The Tufts Daily - Wednesday, February 16, 2022

THE

INDEPENDENT

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T HE T UFTS DAILY

VOLUME LXXXIII, ISSUE 15

MEDFORD/SOMERVILLE, MASS.

Uyterhoeven’s PILOT reform bill under review in Mass. State House

by Zoe Kava

Deputy News Editor

Proposed legislation to reform the Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILOT) program is currently under review in the Massachusetts state legislature by the Joint Committee on Revenue. Bill H.3080, which was filed in February 2021

by State Representative Erika Uyterhoeven of Somerville, would give municipalities the option to opt into a PILOT payment program requiring property tax-exempt organizations with more than $15 million in property holdings, such as Tufts University, to pay the city or town the equivalent of 25% of what their property tax would be were they not tax exempt.

PILOT was first formalized in Boston in 2010 when former Mayor Thomas Menino asked institutions with over $15 million in property holdings to voluntarily pay the city 25% of what they would otherwise

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Wednesday, February 16, 2022

be taxed on those holdings.

Today, Boston’s PILOT program remains voluntary and asks large property tax-exempt organizations to pay 12.5% of property taxes to their local municipality and match that amount with an equal donation of ‘community benefits,’ according to Tufts Executive Director of Government and Community Relations Rocco DiRico.

In fiscal year 2020, Tufts met 87% of the requested $1.2 million by Boston’s PILOT, according to DiRico. Other institutions like Harvard University and Northeastern University met 79% and 68% of PILOT requests, respectively.

Uyterhoeven, who filed Bill H.3080, explained that the voluntary nature of the PILOT program means that some institutions choose not to comply with their municipalities’ requests.

“Right now, payment in lieu of taxes [is] voluntary, … so see BILL, page 2

Margaret Rose Vendryes to become new SMFA dean

by Rohith Raman Staff Writer

Accomplished artist and longtime educator Margaret Rose Vendryes will become the next dean of the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in June, the university announced last month. Vendryes was chosen following a months-long search that began after the school’s inaugural dean, Nancy Bauer, announced she was stepping down last May. Vendryes is the director of the Fine Arts Gallery at York College in Queens, where she has taught for more than 20 years. She will take over the deanship at SMFA from Dean Nate Harrison, the school’s interim faculty dean.

Vendryes earned her doctorate in 1997 from Princeton University, where she studied African American art history. She holds a master’s degree in art history from Tulane University and a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Amherst College.

COURTESY MARGARET ROSE VENDRYES

see DEAN, page 2

Margaret Rose Vendryes, the next dean of the School of the Museum of Fine Arts at Tufts, is pictured.

Spring 2022 athletic season to continue with more relaxed COVID-19 policies

by Charlotte Chen

Assistant News Editor

Tufts University modified their COVID-19 policies for the winter of 2021 and now the spring of 2022 athletic season for all sports teams and clubs.

Nowadays, athletes no longer need to take rapid COVID19 tests on competition days, which was required during the spring 2021 athletic season.

Additionally, spectators who are vaccinated and masked are allowed to attend indoor varsity games once again.

Michael Jordan, university infection control health director, explained why Tufts decided to make these changes.

“The university has a highly vaccinated population — our students have received a vaccine and booster,” Jordan wrote in an email to the Daily.

“Additionally, we are currently testing all student athletes every other day. Together, this markedly decreases risk of infection.”

When the Daily received requests for comment, Tufts see ATHLETICS, page 3

OLIVIA BELLO / THE TUFTS DAILY

Student-athletes are pictured inside the Steve Tisch Sports and Fitness Center on Feb. 12.

OPINION / page 3

ARTS / page 5

SPORTS / back

U.S. foreign policy must inhibit Sino-Russian relations

‘Planet Her’ deserves the world — and the Grammy

Men’s basketball dunks 6 straight wins

NEWS

1

FEATURES

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ARTS & POP CULTURE

5

FUN & GAMES

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OPINION

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SPORTS

BACK

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THE TUFTS DAILY | News | Wednesday, February 16, 2022

THE TUFTS DAILY Alexander Janoff Editor in Chief

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Proposed legislation would allow cities and towns to mandate PILOT payments BILL

continued from page 1 some institutions just don’t pay,” Uyterhoeven said. “But this would enable municipalities to [say], ‘No, this is … an agreement that you actually have to abide by.’”

Large nonprofits’ PILOT payments would be used to fund basic city services that even the institutions themselves benefit from, Uyterhoeven explained.

“25% is roughly what the cost is for … public works … snow removal, road repair, police, fire … all the basic [functions] of existing in a city,” Uyterhoeven said.

Massachusetts Action for PILOT has spent the past several years advocating for a standardized PILOT program that would mandate large nonprofit institutions to meet the requested amount in payments.

“A couple of years ago, people who were working on this issue in different communities got together and formed a little group called Massachusetts Action for PILOT … with the goal of trying to actually create a mechanism to standardize and to professionalize PILOT,” MAP member Enid Eckstein explained.

Eckstein said that the legislation would only affect large nonprofit organizations like universities and hospitals.

“The goal in legislation is to create a mechanism by which an individual community, if they chose to opt into this, would have a standard approach to PILOT,” Eckstein said. “We’re not talking about Boys & Girls Clubs, we’re talking about hospitals, we’re talking about major universities that sit on huge endowments.”

Eckstein added that several communities, including Somerville, Cambridge, Worcester, Northampton and Amherst, have tried to imple-

KATRINA AQUILINO / THE TUFTS DAILY

The Massachusetts State House is pictured on Feb. 11. ment PILOT programs in the past with “spotty” records.

“Each community had its own approach,” she said. “And they basically were relying on the charitable largesse of those institutions to make contributions to the municipality.”

If implemented, Eckstein said the legislation would help communities recover from the COVID-19 pandemic and conduct more accurate budgeting.

“Last year, … Smith College, with an endowment of over [$2 billion], announced that they would give $500,000 to the city of Northampton over the next three years,” Eckstein said. “This is not good public policy. This is not how a mayor of a city can plan accordingly for the needs of the city. … Our goal here is to create predictability, to create a systematic approach by which institutions budget accordingly and cities and towns can budget accordingly.”

DiRico explained that Tufts currently pays a significant amount to host communities

in voluntary PILOT payments, property taxes and community benefits.

“Tufts University pays more than $1,350,000 in PILOT payments each year to our host communities,” DiRico wrote in an email to the Daily. “Unlike most nonprofits, Tufts University also pays more than $1,200,000 in property taxes each year. In addition to these PILOT payments and property taxes, Tufts University provides more than $12,000,000 worth of programs, services, and benefits to residents in our host communities.”

DiRico outlined some of the ways Tufts has supported its host communities outside of direct payments.

“The university also acts as an economic engine for our host communities by employing approximately 5,000 people, attracting $190 million dollars in research funding, and bringing 70,000+ visitors to our host communities each year,” DiRico wrote. “During the pandemic, Tufts created a pooled testing

program for 8,000+ local students, provided 1,400 free COVID tests to our neighbors, housed police officers, firefighters, and health care workers on campus, and provided 30 emergency grants to local nonprofits.”

DiRico added that he believes the current PILOT program offers more benefits than the proposed legislation.

“If H3080 were to pass, it would still be up to Boston, Grafton, Medford, and Somerville to impose the PILOT payments,” DiRico wrote. “I think that the current system of PILOT payments, property taxes, and community benefits is more advantageous to our host communities than the proposed legislation.”

H.3080 is still being reviewed by the Joint Committee on Revenue, which Uyterhoeven said is a good sign.

“That doesn’t happen to a lot of bills,” Uyterhoeven said. “It means it’s being taken pretty seriously, which is exciting.”

Vendryes chosen to lead SMFA for artistic experience, leadership DEAN

continued from page 1 According to James Glaser, dean of the School of Arts and Sciences, the appointment process was extremely in-depth and required input from the entire community. “[It] takes time to identify and solicit candidates to apply for the job. … It takes work and active searching to have a deep, strong, diverse pool of candidates to choose from which is really important,” Glaser said.

“We put together a sizable search committee that was comprised of faculty, staff, and students at SMFA, as well as a couple of other important partners.”

Ultimately, the committee decided that Vendryes’ artistic experience and vision would best lead the school as it continues to grow.

“We’re very excited and think we have come up with a new dean who will … be able to advance the school even fur-

ther, take this fantastic legacy and move it forward,” Glaser said. “[Vendryes] is a visual artist herself, a painter. She’s an art historian, … a curator, … an educator … and has demonstrated her effectiveness as a leader in her present position. … She stood out in the crowd because she had this diverse set of experiences.”

Vendryes’ artistic and leadership skill set has attracted similar praise from many faculty, staff and students within the SMFA community. Dr. Kelli Morgan, director of curatorial studies, spoke about the way that these roles and experiences can help integrate different departments and connect the school.

“I remember her giving this example about linking the engineering students to theater in set production. … She basically has the tools and the experience of finding those through lines in unconventional ways,” Morgan said.

Given this unique approach, many are excited about what Vendryes has to offer in terms of her administration, curation and expertise in art history and visual art. The school’s trajectory is heavily influenced by Vendryes’ vision for SMFA. “[She is] coming to integrating those programs from a space of making functionality in a way that just a scholar who isn’t a maker wouldn’t necessarily think. … I think she has that hands-on experience, both in the materials that she works with as an artist but also in the kind of materiality of administration,” Morgan said.

Dina Deitsch, chief curator of the Tufts University Art Galleries, explained how important the dean’s vision is to the myriad of programs, events and developments that happen within the school.

“When [ Vendryes] joins us, … she will be driving the direction of the art school. …

The dean is the one who really shapes the direction and vision of the school, and so we really see art galleries as a participant in that,” Deitsch said. “It will be nice to see, because [Vendryes] does have such deep experience in university galleries, how we can build a program together, especially at the art school.”

However, the magnitude of this appointment’s impact on Tufts is not limited to SMFA. Deitsch emphasized that Vendryes’ impact will reach the Boston community. “[The appointment] is really important for leadership roles for the school but [also] for the greater community in Boston,” Deitsch said. “[The school] has deep roots in being one of the core founders of the art community in Boston. It is the SMFA faculty, the graduate students that [are] very much what makes up Boston’s art community.”

News

Wednesday, February 16, 2022 | News | THE TUFTS DAILY

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Tufts reopens Steve Tisch Sports and Fitness Center, lowers testing frequency ATHLETICS

continued from page 1 was still requiring students to test every other day. The university now asks students to test twice per week.

Despite all of these measures taken to prevent COVID-19 from spreading, it is inevitable that some students and coaches will still contract the virus. John Morris, Tufts’ athletics director, explained how the university handles athletes that have tested positive.

“When a student-athlete tests positive for Covid, we follow the guidance provided by the campus health professionals on a case-by-case basis consistent with the protocols applicable to all students,” Morris wrote in an email to the Daily. “Individual student-athletes have been held

out of practice and competition as appropriate, and to help protect the campus community, a number of winter sport competitions have been postponed or canceled due to positive cases.”

Since most students, professors, faculty members and coaches at Tufts are fully vaccinated and boosted, student-athletes are hoping to move forward with their season as normal.

Meg Hatton, a player for Tufts’ women’s varsity lacrosse team, described her main concern with beginning the spring athletic season.

“This year we have had a lot of teammates contract COVID over break and right before preseason,” Hatton, a sophomore, wrote in an email to the Daily. “It definitely has

delayed us, but not as much as last year. … COVID always remains a threat to our season, but this year our main concern is less over having our whole season stopped, and more about players testing positive and not being able to play.”

Kate Lee, a sophomore on Tufts’ women’s varsity field hockey team, discussed how she and her teammates are often with each other outside of practices, so contracting COVID-19 while in practice is not her main concern.

“I felt very confident that I wouldn’t get Covid during practice,” Lee wrote in an email to the Daily. “We were usually outside, and on top of that, everyone was strictly adhering to the Tufts testing policies.”

Hatton agreed with this sentiment.

“With most of our practices outside, and with all of our team lifts and meetings inside with masks, I feel very safe in organized team settings,” Hatton wrote. “If I were to be nervous about contracting COVID, there are so many other spaces on campus where we are closer to others for a longer period of time.”

Hatton believes the frequent testing that athletes are required to comply with is sufficient in protecting their safety.

“I feel in between on the rule about testing before games,” Hatton wrote. “I think it definitely was a good idea last year, however it utilized a lot of money and resources. Also, using rapid tests that are known not to be as accurate may not have a significant impact. Our team gets tested every other day

regardless, so … I am not sure that it is necessary.”

Morris explained that the university will constantly revise its policies to keep up with the ever-changing nature of COVID-19.

“No additional policy changes are being discussed at the moment, but as Covid conditions continue to evolve in the weeks ahead, we will regularly revisit the Covid-19 policies and how they apply to varsity and club sports, intramurals and fitness activities,” Morris wrote.

Morris also shared his optimistic thoughts about the rest of this semester.

“With the encouraging trends in case numbers over the last couple of weeks, we are looking forward to having full varsity and club sports seasons this spring,” Morris wrote.

4 Wednesday, February 16, 2022

Chris Duncan Talking Transit

I

The issue with Sunday free parking

’m writing this column on a Sunday, and I’d like you to guess how much it would cost me to park on the street in downtown Boston, or Davis or Harvard Square.

If this column’s title didn’t give it away already, it’s free! Parking is usually free on Sundays all over Boston, Cambridge, Somerville and many other cities and towns throughout the Greater Boston area. It’s most likely meant to encourage folks to come into the city from wherever they live and spend their money at local businesses. In that sense, the policy is probably meant to pay for itself.

But yet, if this column’s title didn’t also give this away, I think this is a dumb policy.

It presents a number of problems that cities essentially choose to deal with because of preconceived notions about how people behave and whom a city is really catered towards. In cities like Somerville, Cambridge and Boston, it shouldn’t exist.

The first thing you should ask when investigating the utility of free Sunday parking is: Who is this policy for? Meaning, which constituencies is this policy meant to serve? The people who live in a city who want to get around on weekends or the people in the suburbs who come in to shop, eat or walk around? Just based on the way cities and suburbs are designed, where suburban residents are more likely to own a car than city residents, the answer is pretty apparent.

So why do this at all? Are there any actual benefits to free parking on Sundays?

In short, it’s really unclear, as there simply isn’t a lot of research out there asking this question. There is a lot of research, however, on the effects of free parking itself on car usage — and the picture it shows is clear. Free parking is a subsidy for drivers, it’s unnecessary and it makes our cities worse.

I don’t really need to spell out specifically why I believe car dependency is bad and destructive — the safety hazards and climate effects are self-evident. I would argue that less car-dependent cities encourage a better quality of life that connects people to each other and the amenities offered available in their community.

But if you’re a city planner or councilor leaning toward this policy, you might almost think that’s irrelevant, because you probably aren’t thinking of people in your own community but rather of richer suburbanites. Free Sunday parking subsidizes car usage, which is subsidizing a population disproportionately richer and whiter than the average car-less population.

There are such obvious good alternatives to this policy that it is really only limited by what you believe is possible.

Why don’t we make buses and trains free on Sundays or make parking free at train stations instead of, you know, everywhere else? We are perfectly capable of designing policies that help boost local businesses without subsidizing the rich.

Cities just have to ask themselves who they want to serve.

Chris Duncan is a junior studying political science. Chris can be reached at christopher.duncan@tufts.edu.

Features

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Tufts community members discuss the return to in-person classes

KATRINA AQUILINO / THE TUFTS DAILY

A classroom in the Olin Center is pictured on Feb. 8.

by Carolina De Sousa Lima Azevedo Contributing Writer

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, most classes at Tufts were conducted in a virtual or hybrid format from March 2020 to the end of the 2020– 2021 school year. However, thanks in large part to the widespread distribution of vaccines throughout last spring and summer, the fall 2021 semester saw life at Tufts begin to slowly return to normal. While we were still required to wear masks indoors and frequently test for COVID-19, we saw the return of in-person club meetings and activities, as well as mostly in-person classes.

Despite the fact that the vast majority of courses were held in person, over 250 courses across the university were entirely virtual, and nearly 400 were hybrid in the fall of 2021. Continuing this trend, in spring 2022, most classes are in person, though 94 courses are still virtual and over 100 are taught in a hybrid format.

Singing was one discipline hit hard by the pandemic, as it was banned on campus from the fall 2020 semester until April 2021. The Tufts music department had to quickly work out how to adapt its curriculum. Gospel Choir, a class that generally averages about 200 students per semester, was adjusted to become a virtual and asynchronous academic course, History of Gospel Choir. It wasn’t until the fall 2021 semester that the class was able to return to its original format and meet in person once again.

“For a year at least, we got a taste of what it was like to be denied the human instinct to congregate and to sing … and to me, it’s a need that we have as people,” Professor David Coleman, who teaches Gospel Choir, said. “I’m glad that we’re able to at least feed that part of our human experience by being able to meet [in] person [this year]. With all the precautions and all the things in place, it doesn’t change the fact that we’re able to do that.”

Coleman’s excitement about returning to in-person classes last fall was shared by Professor Amy Lischko. She teaches in the Department of Public Health and Community Medicine at Tufts University School of Medicine and in the undergraduate community health and economics departments on the Medford/Somerville campus.

“I was really happy to be back,” Professor Lischko said. “[Teaching virtually] doesn’t have that same benefit of the energy that you get from the students … when they’re making connections and asking good questions that you just don’t get when you’re virtual, staring at a screen. I just feel like it’s really hard to do.”

Caitlin Duffy took most of her classes in person last semester, but due to professor conflicts, her classes were mostly online for about the first three weeks of this semester. While Duffy tolerated having classes virtual for a short period of time, she intends to never sign up for another online class.

“You do not meet people when you’re online,” Duffy, a sophomore, said. “You don’t meet people, especially asynchronously. A big part of college is meeting people, and a big part of learning, at least for me, is finding groups to study with and you can’t do that successfully online as easily as you can if you’re in person sitting next to somebody.”

Lischko noted the positive effects that returning to an in-person format had on students’ learning experience. “[ The students] were more excited [to be in person],” Lischko said.

“I noticed a definite, happier feeling in the class this year than last year.

Everybody was chatting before class and happy to see each other, happy to be in class. I noticed that right off the bat, and there was just a level of energy in the class that I didn’t notice last year.”

Coleman explained that although it was difficult to go about a year without

in-person singing, he understood why the decision to ban singing was made.

“I think it’s a really difficult job to have to make those decisions for an entire community,” Coleman said. “[Banning singing] was the right decision, based on the simple idea that there wasn’t enough data or science to understand how the disease worked.

What we did know was that choir rehearsals, anecdotally across the world, were becoming superspreader events.”

Duffy added that while the policies may seem restrictive compared to other college campuses, they do serve a purpose.

“I think the COVID policies are definitely in place to keep us safe,” Duffy said. “I think they’re very different [from] a lot of other colleges, especially other colleges in the area, in terms of we’re still a lot more restricted. But I do understand the purpose behind it.”

Lischko agreed, praising Tufts’ handling of the pandemic.

“At the beginning of the pandemic, and throughout the pandemic, I really feel like Tufts has done a great job at overseeing this whole process,” she said. “It must just be so much work and a lot of responsibilities, so I feel like they’ve done a really good job.”

However, despite her respect for the university’s past handling of the pandemic, Lischko believes that Tufts could possibly go further in loosening restrictions and returning to normalcy.

“Overall, I feel like testing probably doesn’t make sense anymore because so many people have it, or have had it, [COVID-19 cases are seeing] a downward trend now, [so] I feel like I’m not sure how useful the testing is now,” she said. “It’s tricky because you don’t want a huge outbreak either, so you don’t want hundreds of students coming down with it. … I think that the data [is] really trending positively and they’ll probably have to pull back on some of these requirements.”

Arts & POP ARTS Pop CULTURE Culture

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Wednesday, February 16, 2022

Doja Cat’s ‘Planet Her’ is the Grammys’ strongest Album of the Year contender

by Jack Clohisy Arts Editor

With 10 nominees up for Album of the Year at the Grammy Awards later this spring, one holds its own amongst the rest: “Planet Her (Deluxe)” (2021) by Doja Cat. With an array of massive hits mixed with an out-of-this-world concept (pun intended), “Planet Her (Deluxe)” cements itself as the deserving nominee vying for the coveted Album of the Year award. “Hot Pink” (2019), Doja Cat’s previous studio album, became a viral success after the explosion of track “Say So” across the internet, popularized on platforms such as TikTok. This time around, Doja Cat’s fanbase has grown substantially, and when the announcement of her third studio album hit the mainstream, it was the recipe for success.

It’s difficult to maintain the success that an earlier project or viral hit can create, but Doja Cat surpasses all such expectations with “Planet Her (Deluxe).” The lead single featuring SZA, “Kiss Me More,” reached a peak of No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 and landed in the top six biggest hits in the U.S. of 2021. Still, as of this week, “Kiss Me More” completes an impressive 43 weeks on the U.S. charts, highlighting its success in the mainstream. Though the Grammys attempts to focus primarily on the artistry within music for its awards, when an album is so prevalent and well liked by the masses, it’s hard to deny its case for the award. Other nominees, such as “We Are” (2021) by Jon Batiste, herald critical acclaim but lack the commercial success that “Planet Her (Deluxe)” maintains.

Despite the record sales Doja Cat boasts, “Planet Her (Deluxe)” also holds critical acclaim. On Metacritic, “Planet Her,” the standard version not the deluxe, has a score of 76 which indicates “generally favorable reviews.” Pitchfork states that “Planet Her” is “a kaleidoscope of pop versatility that benefits greatly from a market that currently values eclecticism. It feels both premeditated and casual, well-crafted yet trenchantly frivolous.”

With fans attaching to songs such as “Woman,” “Ain’t Shit,” “Need to Know”

5

Odessa Gaines K-Weekly

K-Pop, an acknowledgment of Black influence

T

COURTESY WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

The album cover for “Planet Her” (2021) is pictured. and “Get Into It (Yuh),” there’s more than enough on the track listing for any listener. Even “Need to Know” would be considered a sleeper hit by most. Originally released as a promotional single, “Need to Know” continued to climb the charts even higher than the second official single with The Weeknd, “You Right.” Now, “Need to Know” has charted on the Billboard Hot 100 for 35 weeks and is still charting within the top 15. The sustained hits Doja Cat has been able to chart are indicative of the long-lasting impact “Planet Her (Deluxe)” has.

Her own concept, Doja Cat cooked up the idea of “Planet Her” as a place where all people can live in harmony. She celebrates this throughout her body of work, and it’s evident through all tracks, standard and deluxe, that “Planet Her” is a place where all people

should want to live. Because of this, Doja Cat reimagines what it means to be a crossover artist whose influences in rap, pop, R&B and more are extremely innovative and well executed. There are few artists who have the ability to craft an album so perfectly executed and so commercially successful, which add to the multitude of reasons why “Planet Her (Deluxe)” should be the Album of the Year.

Undeniably, Doja Cat’s “Planet Her (Deluxe)” should take home the trophy for Album of the Year. If the trend will keep up with the last three consecutive ceremonies, a female act will take home the award [“Golden Hour” (2018), “When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?” (2019), “Folklore” (2020)], and what better album to do so than the true ode to the modern woman, “Planet Her (Deluxe)”?

his Black History Month, I felt the need to shine a light on the Black American influence on K-pop and the industry as a whole.

It is no secret that Black creatives have constantly made significant impacts on the world we live in now. With inventions like the toilet paper holder, scientific leaps like landing on the moon and foodie delights like potato chips, Black Americans have laid the foundation for many things we love today. One of the biggest areas we can see Black influence in is our modern music industry.

Black artists have had a strong influence on blues, R&B, rap, hip-hop and soul, as well as rock and pop music. The modern Korean ‘idol’ industry also has its roots in Black artistry.

Our current definition of K-pop ‘idol music’ originated in part from the popular boy group Seo Taiji and Boys in the late ‘90s.

The group drew from many Western genres like hip-hop and rap to create their sound, inspiring many new industry trends. Seo Taiji and Boys added elements of Western fashion and rap that became the blueprint for future K-groups. What’s important to note about this is that much of the inspiration they took came from popular Black American music.

While in our modern music industry much praise is given to K-groups for their ability to combine many elements in their art, from fashion to choreography, recognition must be given to those who laid the foundation.

Today, there have been many incidents of appropriation of Black American culture among the K-pop scene in everything from hairstyles and clothing to language. The line between cultural appropriation and appreciation becomes significantly hazed when discussed within K-pop. Popular acts wearing traditional African American clothing and hairstyles or using the ‘n-word’ in their music have crossed the line into appropriation of Black culture.

I do, however, want to note that many popular K-pop acts have spoken out on the influence Black artists have had on their art and industry. BTS leader and rapper Kim Namjoon, also known as RM, has said that Nas is his biggest lyrical inspiration. The group as a whole also donated $1 million to many Black Lives Matter programs, and their fandom matched this, totaling over $2 million from the group. When K-pop artists and idols speak up and recognize the influence and inspiration they gain from Black artists, their fandoms will follow and also give acknowledgment to them.

This is only a snapshot of the history of KpPop and Black influence, but it is incredibly important that we give credit where credit is due, especially when discussing groups of people who are often overlooked. Black Americans have contributed too much to culture and our world to not be recognized for their creativity, artistry and hard work.

So, remember as you enjoy your next playlist of pop and K-pop music to give acknowledgement to Black artists and creators.

Odessa Gaines is a first-year studying child study and human development.

Odessa can be reached at kgaine01@ tufts.edu.

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THE TUFTS DAILY | Fun & Games | Wednesday, February 16, 2022

F& G

tuftsdaily.com LATE NIGHT AT THE DAILY Caroline: “Who’s the other editor in chief?”

Fun & Games

SUDOKU

LINDA C. BLACK ASTROLOGY

Aquarius (Jan. 20–Feb. 18) Adjust to changes. Reach a Full Moon turning point with a partnership. Compromise and collaborate for shared commitments. Adapt for new solutions. Love strengthens foundations.

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Difficulty Level: Ignoring the drum noises reverberating through the walls of Curtis.

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Opinion

7 Wednesday, February 16, 2022

VIEWPOINT

Nuclear frenemies: Why is Russia courting China?

by Makram Bekdache

The Dragonbear

I

Opinion Editor

Russia is growing increasingly belligerent. With the United States busy confronting China’s growing influence in Asia, Vladimir Putin is now trying to send a message by threatening Ukraine to show the West that they shouldn’t discount his powerful country. It was then only a matter of time for an adage to return: “The enemy of my enemy is my friend.” This saying holds in the context of Sino-Russian relations.

The two countries are geographical neighbors. When the USSR was eager to grow its influence in Asia at the start of the Cold War, it devised a policy of close cooperation with Mao Zedong’s young communist state. China had helped the USSR inflict a harsh political defeat on the U.S. during the Korean War, ensuring North Korea’s survival and forcing the U.N. to negotiate a ceasefire to end what could have been a total western victory.

This success bolstered ties between the communist neighbors, and the USSR soon supplied China with thousands of its best engineers. They established weapons production facilities and even started developing China’s first nuclear research plant.

However, mistrust quickly set in between the former allies.

Under Premier Nikita Khrushchev’s leadership, tensions arose between the two powers as differences in their political ideologies became clear, leading the USSR to withdraw their support for China’s developing nuclear technology. China subsequently denounced its “slavish dependence” on the Soviets. Furthermore, Mao was growing uneasy with the USSR’s policy of détente with the West, seeing it as a public show of weakness and the relinquishing of shared Marxist ideals. Mao published an article explicitly criticizing Khrushchev’s policies, ratifying the ideological and military divorce. What happened next shocked the world. In 1964, barely four years after the Sino-Soviet split, China tested its first atomic device, becoming the fifth nuclear power. Ever since, China’s military and economic might have been steadily growing, with analysts now predicting that China will be the United States’ prime adversary in a future Cold War. But Russia is reluctant to relinquish its position as a superpower. It still fields an army that is tactically superior to China’s.

Russia effectively rose back from the dead after the fall of the USSR, when the U.S. tried to force collaboration to prevent renewed tensions. This effort failed as nationalistic instincts gripped the crippled country, leading to the election of Vladimir Putin, who many credit with rehabilitating the economy and restoring USSR-era expansionism and ambition. This effort culminated in the 2014 invasion of Crimea and the subsequent Ukrainian civil war, where Moscow continues to support Ukrainian rebels.

The West reacted by imposing tough sanctions on Russia. With Putin now threat-

Daniel Chung Managing Multipolarity

BY SAM FARBMAN

Text translates to “Friendship of the Peoples!” ening a total invasion of Ukraine, another economic threat looms over Moscow: gas sales to the EU. Europe relies on Russian gas, which transits through massive pipelines; it has promised that such infrastructure would be severely sanctioned in case of an invasion, losing Russia billions in foreign currency revenues. That is one area where Moscow is turning to Beijing. China has agreed to a deal that will see a new pipeline built from Russia, enabling Gazprom, Russia’s state energy exporter, to nearly double its exports.

The Chinese would pay for the gas in Euros, ensuring a constant flow of fresh funds.

Furthermore, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Putin declared in a meeting held alongside the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics that their countries’ ties would have “no limits” moving forward.

The two sides put out a statement, heavily accenting their disapproval of NATO’s expansion and asking it to stop “its Cold War ideology.” This alliance is thus clearly declaring itself as an opportunistic marriage between two former enemies, recognizing that the best way to buy some time and further develop capabilities to face the U.S. is to bond and create a shared bloc. This has raised fears of shared Sino-Russian domination over Asia, a region that seems to have supplanted even the Middle East in interest from the main superpowers. But is this alliance viable?

Russia’s trade volume with China is significant, certainly more important than its exchange with the U.S., but Europe is still

Russia’s premier export market, an economic volume that it cannot hope to quickly replace by an increasingly self-sufficient China. Alienating the West would prove costly to a fragile Russian economy, and Putin knows that social unrest could spell the end of his regime. Politically, China has recently supported the Russian aggression of Ukraine, in anticipation of the precedent it may set for its own situations of political unrest. Of course, this further highlights the opportunism behind this renewed alliance, but that does not make it any less threatening. A bloc is forming in the United Nations Security Council. If Russia and China cover each other’s imperialistic actions, the power of international institutions will be limited in condemning such attacks.

The West needs to be wary of Russia’s realignment towards Beijing, even more than China’s expansionism. An independent Russia might not be a U.S. ally, per se, but it effectively stops China’s political expansion on its northern border, and away from the increasingly strategic former USSR states.

Russia may be inclined to turn towards a more receptive China, especially if it keeps getting bumped off the West’s top foreign policy priorities. The U.S. risks the loss of a whole continent’s worth of influence to an autocratic and belligerent marriage. America has managed to keep two hostile superpowers at bay, but a combined force acting against American interests might prove very damaging for much-eroded U.S. foreign policy credentials.

t has recently become increasingly obvious that China and Russia together seek to challenge the current international ‘rules based system.’

The U.S.- enforced liberal internationalism of the last three decades may soon give way, at least partially by force, to a more traditional, realist world order dominated by a series of regional great powers.

For various reasons, Russia and China are among those prospective powers, especially for fear of strategic vulnerability, a desire to control resources necessary to their economies and normative claims to regional dominance.

On one hand, Russia may have sufficient resources within its borders to drive necessary elements of its economy, but its borders themselves are a liability to protecting its own resources in any potential Western aggression. A buffer zone consisting of eastern European states is viewed as a Russian geopolitical necessity, driving its current strategy of brigandry which aims to overturn some of those states’ accession processes to American-led institutions and deter others from even thinking about drifting further into the American sphere of influence.

On the other hand, China’s domestic politics demand access to raw materials, especially oil, which has driven it to regard the United States’ influence over countries in its immediate proximity as an intolerable affront to its national interests. Taiwan is especially important in this respect, not only for the historical significance, but also because essential shipping from the South China Sea to Shanghai would be fully secured if China exercised direct control over the island, among other reasons.

Both nations also seek to regain a lost sense of pride. Putin has referred to the collapse of the Soviet Union as the “greatest geopolitical catastrophe of the 21st century,” while Xi Jinping calls for the “great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.” Russia and China each feel, to some extent, that they are entitled to more recognition than offered in the current international order and will take the means they see fit to gain that recognition.

Whether or not Russia and China will succeed in remaking the international order as they see fit remains to be seen.

The most significant problems each nation faces are domestic. As I’ve described in a previous column, China faces significant demographic problems which will be hard to overcome to maintain economic growth and sustain its great power ambitions beyond the next decade. As for Russia, many parts of its economy are reliant on skilled Soviet workers who are now retiring, spelling trouble down the road. The biggest thing which Russia and China have on their side is that some American leaders, tapping into the public’s largely non-interventionist streak, have begun turning away from maintaining the unipolar status quo, providing an opportunity to be seized.

Exact outcomes of current international dynamics may still be extremely uncertain, but one thing is clear: An extremely chaotic and almost certainly violent period of global history lies ahead as Russia and China attempt to retain global relevance and take advantage of a receding America.

Daniel Chung is a first-year at Tufts who has not yet declared a major. Daniel can be reached at daniel.chung@tufts.edu.

SPORTS

8 Wednesday, February 16, 2022

Bharat Singh The Final Whistle

What’s next for Dele Alli?

A

few years ago, Dele Alli was one of the hottest prospects in world football. Many fans remember his iconic volley against Crystal Palace as he calmly flicked the ball over defender Mile Jedinak, twisted and buried it in the bottom-left corner. That season, Alli was a key part of Spurs’ title challenge, alongside budding stars Harry Kane and Christian Eriksen, as the North London club finished third behind Arsenal and surprise champions Leicester City. Just 20, Alli contributed 10 goals and nine assists in the 2015–16 season and was regarded as a dynamic box-to-box midfielder who could slot in as a second striker and provide attacking overload. Fast forward five years, and the energetic midfielder is a shadow of his former self, leaving many fans wondering, what next?

Bought from MK Dons after impressing in a shocking 4–0 victory over Manchester United, Alli spent his first season back on loan at the League One side. After securing promotion, Alli joined Tottenham Hotspur and made his debut in August 2015. After an electric start, Alli was called up to the England squad for a friendly against France where he scored a long-range beauty before halftime and helped set up England’s second goal after winning the ball off of French superstar Paul Pogba. In March 2016, Alli inspired a 3–2 comeback against Germany in Berlin, eventually winning the Young Player of the Year award and was selected for England’s Euro 2016 squad.

The next few seasons under Mauricio Pochettino saw Spurs maintain top four finishes. Despite the stability, Tottenham’s trophy drought continued and they failed to invest in players in the same way clubs like Liverpool and Manchester City. In 2019, Alli started for Spurs in the Champions League Final against Liverpool but was outclassed in midfield by Jordan Henderson and Gini Wijnaldum, leading to his substitution after 82 minutes.

After that loss, the Spurs never seemed the same. Pochettino was sacked the following season and Alli failed to impress new manager José Mourinho, as he was often sidelined for crucial games. In the last four seasons, Alli’s shots-per-game average has declined from 2.69 to 0.55. Moreover, his expected goals have fallen from 14.71 to 1.40 as he has made just 10 appearances this season. After a short stint under Nuno Espirito Santo, the Spurs now enter a new era under Antonio Conte, and Dele Alli is not in their plans.

Still only 25 years old, the once dubbed “young Roy Keane” was sold to Everton F.C. on deadline day of the January transfer window. A fresh start will perhaps reinvigorate Alli as he enters his prime and a strong season could give him a shout at England’s World Cup squad. Many believe that working with newly appointed manager and Chelsea legend Frank Lampard could reignite Alli’s attacking prowess as Lampard himself played in a similar position.

Switching the white of North London for the royal blue of Everton might relaunch Alli’s career. There’s no doubt that the boy from Milton Keynes still has a lot left in his locker.

After all, Steven Gerrard was 27 when he reached 50 Premier League goals; Lampard was 26. Alli? Only 23.

Bharat Singh is a first-year studying international relations. Bharat can be reached at bharat.singh@tufts.edu.

tuftsdaily.com

Men’s basketball wins 6 straight games heading into NESCAC playoffs

by Keila McCabe Sports Editor

Men’s basketball continues its winning streak, collecting three more conference victories this past week. The Jumbos earned a win on the road against Colby 61–53 on Tuesday night and then swept their NESCAC weekend games against Williams 81–66 and Middlebury 81–73. The team’s record now stands at 13–9 overall and 8–2 in the NESCAC, leaving them securely positioned second in the conference heading into playoffs next weekend.

The Jumbo matchup with the Colby Mules got rescheduled to a Tuesday night.

Heading up to Maine provided a challenge for the Jumbos, as not only did it take them out of their typical schedule’s weekend routine, they also faced off against competitors seeking revenge. Senior center Luke Rodgers said this added to the challenges of their contest against Colby.

“Two years ago, when we won the NESCAC tournament, we beat Colby in the finals so we knew that it was going to be a big game,” Rodgers said. “Definitely it felt like we had a bit of a target on our backs going into that game, so it was one we really wanted to take care of. I think that it showed a lot about our team, being able to go up there and win on the road in not traditional circumstances.”

The team rose to the occasion, battling in a close contest and securing a key victory on the road. The first half saw many tie scores and lead changes, but in the second half the Jumbos secured the momentum and a small lead that they did not lose for the remainder of the game. Rodgers earned another double double, securing 14 points and 15 rebounds for the night.

Junior guard Dylan Thoerner scored 14 points and recorded three steals as well.

Saturday’s game against Williams was Senior Day for the Jumbos. Accordingly, all five seniors made up the starting squad for the contest. Rodgers said it was a great experience. “[Will Brady] and [Brennan Morris], those are two guys that were in my original class at Tufts and we were supposed to graduate in 2021, but we had taken a year off because we wanted to come back and we wanted one more shot at this. We wanted to play together. We knew we had some magic left in us.” Rodgers said. “The other seniors, [Eric DeBrine] and [Kieran Kindig], they’re two of my best friends.

Getting to go out there and play with those guys who really put their heart and their soul into the team is really rewarding for all of us.”

Thoerner led the Jumbos in scoring once again with 19 for the day, followed by Rodgers and junior guard Tyler Aronson with 15 each. Defense proved particularly

QUAN TRAN / THE TUFTS DAILY

Tufts forward Luke Rogers (’22) attempts a jump shot during Tufts 81–66 win versus Williams on Feb. 12. effective as the team held Williams’ second best scorer, sophomore guard Cole Prowitt-Smith to zero points for the afternoon. Coming off good Saturday momentum, the energy stayed on the side of Tufts for Sunday’s matchup against Middlebury.

Aronson said keeping focus was essential to win back to back conference games.

“Usually on those back-to-back NESCAC games, Sunday games are mainly about effort and staying locked in on our scout,” Aronson said. “I thought that we were really well prepared, especially in all our NESCAC games over the past weekend. The coaching staff has been really great getting us ready to go. Having the effort and the scout prepared for us was great, and we ended up executing down the stretch against a pretty good team.”

For the majority of the first half, the Jumbos had a commanding lead, but

Middlebury threatened this lead and tied the score in the second half, leaving the two teams battling back and forth for the lead for the remainder of the game. A combination of a cohesive, fast-paced offense and smart defense on the part of Tufts and three strong scorers for Middlebury kept the game close. Momentum decisively shifted in favor of Tufts when one of Middlebury’s leading scorers and big defensive presence, junior center Alex Sobel, fouled out in the second half. Thoerner, Rogers, Aronson and senior guard Will Brady led the team, all scoring in double digits and several reserves contributed for a solid team victory.

After securing the No. 2 seed, the Jumbos will face the winner of Bates and Trinity on Sunday, Feb. 20 in Cousens Gym for the second round of NESCAC playoffs.

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