The Tufts Daily - Wednesday, March 2, 2022

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T HE T UFTS DAILY

VOLUME LXXXIII, ISSUE 23

MEDFORD/SOMERVILLE, MASS.

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Wednesday, March 2, 2022

Tufts faculty, students collaborate with Somerville awards $2.7 local organization to study community million in Community climate resilience Preservation Act funding

by Charlotte Chen

Assistant News Editor

KATRINA AQUILINO / THE TUFTS DAILY

Boston’s Chinatown, one of the neighborhoods under study by the research team, is pictured on Feb. 21.

by Olivia Field

Assistant News Editor

A team of Tufts students and faculty members is working with Communities Responding to Extreme Weather (CREW), a Cambridge-based grassroots organization that helps communities prepare for climate change-induced severe weather, to survey Chinatown and Roxbury residents on their level of preparedness for extreme weather events. The aim of the survey is to examine how social connectedness within communities can help build climate resilience.

Senior Program Manager The Rev. Vernon Walker said CREW’s mission is to build climate resilience through education and service projects.

“Climate change is a very multifaceted and complex crisis, affecting public health, policies, jobs and the economy, labor, civil rights, immigration, agriculture, housing, transportation, food supply and essentially every facet of human life and animal life,” Walker said. “So, we are in the business of preparing people for extreme weather.”

James Intriligator, professor of the practice in human factors engineering and director of strategic innovation, said the collaboration with CREW arose out of his interest in the relationship between social connectedness and climate resilience. He was able to jumpstart the project with the help of a seed grant from Tufts.

“When climate change starts having huge impacts on the world, we need some ways to have society be more resilient,” Intriligator said. “From what [Walker] had told me, community connectedness and social connectedness were good topics. And then this Tufts

University Seed Grant call came along, and I thought it’d be kind of interesting to work with CREW and try to do some research on … social connectedness.”

Intriligator involved Justin Hollander, professor of urban and environmental policy and planning, in the project when he became aware of Hollander’s past research on community connectedness and engagement.

“Justin had already … uncovered a whole bunch of … pre-standardized questionnaires about feelings of connected community stuff,” Intriligator said. “The plan is we’re going to first do broad questionnaires and surveys … but then we’re going to do some interviews afterwards. And that’s where I think it’ll be more interesting.”

Intriligator said these interviews will be essential to the project’s aims of increasing extreme weather preparedness in communities.

“We’ll interview people who are very connected, people who are moderately [connected] and people who are not connected at all and try to figure out, are there any mechanisms that work for the very connected that we could think about creating for the not connected?” he said.

Along with the faculty researchers, a group of Tufts students is helping to conduct field research for the project. One of them is senior Max Whaley, who discussed the content of the survey, which takes about 20 minutes to complete.

“The survey is basically a bunch of questions about your preparedness for extreme weather events, heat and cold, like do you know where you would go to take shelter in heatwave if you would even do that?” he explained. “And then it’s also about your social ties, like do

you have to have neighbors who you can call in an event like this?

Just generally how socially connected people feel in their communities.”

Whaley said the current CREW study is building on pre-existing research from the Conservation Law Foundation.

“The Conservation Law Foundation did a study on resilience to extreme weather events,” he said. “They looked at four different factors, which included racial composition and poverty … but the thing that they did not observe was how socially connected the people in those communities feel.”

CREW plans to use the survey data and interviews to inform their work helping communities to better prepare for instances of extreme weather.

“We’re interested in connecting neighbors to each other, so that when the extreme weather does happen, neighbors can do a wellness check on each other — maybe a text or a call — to ensure that they survive, particularly those that are very vulnerable to extreme weather,” Walker said.

“The information that emerges from the research will better inform our community engagement with those communities.”

The research team will seek out residents already gathered in community centers rather than trying to stop residents on the street.

“The idea is to go into the YMCA, or different community centers, where people are already around, and then we’re going to table there and hopefully get people to do the surveys, or do them online later at home,” Whaley said.

The research team plans to present its findings at the Museum of Science in Boston this fall, Walker said.

The City of Somerville awarded $2.7 million in Community Preservation Act (CPA) funding to various organizations in the area.

This funding is funneled annually to organizations that work to preserve historic sites, maintain open spaces, develop outdoor recreation facilities or create affordable housing. Funding recipients include the Elizabeth Peabody House, the Somerville Affordable Housing Trust Fund, the Somerville Hispanic Association for Community Development and the Somerville Museum.

Including Somerville, 187 communities in Massachusetts have adopted the CPA since it was signed into law in 2000.

Roberta Cameron, CPA manager for the City of Somerville, explained where funding comes from.

“The Community Preservation Act funds are collected through a small surcharge on the property tax bills, which is [partially matched] with funding from the state,” Cameron said. “Somerville, right now, is bringing roughly $3 million a year in Community Preservation Act funds.”

Somerville’s Community Preservation Committee is tasked with reviewing applications for CPA funding and making recommendations to the City of Somerville on who should receive funding. Cameron discussed the wide variety of applicants that are eligible to apply for funding.

“City departments and non-profit organizations and occasionally even individuals in the city can apply to the CPC to receive grants from this funding source,” Cameron said. see CPA, page 2

Somerville to build new public safety complex on Washington Street

by Michael Weiskopf News Editor

The City of Somerville is moving forward with plans to build a new public safety complex at 90 Washington St. in East Somerville after stalling for more than three years. A virtual meeting was held on Feb. 16 to gather input on the project from members of the Somerville community.

The city seized the four-acre plot of land through eminent domain in February 2019 with plans to build a new fire and police station, but construction has been on hold since then.

“Building a new public safety building is important for a mul-

titude of reasons,” a city spokesperson wrote in an email to the Daily. “The existing facility at 220 Washington Street is beyond its useful life — it does not meet the needs of the existing tenants or visitors, nor does it help us meet other citywide goals like those in Somerville Climate Forward. …

The new office building will be a flexible space that meets the needs of Police, Fire, Dispatch, and Emergency Management.”

The new public safety complex will serve as both a fire station and a police station. The city spokesperson said housing fire and police in one building see DEVELOPMENT, page 2

KIANA VALLO / THE TUFTS DAILY

The Somerville Fire Department in Teele Square is pictured on March 1.

OPINION / page 6

FEATURES / page 3

SPORTS / back

Harvard is prioritizing its reputation over its students

Resource Generation unpacks inequality at Tufts

Hockey loses the puck against Colby in NESCAC quarterfinals

NEWS

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FEATURES

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ARTS & POP CULTURE

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FUN & GAMES

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OPINION

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SPORTS

BACK

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THE TUFTS DAILY | News | Wednesday, March 2, 2022

THE TUFTS DAILY Alexander Janoff

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Local organizations receive funding for historic preservation

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Somerville City Hall is pictured on March 12, 2021.

CPA

continued from page 1 Kathryn Aucella is a development associate at the Elizabeth Peabody House, a nonprofit child care center for immigrant and low income families.

Aucella said the Elizabeth Peabody House qualifies for funding to conduct renovations because it is based in a historic building and the renovations qualify as historic preservation. The Elizabeth Peabody House has requested and received CPA funds multiple times.

“We are lucky that they have funded us when they have,” Aucella said.

The Elizabeth Peabody House will use this year’s grant

to fund the redesign of a structurally unsound area of the house that they plan to turn into a classroom. Aucella said that following the redesign and renovation of the classroom, the organization will also need to add bathrooms and an elevator to the space before it can be used.

Barbara Mangum, president of the board of trustees at the Somerville Museum, said the museum was awarded $157,352 in CPA funds to finish renovating its basement.

Mangum plans to keep applying for CPA funding to support the Somerville Museum’s efforts to improve its accessibility and become fully climate controlled.

“We have so many needs,” she said, echoing Aucella’s sentiment that there is a near-endless list of improvements to be made given enough time and money.

Magnum expressed her appreciation for the Community Preservation Act and the city.

“I’m so glad that Somerville has [the CPA],” Mangum said.

“It’s just been so helpful to us all … we just couldn’t take these projects on otherwise.”

Cameron said the city generally struggles to conduct community outreach and make the availability of CPA funds known.

“The biggest challenge that we’re facing … is public outreach,” she said. “Letting people know about CPA so that

more people are aware of what we have funded in the past … letting people know that this money is available.”

Somerville awarded funding to every CPA applicant this year, Cameron said. For the next round, the city is conducting more outreach to gather community input on who should receive funds.

“We are launching a survey that we’re inviting all Somerville residents, employees [and] community members to participate in … and we’ll be having a public hearing on March 23, and there’s also going to be a SomerVoice site that people can participate in to share their input,” Cameron said.

New complex will house police, fire departments DEVELOPMENT

continued from page 1 benefits emergency response and overall efficiency.

“Somerville already has police and fire in one building at the existing public safety building,” the spokesperson wrote.

“Colocating SPD and SFD on one site makes coordination during large emergencies easier. In addition to SPD and Engine 3, the new public safety building will house SFD Administration to further streamline operations and to move their team into an accessible building.”

The community meeting on Feb. 16 opened with introductions and brief updates from some of the project leaders, followed by smaller discussions in virtual breakout rooms. Senior Planner Ted Fields began by framing the agenda of the meeting.

“The goal of tonight’s meeting is really to follow up on the first meeting held in December, where you told us what you wanted to see on the Washington Street site,” Fields said at the meeting. “By that I mean what new land uses, like stores, community facilities, affordable

housing, in addition to a proposed safety building.”

Senior Project Manager Melissa Woods discussed the previous community meeting in December, when residents expressed frustration with what they saw as a lack of transparency in the project.

“After the Dec. 13 meeting, we received some critique about members of the community not knowing where we were in our community process, and I want to say ‘thank you’ for that critique,” Woods said at the meeting. “It’s important for planners like myself and Ted to sometimes get out of the weeds, look up and convey the message of where we are to the community that’s participating in our process.”

Woods continued by defending the city’s choice to seize the property in 2019 and begin the development of the complex.

“The City Council and the Somerville Redevelopment Authority took this property because they saw value in having a site that not only could be the public safety building, but could be the public safety building and a community vision,” Woods said.

“There is enough opportunity on this site for the public safety building and implementation of a community vision.”

In their email to the Daily, the city spokesperson also emphasized that the land at 90 Washington St. can be used for other purposes in addition to the public safety complex.

“The public safety building is just one element of the 4-acre site at 90 Washington Street,” the spokesperson wrote. “This property was acquired because it could be the new site of the public safety building in addition to other uses that come out of a community visioning process.”

The development of the public safety complex comes amid a citywide rethinking of racial justice and policing. As a result, many residents have raised concerns regarding how the presence of the new building will affect communities of color in Somerville. “​​ The Racial and Social Justice Department is leading conversations about public safety and policing,” the spokesperson wrote.

“This building needs to be flexible and adaptable enough to be able to change as an outcome of those discussions.”

Denise Molina Capers, Somerville’s racial and social justice director, also attended last month’s meeting and outlined steps that the RSJ department is taking to address community concerns.

“A critical component that the RSJ department is partaking in is with the staffing and operations analysis of the Somerville Police Department,” Molina Capers said.

Woods also emphasized the city’s efforts to take social justice into account while proceeding with the construction plans.

“I think the point that’s really important here is that we have a lot of employees and departments working on reimagining policing, public safety buildings, the 90 Washington St. project,” Woods said. “What I can commit to the community is that if you want to engage with us, we will get you to the right avenue.”

The Public Safety Building Committee plans to meet virtually again on Wednesday. The city expects construction of the complex to begin next year and wrap up in 2024, according to a presentation shared in last month’s meeting.

tuftsdaily.com

Features

Resource Generation workshops encourage students to think critically about wealth

by Emma Bittar

Contributing Writer

It’s no secret that Tufts has a large population of wealthy students, especially as an elite, private institution.

The degree of that wealth, however, is a taboo topic.

A New York Times article written in 2017 brought this issue to light by publishing statistics about income and economic diversity at Tufts, as well as at other institutions, drawing from millions of anonymous tax records.

According to the article, 19% of students are in the top 1%, and 77% of students are in the top 20%, with a median family income of $224,800. This equates to nearly 1 in 5 Tufts students’ being in the top 1% and approximately 4 in 5 students’ being in the top 20%.

Tufts also has a mobility index of 12%, which represents the likelihood that a student will move up two or more income quintiles. This ranks Tufts 30th out of 64 elite colleges for income mobility.

Class has significant implications on student life, ranging from the link between income and standardized test scores to the search for internships, as highlighted in a Daily opinion piece.

In a reaction to topics such as income inequality and class mobility, several organizations are working to bring these conversations to college campuses. Resource Generation is one such organization.

According to its website, Resource Generation is a “multiracial membership community of young people (18-35) with wealth and/or class privilege committed to the equitable distribution of wealth, land, and power.” It is currently leading workshops on Tufts’ campus.

Sophomores Isaac Gewirth and Rory Erlich, as well as senior Elliott Trahan, partnered with Resource Generation and will participate in its workshops at Tufts in March and April.

Erlich, who participated in the workshops previously through the Sunrise Movement, a youth organization that works to prevent climate change, said that the conversations were extremely productive and drove him to bring the workshops to Tufts after becoming further aware of his family’s wealth.

“A lot of [my discomfort with familial wealth] was centered around investments in fossil fuels [and] especially given that I was becoming a more vocal climate activist-organizer type, that’s obviously very hypocritical,” Erlich said.

Gewirth’s involvement with the organization stemmed from having conversations with Erlich about class privilege on campus and trying to reconcile their own class privilege.

“Honestly everyone on Tufts’ campus could benefit from a workshop like this in some way or another … so perhaps this is like the start of being able to work towards something like that,” Gewirth said.

Trahan had been told about the organization by Erlich and thought it was exactly the type of work he should be doing.

“I’ve been a climate activist for a couple years, on campus and off campus, and I think I’ve been recently thinking a lot about how we can bring class pol-

3 Wednesday, March 2, 2022

Chris Duncan Talking Transit

What the new bus pilot program means

T

COURTESY ISAAC GEWIRTH

A poster inviting Tufts students to partake in a Feb. 9 info session about wealth redistribution is pictured. itics more into climate activism, especially because it tends to concentrate and resonate with a lot of people who have access to power and privilege, like myself, but I didn’t really know where to start,” Trahan said. “Now, all of a sudden, there’s this organization that … has a great start and a lot of support resources.”

The workshops will consist of four sessions, Erlich shared, the first titled “Money Stories,” during which participants will explore personal stories about what assets their families have.

The next session will focus on the social dynamics of class privilege, especially at college campuses. When Erlich completed a similar workshop, there was also a module on wealth and class privilege and race. Finally, the last session will focus on tangible actions like setting redistribution goals.

Trahan believes that people with wealth and class privilege have an obligation to fight against capitalism.

“The current dominant world order is literally death, and so if you come to that analysis, and you’re not thinking about how you’re situated to be able to fight against that, then what are you doing?” Trahan said.

Gewirth expressed the need and hope for a change of campus culture, among many other things.

“The three of us have talked about hopefully getting to a space where class is talked about in an open way, class privilege is talked about in an open way and can be called out in an open way and is not obscured, because I think most people walk around campus just

in the mindset that everyone is of the same class status, which is obviously not true,” said Gewirth.

Erlich, Trahan and Gewirth were all clear in saying that the workshops alone are not enough to take substantive action.

“It will take more than one two-hour session,” Erlich said.

They also emphasized the numerous other ways to personally address wealth and class privilege beyond the workshops, especially since registration is now closed.

“Who says Resource Generation is the only way you can engage with this kind of work?” Trahan said.

Other ways include checking out Resource Generation’s website, which has an abundance of resources for use. There’s also a Boston chapter for anyone that wants to get involved off campus. Erlich encourages people to have conversations with their families about wealth even if it’s hard.

Finally, Gewirth recommends the book “Creating a Class: College Admissions and the Education of Elites” (2009) by Mitchell L. Stevens.

Trahan also highlighted some of the work that Tufts faculty have been doing through Tufts Action Group, which is under the umbrella of Tufts for Black Lives. The group’s list of demands demonstrates that people are thinking about these issues and are working toward them, and they must continue to do so.

“Stay tuned, because … we hope that more [workshops] will be in the future,” Trahan said.

he MBTA blessed us last week with more data on the initial farefree pilot for the Route 28 bus. The information is outlined in several media outlets, so I will not recount all of it here, but there are a few big takeaways.

The first things worth mentioning are the pilot’s successes, because it had some quite notable ones. WBUR reported that the elimination of fares on the Route 28 bus increased ridership by 22%. This number is, furthermore, controlling for increases in ridership following the large initial drop off due to the pandemic, so it is quite impressive. A modest amount of riders — about 5% of those on the bus because it was free — would have driven otherwise. The pilot also helped make bus service faster as lines to pay fares disappeared and riders could board the bus from either the front or back doors.

However, there were also some notable shortcomings in the pilot. Less than a third of riders actually saved money from the pilot, as most riders used multiple buses and trains to get to where they needed to go. This especially makes sense if you consider that the Route 28 bus connects the busy bus corridor on Blue Hill Avenue with Nubian station and Ruggles station, connecting riders to many other buses and the Orange Line. If you are taking the bus anywhere farther than those places, you’ll still have to pay.

Now, as always, we have to ask — what does this really mean for the effectiveness of fare-free transit, and what conclusions should we draw from this? The first one we can reach is obvious — if most people didn’t save any money because they still needed to pay for their connections, then eliminating fares across the network will mean that everyone has no choice but to save money! Since eliminating fares also boosts ridership and makes stops more efficient by enabling all-door boarding, then eliminating fares is a smart choice for the popularity, equity and efficiency of the T. Some, though, might question the necessity of fare-free transit according to the report. All-door boarding can be achieved in more ways than one — many of Europe’s highly effective transit systems have adopted “proof of purchase” systems over the years wherein wandering workers simply ask riders for, well, proof of purchase, which enables all-door boarding very easily on buses. But those who might advocate for Boston to simply adopt a proof of purchase program would also miss the boost in ridership that the Route 28 got as a result of the pilot. The 22% increase is significant, and even then, fare-free pilots on other routes may give an even larger boost — especially if the MBTA were to try a free pilot on one of its train lines.

The real answer to how effective eliminating fares would be in Boston is still slightly unclear — we have too little information to look at yet. Luckily, we’ll eventually have two years and three bus routes’ worth of data to parse through — can’t wait!

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, March 2, 2022

Odessa Gaines K-Weekly

The beauty of PLT’s ‘Planetarium Case#2’

‘Doubles’: an evening of piano with Stumpf, Auner and the Department of Music

O

ne of my favorite K-groups is, hands down, PLT. PLT is unique because it is not technically considered a K-pop group. PLT is labeled a project group: a few solo artists who come together every so often to make music every so often under one record label.

PLT is made up of six members: Villain, Gaho, Kei.G, June, Jung Jinwoo and Moti.

They debuted under Planetarium Records in 2018 as a Korean R&B group. PLT dropped “Planetarium Case#2” in 2018, an EP with bops from start to finish.

The EP has a total of ten tracks, including an intro, interlude and outro.

Kei.G’s “T.M.N.T (Intro)” starts the EP; a short snippet setting the overall tone for the first half of the tracks.

In the second track, “Wish,” you hear a similar beat from the intro as Moti hops on the track with his smooth rhythm. Moti’s style captures his love for music while the several ad-libs in the background keep a light-hearted mood.

Track three, “Blind,” is the only one with all members on it. Beginning with a whispered, “make a wish first,” the track sounds much like an echo chamber of longing for something more. The slow build up of beats and vocals bring a wave of emotions to the listener as each member puts their own style into the song.

Track four is “Black Gold,” and its give and take between Kei.G and Moti’s individual styles allows for a conversation of dreams, switching up the more light-hearted mood to one of desire.

Track five, “Griffith (Interlude),” transitions the EP from its first half to its second; from an upbeat, wishful style to a more solemn one.

June’s “Lonely” makes up track six with a confession to missing someone he once loved. June manages to create a sense of despair on this track with a clear feeling of not wanting to be longing for his former love.

Track seven then shows Jinwoo’s style with “Noise” and a longing tone once again, only this track is sung with a more upbeat softness.

The eighth track, Gaho’s “Memory,” takes a turn in reminiscing about the good times with someone special, and how those moments are all one needs to live their life.

With “Memory,” Gaho pours his heart out about the past and young love.

Villain rounds out the last full-length track with “Soap Opera,” using a mix of his sly rapping style and raspy singing voice in a truly impressive combination. His voice almost sounds as if he’s mocking the reactions of the other person as he wishes for things to be different.

As the EP closes out with “Family Affair (Outro),” you will most likely feel as if you just experienced a slow, smooth journey throughout space.

Overall, this EP was a strong work of art put out by PLT. “Planetarium Case#2” remains a solid choice for any listener, new or old. The slow builds and slight tonal shifts make this an album you have to listen to from start to finish.

BLAKE ANDERSON / THE TUFTS DAILY

The Distler Performance Hall at the Granoff Music Center is pictured.

by Blake Anderson Contributing Writer

Four hands, two pianos, 176 keys, 20 fingers: On the evening of Thursday, Feb. 17, Tufts’ Department of Music highlighted two of its most gifted pianists. “Doubles: Thomas Stumpf and Edith Auner, piano” showcased spectacular feats of musical skill, precision and artistry.

Watching two pianists perform simultaneously is a sight to behold. There is a certain thrill to this delicate, synchronized musicianship. Both pianists must be locked into the piece as well as their duet partner. Faltering in tempo, dynamics or style can derail the entire performance: It is the musical equivalent of a pair of trapeze artists sailing through the air. Every aspect of each song requires precision, down to the sheet music’s page turns. Luckily, Stumpf and Auner are exceptional performers who have keen ears and brilliant coordination while playing a challenging repertoire that ranges from canonical standards to contemporary compositions.

Both Stumpf and Auner are on staff with the Tufts Department of Music.

Auner, who serves as both coordinator of applied music and director of outreach activities, also performs as a solo pianist in her music career. Auner earned her Master of Music in piano performance from New England Conservatory. Stumpf, who is also an alumnus of New England Conservatory, has many responsibilities

at Tufts, including his positions as staff pianist, co-director of the opera ensemble and choral accompanist.

The concert began with W. A. Mozart’s “Sonata in D Major, KV 448” (1756–91).

A testament to the pianists’ ability to accept a challenge, each movement displayed a wide variation in both style and tempo. Each of these changes showcased the great coordination between the duo as they brought a difficult repertoire of classical piano to life.

Stumpf, who has received global acclaim for his gift on the piano, is also a composer. The evening’s performance saw the world premiere of his piece, “A Seventh Dream” (2020). According to the concert notes, his piece is dedicated as a 250th birthday commemoration for Beethoven. With a more contemporary style and influence, this work presents new challenges to the skill set of playing a doubles piece. Stumpf described the rhythm of the piece as “fatalistic,” which is evident in the performance. Each note has a certain weight about it that suggests a sense of inevitability. The duet aspect reinforces this idea, as both players continue to lean into the ebbs and flows of the piece.

Stumpf’s work was not the evening’s only world premiere. Music professor John McDonald wrote for the pair of pianists. His new work, “Barely; Wholly Op. 662” (2020-2021), has a refreshing sense of experimentation to it. With four hands available for the composi-

tion’s use, McDonald chooses to begin with only one. The piece then allows the other three hands to be built in along the way. It is an exploration into the possibilities of a doubles piece.

Without ever feeling unjustified, the piece allows Auner and Stumpf to display their skilled synchronization by placing an invested interest in each individual hand. Each of the four hands totters between soloing and joining in with the others. McDonald’s work gains its beauty through its themes of lone fragility and united strength, as told through the hands of its players.

To close out the evening’s sonic spectacle, Auner and Stumpf had the opportunity to demonstrate their skills on another famous piece from the Romantic period. The duo’s performance culminated with Johannes Brahms’s “Variations on a Theme by Haydn, Op. 56b” (1833–97).

On the whole, the pair played alongside each other with technical precision and breathtaking artistry.

It is worth noting that this concert was supposed to occur on March 29, 2020.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the program was indefinitely postponed — until now. This strong showing, both on the part of Auner and Stumpf as well as the Department of Music, is a testament to the resilience of the music scene at Tufts.

Its return is welcomed warmly, and if this concert was any indication, there are great things yet to come from the Department of Music.

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

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Opinion

6 Wednesday, March 2, 2022

Daniel Chung Managing Multipolarity

Ascension of the elephant

T

o many within the Washington foreign policy establishment and even the public at large, the idea of India as a future great power has been accepted as a foregone conclusion since the days of BRICS. However, much of the thinking behind why this is the case has been obscured, as have the substantial challenges that India will face in the process of rising to regional hegemony.

Under the (sexist and islamophobic) leadership of Narendra Modi’s nationalist BJP, India has started exerting more control over managing its own bilateral relationships instead of subjecting them to the whims of Washington, and it has become more of an assertive player in regional politics. India is unlikely to abandon its more prominent role in determining international security, for one main reason: India is fearful for its own security. China and Pakistan contest Indian-claimed Jammu and Kashmir.

As many in New Delhi see it, the only way to secure Indian interests and prevent further instability is to expand its own military capabilities, driving it to become a regional great power.

India has the two main determinants of geopolitical success going for it — demographics and geography. On the front of demographics, a large proportion of India’s population is of working age (around 50% of its population is between the ages of 15 and 44), with the large labor force meaning India’s economy can continue to grow, sustaining future great-power status. On the geography front, despite the concerns I have already laid out, India’s strategic positioning is ideal in many ways. Geographically jutting out into the ocean affords India an ability to access nearby seas, from the Suez Canal and the Strait of Hormuz to the Straits of Malacca. It also effectively allows the country to extort nations that want to use the crucial trade routes of the Indian Ocean for protection money — over 80% of the world’s trade passes through the area. This would designate India as the security arbiter for countries from the Middle East to Oceania. The only step India would need to take to realize this future would be building up a farther-reaching navy to better project its power abroad.

Despite all my bullishness thus far, India’s domestic barriers to realizing its great power future abound. This is primarily the matter of economic and infrastructure integration.

For a country as large as India, its infrastructure is not up to par, with weak power and transportation infrastructure which holds national economic development back and keeps many parts of the population in poverty. Without improved infrastructure, India cannot hope to become a leading regional power, as its economy will remain stagnant and relatively uncompetitive. However, Modi has recently announced $1.3 trillion of new infrastructure spending which could go a long way to integrating India’s regions and preparing it for regional leadership.

Whether India rises or continues to muddle along, while other nations fall to a coming global disorder driven by American disinterest in playing the role of world police, India remains poised to seize on the new region-led order to its advantage.

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

tuftsdaily.com

VIEWPOINT

Harvard lawsuit follows national trend of institutions ignoring sexual harassment

by Vihaa Kapadia Staff Writer

Three Harvard graduate students last month filed a criminal complaint against the prestigious Boston-area university, claiming it mishandled sexual misconduct accusations brought forth against the long-standing anthropology professor John Comaroff.

When Harvard’s student newspaper, The Crimson, published allegations of misconduct against Comaroff in May 2020, the university placed him on paid leave. Later, the school placed Comaroff on paid leave, prohibiting him from teaching required courses the next academic year, after a pair of university-led investigations found the professor liable for verbal sexual misconduct against his students.

Meanwhile, 38 faculty members at Harvard signed an open letter that used Comaroff’s prestige as an attempt to excuse his actions. The letter, which questioned the credibility of the university’s investigation and the female graduate students’ accusations, was signed by some very renowned and powerful professors at Harvard, including former Dean of Harvard College Evelynn Hammonds and five highly esteemed university professors. The message was met with a response letter signed by 73 faculty members, published in the Crimson last month.

However, after the lawsuit against Comaroff was filed last month, 35 professors retracted their support in a letter titled “We Retract.” They claimed to have signed the letter with insufficient information and said they took issue only with what they said was a lack of transparency in the process. “We failed to appreciate the impact that this would have on our students,” the faculty members wrote in the retraction letter.

The accusations against Comaroff have been floating around for years now. What’s even more infuriating is that the graduate students’ careers were threatened for speaking out. Opportunities in today’s competitive world are more valuable than ever before. Sadly, the faculty at higher education institutions have a tremendous influence on their students’ futures out of college. Despite the support of some faculty, the demonstration of those 38 professors showed a profound lack of support for victims of this system. This abuse of power, especially to assert control over women, contributes to gender discrimination and unequal opportunities. This lawsuit rightfully challenges this imbalance of power commonly seen in the cases filed under Title IX — the federal education law that prohibits gender discrimination.

This is also not the first time such drastic steps needed to be taken. In 2019,

GRAPHIC BY ANNABEL NIED Dartmouth reached a $14 million settlement in a sexual assault lawsuit brought by nine women against three professors.

In 2017, a Columbia professor retired as part of a sexual harassment lawsuit settlement. Women have been continually denied sufficient support from their universities and have been forced to resort to the legal system to protect their opportunities and well-being. In each circumstance, academia’s male-biased dominance shows itself more and more. Yet, change has not occurred because schools continue to place value on preserving their reputation over addressing systemic issues like sexual misconduct.

The lawsuit details anonymous allegations of Comaroff’s inappropriate past behavior during his time at the University of Chicago, suggesting that the University of Chicago faculty warned Harvard of this “decades-long pattern of harassment and retaliation” prior to his hiring in 2012, yet the university proceeded to employ him regardless.

This incident is a part of a national problem observed in the higher education sector, which is described as “pass the harasser.” This phrase describes a phenomenon in which faculty members accused of harassment quietly leave, only to be hired by other institutions, costing students their safety and futures. The sooner this pattern is broken, the safer students will feel putting their trust in faculty that have influence over their futures.

Addressing this problem has become inevitable. With rising complaints, law-

suits and campaigns, universities must establish better procedures to rid themselves of ill-intentioned professors. In the event of a similar complaint from a student, universities should have policies in place that would free them from any authority the accused professor may have over the student until a conclusive investigation has been carried out.

Additionally, the tenure system also burdens universities to protect the guilty in order to protect themselves.

Therefore, universities should have policies against that conflict of interest.

The University of California, Davis, for example, implemented a policy to only consider candidates for tenured positions if they waived their privacy, allowing past employers to share any history of harassment.

Susan Fortney, a law professor at Texas A&M University, believes that universities should be required to incorporate screening for misconduct, by an agency like the Department of Education, into the accreditation process when hiring new faculty. This would make schools more responsible while hiring since they could be held accountable if a past offender repeats their actions.

Harvard’s alleged ignorance toward this prolonged issue of harassment is disheartening. Students’ well-being and success will always be reflected in the success of an institution, and universities must hold themselves and their faculty accountable for upholding these values as a foremost priority.

TRASHING ONE EGG WASTES 55 GALLONS OF WATER

S

Wednesday, March 2, 2022 | SPORTS | THE TUFTS DAILY

Michael Wallace-Bruce Over the Top Football

Women's basketball looks to NCAA Tournament BASKETBALL

continued from back game and win by 14. Despite playing from behind for most of the game, the Jumbos knew to fight back.

“If you try to think about the end result of the game, you’re going to get lost in the little possessions and the little things that you’re doing,” graduate guard and co-captain Erin PoindexterMcHan said. “So it’s really important to stay focused on the moment and win each point in each possession at a time,” Four Amherst starters scored in double figures, and Vera lead the way with 23 points.

“They have a nice group of starters … and have a good inside game and outside game,” Pace said. “They worked it inside and out … and I think made us move defensively, which can sometimes be challenging.”

Despite the loss, Pace praised the team for not backing down and winning some box score battles.

“Our team is really focused and throughout the game almost fought their way all the way back,” Pace said.

“There were some really good moments with rotations, and I thought our rebounding was great.”

While Tufts failed to secure the NESCAC’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament, the team received an at-large berth into the field of 64, its 13th appearance in program history.

Knowing that each game could be the last of their Tufts career, Ryan knows what’s at stake the next time she takes the court.

“My mentality always is to win but of course our season [is] on the line now,” Ryan said. “We all know that and we’re all just gonna come out and play our game, and be the best we can be.”

The Jumbos are also using the loss as further fuel for their tournament run as they look to secure the program’s first national championship.

“We just are going to use this loss as more fuel to our fire and come back even stronger,” Poindexter-McHan said.

“I’m just not going to take any moment for granted, whether that’s practice or games and I’m going to play with joy and just have fun and be extra motivated throughout the rest of our season,” Tufts was selected to host an opening NCAA regional round game this weekend, guaranteeing the Jumbos at least one more game at Cousens Gymnasium. NCAA regional play begins this Friday as DeSales University and the State University of New York College at Cortland tip-off at 5 p.m. The Jumbos face off against Clarks Summit University in the second game with an approximate tip-off time of 7 p.m.

Hockey ends season in quarterfinals HOCKEY

continued from back Early in the third period, the Jumbos scored once more to firmly establish their advantage over the Panthers. The goal came from a faceoff in the offensive zone, and senior forward Justin Brandt sent a good pass into Gunlock for his second goal of the game, making it 3–0.

Middlebury was able to pull one back off a point-blank shot directly in front of the net from Tucker Lamb to decrease Tufts’ lead to two goals. Right At the end of the game, a delay of game penalty was called against sophomore defenseman Sam Miller to give Middlebury a power play. To increase their chances of a late goal, the Panthers pulled their goalie, but Gunlock was able to score an empty net goal to complete his hat trick and end the game with a final score of 4–1. It was Gunlock’s conference-leading second hat trick of the year. “[The] forwards did a great job of getting the puck in deep and then cycling it up top and getting to the net,” Gunlock said.

Sarlo made 32 saves throughout the game. The win cemented the Jumbos’ spot in the quarterfinals of the NESCAC tournament and set up a game against the top-seeded Colby on Sunday.

The Colby Mules had a highly successful year, earning an overall record

of 15–5–2 and a 12–4–2 NESCAC record.

Three players are ranked in the top 10 in the conference for points scored, and goalkeeper Andy Beran is among the best in the league with a save percentage of .942. In their previous matchups, the Mules shut out the Jumbos twice.

In the early minutes of the first period, Tufts couldn’t gain possession of the puck, and Colby dominated the offensive zone with precise passing. Sarlo made a full stretch save to keep the game scoreless, but the defense didn’t hold out for long. Colby was able to force a Tufts turnover right at the blue line and get a three-on-one breakaway, which resulted in a goal, putting the Mules up 1–0.

After the goal, Tufts started to gain some momentum and was able to string longer sequenced passes together. After a long period of time spent forechecking in the Colby defensive zone, senior forward Brendan Skarda passed the puck from behind the net to sophomore forward Aidan Lovett, who wristed the shot home to tie the game 1–1. Tufts was able to get some more chances throughout the rest of the period, but couldn’t capitalize on the opportunities presented to them.

In the second period, the first penalty of the game was called 30 seconds in against first-year forward Brennan Horn for slashing. Sarlo made multiple good

stops, but eventually Colby was able to take advantage of the numbers mismatch and fire the puck off of Miller into the back of the net to retake the lead 2–1.

Colby then scored again very quickly in similar fashion, banking the puck off the skates of sophomore defender Jack Hughes to make the score 3–1. The pair of goals proved to be the turning point in the game, as Colby maintained possession of the puck for the majority of the remaining minutes.

In the final period, Colby put the finishing touches on a very complete performance. Five minutes into the period, Colby forward John McElaney sent a wrist shot into the back of the net to make the score 4–1. The Mules would score once again soon afterwards to make the final score 5–1. McElaney had an incredible game, totaling two goals in addition to two assists to give the Mules home advantage for the rest of the tournament.

Despite what their record may show, the Tufts men’s hockey team had a very solid year, with many of their games being decided by a margin of one or two goals.

“I think we showed some really good resiliency, and there’s a real great future ahead for a lot of these young guys,” Sarlo said.

COURTESY JON BIRD

Sophomore defenseman Andrew Gunlock is pictured on Oct. 10, 2021.

7

The role of performative acts in the Premier League

W

hile the game is played with a ball on a field and two goal posts, soccer transcends the events within the pitch.

Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the demand for peace throughout Europe’s top five leagues illustrated the binding effect of soccer. In the Premier League, fans and players stood behind banners calling for anti-war. Manchester City and Everton donned Ukrainian flags to show solidarity.

Alongside the gestures on the field, UEFA has moved the Champions League Final from St. Petersburg to Paris. Furthermore, FIFA announced that it would suspend Russia from participating in the World Cup and other international soccer games. Also, within the British parliament there is an ongoing discussion to sanction Chelsea’s owner, Roman Abramovich. Although there have been no definite decisions regarding Abramovich’s status, the possibility of changes within Chelsea shows soccer’s interconnectedness and coercive nature to vouch for change.

The reaction within the soccer world to the events in Ukraine reminds me of the response to George Floyd’s death, for which the Premier League issued the “No Room for Racism” campaign. As the acts of yelling racist epithets and throwing bananas at players are recurrent issues within the game, the Premier League bulleted several actions plans to promote equality and inclusion in the managerial roles and educate fans on racism within society. On the pitch, the action plan saw teams wearing Black Lives Matter shirts when the league re-opened after its COVID-19 hiatus. In addition, it prompted players to kneel before games — an act that still continues today.

But has the action plan been impactful?

Has it brought about the changes it vowed to create? While looking at other top European leagues, the Premier League’s action plan is the most effort taken by a league to curb racism. It has successfully perpetuated the truthful notion that racism exists within soccer and society. Yet, as racism cannot be immediately reduced with advertisements or an act of kneeling, players continue to face online abuse and racial epithets. According to Crystal Palace’s striker, Wilfried Zaha, the campaign has failed to bring about consistent changes, and it “is becoming something that [players] just do now.” Furthermore, Zaha has refused to kneel before and cites that the impact of kneeling is diminishing and that other actions must be taken to eradicate racism from the game.

There is some truth within Zaha’s verdict. Kneeling can seem like a performative act rather than an initiative to cause change since players only seem to be going through the motions. However, the act is a constant reminder that racism exists within society and in soccer. While the Premier League should take more action to include Black coaches within the sport, acts such as kneeling or wearing Black Lives Matter shirts solidify the league’s intent to fight against racial inequality and make the sports enjoyable for whomever would like to watch.

Returning to the crisis within Ukraine, seeing fans and players wishing for peace to prevail was a powerful sight. Aside from these acts, I hope that UEFA and the Premier League provide support to those fleeing Ukraine to fully illustrate their stance in solidarity with Ukraine and with peace.

Michael Wallace-Bruce is a junior studying international relations. Michael can be reached at michael.wallace_bruce@ tufts.edu.

8 Wednesday, March 2, 2022

SPORTS

tuftsdaily.com

Women’s basketball falls to Amherst in Men’s ice hockey finishes NESCAC semifinals, receives at-large season with strong playoff bid to NCAA Tournament showing

by Matt Chen

by Arielle Weinstein

The Tufts women’s basketball team’s run at the program’s fourth NESCAC title fell short on Saturday as the No. 2 seed Tufts fell to the No. 3 seed Amherst 73–59. Playing from behind for most of the game, the Jumbos fought valiantly but were unable to complete the comeback against the NESCAC’s top-ranked defense. “[Amherst is] a great team, they played a great game,” head coach Jill Pace said.

To say the first half was an offensive showcase would be an understatement. Both teams shot the ball well in the first quarter, playing smart and efficient basketball to keep the game close. However, it was Amherst who held a 21–18 lead after senior forward Dani Valdez contributed 10 points with a perfect five-for-five on shots from the field.

The second quarter was more of the same, and both teams shot above 50% from the field. Amherst opened the quarter with a 14–5 run capped off by a three by firstyear guard AnLing Vera to build a 12-point lead roughly midway through the quarter. Tufts

Tufts men’s ice hockey finished the season off strong with a good showing in the NESCAC playoff tournament, winning its play-in game against Middlebury 4–1, but falling to Colby in the quarterfinals 5–1.

Although the previous weekend was not entirely successful for Tufts, the team was coming off two close games against higher seeded NESCAC teams in Colby and Bowdoin. Tufts’ overall regular season record stood at 5–15–2 and their conference record at 5–11–2 entering the playoffs.

After securing the eighth seed, the Jumbos were set up to compete in a play-in game against the ninth-seeded Middlebury Panthers at home on Friday. In its previous two matchups, Tufts defeated Middlebury twice, once by a score of 3–2 in overtime, and the second time by a score of 4–0. Going into the game, the Jumbos were confident in their game plan, sophomore defenseman Andrew Gunlock explained.

“All throughout that week, the coaches kind of emphasized working [the puck] low

Sports Editor

Assistant Sports Editor

KIANA VALLO / THE TUFTS DAILY

The Tufts women’s basketball team faces off against Smith College on Jan. 31. clawed its way back, getting within a six-point difference with 2:46 left in the half on a shot from sophomore forward Maggie Russell. Tufts got within four with less than a minute to go in the half on another jumper from Russell before Amherst senior guard Lauren Pelosi sunk a mid-range jumper to give Amherst a 41–35 lead heading into the locker room.

Coming out of the locker room, Amherst showed why it was the NESCAC’s top-ranked defense all season, holding Tufts to just 11 points on 20% shooting.

“They’re a really tough defensive team,” Pace said.

While holding Tufts to 11 points in the quarter, Amherst poured in 16 of their own, extending the lead to 12 again off a three from senior guard Courtney Resch.

“They made a lot more shots than we did,” senior guard and co-captain Molly Ryan said.

“We were not hitting our typical shots.”

Amherst began the fourth quarter up by 11 points before Tufts fought back again to get within five. However, that was as close as Tufts got, with Amherst getting enough offensive juice to close out the see TRACK, page 7

to high in the offensive zone and the [defensive] shooting,” Gunlock said.

In the first period, possession was evenly split, and both goalies made multiple saves to keep the game scoreless.

Neither team was able to breach the other’s defense until there were three minutes remaining, when Gunlock fired a slapshot past Middlebury goalie Jake Horoho, making the score 1–0 Tufts. Middlebury outshot Tufts in the period; it took 11 saves from senior goalkeeper Josh Sarlo to keep the Panthers off the scoreboard.

In the second period, the tightly matched contest continued. Thirteen minutes into the period, the Jumbos were able to break through the Panthers’ defense once again, as first-year forward Harrison Bazianos scored a wraparound goal to double the Jumbos’ lead. Middlebury put a lot of pressure on Tufts’ back line for the rest of the period, gaining a power play off a hooking call against sophomore forward Andrew Maynard. Sarlo made multiple crucial stops right at the end of the period to keep the score at 2–0. see HOCKEY, page 7

Strong individual performances propel men’s track and field to third place finish at New England Div. III Championships

by Arnav Sacheti Sports Editor

The men’s track and field team competed at Middlebury at the indoor New England Div. III Championships on Friday and Saturday, and placed third overall out of 23 teams.

“At the championship meet, it’s definitely all about just scoring points in whatever ways possible, whether it’s switching into event that you might normally not run, filling in for people who are injured, being an alternate on a relay team,” junior Alex Lemieux said. “Individual performance and [personal records] are kind of secondary.”

Senior Ben Stein and junior Carter Rosewell had exceptional showings in the heptathlon, placing second and sixth, respectively, in the event. In the heptathlon, an event that took place over the course of both days, Stein showed his versatility by placing first overall in the 1000-meter race, the high jump and the long jump. Roswell finished second overall in the 60-meter dash and in the high jump and third in the long jump.

Lemieux led the sprinters in the 60-meter dash with a second place time of 6.90 seconds, and a victory in the 200-

meter race with a time of 21.91 seconds.

“It’s more about places and just earning points,” Lemieux said. “I’m just really psyched that I was able to do that. I think, in total, I earned like 20 points for the team … It was just a good accomplishment, and I was happy I was able to contribute in three events.”

Lemieux also participated in the 4×400-meter relay, in which he was joined by junior Andrii Campbell, and first-years Ethan Forde and Noah Turner.

The squad finished second in the event with an overall time of 3:25.08. Turner and Forde also ran the 400-meter, finishing sixth and tenth, respectively, in the event. Campbell placed fifth in the 600-meter, and was joined in the event by junior Sawyer Wilson, who finished eighth.

The Jumbos had a strong showing in the field events as well. They were led by sophomore Harry Rienecker-Found, who won the high jump with a jump of 6’9” (2.06 m), scoring ten points for Tufts. Senior Alex Zsikla jumped 44’11.75″ (13.71 m), placing sixth in the triple jump and scoring three points for the Jumbos.

In addition to these strong performances, the Jumbos also showed a level of adaptability

COURTESY TUFTS MEN'S TRACK AND FIELD TEAM

Tufts men’s track and field team earned third place at New England Div. III Championships at Middlebury on Feb. 25. which helped to make them successful at this meet.

“One of our long sprinters who normally runs the 600 … went a bit early to run with some of the distance guys in the [distance medley relay] race,” Lemieux said. “He ran the 400meter leg of that.”

Individual efforts combined with the team’s overall success has improved the team’s camaraderie and energy.

“There’s a lot of talk about Tufts magic,” Lemeiux said. “Some of my coaches bring it up where on meet day, there’s something about the energy that … propels the

team to get those great results and do better than we expected to.”

The Jumbos will now shift their focus to the Tufts National Qualifying Meet hosted at the Gantcher Center this Saturday, where many of the athletes will attempt to qualify for the NCAA Championships.