The Tufts Daily - Wednesday, February 23, 2022

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VOLUME LXXXIII, ISSUE 18

Mods near full capacity, COVID-19-positive students isolate in Arlington hotel

by Flora Meng

Deputy News Editor

Tufts began sending COVID19-positive students to isolate in the Homewood Suites hotel in Arlington as The Mods neared full capacity on Tuesday, Feb. 15.

Executive Director of Media Relations Patrick Collins revealed how capacity and maintenance issues in The Mods led Tufts to begin housing COVID-19-positive students in the hotel.

“On Tuesday, we reached a point where a large majority of our modular housing assignments were either occupied or in need of cleaning/maintenance,” Collins wrote in an email to the Daily. “At this point, we began to assign students to another isolation location that the university had set up in anticipation of a surge in cases.”

Collins explained that some students will continue to be assigned to the Mods as spaces open up.

“The situation is dynamic, as while we have been assigning students to the Homewood Suites when needed, we have also regained spaces in the mods when students are released from isolation and rooms get cleaned,” he wrote.

According to Collins, The Mods were at 80-90% capacity for most of last week. There are currently 134 total rooms in the three modular buildings, including a small number of rooms that are closed for maintenance.

Collins explained that Tufts made agreements with both the Homewood Suites in Arlington and the AC Hotel in Cambridge in anticipation of potential overflow in The Mods and will evaluate whether to renew those

tuftsdaily.com

Wednesday, February 23, 2022

MEDFORD/SOMERVILLE, MASS.

leases as needed. Currently, Tufts has 85 beds set aside at the Homewood Suites, and they are at approximately 50% capacity.

Upon testing positive for COVID-19, Tufts students assigned to isolate in the Homewood Suites receive an isolation housing assignment email that differs from the standard one for students assigned to The Mods.

The new email tells students their Homewood Suites room assignment, how to catch the van shuttles departing hourly for the hotel and that they will be provided with two $25 UberEats vouchers per day. It also instructs students not to leave their bedroom without a mask and not to enter the hotel’s common spaces.

Naomi Meininger, a student who was sent to Homewood Suites after testing positive for COVID-19 on Thursday, described the layout of her room, which she shares with a roommate.

“On one side, there’s one normal bed and the other one’s like a cot that they pulled out of the couch,” Meininger, a sophomore, said. “It’s two separate rooms, but there’s no door to separate them essentially. But there’s a table in one room and a kitchen, and the mattress is in there with a TV. … It’s kind of a big suite.”

Meininger shared her favorable impression of the hotel facilities but expressed frustration about being far from campus.

“I think the hotel in terms of amenities is a lot nicer [than The Mods], but I do feel like, even though obviously I wouldn’t go hang out in people’s rooms in see HOMEWOOD, page 2

NICOLE GARAY / THE TUFTS DAILY

The Mods are pictured on Oct. 25, 2021.

Tisch College announces spring 2022 speaker series

ANGELIA SHI / THE TUFTS DAILY

Tisch College Speaker Series lineup is pictured in Barnum Hall on Feb. 19.

by Carl Svahn

Assistant Arts Editor

The Jonathan M. Tisch College of Civic Life announced their spring 2022 Susan and Alan Solomont Distinguished Speaker Series lineup on Feb. 4, featuring U.S. Representative Ayanna Pressley, Senator Tim Scott and more slated to give their perspectives on the future of American politics.

Dean of Tisch College Dayna Cunningham believes the variety and experience these speakers offer will help Jumbos bet-

ter understand the current state of democracy in the U.S. and around the world.

“We’ve all seen the important and necessary preoccupation with the frailty of democratic institutions right now,” Cunningham said. “So what we’re doing with the speaker series is making that [an] urgently relevant topic, kind of bringing it right to the campus with people who are on the frontlines of questions related to that.”

Along with U.S. Representative Ayanna Pressley, whose district includes parts of Somerville, this

spring’s speakers include U.S. Congressman Peter DeFazio (A’69) of Oregon, Massachusetts state representative Tram Nguyen (A’08) and Republican Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina.

The search process for Tisch speakers is time consuming and complicated. Jennifer McAndrew, the director of communications, strategy and planning at Tisch College, said that once the Tisch staff decides on a speaker to invite, it may take months or years to get them to campus.

WMFO, Tufts’ freeform radio station, requested $4,000 to pay for food and a stage at its Music Arts Festival, which will happen this spring. ALBO unanimously recommended that the TCU Senate fund the full amount.

WMFO’s request passed with 17 senators voting in favor, none opposing and one abstaining.

TedxTufts requested $1,827 to fund a banquet dinner for club members and speakers in advance of their 2022 conference. The request included $1,527 for catering from Tufts Dining and $300 for flowers.

ALBO voted to recommend that the TCU Senate fund the full amount with six board members in favor, none opposed and one abstaining. The request

passed with 17 senators voting in favor, none opposing and two abstaining.

TCU Parliamentarian Ibrahim Almuasher then introduced the abstract of a resolution put forward by the TCU Senate Education Committee calling for the adoption of Open Educational Resources — which are free, public domain learning materials — by Tufts faculty.

The abstract expresses support for Tisch Library’s efforts to adopt OER, in light of the high and rising cost of higher education, and urges professors to redesign their courses in order to minimize financial cost to students. TCU will read a com-

see SPEAKERS, page 2

TCU Senate hears supplementary funding requests

by Tess Harmon

Assistant News Editor

The Tufts Community Union Senate heard supplementary funding requests and updates on the theme for the Class of 2024 Prom in a virtual meeting on Monday night.

After the roll call, TCU Assistant Treasurer and Class of 2023 Senator Jalen Little introduced three supplementary funding requests.

Tufts Gaming Hub requested $1,055 to pay venue fees and transportation costs to send club members to Super Smash Bros. tournaments this semester. The Allocations Board unanimously voted to fully fund the request, which passed by acclamation.

FEATURES / page 3

OPINION / page 7

SPORTS / back

Not Your Bubbe’s Hamantaschen sweetens campus with homemade cookies

Iraq is regaining its regional relevance after decades of war

Men’s squash squashes Bates in National Championship semifinal

see SENATE, page 2 NEWS

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FEATURES

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ARTS & POP CULTURE

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FUN & GAMES

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THE TUFTS DAILY | News | Wednesday, February 23, 2022

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Students report preference for Homewood Suites over Mods HOMEWOOD

continued from page 1 The Mods, some of my friends are there, so that’s a little hard,” she said.

Although the isolation housing assignment email details a no-guest policy, Aliénor Rice, another student sent to the Homewood Suites to isolate, explained that the policy isn’t strictly enforced.

“They’re not actively checking [whether students are visiting each other] as far as I know,” Rice, a sophomore, said. “What

they told us is we’re not allowed to leave our floor. So you have to wear your mask if you’re out in the hallway, obviously.

But I know some people who have been going to each other’s rooms just because we’re all positive.”

For Rice, the hotel isolation experience is enhanced by the UberEats dining options, which she prefers over the Tufts Dining meals offered to residents of The Mods.

“I think the hotel is better because we get UberEats so we

can choose exactly what food we want instead of Tufts Dining,” she said. “I’ve only been here for less than 48 hours, but it feels like … a nicer setup than The Mods.”

University Infection Control Health Director Dr. Michael Jordan attributed the recent rise in COVID-19 cases to noncompliance with the university’s masking guidelines.

“More recently, we notified the student community of a dramatic increase in the number of COVID-19 cases,” Jordan wrote

in an email to the Daily. “This coincides with reports of students increasingly choosing not to wear masks indoors, contrary to our protocols.”

According to Jordan, the university will continue to monitor trends and adjust policies in response to changing COVID-19 case counts.

“We are hopeful that the surge we are currently experiencing will abate soon and that in due course we will be able to relax our policies further in the near term,” he wrote.

Dayna Cunningham stresses Tisch College's commitment to civic discourse with speaker series SPEAKERS

continued from page 1 “We can be cultivating speakers anywhere from a month to 24 months out,” McAndrew said. “The way we announced it … looks like ‘Oh, those are the people they invited and here they are.’ No, that could have been the people we invited a year ago and they just couldn’t be here during the semester, or they couldn’t make it work or we didn’t have a response in time.”

Jessica Byrnes, communications program manager at Tisch College, said a particularly noteworthy upcoming event is the virtual Civic Life Lunch highlighting the work of the Climate Music Project, a nonprofit organization whose goal is to inspire

action by composing music about climate change.

For the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic began, Tisch College events will include in-person programming.

Nguyen’s Civic Life Lunch, for example, will be an in-person event at Barnum Hall, capped at 45 people for health and safety reasons. Many events will remain virtual, however, with some in-person events offering a virtual option to those who cannot attend in person.

McAndrew said that safety concerns and convenience for some speakers influenced the decision to have mixed in-person and virtual programming.

“We are intentionally starting out with some of our small-

er events in person and then as the semester moves on is when some of the bigger events are in person,” McAndrew said.

Byrnes reflected on the increased accessibility and turnout due to virtual programming during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I think one of the silver linings to being virtual from an event standpoint for the past two years is we saw pretty amazing engagement that we might not have had in person; we saw parents tuning in from different countries all over the world,” Byrnes said. “We’re really thinking about ‘How do we make our programming more accessible?’

Cunningham hopes these speakers will encourage students

to challenge their perspectives and engage in deep discussions about modern politics.

“I like to say that Tisch is democracy’s house on campus,” Cunningham said. “Democracy actually means debating different and sometimes conflicting interests and holding that within the sturdy house.”

Cunningham stressed Tufts’ commitment to strengthening civic discourse on campus by hosting speakers with a diverse range of views.

“In a country as diverse and as complex as ours, we have to be able to hear different perspectives and respect them and engage with them and learn from them,” Cunningham said.

TCU hears Services Committee, community senator updates

SENATE

continued from page 1 plete draft of the resolution and vote on it in a future meeting.

Next, TCU Diversity Officer Jaden Pena opened the floor for updates from the community senators.

Africana Community Senator Hadiya Giwa announced an upcoming meeting with Kelly Shaw, nutrition specialist for Tufts Dining, who expressed interest in connecting with the Africana Center to improve dining options. Giwa also mentioned that the Africana Center is potentially beginning the search process for an Africana spirituality advisor and is gauging student interest in the position.

LGBTQ+ Community Senator Blake Anderson reported that he will soon be meeting with Director of Educational

Technology Systems and Services Janet Hill, with the intent of creating an option for students to designate that they use both gendered and gender-neutral pronouns on Tufts interfaces like the Student Information System.

Women’s Community Senator Krystal Mutebi announced that she met with the Women’s Center about continuing the Menstrual Product Project. She added that she is working with the Women’s Center on celebration ideas for Women’s History Month.

TCU Historian and Outreach Committee Chair Mariana JanerAgrelot gave updates on the progress of the TCU Senate logo design and asked for suggestions for Senate bonding activities.

Services Committee Chair Arielle Galinsky then updated

the body on project developments from her committee. She announced that the Granoff Music Center will be the location for a new mural depicting students’ interests and that Class of 2025 Senator João Ribeiro is working on making student parking more affordable.

Galinsky, a sophomore, added that she has been working with Jumbo Swipes and Director of Dining and Business Services Patti Klos on plans for donating swipes to external food pantries in the Medford/ Somerville area, promoting the Swipe It Forward initiative and establishing a food pantry on Tufts campus.

Galinsky also gave updates on the Class of 2024 Prom, announcing that the committee has hired a Tufts alum to head marketing for the event and

begun connecting with DJs. The committee also settled on the theme of “Prom Reinvisioned.”

Education Committee Chair Claire Bolash opened the floor for an update from Class of 2025 Senator Tolulope Adewumi, who announced plans for a ‘resource fair,’ which will help better publicize the different resources available on campus and connect students with different academic centers.

Administration and Policy Committee Chair Liani Astacio then updated the body on her discussion with Associate Dean of Financial Aid Patricia Reilly, who announced that the COVID-19 Emergency Fund will continue for the foreseeable future.

After senators asked brief questions in an open forum, the meeting was adjourned.

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Features

Not Your Bubbe’s Hamantaschen reopens, bringing cheer and cookies to Tufts

Wednesday, February 23, 2022

Chris Duncan Talking Transit

What’s a guy gotta do to get some oversight around here?

by Maya Katz

Contributing Writer

With the festival of Purim just around the corner, this year marks the long-awaited return of Not Your Bubbe’s Hamantaschen, a hamantaschen bake done by the students at the Bayit — Tufts’ Jewish Culture House — after a year off due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Not Your Bubbe’s was officially closed for the whole year to be safe,” Jacob Shaw, a senior, said. “Now that things are safe enough to be able to do this again, we are back up and running and really excited to be doing it.”

Using Shaw’s family recipes, the students at the Bayit will prepare hamantaschen in honor of Purim. Hamantaschen are paste-filled cookies that are enjoyed during Purim, a holiday celebrating when Jewish people were saved from attempted genocide in ancient Persia. Hamantaschen are often included in gift baskets that are given out during Purim called ‘mishloach manot’’ or the ‘sending of portions.’

While hamantaschen are traditionally made with poppyseed or fruit fillings, Not Your Bubbe’s Hamantaschen hamantaschen come in a variety of unique flavors. Their website’s menu includes lemon lavender, strawberry pistachio and bananas foster.

“Our main goal here is to make people happy. That’s why we do this,” Shaw said.

While the hamantaschen are prepared using Shaw’s family recipes, the focus of this project is on the collective of students living at the Bayit.

“It is a Jewish Culture House activity, and it’s one that serves the broader community,” Shaw said.

Founded in 2020, Not Your Bubbe’s Hamantaschen is a project at the Bayit that prepares and sells hamantaschen cookies with the goal of donating funds to different charities. After covering the costs of the bake, the remaining proceeds are donated to a charity that relates to the specific hamantaschen flavor, according to Shaw.

“Apple hamantaschen go towards teachers, … lemon lavender to The Trevor Project and then salted caramel for ocean cleanup,” Shaw said.

While their menu includes 18 different flavors, Not Your Bubbe’s Hamantaschen is open to expanding their selection with the help of new suggestions. With their flavor contest, anyone can submit a flavor suggestion to Not Your Bubbe’s Hamantaschen.

The winner of this contest will get their flavor added to the menu the following year as well as a free box of half a dozen hamantaschen.

“Our goal here is twofold. One, to make people’s day with the most delicious cookies ever,” Shaw said. “Two, to raise as much money as we can to give to the charities that we support.”

This year, these hamantaschen can be preordered through their website until March 4 at sunset and will be available for pickup at the Bayit at 98 Packard Ave and for delivery. Thanks to their popularity, they already reached the maximum number of orders that they can complete this year, but those interested can still join a waitlist. Not Your Bubbe’s Hamantaschen is committed to making sure that the distribution of their cookies is as safe as possible for everyone in the Tufts community.

Shaw said that the preordering is intended to ensure that customers are able to safely

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COURTESY JACOB SHAW

Hamantaschen made by Not Your Bubbe’s Hamantaschen are pictured. receive the cookies with minimal interpersonal interactions.

“We take COVID health and safety incredibly seriously,” Shaw said. “We waited until we knew it would be safe enough to even attempt, … given the cautious easing of restrictions on behalf of the university health professionals.”

Back in 2020, the students at the Bayit were pleased by a big turnout of orders from the Tufts community. According to Shaw, Not Your Bubbe’s Hamantaschen raised over $1,000 for charity during that first hamantaschen bake. This was a big undertaking, but Shaw had grown up preparing hamantaschen alongside his family in Glencoe, Illinois, where they baked hamantaschen cookies for members of their community.

“It’s always been so meaningful, that time of year, to be able to really make people’s day important,” Shaw said. “So we would always do it for free back home. We would make a couple hundred and give them to teachers and healthcare workers.”

According to Shaw, the Bayit made over 1,000 hamantaschen in 2020. Shaw and the other students were up for the challenge and are looking forward to making hamantaschen once again this coming Purim.

“It’s so much fun, and we all know we’re doing it for the best cause,” Shaw said.

Senior Jolie Davidson, a student who lived at the Bayit back in 2020, fondly remembers being a part of Not Your Bubbe’s first bake and all of the preparations involved. Davidson described the main common space of the Bayit as piled high with boxes filled with hamantaschen, the fridge packed with jars of hamantaschen filling, with some students rolling dough while others folded the dough around the filling to be baked into the cookies.

“We had a whole assembly line at one point,” Davidson said. “There’s so much sweat and heart that went into those cookies that if you are buying some you are contributing to this project that is really beautiful and comes out of a lot of love.”

While she is no longer living at the Bayit, Davidson is looking forward to helping out

and receiving her hamantaschen order, especially because of the memories of her time spent at the Bayit before the COVID19 pandemic. “[The hamantaschen bake] was one final beautiful moment that I got to share with my house before we all had to leave, and so it is in some ways a nice full circle moment,” Davidson said.

Aside from hamantaschen cookies being tasty for students, including Davidson, buying them can also have a more personal significance, especially for those who are Jewish. Enjoying the cookies from Not Your Bubbe’s Hamantaschen can be a way to connect back to their roots and upbringing.

“Especially in times where it’s hard to connect to people without a mask, there’s definitely something to be said about being able to have home away from home if hamantaschen are a part of your memories,” Davidson said.

Yet, hamantaschen cookies are more than just a Purim treat to be enjoyed by the Jewish community at Tufts. Buying these cookies can also help to bridge different religious groups on campus.

This greater sense of connectedness was felt by John Lazur, a senior who worked alongside Shaw on the Interfaith Student Council at Tufts.

“Religion is a really big part of my identity and a really big part of my student experience, and I think this is a fun, easy way for more people to think about the role of religious and philosophical community on campus,” Lazur said.

Growing up as a Unitarian Universalist Humanist, Lazur had not tried hamantaschen before coming to Tufts. After being introduced to these cookies through the Bayit, Lazur is looking forward to their upcoming hamantaschen order, especially the salted caramel — their favorite flavor.

“I think Not Your Bubbe’s Hamantaschen has created an opportunity for people that might not be Jewish or might not have grown up eating hamantaschen to have a taste of that tradition,” Lazur said.

f you were in the area last summer, you might remember hearing about a Green Line collision in Allston that injured nearly 30 people in July. Things didn’t stop there — in early September, Boston University professor David Jones fell through rusted stairs near JFK/UMass and died. Later that month, an escalator reversed direction at Back Bay station, causing people to fall over each other like dominoes, injuring nine.

A normal response to events like these, just from my own thinking, would be to investigate, identify the source of issues and simply fix them. Going forward, you would want to double down on safety improvements in stations like these. You obviously don’t want people getting injured or killed at your train stations.

So why then, as the Boston Globe reported recently, did the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority’s subcommittee on safety not even bother to ask about incidents like these?

As the article points out, the board failed to ask questions about the escalator incident at Back Bay station in its recent monthly meeting, which took place on Feb. 10. The incident was relevant to the meeting — it talked about escalator safety, after all — so the omission was certainly strange.

The Globe article does well to acknowledge the position transit advocates have taken and continue to take on the issue, which is that the MBTA board of directors’ oversight is lacking, resulting in a slow-moving, unaccountable bureaucracy. Similar frustrations were voiced by the family of David Jones. Jones fell through a condemned set of stairs which the MBTA had deemed unsafe for nearly two years before Jones’ death, but, according to an MBTA engineer, the situation was not dealt with due to ambiguity around who actually owned the stairs.

Safety issues have continued to grab headlines more recently too. Only days before the MBTA’s safety subcommittee met, a fire broke out on top of a Green Line train at the Boylston station on the Boston Common.

Now, riding the T is still safer, cheaper and significantly less destructive to the planet than driving a car. But all of these issues compound to not only hurt the MBTA’s image in the eyes of professionals but also to persuade people away from using public transit in Boston. Furthermore, safety issues like those on the Green Line in the past year lead to irritating service interruptions that make the T less reliable for riders. This is the cost of bad oversight — when no one is pushed to investigate and remedy safety issues, it is only a matter of time before more issues pop up that go similarly unchecked. Oversight is one of those things that, and please don’t hate me for using this term, must trickle down from strong leadership. Accountability is a must, and proper oversight and accountability from the MBTA board is imperative to keep riders and MBTA workers safe. So let’s get on it!

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

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Arts & POP ARTS Pop CULTURE Culture

tuftsdaily.com

Wednesday, February 23, 2022

On ‘The 7th Hand,’ Immanuel Wilkins seeks divine inspiration

by Miles Singer

Contributing Writer

Although he is only in his early 20s, saxophonist and composer Immanuel Wilkins has already risen to prominence as one of jazz’s brightest stars. His debut album, “Omega” (2020), released on the famed Blue Note record label and earned a No. 1 spot on The New York Times Best Jazz Albums of 2020 list. On his sophomore album “The 7th Hand,” which was released on Jan. 28, Wilkins brings together the same quartet featured on “Omega,” consisting of pianist Micah Thomas, bassist Daryl Johns and drummer Kweku Sumbry. ​ W ilkins’ mature and contemplative approach to composition runs through “The 7th Hand.” Each movement of the gripping seven-part suite flows seamlessly into the next, an effect enabled by Wilkins’ clever use of metric modulation. The pieces follow a metric parabola, with each song related through triplets, culminating in the frenetic free time of “Lift.”

“The 7th Hand” also explores the possibility of divine musical influence. The title origi-

nates in the symbolic nature of the number six as the extent of human possibility within the Bible. In writing the music for “The 7th Hand,” Wilkins pondered the extent of divine intervention in the musical experience and experimented with how this might manifest.

As Wilkins describes in a spotlight from the Blue Note label, this meant his band reaching a place where they were separate from a firmly dictated score, transcending all mental and spiritual barriers to become “a conduit for the music as a higher power.” He envisioned the goal as achieving a “stream of consciousness” in the music, where the feelings and ornamentation of the music could “flow freely” through the musicians without the structural barriers that come from a traditional music-writing process. ​T his “stream of consciousness” approach features in the propulsive first track “Emanation” (2022). Assertive bass hits, sparse piano chords and floating drums lay the groundwork for Wilkins’ buoyant melody and improvisations to flow freely. When he passes the spotlight to Thomas, soaring piano lines create an even

more expansive feel and register. The end of “Emanation” highlights Wilkins’ ingenious use of metric modulation, with the last phrase morphing into the first notes of the second track, “Don’t Break” (2022). ​ “ Don’t Break,” featuring the Farafina Kan Percussion Ensemble, again channels Wilkins’ unconventional approach to musicianship.

Throughout the song, Wilkins and Thomas pass a simple, calming melody between each other, creating a repetitive yet dynamic feel. Meanwhile, the layers of African percussion strengthen the cyclical feeling, with interwoven patterns generating momentum in the music and signaling different voices coming together as one. ​O n “Fugitive Ritual, Selah,” Wilkins nods to Black spiritual spaces, thinking of the areas where community and celebration occur. The piece begins with bassist Daryl Johns at the forefront with bluesy bends and inflections. Wilkins enters with a pensive melody, complemented by rustling drums and sensitive piano accompaniment.

Halfway through, Sumbry switches to a backbeat feel that evokes Black church music.

“The 7th Hand” reaches its slowest moment on “Shadow” (2022). As the title suggests, “Shadow” has a dark sound, characterized by a slowly walking bass, bluesy melody and drums that drag the time. Wilkins took inspiration from Wayne Shorter’s composition “Fall,” from Miles Davis’ “Nefertiti” (1968) and the band’s loose playing, which interrupts the languorous pace with flashes of ecstatic swing patterns and punctuated hits, recalls the exciting sound of Miles Davis’ quintet.

“Witness” (2022) brings in flutist Elena Pinderhughes, along with Thomas playing on a mellotron. Wilkins, Thomas and Johns unify in keeping a steady pace, creating a rich, textured foundation on top of which Pinderhughes’ flute sings. ​ P inderhughes’ contributions continue onto “Lighthouse” (2022). Melodies from previous tracks reappear, reinforcing the intermovement synergy that defines “The 7th Hand.” As the pace again rises, so does the energy, with Wilkins improvising passionately for much of the song. ​If any movement from “The 7th Hand” will prove polarizing to listeners, it is without a

doubt the nearly 30 minutes of spastic improvisations, shifting meters and atonality featured on “Lift” (2022). Wilkins did not intend for “Lift” to be universally understood, drawing inspiration from Black coded expression. Speaking with Blue Note about the piece’s relation to Black expression, Wilkins explains that “To the slave owner, Aunt Hester’s screams were just screams.

But to the other slaves, those screams carried messages to flee, to sing, to run, to keep working — a host of things. So, I was fascinated with that, too — stream of consciousness or speaking in tongues carrying messages that listeners may not understand.” ​From the soothing sounds of “Fugitive Ritual, Selah” (2022) to the blazing runs on “Lift,” “The 7th Hand” delivers on the promise Immanuel Wilkins demonstrated on “Omega.”

His imaginative approach to composition creates an effortlessly flowing piece of art, taking listeners through a variety of moods. Just as the music shows the quartet coming together as one vessel, “The 7th Hand” pulls the listener in to the point that they too become part of the music.

‘Inventing Anna’ captures the glamorous tragedy of scammers

by Henry Chandonnet Assistant Arts Editor

We are living through a scamming golden era.

American pop culture loves a scammer, especially when an individual uses the self-improvement narrative foundational to our economic system for personal, albeit criminal, benefit. This fascination is heavily represented in the media, whether it be feature films on Tammy Faye Bakker using her televangelist audiences as cash cows or the journalistic fascination with Caroline Calloway and her steeply priced ‘creativity workshops.’ Elizabeth Holmes, famed fraudster and biotech giant, has both a buzzy miniseries and film about her coming out soon. Still, none have captured this scamming fascination quite like the story of Anna Delvey. Delvey built herself a life as a fake German heiress and New York socialite and was ultimately arrested for defrauding banks, hotels and friends of thousands of dollars. Shonda Rhimes recently adapted this story into a Netflix miniseries, “Inventing Anna” (2022), which attempts to translate Anna Delvey’s crime trajectory into a television drama. Though the series

COURTESY WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

The title logo for miniseries “Inventing Anna” (2022) is pictured. fails at many of its basic entertainment goals, it is effectively able to capture the glory and downfall of scamming that so intrigues American culture.

The show tells two dueling narratives: one of Anna Delvey ( Julia Garner) and her scamming fortunes and one of Vivian Kent (Anna Chlumsky), a stand-in for real life journalist Jessica Pressler who initially uncovered the Anna Delvey story. The narrative centers on Kent’s reporting process, digging up information on Anna, her life and her scams. As Kent learns more, the story fills in the gaps with

real-time narrative on Anna’s life. We see Anna defraud a myriad of individuals, whether it be the wealthy socialite who houses her (Kate Burton), the lawyer attempting to secure her a business loan (Anthony Edwards) or even her closest friends (Laverne Cox, Katie Lowes, Alexis Floyd). The series starts with Anna at the top of her game but slowly unravels into her deeper states of desperation. Ultimately Anna is caught, imprisoned and put up for trial. In this way, the show takes a downward narrative arc, starting fairly stable but slowly coming apart at the

seams until Anna’s eventual downfall.

This structuring makes sense for Anna’s character growth, revealing something fundamental to the series — audiences care much more about Anna Delvey herself than the journalism surrounding her. Anna is an anomaly, whether it be her thick German — or maybe Russian? — accent or her better-than-you attitude. Her scamming feels both precarious and entrepreneurial, glorified in her ability to ‘punch up’ at the New York elite. It’s a car crash you can’t help but look at, even if you

know the ultimate outcome.

When that final shoe drops, and Anna is arrested, there’s a deep sense of both vindication and sadness. The Anna Delvey story is one of blurred ethics: Should we root against her, because she’s committing crimes of scale, or cheer for her, because she’s belittling some of the most pompous individuals out there?

“Inventing Anna” works hard to capture this duality, and ultimately succeeds. Anna is mysterious, edgy and too cool for you — she’s television gold.

Where the story fails, however, is when it strays from Anna.

The other half of the narrative centers on Vivian Kent, the journalist who slowly uncovers and obsesses over Anna’s story.

Kent has her own subplots which are often disengaging or overwrought. This is no fault of Chlumsky, who does strong work with the material given; it’s simply a matter of writing and conceptualizing the story.

Anna is of deep interest, and thus any straying from her narrative induces both boredom and fatigue. The show fails to recognize this, however, and instead works hard to make Kent a full and developed character. There are entire episodes see DELVEY, page 5

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

Wednesday, February 23, 2022 | Arts & Pop Culture | THE TUFTS DAILY

‘Inventing Anna’ falls short at times but still capitalizes on media buzz around scammers DELVEY

continued from page 4 dedicated to Kent’s growth and development, such as her trip to Germany to meet Anna’s family on the possibility of a follow-up article. The consequence of this narrative choice is not only significant dead air within the show, but also a wildly overlong series at large. The show has nine episodes, each ranging from 59 to 82 minutes in length. Anna’s

story, quite frankly, is not that large in scale. This gives the show a deep feeling of tedium, trodding along with Kent’s slower plot as a means to get to Delvey’s more enticing story.

“Inventing Anna” does a whole lot wrong in terms of narrative structure, points of focus and even just good writing. Still, it ultimately succeeds in capturing the cultural zeitgeist of scammers and fraudsters, presenting

intriguingly beautified images of Anna Delvey. The show should be a message for the writers of future scam narratives sure to come: Focus on the glamorous, crime-ridden meat of the story. There is a deep well of satisfying content within these fairly simple stories. It’s only when one averts their gaze, and focuses on individuals other than the scammers themselves, that the haughty shimmer begins to recede.

5

Odessa Gaines K-Weekly

I

How do K-pop groups work?

f you’re new to the world of K-pop, chances are you’ve given one look at a performance or group photo and been left confused. A typical comment Western listeners have to the world of K-pop is: Why are there so many members?

Most Western music groups have between three and five members — think Little Mix or 5 Seconds of Summer.

K-groups, on the other hand, can have anywhere between three and 23. Yeah, there’s a K-pop group with 23 different members.

One thing that separates K-groups from Western groups is the idea of in-group positions. Each member of a K-group is in one or more specific positions in the group — typically vocal, rapper, dancer or visual. There is also a distinction of a member being the group leader or center. These positions are not always set in stone — a vocal member may sometimes take a big part in a dance break, a rapper may belt out a couple notes during a ballad or a dancer may carry a song’s rap bridge.

Let’s take NCT, our 23-member boy group, for instance. NCT is an interesting case because they are technically three different groups with some members popping up in multiple ones. NCT is the umbrella name for subunits NCT Dream, NCT 127 and NCT U. They all have different concepts but do come together to create music on occasion. They actually also have a fourth C-group called WayV, but for the sake of simplicity, I will not be covering them.

The positions previously mentioned are also found in NCT. Taeyong of NCT U and NCT 127 falls under all of the positions (rapper, vocalist, dancer and visual) along with being a leader and center.

Not every member falls under multiple positions, like Doyoung, who is only a vocalist.

The reason for labeling members under a specific group is because of the scouting and recruiting process for forming a group. When scouting, a K-music company may be looking for a vocalist, not necessarily someone who would be in every position. Many idols, like Lucas of NCT U, were scouted right off the streets for his visuals. While some companies may look for a member who can fill multiple positions, it’s just as typical for a company to scout for a specific position to be filled.

So, because groups typically have one or two members that fall under a specific position, it makes sense why most K-groups have five or more members in total.

However, with our interesting NCT case, having multiple subgroups and members is not just because of positions but also because of their company’s vision: SM Entertainment seeks unlimited members for any concept they would want to do. So, if we get a bit more technical with it, NCT has unlimited members, not just 23.

K-groups are unique, but like everything else, there are specific reasons behind their design. NCT is an interesting case because their concept is supposed to always be evolving, but other groups have many members because of how companies use their member positions. K-groups have a goal to always be improving, which is clear in the group details and selections, even as that itself evolves.

Odessa is a first-year studying child study and human development. Odessa can be reached at kgaine01@tufts.edu.

6

THE TUFTS DAILY | Fun & Games | Wednesday, February 23, 2022

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Opinion

7 Wednesday, February 23, 2022

VIEWPOINT

Leave them alone this time: Iraq is reclaiming its sovereignty

by Makram Bekdache Staff Writer

History has been particularly unfair to Iraq. The country has repeatedly tried to gain prestige and claim the foothold it deserves within the Arab world and the Middle East. But any prolonged stability or progress for Iraq seems to have been constantly barred. Nevertheless, the country might be finally ready to act and become truly independent again.

In the late 1960s, Saddam Hussein concentrated control of what became known as Ba’athist Iraq. Saddam wielded absolute control over institutions, packing higher offices with family members to ensure loyalty, putting Shiite-majority Iraq under the total command of minority Sunnis. The Shiites revolted, but Saddam violently crushed demonstrations. He also led the ethnic cleansing of minority Kurds in the north, using chemical weapons to decimate hundreds of thousands of people.

Saddam was a racist, hateful and arguably sadistic leader, but he had one asset: his belligerent temper. Saddam knew the power of his silent Shiite majority and knew Iran would try to influence them to interfere in Iraqi affairs. Barely a year after Ayatollah Khomeini declared the Islamic Republic, Saddam went guns blazing and declared war on his neighbor. Despite Saddam’s quick advancement and the favor of Iraq’s formidable military, the conflict turned

into one of the late 20th century’s bloodiest, costing millions of lives. Although it ultimately ended in a stalemate, Saddam had effectively braced Iran, earning him credit and financial support of Arab counterparts who shared his goal of preventing Iran’s expansion.

That is where Saddam made his first mistake. Already filthy rich with oil, he led the invasion of Kuwait in retaliation for their refusal to forgive upwards of $8 billion of debt from the IraqIran War. The move cost Iraq the support of the Gulf states.

Saddam’s continued aggression towards Saudi Arabia and other Arab countries led to the U.S. assembling a coalition under Operation “Desert Storm.”

A massive war ensued, and Saddam was utterly defeated.

The invasion of Kuwait justified the First Gulf War, but the Second Gulf War may as well be known as the biggest disaster in the modern history of U.S. foreign policy. The operation was fueled by false reports of Iraq’s nuclear ambitions. The U.S.-led coalition entered Iraq and again wiped out the Iraqi army, finally deposing Saddam in 2003. Notably, inspectors visiting the country after the invasion found no signs of weapons of mass destruction.

What ensued was a systematic dismantling of Iraqi institutions. The U.S. dissolved the Iraqi armed forces and jailed Saddam’s commanders, leaving Iraq without a sovereign army and with a host of disgruntled,

experienced, minority military leaders. Many of them were radicalized in American prison camps and subsequently formed the backbone of what is known today as ISIS. The void left by the army’s dissolution enabled the formation of several Shiite paramilitary factions similar but smaller in scale to Lebanon’s Hezbollah. They signaled Iran’s entry into Iraq’s political scene after Saddam had, for decades, successfully prevented interference and unleashed a barrage of military attacks on U.S. forces, plunging Iraq into political chaos and steering it away from independence.

But resistance has formed in Iraq. A faction of independent Iraqi politicians and religious figures have spearheaded a shift towards a more sovereign government, rejecting foreign interference or striving to attenuate it by repositioning the country as a broker between much more powerful powers.

After a series of anti-government demonstrations over corruption and Iranian influence, Mustafa Al Kadhimi replaced Adil Abdul Mahdi as Prime Minister in 2020, promising to investigate the wrongful deaths of protestors. The former government, aided by pro-Iran militias, had led a heavy-handed repression campaign that led to dozens of casualties amongst protesters. Kadhimi is known for his ties to factions of all boards of the political spectrum, projecting a very strong message of neutrality. This did not please

Iran-backed militias, who see him as a threat to their influence. Indeed, Kadhimi was targeted by an explosive drone attack on his residence in the heart of Bagdad. He emerged unscathed and continued urging for retenue. Kadhimi decided not to run in the parliamentary elections, eager to conserve his image of neutrality. Meanwhile, another figurehead of Iraqi sovereignty scored a major victory in the legislative arena.

Moqtada al-Sadr transitioned from an anti-American militia leader into the leader of Iraq’s largest parliamentary bloc. Sadr, a Shiite cleric, was born and educated in Iran but has consistently opposed Teheran’s attempts to interfere with Iraq, meaning he retains unusual neutrality in a region where powerful patronage is needed to survive in politics and making him a prime candidate to redefine Iraq. Sadr has repeatedly advocated for the withdrawal of U.S. forces while successfully fighting to diminish the role of Iran-backed militias. He is now leading talks to form a new government, and Iraq has started to find a new calling. Al Kadhimi is expected to be re-appointed by the Sadrists, a move that guarantees leadership stability rarely seen in Iraq’s recent history. Additionally, the country is hosting the first rounds of talks between Iran and Saudi Arabia in years. It is progressively becoming a regional broker between powers. By staying

friends with everyone, while politely refusing to be stepped on, Iraq is on the road to regaining sovereignty, not through belligerent weapon wielding and autocracy, but rather through clever diplomatic maneuvering.

The West should now politely exit the Iraqi political scene.

Most U.S. troops have already left the country, but America should now throw its weight behind continuing to curb Iran’s capabilities to interfere with its neighbors. These efforts should be made outside of Iraqi territory. Actions such as the assassination of Iranian general Qassem Soleimani in Baghdad have only fueled the Iranian propaganda machine and bolstered resistance to the positive changes happening in Iraq. Sanctions alone have proven quite effective at limiting Iran’s expansion, and the U.S. should ensure a renewed nuclear deal doesn’t give Iran too much breathing room to continue its expansionism.

Iraq is leaving behind its status as a proxy battlefield and setting an example for countries similarly submerged by Iranian belligerence. The Middle East stands to witness comprehensive changes in its balance of power: Iraq’s renewed independence could be the first step in a transition away from a ColdWar-type standoff between Iran and Saudi Arabia to a much more diverse political landscape. Iraq may now prove that neutrality is still a viable option in an otherwise increasingly polarized world.

8 Wednesday, February 23, 2022

by Bharat Singh The Final Whistle

Luis Díaz, welcome to Anfield

S

outh America’s latest export to the Premier League is Liverpool’s Luis Díaz. The Colombian joins the Reds on a 5 ½ year deal for upwards of 3 € 7 million€ euros from F.C Porto. In his year and a half in Portugal, Díaz won the Primeira Liga and Taça de Portugal, two of the nation’s biggest club honors. His 14 goals in the first half of the 2021–22 season still have him ranked second in the Portuguese league, in spite of being gone for weeks. In addition to impactful performances against Manchester City and A.C Milan in the Champions League, Díaz’s strongest display came during the 2021 Copa America. Colombia finished third behind heavyweights Argentina and Brazil as Díaz ended the tournament as joint-top-scorer alongside none other than Lionel Messi.

Díaz will wear the No. 23 shirt for Liverpool — its previous owners including the likes of Jamie Carragher and Robbie Fowler, both club legends. As a player, Díaz is a versatile left-winger renowned for his pace and acceleration which combine well with his direct style of play. Often taking minimal touches before threading a key pass or beating opposition fullbacks for pace, Díaz will provide good competition for Sadio Mané toward the latter stages of the season. Liverpool is currently trailing Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City by six points with a game in hand and should comfortably see out Inter Milan after a 2–0 victory in the first leg of the UCL round of 16.

From his debut against Cardiff, fans witnessed Díaz’s composure and relentless pressing ability as he set up Takumi Minamino for Liverpool’s second goal in the FA Cup fourth round. His PL debut against Leicester City was described by Jurgen Klopp as one of the best he’s ever seen. At times, Díaz dropped deep alongside Fábio Tavares and Thiago Alcântara to start attacking moves, usually drifting to the left and linking up with Curtis Jones as Andrew Robertson overlapped.

Although not physically imposing, Díaz uses this to this advantage, surprising defenders with his strength on the ball and subtle body faints. Fans are surprised by how easily Díaz has fit Liverpool’s style, commending his tactical maturity.

Liverpool’s new sporting director Julian Ward is credited with securing Díaz’s signing, choosing to sign the youngster in January rather than waiting for the summer amidst growing interest from Premier League rivals Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United. Ward takes over from Michael Edwards who laid the groundwork for Klopp’s dominance in the last few seasons, signing Virgil Van Dijk, Alisson Becker and Mohamed Salah, to name a few.

Standing tall at 5’10”, Díaz reminds me of a mix of Ángel Di María and Kaká, and I could see him taking up a more central role in attack. His movements between defensive midfielders and centerbacks create space for direct passes from the midfield, evident in his goal against Norwich City as he slowly tucked in behind centerback Ben Gibson, dragging fullback Brandon Williams with him as he suddenly broke away to receive a diagonal ball from Jordan Henderson. Díaz’s ability to break defensive lines and open channels are valuable traits for Liverpool. In just a few games, Díaz has impressed many and seems to be a star in the making.

Bharat Singh is a first-year who has not yet declared a major. Bharat can be reached at bharat.singh@tufts.edu.

SPORTS

tuftsdaily.com

Men’s squash reflects on historic season

by Steven Landry

Assistant Sports Editor

“This was the best season we’ve ever had,” senior co-captain Marco Rodriguez said, reflecting on the Tufts men’s squash 2021–22 campaign.

In his fourth year, Rodriguez has experienced and played a large role in the evolution of the program from a low-tiered NESCAC squad to a team that climbed to No. 18 in the College Squash Association’s national poll, published Feb. 15.

Tufts finished at 8–7 this year, 4–2 in the NESCAC. The past three years their records stood at 7–13, 7–14 and 10–12. The program’s undeniable improvement was most prevalent in their matches versus NESCAC rival Bates this year. In all matches against the Bobcats since the 2016–17 season, the aggregate total stood at a noncompetitive 39–3 in favor of Bates.

“When I was a freshman, we lost to Bates 9–0. This year we beat them 7–2 and then again 6–3,” Rodriguez said.

The Jumbos’ first meeting against the Bobcats was a regular season contest that took place at the Tufts Squash Center. In

this matchup, Rodriguez emerged victorious after five tedious sets. The second matchup between these NESCAC foes was in the first round of the Collegiate Squash Association’s National Championships.

The format of this postseason competition differs from traditional NCAA tournaments: Teams are placed into a pool of eight, based on their ranking, and play an independent tournament. Tufts, ranked No. 18, joined group C. This pool contained teams ranked 17 through 24, and matches were played at the University of Pennsylvania.

Reaching the C bracket would have been an impressive feat on its own, but Tufts went on to beat Bates 6–3, defeating their rivals for the second consecutive time.

“There were teams in the E division we used to lose 9–0 to right before my year,” Rodriguez said.

Tufts rolled on to defeat St. Lawrence University (15–9) in a tightly contested semifinal that ended 5–4 in favor of the Jumbos. The championship match was against the Naval Academy (15–12) who held the C group’s No. 1 seed.

In what may have been their final collegiate squash match, Rodriguez and his fellow seniors Konrad Ladow and Dillon O’Shea all picked up wins against their Midshipmen adversaries. This was a tightly contested duel that came down to the final match, with Tufts narrowly losing 5–4, ending the season as runners-up.

While the end to this 2021–22 campaign was bittersweet, upperclassmen like Rodriguez can’t help but feel immense joy at what he helped accomplish as a Jumbo.

“It really feels like the start of something new,” Rodriguez said. “I can’t even begin to describe how proud I am of this team and everything we’ve accomplished this year. There are so many good young players who are about to take this program to another level.”

While the collective group’s season is finished, there are three players who are eligible for the National Collegiate Individual Championships, also held at the University of Pennsylvania. Firstyear Kerwin Teh, sophomore Harry Charlton and junior Kunal Valia will have the option to continue their individual seasons.