The Tufts Daily - October 12, 2017

Diane Ryan explains army history, new position at Tisch College see FEATURES / PAGE 4

MEN’S SOCCER

Jumbos stay atop NESCAC with dominant defense

Huntington Theatre impresses, haunts audiences with ‘Merrily We Roll Along’ see ARTS&LIVING / PAGE 6

SEE SPORTS / BACK PAGE

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VOLUME LXXIV, ISSUE 24

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Thursday, October 12, 2017

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Students board the shuttle to the School of the Museum of Fine Arts campus from New England Conservatory at 6:30 p.m. on March 2.

Students respond to proposed solution for NEC transportation issues

by Emily Burke News Editor

The shuttle stop connecting Tufts to the New England Conservatory of Music (NEC) and the School of the Museum of Fine Arts (SMFA) will be reinstated after area construction is completed, according to a Oct. 10 email sent to students in the Tufts-NEC combined-degree program.

When the NEC stop is reinstated, buses will only stop when there are students waiting to be picked up or dropped off, and it will not wait until a scheduled time before leaving, the email states. Additionally, Tufts will grant NEC combined-degree students $1,000 stipends for transportation for the 2017–18 academic year, which can be used to cover the cost of MBTA passes and Lyft rides.

Removal of the Shuttle Stop According to Matthew Estabrook, a thirdyear in the program, students have faced significant difficulties getting between the two schools on time since the beginning of the semester. Estabrook noted that, when shuttle service was suspended, students were often forced to walk from the NEC to

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the SMFA late at night in order to catch the shuttle, proving time-consuming and potentially dangerous.

In addition, several students say they have had to pay out of pocket for alternative methods of transportation between the schools, according to a Sept. 29 Daily article.

Combined-degree students expressed hope that this new solution will make their commutes easier.

“I’m optimistic about the changes and the thought that admin has finally put into NEC transportation, but I’m also going to be pretty skeptical until it’s actually implemented,” Daniel Cetlin, a sophomore combined-degree student, said.

Cetlin expressed some concern about the logistics of the proposed system.

“I don’t like the idea of flagging down buses. The buses are currently very unreliable, come late [and] don’t turn on GPS,” Cetlin said. ‘This could potentially add a whole new layer of frustration.”

Ari Brown, a third-year enrolled in the combined-degree program, also expressed concerns about having to flag down the shuttle. He and another student have conFor breaking news, our content archive and exclusive content, visit tuftsdaily.com @tuftsdaily

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sidered developing an electronic texting system for this purpose, Brown added.

“We should not be reliant on flagging the shuttle down coming back from NEC,” Brown said. “I personally feel a request system should be put in place to determine whether the shuttle stops at NEC to pick someone up.”

Further NEC Concerns While combined-degree students saw some promise in the new transportation solution, they said that the program would benefit from more administrative support.

Brown said that, when he started in the program, he was unsure about how much work to take on because the program is not very well described online. Brown said that due to a lack of advising from the schools, he ended up being overwhelmed by too many classes.

“My main advising came from my orientation leaders,” Brown said. “Really, the advisors didn’t know that much about the other school. Advice is hard to get.”

Brown also voiced concerns about the inconsistency of university management of the program.

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“The advisor for the Tufts-NEC program has changed [frequently]. No one is familiar with it,” Brown said. “We almost feel a sense of responsibility for orienting whoever is new, because we can’t trust the orientation system.”

According to Brown, students get assigned an advisor at both schools, but he said one advisor who is knowledgeable about the situation at both Tufts and the NEC would be much more effective.

“It takes a lot to understand both sides of every degree in the program,” Brown said. “It’s a complicated system and I think it needs one person’s attention.”

Tania Valrani, also a third-year in the combined-degree program, echoed Brown’s concerns, emphasizing that the program needs a more senior authority figure to step in and make sure problems get solved quickly.

As of this year, Associate Dean of Undergraduate Advising Robin Olinsky is in charge of advising NEC combined-degree students.

NEWS............................................1 FEATURES.................................4 ARTS & LIVING.......................6

see NEC, page 2 COMICS.......................................8 OPINION.....................................9 SPORTS............................ BACK

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THE TUFTS DAILY | News | Thursday, October 12, 2017

THE TUFTS DAILY Gil Jacobson Editor-in-Chief

EDITORIAL

NEC combined-degree students raise transportation concerns NEC

Eddie Samuels Joe Walsh

continued from page 1

Managing Editors

“Combined degree students are assigned advisors on both campuses to help them navigate the demands of their degree programs,” Olinsky told the Daily in an email. “In addition to my work with the students, firstyear and sophomore dual-degree students have a Student Success Advisor and a faculty major advisor once they declare their major.”

“At the NEC, there is an advising office that works with students on completing their degree requirements. On both campuses, dual degree students also benefit from peer support, including FYAs, CDAs and an NEC Orientation Peer Leader,” Olinsky added.

Olinsky discussed plans to meet individually with students to organize their spring schedules in a way that minimizes time spent on transportation. She also assisted students with course registration during first-year orientation.

“During orientation advising, we discussed the students’ interests, degree requirements for both programs and transportation logistics. We tried to minimize the number of trips back and forth between the

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two campuses each day. We also discussed being realistic about the amount of time it takes to commute between the two campuses, regardless of the mode of transportation,” Olinsky said.

Estabrook said he has experienced both challenges and benefits in the program for the past three years.

“I feel that what’s keeping the program held back is that there’s not enough administrative attention to the issues in the program,” Estabrook said. “We’re a small group of people and it’s understandable that in an institution as big as Tufts, numbers matter.”

Estabrook noted that this was part of the reason that issues like the transportation system took a fairly long time to solve.

Addressing student concerns, Olinsky expressed enthusiasm about the new transportation solution.

“We realize transportation has been a challenge so far this semester,” Olinsky said.

“We appreciate students’ patience while we have worked through these unexpected difficulties. We’re confident that the solution we are rolling out will address these concerns. ” Valrani said that because combined-degree students contribute to the NEC com-

munity as well as the Tufts community, the responsibility also rests with NEC to support the students.

“It’s an honor to be associated with NEC. The NEC teachers really do like having Tufts students … We enrich the NEC community as well, [so] NEC needs to take responsibility,” Valrani said.

Elaborating on the nature of communication between advising resources at Tufts and NEC, Estabrook emphasized that he wants Tufts to acknowledge the shortcomings and challenges of the program so that incoming students have all the facts.

“They still have [an admissions resource] from 2013 regarding the academic structure of the program that’s completely false,” Estabrook. “It outlines that you’ll take six or seven classes per semester [while] we take about eight to nine. I personally have to take 10 a semester.”

Estabrook said, despite its problems, the combined-degree program is valuable.

“It’s a wonderful opportunity to be able to study with such great academic rigor at Tufts but get top-notch musical education at NEC as well,” Estabrook said. “I’ve studied with some of the people who inspired me to get into music.”

‘Senior Bar Evening’ continues as senior traditions evolve

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Seniors and band members dance to live music during Senior Gala on May 11, 2014. Senior Pub Night was cancelled last year, and replaced

by Oktoberfest.

by Sarah Minster

Contributing Writer

Senior Oktoberfest and a non-university affiliated Senior Bar Evening, two events that emerged last year after Tufts said it would stop hosting the university-sponsored Senior Pub Night in September 2016, will continue this year, signaling these two events are evolving into more established campus traditions.

Senior Bar Evening will be held on Oct. 19 at Boston’s Whiskey Saigon, according to event organizer and senior Connor Doherty. The event has no formal ties to Tufts University or the Tufts University Social Collective (TUSC), according to Doherty. There are hopes for other Senior Bar Evenings throughout the year, according to the event’s webpage.

The Office for Campus Life (OCL) pulled university sponsorship from Senior Bar

Night last year after reports that students behaved confrontationally toward an OCL staff member and acted disrespectfully toward the venue due in part to excessive intoxication. In response, Shana Gallagher (LA ’17) independently organized the first student-run “Senior Bar Evening” last year. Gallagher told the Daily that students would have to arrange their own transportation in the absence of the buses the OCL provided in the past.

This year’s senior class is continuing the student-led nature of the event, which Doherty said makes the students more respectful and less likely to cause harm.

“When students realize it’s hosted by another student, it’s someone on your campus — a fellow senior is financially responsible — they’re much more respectful of the space,” Doherty said.

Both Doherty and Joe Golia, director of the OCL, noted that the change in spon-

sorship was a needed step for Senior Bar Evening. Though Senior Bar Evening is not affiliated with Tufts or TUSC, Golia was in contact with Doherty to discuss the event’s progression.

“I let him know that I’m here for him,” Golia said. “I’m not going to turn my back if something happens, but other than that, [the OCL] is not involved at all.”

Golia said that, although Pub Night and Bar Evening are similar in nature, the event encountered a lot of problems when the university ran it, while the student-led event last year incurred less damages.

He expressed hope that this year’s student-run iteration would find the same success as it did last year.

“All I can hope is… [when] students [are] working for students and being responsible themselves, that other stusee PUB NIGHT, page 3

News

Thursday, October 12, 2017 | News | THE TUFTS DAILY

3

Class of 2018 sees official and unofficial senior nights for the second year PUB NIGHT

continued from page 2 dents respect that more and support them,” Golia said.

TUSC is running a similar, university-sponsored senior event of their own: Senior Oktoberfest, which is scheduled to take place tonight on the President’s Lawn. The event is open to the entire senior class, although only students of legal drinking age will be served. In contrast, the non-university sponsored Senior Bar Evening is restricted to seniors 21 and up.

Sam Little, a member of the council, described Oktoberfest as an inclusive, community-building event.

“[TUSC] just decided to move in a direction that would be more accessible towards more students,” Little, a senior, said.

According to Golia, Oktoberfest was a success last year, with around 700 seniors in attendance. However, he was concerned for the event this year: just two days prior to the event, only around 100 tickets had been sold.

Doherty explained that Oktoberfest and Senior Bar Evening are not conflicting events. Rather, both are class bonding activities supported by the senior class.

“We’re trying to make Senior Bar Night as inclusive as possible, you know, people don’t have to drink — you can just come for the fun of it,” Doherty explained. “But

it’s really nice that Tufts is trying their best to come up with a non-conflicting senior tradition as well.”

The Student Life Review Committee report released in September 2017 determined that “campus-wide traditions are lacking,” and recommended that the university “work with student leaders to create and support activities that can be cultivated as campus-wide traditions.”

Golia questioned the meaning of Tufts’ senior-oriented events in light of the report. He explained that the fact Tufts’ Senior Nights happened every year did not make them necessarily meaningful, noting that other Tufts traditions, such as the candle-lighting ceremonies and

Spring Fling events seemed to hold more significance for students.

Golia stressed that senior nights must evolve.

“I think [traditions]… have to develop, and they have to come from students over time,” Golia said.

Doherty expressed his excitement for Senior Bar Evening, emphasizing the unique atmosphere of an event “by the senior class, for the senior class.”

Doherty said he hopes that senior traditions will live on in future years.

“I definitely think that it’s important to allow traditions to evolve,” said Doherty. “Keeping them alive in some way is important.”

Tufts Faculty Senate convenes for second meeting

by Daniel Nelson News Editor

Tufts University Faculty Senate convened by video conference on Wednesday for its second meeting of the academic year to consider the adoption of standing committees and discuss its objectives.

Unlike the Tufts Community Union (TCU) Senate, which draws its representatives from Tufts’ two undergraduate schools at the Medford/Somerville campus, the faculty senate has members scattered across Tufts’ eight schools at the Medford, Grafton and Boston campuses. Although the session was officially scheduled for Grafton, video feeds from each campus allowed the senators to convene remotely, according to Jeswald Salacuse, a professor at The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy and the president of the senate.

The session began with a round of applause for newly-elected senator Anne Mahoney, a senior lecturer in classics, who filled an additional seat created for the School of Arts and Sciences. This seat was created after Tufts’ acquisition of the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, according to Professor of Economics Lynne Pepall, vice president of the Senate. Mahoney’s addition brings the faculty senate’s total number of representatives to 30.

Although Tufts’ Board of Trustees approved the faculty senate’s bylaws last semester, the body is still very much in development. The session’s central issue was a motion to establish standing committees on Nominations, Faculty Affairs, Budget Planning and Development, Research and Scholarship and Educational Policy and Affairs, according to Pepall.

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“[These committees] are charged to engage with University issues and policies in specific areas relevant to shared governance,” Pepall told the Daily in an email.

The faculty senate unanimously adopted the motion and then moved into a discussion of the College of Special Studies (CSS), a branch of the university system that historically served as a bridge between Tufts and Tufts-affiliated, but not administered, schools including pre-acquisition SMFA, according to one senate member. But those relationships have largely dissipated and left the CSS, and thus Tufts’ cross-institutional degree program framework, in uncertain territory, the member said.

Pepall said that such programs were of great value to Tufts.

“I think that degree programs are really what keep schools together,” she said. “We want to work together to strengthen those.”

Senators ultimately referred the issue to the newly-established Educational Policy and Affairs standing committee. Salacuse explained to the senate that any decision by the committee, which had not yet been assigned any members, would be considered by the full faculty senate before being forwarded to Tufts administrators.

Salacuse told the Daily that the faculty senate is a consultative organization that centralizes diverse faculty opinions from across the university system. As a result, the issues it considers cross boundaries between schools.

“The issues where [the senate] is concerned are the university-wide issues that need to be talked about,” he said.

Wednesday’s session closed with a discussion of the senate website. The Senate concluded that more work and research are needed on the senate’s website.

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Hayley Oliver-Smith In Defense of the Butterfly Effect

Warm fall, slow change

T

o state the unmistakeable, the seasons are changing. The sun starts to fade more quickly each day, but the sky retains its stark Massachusetts blue. It’s good to let the breeze in; you open the window before you leave. Later you come back and the room is fresh and slightly chilly, the scent of wet leaves present but maddeningly subtle. Autumn seeps in gently like this, our welcome guest. See, summer brings too much anticipation, and winter sulks in an unenthusiastic din. Spring had nearly abandoned us there for a second. But autumn is golden, winter’s marketing intern, getting its foot in the door before you’ve got a chance to double take.

Besides autumn’s gentleness, two elements in particular make for its spot as a favorite. The first is obvious, even in the early days: the world makes its transformation into a kind of sensory theme park. The chlorophyll on the surface of leaves, which makes for their greenness, ebbs as the temperature drops. It is not uncommon to walk past a tree that is entirely orange (!). The array of reds, yellows and browns explode, having saved their drama underneath the green surface this entire time. As they collect and pile atop each other, leaves release the layered and subtle smell that’s surprisingly intoxicating, considering its rot. Food takes on this same character, with spicy and earthy flavors alike waking up in your mouth, seeming to come out of nowhere. Having the sun fall on your bare skin without the burn is so easy, so pleasant, and the combination of all these things at once is Hallelujah.

The second particular could be chalked up to looking autumn in its face and seeing it on a larger scale, which involves recognizing the fact that this especially beautiful time of year is brought on by the demise of the summer and the creeping turn of time towards darker days. As we move closer to winter, swirling our way to a halt, the colors get brighter. Warm breath is more visible in morning air, warm drinks taste better. The occasional days where summer casts its golden shadow become much easier to appreciate. The world begins to die all around us, and we can be found lounging in t-shirts and shorts, jumping into piles, trying to forget that we are students. It all seems so poignant, as though life itself comes into focus. And this is really what it is, because autumn is inspired and packs lessons for us in each fallen leaf if we are willing to look. Their detachment, the death all around us is shown in a new way, it is beautiful. And we who so easily focus on our feet have no choice but to notice, to look up in wonder as what usually filters the sky above us floats to the ground.

Hayley Oliver-Smith is a senior majoring in international relations. Hayley can be reached at hayley.oliver_smith@tufts.edu.

Features

Thursday, October 12, 2017

Q&A: Newly hired associate dean discusses past military experiences, future hopes for Tisch College

by Ameenah Rashid Contributing Writer

Today, with almost thirty years of service under her belt, Diane Ryan has a wide variety of experiences in places such as Germany, Iraq and West Point.

Her first non-military related venture is at Tufts, where she was recently appointed as the Tisch College associate dean for programs and administration. Always looking for ways to go outside her boundaries and still make a positive impact, Ryan shared her experiences and what brought her to Tufts.

The Tufts Daily (TD): Can you tell me about your previous work with the army? How did you end up there and what work did you do?

Diane Ryan (DR): I initially started in ROTC as a means to pay college tuition, and I got a scholarship that paid all of my tuition and some of my expenses.

I really had no intention of making the military my career, I thought I would do it for the scholarship money, probably go in the reserves, work full time and do the army on the side.

Right before my senior year, it occurred to me that it would be a good opportunity to get some good skills. My initial commitment was to serve for five years and that was the time when there were a lot of assignments in Europe.

Living in Europe for three to five years seemed like a pretty exciting thing to do as a young person. I realized that was a lifestyle that really appealed to me so I made a deal with myself. I said I’ll just keep doing this until it’s not fun anymore or I run out of cool opportunities and that pretty much took me up until two months ago.

So I got all of my education paid for from the army. I went and did a master’s degree at about the 10-year point that was fully funded, and I did a Ph.D. a few years later, and then I’ve spent the last almost decade at West Point [as] faculty there. The first part of my army time was mostly in information technology, so I did voice and data communications. I liked solving problems, but I didn’t get excited about technology. But I liked the people aspect of the problem solving, so that sort of led me back to psychology with a pit stop in international relations because that’s what my master’s is in.

TD: How did your experiences with the army end up affecting your future choices, and how did you end up in Baghdad?

DR: I was actually in the first Gulf War as a lieutenant and I was an executive officer of a company, so I was responsible for 120 people, dealing with day-to-day operations. And then I was a major in Iraq. I was an IT person, but I also got involved with some civil society projects primarily because of my international relations background and my interests in people and being a problem solver, so I got involved with some NGOs there.

For me, deployment was a place to really focus on the things that we spent all our time training for. It’s not pleasant to be there because you’re away from your family, you miss out on some creature comforts, there’s a lot of uncertainty and unpredictability, but you create amazing bonds with the people

SOPHIE DOLAN / THE TUFTS DAILY

Diane Ryan, the Tisch College associate dean of programs and administration, poses for a portrait on Oct. 11.

you’re with, and if you had to be there it was important to feel like you were doing something worthwhile. I feel that we were very hopeful at that point that we would have a positive impact on the Iraqi people that we came into contact with and hopefully they would learn things from us and we would learn things from them.

TD: Why did you finally end up leaving, and how did you end up at Tisch College?

DR: At my rank, you are only allowed to stay at active service for 30 years, so I knew I was rapidly approaching the 30-year mark. There were lots of people who suggested that I stay either at West Point or go to another military academy or military-themed school like the Citadel [Military College], but I felt like that would not be a stretch for me.

I would just be doing the things that I was already very comfortable doing.

I wanted to get out of my comfort zone while at the same time maintaining some connection to the things that I really loved about my job at West Point.

I mostly enjoyed the co-curricular and extracurricular things that I helped to co-create because those were the things that people really seemed to get the biggest impact out of. If you were to ask West Point cadets which experiences had the biggest impact on their development as a leader, they might talk about a specific course but more often than not they’ll say, “I had this experience on a summer internship, or I had this particular leadership experience in this club.” It was really satisfying for me to create those kinds of things and this job presented a similar opportunity but in a slightly different area. I felt like I had the skills I accumulated in the army but it’s also a new context, a new community, new people and a research

university as opposed to a small liberal arts college. So a lot of opportunities for me to grow as a person and also contribute to the Tufts community as well as hopefully create some programs here at Tisch that serve as a model for the nation.

TD: I know you mentioned it a little bit before, but what exactly does your job entail?

DR: I’m the associate dean for programs and administration so all of the student programs are in my portfolio, like [Tufts 1 + 4 Bridge Year], Tisch Scholars and Tisch Summer Fellows – helping with the planning, organizing and resourcing as well as the day-to-day operations of the college as a whole. So really, solving problems, asking people what they need and providing them with the support.

The dean sets the strategic vision, and I’m the person that helps to go out and implement it.

TD: What are you the most excited about?

DR: I’m really excited about how Tisch is creating these experiences that have so much potential to help solve problems and really contribute to people’s Tufts experience, and I’m also very excited about the opportunities that we have beyond the walls of Tufts to really take a leadership role in this idea of civic engagement. Also, we’ve got a world-class research team and really committed faculty members. I’m looking forward to the day when I say I work at Tisch College and everybody just automatically knows what it is and what we do.

TD: Finally, what has been your favorite part so far about working here at Tisch?

A: Having a window has been great!

But honestly, the people have been amazingly welcome, supportive and really kind.

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ARTS&LIVING

Thursday, October 12, 2017

THEATER REVIEW

COURTESY THE HUNTINGTON

The audience gives the cast of ‘Merrily We Roll Along’ a standing ovation after an outstanding performance.

Huntington Theatre’s ‘Merrily We Roll Along’ is a hit

by Amanda Freedman Contributing Writer

“How did you get to be here? What was the moment?”

These are the questions Stephen Sondheim’s title song begs its audience to ponder in the Huntington Theatre Company’s production of “Merrily We Roll Along” (1981). The show tells the story of Frank, a Broadway composer-turned-film producer at the height of his career — and the culmination of his unhappiness — tracking how his life turned out this way, a story that starts at the ending and ends at the beginning. Director of New Work Charles Haugland said in an email that, in the musical, “the characters get happier as the audience gets sadder.” The concept of merrily rolling along suggests that we are unconsciously moving through life, and it is not until we are asked to stop and take a moment do we consider how we got to be here, and if here is truly where we want to be.

While a large portion of the story focuses on Frank’s failed marriages with Beth, his first wife, and Gussie, a Broadway star and his second wife, the heart of this story is about the friendship between Frank, Mary and Charley. Charley is a lyricist whose camaraderie with Frank is all about pursuing their dreams to create music that matters; as Frank says in the show, “musicals are a great way to state something important.” The audience roots for their artistic partnership, even though they watch it fall apart before they learn how it formed. Mary is a theater critic whose unrequited love for Frank keeps

her believing in him — or the man he used to be. The song “Opening Doors,” sung towards the end of the show, paints a picture of these three artists trying to create despite the pressures of society, and even though we know how the story ends and the friendship is torn apart, it is art that brought them together in the first place, and we still cheer them on.

From the opening loud, jazzy notes of the overture, it is obvious that this is a Sondheim musical. The score is filled with traces of his brilliance, from blaring trumpets to soothing reed instruments, in music that pulses and pushes the story forward with its beats and rhythms. Each song is its own symphony; every chord blending together so seamlessly that it is challenging to pinpoint which individual sound belongs to which instrument.

The show effortlessly transitions to the past as the ensemble sings the recurring “Merrily We Roll Along” motif, changing set pieces and pausing to face the audience to ask questions. The ’70s costumes from the first scene are slowly replaced with ’60s attire as the show moves through time, incorporating the countdown of the years to arrive at the next scene. The transitions were brilliantly orchestrated, appearing natural to the viewer, tugging the audience back in time to follow the unfolding of the story.

The lighting design was another element that made the Huntington’s production of the show truly outstanding. The first set in Act I is in Frank’s beach house, which sits onstage glowing under natural, homey lighting.

There is a staircase on stage right with

spaces between the steps, creating strands of light like sunbeams that shine directly onto center stage. The first set in Act II is when Gussie performs in a theater, with glamorous red curtains as the backdrop and flashing lights surrounding the entire stage that illuminate Gussie’s star-studded life as a famed Broadway actress. The natural lighting of Act I is replaced with the artificial lighting of Act II, despite the fact that Act I is focused on Frank’s celebrity lifestyle and Act II shows us his humble beginnings. The lights are a reflection of Frank’s past, and a warning of the future life he thinks he wants.

The final scene of the show paints a picture of when the friendship is formed between Frank, Mary and Charley. Back in college, Frank and Charley stare up at the stars on a rooftop in New York City. Mary enters, introducing herself.

The three sit along a bench, their backs huddling together reflected in the window that’s part of the backdrop of this set, creating a double image of the three friends to the audience held together by the sweetness of the New York night sky.

It is sad, because the audience knows how the story ends, but it is happy, for the audience has finally arrived at the beginning.

Following the Saturday, Oct. 7 matinee performance, the Huntington Theatre held a post-show talk with Northeastern University Theatre Department Chair Scott Edmiston. Edmiston spoke with a member of the Huntington staff about the themes from “Merrily We Roll Along” and the musical’s unique journey since its debut in 1981. The original production

was a total flop, with only 16 Broadway runs before closing. The show premiered at the tail end of Sondheim’s post-“Sweeney Todd” (1979) success. Part of the reason the show received so much immediate backlash was because of how established and accomplished Sondheim and Harold Prince — theater producer and former collaborator with Sondheim — had become. There were also problems with the original book written by George Furth, and the show went through many revisions to be what the current production is today.

Edmiston noted how art often mirrors life. The failure of the first “Merrily We Roll Along” production was when Sondheim and Prince split from being artistic collaborators, similarly to Frank and Charley. Sondheim’s partnership with James Lapine began shortly afterwards, and Lapine directed productions of “Merrily” in 1985 in San Diego and in 2012 at New York City Center. The 2012 cast included Lin-Manuel Miranda as Charley and Betsy Wolfe as Beth.

The show came to the Huntington this season after its wild success in London’s West End. Mark Umbers and Damian Humbley, who play Frank and Charley respectively, came from the cast of the West End production to recreate their roles here in Boston. Mary is played

by Eden Espinosa, whose previous credits include “Wicked” (2003) and “Rent” (1996) on Broadway, while 18 of the cast members are local Boston actors. The Huntington Theatre Company’s production of “Merrily We Roll Along” runs from Sept. 8 to Oct. 15, and it is a theatrical experience not to be missed.

A&L A rts & L iving

Thursday, October 12, 2017 | Arts & Living | THE TUFTS DAILY

FILM FESTIVAL

7

Haruka Noishiki Majors and Minors

National Day to J.J. Lin with Denise

T COURTESY MANHATTAN SHORT

‘Just Go!’ is a short about a young man who lost both his legs in a childhood accident who comes to the rescue of the girl he loves when she is victimized by villains.

MFA screens 20th annual Manhattan Short Film Festival

by Ruijingya Tang Contributing Writer

Content Warning: This article mentions sexual violence.

Sept. 28 marked the 20th anniversary of the Manhattan Short Film Festival, the only film festival screened simultaneously across four continents. This year, the festival was held in over 300 venues across the United States, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and South and Central America. The Museum of Fine Arts hosted the Boston screening.

Each year, the festival screens 10 finalists selected from all film entries. This year, the eclectic selections represent various film genres, including fantasy, horror, comedy, stop motion animation, action and nonfiction. The list of represented countries includes New Zealand, Spain, the United States, the United Kingdom, Latvia, Syria, Italy, Switzerland and Georgia.

The festival allows the audience to vote for the gold, silver and bronze medal winners and the best actor after each screening. This year’s gold medal was claimed by Georgian fantasy film “8 Minutes.” The silver and bronze prizes were respectively awarded to “Viola, Franca” and “Mare Nostrum,” and the Best Actor Award was given to Aleksandrs Ronis for his performance in “Just Go!” Despite the cinematographic and cultural differences among the three award winners, they thematically unite in their commemoration of heroes during catastrophic times.

The Gold Medal winner “8 Minutes” is a fantasy film that reimagines the relationship between humans and nature. During the eight minutes before an eternal blackout on earth, a magician father performs his last magic show for his son. The film shows the magician patiently dressing while others riot both physically and emotionally during the last eight minutes of life with sunlight.

The accompanying soundtrack enhances the

film’s paradoxical dynamic: whimsical background music is played on top of the serious TV news reports regarding the apocalypse.

The magician’s calmness and playfulness radiates a powerful sense of compliance with the impending blackout. The film deviates from the common post-industrial belief that nature and humans are always in conflict, and echoes the Daoist philosophy that the two are essentially one. The ending reveals that the father frames the blackout as a result of his magic. Such light-hearted interpretation of the natural disaster transcends concerns regarding life and death, and approaches nature from a spiritual and non-confrontational perspective.

Both “Just Go!” and “Viola, Franca” are nonfiction films that honor perseverance and activism. The former tells the story of Just, a young amputee who relentlessly chased two robbers on his hands. The short, quickly-shifting action shots in “Just Go!” resemble those incorporated in commercial feature films such as “Fast and Furious,” emphasizing the protagonist’s physical fitness.

“Viola, Franca” recounts the experience of Franca Viola, a rape victim who spoke out to end the rehabilitating marriage convention in Italy. One of the most appalling scenes in the film combines the visual and aural beauty of Franca’s idyllic farm with her wailing screams of pain. This juxtaposition criticizes Italian society’s dismissal of rape crimes in the 1960s.

Like “Viola, Franca,” “Mare Nostrum” also targets a human rights issue. The film exposes the tragedy of loss during the Syrian refugee crisis. The film shows a Syrian father’s heartbreaking experience forcing his 6-year-old daughter into the ocean every day in order to prepare her for their impending sail. The shots, consistently dominated by a warm yellow, are reminiscent of old photographs. The nostalgia foreshadows the pair’s future, where they cannot keep each other’s company beyond memory. The film features poetic seashore motifs

to highlight the pain of leaving one’s beautiful homeland for a foreign territory. The aesthetic choices in “Mare Nostrum” emphasize that both characters lose home not only in Syria, but also in each other. The lack of dialogue in the film literally embodies inexplicability of the refugee’s pain.

Although it did not win any award at this year’s festival, the stop-motion animation film “In A Nutshell” is worth mentioning for its distinct narrative style. Unlike all other finalists, “In A Nutshell” does not present a story to the audience. Rather, it offers the audience disparate images, and allow them to connect the dots for themselves. The images unite in that they all represent parts of the contemporary material culture. The director views his film as “a criticism of the outrageous materialism of our culture.” However, there is a paradox between his statement and his film. The film groups together images of objects with similar functional and cultural significance, which indicates that the objects possess intrinsic value apart from their status as material objects. Such a perspective interprets objects as vivid documents of our history instead of some disruptive outlier in it. Although the director might disagree, the film can be seen as thematically similar to Chinese artist Song Dong’s “Waste Not” (2005) an installation that examines objects’ ability to embody their owners.

In general, most of the ten finalists in the 2017 Manhattan Film Festival place their protagonists in challenging if not downright alarming situations. By doing so, some of them critique the historical factors that inflict such pain on their protagonists, while others celebrate their protagonists’ tenacity in withstanding institutional and environmental pressure. The Manhattan Short serves as an annual assessment of both social conditions that are specifically contemporary and historical events that still bear apparent relevance to our time.

TRASHING ONE EGG WASTES 55 GALLONS OF WATER

his is Denise Looi, a first-year from Singapore. She’s planning to double major in international relations and music, and this semester she’s taking some courses for international relations as well as History of Western Music. Denise has been playing the piano for 16 years, the flute for six years and has been singing since she was 10 years old. She is a soprano in Concert Choir at Tufts and she is in the Singaporean Air Force.

Denise shared her insight into contemporary music in Singapore.

Haruka (H): What’s pop music in Singapore like? What genre, and which artist, is most popular right now?

Denise (D): We have a huge range.

If we talk about English pop, we listen to a lot of American artists, so what’s popular here in the U.S. is popular in Singapore too. We also have Chinese pop, and that’s what I listen to the most. Most songs come from Taiwanese artists. We do have some home grown artists like J.J. Lin, but he was trained in Taiwan. Our musical scene is pretty mixed, since it’s mostly imported music from abroad. We’re in tune with the K-pop culture too. I like artists like GFriend and Infinite.

H: What’s traditional Singaporean music like?

D: We don’t have a singular traditional form since we’re a multi-ethnic society. When people think of traditional music, they’d think of Chinese, Gamelan [Balinese and Javanese traditional ensemble-style music], Indonesian, Malaysian, Indian music.

H: Is there a tune that everyone knows in Singapore?

D: The national anthem, since we sing it every day. We do have a lot of National Day songs. National Day is on August 9. That’s the day when Singapore was separated from Malaysia and gained its independence.

It’s a momentous day for us. Since we are a small country, it’s really scary to exist among so many other countries, and it’s pretty amazing that we built up from a third to a first world country in 50 years. These songs help us remember our efforts and unify the country.

Most schools have community singing, a gathering in which we sing patriotic songs. Those songs are really easy to pick up and are about nation-building. I like it since it’s a good bonding experience. We learn a new song every year. If you sing one of those songs, every person on the street would probably know it. “Home” by Kit Chan is an old but popular example of a National Day song.

H: How, if in any way, do you find Singaporean music different from other music you’ve encountered?

D: I don’t think there is much of a difference, but that’s also because I listen to pop music from around the world.

One thing that’s different is that there’s a huge mix. You could go into one cafe in Singapore and hear Justin Bieber, go to another and hear K-pop and then in the third cafe hear an Australian artist’s song. That’s what’s really cool about the Singaporean music scene.

Haruka Noishiki is a first-year who has not yet declared a major. Haruka can be reached at haruka.noishiki@tufts.edu

8

THE TUFTS DAILY | Comics | Thursday, October 12, 2017

Comics

tuftsdaily.com LATE NIGHT AT THE DAILY Eddie: “There’s no meth involved, it’s just me being fed up with a fly”

Comics

SUDOKU

GARFIELD

BY JIM DAVIS

NON SEQUITUR

BY WILEY MILLER

Difficulty Level: Starting your 401k in Nancy Kimelman’s class.

Wednesday’s Solution

LINDA C. BLACK ASTROLOGY

Libra (Sept. 23-Oct. 22)

Today is an 8. Discuss team strategies.

Quantify results in practical terms and write up your conclusions. Note opinions, advice and suggestions. Together, you shine.

CROSSWORD

Wednesday’s Solution

Thursday, October 12, 2017

Luke Murphy Murphy's Law

Save the polar bears? Trade the Prius for a V8

I

n a well intentioned effort to mitigate climate change, people buy hybrids and electric cars to limit their carbon footprint and stop melting the homes of our fluffy friends up north. The trouble is, these cars do not do this.

The car that cemented itself as the darling of eco-conscious celebrities and Jill Stein voters the world over is the Toyota Prius. While the Prius was taking the Whole Foods parking lot by storm and everyone became concerned with fuel economy and energy impact scores, we collectively decided that traditional big V8 SUVs were the enemy.

Weirdly though, the gas-guzzlers harm Johnny Polar Bear and his friend Mr. Ozone less than most of the hybrids and electric cars. This is because, like everyone who has ever bought a Prius, its designers were not thinking. As they traveled the globe sacrificing everything that makes a good car on the altar of Environmental Protection Agency fuel economy testing, they did an awful lot of polluting.

While eco-friendly cars use less at the pump, the pollution caused by the production and scrapping of these vehicles does just as much environmental harm as the burning of additional gasoline for a traditional vehicle. All cars have a basic production cost to manufacture their various components; what makes hybrids and electric vehicles different is the production of extra batteries.

As an example, hybrid car batteries use rare earth metals that produce an enormous amount of pollution when they’re mined, leaving some local areas in China environmentally devastated. Also, a controversial study by CNW Marketing Research wrote that, from production to scrapping, a Hummer used less total energy than a Prius. While the initial study had flawed assumptions about the lifespan of different vehicles, the pollution from battery production it examined continues to be a problem with hybrid/electric cars.

Batteries make these cars heavier than normal, so road, tire and brake dust are increased.

This dust makes up more of the total particulate emissions from a vehicle than traditional exhaust, and does more to harm human health, according to the journal Atmospheric Environment.

The Norwegian Institute of Science and Technology found that electric vehicle production generates about double the climate change potential of a traditional car, and that the electric vehicle supply chain represents significant increases in human and freshwater toxicity, and freshwater eutrophication, which kills animal life via excess richness in water nutrients caused by toxic runoff. Worse, if the grid is powered by coal, as about 30 percent of U.S. power is produced, the electricity to charge a car emits more carbon dioxide than burning gasoline. Electrically powered cars are getting better, but the technology is still years away from any positive impact.

If you really want to save the planet, avoid “green” cars. Buy a light, old car. And don’t ever buy a Prius. They are terrible cars and they are ugly. In the hybrid’s case, all that glitters is not green. I like the Earth, so if you’ll excuse me, I need to go buy an old muscle car.

Luke Murphy is a senior majoring in economics and Italian studies. He can be reached at luke.murphy@tufts.edu.

Opinion

9 tuftsdaily.com

OP-ED

Divestment is a spectrum, and so is Israel/Palestine

by Sami Ascha Truthfully, I think describing something as a ‘spectrum’ is horribly overdone. It is very much a catch-all term that serves more as an appeal to the subject’s complexity than anything substantive. But I’ll try my best to justify my use of the word because, for once, I think it is very much applicable to this issue.

More importantly, I want to clear up some things about last semester’s controversial Tufts Commumity Union (TCU) Senate resolution and explain why this issue has manifested itself in a far more divisive way than I had hoped for.

My grandmother was born in Jaffa, an area that encompasses Southern Tel Aviv. The precarious political climate that swept the area in the late 1940s forced her family to flee to Damascus, Syria. Coming to Tufts, I was shocked to see the intense and morally reprehensible views on this issue that exist on both sides. I like to think of myself as an objective observer because, despite a clear ethnic stake in this issue, my connection to Syria/Palestine has taught me a thing or two about the true nature of this issue.

It is of utmost importance that people understand how Israel and the Jewish people are conflated and vilified in many Arab countries. In Syria, students grow up learning anti-Israel propaganda that could sometimes be considered antisemitic.

Conversely, propaganda of this nature very much exists in Israel as Palestinians are vilified in the same way. Israelis are taught from a young age the same thing that their Palestinian counterparts are taught: they are the enemies, we are the victims.

Thus, a peculiar animosity has been nurtured on both sides, and it is preventing any discussion that is even tangentially related to the issue of peace from being looked at objectively.

The resolution only stipulated divestment from four corporations (Elbit Systems Ltd, G4S, Northrop Grumman and Hewlett Packard Enterprise) that are complicit in the systematic oppression of the Palestinian people. These corporations produce weapons, surveillance technology and prison systems designed specifically for use against Palestinians. To me, this was not at all about denying Israel’s agency. In fact, the resolution even called for a general human rights survey of potential investments on Tufts’ part, which is something that I wish, in retrospect, could have been presented to Senate instead. Just as Saudi Arabia is complicit in oppression, I too, believe that divesting from Saudi oil is of equal moral obligation. This is what I wanted the essence of the resolution to be. Instead, students on both sides made it a completely different issue.

This has become such a fiercely polarizing issue that the spectrum is being compromised. Whereas anyone with a simple sense of logic can see that systemic issues on both sides prevent us from moving forward, this fierce polarization throws out any semblance of logic and fosters a counterproductive rivalry instead.

In effect, the centrist polity needed to stabilize the spectrum is being upended and pragmatic approaches are being devalued in favor of emotionally charged confrontations. To be clear, this centrist bloc values

both sides and in most cases would support a two-state solution.

So intense is this rivalry that students present during the resolution posted personal information about me online and slandered me on a mysterious website called the Canary Mission, accusing me of being a racist bigot and antisemite. I was devastated to read such hurtful statements about my character, when I very much detest antisemitism and believe in a two-state solution myself. In fact, I am just as critical of most Arab states as I am of Israel — but the Canary Mission won’t tell you about that.

What all of this has taught me is that we ought to discuss Israel/Palestine pragmatically; being pragmatic entails separating the nature of the state from the state itself.

By supporting last semester’s resolution, I was denouncing Israel’s leadership and oppressive policies. I was not, in any way, denouncing Israel’s being.

Pragmatism would dictate that getting entangled in historical justification takes away from the truth of the matter: history cannot be undone, coexistence is the only option. The resolution took a stand against the oppression of the Palestinian people, but it did not wish to impose alleged antisemitic values despite accusations of this being the case.

And as far as Senate is concerned, it is clear that the debate was futile. The school made clear its stance against the decision, which brings to light the separate issue that perhaps TCU Senate exists to appease the student body rather than actually advance its voices.

The resulting confrontation only served to polarize the student body, a reality that has shown its true colors time and time again as this issue is discussed on campus. It is a vicious cycle that can only be broken by cooperation rather than confrontation.

Benjamin Netanyahu is not the peace process. Mahmoud Abbas is not the peace process. Dichotomizing the issue will get us nowhere.

Rather, the people are the peace process — and by separating ourselves from the leadership’s polarizing rhetoric, we can employ the necessary pragmatism to unite both sides.

If you still want historical justification, I’m happy to tell you my grandmother’s stories of living peacefully alongside Jewish and Christian families in Jaffa.

Sincerely, Sami Asha Sami Ascha is a junior majoring in international relations. Sami can be reached at Sami.Ascha@tufts.edu.

CARTOON

BY SHANNON GEARY

The Tufts Daily is a nonprofit, independent newspaper, published Monday through Friday during the academic year, and distributed free to the Tufts community.

The content of letters, advertisements, signed columns, cartoons and graphics does not necessarily reflect the opinion of The Tufts Daily editorial board.

EDITORIALS Editorials represent the position of The Tufts Daily. Individual editors are not necessarily responsible for, or in agreement with, the policies and editorials of The Tufts Daily.

OP-EDS The Op-Ed section of The Tufts Daily, an open forum for campus editorial commentary, is printed Monday through Thursday. The Daily welcomes submissions from all members of the Tufts community; the opinions expressed in the Op-Ed section do not necessarily represent the opinions of the Daily itself. Opinion articles on campus, national and international issues should be 600 to 1,200 words in length and submitted to opinion@tuftsdaily.com. The editors reserve the right to edit letters for clarity, space and length. All material is subject to editorial discretion and is not guaranteed to appear in the Daily. Authors must submit their telephone numbers and day-of availability for editing questions.

ADVERTISING All advertising copy is subject to the approval of the Editor-in-Chief, Executive Board and Executive Business Director.

10

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Sports David Meyer Postgame Press

Kneeling is a right, whether right or wrong

T

wo weeks ago I wrote some background information about Trump’s comments and national anthem controversy. Today, after recent developments, I find it important to share my own opinions on the matter.

Kneeling is freedom of speech, pure and simple. There is no law that states that people must stand for the national anthem, which is why no one gets arrested when they stay in their seats as they watch the game on TV. The Constitution gives the right to protest to any U.S. citizen, and athletes are no exception. I find it especially disturbing when people treat a respectful protest with such disdain. Eric Reid, one of the first players to kneel alongside the infamous and unemployed Kaepernick, recently wrote that kneeling was chosen purposefully.

“We chose to kneel because it’s a respectful gesture. I remember thinking our posture was like a flag flown at halfmast to mark a tragedy.”

It is a tragedy that people in our beautiful country are not treated equally, and it is an even bigger tragedy that those who used their platform to bring attention to it have now been ostracized, from their own former fans to the president.

Do I think that kneeling has become, at least to the public, less about inequality and more controversial (and thus less effective) an action? Yes. Does it make me want to stop watching the NFL? Or call the kneeling players “sons of b*****s” (the President using the term b***h in regards to his own citizens is something that no matter how this is resolved will still haunt me)? No. Players can do what they want to bring attention to the issues that they think deserve attention. If we are going to give professional athletes the amount of coverage and influence that they have, they should be able to use it.

Also, Vice President Mike Pence planned a publicity stunt when he walked out of the Colts game after the players knelt. While I think it was problematic to spend around $200,000 on flights just to make a point, I did read a valid, yet unusual for my own social circles and news sources, response asking “Why are some publicity stunts more equal than others?” That is something to think about.

The NAACP has made statements about the topic, most recently in regards to Cowboy’s owner Jerry Jones’ threat to bench players who “disrespect the flag.”

If he does, it will result in a lawsuit, and rightfully so. Maybe next year, if the league changes the rules this offseason so players have to stand, he could do so.

Until then, his players can do whatever they would like within current rules, and if he tries to suppress their freedom of speech he will find himself in some hot water with the NAACP and the law.

Some fans are going to stop watching.

Some will yell and tweet at the players.

Some may support them. Kneeling is going to keep happening on NFL sidelines. And I am sure that players have the right to do so, whether you agree with the action or not.

David Meyer is a sophomore majoring in film and media studies. David can be reached at david.meyer@tufts.edu.

Thursday, October 12, 2017 | Sports | THE TUFTS DAILY

11

Jumbos turn in their best performance of the year against Middlebury

MEN'S SOCCER

continued from back er Biagio Paoletta struck home the first goal of his Tufts career from a corner kick that Middlebury was unable to clear. Eichhorst also got in on the scoring action right before the halftime whistle courtesy of an assist by junior midfielder Jarod Glover.

The game was already safely under the Jumbos’ control in the 51st minute when Paoletta’s fellow first-year teammate, midfielder Travis Van Brewer, scored the fourth and final goal of the game, reaching a through ball just before senior Panthers goalkeeper Jeremy Yeager and slotting home his first career goal.

The Homecoming triumph was the Jumbos’ largest margin of victory against a NESCAC opponent this season. According to sophomore midfielder/defender Zachary Trevorrow, the fans’ energy boosted the Jumbos’ confidence.

“Homecoming is something everyone looks forward [to],” he said. “The energy level [and] the crowd make the game an unforgettable experience. We played our best soccer of the season against [Middlebury], so it was nice to give the alumni a good welcome back.”

With the goal from Rojas and the assist from Tasker, two of the top three point scorers on the team all come from the

sophomore class (11 points and seven points, respectively). Much of the playing time in attacking positions this season has been given to underclassmen replacing players who graduated last year.

Though the offense began unsteadily with three goals in the first three NESCAC contests, the younger players have been more prolific in recent games.

“Our sophomores have made the leap they needed to and are establishing themselves as some of the best players in the NESCAC,” senior co-captain defender Conor Coleman said. “They still have a lot of work to do to reach their potential, but if they continue to work hard, all the underclassmen will be hugely important to our team’s continued success this year.”

Likewise, junior defender Jackson Najjar raised the up-and-coming attackers.

“A big concern going into this year was who was going to pick up the goal production we lost from last year,” he said. “It took a little while, but the underclassmen have really taken their role seriously and are doing a great job.”

According to Coleman, the team’s recent successes will not distract them from the hard work ahead.

“The attitude we have for these games is the same as the attitude we

had at the beginning of the season: one game at a time,” he said. “We go into every game thinking we are 0–0 and need to prove ourselves. Everyone in the NESCAC is having a good season, so we need to keep taking it one game at a time and realize we haven’t accomplished anything yet.”

Although Tufts’ performance so far has been nothing short of dominant, having only conceded one goal in 11 games, Shapiro is quick to note that the team’s NESCAC opponents are not far behind. Bowdoin is one point behind Tufts in-conference, with a game in hand, so Bowdoin has the potential to rise to the top of the standings on Saturday if they beat Hamilton.

“The team feels pretty good about where we are but we also understand that we’re in a dog fight to see who can win the league outright … We understand that we need to continue to take it one game at a time, any one of our four remaining teams can beat us,” he said. “If we win out we have an excellent chance to host the NESCAC [tournament] and we would love to be able to compete for a NESCAC Championship on our home field. The goal is to win out and give ourselves a chance to play on Bello in some big games this fall.”

Jumbos remain undefeated in NESCAC

BEN KIM / THE TUFTS DAILY

Junior outside hitter Mackenzie Bright hits a spike in a home game against Colby in Cousens Gym on Sept. 16.

VOLLEYBALL

continued from back challenging and the team handled the challenge well.”

The previous Wednesday, Tufts posted perhaps its most dominant win of the season with a 3–0 win against Rivier, in which the visitors’ smallest margin of victory was 10 points. Behind the

strong serve of senior defensive specialist Alex Garrett, the match included a 13–0 start by the Jumbos in the second set. Garrett recorded five aces during the run. Nwankpa led the team in kills with 10 while recording just one error on 12 attempts. Sophomore setter Rachel Furash ran the offense effectively, leading the team with 18 assists.

Tufts hosted Hamilton and Williams in NESCAC matches on Sept. 29 and Sept.

30, respectively. The Jumbos won both matches in three sets apiece to highlight their dominance in the NESCAC this season.

Against Williams, Tufts jumped out to an early 3–0 lead in the first set and led the rest of the way to win the set 25–18. The second set initially appeared as if it was going to have a closer result. However, after running off four straight points to take a 12–7 lead, the Jumbos dominated the rest of the way and took a 2–0 lead in the match with a 25–13 win. The Jumbos again never trailed in the third set and finished off the match with a 25–22 victory.

Matching up with Hamilton the day before, Tufts added another convincing win to its record with a 3–0 victory. It was a game filled with runs, as each set started out tight until the Jumbos were able to pull ahead for the victory. The offense was effective all night, as the Jumbos had 27 more kills than errors in the game.

On Friday, Tufts will take on Middlebury in a rematch of last year’s NESCAC championship game, in which Middlebury upset Tufts in five sets. Thompson discussed the team’s mindset going into the final stretch of the season.

“We don’t project on our seasons,” Thompson said. “If we take care of the little things daily and do our jobs in the present moment, we increase the likelihood that a favorable big picture will come together. We are finding success but are aware we have a really strong schedule ahead … arguably playing some of the toughest teams in the region, so we are staying humble and working hard.”

12 tuftsdaily.com

Sports

Thursday, October 12, 2017

MEN'S SOCCER

Men’s soccer bounces back with 4-0 Homecoming victory

NICHOLAS PFOSI FOR TUFTS UNIVERSITY

The team celebrates a goal during the Homecoming game on Oct. 7.

by Onat Tarimcilar Staff Writer

The Jumbos (9–1–1, 5–1–1 NESCAC) continue to top the NESCAC after an emphatic 4–0 win over the Middlebury Panthers (8–4, 3–4 NESCAC) on Homecoming weekend. Despite posting their first loss of the season against Amherst on Sept. 30, the Jumbos have performed well since. On Tuesday, Tufts recorded a 10–0 win over Mt. St. Vincent, the most goals the team has scored in a game since 2000.

The first of the 10 goals came in the eighth minute, and they continued at

a regular pace for the remainder of the game. Sophomore midfielder/forward Gavin Tasker, senior midfielder Dexter Eichhorst and first-year forward Alex Ratzan each put up a brace for the team. With seven players making it onto the scoresheet, the game was a demonstration of the varied skill on the roster, as opposed to previous years where there were one or two regular scorers for the team.

Coach Joshua Shapiro was impressed with the team’s performance in three wins following the Amherst matchup.

“Two years ago we lost in overtime to both [Amherst and Hamilton] and that was a real blow to the team’s success,” Shapiro said. “I think the guys understand that it’s important to respond. I thought we controlled the play against Hamilton.

It’s really important to control the game and get on the front foot and get the first goal but also dominate proceedings with the ball. We were able to do that so I was really pleased with the response.”

Against Middlebury on Saturday, Tufts dominated from the start and had the game well in hand by the halftime

whistle, notching three goals in the first 45 minutes. The scoring started in the 10th minute on a connection between Tasker and sophomore midfielder Brett Rojas. The ball was played long to Tasker on the left side of the field. He caught up to it and sent a cross into the box that found a wideopen Rojas, who calmly tapped it into the bottom left corner of the net.

The Jumbos added two more to their total in the final five minutes of the first half. In the 40th minute, first-year defendsee MEN'S SOCCER, page 11

Volleyball earns key conference victories, extends win streak to seven

by Sam Weidner Sports Editor

Tufts (13–4, 7–0 conference) extended its winning streak to seven games with three wins on the road over the past week, including conference matchups against Amherst and Trinity. The Jumbos remain undefeated in NESCAC play after seven games and are hoping to replicate last year’s perfect NESCAC record as they head into the final stretch of their season.

On Saturday, Tufts got one step closer to that goal with a convincing three-set win over Trinity. The outcome of the match was never really in question, as the Jumbos never allowed the Bantams to score more than 19 points in any of the three sets. Tufts recorded 19 more kills than Trinity in the match (37–18) and

dominated defensively as well, recording 11 total blocks. Trinity struggled to effectively run its offense throughout the entire game. The hosts were led in kills by sophomore outside hitter Colette Scheffers with seven, but Scheffers also recorded six errors. This game served as a breakout stage for Tufts first-year outside hitter Sophia Acker, as she posted a career-high 11 kills to spearhead the Tufts offense.

The game was a testament to the team’s improvement, as its offense has made major strides since the beginning of the season.

“We talk about making daily progress, and I believe we have been successful in trying new things and bettering our current game,” coach Cora Thompson said. “I think our team is working very well together and improving daily. Our defense has been getting

better and better, and our offense is really clicking as a result of better ball control, not only from our passers, but from our setters, too.”

The prior night, Tufts matched up against Amherst in a come-from-behind conference win. The Jumbos started the match slowly, dropping the first set by 10 points (25–15) after trailing for practically its entirety. Despite being able to cut the lead to five near the end of the set, the Jumbos proceeded to have four attacking errors in the next five points to lose the set.

The second set was a completely different story, going back and forth the entire time with 12 total ties. Tufts just barely managed to edge out Amherst at the end with a 25–21 victory, tying the game score at one apiece. The Jumbos then took the momentum from their second set victory, building an early lead

in the third set that they never relinquished.

The fourth set appeared to be headed to another close ending until a late run by the Mammoths gave them an insurmountable 24–18 lead. The final set, however, was all about the Jumbos, as they built as much as an eight point lead and finished off the five-set victory with a resounding 15–8 set win.

Junior outside hitter Mackenzie Bright matched her career high in kills, recording 18 to lead the Jumbos. Her big night was partly facilitated by the stellar play of junior setter Angela Yu, who posted not only 29 assists but also 17 digs for the game.

“I think the team did very well this weekend,” sophomore middle hitter Christina Nwankpa told the Daily in an email. “Being on the road is always see VOLLEYBALL, page 11