitive brain science. Sophia can be reached at sophia.grekin@tufts.edu.

ARTS Arts & POP Pop CULTURE Culture

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tuftsdaily.com

Tuesday, March 1, 2022

A Compendium of Actors Henry Chandonnet

Lady Gaga the actress?

T

he path from pop star to actor is a well-drawn line — it’s been done before, and it will surely be done again. Look to American icon Cher who, after quite a bit of doubting and mockery, moved from campy songstress to Oscar-winning actress.

Following this lead is Lady Gaga, international superstar. So is Lady Gaga ‘good’ at acting? The question may be more difficult than it appears.

For her first starring role, Gaga stayed true to what she knew, playing a rising pop star in the modern remake “A Star Is Born” (2018). Gaga plays Ally, a struggling singer who falls in love with superstar Jackson Maine (Bradley Cooper) and ultimately gains popularity in the process. Gaga’s performance is intentionally quaint and down-to-earth, peeling back the makeup and costuming famous with the Lady Gaga image. In this way, “A Star Is Born” was a success in solidifying Gaga as a multihyphenate of real acting talent.

Whether Gaga was ultimately really good in the film, however, is a more elusive question. It was surely a flashy performance, with raging highs and lows distorting the audience. The musical numbers also added to this appeal, something clearly in Gaga’s wheelhouse. Ultimately, her performance did lack any sense of emotional nuance. The character was deeply one-note, with the majority of the broader emotional resonance being brought to the film by Cooper’s character (which, to be fair, is the meatier role).

Still, “A Star Is Born” was much more of a success for Gaga’s image than it was a strong performance piece.

Sticking with the theme of big-budget Oscar bait movies, Gaga reenters the scene with her new hit, “House of Gucci” (2021). The meandering 2 ½ hour crime drama follows Maurizio Gucci (Adam Driver) and his battles with the Gucci family politics. Also key to the story is Patrizia Reggiani, Maurizio’s social-climbing wife who pushes him to rejoin the Gucci brand and is ultimately implicated in his murder.

Reggiani is, as you might have guessed, played by Gaga herself. The film is a mixed bag, filled with differing levels of commitment and starkly contrasting attempts at Italian accents. Within the film, Gaga is coincidentally a high point. She holds the movie together and provides the majority of the intrigue. In the final chunk of the film, when the focus shifts almost singularly to Driver’s character, the loss is felt. Still, to call Gaga’s performance ‘good acting’ may be a misstep — rather, she may just provide the greatest spectacle.

Gaga provides the campiest, most dramatic performance in the film, and thus the others feel insufficient. Gaga nails what we already know she does so well: creating a showstopper.

Ultimately, Lady Gaga may not be the prestigious actress that she so clearly wants to be. Still, there is one thing that Lady Gaga the actress surely is, and that is fun. When Gaga hams it up and takes on roles with dramatic gasp-inducing hilarity, she does best. So maybe Gaga isn’t a good actress, but she sure is a good performer.

Henry Chadonnet is a first-year studying political science. Henry can be reached at henry.chadonnet@tufts.edu.

Artist, advocate, prankster, pioneer: A portrait, as shown through ‘The Art of Banksy’ exhibition

by Mackenzie Tatananni Staff Writer

Banksy has become a pop culture icon.

His creations have appeared throughout England and at Paris Fashion Week and are emblazoned on T-shirts and stickers — some bootleg, others genuine. While Banksy is elusive, his presence is felt globally.

“Nobody ever listened to me until they didn’t know who I was,” Banksy writes in his 2005 book, “Wall and Piece.” It is this quote that epitomizes the artist better than any admirer could; his brand is built on anonymity, not to discount the ingenuity that comes with his eye for content that is subversive, shocking and impactful. The artist drew attention in 2018, when a painting of his sold for seven figures at a Sotheby’s auction and promptly tore itself to shreds.

Clearly, Banksy’s brand is built on undermining expectations of what an artist is supposed to be. He is a street artist by trade, who has since moved into other media through projects like GrossDomesticProduct. The website for Banksy’s unique “homewares brand” features products such as a brick with bits of leather handbag glued onto it and a genuine, hand-carved tombstone reading, “You have now reached your destination.”

The touring “Art of Banksy: Unauthorized Private Collection” exhibit, which opened Feb. 17 in Cambridge, MA, is the work of Starvox Exhibits and the brainchild of Steve Lazarides, a renowned collector and curator, as well as Banksy’s former spokesman and colleague.

One is compelled to question the nature of the exhibition itself — while the work featured is certainly legitimate, organizers did not receive the artist’s permission. In this way, “The Art of Banksy,” as an exhibit,

is more Lazarides’ work than the artist’s.

However, the average person can learn a lot from it, and for art enthusiasts, it is certainly a worthwhile experience to visit.

The exhibit’s most impressive quality is perhaps its scale, through which Banksy comes alive — he embodies whole movements through work with Greenpeace and various anti-war campaigns, commentaries on class and consumerism and dedication to anti-establishment motifs. The exhibit provides a history lesson, with placards providing context behind some of his most infamous pieces and outlining a career spanning from the 1990s to present day.

What can visitors expect? Upon entering the makeshift gallery space, they are greeted by a GDP Welcome Mat sewn with life vests from the Mediterranean, a collaboration with the organization Love Welcomes to support women in Greek detainment camps. Subsequent panels of text detail some of his most notable projects, such as the exhibition Barely Legal, which featured an elephant who blended seamlessly to match with the wallpaper of the exhibit — the physical manifestation of ‘the elephant in the room.’ And of course, there are the prints. The prints are perhaps the highlight of the show, as there are so many of them, all limited edition, as denoted by the number in the bottom corner. His work takes other forms too, including postcards, promotional posters and T-shirts.

“The Art of Banksy” features exclusive interviews with Banksy’s frequent collaborator and printer Ben Eine, who, beaming from flat screen TVs in a colorful jacket, is a sight to behold. Eine describes his first meeting with Banksy and sheds light on some of their early endeavors, providing an intimate look into the artist’s cloistered world. The icing on the cake are Banksy’s sketches, some of

which would later become stenciled work; one, a portrait of Eine, was created as he and Eine sat in an airport during a mission to paint the Israel-West Bank barrier.

A dedicated fan may recognize items from the GDP shop, like a clock featuring a stenciled rat and a piece featuring Basquiatstyled crowns on a Ferris wheel. It is evident that Banksy is well versed in pop culture, as he frequently references or outright appropriates the work of other artists in his own: One of Keith Haring’s dogs is incorporated into one print, while pop art and discounted Tesco soup cans point to Andy Warhol.

Though the physical materials leave much to the imagination, visitors get a sense of the performative elements involved in some projects. In 2006, Banksy and American musician Danger Mouse remixed and redesigned Paris Hilton’s debut album, leaving the recreations to be sold in record stores. Viewers at the exhibit can glimpse examples of these CDs enclosed by glass with the story transcribed alongside it and pictures of the album jacket pinned above. It functions as more than memorabilia; it’s a reminder of a distant time when physical albums were still commonplace, illustrating Banksy’s long-spanning career and the ways he continues to keep us excited.

As visitors file out of the velvety-dark gallery space, they pass lines of white text.

Here, there is another quote from “Wall and Piece,” this one reading, “When the time comes to leave, just walk away quietly and don’t make any fuss.” Though leaving behind the creations of one of this generation’s biggest artistic inspirations imparted a sense of sadness upon exhibit viewers, upon leaving and seeing his words, it was easy to feel Banksy’s presence and be sated … at least momentarily.

MACKENZIE TATANANNI / THE TUFTS DAILY

An image of Banksy’s “Toxic Mary” (2004) at “The Art of Banksy” exhibition is pictured.

A r t s & P o p C u lt u r e

Tuesday, March 1, 2022 | Arts & Pop Culture | THE TUFTS DAILY

5

Tool delivers an exceptional performance at TD Garden

by Victoria DeJoy Contributing Writer

Since Tool’s 2020 tour was canceled due to the pandemic, fans have been eagerly waiting for their return to live performance. On Feb. 19, the legendary metal band made their way back to Boston’s TD Garden to put on an unforgettable show for those in attendance.

The show opened with a deafening performance from Los Angeles band The Acid Helps. The more obscure band played a collection of songs heavily inspired by grunge rock, with psychedelic and erotic visuals playing on a small monitor behind them.

Mid-performance, vocalist and guitarist Tim Dawson stood with bassist Jeff Eben, telling the audience that they “made [ Jeff ] bleed” from playing so intensely. Overall, the performance was loud and aggressive, which greatly contrasted with the nuanced performance to come.

Soon after the opening act, the arena dimmed and the members of Tool took their places on the stage. In a roar of exaltation, the entire audience stood up as the band began their first song from their pre-pandemic “Fear Inoculum” (2019). The performance was accompanied with mind-bending projections of skulls, veins and eyes on screens behind the band and on a curtain of strings enveloping the stage. After this, the band jumped into “Opiate” (1992). As fans sang along, a heptagram illuminated with moody lights was lowered above the musicians until the song ended and the stage went dark.

Then a backlit Maynard James Keenan sang the opening words to “The Pot” (2006), inspiring an eruption of cheers from the audience. The crowd’s enthusiasm was maintained throughout the entire song as Keenan gave one of his most electrifying vocal perfor-

mances of the night, belting out every line with incredible power. Tool kept this energy going as they performed their next song, “Pushit” (1996). The curtains surrounding the stage opened during the song’s climax, a moment that surely left a lasting impression on the audience, and the song came to its impassioned end.

During the next song, “Pneuma” (2019), the audience was given the show’s most immersive and interactive visual experience. Trippy, fractal patterns played behind the band, and the stage was bathed in purple lights that turned fiery red at the song’s most intense sections.

Purple and yellow spotlights washed over the audience, people throwing their arms up in the air as the light hit them. During the breakdown, each musician shone, especially drummer Danny Carey.

His masterful drumming felt very primal, giving the performance vitality and power.

Throughout the next several songs, the energy in the arena remained high. While playing “The Grudge” (2001), virtually everyone in attendance furiously head banged to guitarist Adam Jones’ heavy riffs, and the crowd cheered in a triumphant uproar as Keenan pulled off his iconic scream. Following “The Grudge” were “Right In Two” (2006), “Descending” (2019) — during which one of Jones’ strings broke as he wailed out one of his hypnotic melodies — and finally “Hooker with a Penis” (1996). The first and last in this series particularly stood out for their charismatic performances. After this batch of songs, the band exited the stage to take an intermission.

After 12 minutes, Carey took his place on the stage again and produced an impressive drum solo, using seemingly every part of his kit including his gong and xylophone. After this rigorous performance, he picked up a guitar and sat at the front of

the stage with the rest of the band. Together, they began the gentle, intimate introduction to “Culling Voices” (2019).

After Carey returned to his kit, the song reached its crescendo and confetti adorned with Tool’s name erupted from the ceiling, glittering in the stage lights. Fans reveled in this glorious moment, whooping and reaching up to catch pieces to keep as a memento.

When the song finished, Keenan exhaustedly announced, “Holy f---ing sh-t. I’m f---ing tired,” which amassed laughter all around.

He poked fun at the rowdy and exuberant crowd, commending them for being “very Boston.” The band members then performed their final song of the night, “Invincible” (2019), accompanied by a flood of lush, blue lights and mesmerizing projections. All in all, their finale wrapped up a night of magnificent virtuosity on a powerful note, leaving fans fully satisfied.

COURTESY BRANDON KARAVITCH

The drum kit for Tool’s set at TD Garden on Feb. 19 is pictured.

6

THE TUFTS DAILY | Fun & Games | Tuesday, March 1, 2022

F& uG n & Games Fun & Games

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Sam (whispering in the other room): “I don’t know how to do my taxes, so that’s also an issue.”

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Opinion

tuftsdaily.com

7 Tuesday, March 1, 2022

VIEWPOINT

The ‘Eteri Girls’ and the mistreatment of young athletes

GRAPHIC BY ALIZA KIBEL

by Reya Kumar Opinion Editor

Content warning: This article mentions eating disorders.

It has been a week since the closing ceremony of the Beijing Winter Olympics, which was marred by quarantined athletes and the specter of the Chinese government’s treatment of the Uyghur people and ensuing diplomatic sanctions. However, one controversy drew more attention than any other: the mid-Olympics report of star Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva’s positive drug test.

The test, which came up positive for the banned heart medication trimetazidine, as well as two other legal heart medications, was from Dec. 25, when 15-year-old Valieva was competing at the Russian Figure Skating Championships in St. Petersburg. It was not processed and released until Feb. 8, one day after Valieva and the Russian Olympic Committee took first place in the team event. While the medal ceremony was postponed by the International Olympic Committee, the Court of Arbitration for Sport ruled on Feb. 14 that Valieva would be able to compete in her remaining events due to her protected status as a minor.

The investigation into the positive test could take months.

In the meantime, the other medalists in the team event and short program in which Valieva placed

first will not receive their medals or stand up on the podium.

It is heartbreaking to think that athletes who worked their whole life for a chance to compete on sport’s biggest stage did not get to have their moment in the spotlight.

Equally heartbreaking was the footage of Valieva breaking down after her uncharacteristically shaky free skate, during which she fell several times, placing fourth. As Valieva skated off the ice crying, her coach, Eteri Tutberidze, was heard scolding her. “Why did you let it go? … Why did you stop fighting?”

Tutberidze said.

Tutberidze is infamous in the skating world. Starting from near obscurity after a failed figure skating career and attempts to coach in America in the ‘90s, Tutberidze rose to prominence after the stunning performance of Yulia Lipnitskaya, whom she coached, at the 2014 Olympics.

She has been training the world’s top female skaters ever since.

The Tutberidze-trained Russian skaters rise above others largely due to their ability to perform quadruple jumps — several in a single performance. Long thought impossible for women to achieve, quad jumps involve rotating four times in the air and place tremendous pressure on the body. Only the lightest bodies can achieve them. Valieva is one of only 12 women to land them, but they are quickly becoming a necessity to

take the top spots in international competitions.

However, concerns have been raised about Tutberidze’s coaching methods and the suspiciously short careers of the girls she trains. “Eteri girls,” as the athletes are known, have described training methods that involve carefully restricting diets and taking puberty blockers to remain light enough to perform quad jumps. Three years after the 2014 Olympics, at the age of 17, Lipnitskaya, the original Eteri girl, retired, explaining that she was seeking help for anorexia.

This follows a 2014 comment by Tutberidze claiming that she was happy Lipnitskaya could survive on “powdered nutrients.”

Many Eteri girls have also retired in their teens due to back and leg injuries that rendered them unable to skate, unlike past stars such as Michelle Kwan who continued to compete, though not at the Olympic level, until the age of 26. While many praise Tutberidze for helping to advance the sport, the question remains whether these spectacular quad jumps are worth the costs of achieving them, particularly for young athletes. For this reason, many have called for the minimum age to be raised to 17 for Olympic figure skaters, though others point out that it may put additional dangerous pressure on these older skaters to maintain the body shape required to land quad jumps.

Another question raised by this situation concerns the fairness and efficacy of doping rules in sports. Though trimetazidine is believed to make the heart work more efficiently, thus allowing athletes to train for longer periods of time and recover more quickly, there is little proof that it makes a difference, particularly in a sport like figure skating. Some people argue that there is little evidence that many of the drugs banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency can actually impact performance, though others point out that the placebo effect can be substantial, regardless of the efficacy of the drug itself.

The situation brings to mind another recent incident — when Sha’Carri Richardson was banned from the Tokyo Summer Olympics after a drug test came up positive for marijuana. Marijuana is not performance enhancing, and many other sports agencies no longer consider it a banned substance. Though USA Track and Field agreed that marijuana rules should be reevaluated, it upheld Richardson’s ban to maintain fairness for the athletes. Though Valieva was allowed to compete by a different agency and her age was considered a factor, it’s clear that their cases were treated very differently revealing deep issues in Olympic doping policies. Ultimately, regardless of her age, Valieva should not have been allowed to continue com-

peting out of fairness to other athletes who accept the rules.

Valieva and her lawyers claim that the trimetazidine likely made it into her system from sharing a drink with her grandfather who takes it daily. However, Russia’s years of Olympic doping cover-ups cast doubt on this story. In the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics, Russia conducted a state-sponsored doping scheme, which is why its athletes have competed under the Russian Olympic Committee flag, and has repeatedly covered up positive drug tests. It is likely that Valieva was given the drug by the adults around her, and was unaware of this breach of the rules. Her coaches and team will be investigated over the next few months.

Ultimately, the greatest victim is Valieva herself and other young, vulnerable athletes like her. At the age of 15, she has been placed under tremendous pressure on the world’s biggest stage. The footage of her breakdown and the experiences of other Russian figure skaters suggests that she receives little support or compassion. Russia has repeatedly proven that its determination to win supersedes any other consideration, including fairness and the well-being of its athletes. It is far past the point where we must examine athletic institutions for their exploitation and mistreatment of young athletes.

Sports

8 Tuesday, March 1, 2022

Sports and Society Oliver Fox

Prayers for Ukraine

W

e are told as children to do what we love, to pursue our dreams and eventually happiness and money will follow. Blaze your own trail, and you will be fulfilled.

We are also told that we are in a world that has moved beyond violence. That after the Cold War, we had somehow moved past using force to get what we want.

Try telling that to Vladyslav Heraskevych.

A 23-year-old skeleton rider, Heraskevych is a trailblazer. With his whole life in front of him, he put Ukraine on his back at only 18 years old, becoming the first Ukrainian to compete at the skeleton world championships in 2017.

Like so many young athletes, Heraskevych is full of potential and unbridled enthusiasm for his sport. Now, he’s bracing to defend his country from a foreign invasion.

Heraskevych spoke with the Associated Press on Sunday and committed his help to the Ukrainian cause against Russia.

While representing Ukraine for the second time in his career, Heraskevych, like so many of his countrymen, has been pulled into a conflict he neither wanted nor started. He should be celebrating Ukraine’s Olympic competition in skeleton and training for his next competition. Instead, he has armed himself and is standing ready to repel an unprovoked Russian invasion of his homeland.

The moral depravity of the Russian invasion of Ukraine is impossible to overstate. The ensuing humanitarian disaster and the blatant breach of a nation’s sovereignty are only the tip of the iceberg. This is the one of the greatest escalations of force in Europe since World War II, and the voice of outspoken athletes reflects worldwide fear and a desire for peace.

Ukrainians like Heraskevych are given no choice but to stand and fight against invaders. But soccer players in the English Premier League — such as West Ham forward Andriy Yarmolenko, Manchester City defender Oleksandr Zinchenko and Everton defender Vitaliy Mykolenko — are forced to watch from afar. Yarmolenko was given several days leave because of the crisis, while Mykolenko and Zinchenko, who was in tears during pre-game rituals in a match between Everton and Manchester City, played on.

Russian athletes, such as tennis stars Andrey Rublev and Daniil Medvedev and hockey player Alexander Ovechken, have already spoken out against war.

Self-proclaimed democratically elected President Vladimir Putin does not speak for all Russians with his horrific invasion, but the safety of the players and their families could be threatened over any and all comments they make.

It is easy to ask athletes, with their dramatically powerful platform to advocate for social change, to take a stand on issues that don’t necessarily affect them personally. But when their home and potentially their family is put in danger by a crisis, that ask becomes much more than a responsibility.

Oliver Fox is a first-year who has not yet declared a major. Oliver can be reached at oliver.fox@tufts.edu.

tuftsdaily.com

Women’s indoor track and field place second at New England Div. III Championships

by Ananda Kao Sports Editor

Women’s track and field narrowly came in second place overall this past weekend at the New England Div. III Championships, hosted by Colby College.

Coming up just half a point short behind the first place finishers and notorious track powerhouse, Williams College, this is the Jumbos’ best team finish since they won the meet in 2013.

According to junior Lia Rotti, the team’s goal was to strive for a top three finish as a team, and many of her fellow teammates stepped up to the challenge.

“We really had a lot of people who trained really hard this season [and] worked on little things to make themselves better,” Rotti said. “We had a lot of people not only placing in the top three but also placing fourth through eighth.

And those are really important points to really stack up small points in order to get the big goal.”

The weekend was highlighted by three individual Jumbo titles: Junior co-captain Jaidyn Appel won the high jump with a final height of 5’6 ½” (1.69 m), senior co-captain Hannah Neilon won the 800meter race with a time of 2:15.77 and Rotti won the triple jump with a distance of 39’3” (11.96 m).

Neilon said that Tufts had its eyes on Williams, “the powerhouse of the NESCAC” throughout the meet.

“We really just wanted to focus on getting as many points as we could as a team but mainly getting the best performances that we can as a team,” Neilon said. “We knew a lot of things were beyond our control, but the thing that we can control is how we handle ourselves.”

This was the third year in a row that Neilon won a race at the New England Div.

III Championships. She won the same event in 2020, as well as the 600-meter race in 2019.

Rotti’s triple jump earned her a No. 6 national ranking and her second New England title after winning the long jump in 2020. This year, Rotti also placed third in the long jump with a distance of 17’10 ¼” (5.44 m).

Going into the weekend, Neilon said her main goal was to defend her 800meter title and score her team points.

“I just tried to focus on how my workouts had been going really well and concentrate on all the different things that could happen — like what could happen if I lead, what could happen if I started out behind a little bit and different strategies for the different possibilities,” Neilon said.

The Jumbos proved their depth in the triple jump with four Jumbos scoring, including senior Kathryn Ezeohaplacing who took fourth and first-year Jordan Andrew who took seventh in the event.

In addition to preparing their bodies for competition through running workouts and practicing technical skills, the team emphasized mental preparation as well. The athletes did this individually, and as a team, in order to go into the weekend confident and ready to support one another.

“We really had to solidify our team as supporters, not only as individual competitors, but really grouping together to make sure that everyone felt like they were being cheered on and got enough support to motivate them in meets,” Rotti said.

On the first day of the meet, first-year Annika Kral, senior co-captain Luana Machado, junior Julia Perugini and and first-year Aoife Hernon set a new school record in the 4×200-meter relay and placed second with a time of 1:44.49.

Earlier in the season, this relay group

broke the school record set in 2014, and the group beat that time again this weekend.

Other notable relays for the Jumbos included the 4x400m relay, consisting of first-year Emma Smith, Machado, Hernon and Perugini. This relay placed second in the meet with a time of 3:58.07, good for No. 26 in the nation. The 4x800m relay of Antonia Knoth, senior co-captain Tara Lowensohn, first-year Carly Rinko and Neilon finished fourth in 9:34.43.

Despite coming in second place by only half a point, Rotti explained that the team really stepped up to score crucial points throughout the meet.

“It really comes down to how people are performing in the day,” said Rotti. “A lot of our people stepped up and really capitalized on the fact that other people from other schools weren’t doing as well, [which] really evened out the playing field.”

First-year Sarah Firth finished third in the pole vault on Friday night, earning the Jumbos six points with a jump of 12’4” (3.76 m). Rotti tied for fifth with a height of 11’4.5” (3.46 m).

“We’ve just had really strong freshmen come in, coupled with more vocal, dedicated leadership from captains and upperclassmen than I’ve seen in the past years,” said Appel. “I don’t really feel like our indoor season was that strongly affected by not having one last year, because I feel like everyone on this team this year is so much more motivated and dedicated than I’ve seen in the past.”

Tufts will host their National Qualifying Meet on their home track this coming Saturday before NCAAs in Winston-Salem, N.C on March 11–12.

These are the last indoor meets of the season before outdoor track and field starts over spring break.

COURTESY SEAN MACDONALD

Tufts women’s track and field team is pictured at the New England Div. III Championships at Colby College on Feb. 26.