The Tufts Daily - Wednesday, September 26, 2018

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Film event on the Tisch Library roof seeks to heighten immersive screening experience see ARTS&LIVING / PAGE 6

WOMEN’S CROSS COUNTRY

Bettez wins Purple Valley Classic to power Jumbos

With its third annual 70mm film festival, Somerville Theatre brings life to format of bygone era see ARTS&LIVING / PAGE 6

SEE SPORTS / BACK PAGE

THE

INDEPENDENT

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T HE T UFTS DAILY

VOLUME LXXVI, ISSUE 14

tuftsdaily.com

Wednesday, September 26, 2018

MEDFORD/SOMERVILLE, MASS.

Ahead of Thursday testimony, Bostonians attend vigil for Christine Blasey Ford by Michael Dianetti Contributing Writer

Nearly 200 people gathered outside of Boston City Hall on Monday night to participate in a vigil in support of Dr. Christine Blasey Ford, who has accused Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh of sexual assault. Several Tufts students were in attendance. The crowd consisted of sexual assault survivors, women’s rights advocates, students and organizers, all of whom were invited to contribute to the open-mic style dialogue that served as the format for the event. Men and women alike shared stories of sexual assault within their own lives and offered up support to Ford and all sexual assault survivors who wish to seek justice. “I think demonstrations like this serve to help raise awareness for survivors,” Marley Hillman, a sophomore who attended the Monday night vigil, said. “We just need this to get us to the midterms.” The vigil follows on the heels of an intensifying national debate surrounding Kavanaugh’s confirmation hearings. In see VIGIL, page 2

DOGACAN COLAK / THE TUFTS DAILY

A protestor at the candlelight vigil in support of Dr. Christine Blasey Ford holds a sign that reads “believe survivors” on Sept. 24.

Tufts Democrats, Republicans gear up for midterm elections by Connor Dale

Assistant News Editor

With Election Day less than two months away, Tufts Democrats and Tufts Republicans are ramping up various “get out the vote” initiatives for the 2018 midterms. Both groups said they see potential to promote engagement on campus in the upcoming midterms. According to Tufts Democrats co-President Cecilia Rodriguez, the midterms represent a vital opportunity to push back on the current political climate. “I think it’s a big test of Democratic complacency hopefully taking a turn in the right direction. There’s a real opportunity here, especially in terms of college students and especially in terms of Democrats, to make a huge difference,” Rodriguez, a senior, said. Rodriguez also noted that political awareness is on the rise among Democrats. “This year, I’ve noticed more Democrats than ever before know that a midterm is happening,” Rodriguez said. “That in itself is a huge victory.”

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Tufts Democrats aims to remotely support candidates in competitive races across the nation through phone banking, according to Rodriguez. The group recently hosted a phone bank for Rep. Beto O’Rourke, the Democratic nominee in the Texas senatorial race against Republican incumbent Sen. Ted Cruz. Tufts Democrats plans to hold at least three more phone banks for O’Rourke, as well as some for Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum, the Democratic nominee to be governor of Florida, and for incumbent Sen. Bill Nelson, the party’s senatorial candidate in Florida. Rodriguez said that the effort to support races outside of Massachusetts represents an opportunity for members of Tufts Democrats from all over the country to get involved in the midterm elections. “We really want to give our members as much sway in the work that we do as possible, especially since we have members of Tufts Democrats from Texas, Missouri, Minnesota and all these states that have important state district elections,” Rodriguez said. “We’re really letting our members take the front seat and put-

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ting our resources toward the races that matter to them.” According to Rodriguez, Tufts Democrats’ most concrete, on-the-ground canvassing efforts will take place in New Hampshire’s First Congressional District, where Democratic nominee Chris Pappas is running to replace outgoing Rep. Carol Shea-Porter. “This is the closet swing district to us, as well as one of the most competitive races in the country, so we’re really excited to support a campaign that’s as accessible as it is to us,” Rodriguez said. Tufts Republicans President George Behrakis, a junior, said that a Democratic surge in the midterms is inevitable. “I think history is pretty clear that when a president takes office, his party commonly has unified control of government, and that changes two years later because Americans like having separation of powers and divided government,” Behrakis said. “So it’s impossible to stop the swing back in the other direction, I think it’s just a matter of how well [the Republicans] can mitigate it.”

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Behrakis said that while there are fewer competitive Republican midterm races in Massachusetts, Tufts Republicans hopes to support Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker’s reelection campaign against the Democratic nominee Jay Gonzalez. “There are not as many Republican candidates in Massachusetts, so we don’t really get down to the … activist stuff as much, but we plan on canvassing on behalf of Governor Baker for his reelection campaign,” Behrakis said. “I think he’s in a strong place — he’s a great governor and he’s very popular.” Tufts Republicans intends to focus on its presence on campus, according to Behrakis. “We’re doing what we normally do: having discussions, trying to reach out to people on campus, and spreading our ideas and what students may not hear from other discourse on campus,” he said. Along with the Jonathan M. Tisch College of Civic Life, Tufts Cooperation and Innovation in Citizenship (CIVIC) and JumboVote, the Tufts Democrats and Tufts

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

see MIDTERMS, page 2

FUN & GAMES.........................8 OPINION.....................................9 SPORTS............................ BACK


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