The Tufts Daily - Thursday, October 14, 2021

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T HE T UFTS DAILY

VOLUME LXXXI, ISSUE 20

MEDFORD/SOMERVILLE, MASS.

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Thursday, October 14, 2021

Tufts SafeRide pauses operation, to resume after more hirings

by Alicia Zou News Editor

SafeRide services are currently unavailable for Tufts University students due to a shortage of campus security officers. According to Yolanda Smith, executive director of public safety, there are plans to resume SafeRide services after more security officers are hired.

SafeRide services allow students to request a ride instead of walking alone between 7 p.m.-4 a.m. in the Medford and Somerville areas surrounding Tufts. Previously, an app called TapRide allowed students to track shuttle services and request a SafeRide from the Tufts University Police Department during the hours outside of the Jumbo shuttle’s operation.

Jason McClellan, senior director of auxiliary services, explained the functionality of a new app called TransLoc that will replace TapRide.

“TransLoc … provides the same ability to track shuttle frequency and location,” McClellan wrote in an email to the Daily. “The app also will eventually enable students to request SafeRide service from TUPD. That functionality will be ‘turned on’ when we finalize the details with the new vendor and SafeRide service resumes.”

Smith noted that Tufts Public Safety currently offers

alternatives to SafeRide services, including providing students seeking late-night transportation with a code for free Lyft service when shuttles are unavailable.

TUPD can also facilitate latenight transportation although this option may be, in some cases, less timely, Smith added.

“TUPD officers are always willing to provide rides if a student is concerned about walking at night,” Smith wrote in an email to the Daily. “Because those requests are handled among officers’ other duties, some of which might be more urgent, response times will vary.”

SafeRide services were also unavailable throughout the 2020–21 school year due to COVID-19. A student who wishes to remain anonymous was affected by the suspension of the service during that time.

“I … had an incident last semester where I was walking home really late on Boston [Avenue], and I actually ended up getting chased by someone,” the student said. “If [SafeRide] was accessible, it would have been a time I would have liked to have used it.”

The student also commented on the possible changes that could make SafeRide more accessible to students.

“There just needs to be more drivers available with more people who are willing to do it … maybe

student drivers or something of the sort,” the student said. “I feel like the biggest problem with TapRide was the fact that there [were] just never any cars or if you wanted a car, it was unreliable when it was going to show up.”

The student wishes there was more clarity about the different options for late-night transportation.

“Luckily for me when I did end up being chased … I know my way around, so Boston [Avenue] is a little less scary for me … but I think [if it were my] freshman year, that would have been definitely really jarring,” the student said. “There definitely needs to be more of a transparency with the availability of ways to get home at night safer.”

In response to concerns about campus safety at night from peers, a group of Tufts undergraduates is working on developing a volunteer program called SafeStroll. This program would involve an app that allows students to request a pair of volunteers of different gender identities to walk with them at night.

Karina Lam, one of the students developing the program, hopes that SafeStroll can give students who are unsatisfied with the current resources another option that maximizes student comfortability.

“I think now with more movement towards having alternatives to police … in situations where

police aren’t necessarily needed, having alternative options is something that is really important to me and also to my peers,” Lam, a sophomore, said. “I felt like it was important … to provide an alternative to students who may not want to use the university’s current program, whether it is because of the affiliation with the university police or because the app just doesn’t work really well.”

Lam described that the process for creating SafeStroll involved legal guidance and careful consideration of the intentions behind such a program.

“When I’m discussing this program, I had to reach out to a lawyer through Tufts to better understand liability concerns that volunteers might have if we have this completely student-run program,” Lam said. “This isn’t a get-home-from-a-party program … because the liability concerns are even greater when we’re dealing with students who may be under the influence.”

Lam is working with students Adonai Addo, Benjamin Borgers, Cecelia Crumlish and Kristin Ng on designing the app.

The group is still in the planning stage.

“We’re just learning how to use the tools because we don’t all come from a mobile app development background,” Lam said.

SOPHIE DOLAN / THE TUFTS DAILY

A screenshot of the homepage for the “TapRide” mobile application shows the service area around the Medford Tufts campus that the drivers serviced on a map.

However, the ride service is not currently active.

According to Lam, SafeStroll plans to affiliate with Tufts Public Safety and work with the department on developing safety training for the volunteers.

Somerville’s Powder House Circle updated with safer infrastructure

by Elizabeth Zacks Contributing Writer

The Powder House Circle, a busy intersection in Somerville, was upgraded this summer with lane improvements, bike lanes, updated crosswalks and physical barriers, intending to improve safety and navigability for drivers, cyclists and pedestrians alike.

Located at the intersection of College Avenue, Warner Street, Broadway and Powder House Boulevard, the six-way roundabout has caused frustration among Somerville residents, according to Will Mbah, Somerville city councilor at-large and 2022 mayoral candidate. Powder House Circle has also been the site of several car crashes and has been previously labelled a “high crash intersection” by the City of Somerville.

Rocco DiRico, executive director of government and commu-

nications at Tufts University, expressed what made the intersection unsafe.

“Under the old design, Powder House Circle was confusing and chaotic,” DiRico wrote in an email to the Daily. “It was very difficult for pedestrians and cyclists to navigate.”

Arah Schuur of Somerville Bike Safety, which is an advocacy group dedicated to fighting for safe and separate bike infrastructure for the city, described the previous Powder House Square Circle as a free-for-all.

“There were no demarcations for lanes … no bike lanes … no painted automobile lanes … no flex posts,” Schuur said.

Schuur, who regularly bikes through Powder House Circle, felt that the old design was particularly dangerous and life-threatening for cyclists.

“There was no delineation for bicycles; there was no physical protection,” Schuur said. “You just had to kind of share the

SOPHIE DOLAN / THE TUFTS DAILY

The Powder House Circle is pictured on Oct. 13. space with very aggressive drivers who were also confused.”

Pedestrians also had a hard time safely maneuvering and crossing Powder House Circle.

According to Mbah, pedestrians often traveled through lanes of traffic to reach the island in the middle of the roundabout.

Additionally, given the location of Powder House Circle,

many of the drivers who pass through are commuters or are from out of town.

“They’re coming from another town, going somewhere else and they’re using our streets and our infrastructure just to get through,” Schuur said. “It takes them time to learn.”

Between the confusing lanes, dangerous crosswalks and lack

ARTS / page 4

FEATURES / page 3

OPINION / page 7

With a Palme d’Or already under its belt, “Titane” hits American theaters

If elected, Michelle Wu will push food justice policy on Boston

Antisemitism has no place at Tufts

of demarcation, Powder House Circle had been in dire need of renovation. According to an article by the City of Somerville Mobility Committee, an updated Powder House Circle plan has been in the works since 2019.

“There were several public meetings when the project was being designed,” DiRico said.

“Our students, faculty, and staff had the opportunity to give the City their input.”

The City of Somerville finally broke ground on the renovations this past summer.

The additions to the intersection include shortened crosswalks, flex posts, renovated bus stops, protected bike lanes, curb extensions and painted vehicle lanes.

Based on feedback from the community, Mbah reported that the changes have made the roundabout safer for pedestrians, cyclists and drivers. One of the most notable changes to Powder see ROUNDABOUT, page 2 NEWS

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ARTS & POP CULTURE

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FUN & GAMES

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OPINION

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THE TUFTS DAILY | News | Thursday, October 14, 2021

THE TUFTS DAILY Madeleine Aitken Editor in Chief

— EDITORIAL — MARIEL PRIVEN KATE SEKLIR Managing Editors

PRIYA PADHYE ETHAN STEINBERG Associate Editors Alexander Janoff Executive News Editor Jillian Collins Executive Features Editor Phoebe Wong Executive Arts Editor

Powder House Circle upgrades improve safety for cyclists and pedestrians ROUNDABOUT

continued from page 1 House Circle is the change from three vehicle lanes to one.

“It has also simplified the vehicle traffic that travels through the roundabout,” Mbah wrote in an email to the Daily. “The expanded medians make it clear that the circle is for single lane traffic, whereas before there were frequently two lanes of vehicles travelling through the circle.”

Paloma Delgado Executive Opinion Editor Colton Wolk Editorial Editor Makenna Law Brendan Hartnett Editorialists Ananda Kao Executive Sports Editor Alex Viveros Investigative Editor Hannah Harris Executive Audio Producer Sophie Dolan Michelle Li Executive Photo Editors Ty Blitstein Executive Video Editor Asli Kocak Executive Graphics Editor

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According to Schuur, the decrease in the number of vehicle lanes in combination with the squaring off of turns also encourages drivers to slow down, and the protected and lineated bike lanes have made Powder House Circle safer for cyclists.

“Separating bicycles from cars is the primary safety improvement, along with reducing the speed of cars,” Schuur said.

Students and faculty have welcomed the changes to the rotary.

“The shortened crosswalks and protected bike lanes will make it much easier for students to get to and from Davis Square,” DiRico said.

Mbah discussed next steps for future renovations in Somerville’s narrow streets and highly trafficked areas. He is a founding member of the Somerville Alliance for Safe Streets and

is passionate about making Somerville’s streets safe for individuals with disabilities.

“Many of our sidewalks are outdated and difficult to navigate for people with disabilities, especially those that use a device to help them travel or are visually impaired,” Mbah said. “Our next step should be to make sure this roundabout and all streets and sidewalks in Somerville are safe for this community.”

SCIENCE

This week in Science: FDA okays e-cig, first malaria vaccine approved, toilet bats discovered FDA authorizes e-cigarette marketing for the first time The U.S. Food and Drug Administration granted market authorization to an electronic cigarette company for the first time on Tuesday, approving certain products for sale

First malaria vaccine approved by WHO A vaccine for malaria was approved for the first time by

WHO announces team to investigate origins of pandemic The World Health Organization released a list yesterday of 26 scientists that

Bats call human toilets home Researchers in Africa have found that bats tend to populate in pit latrines for shelter, warmth and protection against predators. A research-

in the United States. The FDA approved three products from R.J. Reynolds Vapor Company’s brand, Vuse, in an effort to diminish the impacts of traditional cigarettes, whose carcinogenic properties contribute to an estimated 400,000 U.S. deaths each year. The FDA concluded that the reduced morbidity and mortality among smokers outweigh the risks that approving Vuse products poses to youth.

Notably, 10% of high school stu-

dents who use e-cigarettes said Vuse is their usual brand.

The FDA approved Vuse’s tobacco-flavored products, which are less appealing to youth than fruity and candy flavors, and rejected 10 of the company’s other flavors. The agency also imposed strict advertising limitations to curb the reach of the newly approved products to adolescents. Nonetheless, critics of the FDA’s decision cited gaps in this approach, such as the

ability of Vuse’s advertisements to be reposted on YouTube and thus reach adolescent audiences.

Similar appearances on YouTube occurred following Juul’s advertising campaign, which consequently led to the brand’s entry into teenage settings. Moving forward, the FDA hopes to reduce nicotine in traditional cigarettes to non-addictive levels to further lessen the risks of cancer among smokers.

— Mariel Priven

the World Health Organization last week. The vaccine, called Mosquirix and made by the British pharmaceutical company GSK, is monumental as the first approved vaccine against a parasitic disease. Malaria is most prevalent in sub-Saharan Africa, and experts say the vaccine could prevent up to 23,000 deaths per

year in children under the age of five. ​​However, even as the vaccine gains endorsement, it is far from perfect; it reportedly has a moderate efficacy of 30% in severe malaria cases in children under the age of five and faces significant distribution challenges. The vaccine is given in four total doses spaced

out over almost two years, which may be difficult to facilitate, and it will need approval by Gavi, the global vaccine alliance, to be more financially accessible to the countries that need it most. Regardless, the Mosquirix vaccine serves as a notable first step toward eliminating the threat of malaria.

— Cindy Zhang

it will be recommending for its new Scientific Advisory Group for the Origins of Novel Pathogens Committee (SAGO).

Though the group’s initial mission will be to pinpoint the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic, the WHO intends for SAGO to be a permanent body for investigating the source of any future pathogens. Most of the 26 suggested experts hail from different countries, including one from the United States and one from China.

The formation of the new group comes after heavily politicized debate about the nature of the pandemic’s origins. Earlier this year, the WHO released findings from a report claiming that a laboratory origin of the virus was “extremely unlikely,” and that the COVID-19 virus most likely emerged from an intermediate animal host. However, the March probe was criticized for dismissing the “lab-leak” hypothesis too soon and for its

heavy reliance on cooperation from the Chinese government, who has been resistant to continued efforts to investigate the pandemic’s origins.

The WHO’s director, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, acknowledged the previous study’s limitations at the time.

The new group will focus on a transparent scientific process and no hypothesis will be ruled out, WHO leaders wrote yesterday in a Science editorial.

— Alex Viveros

er at a camp in Tanzania first observed this when they were going to the bathroom and felt a bat’s wing against them, according to reports by The New York Times. To investigate this phenomenon, researchers surveyed camps in Madagascar, Kenya and Mauritius, and found

that bats made habitats in pit latrines — many of which were located in older toilets — which they reported in a recent study in the African Journal of Ecology.

They concluded that bats gravitate towards damp places with minimal light, which is provided in sewer systems and pit

latrines, and speculated that the bats use the toilets for refuge from the wild. With urbanization slowly pushing many bat populations toward extinction, these furry creatures may be using pit latrines simply as a means to survive.

— Sophie Wax

TRASHING ONE EGG WASTES 55 GALLONS OF WATER

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Features

3 Thursday, October 14, 2021

Boston mayoral candidate’s food justice plan addresses food insecurity, social and environmental issues

by Katie Furey Features Editor

Boston mayoral candidate Michelle Wu has decided to make Boston’s food system and economy one of her priorities if she prevails in the Nov. 2 election. Her plan, the Food Justice Agenda for a Resilient Boston, addresses the food system from a number of angles.

Wu’s plan is grounded in the idea of food justice, which considers the need for food alongside other societal factors such as race and class, according to Cathy Stanton, a senior lecturer in the Department of Anthropology.

“Food justice is a way of thinking about food that takes into consideration racial, environmental, economic class, nation[ality], various kinds of disparities, oppressions, disenfranchisement and how those intersect with a whole host of issues around food,” Stanton said.

Julian Agyeman, professor of urban and environmental policy and planning and interim chair of urban and environmental policy and planning at Tufts’ Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy, provided some examples of what food justice might look like in practice.

“Food justice is both an idea and a movement that people should be able to access to [and be able to] procure fresh, culturally appropriate, affordable, nutritious food in close proximity to where they live without the use of cars,” Agyeman said. “It’s a step up, if you like, from what’s called food security, which is food banks, emergency food system[s].

We know that we need that at present, but food justice is working to end food insecurity and put people on a path to having much more say in their local food system.”

Wu’s plan works toward the goal of food justice in five main ways: investing in Boston’s food businesses, building coalitions, expanding Boston residents’ access to affordable food that is also culturally appropriate and nutritious, using public procurement of food and investing in food chain workers in Boston.

Robert Kaplan and Michael Friedman The Vintage and the Vogue

Conceiving cuisines

R

obert: Hey Michael, I didn’t see you last night. Where were you?

Michael: I had a date with Nick’s House of Pizza, and it went deliciously.

Robert: That’s great to hear! You know, what we have is real. I know that because you’re not one of those tomato sauce-loathing fiends. You just can’t trust those people, Michael.

Michael: A tomato-less pizza isn’t a pizza at all, in my book.

Robert: I’m glad we agree, but it’s interesting to me because tomatoes didn’t enter Italian cuisine until just a couple hundred years ago. They’re a fruit originating in the Americas, after all.

Tali Robbins (N ‘20), policy director in Michelle Wu’s city council office, was the head researcher and writer of Wu’s Food Justice Agenda. Robbins worked with a team of graduate, undergraduate and high school policy fellows in summer 2020 to write the plan.

According to Robbins, food justice is not universally considered as an essential area of public policy, but Wu has been passionate about food justice for years, having been impacted by her own experiences with Boston’s food system. “[Wu] was a food business owner before she ever got into politics,” Robbins said. “She opened a small tea shop that was meant to be a family-owned restaurant, so sort of her first entry into the food policy world was as a business owner, knowing that it takes an enormous amount of persistence to cut through the red tape and bureaucracy to be able to open a business and keep a business running.”

Although Wu intended to have a food justice agenda even prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, Robbins noted that the pandemic significantly influenced the writing of the plan.

“I think COVID was sort of a wake up call for a lot of people to realize just how important food issues are and food policy is to the day to day functioning of our lives … and just how interconnected all these issues are –– how food issues are labor issues; food issues are climate issues; food issues are housing issues,” Robbins said.

Agyeman notes that, even among the food justice plans that exist, Wu’s plan is uniquely progressive.

“I have looked at food action plans, food agendas for cities in the United States and around the world,” Agyeman said.

“This is quite simply the most progressive politically.”

Agyeman adds that part of what makes Wu’s plan stand out is its emphasis on the food system’s interactions with the local economy.

“This is not simply a food justice agenda, this is a food economy agenda,” Agyeman said. “She is looking to invigorate and reinvigorate Boston’s local food

economy. It’s not just about providing food. It’s about providing opportunity for employment through food.”

Both Agyeman and Stanton affirmed their confidence in Wu’s Food Justice Agenda.

“It’s very, very broad, but I think for a policy statement, that’s what you want to do,” Stanton said. “It’s very bold and ambitious in the right ways.”

While the relationship between politics and the food system has changed over time, the two remain incredibly interconnected, according to Winton Pitcoff, director of the Massachusetts Food Systems Collaborative, a nongovernmental organization that does lobbying, policy, advocacy and education regarding the statewide food system.

“They’re inextricably linked … There’s connections on both the consumption side as well as the production side,” Pitcoff said. “The most obvious impact has to do with wages and taxation. Food is cheap, yet people are still going hungry, and the farmers who produce the food are still unable to afford to continue being farmers.”

Agyeman adds that politics throughout history, such as redlining, have affected Boston’s food system.

“It’s no coincidence that the neighborhoods where people can’t get fresh, culturally appropriate, affordable, nutritious food — those neighborhoods are the same neighborhoods that were redlined, that people from low income and BIPOC people live in,” Agyeman said. “This is no accident …

Our foodscapes are sculpted by politicians.”

Moving forward, Agyeman is confident that Wu’s Food Justice Agenda will work toward addressing the connection between racism and Boston’s food system.

“A lot of politicians now, such as Michelle Wu, are trying to undo that racist supremacist legacy,” Agyeman said.

Robbins is hopeful that Wu’s plan, if implemented, will help indirectly bring about other positive changes in Boston, including addressing the racial disparities Agyeman mentions.

“I think there’s a real power in getting down to the very local level and making the case that food is important, and then it can be sort of a lever for broader change along all of these related issue areas,” Robbins said.

Michael: Then I suppose before European arrival here in the 15th century, Italians would have had no idea tomatoes existed! We did just celebrate Indigenous Peoples’ Day, so perhaps it’s fitting to ask how the Columbian Exchange affected our conception of cuisines.

Robert: An excellent idea, Michael.

Firstly, when we talk about the Columbian Exchange, I’d like to emphasize how vastly unequal and violent it was. Some historians call it the “Columbian Extraction” because the exchange of goods, diseases and ideas benefited European powers at the expense of Indigenous peoples in the Americas. Many of the consequences of this globalizing event are woven into the fabric of society: One example is how it reshaped the international culinary landscape.

For that reason, we can talk about more than just tomatoes in Italian cuisine. Other ingredients, like chilis and bell peppers, were also cultivated in the Americas before being imported, grown and incorporated into the Italian culinary canon. And that’s just ingredients; let’s not

forget how techniques were affected by many cultural influences from around the Mediterranean, emphasized by its central geographic location. We love Italian food today, but it’s not actually Lindy.

Michael: This reminds me of other signature dishes: Belgian chocolate, Napa Valley wine or Thai peanut sauce, for example. Cacao originated in Mesoamerica, grapes came from the Middle East and peanuts were first cultivated in South America. Each rose to fame in a region across an ocean from its original source.

Robert: Exactly! For that matter, I’d actually argue that most “national cuisines” aren’t Lindy at all. Especially in wealthy places like the United States, international trade and cultural exchange are inescapable, creating environments for these cuisines to develop. Moreover, it allows for cuisines to be shared across national boundaries. It cuts deeper than finding some Korean tacos in Back Bay — even something as basic as tomato sauce was developed via a complicated process of global trade and diffusion.

Michael: That’s why, on balance, cultural exchange is a net positive.

Through new ideas, goods from trade and expanded social networks across the globe, humanity has progressed for millennia toward new heights. Amazingly, global networks in 1300 BCE allowed for Anatolian peasants to make bronze from British tin and Cypriot copper, each mined 3,300 km apart. But even back then, and still into the modern age, there comes a dark price. Exchange can become extraction when made uneven.

Even benign legacies like national cuisines came at a cost; while they may be cherished, they are rarely Lindy. Their history should be understood lest we allow similar developments to occur in the future.

SOPHIE DOLAN / THE TUFTS DAILY

Fresh produce in the B Fresh grocery store is pictured on March 6.

Robert Kaplan is a senior studying quantitative economics and history and can be reached at robert.kaplan618485@tufts.edu. Michael Friedman is a senior studying classical studies and history and can be reached at michael.friedman@tufts.edu

4 Thursday, October 14, 2021

WEEKENDER

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“Titane” is a cinematic tour-de-force

by Emmy Wenstrup Assistant Arts Editor

After hearing some ominous thuds, our protagonist exits the locker room, her naked body still dewy from the shower. A car, the same flame-adorned Cadillac she was dancing on just a few hours ago (she’s an exotic dancer), waits for her outside.

She responds to its seductive call by entering the vehicle, and a few tense moments later, the car bounces in sexual glee. We finally get a glimpse inside the car to see our hero tied up in the bondage-esque seatbelts as she, simply put, has sex with the car.

This is one of many provocative scenes of Julia Ducournau’s “Titane,” which hit American theaters on Oct. 1. It premiered globally at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, where it joined the ranks of “Taxi Driver” (1976), “Apocalypse Now” (1979), “Pulp Fiction” (1994) and “Parasite” (2019) as the winner of the fest’s top prize, the Palme d’Or. Since the festival in July, the film has generated enough buzz to earn it the most successful U.S. opening weekend for a Palme d’Or winner in 17 years, since “Fahrenheit 9/11” (2004). This achievement is perhaps even more impressive considering Americans’ historical distaste for foreign language films (“Titane” is in French).

The aforementioned protagonist is Alexia (Agathe Rousselle), a serial killer with a titanium plate in her head after a car crash in her youth. After the sexual encounter with the car, Alexia is troubled to discover that she’s pregnant. On top of that major stressor, local media seems to be mounting interest in the suspicious killings going on in southern France. To flee from the police, Alexia disguises herself as a boy, Adrien, that’s been missing for 10 years, and moves into the firehouse in which his grief-stricken, steroid-abusing father lives.

Primarily, the film is concerned with the body — our carnal instincts, the fragility and decay of the human form and how we manage it. It begins with sex, removing any higher feelings or emotions from basic pleasures by comparing us to machines (like the sexy Cadillac that is the object of Alexia’s sexual desires). From this comes pregnancy, which the film uses as a vehicle (no pun intended) to introduce the necessary emotional connection we have with our bodies. We then explore the toll that connection has on our protagonist through the visual disfigurement of her body and graphic depiction of how she treats it. These scenes are interwoven with those about her growing relationship with Vincent (Vincent Lindon), the father

of the boy she’s pretending to be. As he provides her with unconditional love, she must learn to reciprocate that. The film’s exploration of flesh reveals the constant negotiation between mind and body.

The movie has no shortage of jarring moments, and some critics, like A.O. Scott of The New York Times and Ann Hornaday of The Washington Post have argued that it’s so consumed by its shock factor that it doesn’t fully come together. This criticism, though, seems to misunderstand that for “Titane,” surrealist body horror is at the core of its moving thematic work. The film’s greatest strength is how well it combines what we see with how we feel — it manages to tell a story of unconditional love through its uncomfortably graphic examination of how we control our little sacks of flesh we call bodies. Ducournau’s ability to combine plot and visuals to comment on a theme is truly breathtaking here, and her evenly distributed commitment to these elements is what makes the film so cinematic. Each shot is meticulously directed, as if she’s pointing at the screen, screaming at what you should be focusing on and holding your head there so you don’t look away when, for example, Alexia tugs at her coworker’s nipple piercing with a vigor that threatens to tear it out.

Ducournau’s directorial prowess is met with equally committed acting from her stars. Lindon, a well-established French star, artfully balances his character’s desperation for both his fleeting masculinity as well as meaningful human connection. His performance is necessarily spectacular, but newcomer Rousselle’s performance truly steals the show. Her role contains surprisingly few lines, so simple body language and expressions matter, and her experience as a model perhaps helped her there. In addition, she’s tasked with playing both Alexia, the serial killer protagonist, and Adrien, the missing boy she’s disguised as. Ducournau’s tenacious insistence on showing graphic bodily distortion relies a fair bit on unforgiving closeups, and demands Rousselle to be near perfect. She delivers absolute excellence throughout.

Just Tuesday, “Titane” was selected as the French submission to the Academy Awards for consideration in the best international feature category. It will likely be nominated because of its box office success, critical acclaim and overall buzz factor, but it’s perhaps a bit too provocative for the historically more conservative-leaning Academy — remember how surprising it was when “Parasite” won best picture? Though it certainly deserves nominations across the board, especially for directing and even makeup, its chanc-

VIA IMDB

“Titane” came out on Oct. 1. es seem low given that it is both non-English and a bit polarizing.

If you’ve noticed an overabundance of adjectives here, it’s because this is a film that requires them: “Explosive” and “monumental” are two more I’ll add to the list.

I left the theater consumed by a sense of awe I’ve never felt after watching a movie, and couldn’t shake the feeling that this is exactly what cinema should do. Each scene left me completely floored, and at times the audience at the theater burst into laughter at its over-the-top absurdity

(the film is incredibly self-aware). Most movies are passive viewing experiences.

“Titane” is not.

Despite its magnificence, it’s hard to recommend. “Titane” is unlike any movie you’ve ever seen, and if you found the birth of Renesmee Cullen in “The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1” (2011) unsettling, then this is certainly not for you. It’s not hard to see how people may despise this movie, but I’d encourage viewers to open their minds a bit. It’s well worth the squirms.

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A r t s & P op C u l t u r e Sadie Leite Dreaming of Sandman

Dream makes a friend

I

t might be interesting to live forever.

Every other writer has done this.

Every other great character is this.

“The only reason people die, is because everyone does it.” That’s Neil Gaiman’s take, or the assumption of one of his characters, a drunk Englishman Hob, sitting in a tavern next to Death herself in 1389.

“Men of Good Fortune” (1990), an issue in “The Sandman: The Doll’s House” (1989–90) is my favorite story in “The Sandman” series. It shows Gaiman’s storytelling genius openly; he twists the trope of immortality, adds literary allusions in background details for intelligent depth, sets up other storylines developed later

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Thursday, October 14, 2021 | Arts & Pop Culture | THE TUFTS DAILY

and complicates Dream’s character, making him more intriguing. It deserves its own column, so let us begin.

Sandman is in the tavern too, in purple robes, his usual prickly disposition pushing at Death’s delight. “It might be interesting…?” he says to his older sister, referring to Hob. She indulges Dream — maybe it will help with his gloom. Since he does not wish to die, Dream tells Hob to meet him in the tavern in 100 years.

Meanwhile, tables back, a man tells Chaucer “filthy tales in rhyme about pilgrims” are no fun. Chaucer maintains that he will write about what he likes; Gaiman seems to like stories about time, gilded with literary references.

Jumping forward to 1489: “Chimneys is brilliant.” This is Hob’s main takeaway from the past century. He’s settling down, working on a trade he believes is useless: printing. For him, seeing greater inventions than stone stacks taming fire is a great reason to continue wanting to live.

1589: In another literary reference, Marlowe tells a pathetic Will that his plays are bad, so Dream makes a deal with him and the Shakespeare-Sandman storyline launches. Which of Shakespeare’s plays will interest Dream?

Hob is now Sir Robert Gadlen –– he achieved everything and revels in “Good Fortune.” Printing paid off and he has a family. Is there a warning in Dream’s stare?

1689: “How hungry [can] a man get?

If he doesn’t die?” With life’s ups come downs. Hob lost his family and money, but still wants to live. Life has more for him.

1789: Hob is up again, but without past ethics. He’s now a slaver. Dream, whose daily work involves the emotional agency of humanity, warns Hob he will regret this choice.

1889: Hob never wants to die. He learned from some mistakes but made more, “been up, and been down, and been up again,” watching others stay the same.

He’s also met other immortals, so he figured that not dying is not what interests Sandman.

He wonders whether Sandman needs a friend. Dream reacts terribly, leaving their tavern so irked at the accusation of loneliness, he resembles a pouting child.

1989: Despite — or maybe because of — their last interaction, Dream meets Hob and calls him a friend. Immortals may live longer, but they still feel the passage of time, a lack of connection.

Perhaps harder than losing a mortal relationship with time is admitting a new one is needed. Honesty has great and timeless rewards.

We mark discouragement as a reason to stop. Gaiman, optimistically, says it’s the only reason to continue, because the highs will, and must, come.

Really, when you can continue meeting impactful others, life is exciting. Why choose Death? I say, challenge her.

Sadie Leite is a sophomore studying English. Sadie can be reached at sadie. leite@tufts.edu.

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THE TUFTS DAILY | Arts & Pop Culture | Thursday, October 14, 2021

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Opinion

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7 Thursday, October 14, 2021

The impunity of the wealthy: The Pandora Papers

by Faye Shen Li Thijssen and Makram Bekdache Opinion Editor and Contributing Writer

Last week, the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists published its largest global investigation to date: the Pandora Papers. More than 600 journalists from 117 countries have spent the past several months reading through almost 12 million documents including images, files, emails and spreadsheets collected from 14 sources which reveal the hidden assets, tax evasion and money laundering of some of the world’s richest people. Among the myriad groups and high-profile figures implicated, the United Kingdom’s property market and the tax policies of several U.S. states proved to be global hotspots for wealthy individuals to hide their assets.

One of the notable pieces of policy that was exploited in the U.S. was the secrecy loophole for trusts in several U.S. states including Delaware, Florida, South Dakota, Nevada and New Hampshire. The Pandora Papers revealed over 200 U.S.-based trusts in 15 states, which held assets of more than $1 billion. This revealed information has led many to call upon the U.S. Treasury Department to close the secrecy loopholes by enacting the landmark Corporate Transparency Act which would require all trusts not already exempted in the law to report their real owners.

There have been three previous leaks in the past decade: the Offshore Leaks of 2013, the Panama Papers of 2016 and the Paradise Papers of 2017. Much like the recent Pandora Papers, the results of the prior investigations were met with widespread public outcry and criticism toward those implicated.

The sheer number of exposing publications released in the past decade show that none of these exposes resulted in the implementation of effective preventative measures. Although some individuals were sentenced to serve prison time for their crimes while some leaders were forced to step aside, the systems that allowed these situations to transpire were not reformed in a manner significant enough to prevent these crimes from continuing.

BY CAMILLA SAMUEL There are various reasons behind this, including public disillusionment with the possibility of placing effective restrictions on the wealthy as well as the fear of the power that money wields. After the release of the Panama Papers in 2016, the response from many Russian citizens was that they already knew that this kind of corruption was occurring, leading powerful people like Vladimir Putin to disregard the leaked information that implicated them. One of the lead journalists on the Panama Papers, Daphne Caruana Galizia, was killed by a car bomb in 2017. Her murder made headlines, striking fear into the minds of people who may otherwise feel compelled to speak out against the corruption of the wealthy classes.

The papers reveal a broad and far-reaching network of tax evasion and loop-hole profiteering, but they also highlight the two-faced, hypocritical approach that world leaders have taken toward suppressing this publicity. Battling against corruption and fighting for greater equality between classes has become a populist battle cry among many aspiring leaders.

The U.K. conservatives, in their 2019 party manifesto, promised not to raise any taxes and vowed to bridge a 35 billion pound tax gap by being exceptionally tough on tax

evasion. The Pandora Papers reveal that one of the conservative party’s wealthiest donors was involved in one of Europe’s largest corruption and evasion scandals.

Western regimes spearhead the fight against global corruption and this battle acts as one of their strongest arguments against autocrats around the globe.

While Putin is featured prominently in the papers — through a prete-nom — so are major U.S. allies, such as the king of Jordan, Abdullah II. After mass demonstrations in 2018, the monarch vowed to battle corruption, saying he would not allow “Jordan’s reputation be at stake.”

The United States criticizes autocrats around the world while propping up allied regimes that use the same playbook to siphon funds away from their citizens.

This position is not morally tenable. The Kremlin is already using revelations about U.S. tax havens, such as South Dakota, to deflect criticism and blame back to the West. The Pandora Papers, along with the many other leaks, should serve as a call for a broader review of U.S. and Western foreign policy. Ignoring blatant violations of our values does not legitimize our actions and certainly doesn’t improve the United States’ ever-degrading image abroad.

These papers epitomize the problem of the wealth disparity in the United States and the systems which allow it to expand. The financial industry is so commonly exploited by wealthy individuals. Despite these repeated scandals, wealthy people continue to take advantage of system loopholes without notable, long-term penalties. Wealthy people continue to earn greater profits shielded by the forces of impunity, exacerbating the gap between the rich and the poor. We are far past the point where more concrete and far-reaching political, social and economic actions are necessary to change these systems. It is important that each and every individual is held accountable, both legally and financially, in order to demonstrate the importance of accountability and avoid further precedents of impunity. Leaders who are implicated in the Pandora Papers should be expected to address their involvement and, in many cases, step down from their positions. Legislators and leaders must also enact laws which would close the loopholes and tax havens that are currently being exploited. Without monumental changes like this, any other attempts at mitigating wealth disparities and ameliorating the effects of poverty will be rendered ineffective as the polarity between the rich and the poor continues to grow.

VIEWPOINT

The strength of a mezuzah

by Jake Blum Staff Writer

When the first mezuzah was ripped from a Harleston Hall resident’s door frame, I had multiple conversations with my editor, considering an article in response to the heinous act of cowardice. However, due to Tufts’ swift response to the action, and my unfortunate status as a busy second-year biomedical engineer, I eventually decided that, although it may have been valuable, an article would have simply stated the obvious.

Then it happened again. And it felt like a sucker punch to the face. What seemed like an isolated incident turned into an antisemitic pattern, one to which Tufts is regrettably no stranger. Two mezuzot, a symbol of our protection by G-d, in two different residence halls, taken from their owners with a crystal clear message: “G-d is not here for you, Jew.” Those involved, if ever caught, would likely play off the gravity of these hateful

acts, perhaps seeing it as a “harmless prank” or something of the like. But, undoubtedly, they knew exactly what they were doing. The timing could not have been more indicative of this. Both incidents occurred during the height of the Jewish high holidays and amidst a rise in antisemitism on campuses across the country. The first mezuzah was taken on Rosh Hashanah, the beginning of the Jewish New Year, and the second in between Yom Kippur, the holiest of days for the Jewish people, and the end of Sukkot, the celebration of G-d’s protection of the Jewish people during their 40 years wandering the desert.

Two years ago, I chose Tufts as my university due to its inclusive nature and accepting community. However, countless times since matriculating I have seen occurrences of antisemitism, whether covert or blatant, and it erodes my soul each and every time.

Last spring, I wrote an article concerning the hidden antisemitism Jewish students experience on college campus-

es. And, for the most part, the response to that article was nothing but gracious.

However, I never thought I would be writing about this blatant level of antisemitic activity on my college campus.

Although I never envisioned this scenario, I wish that I could say I was surprised. Tufts is, for the most part, a welcoming campus, but the greater United States is still a country with many, many people who harbor a sense of hatred toward Jewish people. Regardless of this reality, however, we Jews always find a way to persevere. Our iron will is what has gotten us this far, and it is what will continue to hold us up in the future. A mezuzah is an artifact of our faith but also a symbol of our protection by G-d.

The hateful removal of these mezuzot, although cowardly and cruel, will never attain its intended effect. We know that we are stronger than the hate we endure.

Antisemitism is never warranted. It truly hurts to know that these acts came from my peers, and that they could have been committed by any of my class-

mates, anyone sitting across from me in Dewick, or any passerby walking beside me on Prez Lawn. We Jews have had to deal with this type of hate, and far worse, for millennia. And, undoubtedly, we will persist in spite of this constant persecution. Our community, on campus and globally, has a level of “chutzpah” that has been shown throughout generations, and that we will continue to show until the end of time.

So, to my fellow Jews and all of our allies, I want to thank you for your unwavering confidence, support and persistence, even through these distressing times. We will continue to persevere through all of the hatred, and show everyone just how strong we can be.

And to the people for whom I have some words — of which my editor would quite likely not approve — I hope you read this and understand just how undeterred we are.

Hate has no place here. For every mezuzah taken down, somewhere in the world, two more will take its place.

8 Thursday, October 14, 2021

Sports

tuftsdaily.com

Men’s soccer completes road trip with win over Trinity, draw at Middlebury

by Jack Adgate

Assistant News Editor

Tufts men’s soccer remains undefeated after a 3–0 victory over Trinity on Saturday and a 0–0 double overtime draw against Middlebury on Sunday. The Jumbos moved to 9–0–2 for the season and 5–0–2 in conference play.

In a back-and-forth physical battle, Sunday’s matchup between Tufts and Middlebury ended in a 0–0 draw after 110 minutes of play. Despite some significant scoring opportunities for both sides, neither team could crack through in regular time nor in the two overtime periods.

The game was extremely rough, with 28 fouls committed in total. Six total cards were given out, with Middlebury’s Raffi Barsamian receiving a red card before being removed from the contest in the 60th minute.

First-year goalkeeper Erik Lauta made two more saves in yet another clean sheet — his eighth in 11 games.

“I think [the clean sheets] accurately display the strength of our defensive ability both as individuals and as a collective

unit,” Lauta said. “Everyone in our defensive unit has played superbly this season and this last weekend is a great example of what we’re capable of.”

The Jumbos put up three shots in the two 10-minute overtime periods, while holding Middlebury to none. Only three of Middlebury’s shots were on target all game.

Tufts Defenders senior Ian Daly, sophomore Gibson Campbell, super senior Biagio Paoletta and super senior midfielder Calvin Aroh played all 110 minutes on Sunday.

Fortunes were better for the Jumbos on Saturday, as they won 3–0 over the Trinity Bantams thanks to a second half scoring outburst. After a scoreless first half, Tufts scored three times in five minutes to take the victory over Trinity.

“Honestly, we were a little complacent going into the game on Saturday,” sophomore forward Mikey Brady said.

“In the first half … Trinity proved how much of a mistake our complacency actually was.”

After a quiet first half, the Tufts attacking unit turned up the intensity in the second half. Graduate student midfielder

SOPHIE DOLAN / THE TUFTS DAILY

Members of the Tufts men’s soccer team are pictured on Oct. 3.

Travis Van Brewer and Daly helped carry the Jumbos to victory.

Van Brewer opened the scoring spree in the 71st minute after a pass from Daly. Just four minutes later, Daly scored an unassisted goal of his own. Less than a minute after Daly’s goal, Van Brewer assisted a goal by Brady.

“At half time, [head coach Kyle Dezotell] and our seniors emphasized … how we could not take any games lightly,” Brady said. “The rest of the game was not perfect by any means, but we were able to put a couple goals away and fortunately came away with the win.”

This rapid offensive outburst helped the Jumbos secure a comfortable victory over the Bantams in Hartford, Conn. Even after the draw with Middlebury, Tufts remains second in the NESCAC standings, looking to defend its spot against perennial rival Amherst on Oct. 16 in Medford, Mass. Amherst sits right below Tufts with a record of 5–1–1.

“We need to treat each [game] like a win-or-go-home type of game, because eventually our season will reach a point where if we lose, we will be done,” Brady said. “As a team, we need to … play up to the standard that we know we can both in practice and on game days.”

Women’s soccer falls to Trinity and Middlebury

by Emma Joyce

graduate student forward and co-captain Liz Reed, who fired a shot that hit the bottom of the crossbar and went into the goal. Reed now leads the team with eight goals this season, and Sommers tallied her first career assist.

The Jumbos had a couple more solid offensive opportunities in the first half, and defensively were able to keep their

1–0 lead. In the second half, the Panthers scored off of a free kick from 40 yards out that was settled in the box and sent to Middlebury’s Eliza Van Voorhis, who onetouched the ball into the goal to tie the game up.

Tufts had many close opportunities to put them ahead later in the second half, but the Middlebury defense and goalie Sydney Poppinga shut them down and sent the game into overtime. There were not many shots in the overtime period until Middlebury’s Fanny Lodge crossed the ball in front of the net with less than a minute left. Tufts junior goalie Hayley Bernstein dove and punched the ball out, but knocked it to Middlebury’s Gretchen McGrath who was able to score and give the 2–1 win to the Panthers in the 99th minute of play.

Coming into Saturday’s matchup, Trinity women’s soccer was 1–2–1 against NESCAC opponents, with Tufts standing at 3–2. The first half of the game was dominated by Trinity, who maintained possession for the majority of the half and was

able to keep Tufts’ offense contained. The lone goal of the game was scored at the 25th minute mark, when Trinity’s Hannah Storozuk fired a shot that ended up in the back of the net.

The Jumbos came out of halftime, determined to even out the score, and dominated possession in the second half.

In the 66th minute, Tufts senior forward Melina McDevitt had a shot blocked by the Trinity goalkeeper, but quickly regained possession and immediately fired off another attempt that hit the top of the crossbar. Sophomore midfielder Thalia Greenberg also had a great shot from outside the box that unluckily bounced off the left side of the crossbar.

Both the Jumbos and the Bantams finished with seven shots and two shots on goal each, but Trinity was able to capitalize its offense in the first half and close the game to secure the 1–0 win.

The Jumbos are back at home on Saturday to take on NESCAC rival Amherst and hope to get back in the win column for the final stretch of the regular season.

As Boston limped into the playoffs with a depleted pitching staff and a slumping offense, I would have been satisfied with one win against the Rays. Especially after their performance last Thursday, even that seemed like a difficult task. Then, the Red Sox decided to do their best impression of a little league mercy rule in Game 2 and torched the Rays 14–6. The win was even more impressive given that the Red Sox were down 5–2 after the first inning, following an atypical start by ace Chris Sale.

The Red Sox then returned home to a raucous crowd in Boston on Sunday night and were engaged in an absolute dogfight for 13 innings; it took a Christian Vazquez moonshot into the blackened Boston skyline and a stroke of luck to defeat the Rays. The following night, the Red Sox continued their offensive barrage, piling up six runs on 12 hits. A sacrifice fly by Kiké Hernandez, the hottest hitter in the postseason, officially sent the Rays into an earlier-than-expected offseason.

I still do not truly understand how the Red Sox were able to defeat the Rays. Sure, the numbers show that the Red Sox’s offense was a juggernaut and a vaunted Rays pitching staff was not enough to stop their scorching-hot bats.

However, it’s no secret that this team’s pitching staff was far from elite, and yet, they stifled this Rays lineup for the final three games. Nick Pivetta did his best impression of 2018 Nathan Eovaldi and pitched four innings of shutout baseball in Game 3. After Sale’s miserable performance in Game 2, flamethrower Tanner Houck went five strong innings, only giving up one run with five punch outs.

Sans three tough outings by the bullpen, the Red Sox were dominant on the mound — an event that rarely occurred this season.

The best explanation for this team’s recent success is its gritty “underdog” mentality. After hearing that the Rays ordered celebratory champagne to Boston after

Game 2, the Red Sox vowed to finish the series at Fenway Park — which they did.

Throughout the season, the Red Sox have displayed their gritty attitude. The team powered through a devastating COVID19 outbreak in September to secure a postseason berth; they even played their best baseball all season and clinched a spot in the Division Series against an elite Yankees team. Now, with a talented and controversial Houston Astros looking for their third World Series appearance in the 21st century, this Red Sox team must display its grit yet again. In my opinion, Boston has met their match; that Astros lineup is too elite and their pitching staff is nothing to scoff over. However, they’ve already proved the baseball media wrong once, and they can surely do it again. Sox in six.

Assistant Sports Editor

Spending the weekend on the road for a NESCAC doubleheader, Tufts women’s soccer suffered two heartbreaking losses to Trinity and Middlebury. On Saturday, Tufts traveled to Connecticut to take on the Trinity Bantams, where a hard-fought game resulted in a 1–0 loss for the Jumbos.

The next day, the team made its way up to Vermont to face the Middlebury Panthers for a back-and-forth game that was eventually sent into overtime, ultimately ending in a 2–1 loss. The Jumbos are now 5–5 overall on the season and 3–4 in conference play.

Middlebury also played in two conference games this weekend, defeating Bates 2–0 on Saturday prior to facing Tufts on Sunday. The Jumbos were able to get on the scoreboard first at the 22nd minute mark when first-year defender Jordan Cushner sent a cross in from the left side to sophomore forward Nic Sommers.

Sommers headed the ball to the feet of

Matt Goguen Keeping up with the 617

An underdog mentality

L

ast Thursday, the Boston Red Sox dejectedly walked off Tropicana Field after an embarrassing 5–0 loss to an energized Tampa Bay Rays squad. The Rays dominated the Red Sox in all three facets of the game and were simply more determined to win the series.

As expected, the series seemed to be over after the first inning in Game 1; however, the Red Sox have now secured a spot in the American League Championship Series and are four wins away from their third World Series appearance in nine years.

Even as one of the more optimistic Red Sox fans in New England, I did not see this spectacular postseason run coming.

COURTESY COLIN BOURQUE

The Tufts women’s soccer team was defeated by Middlebury 2–1 on Oct. 10.

Matt Goguen is a junior studying biopsychology. Matt can be reached at matthew. goguen@tufts.edu.