The Tufts Daily - Friday, November 19, 2021

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VOLUME LXXXI, ISSUE 35

MEDFORD/SOMERVILLE, MASS.

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Friday, November 19, 2021

Medford reinstates Director of Veterans Services Michael Durham

Tufts Mock Trial hosts 14th annual Mumbo Jumbo tournament

by Claire Ferris

Contributing Writer

GRACE ROTERMUND / THE TUFTS DAILY

Medford City Hall is pictured.

by Jack Maniaci

Assistant News Editor

Medford Director of Veterans Services Michael Durham has been reinstated after being placed on administrative leave on Sept. 17. According to a notice emailed to Durham on Oct. 15, Mayor Breanna Lungo-Koehn authorized his reinstatement after Dr. Joseph Begany found him psychologically fit for duty.

Durham denied that any psychological incident occurred prior to his dismissal and criticized the course of action taken by the city after he was escorted from City Hall and placed on administrative leave.

“If I was really having a mental health crisis, don’t you think

that I should have been provided [a doctor] immediately, or my wife should have been contacted or I should have been sanctioned by the police?”

Durham said.

Durham also criticized the city’s delay in providing and recognizing his psychological evaluation after his voluntary psychiatric evaluation by a Veterans Administration doctor was not accepted by City Hall as sufficient evidence of his psychological fitness.

“When I went of my own volition on the 30th of September, they refused to accept that VA doctor. And then, after that, they refused to acknowledge their own doctor who provided them their write up,” Durham said.

Durham’s reinstatement closely followed the Medford mayoral debate between Lungo-Koehn and challenger City Councilor John Falco, which took place on October 13. At one point during the debate, Durham’s allegations of wage theft against the city and his subsequent administrative leave became the topic of conversation.

“Hours have been spent on personnel matters over the last few months to try to ruin my character and integrity, and they’re just baseless claims with empty rhetoric,” Lungo-Koehn said during the debate. “It had been three months of nonstop see DURHAM, page 2

Tufts Mock Trial hosted its 14th annual Mumbo Jumbo Invitational tournament in the Science and Engineering Complex on the weekend of Oct. 30. The tournament attracted a number of schools from all over the country, including Harvard, Yale, Brown, MIT, Cornell, Northwestern and UCLA. The tournament was held in person for the first time since 2019. New restrictions did not stop teams from competing enthusiastically.

“That was my first tournament with my team in-person, so I think honestly, just getting to do in-person mock trial again was the best thing in the world,” Tufts Mock Trial Co-President Fatima Lawan said.

Washington University in St. Louis, the University of South Carolina and Penn State University placed first, second and third, respectively.

“A trend that we definitely see is every year, it gets more and more competitive,” Tournament Director Carina Lo said. “It gets more and more exclusive and hard to get into.”

Lawan said the tournament’s operations have improved over the years.

“We’ve expanded the pool and the network of new people we know,” Lawan said. “Maybe that gives us a larger pool of judges to pull from.”

One of Tufts’ teams came in fifth place, and Tufts won the Spirit

of Mumbo Award, an award that all teams at the tournament vote on to recognize the team with the best sportsmanship and spirit.

“When I joined, we were already very good,” Lawan said.

“I think now as time has gone on by, people have really started to hone in on that craft. We have such a talented pool of people — it’s actually ridiculous, the depth of talent that the program has.”

Each year, the American Mock Trial Association releases a case for use in competition. This year’s case dealt with a defendant accused of aggravated arson. The case alleged that the defendant burnt down their own bar using paint thinner as an accelerant, in hopes of collecting an insurance payout to alleviate debt held on the loan they took out for renovations on the bar. The case also detailed that a firefighter died fighting the fire at the bar.

During the tournament, Tufts’ teams ran different case theories to see which scored better.

In the spring, Lawan explained, teams usually end up using those theories in competition, knowing they will work well.

Lo, a junior, reflected on the challenges of last year’s virtual tournament, explaining that there were a lot of unexpected hurdles that came with hosting a large Mock Trial tournament online.

“I think there was a bit of a learning curve for us because last see MUMBO JUMBO, page 2

Foy discusses role of private enterprise in climate advocacy

by Carl Svahn

Contributing Writer

Doug Foy, an environmental advocate and businessman, sat down with Tina Woolston, director of the Office of Sustainability at Tufts, to discuss climate change at the final Tisch College Civic Life Lunch of the semester, titled “Extreme Weather, Climate Change & the Fight for Environmental Change,” on Nov. 10.

After the pair was introduced

by Tisch College Dean Dayna Cunningham, they began talking about fighting climate change in different sectors, such as advocacy groups, government, private enterprise and academia.

Foy, who has experience in all four sectors, believes they all

will have a role to play in the future of climate activism but one, in particular, holds the key to the future.

“I actually have gotten to the point now that I think private enterprise is ultimately the only way we’re going to crack the code on climate change,” Foy said. “It is the place where solutions will have to be built.

Enterprises have to scale and be able to create answers to the climate challenges that are both economically attractive, environmentally successful and respect the communities in which they’re lodged.”

To Foy, private enterprise is an extension of his “all hands on deck” philosophy in regards to climate change. He believes everyone’s individual skills and

KIANA VALLO / THE TUFTS DAILY

Doug Foy, the founder and CEO of Serrafix Corporation, speaks with Tina Sustainability at Tufts, as part of the Civic Life Lunch series on Nov. 10. passions are needed to get real and how they worked to more change made. sensibly invest in energy develFoy emphasized the impor- opment. tance of capital in the race “Where you get the most to save the planet. He talked leverage in many of the things about his experience in state that government can do is government working for for- where it chooses to spend its mer Massachusetts Governor money,” he said. “For instance, Mitt Romney as secretary of the commonwealth was activecommonwealth development, ly supporting the construction

EDITORIAL / page 6

FEATURES / page 3

ARTS / page 4

Tufts must assist juniors doing spring abroad with housing

Community members define anti-racism at Tufts

Swift shatters records, creates nostalgia with album rerelease

Woolston, director of the Office of of schools in farm fields outside of town centers. We tried to reverse that. We said, ‘Okay, we’ll help pay for more expensive playing fields in town. We want the kids to be able to walk to school.’ Those kinds of economic incentives are very see CLIMATE, page 2 NEWS

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FUN & GAMES

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THE TUFTS DAILY | News | Friday, November 19, 2021

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Durham denies psychological incident occurred prior to placement on leave DURHAM

continued from page 1 allegations. I didn’t want to do it but I had to,” she said, referencing Durham’s placement on leave.

Durham believes that his reinstatement was linked to Mayor Lungo-Koehn’s comments during the debate. “[This] is an admission of political retaliation for me reporting a financial crime. That was provided to my lawyers, the lawyers pointed this out to the city and I’m reinstated the next day,” Durham said.

Durham suggested that the city would not have acted on his successful evaluation if not for the debate and subsequent legal intervention.

“They just were ducking their own doctor that they sent me to, weeks later, because he cleared me,” Durham said.

The main area of concern that Durham pressed the city on prior to his dismissal was an allegation of wage theft by the city from when Durham acted as a hearing officer but was not compensated for his work. Medford City Councilor Michael Marks explained that the wages that Durham earned for performing the duties of a hearing officer were instead paid to Diversity Director Neil Osborne, who had been attending hearings prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Prior to Durham’s placement on leave, he had also suggested that the city was participating in discrimination towards veterans. Marks explained that the issue gained public attention after the city appealed to the state government to implement preferential hiring for bilingual

candidates for city government jobs, which Durham was concerned would supersede preferential hiring status for veterans that was already codified in state law.

“The city actually went to the state and asked for privilege [for bilingual job candidates] because you can’t bypass state law [on veterans’ privilege]. The state denied the city saying, ‘Sorry, we’re not gonna allow you to bypass veterans or anyone else,’” Marks said.

While Durham was on administrative leave, his duties as director of veterans services were performed by the Wilmington veterans services office, directed

by Louis Cimaglia. Durham expressed his gratitude to the Wilmington office for continu-

ing to help Medford veterans in his absence.

“I’m deeply appreciative of all that my fellow veterans service officers did to cover down on my office for the benefit of Medford veterans while I was out,” Durham said.

Durham also spoke about the support he received from Medford residents during his administrative leave.

“I was deeply moved by the support of the community. I had multiple widowed and disabled veterans and veterans in the community send notes to my personal residence wishing me welI, [sending] cookies and flowers, just an outpouring of support,” Durham said. “A lot of those people were people that I’ve helped in the past, and to see it come full circle was deeply touching.”

Mock Trial hopes to hold future tournaments off campus MUMBO JUMBO

continued from page 1 year was virtual,” Lo said. “So, I really learned how to do everything virtually, like the Zoom breakout rooms.”

While members of Tufts Mock Trial were ecstatic to be able to host an in-person tournament this year, they noted that they faced a new set of challenges. They required all participants to be vaccinated, which meant that some teams couldn’t attend, and everyone had to remain masked while indoors.

“For a public speaking activity, there were initially questions about how that would work,” Lawan, a junior, said. “We knew that we couldn’t have people in rooms talking unmasked. And we found that it honestly worked pretty effectively.”

Assistant Tournament Director Amari Turner added that although finding judges was unexpectedly more challenging than last year — when judges could join the tournament virtually from their homes — they were able to find sufficient judges.

Lo and Turner, a sophomore, did face a few mid-tournament obstacles, including a team that got kicked out of its hotel just 20 minutes before its last round was supposed to begin. Their quick thinking demonstrated the close-

COURTESY BENNETT DEMSKY

Tufts Mock Trial’s A Team from spring 2021 is pictured. knit nature of the Tufts Mock Trial team, as they called on a previous tournament director for help ferrying this team from their Boston hotel to the SEC. Lo further expressed the benefits of Tufts Mock Trial’s being able to run its own tournament.

“When you run your own tournament, it’s the one time you get

to guarantee that your team gets a good experience,” Lo said. “It’s helpful for the team overall, to have one tournament that they know will be good, that they can rely on.”

Next year, Turner will be the tournament director, and she hopes to hold Mumbo Jumbo off campus at a courthouse.

“I feel like that’s going to be the biggest change,” Turner said.

“Mumbo is usually run very well, so we just keep the same practices.”

Tufts Mock Trial teams will round out the fall season with a tournament at the University of South Carolina and another one in Virginia.

Tisch College hosts final Civic Life Lunch of semester CLIMATE

continued from page 1 powerful tools for government to use.”

Local government must also play a role, according to Foy. With methods such as zoning and town layout at their disposal, he believes that even small governments can still make a big impact on climate advocacy.

Foy’s ultimate test of a great community came down to a simple question: “Can I walk to get a quart of milk?” Foy pointed to his work on the cleanup of Boston Harbor as a key example of local government making a climate impact.

“The goal of that case was to allow the [high school graduating class of 2000] to be able to swim in their own harbor,” he said. “That was their water, and they were entitled to have it be clean and safe.”

Foy also described how improving energy efficiency would create more jobs and improve the lives of Americans who have been hurt economically and physically by fossil fuel energy.

“What we have to do is go into communities that have dilapidated housing, have inefficient furnaces and help those communities fix those facilities,” he said. “That’s an enormously interesting investment

… think of all the jobs fixing those buildings, think of all the skilled workforce that needs to be doing energy efficiency in buildings all over the world.”

Foy then took questions from the attendees. He was asked about how to judge success in climate advocacy in the current modern, politically divided times. He believes that if private sector companies take the lead in climate advocacy, governments will follow suit.

“Those companies then start carrying that skill set and that investment opportunity to other places and … you can say to the other states ‘you might want to think about this,’” Foy said.

Foy also spoke about his work with the ELM Action Fund and the importance of climate-focused nonprofits.

“Groups like ELM are critically important players as they’re part of the advocacy function that we talked about in the four sectors,” Foy said.

At the end of the discussion, Foy again emphasized his “all hands on deck” ideology and how everyone can contribute to environmental change.

“You can have a beneficial effect on climate change regardless of where you’re located and regardless of what your talent bank is by focusing on the things you can do well,” Foy said.

tuftsdaily.com

Features

3 Friday, November 19, 2021

Students, administrators and university staff discuss what ‘antiracism’ means at Tufts

by Mark Choi

Assistant Features Editor

Editor’s Note: This is the first of a two-part series on the anti-racist initiative at Tufts. The next part of the series will be published on Monday, Nov 22.

“Tufts as an Anti-Racist Institution,” a university-wide initiative, was first announced

by University President Anthony Monaco on July 8, 2020, with a goal to “find and eradicate any structural racism at Tufts,” according to the initiative’s executive summary. Organized into five separate workstreams, the initiative represents an institutional effort to make Tufts an anti-racist institution, bringing together more than 100 students, faculty and staff. All in all, the initiative culminated in over 180 salient recommendations to make Tufts a more diverse, equitable and inclusive learning environment for all.

In the process, the initiative has invited the Tufts community to engage and grapple with what “anti-racism” would mean at Tufts from a wide range of perspectives and identities. Alfredo Ramirez, a second-year MALD student at The Fletcher School, is one of the student leaders who participated in the initiative’s Compositional Diversity Workstream last school year, continuing the important conversation on campus.

Born in Venezuela and raised in Miami, Florida, Ramirez came to appreciate and understand diversity as a strength of American society.

“For me, diversity is many differences among people — be they cognitive, experiential or racial — that might seem like a gap on paper, but can actually be a bridge to bring people together,” Ramirez said.

“Diversity can help people offer distinct perspectives, backgrounds and thoughts which can ultimately help build better solutions [to a problem] together.”

Within this context, Ramirez added that the university’s anti-racist efforts can help foster a sense of tolerance and extend the insti-

Sonia Richter Spoonfuls

Taco Party

M

onday felt like one of the coldest days thus far, so I admittedly drove over to Ball Square after TDC practice in search of comfort food in the form of beans and cheese. It’s so easy to assume that Davis is the only place to satisfy your cravings in Somerville. Walk a couple blocks in any direction off campus, and you’ll realize the dire consequences of this mistake. Ball Square in particular is home to gems from Kelly’s Diner to The Pub. I won’t touch the latter’s food, but let’s not deny the value of a sturdy pitcher minus the younger crowd of a Tuesday night.

tution’s commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion.

“Anti-racism, for me, is a step beyond building diversity and inclusion and equitable solutions,” Ramirez said. “It is taking a very active and intentional stance against racism, opposing racist policies and building toward racial tolerance, embedding tolerance in the university’s culture.”

On top of that, Aaron Parayno, director of the Asian American Center, added that anti-racism at its core is about bringing about necessary systemic changes and leveling the playing field for all Americans.

“Anti-racism really centers on dismantling systems and barriers that have impacted people of color historically and listening, really listening, to these communities’ experiences, challenges and needs,” Parayno said. “Antiracism at an educational institution such as Tufts would mean to relinquish its power and some of its privilege to provide access and opportunities for communities that had been historically disenfranchised.”

The Rev. Elyse Nelson Winger, university chaplain, wrote in an email to the Daily detailing how anti-racism as a philosophy and social justice can also be understood from religious and spiritual perspectives.

“Anti-racism is an active commitment to understanding, in all its complexity, the history and continuing impact of systemic racism endemic in our society,” Winger wrote. “Religious communities bear a tremendous responsibility in and for this work. On the one hand, our religious and spiritual traditions are living reservoirs of wisdom, liberation, story and practice that have inspired (and do inspire!) people to challenge injustice at every turn.”

Winger added that many different faith communities continue to wrestle with their historic complicity with systemic racism in the United States.

“On the other hand, too many religious communities and institutions have been complicit and

actively invested in racist systems, theologies, and beliefs, especially white Christian churches and institutions,” Winger wrote.

Echoing Parayno and Winger’s understanding of anti-racism, the University’s Chief Diversity Officer for the Somerville/Medford and SMFA campuses and Associate Provost Robert Mack elaborated on the salience of the initiative, especially in the context of last year’s social and political climates.

“The senior leadership was undoubtedly moved after bearing witness to the string of anti-Trans, anti-Black, anti-Asian violence in 2020 and by the ways in which COVID-19 shone a light on the racebased inequities within so many of our nation’s infrastructure,” Mack wrote in an email to the Daily.

Joyce Sackey, the Tufts health sciences schools’ associate provost and chief diversity officer, similarly reflected on how last year’s events laid bare systemic racial injustices to be addressed in the United States.

“The racial inequities that were exposed by the COVID-19 pandemic, coupled by the racial reckoning that swept our nation in 2020 in the wake of George Floyd’s murder, compelled the Tufts community to address head-on systemic racism,” Sackey elaborated.

Mack and Sackey added another way of understanding and defining the term “anti-racism” both philosophically and linguistically.

“We define anti-racism as the intentional practice of disrupting the many angles and degrees in which racism presents itself within thoughts, actions, policies, systems, organizations, and structures,” Mack and Sackey wrote in a joint email statement to the Daily.

In a similar vein, Tufts Community Union President Amma Agyei, the first Black woman to hold the position, highlighted “anti-racism” as a broad philosophy and an integral part of today’s social justice movement.

“I think that [anti-racism] envelops everything … it begins from understanding what microaggressions are to understanding

I was skeptical about Taco Party.

This may be a hot take, but vegetarian restaurants are often either overpriced or lacking in flavor.

There are undoubtedly exceptions, like the biscuits and mushroom gravy I get at The Grange in my hometown of Providence, R.I., but for the most part I’m too shocked by the price tag to enjoy the dish with much gusto. The possibility that I might praise a $5 taco without the loveliness of slow-cooked meat seemed far-fetched.

Without sugar coating my experience to please the veggie crowd, Taco Party was pretty awesome. It quickly became clear that thought and time was put into the components of each of these tacos. I do have a moral rule to never pay over $4 for a taco, which the $5 price tag sadly breaks. Yet, I enjoyed my order

enough to only slightly resent this fact.

I ordered three tacos and a side of chips and pinto dip. The first had crispy tofu, mango salsa and garlic crema, served on double corn tortillas. This was probably my favorite of the three. The mango salsa gave moisture and a sweetness to the tofu’s savory panko breading, and the garlic crema was a welcome substitute for sour cream. The tofu was even surprisingly well spiced and held its own among the other components. The cheesy potato taco with fried potatoes, nacho cheese and cashew crema was (and I say this in the best possible way) as decadent as a late night Taco Bell run. Although perhaps the least complex of the three, it single-handedly satisfied my craving for food that at least tasted unhealthy. Finally, I found the

AVA IANNUCCILLO / THE TUFTS DAILY

The Academic Quad is pictured. what anti-Black rhetoric and antiAsian rhetoric are and look like,” Agyei said. “Anti-racism is about understanding the importance of respecting people’s boundaries and respecting people’s identities, and respecting people’s backgrounds.”

Despite the initiative’s salience to the university community, Ramirez noted how the very term “anti-racism” can be polarizing and divisive for some, especially in today’s nationwide political landscape.

“I think the reason that there’s been a backlash against it is because it is a part of this broader conversation about diversity, equity and inclusion, and within that conversation is the issue of privilege. And I think it isn’t comfortable for a lot of people to admit that they have privileges,” Ramirez said. “I [also] think there’s a lot of confusion and misinformation about what anti-racism is really about … And I think one of the ways to work toward that end is educating people about what privilege really is.”

Parayno similarly understands the resistance to anti-racism as being connected with both psychology and politics.

“At its core, the resistance is about people and institutions not wanting to reckon with the fact that they may have biases, both explicit and implicit, and that they might themselves participate in racism, whether explicitly or passively … To be anti-racist, though, we have to look at the ways that we were racist. Many people do not want to do that,” Parayno said.

“In some of the more conservative states, they also associate anti-racism with not being able to be proud of American history and identity anymore.”

It is critical, however, to understand American history as it is in its fullness and totality, as Parayno explained. He thinks that people can be both a proud American and committed to antiracism, provided that there are nuances.

“You have to accept American history and politics as imperfect …

There is no perfect ideal, there is no perfect story. I think that when you are able to really reckon with these imperfections, you can have pride in being an American in a more balanced way,” Parayno said.

Within national political and social climates around anti-racist efforts, Mack and Sackey underscored how Tufts’ initiative to become an anti-racist institution could set an example for others to follow.

“Given the national political and social context we find ourselves in, it is profound that Tufts steps into its university-wide anti-racist initiative,” Mack and Sackey wrote. “Depending on how deep we go in our internal work, we have the potential to become uniquely positioned to be a model, standard, and firm invitation for post-secondary institutions to step into their anti-racist practice. Our initiative has the potential to impact the landscape and trajectory of higher education in America for generations to come.”

“Lentils al Pastor” taco to be such a creative solution to the vegetarian taco conundrum. Somehow, they managed to conjure up the hearty flavor of spicy stewed sauce and tender protein with black lentils.

The grilled pineapple, onions and cotija on top took it to another level entirely. And the bean dip and chips were pretty damn good too.

I think what Taco Party provides is a truly well-rounded bite, and that’s undoubtedly what you’re paying for: the balanced, well thought out combination of spices, textures, acid and sweetness that careful construction provides. At the same time, it was satisfying enough to take on hormone-fueled cravings and, dare I say, the title of comfort food. Next time, I’ll order just two tacos and a side, which came to about $13.

That’s not unreasonable—and it’s certainly worth it.

At the risk of being too heavy-handed with my post-food elation, Taco Party kind of gives me hope for the normalization of vegetarian cuisine. I have yet to give up meat. Frankly, I don’t know if I ever will. But institutions like this make it that much easier to take some days each week to steer clear of meat and not feel like you’re missing out. It’s not about finding “substitutions” or creating “imitations” of the cuisine that already is, it’s about adapting to bring sustainable and delicious ingredients into new lights and new cultures. Lentils al Pastor is only a start, but it feels, and tastes, like a solid one.

Sonia Richter is a senior studying English. Sonia can be reached at sophia.richter@tufts. edu.

4

Arts & POP ARTS Pop CULTURE Culture

tuftsdaily.com

Friday, November 19, 2021

Paul Osmond For the culture

Is art ever really ‘new’?

I

have been very inspired recently.

I suspect this has to do with the arrival of fall, my favorite season.

I wondered whether others shared this inspiration, and I soon discovered this was not necessarily the case. Hardly any of my friends felt as inspired as I was, and I began to wonder where inspiration comes from — is it something that occurs naturally or something that must be brought forth?

Shortly, I began thinking of people who have ‘succeeded’ practicing art, music and fashion. I wondered how their inspiration arises. I receive much of my inspiration from nature, but some of it derives from the work of others (I regularly reference William Blake and J.R.R. Tolkien). Then, I discovered that my work often borrows greatly from these artists.

I began to think about John Locke, someone I studied extensively in high school. He believed that one cannot create something that has not already been created. Now, this is not to say that everything is a copy, but everything is influenced by something else. For example, I remember an analogy that a dragon was not created from nothing. Although a dragon exists in a fictional realm, not in our reality, it is merely an altered depiction of a lizard.

Relating back to the concept of artistic inspiration, I suspect all artwork is influenced by the artwork of others.

For instance, thinking about musicians, nearly every song today samples another sound, and if it is not directly sampling a sound, it is sampling an instrument. It is repurposing these sounds that have been made before to create something else. Nearly every song on Kanye West’s “Donda” (2021) samples sounds or notes. This principle applies to genres as well as art movements; artists use the creations of others to create something. For instance, postmodernism not only reacts to and diverges from the ideas of modernism, but it also builds off this thinking to craft a unique response. Or take Kehinde Wiley (the artist who painted the portrait of former President Obama), who manipulates old European techniques with modern African American emotionality.

I also remember one of my previous articles, where I discussed Gucci’s 100th anniversary, during which Balenciaga “hacked” Gucci’s pieces. Although there was certainly communication between the two brands, Gucci nevertheless used Balenciaga’s ideas to create something new. The total was new, the parts were not.

So, what I mean to say is that the creation of artwork is not necessarily the creation of something from nothing.

Artists are not lauded for their ability to create from nothing. Rather, they are lauded for their ability to change, develop or destroy something established to create something of their own. They are responsible for something profound that uses what has been done before to create something that has not.

Paul Osmond is a sophomore who has not yet declared a major. Paul can be reached at paul.osmond@tufts.edu.

4

Taylor Swift reclaims her narrative with ‘Red (Taylor’s Version)’

by Emily Thompson Assistant News Editor

Almost a full decade after the original, Taylor Swift has reclaimed ownership of her music with the release of “Red (Taylor’s Version)” (2021). The album, which contains rerecordings of the songs from the 2012 album and six new “from the vault” songs, broke the record for the most-streamed album in a day by a female artist in Spotify history, previously held by Swift’s “Folklore” (2020).

Having listened and re-listened and listened again to this work over the years, hearing the subtle changes was comparable to having to slam on the brakes while driving. Swift changing the original slide in “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together” from “we-EEE” to a straight, sustained “we” felt like a sacrilegious offense. Her voice is noticeably more mature, grounded and resistant to the bubbly energy of some of the original songs. Not so subtly, some tracks are entirely reworked: “Girl At Home” sounds as if it could have been pulled from “1989” (2014), the most pop album of her catalog.

As depicted in the “All Too Well” short film, the trees change colors; the snow washes away the fallen spectrum of autumn leaves; time passes.

Undergraduate students now are the same age Swift was when she wrote the work, many experiencing heartbreak, ignoring glaring red flags and watching

VIA WIKIPEDIA

Taylor Swift released the re-recording of her 2012 album “Red” on Nov. 12. lovers slip away. At age 10, “Red” was the first album whose release I counted down the days to, and it was the first album I fell in love with. With a decade worth of streaming these songs, every note, key change, fade and emphasis embedded within the original music is ingrained in my mind.

As alarming as the changes may feel at first, they give the art new meaning. With additional lyrics, shifting sound and new songs, Swift is giving herself and listeners a chance to reflect on what has changed since 2012. Nostalgia is often experienced as an affectionate longing for the past. Now, we have the opportunity to confront history and reevaluate it with a decade of new life.

This rectification of memories is Swift’s call for listeners to fuse our lives with her art.

Ownership, both in legal and narrative terms, is the basis for the album. In the work new to listeners, including the 10-minute version of “All Too Well,” Swift writes with intense specificity: the scarf her ex still keeps in his drawer, the twinsized bed, the “f— the patriarchy” keychain left on the ground after a fight.

In a comment to the New York Times, Swift said of “All Too Well (10-minute version) (Taylor’s version),” “It was about something very personal to me. It was very hard to perform it live. Now for me, honestly, this song is 100 percent about us and for you.”

Although these references are intimately hers, the detailed portraits are pervasive and universal. While Swift is now the official owner of her music, we are all joining her on the time machine to the past. With us, we are bringing back the knowledge of the future that enlightens our reencounter with the work.

Like most of the art Swift makes, these explosive expressions were not released without criticism of it being an exaggerated melodrama. Society has always aimed to regulate female emotions, especially those surrounding issues it has viewed to be frivolous, like Swift’s relationships. She’s faced these criticisms before and willingly chose to amplify the theatricalism. Now, led

by Swift with confidence, listeners can embrace both the old and new emotions that these songs evoke.

Is Summer Walker ‘Still Over It’? She really is.

by Jack Clohisy

Assistant Arts Editor

Thought Summer Walker was over it and moved on? Nope. She’s quite literally still over it. It has been two years since the release of her critically acclaimed debut LP “Over It” (2019). Since then, Walker has been crafting her next album entangled in the same themes as her prior work. “Still Over It” (2021), Walker’s follow up, was released on Nov. 5, and it’s clear that some relationships continue to prove tumultuous. In this newest work, Walker dives into herself to identify the emotions she’s experienced throughout her pregnancy and introduction to motherhood.

“Still Over It” opens with “Bitter,” a track featuring an outro from Cardi B. Walker recounts that this album was written sequentially, with “Bitter” being the first track written toward the project. A testament to her frustration with producer London on da Track, the father of her daughter, this track centers around her loss of love and betrayal.

Following up the intro to the album are “Ex For A Reason” and “No Love,” featuring JT from City Girls and SZA, respectively. Both tracks work well in this body of work, transitioning some of Walker’s pure R&B artistry into a more mainstream pop format. In the latter song, SZA’s verse works as the best feature on the album, with her firing out, “If it did it all again/ I would give like ten percent/ You deserve like half of that/ I’ma need my money back.”

“Throw It Away,” “Reciprocate” and “You Don’t Know Me” are all too similar and a cause for confusion when distinguishing between tracks. The lyrical

VIA SUMMER WALKER

The album cover of “Still Over It” by R&B artist Summer Walker is pictured. content of “Throw It Away” and “You Don’t Know Me” is stunning but can sometimes be lost when the production overlaps too much.

The same fate ensues later tracks which fit so similarly together that there can be difficulty identifying the difference in theme between the two. Such is the case for “Broken Promises” and “Session 33.” It’s evident that Walker’s been hurt, but many of the tracks can be so repetitive to the point that a 20-track album can feel redundant.

However, there are some shining points which bring Walker back to the spotlight, such as “Constant Bulls–t” and “4th Baby Mama.” These tracks accomplish what Walker set out to do, which is to convey a message of hurt and stillover-it-ness. In the former, Walker cries out, “Even them times you ain’t do me right, I was right hеre/ Showin’ you what the word, bein’ loyal is.” In the latter, Walker takes it upon herself to not only call out London on Da Track for his infidelity, but also reprimands his mother

for contributing to his behavior. She delivers the best verse on the album in “4th Baby Mama,” including the ultimate cut, “I wanna start with your mama, she should’ve whooped your ass/ Know you ain’t shit, but she don’t care ’cause you lit/ Payin’ for trips, cars, bags (Bags), and bought the crib (Crib)/ But she ain’t never call you out ’cause she like the way that she live/ But that some foul shit, she wasn’t even around when you ain’t have no money (Money)/ That’s why I find it funny (Funny).”

Ultimately, some of the remaining tracks — such as “Insane,” “Circus,” “Closure,” “Toxic” and “Screwin” — fade to the background to highlight some of her more effective songs on the album, including “Switch A N—- Out” and “Unloyal.” The aforementioned five tracks fail to deliver the most standout performances by Walker but do fill the album well in their production styles and lyrical descriptions. “Dat Right There” and “Unloyal” are great collaborations featuring Pharrell Williams and The Neptunes on the former and Ari Lennox on the latter.

The album rounds out with “Ciara’s Prayer,” an outro completely featuring Ciara, and it’s evident Walker is similarly praying for a change of fate in her relationships. Because of this, one can only look to the future and anticipate what amazing comeback album will be produced. Focusing on “Still Over It,” Walker does an incredible job piecing together the nuances of her current experience and documenting her frustrations. Summer Walker may be over it, but we’re still not over the lyrical finesse she employs on her works, including her sophomore LP “Still Over It.”

Friday, November 19, 2021 | FUN & GAMES | THE TUFTS DAILY

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F& G

LATE NIGHT AT THE DAILY Campbell: “Working on InDesign is like having a temperamental child.”

FUN & GAMES

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PUSS IN A CUP

Difficulty Level: Picking an outfit for a Harry Styles concert.

By Annalise Jacobson

Thursday’s Solutions

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CROSSWORD

Before anything else, we are all human.

It’s time to embrace diversity.

Let’s put aside labels in the name of love.

Rethink your bias at lovehasnolabels.com

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6 Friday, November 19, 2021

Opinion

tuftsdaily.com

EDITORIAL

Students deserve better support from Tufts in the housing process There’s a housing crisis at Tufts. This is, of course, nothing new; however, the COVID19 pandemic has worsened this problem, forcing first-year students to live over a mile drive from campus, exacerbating unpredictabilities for sophomores preparing to lose guaranteed housing as juniors and creating uncertainties for those stuck with leases and planning to go abroad. There are three factors we discuss below that contribute to a pressing anxiety among the student body, all interconnected and centered around a basic human necessity: shelter.

The first is the general housing shortage. It is no secret that Tufts has fewer beds to offer than those needed to accommodate all students who want or need on-campus housing — this issue has been addressed at length in the Daily. Over-enrollment for the Class of 2025 coupled with an already strained housing system meant that Tufts simply did not have enough beds to house students.

To the disgruntlement of many tenants, this year, the Tufts Office of Residential Life and Learning placed approximately 100 firstyear students in rooms at the Hyatt Place in Medford, as Tufts lacked enough space for first-year students in residential halls on the Medford-Somerville campus.

Senior Director of Residential Life and Learning Josh Hartman wrote in an email to the Daily that, “while it’s impossible to predict what might happen next year, it’s important to note that using hotel space to house students is an extremely rare occurrence at Tufts.”

Given the unpredictability brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, we simply request that Tufts continue to offer additional support services and accommodations to Tufts students housed at the Hyatt, and we hope that this unsustainable hotel housing does not occur ever again.

Now, we focus on two pressing problems to which Tufts has not offered as many accommodations to help.

First, we discuss an issue that most nonfirst-year students have experienced or are currently experiencing: the scramble to find housing for junior or senior year, which often takes place before students find out if they are guaranteed on-campus housing in December.

This is an issue of transparency between frantic and stressed students and Residential Life. When upperclassmen are deciding between on-campus and off-campus housing, both options seem tenuous. Many rising juniors and seniors sign leases in the fall, some as early as September, which is far before lottery numbers come out and students can know if the campus has space to house them. Additionally, Residential Life fails to communicate exactly how many beds are available for upperclassmen, who are not guaranteed housing. Students receive their lottery numbers in mid-December, but because group formation does not take place until March, students on Tufts’ housing waitlist are left in limbo for many months, while other students continue to sign off-campus leases.

Hartman said that students should “avoid signing leases too early and instead sign leases between March and June, which enables them to compare prices, get better terms, and save money.” However, the reality is that students who wait to sign leases until the spring, including those whom the university cannot house, face uncertainties and the possibility of social exclusion as they risk being shut out from housing groups. Further, as many students prefer to live in houses closer to campus, students who wait to sign a lease may find that their first choice options or houses closer to campus are filled. To resolve this issue, Residential Life should communicate more to students about when they will hear back about their lottery numbers and what they should do in the interim.

As a result of uncertainties brought on by the pandemic compounded by pre-existing housing issues, a new crisis has emerged. Those familiar with Tufts’ class pages on Facebook are well aware that there is a desperate rush to find subletters for students going abroad this spring. This is largely caused by the unusual discrepancy in the number of students studying abroad in the spring rather than the fall.

In an email to the Daily, Associate Dean and Senior Director of Study Abroad and Global Education Mala Ghosh noted that Tufts Global Education Enrollment was highly skewed. According to Ghosh, 44 students studied abroad this fall compared to

GRAPHIC BY KAYLA DRAZAN an expected 255 students studying abroad in spring 2022, not including 36 students studying abroad for the entire year. This imbalance was exacerbated by Tufts’ decision to suspend certain study abroad programs for the fall 2021 semester.

As a result, there is a discrepancy in the subletting market that is forcing many juniors to make a difficult choice: study abroad and pay for an empty room here, or not go abroad at all. For some students, this will be simply an inconvenient expense.

But for students from lower-income brackets, already potentially facing social isolation due to Tufts’ disproportionately wealthy student body, simultaneously paying for rent here and housing accomodations abroad is a financial impossibility.

Tufts prides itself on its global education.

According to Tufts Admissions’s study abroad webpage, Tufts believes “that an education should allow students to engage with the world”; to support this claim, the university must do more to ensure this experience is available to all students regardless of financial status.

When asked about this issue, Hartman stated that “Although the University cannot offer increased financial aid grants to cover the cost of off campus rent while abroad, students who experience financial hardship

for any reason, including this one, should contact their financial aid counselor about their options, such as the possibility of additional student loan eligibility to help with the unanticipated expenses.”

Tufts bears some of the fault for this situation. First, Tufts has been experiencing a housing crisis that — in addition to leaving around 100 first-year students at the Hyatt — has consistently forced most juniors and seniors off campus. While the consequences of this issue can be reduced through greater transparency from administration and Residential Life, the pressing issue facing students planning to study abroad this spring — the inability to find a subletter — is dire, and was partially caused by Tufts’ housing and study abroad policies. As such, Tufts must take steps to remove this burden facing students eager to obtain a global education.

To assist students going abroad, we demand the university communicate immediately with all students intending to study abroad this spring to note that, if they have tried but are unable to find a subletter, they should reach out to their financial aid officer.

By doing so, Tufts would ensure equity in the study abroad process and could mitigate the effects of longstanding, problematic housing policies which are slowly being resolved.

VIEWPOINT

Managing expectations: How we can see hope in global climate summits

by Henry Murray

Contributing Writer

From Oct. 31 to Nov. 13, the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference, known as COP26, took place in Glasgow, Scotland. After years of climate summits filled with unkept promises and a worsening global climate crisis, many were skeptical that this climate conference would be any different. Amidst the summit, popular environmental activist Greta Thunberg called COP26 a failure. However, it is important to try to think about the effort in its entirety and to find a more positive attitude about these meetings. While I agree with Thunberg’s sentiment and exhaustion following speech after speech filled with claims and commitments that we can’t help but question, I believe COP26 offered promising outcomes.

The talk leading up to the summit was dramatic and built anticipation for serious progress. It was described as a “last chance saloon” by Prince Charles.

Of course, I believe that the climate crisis is a time-sensitive issue that must

be treated with the utmost urgency, but these unreasonable expectations about the summit had unintended consequences, setting COP26 up for failure before it even started. Thinking of this conference as our last chance suggested that if climate change was not completely solved by its end, which is impossible in a twoweek meeting, then the conference failed.

Instead, we should look at the conference as another step in the right direction on this long road to a carbon-efficient world, filled with conflicting foreign policy measures and financial disputes that will slow it down.

For example, we saw real progress with negotiations with China. China has been reluctant to officially get on board with international agreements. While the government still has not committed to the Global Methane Pledge, China has agreed to work with the United States to cut down its emissions. China is a major topic of discussion in the climate conferences, considering how much of the world’s carbon emissions the country is responsible for. China releases the largest amount of

carbon out of any country and accounts for over a quarter of the world’s total emissions. Getting the biggest global culprit of carbon emissions to cooperate is certainly a win for COP26. We should be encouraged by the agreement between the U.S. and China because of China’s reluctance to cooperate in previous meetings.

One of the frustrations from past climate summits was the lack of “how” for the pledges and agreements to cut down on practices like deforestation and methane and carbon emissions. Many promises were broken and some of us were left wondering if the necessary infrastructure and planning was ever there. In contrast, with COP26, we saw countries, powerful figures and organizations literally putting their money where their mouths are.

Japan and Italy, along with Jeff Bezos, one of the world’s richest people, pledged billions of dollars to make the proposed changes possible. At least we now know that the money is there for these promised policies to be enacted.

Another encouraging sign from the conference was the dynamic between

negotiating countries, especially between higher and lower income countries. The United States, Britain, the European Union, France and Germany decided to give South Africa $8.5 billion on the condition that they shift away from coal power and take care of people that currently have jobs in that industry. Here, we see accountability from rich countries who have profited from the very industries that have created this problem. They are beginning to provide the means for lower-income countries to be able to work against climate change.

Climate change will not be solved in two weeks. Some of us may have had that expectation leading up to COP26 given how the conference was framed as our last chance to save our planet. Because of this unrealistic notion, the summit was destined to be a failure in the public’s eyes. However, if we analyze the conference and situation as a whole, I hope we can see that several strong steps were taken in the right direction on a long path towards a more sustainable and habitable world.

S

Friday, November 19, 2021 | SPORTS | THE TUFTS DAILY

7

Salah embodies unity, passion, loyalty MOHAMED SALAH

continued from page 8 club legend and childhood idol Francesco Totti.

In the summer of 2017, Salah was sold to Liverpool F.C. for a club-record fee of 34.3 million euros, becoming the first Egyptian in the club’s history. Anticipation loomed throughout Liverpool as Salah’s electric reputation personified manager

Timothy Valk Roster Rundown

Fantasy Football Preview Week 11

R

emember the Portsmouth Spartans?

Sure you do! No? Well, they’re the reason why a field goal might be kicked as you dig into your third plate of turkey and stuffing. We’re about to celebrate another Thanksgiving, and it seems like a given that football comes with the affair. But how did a helmet-to-helmet sport become coupled with America’s day of giving thanks in the first place?

The answer, as you probably inferred, is the Spartans, a

Jürgen Klopp’s high-intensity “Gegenpressing” philosophy.

A successful first season would be an understatement as Salah broke the all-time Premier League scoring record for a 38-game season, netting 32 times, a record previously held

by Cristiano Ronaldo in 2008.

Awarded the Golden Boot and the PFA Players’ Player of the Year award, Salah led Liverpool to the Champions

League final. During the game, Salah was infamously injured

by Spanish center-back Sergio Ramos, as Real Madrid left victories on the night. In spite of his shoulder injury persisting through the summer, Salah captained Egypt for their short campaign at the 2018 World Cup in Russia.

Fast-forward three years, which included both Premier League and UCL titles, and

Salah’s recent performances, in particular a hat trick at Old Trafford in a 5–0 thrashing of Manchester United, have seen comparisons being drawn to Leo Messi. Despite the accolades, the “Egyptian king”, as often referred to in songs at Anfield, hasn’t forgotten his roots. In Nagrig, Salah has built hospitals, schools and mosques, giving hope to a new generation of Arab dreams. During the pandemic,

Salah funded the organization of emergency oxygen supply for suffering patients. After every dazzling goal, Salah’s celebration concludes with him kneeling and lowering his forehead, a respectful gesture of his Islamic faith. In a world plagued by racism and Islamophobia, Salah is more than Liverpool’s No. 11. He embodies unity, passion and loyalty, proving that every identity has a place in our world.

pre-merger NFL team that was moved to Detroit and renamed the Lions by local radio executive George Richards in 1934.

The city’s baseball team was generating all the attention, so Richards decided to make a splash by scheduling a home game on Thanksgiving Day. A hard-fought game against the rival Chicago Bears made the event an overnight sensation. Thus, Richards brought it back the next year, and the next year, and here we are today with an original rematch between Chicago and Detroit on tap.

This week’s slate of games is not quite turkey-themed yet, but as there’s no issue next week I wanted to share this fun tidbit.

Let’s get to it for Week 11!

HOT QB: Kirk Cousins, MIN A typically underrated fantasy contributor, Captain Kirk’s

methodical, turnover-free play lands him at QB9 on the year. It takes three touchdown passes to vault him into the truly elite tier each week, but Cousins is an above average streaming option.

RB: Michael Carter, NYJ In yet another lost season for Gang Green, Carter has been a lone bright spot. The rookie from North Carolina has over 14 PPR points in four of his past five games — a gem for those who drafted him late.

WR: Devonta Smith, PHI The Alabama receiver factory churns on with Smith, a six-foot tall, Heisman-winning juggernaut. It’s been boom or bust so far, but his ceiling is too high not to justify lineup inclusion.

TE: George Kittle, SF King Henry wears the crown, but George is starting to find his way back to the throne. It’s

back-to-back big-time fantasy outings from Kittle, a phenomenon we haven’t experienced since 2019. With mouthwatering matchups ahead, the ProBowler is an automatic start.

COLD QB: Matthew Stafford, LAR Talk about crashing back down to earth. The former Lion’s production has nosedived over the past fortnight, throwing for a 2:4 touchdown to interception ratio. Managers hope that Week 10 is rock bottom.

RB: Aaron Jones, GB An MCL sprain will sideline Jones for a couple of weeks, but the Green Bay running back was having troubles even before the injury. Once the team’s bell cow back, Jones hasn’t received more than 15 carries since September, and the emergence of AJ Dillon will only further muddy the waters.

WR: Jarvis Landry, CLE Landry lost his partner in crime, Odell Beckham Jr. to a team release and his quarterback, Baker Mayfield, is banged up too. His target count is promising, but the disappointing numbers can largely be attributed to the lack of passing game in Cleveland.

TE: Zach Ertz, ARI Sometimes predictions don’t come true, and Ertz taking off in Arizona without the talented Dallas Goedert behind him is one of them.

It’s still too early to give up on Zach, but his four-catch ceiling since arriving in the desert doesn’t exude confidence.

Enjoy Week 11!

Timothy Valk is a sophomore who has not yet declared a major. Timothy can be reached at timothy.valk@tufts.edu.

8 Friday, November 19, 2021

SPORTS

tuftsdaily.com

Without Rogers, men’s basketball loses regular season opener

by Isaac Karp Sports Editor

After a two-year hiatus from seeing action on the court, Tufts men’s basketball returned on Tuesday to play its first regular season game of the 2021–22 season against the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth.

Since their successful 2019 postseason run, the Jumbos have hired a new coach in Brandon Linton and return four starters and thirteen total players to their roster from 2019.

The four starters, senior center and co-captain Luke Rogers, senior guard Brennan Morris, junior guard and co-captain Tyler Aronson, and junior guard Carson Cohen, will attempt to build on their NESCAC Championship and make a run at the NCAA Championship this season. However, the Jumbos also need to lose the rust and relearn how to play with intensity, which they lacked in their first game back. In the tough NESCAC division, the last team to surrender usually comes out on top. Aronson explained how the team felt ready to play, but still needed some time to figure out the kinks.

“We thought we had a little bit of unfinished business coming off that great Sweet Sixteen run, but being back on the floor with the guys after two years of waiting and just practicing was really great and I felt good,” Aronson said. “I think we forgot how to compete a little bit and that’s kind of why we let the game go, but we’ll bounce back on Thursday.”

Tufts came out flat to start its game at UMass Dartmouth.

The Jumbos turned the ball over 11 times in the first half and struggled to find any con-

sistency offensively. Rogers, the All-American and the 2019 NESCAC Player of the Year, kept the Jumbos in the game early with his post presence. In a scary turn of events, Rogers banged knees with a Corsairs defender and limped off the floor. He did not return for the rest of the game. Without Rogers, the offensive load fell on the shoulders of Aronson and Cohen. Aronson scored 12 points in the first half, but the Jumbos only shot 18.2% from three. In Rogers’ absence, coach Linton needs his backcourt to step up, and Cohen knows what comes with that responsibility.

“We have to be leaders on the court, we have to organize the team, and just talking about Tuesday night, we didn’t do a good job of really keeping it organized,” Cohen said. “As the year progresses, it’s going to really fall on us a lot to not only take on a scoring and distribution load, but just pulling the team together and making sure that we’re all on the same page.”

After a slow first period the Jumbos managed to catch up with the Corsairs and tie the game 34–34 close to the five-minute mark. Right when the game looked in play for the Jumbos, the Corsairs went on a 16–5 run to end the half up 50–39 with the momentum back on their side.

The second half quickly got out of control for Tufts and although the Jumbos made a couple runs to try and get back in the game, they failed to take advantage of missed shots and turnovers from the Corsairs. Cohen explained how the Jumbos can learn from this loss.

“We weren’t really competing at a level that we know how to compete at and the details weren’t really there for us,” he said. “It’s

COURTESY JARED MARSHALL

UMass Dartmouth beat Tufts 92–71 on Nov. 16 in Tufts men’s basketball’s season opener. great because it’s all correctable stuff and we were able to get back at it yesterday during practice and really work on some of those little things to make sure that we’re cleaning up when we need

to make runs, when we need to get back in games, and hopefully, we can correct it for tonight and going forward.”

In the second half, Tufts shot 5–16 from the free throw line,

to the tragic Port Said Stadium riots, Salah’s domestic season was cut short. Shortly after, Swiss side FC Basel organized a friendly with Egypt’s U-23 team, in which Salah scored twice in a 4–3 victory. Having impressed club president Bernhard Heusler, Salah was invited to stay on for a week’s trial after which he signed a four-year contract. Faced with a new language and the expectation of replacing Swiss stars Xherdan Shaqiri and Granit Xhaka, Salah initially struggled adapting to life in Switzerland.

Within a season, however, the Egyptian winger found his feet, scoring decisive goals in the Champions League and helping Basel secure its fifth league title in a row.

In January 2014, Salah was signed by Chelsea F.C. for 11 million euros, hoping to uphold the formidable legacy of African players in the Premier League.

Under José Mourinho and in a squad filled with veteran stars in their twilight like Ivorian striker Didier Drogba, Salah was sidelined, making only a handful of insignificant appearances. The following February, Chelsea agreed on an 18-month loan for Salah to Italian side Fiorentina. Back in the spotlight, Salah’s speed and instinct for goals proved unstoppable for many defenses in Italy.

Scoring against Inter Milan and Juventus, the Egyptian started to turn heads among Europe’s elite clubs. After a successful season, Salah chose Rome over Florence, joining A.S. Roma on loan. In the 2015–16 season, Salah’s 15 goals helped Roma clinch Champions League qualification, finishing third behind Juventus and Napoli.

The following year saw Roma climb to second place, only four points behind Champions League finalists Juventus. In his

went 12–34 from the field, and got out-rebounded 44–38. The game ended in 92–71 in favor of the Corsairs, who gave the Jumbos their first loss and now boast a 5–0 record.

From Nagrig to Merseyside: Mohamed Salah’s inspirational journey to stardom

by Bharat Singh

Contributing Writer

Piles of construction gravel and a series of unpainted buildings provide the backdrop to a courtyard with a dirt field.

Among the debris used as goals and a few patches of grass is a group of barefoot teenagers chasing a yellow ball. Perhaps the only oasis in this dull desert village is the vibrancy of their jerseys and the magnificent mural of Mohamed Salah.

Born into a working middle-class family in the Nile delta village of Nagrig, roughly 80 miles from Cairo, Salah began chasing his golden dream of becoming a footballer. Salah dreamt of playing for Al Ahly or Zamalek, two of the nation’s leading clubs. Idolizing the likes of Francesco Totti and Zinedine Zidane, Salah spent countless hours in narrow alleyways emulating the magic he saw on TV.

After impressing a scout at a tournament for his local club Ittihad Basyoun, Salah joined the academy of Al Mokawloon in 2006. Still only 14, Salah would commute five hours to get to training in Cairo, often transferring four to five busses both ways. This grueling sacrifice paid off as Salah was eventually spotted by head coach Mohamed Radwan, who promoted him to the first team.

There, Radwan immediately changed Salah’s diet and training, helping him match the physicality of older players. As a youngster, he was regularly chosen as a full-back but had an aptitude for carrying the ball deep into the opponent’s half. Once converted to a forward, Salah cemented his role in the team and was a consistent starter throughout the 2011–12 season.

After the suspension of the Egyptian Premier League due

VIA WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

Current Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah is pictured. final game for the club, with 19 goals to his name, Salah fittingly came on as a substitute for see MOHAMED SALAH, page 7