MEN’S BASKETBALL
Greek life at other NESCACs, mid-sized schools see FEATURES / PAGE 5
Jumbos log Pine Manor
Tufts to host ‘Life, Animated’ screening and panel discussion see ARTS&LIVING / PAGE 7
SEE SPORTS / BACK PAGE
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T HE T UFTS DAILY
VOLUME LXXIII, NUMBER 10
tuftsdaily.com
Friday, February 10, 2017
MEDFORD/SOMERVILLE, MASS.
Tufts tackles fallout from Trump’s travel ban by Ariel Barbieri-Aghib and Emily Burke News Editor and Assistant News Editor
University President Anthony Monaco said in a Jan. 29 email to the Tufts community that the university is committed to helping students impacted by President Donald Trump’s executive order that restricts travel to the United States by nationals of seven Muslim-majority nations. University response to the order According to Senior International Officer and Associate Provost Diana Chigas, about 73 Tufts students, staff and faculty were affected by the order. The seven nations affected by the travel ban are Iran, Iraq, Libya, Syria, Sudan, Somalia and Yemen. “Three [community members] were outside the country when the executive order was issued,” she said. “All have returned to Tufts, the last returning on Friday night after he had been stranded overseas for a week.” Chigas also encouraged those with questions about how the order might affect them to contact her or the Office of University Counsel. Additionally, according to the announcement sent by Monaco’s office, Tufts remains committed to providing legal assistance to those in need of immigration advice.
EZGI YAZICI / THE TUFTS DAILY
President Monaco speaks at a forum about Trump’s executive order on Feb. 3. Assistant General Counsel Dana Fleming noted that students in need of legal assistance should contact university personnel associated with
their school. In particular, she said, International Center Director Jane Etish-Andrews is a contact for students, staff and faculty of several schools,
including the School of Arts and Sciences and the School of Engineering. see TRAVEL BAN, page3
In State of the City speech, Burke promises unity, dedication to Medford community by Seohyun Shim
Assistant News Editor
Medford Mayor Stephanie Burke affirmed the strength of the City of Medford at her first State of the City address Wednesday evening. Burke lauded Medford’s successes in finances and public works as well as development plans such as a proposed new hotel expected to create 50 permanent jobs. “We have been involved from the start and will facilitate initiatives such as development, revitalization, public safety enhancements and so much more,” Burke said. Burke added that the city has worked to improve the lives of residents by creating a new position of constituent liaison and implementing SeeClickFix, a new communication platform that allows the residents to report non-emergency problems to
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City Hall instantly. She also highlighted the importance of improving communication between City Hall and other residents and organizations in the city. “In an effort to improve customer service within City Hall for businesses as well as residents, all City Hall employees were required to participate in customer service training which engaged employees in important dialogue and guidance regarding best practices in serving the public,” Burke said. The mayor also spoke about the city’s growing relationship with Tufts, citing recent meetings the city has had with University President Anthony Monaco and a group of students, with whom she discussed the role of municipal government. “Establishing and strengthensee BURKE, page 2
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Mayor of Medford, Stephanie Burke, delivers her first State of the City address in Alden Chambers of Medford City Hall on Feb. 8.
Contact Us P.O. Box 53018, Medford, MA 02155 617 627 3090 FAX 617 627 3910 daily@tuftsdaily.com
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THE TUFTS DAILY | News | Friday, February 10, 2017
T HE T UFTS D AILY Kathleen Schmidt Editor-in-Chief
EDITORIAL
Jei-Jei Tan Miranda Willson Managing Editors Joe Walsh Executive News Editor Zachary Hertz News Editors Gil Jacobson Robert Katz Liam Knox Daniel Nelson Catherine Perloff Emma Steiner Hannah Uebele Ariel Barbeiri-Aghib Assistant News Editors Charles Bunnell Emily Burke Daniel Caron Aneurin Canham-Clyne Juliana Furgala Elie Levine Natasha Mayor Jesse Najarro Minna Trinh Costa Angelakis Executive Features Editor Becca Leibowitz Features Editors Jake Taber Emma Rosenthal Emma Damokosh Assistant Features Editors Zach Essig Elie Levine Jessie Newman Sean Ong Hermes Suen Grace Yuh Eran Sabaner Executive Arts Editor John Gallagher Arts Editors Cassidy Olsen John Fedak Assistant Arts Editors Libby Langsner Setenay Mufti Paige Spangenthal Anita Ramaswamy Executive Op-Ed Editor Stephen Dennison Cartoonists Shannon Geary Noah Kulak Haebin Ra Miranda Chavez Editorialists Julia Faxon Hannah Kahn Lena Novins-Montague Lanie Preston Eddie Samuels Executive Sports Editor Yuan Jun Chee Sports Editors Maddie Payne Maclyn Senear Josh Slavin Liam Finnegan Assistant Sports Editors Savannah Mastrangelo Brad Schussel Sam Weidner Sam Weitzman Ray Bernoff Executive Photo Editor Scott Fitchen Staff Photographers Thaw Htet Lilia Kang Max Lalanne Rachael Meyer Zachary Sebek Alexis Serino Seohyun Shim Angelie Xiong Ezgi Yazici Executive Video Editor Olivia Ireland Executive Video Admin.
PRODUCTION Sebastian Torrente Production Director Connor Dale Executive Layout Editors Ezgi Yazici Morgan Berman Layout Editors Jewel Castle Julie Doten Ricci Ji Peter Lam Nasrin Lin Brianna Mignano Ellah Nzikoba Emily Sharp Astrid Weng David Westby Sharmitha Yerneni Alice Yoon Peter Lam Executive Graphics Editor Caroline Bollinger Executive Copy Editors Gil Jacobson Arthur Beckel Copy Editors Zachary Hertz Reena Karasin Bibi Lichauco Kathleen Martensen Jack Ronan Netai Schwartz Nihaal Shah Liora Silkes Dan Strauss Mary Carroll Assistant Copy Editors Madhulika Gupta Anna Hirshman Tess Jacobson David Levitsky Ali Mintz Alexis Serino Anahita Sethi Seohyun Shim Hannah Wells Jiayu Xu Vanessa Zighelboim Nitesh Gupta Online Editor Seohyun Shim Social Media Editor
BUSINESS Josh Morris
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The Union hosts student panel on Greek life by Liam Knox News Editor
The Tufts Union hosted a student panel titled “The Role of Greek Life at Tufts” on Tuesday night in Braker Hall. The event lasted 90 minutes and had a strong showing of student attendees. The panel consisted of Tufts Panhellenic Council (Panhel) President Meaghan Annett, Chi Omega Alpha chapter president Hannah Macaulay, Zeta Beta Tau Omicron chapter Internal Vice President David Bernstein and Theta Delta Chi (123) member Daniel Camilletti, all of whom presented arguments for the continuation of Greek life. In addition, former Alpha Phi member Layla Rao and sophomore Dan Pechi argued for its abolition. The panel notably did not include any students in favor of abolishing Greek life from Tufts’ African-American or LGBTQ communities, and no one on the panel contributed personal experiences of trauma or direct exclusion to the discussion. Elizabeth Ahrens, a co-director of the Union, said that the organizers of the event were aware of a lack of representation and had tried to reach out to more students with socially marginalized identities. “People we reached out to didn’t feel comfortable or safe being on the panel,” Ahrens, a senior, said. “For many students, Greek life is a really violent thing.” Rao told the Daily in an electronic message that, while she did not fault the Union, she was disappointed in the panel’s lack of diversity, and said that her opinions about Greek life are moderate compared to most of those who are in favor of abolition. “I didn’t think it was fair to represent a side that I definitely am not the face of, and I felt like by doing so, it silenced very real concerns that I know are present but just weren’t brought up,” she wrote. Despite acknowledging that this lack of diversity narrowed the event’s scope of perspective, the Union decided to host the panel anyway because its members believed it was important for the platform to be available, according to the organizers. “We had a lot of internal debate about whether to have it at all because
RACHAEL MEYER / THE TUFTS DAILY
Sophomore Dan Pechi spoke on a panel about Greek life at Tufts hosted by The Union in Braker Hall on Feb. 7. of this [lack of representation], but we felt there weren’t enough spaces for productive dialogue on campus,” Manal Cheema, another co-director of the Union, told the Daily. The Union decided to change the format of the event from a debate to a panel after hearing that some students felt unsafe with the format, according to Ahrens. The panel discussion covered a wide range of issues associated with the recent controversy over Greek life’s role on campus. Topics covered by the panel included rape culture, racism, misogyny and transphobia in Greek life, as well as the exclusionary financial boundaries posed by the system. Students also discussed the value of Greek life organizations in encouraging individual growth, providing a structured social network for new students and forming a bond between students and the university. Every argument presented for the continuation of Greek life recognized that reform and retrospection are needed, particularly regarding the recruitment process for new members. Bernstein emphasized the need for increased transparency in the recruitment and selection process for Greek organizations, as well as the need for
increased party oversight to ensure the safety of attendees. However, Bernstein also argued that fraternities are uniquely suited to help students develop into mature individuals. Macaulay also recognized that reform is important, but insisted that the benefits she found in the Greek community were reason enough to preserve the system. “I totally fell in love with all of the people in my organization, and really found a sense of community [in Chi Omega],” she said. “I want Greek life to be as diverse as the Tufts community.” Macaulay added that Chi Omega, which several former sisters publicly dropped from last semester, will take measures to become more inclusive next semester, including the development of a new scholarship and the creation of a diversity chair position. Later in the panel, both Rao and Pechi acknowledged that the lack of diversity in Greek life is reflective of the lack of diversity in Tufts’ general student body, and that the normalization of sexual assault, homophobia and transphobia were problems that would not be solved merely by removing Greek life from campus. see GREEK LIFE, page 4
Medford mayor applauds growing relationship with Tufts BURKE
continued from page 1 ing [our] relationships with Tufts University is an ongoing process, which I am thrilled to be involved in,” Burke said. She also applauded Rocco DiRico and Barbara Rubel, co-directors of the university’s Community Relations office. She said she expects to attract more students from the university to visit Medford. “Rocco DiRico and Barbara Rubel are wonderful assets of the community to collaborate with in order to better connect students to our arts and culture events, farmer’s markets, Patriots’ Day [ceremonies] and our goal of revitalizing Medford Square,” Burke said. “By embracing the the town-gown relationship, we will attract more students to Medford as opposed to Davis Square and other local areas.” Burke’s speech, which was held before approximately 250 peo-
ple, inspired positive feedback among attendees. City Councilor George Scarpelli said he is pleased with the mayor’s achievements. “The mayor is leading us [in] such a positive direction and looking at all facets of our community, from infants to the elderly,” Scarpelli said. “You see the growth and development in Medford with a new hotel and the focus on recreation like the Chevalier [Theatre].” Christine Morin, a Medford resident of 16 years, said she was happy to hear the mayor’s remarks on education, and she liked the fact that the mayor invited students to be a part of the event. However, she believes that the event could have had more components that were directly relevant to residents. “I actually liked it better than I thought I would, and it was quick and brief,” Morin said. “However, I did not feel there [were] enough resident-oriented services.”
Matthew Morin, a sophomore at Medford Vocational Technical High School and Christine Morin’s son, was part of a group of students that recited the city’s Unity Resolution, which affirms that Medford should be a welcoming community for all citizens. “I think [the resolution] shows that we are a unified community that is diverse,” Matthew said. “I would like to see more efforts like this.” In an interview with the Daily following Burke’s address, Burke said she is committed to keeping the community unified. She added that the city’s police department will not profile anybody based on race or ethnicity. “I think I want people to understand that our police department are good men and women, and there is no profiling going on,” she said. “You can call yourself this or that, but it’s your actions that really matter. I want people to know that they are safe in our community, and if you need to report a crime, nobody is looking at where you came from.”
Friday, February 10, 2017 | News | THE TUFTS DAILY
News
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Campus Life, ResLife announce changes to leadership roles in first-year orientation by Simran Lala Staff Writer
The orientation process for incoming first-year students will undergo changes beginning with the Class of 2021’s orientation in August. Orientation Leaders (OLs) will share responsibilities with First-Year Advisors (FYAs), who will perform the role of Resident Assistants (RAs) in first-year housing next year. Howard Woolf, director of the Experimental College and associate dean of undergraduate education, explained that student OLs used to guide first-year students around campus during orientation, while RAs largely did not interact with the incoming students. He added that this created confusion once orientation ended, because students no longer had OLs and were hesitant to reach out to RAs due to a lack of engagement with them during the orientation period. “In accordance with student feedback, we are now progressing toward a focus on residence halls and making the FYAs the key people in the process, while the OLs will be available as academic support,” Woolf said. Director for Campus Life Joe Golia remarked that the structure is changing in order to unify firstyear students and make their transition into college smoother. He explained that, in order to facilitate this, the Office of Residential Life and Learning (ResLife) will also be making changes. “Residential Life is aiming at housing first-years in the same location, so
that they can be amidst students going through the same thing at the same time,” Golia said. Several residence halls — namely Bush, Hill, Hodgdon, Houston, Miller, Tilton and Wilson — will be designated solely for incoming first-year students, according to Golia. In addition, he explained that more responsibilities will be shifted to FYAs, who will live and interact with the students from the start of orientation until the end of the academic year. “FYAs, who will be living amongst the students, will be given the task of community building, in order to engage the first-years and make their freshman year a successful one,” Golia said. Assistant Dean of Student Affairs Chris Rossi said that the changes to the orientation process are directly linked to the reorganization of the first-year residential system. “We identified an opportunity to anchor the first-year experience in individual residential communities,” Rossi told the Daily in an email. “Organizing orientation activities around floors allows new students to get familiar with resources for new students while building close connections with each other.” Another new aspect to the leadership structure is the addition of Community Development Advisors (CDAs) that will live in upperclassmen residential buildings, Golia elaborated. “Tufts was one of the only colleges without any [student] advisors for upperclassmen, and so from this year on we will have CDAs to incorporate a
RAY BERNOFF / THE TUFTS DAILY
New first-year students and their parents/guardians eat lunch on the President's Lawn during last semester's orientation on Aug. 30, 2016. support system for them,” Golia said. Overall, Woolf summarized that the goal of the switch in responsibilities is to make orientation week a more logical and integrated experience. “The increased involvement of FYAs is to make sure the orientation process makes more sense and reduces the stress of entering students,” Woolf said. “As a secondary benefit, the reduction of OL workload will lead to condensed time of training for lead-
ers and also a way to cut costs.” Golia emphasized that these changes are ultimately aimed at supporting first-year students throughout the year by housing them in the same location and offering them continued support. “This way, students in the same situation — that is, moving to a new college — feel more welcome, more ready and more supported for their years in college,” he said.
University administrators commit to protecting international community members at forum about travel ban TRAVEL BAN
continued from page 1 In addition, Assistant Director of the School of Medicine’s Office of International Affairs Ghenwa Hakim is a contact for medical students and the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy’s International Student Advisor Reiko Morris is a contact for Fletcher School students. “The university’s legal counsel office and the university’s senior international officer are working closely with … these offices to provide those affected by the order with information, resources and, if needed, access to outside legal counsel from immigration law specialists,” Fleming told the Daily in an email. Currently, federal authorities are not enforcing much of the executive order due to a temporary restraining order issued on Feb. 3 by Judge James Robart in Washington. On Feb. 9, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld Robart’s temporary restraining order. Chigas said she has advised members of the international community from the seven countries to avoid discretionary travel outside of the United States due to concerns that they will not be able to return. Regardless of national origin, religion or citizenship status, Tufts remains committed to protecting the international members of its community, according to Senior Vice
President and General Counsel Mary Jeka. “We understand that members of our international community are very concerned about what the executive order might mean for their ability to travel and work during the summer,” Jeka said. “We have begun discussing these issues with input from the members of our international community and will communicate our plans when they are finalized.” One community member who was affected by the travel ban is Mehdi Harandi, a visiting scholar from Iran in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. He was scheduled to return to Boston just days after the president’s executive order, but as a result of the travel ban, Harandi was left stranded with no way of returning to his work at Tufts. Harandi flew from Tehran to Kiev, Paris, Basel and Munich, before finally landing in Boston on Feb. 3. Harandi said he was grateful for Fleming’s assistance. He explained that everything went smoothly once he arrived at Logan Airport, and he was out of the airport fairly quickly. Student concerns at immigration forum On Feb. 3, hours before Harandi returned from Logan Airport, several Tufts administrators held a forum in Ballou Hall to inform the Tufts com-
munity about how the school is dealing with the executive order. Monaco and Provost and Senior Vice President David Harris hosted the forum, which included Chigas and Fleming as panelists. Monaco emphasized that Tufts is committed to creating a safe and inclusive environment for people of all backgrounds. “The recent executive order regarding immigration from seven countries has been a matter of serious concern [not only] for us here at Tufts but I think across all higher education,” Monaco said at the forum. “Supporting and protecting our international members is right alongside all of the important values of Tufts as an institution.” Monaco stated that Tufts’ commitment to international members of its community is part of the university’s emphasis on offering a global perspective to education, and Harris reiterated that the order clashes with Tufts’ goals and character as a university. “[The order] hits our core values, and you can see in the strategic plan of the university, we talk about the importance of diversity and inclusion, about the importance of having a representative community here and about having a community where everyone feels like they are a full member,” Harris said. Monaco confirmed that he, along with the presidents of 47 other universities, has signed a letter to Trump, ask-
ing the president to rectify or rescind the order. Additionally, Fleming said that Tufts signed an amicus brief with seven other Boston-area institutions in support of a lawsuit against the order, filed by Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey. At the forum, several students from the affected countries expressed concerns about how the travel ban might negatively impact their career options, green card applications and Tufts’ admissions process. Monaco said that as of now, there are no concrete answers to some questions that have come up, and Tufts is focusing on immediate issues caused by the order. However, panelists confirmed that the school will continue to admit students from the countries affected. Monaco also assured students that Tufts will not provide information about students’ immigration status without a warrant or court order. Monaco said it is important for members of the Tufts community to share personal immigrant stories as a form of resistance against Trump’s actions. “One of the most powerful things that one can [do to] combat this type of order is [sharing] individual stories of success,” Monaco said. “Working with us and telling us your stories or your friends’ stories arms us with the ability to explain why it is important to rescind this order.”
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THE TUFTS DAILY | News | Friday, February 10, 2017
tuftsdaily.com
Greek life members urge reform rather than abolition GREEK LIFE
continued from page 2 “There are broader systemic issues that manifest themselves in Greek life,” Pechi said. “That doesn’t mean targeting Greek life is unjustified…[but] I would hope nobody thinks these issues can stop with the Greek life conversation.” Camilletti, a senior, pointed to recent reforms within Greek life as evidence that the system could evolve into a force for good on campus. “I remember being hazed. It was awful … so two years later we got rid of our traditional pledge process,” he said. “Pledging at 123 has completely changed … just because we joined houses with problems doesn’t mean we aren’t aware of them and trying to fix them.” Camilletti also said that the best way to change the campus culture is by using
the Greek system as it exists to restructure the system’s values and impart better teachings to new members. “Abolishing Greek life doesn’t make these toxic ideas go away, but reform offers a chance to educate away from misogyny, toxic masculinity and other problems,” Camilletti said. Annett discussed her experience as an Asian-American woman in a sorority. She argued that the best way to improve the Greek system for minorities on campus is to work from within. She also mentioned that Panhel members released an op-ed in the Daily on Nov. 9, 2016, which condemned fraternities’ practices and suspended social mixers with fraternities. One flashpoint of the panel discussion was a piece written anonymously in the student-published satirical zine El Tit this week, which satirized an opinion piece that Camilletti published online.
The El Tit piece was condemned by students on both sides of the issue at the panel. Before beginning her remarks, Rao, a junior, said that the piece was unacceptable and mean-spirited and that rhetoric like that used in the piece only hurts the cause for Greek life abolition. Camilletti also addressed the El Tit piece. “Yesterday, I woke up to photocopies of someone mocking an article it took a lot of courage to write,” Camilletti said. “The generalizing needs to stop… yesterday’s El Tit article is a prime example of this.” Rao said that she is not opposed to reform, but is skeptical that the actions necessary to alleviate the oppressive nature of Greek life would be possible. “Any suggestions I have for reform would be so restructuring that they wouldn’t resemble Greek institutions anymore,” Rao said.
Rao did have one suggestion that she said would be a step in the right direction: disaffiliation. “Whatever our stated values at Tufts may be, by paying dues to nationals, we’re supporting structures that do not stand with our values. We’re inculcating ourselves within that system,” she said. “I do believe there needs to be a replacement for social life…I just believe in the possibility of social scenes rooted in better values.” Annett, who is also a member of Kappa Alpha Theta’s Eta Psi chapter, told the Daily that while she has considered disaffiliation as a solution, she’s unsure how she feels about it. “I think it’s safe to say that every sorority at Tufts has had that conversation [about disaffiliation],” she said. “I’m not sure where I stand on that, because there are benefits to both situations.”
Features
Friday, February 10, 2017
5 tuftsdaily.com
Greek life abolition at Tufts’ peer institutions: What does the future hold? by Elie Levine
Assistant News Editor
At this moment in Tufts’ institutional history, the future of the Greek life system hangs in the balance. According to a message that the Office of the President sent to Tufts students on Feb. 6, the Student Life Review Committee persists in its evaluation of Tufts’ culture and aims to provide “specific, actionable recommendations” for the holistic, long-term reformation of Tufts’ social life. In his charge to the Student Life Review Committee on Jan. 23, University President Anthony Monaco advised committee members to “consider the changing needs, expectations and demographics of our undergraduate student population, as well as broader national trends.” Additionally, in his Dec. 22 email to the Tufts community, Monaco expressed that the creation of the Committee was part of a larger movement towards alternatives to Greek life in higher education. Although the Committee addresses issues specific to Tufts at this particular time, decisions regarding Greek life at Tufts’ peer institutions are also relevant to the committee’s recent efforts to investigate and reform overall social life at Tufts. Tufts’ peer institutions “Students of Tufts, your weekend social lives of partying at fraternities may be in danger. Despite lines stretching from fraternity doorsteps to the streets on weekends and frats reaching full capacity at their sweaty parties, the NESCAC schools have
become increasingly willing to phase out Greek life,” Aaron Langerman (LA ’15) said in a 2012 Tufts Observer article. As Langerman’s prediction seems to increasingly reflect the current status of Greek life, Tufts’ students and administrators are looking closely at the university’s peer institutions in an effort to create alternative social spaces on campus. Of Tufts’ 10 peers in the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC), five — Amherst, Bowdoin, Williams, Colby and Middlebury Colleges — have abolished the Greek system entirely, and two — Connecticut and Bates Colleges — did not have one to begin with. The remaining three institutions, Wesleyan University, Trinity College and Hamilton College have complicated histories with Greek life. For Wesleyan and Trinity, this includes controversial coed mandates and failed attempts at Greek life abolition. Wesleyan University directed its fraternities to admit women in the fall of 2014 following a sexual assault lawsuit filed in 2012. The members of Wesleyan’s Delta Kappa Epsilon (DKE) fraternity sued the school in response to the coed mandate. A 2014 cover story in The Atlantic titled “The Dark Power of Fraternities” drew national attention to the problems with Wesleyan’s fraternities. Wesleyan now has two “coeducational societies,” four fraternities and one sorority. In the history of Trinity College, there have been two failed coed mandates imposed on Greek life, one in 1995 and the next in 2012. Both were met with opposition from alumni. The assertion that frater-
RACHAEL MEYER / THE TUFTS DAILY
Senior David Bernstein, the newly-elected Risk Management Assistance Team chair for the IFC, responds to a question from the audience at The Union's panel discussion about the role of Greek life in the Tufts community in Braker Hall on Feb. 7. nities should be coed was seen as a kind of abolishment because coed fraternities are not recognized by many national organizations, according to a Nov. 30, 2012 Inside Higher Ed article. The 2012 coed directive was revoked
in 2015, when then-President of Trinity College Joanne Berger-Sweeney issued a Sept. 4 message to members of the Trinity College community. see GREEK LIFE, page 6
Hey, Class of 2017! Come celebrate
100 Days to Graduation! Sunday, February 12 @ 12:30pm
Aidekman Arts Center *Food & giveaways* Brought to you by the Tufts Alumni Association & TUSC Seniors:
****Please bring your Tufts ID****
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THE TUFTS DAILY | Features | Friday, February 10, 2017
Rebecca Redelmeier Tufts by Numbers
Back to school
A
s Tufts students prepared to submit their new semester schedule, many were met with Tuft’s Student Information System’s (SIS) website’s dreaded error message, which led to them being placed on the waitlist – or worse, shut out – of classes in which they had planned to enroll. For the current spring semester, Tufts’ 5,290 undergraduate students competed for spaces in over 1,000 classes offered to undergraduates. Given the vast array of courses and interests on campus, I wondered how likely being denied a space in any class is for a Tufts student. Were crushing registration experiences unique to specific majors and interests? I set off to scour through SIS and record the number of open, waitlisted and closed classes in each course subject as of Jan. 19, the first day of classes this semester. To obtain the most relevant results for undergraduate registration data, I only counted classes that were listed with specific times to rule out non-course credits and ignored any classes labelled “grad,” “masters” or “PhD.” I also did not count any first-year course requirements like the writing requirement. Many classes are double or triple listed within different course subjects and thus were counted separately for each subject. Numerous classes also have multiple sections, each with different space availability; in these instances, I attributed the most-available label to the class (if one section was open and one was waitlisted, the class was counted as open). The subjects that are the least available have the lowest percentage of open classes to total classes offered. These are physical education (16 percent of classes were open), engineering psychology (29 percent of classes were open) and studio art-Medford/Somerville campus (40 percent of classes were open). While neither physical education nor studio art-Medford/Somerville campus are possible majors at Tufts, engineering psychology is offered as an interdisciplinary major connected to the departments of engineering design and psychology. When the pool of subjects is reduced to only those that have associated, single-disciplinary Tufts majors, film & media studies (50 percent of classes were open) and political science (56 percent of classes were open) are the next most restrictive subjects. Of language subjects with associated majors, Japanese has the least available classes with only 63 percent of classes open. This percentage is significantly higher than the availability percentage for non-language classes, indicating that language subjects have more class availabilities than non-language subjects at Tufts. Finally, I examined which subjects with associated majors offer the classes that are the least likely to fill up (and cause the dreaded SIS enrollment errors). At the top of the list are chemistry and physics, which had 96 percent and 95 percent of classes open, respectively. This data may not sway the enrollment decisions of Tufts students, but it does help unearth some of the mystery and occasional misfortune that may take place when registering for courses. No discipline is completely free of waitlisted and closed classes, but with enough scrolling through SIS, far more open classes than closed ones can be found. Rebecca Redelmeier is a sophomore majoring in English. Rebecca can be reached at rebecca.redelmeier@tufts.edu.
tuftsdaily.com
TCU considers alternative social spaces as part of larger movement GREEK LIFE
continued from page 5 “The coed mandate is unlikely to achieve its intended goal of gender equity. Furthermore, I do not believe that requiring coed membership is the best way to address gender discrimination or to promote inclusiveness,” Berger-Sweeney said in the message. “In fact, community-wide dialogue concerning this issue has been divisive and counterproductive.” Northwestern University still has a Greek system and Georgetown University continues to have students in Greek organizations, but suggestions for abolition and reform are not foreign to either school’s history. “We should abolish Greek life at NU, and it wouldn’t be as hard as you think,” Aaron Boxerman said in an Oct. 9 op-ed in Northwestern’s daily newspaper. “Banning fraternities and sororities would not do away with classism and sexism at NU. But it’d be a powerful start. Those students committed to making the world around them a better place should start thinking creatively about what a non-Greek NU campus could look like.” Though Georgetown University has officially refused to recognize Greek letter organizations since the 1960s, unofficial Greek organizations exist and remain popular among the Georgetown student body, despite continued conflict with some Catholic figures on campus.
Changing social life At Tufts, Su McGlone, director of Fraternity and Sorority Life, emphasized that she has helped confront the divisive controversies surrounding Greek life. “In my role, I’ve met with other student life administrators from the NESCAC schools to provide resources and support to each other,” she told the Daily in an email. McGlone added that she is part of a large network of fraternity and sorority advisors. The network is “used for gauging best practices and providing support to one another, especially when we see similar issues on our campuses,” she wrote. Such collaboration and cross-referencing among university administrators is not new. Trinity has looked to Tufts as a model in the past. A 2012 report of Trinity College’s Charter Committee for Building Social Community states that the Charter Committee considered the input of other NESCAC schools in making their decisions to curb the influence of its fraternities and sororities. “The committee consulted the presidents of Tufts, Wesleyan and Middlebury, as well as the dean of student affairs at Bowdoin and trustees at Hamilton,” the report said. “Each of these peer institutions tackled the fraternity and sorority issue slightly differently … Tufts opted for the status quo but worked closely with fraternities to improve their behavior, imposing
severe penalties for rule infringements. It also created new major social events open to the entire undergraduate population as a way of reducing the influence of fraternities on the school’s social life.” In the same report, Trinity looks to the “social houses” of Bowdoin and Middlebury as potential replacements for Greek life. According to Tufts Community Union (TCU) Senate Diversity and Community Affairs Officer Benya Kraus, members of TCU Senate are “looking at the different social options at our neighboring and peer institutions in an effort to reimagine and reconstruct social life.” Kraus, a junior who serves on the Student Life Review Committee, is in favor of ending the Greek system and replacing it with more inclusive social spaces. “I think Tufts would be a better place if we didn’t have communities that had all these really exclusive barring of entry,” she said. At the same time, Kraus recognized her role as a senator and the accompanying responsibility to seek out as many voices and opinions on the matter as possible. “I also think, in order for any decision to take place, it needs to come from the community,” Kraus said. “We’re going to face a lot of resistance and hurt from so many different parts of the Tufts community if any decision is … made without a really thorough process of listening to students.”
—BY REBECCA REDELMEIER
Friday, February 10, 2017
WEEKENDER
‘Life, Animated’ screening to show how media impacts children with autism
LIFE ANIMATED DOC LLC
Owen, whose story is told in ‘Life, Animated,’ learns to understand and communicate with the outside world through Disney films. by Eran Sabaner
Executive Arts Editor
Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) — referring to the group of complex disorders of brain development including autistic disorder, childhood disintegrative disorder, pervasive developmental disorder and Asperger syndrome — is found amongst 1 in 68 children in the United States. Although there are more than two million people diagnosed with ASD in the United States alone, these individuals are often absent in mainstream media, and the few portrayals are often problematic. Justin Robbins, president of the Coalition for Autism Support at Tufts (CAST) and a senior majoring in biology, explains how people with ASD are represented in fictional and nonfictional media. “In nonfiction, autistic people are usually portrayed as victims of our own identities. Our very existence is assumed to be inherently sad,” Robbins told the Daily in an email. “Related to this, any compassion a neurotypical (non-autistic) [person] appears to show us, or us doing something normal/above normal/amusing, is treated as an unqualified feel-good human interest story.” According to Robbins, this phenomenon is called “inspiration porn.” He added that inspiration porn is found in various media outlets, perhaps most commonly in news stories. In fiction, people with ASD are portrayed in different yet equally erroneous ways. “In fiction, writers typically either treat us like a helpless object or reduce us to a gimmick. Said gimmick usually focuses on more normal-seeming [people with ASD] and boils down to ‘smart but struggles socially,'” Robbins said. He explained that characters are usually heavily coded but never introduced as autistic. Characters like Sherlock Holmes in “Sherlock” (2010– present) and “Elementary” (2012–present), Dr. Gregory House in “House M.D.” (2004–2012) and Alan Turing in
“The Imitation Game” (2014) fall under this category, “There are plenty of writers who replicate the coding without intending the implication,” Robbins said. “With some exceptions, there is still too much stigma around autism to acknowledge it.” It is unfortunate that media tends to exclude people with ASD, since autistic people can use media as a way of communicating with neurotypical people. Adapted for the screen from Ron Suskind’s 2014 bestselling memoir of the same name, “Life, Animated” (2016) tells the story of Ron’s son, Owen Suskind. Diagnosed with ASD at an early age, Owen learns to understand and communicate with the outside world through Disney films. “Life, Animated,” which has been nominated for Best Documentary Feature in this year’s Academy Awards, is unique not only because it accurately represents people with ASD, but also because it suggests that children’s media can be utilized as a way of treatment. Lauren Bartolotti (G ‘12), the program coordinator of the Autism Program at Boston Medical Center who graduated from the Eliot-Pearson Department of Child Study and Human Development, explained the impact children’s media has on development. “We are just becoming attune to the profound impact that media can play on any given child’s development, most especially when it is appropriately used as a vehicle for promoting and teaching communication and prosocial behavior,” Bartolotti said. “With the increase of appropriate intervention and the use of augmentative communication, many individuals with ASD integrate new ways of communicating, which can have huge implications in the ways in which they communicate with others — those who may have not had a means to explain what they are wanting, needing, feeling, etc. may have a functional way in which to do so through new vehicles that go beyond speech.” Julie Dobrow, senior lecturer at
Eliot-Pearson and co-director of the Film and Media Studies Program, believes there is not enough research on the media’s impact on autism. “From the research perspective, we’re still in the infancy stage. We don’t know much about it,” she said. “One of the things ‘Life, Animated’ does is it portrays in a very vivid way why we should be using resources ... trying to understand how media might help people that are autistic to communicate.” However, her expertise on children’s media leads her to believe that media can be utilized as way to improve the development of children with autism. “There’s a lot of powerful research that shows that when there’s direct media engagement and when parents and children consume media together, learning can be more impactful,” she said. “This is true for children who come from many different backgrounds that have many different characteristics. I don’t see why it should be different for children with autism.” For Owen, Disney movies helped him to communicate with his environment, but Owen’s case is also unique. Bartolotti explained the approach taken in Owen’s case. “I believe the approach used with Owen was a novel intervention based around spot-on intuition from the individuals who know him best,” she said, adding that children’s interests can be used to best promote learning. “Broader than the use of media, more generally, utilizing a child’s interests can allow for meeting the child where they are at and finding the common ground in which to skill-build and promote new learning. Media proves new and innovative ways in which to meet a child where they are at and find that universal language.” After seeing an article about “Life, Animated” in The New York Times Magazine, Dobrow read the book and thought it was amazing. Then, when
see LIFE ANIMATED, page 8
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Polykhroma Polykhromatic
On Boston and art
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tour of Tufts is never complete without a stop at Tisch Library’s roof. With Boston’s skyline in the distance, the expansive vista makes the city’s proximity to Tufts seem tangible in ways that subway maps or shuttle schedules never could. Yes, Tufts exists at the periphery of a bustling metropolis, an international social space, a mecca for higher education, a beacon of culture — and to us, as students — a particularly valuable resource. We know this. What we may not all be as acutely aware of is that the area’s art scene offers enormous variety. The MFA houses over 500,000 works. In 2015, USA Today named SoWa “the second best arts district in the country.” Tufts Gallery’s own collection includes works by Warhol, Stella and Rodin. With thousands of creative minds wandering dozens of local college campuses, artistic production thrives. Yet specific events related to ‘the arts’ often only become visible to us when we express interest in them, implicitly identifying ourselves as ‘artists’ and ‘art-lovers.’ The art sections of periodicals provide access to reviews and announcements. Art history majors at Tufts receive weekly emails explaining various opportunities. When we actively pursue and consume such information, these events transition beyond vague references to Boston’s cultural productivity; they become real possibilities in our own lives, our subway map and now our Tisch roof’s vista. When we dismiss these informational resources, however, opportunities seem to disappear. This is not to say that arts-related news doesn’t find its way into daily conversation or social media dialogues. I learned about John Mayer’s upcoming concert at TD Garden through Facebook. A friend informed me of Beyonce’s pregnancy. But the events we hear about through such forums are typically those of national or international scale. Conversation about them springs up sporadically and then evaporates. Meanwhile, dialogues regarding art or arts institutions that live in the Boston-area don’t seem to expand far beyond the small communities that exist around their subjects, let alone far enough to occupy a regular space on Tufts’ campus. So how can a student, without the time to read about or attend events discussed in periodicals’ art sections, without any academic background in art or art-making or a vision of themselves as a ‘connoisseur,’ gain access to such conversations? How can we broaden and democratize them? Perhaps the answer is to discuss art in such a way that not only makes it visible to a wider audience, but also considers how it functions in larger social contexts. Boston’s post-election marches produced vivid picket signs: art as activism. Social networks have opened a local market for memes: art as comedy, as ‘shareability.’ Coding is a focus of an exhibition currently on view at the Tufts University Art Gallery: art as technological advancement. Tisch roof’s vista is an art story — its architectural views, its photographic reproductions—but it’s also an example of the kinds of metaphors that surface throughout discussions of art in our immediate environment and those that this column aims to deconstruct. Artists, art lovers, curious and creative minds, we hope you’ll join us in this pursuit. Polykhroma is an independent curating collective founded by eight students excited to encourage active engagement among our community with the arts.
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THE TUFTS DAILY | Arts & Living | Friday, February 10, 2017
Do it this weekend
5 Tufts alumni With the high demand for jobs in the STEM fields, the job search for aspiring artists can feel abysmal. But these five Tufts alumni have proven that it is more than possible to succeed as a professional artist.
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Tabias Olajuawon-Wilson (LA ’13) Olajuawon-Wilson’s written work, which includes poetry, short stories, political commentary and other types of writing, examines the intersections of race, law, gender and sexuality in the United States. Much of it can be found on the blog they founded, BlaQueerFlow: The Griot’s Pen. They are also the author of “Godless Circumcisions: A Recollecting & Re-membering of Blackness, Queerness & Flows of Survivance” (2016). In 2012, they were recognized as one of the “Top 100 Emerging LGBTQ Leaders” by the White House Office of Public Engagement. Olajuawon-Wilson is currently a student at Howard University School of Law.
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Jennifer duBois (LA ’06) DuBois is the author of “A Partial History of Lost Causes” (2012) and “Cartwheel” (2013). Her accomplishments include a 2013 Whiting Writer’s Award, a 2012 National Book Foundation 5 Under 35 award and a Housatonic Book Award for fiction. DuBois studied political science and philosophy at Tufts. She also completed an M.F.A. in fiction at the Iowa Writers’ Workshop and a Stegner Fellowship at Stanford University.
Jane Black (LA ’95) Black is a food writer who analyzes food politics, trends and sustainability issues. During her time as a staff writer at The Washington Post, she has written about various parts of the food industry, including agricultural workers’ rights and the shortcomings of the farm-to-table movement. Other publications she has contributed to include The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Eating Well and Garden & Gun. Black is currently writing a book about food reform in Huntington, W. Va.
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Rob Resnick (LA ’11) Resnick formed a pop group called Timeflies with fellow Tufts alumnus Cal Shapiro (LA ’11) in 2010. Since then, they have released three albums — “The Scotch Tape,” “After Hours” and “Just For Fun” — blending pop with hip-hop, electro, dubstep and rock. Timeflies has sold over 150,000 albums and amassed over 200 million Spotify streams worldwide.
Joshua Seftel (LA ’90) Seftel is a successful film and television director. His long list of awards and honors includes an Emmy award, an AAAS Kavli Science Journalism Award and a James Beard Award Nomination. At the young age of 22, Seftel received his first Emmy nomination for his documentary “Lost and Found: The Story of Romania’s Forgotten Children” (1992), which examines the struggles of Romania’s 120,000 orphaned and abandoned children. Other projects Seftel has worked on include “Taking on the Kennedys” (1996), “Ennis’ Gift” (2000) and “Queer Eye for the Straight Guy” (2003-2007).
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—by Paige Spangenthal
FRIDAY JAN. 27 TUSC 2019 Presents: Winter Ball Details: Kick off the spring semester at the House of Blues with the annual Winter Ball. Transportation is provided to and from the event, with buses leaving from Aidekman Arts Center starting at 6:15 p.m. Tickets are $10 and can be purchased from the Mayer Campus Center info booth or on tuftstickets.com. When and Where: 7-11 p.m.; House of Blues Boston
SATURDAY
JAN. 28
TUSC Film Series Presents: “The Handmaiden” & “When Harry Met Sally” Details: For Valentine’s Day weekend, TUSC Film Series is showing South Korean erotic thriller “The Handmaiden” (2016) and romantic comedy classic “When Harry Met Sally” (1989). Showings are free and no tickets are necessary. When and Where: Friday, Feb. 10: “The Handmaiden” at 7 p.m.; Saturday, Feb. 11: “The Handmaiden” at 7 p.m. and “When Harry Met Sally” at 9:30 p.m.; all in Barnum 008.
SUNDAY
JAN. 29
Somerville Local First Valentine’s Day Market
Stand Up with Planned Parenthood: Slumbrew Comedy Night
Details: In support of local vendors, Arts at the Armory in Somerville is hosting a market for local Valentine’s Day shopping. The Makers Marketplace will feature a variety of handcrafted jewelry, home decor, art, apparel and gifts.
Details: Slumbrew Somerville Brewing Company is hosting a comedy night to benefit the Planned Parenthood Advocacy Fund of Massachusetts, the political and advocacy arm of the Planned Parenthood League of Massachusetts. Comedian Kenice Mobley headlines, while Pamela Ross hosts fellow comics. Tickets are $10 and can be purchased from the Planned Parenthood Massachusetts website.
.When and Where: 11 a.m.-4 p.m.; Arts at the Armory, 191 Highland Ave., Somerville
When and Where: 8-10 p.m.; Slumbrew Somerville Brewing Company, 15 Ward Street, Somerville —by Cassidy Olsen
Friday, February 10, 2017 | Arts & Living | THE TUFTS DAILY
A&L
‘20th Century Women’ is the feminist indie the 21st century needs
Fury Sheron E for Everyone
W
A24 FILMS
Dorothea (Annette Benning) and Julie (Elle Fanning) talk while Abbie (Greta Gerwig) sits and listens in a scene from ‘20th Century Women.’ by Eran Sabaner
Executive Arts Editor
With so many established names attached to “20th Century Women” (2016), it seems unlikely that moviegoers would have any qualms about the quality of the film. After directing hits such as “Thumbsucker” (2005) and “Beginners” (2010), Mike Mills has proven himself to be a household name in the small budget film scene. Similar to the work of his wife, artist and filmmaker Miranda July, Mills’ films are most engaging when he adds a personal touch. Loosely based on Mills’ childhood, “20th Century Women” excels because of its autobiographic elements. One of the film’s best qualities is the way in which its strongly-written characters interact with each other. Furthermore, the film functions as a survey of 1970s culture and has an overtly feminist tone. All of these factors, along with a star cast that includes Annette Benning, Elle Fanning and Greta Gerwig, combine to make the movie one of the best indie offerings in recent years. In essence, “20th Century Women” is a coming-of-age story. Viewers witness 15-year-old Jaime Fields (Lucas Jade Zumann) dealing with life and love in Santa Barbara, CA in 1979. Jaime’s sweet, sentimental personality resembles that of many of the complex male teen
protagonists featured in recent releases, such as Charlie from “The Perks of Being a Wallflower” (2012) and Mason from “Boyhood” (2014). But unlike these two films, in which the plot revolves mostly around the male protagonist, “20th Century Women” focuses on the women as much as the lead male character. Indeed, the depth of the female characters depicted in the movie is what truly gives the film its feminist flare. Annette Benning truly shines in her role as Dorothea, the mother of Jaime. Having spent most of her childhood during the Great Depression, Dorothea is both confused by and reluctantly open to the societal changes that are taking place during the 1970s. She is full of contradictions; at times she seems approachable and friendly, and at others, she can be distant and bitter. She clearly enjoys exploring youth culture and has her own progressive ways of raising Jamie, but she can also play the role of a conservative mother. On one hand, Dorothea is a stereotypical Depression-era woman, but on the other hand, she is a truly original character. It is a shame that Benning was snubbed in this year’s Academy Awards. If Dorothea is a representation of a Depression-era woman, Abbie Porter (Greta Gerwig) surely represents a 1970s era woman. An important member of the household, Abbie quickly becomes a
sister figure to Jaime, and introduces him to feminism. Abbie is a strong supporter of women’s rights and is not afraid to announce that she is menstruating at the dinner table. It is enjoyable to see a likable character shamelessly vocalize feminist ideas in a somewhat mainstream movie. Perhaps the most intriguing character is Julie Miller (Fanning), whom Jaime has feeling for. On the surface, Julie is the conventionally beautiful, wise-beyond-her-years girl that we tend to see in Sofia Coppola movies, often played by blonde actresses (Kristen Dunst, Scarlett Johansson and, ironically, Fanning herself ). However, this above-it-all vibe is shattered in a dinner scene best described as awkward and uncomfortable. Julie’s confession in this scene allows her to seem like a real person, and her vulnerability is actually what makes her a strong teenage girl. Overall, “20th Century Women” is another hit for Mills. The ’70s inspired mise-en-scène of the movie is beautiful, and the film matches the likes of “Beginners” in terms of its cinematography. Additionally, the characters (especially the three female characters) tirelessly carry the movie. While the film has been unfairly ignored by award shows, it will hopefully reach cult status in the near future.
‘Life, Animated’ screening appeals to students’ different interests LIFE ANIMATED
continued from page 7 brainstorming events at the beginning of the year, she realized that a screening of the film would meet a lot of students’ interests. “Here at [Eliot-Pearson], we were talking about how we have a lot of students interested in child health and a lot of students interested in media. We thought it would be cool to find a way of bringing those two together,” she said. “I talked to a number of my colleagues here, and people were really excited about it. At that point, we started to plan and figure out what the contours of this event would be. I was very clear that we should show the film. I
was very clear that we had to find a way of bringing Ron Suskind to campus.” “Life, Animated” will be screened at 2 p.m. on Feb. 10 at the ASEAN Auditorium. The screening will be accompanied by a panel discussion with Bartolotti, Robbins, Ron Suskind, Director of the Center on Media and Child Health Michael Rich and Associate Professor at Eliot-Pearson Calvin “Chip” Gidney. Dobrow noted that the event has generated a lot of excitement from a very broad coalition of groups. In fact, it is co-sponsored by Eliot-Pearson, CAST, the Center on Media and Child Health, the Jonathan M. Tisch College of Civic Life, the Tufts Diversity Fund, the Center for Interdisciplinary Studies,
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the Film and Media Studies Program, the Department of Community Health, Tufts Hillel’s Merrin Moral Voices lecture series and Sunkissed Families. “[‘Life, Animated’] is a beautiful film. There are great characters in this film. You come to know the Suskind family, and you love them … They use home movies of the Suskinds that show Owen and his brother Walter as little boys. It really gives you insight to the dynamic of the family,” Dobrow said. “Tufts students interested in families, child health or just interested in Disney should watch the movie. It is also a great example of how media can be used to engage social issues, and it is important for us to think about that, particularly in this day and age.”
‘Spore’
hy should you play “Spore” (2008)? Because it’s five games in one and each is equally a fun gaming experience and a learning opportunity. “Spore” is a game released by Electronic Arts (EA) in which the player creates their own organism with parts they collect by exploring the world. Because its intuitive gameplay isn’t commonly considered a blocker to new players, “Spore” will likely appeal to you if you enjoy biology, character customization, superb educational tools that don’t shove the condescending tendrils of academia down your throat or any combination of the above. The game is divided into five phases of evolution, each represented by a different kind of gameplay. The player navigates a single cell around a tide pool in the topdown style Cell Phase, romps across the planes of the planet with a herd in the third-person style Creature Phase, establishes connections and creates tools in the real-time strategy Tribal Phase, races for resources and becomes the dominant society in the larger scope real-time strategy Civilization Phase and travels to the stars in the explorative Space Phase. “Spore” is a pure expression of what EA learned from “The Sims” (2000) and its sequel, “The Sims 2” (2004). “Spore” kept the character customization and growth and then gave its protagonists a greater purpose: become the superior species in existence, one tier of life complexity at a time. That goal is much more compelling than “Become Celebrity Chef,” an aspiration from “The Sims 2.” In “Spore,” the player engineers their creature, starting from a single cell, which will eventually evolve into a species that spans planets. Evolution translates to a vital level of competition that lends beautifully to the video game medium, and the developers made the gameplay easy enough to understand that any 10-year-old could fall in love with it. “Spore” teaches about cell taxis, environmental compatibility, community building, the struggles of nations to balance religious, economic, and military aspirations and the meaning behind being an active member of this universe. What’s important about what unfolds in the events of “Spore” is that your every success can be traced to a series of decisions you have made. If you befriend other packs of animals in the Creature Phase, you unlock parts you can add to your creature that make you better at befriending more creatures. The same is true of fighting other creatures. Constant battle will allow you to evolve your creature into a formidable – and antisocial – warrior. The player chooses to strike whatever balance they would like between a peaceful and warlike creature, and this decision persists into the next phase in its evolution. Every decision affects this balance, from what you make your creature eat to how many cities your civilization conquers through religious conversion. The weight of these decisions puts a great deal of power into the player’s hands, and it feels amazing. At the same time, any error can be erased by loading a savefile, and any previous creature from the player’s account can be seen in the background at any phase of the game. This provides a safe environment for experimentation, which is very important when appealing to a more carefree audience. No matter which way you approach it, “Spore” is a beautiful combination of several games that teaches a wide range of important skills and topics appropriate for all alignments. Fury Sheron is a junior majoring in Japanese. Fury can be reached at lahna. sheron@tufts.edu.
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THE TUFTS DAILY | Arts & Living | Friday, February 10, 2017
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Friday, February 10, 2017 | Comics | THE TUFTS DAILY
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Comics
LATE NIGHT AT THE DAILY Eddie: “Just assume I always have booze.”
Comics
SUDOKU
DOONESBURY BY GARRY TRUDEAU
NON SEQUITUR BY WILEY MILLER
Difficulty Level: Getting a suite in Wren.
Wednesday’s Solution
FOR RELEASE FEBRUARY 10, 2017
Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Lewis
BRIEF OVERVIEW OF THE PROGRAM
MASTERS OF ARTS IN TEACHING SPANISH
Whether you are new to the language, on your second year and considering a mayor, or already working on your Spanish Mayor, you should know that Tufts University offers a Masters of Arts in Teaching of Spanish (for grades k-12)
10-12 CREDITS: 8 COURSES THROUGH THE DEPT. OF ED. AND 2-4 COURSES IN SPANISH (AND/OR HISPANIC CUULTURE) OF THE 100 LEVEL
ONE YEAR AND TWO SUMMERS (INCLUDING ONE YEAR OF PRACTICUM AT A PARTNER SCHOOL)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Teaching is a truly rewarding career, and there is a high demand for Spanish Teachers in our area and across the US. To know more about the program or hear about successful Tufts alumni please contact:
Prof. Juliana Berte Department of Romance Languages Liaison to the Department of Education for Spanish Teacher Certification Juliana.Berte@tufts.edu Olin Center Office 220
PERSONAL WORK WITH PROFESSORS, ADVISORS, AND MENTORS AT THE DEPT. OF ROMANCE LANGUAGES, THE DEPT. OF EDUCATION AND THE SCHOOLS WHERE CANDIDATES ARE TEACHING.
ACROSS 1 New 6 Word on a movie ticket 11 Great white cousin 15 Like a gymnast 16 In perfect order 18 “As You Like It”? 20 Thai currency 21 “Night” author Wiesel 22 Summertime treats 23 Berkeley sch. 25 Moby-Dick, e.g. 28 “Hamlet”? 32 Bing provider 35 Fluorine or chlorine 36 Santa __ 37 State tie of New Mexico 38 Name on the cover of “Fear of Flying” 39 __ shui 41 Fix, as a road 42 Bill 43 Web help source 44 Simple wind 46 Animal in some fables 47 “Twelfth Night”? 49 What a round increases 50 Vied (for) 51 Diarist Nin 54 Island festivity 56 Great Sphinx site 60 “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”? 64 It’s taken in schools 65 Take care of 66 Go slowly 67 Some expirations 68 High priests DOWN 1 Lipo target 2 Costa __ 3 Drawing toy in “Toy Story” 4 One keeping track of court proceedings? 5 2013 Spike Jonze movie 6 Deep blue 7 Stage of grief 8 Explorer who named the Pacific Ocean
CROSSWORD
By Alex Eaton-Salners
9 Tech sch. that filed for bankruptcy in 2016 10 Eastern way 11 Collision repair franchise 12 Alcove near the chancel 13 Tool in a legendary electricity experiment 14 Singles 17 “Goosebumps” series author 19 Dig 24 Simple marine plant 26 City on the Penobscot River 27 Food chain letters 28 Biblical queendom 29 Chincoteague females 30 Jennifer Garner spy series 31 Swaddled one 32 Theme 33 Pitch 34 Singer Jones 37 Pribilof Islands locale
2/10/17
Thursday’s Puzzle Solved Wednesday’s Solution
©2017 Tribune Content Agency, LLC
40 Totaling 41 Tennis nickname 43 Remote 45 Montana player 47 Fleece finder 48 Lots 49 __ curls 51 Some batteries 52 When to call, in ads 53 Commedia dell’___
2/10/17
55 A long time 57 Newsworthy couple 58 Sixth in a series 59 Israeli author Oz 61 Takes too much, briefly 62 “Love Story” composer Francis 63 Fashionable initials
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Anna Tolette The Elephant in the Room
‘Holiday Time’ or ‘Time to Reevaluate my Life’
I
t’s hard to feel adequate at a university like Tufts. I spent many precious hours of my winter break updating my LinkedIn and resume in order to secure a summer internship. I know I’m not alone in this thought process; we all came out of high school at the top of our game. It takes adjustment to realize that now you might be in the middle of the pack (and that’s okay!) Over a few tacos, my mom and I had a conversation regarding what I hope to get out of life, but it ended up being an Anna Tolette Panic Festival™ about what I should be doing over break. In reality, my sole accomplishment has been plowing through all five seasons of “Girls” (2012– present) thanks to my friend Megan’s HBO GO account. Mom’s first tidbit of advice was to calm down. According to her, I’m only 19 years old and there is no reason why my entire life has to be figured out now. When she was in college, she spent her summers waitressing, not applying to internships that look good on a resume. Unfortunately for students today, the job market has changed since the 1980s, when my mom first stepped out into the world with her own NESCAC education. Just having a college degree doesn’t seem to be enough anymore and that scares me. I convince myself constantly that, while watching my fourth consecutive episode of “Girls,” there are about a million other things that I could (and should) do to better my chances for success. You work hard to get into the college of your dreams. You work hard to receive a degree. You work hard to secure a job for yourself, in which you will work hard for the rest of your life. Life is hard work. It’s becoming increasingly important to take time for yourself to watch an episode of “Girls” or go on a run to clear your head or eat frozen yogurt with your best friend. I think people have lost the ability to be nice to themselves. Here we are, getting caught up in what the next step is and the next goal we want to achieve, but there’s a certain point at which you must cut yourself off for some peace of mind. I’ve studied French for about 9 years now, and I intend to study abroad in Paris next fall. In Paris, I would have the opportunity to enroll in a French university and immerse myself deeply in a culture that I have grown to appreciate and love; yet I still worry about how the program will affect my GPA. Isn’t it better to have a challenging yet incredible chance to grow as an individual rather than limiting yourself to a one-page resume? It is infinitely more important to gain the experiences that color your life and make you who you are. The culture surrounding students today is enough to make anyone go mad. Sometimes, focusing on individual details of a puzzle to make certain colors fit together is a more effective strategy than trying to perceive the picture as a whole. Anna Tolette is a sophomore majoring in film and media studies. Anna can be reached at anna.tolette@tufts.edu.
Opinion
Friday, February 10, 2017
EDITORIAL
Housing changes, both good and bad The Office of Residential Life and Learning (ResLife) announced changes to the housing and lottery system on Jan. 20. These changes were based on a 2016 Master Housing Survey, which included student input. While the majority of these changes were positive, certain determinations further limit the already flawed off-campus housing options at Tufts. Many of the alterations detailed in the email will improve Tufts students’ lives overall. While there are still all-female options, the fact that the entire housing lottery system now allows for all-gender rooming is a progressive step forward and one that should have happened years ago. Additionally, the idea of designating more housing by class year will benefit incoming first-years and enable them to make more social connections in their new community. Finally, allowing students to sign up for suites in units of five as opposed to ten makes suite-style living more attainable and manageable for smaller groups.
Unfortunately, not all of the changes are positive. Historically, students received the inverse of their sophomore-year number their senior year. The new policy dictates that students’ housing lottery numbers are drawn annually instead of all at once, which unfairly disadvantages firstyears who have already been assigned low numbers their sophomore year. A less desirable housing situation during sophomore year will no longer guarantee better housing options for these students as seniors. The fact that students are paying the same on-campus housing price whether they live in a newly-renovated suite or a basement dorm in an older building underscores this disparity. In addition, the new lottery system will inhibit students’ ability to sufficiently consider all of their available housing options. Off-campus housing is becoming more expensive at an alarming rate, and in order to find an affordable option in a convenient location, students typ-
ically have to sign leases in early fall of the previous school year. The fact that students will not know their senior year lottery numbers until the fall of junior year will make planning for housing in advance more difficult, especially since many students study abroad during their junior year. The email announcing these changes notes that Tufts will be joining the ranks of most peer institutions that already draw lottery numbers on a similar annual basis. But the large percentage of Tufts students who live off campus, the skyrocketing rents in the Medford-Somerville area and the growing number of students attending Tufts overall necessitate a different policy that reflects these intersecting trends. The bottom line is that it is essential that the university works to develop more on-campus housing options for upperclassmen. Without further reforms, Tufts’ student housing system will continue to decline in fairness and quality.
GOOD BOY
NOAH KULAK 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 oped@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.
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The Tufts Daily wants to hear from you! Have a problem with our coverage? Upset about something happening at Tufts or in the community? The Daily welcomes all thoughts, opinions and complaints from all readers. Have your voice heard! Send op-ed submissions, 800-1200 words, to tuftsdailyoped@gmail.com.
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Friday, February 10, 2017 | Sports | THE TUFTS DAILY
S p o rts
Garret shines, Dayton double-doubles in win over Pine Manor MEN'S BASKETBALL
continued from page 16 forced Pine Manor coach Rich Fazzi to expend a timeout with 15:06 remaining in the first half. Briefly rejuvenated, the Gators notched five straight points to halve the deficit. The Jumbos responded forcefully, however, with two dunks by Garrett in the span of two minutes. By the time junior guard Vincent Pace knocked down a pair of free throws with 4:19 left in the first half, Tufts had leapt to a 40-20 lead, and the Jumbos entered the break with a 50-29 advantage. In the first period, Garrett led all players with 12 points on a perfect five-for-five shooting, while junior guard Everett Dayton provided eight points and eight rebounds. For Pine Manor, junior guard Taverick Roberson needed 12 shots to register 11 points. The Jumbos continued their dominance in the second half, as a three-pointer by Garrett at the 15:30 mark gave Tufts a 67-42 lead. From that point on, Tufts elected to rest several of its starters and fielded hybrid and bench units for the rest of the second half. Smith and Engvall, for example, exited the contest with 15:01 left in the second half. Accordingly, the final points total — including the fact that
Pine Manor outscored Tufts in the second half, 58-56 — belied the uncompetitive nature of the latter portion of the encounter. For the game, Garrett excelled once again in his role as the Jumbos’ sixth man, as he led all players with 23 points on a sterling 8-of-9 shooting (including a perfect 4-for-4 from long range) while also snagging six rebounds. His nineteen minutes included several stints as an undersized back-up center, filling in for both Palleschi and first-year center Patrick Racy, both of whom have missed time. “[We’ll do] whatever we can do to help the team win,” Garrett said. “I’ll play one [point guard] or five [center] if I have to.” Dayton also stood out, securing a double-double with 18 points, 10 rebounds and five assists. Three other Jumbos — Pace, sophomore guard Ethan Feldman and first-year guard Eric Savage — also cracked double-digit point totals, and senior tri-captain center Drew Madsen posted 11 rebounds and two blocks on the evening. In the waning minutes of the second half, junior guard Reed Thomas-McLean made both of his shots from the field, scoring four points. For the visitors, first-year forward Rasheed Bell led the way with 22 points and four
rebounds, while sophomore guard Erick Rosario contributed seven points, six rebounds and four steals from the bench. This Friday, the Jumbos close out the regular season against the visiting Williams Ephs (16-6). Garrett underscored the game’s significance to the team. “I want to first say that we’re kind of miffed that Amherst lost [Tuesday] night to Wesleyan,” he said. “And it wasn’t a conference game. It was a non-conference game they lost. So that was pretty unfortunate, because we both have two losses [to NESCAC opponents]. Going into this game, we have to get a win to host or just to get a good seeding in the conference playoffs, so yeah, it’s a pivotal game for sure.” Engvall provided a similar perspective on the importance of the season finale. “It’s just really important, not just as far as the NESCAC and the NESCAC season goes, but just as far as getting momentum going into the tournament,” he said. “We’ve slipped up a bit lately. We’ve had some tough losses, but I think we’re ready to get back on track and get ourselves back into winning ways.” The Jumbos tip off against the Ephs at Cousens Gym tonight at 7 p.m.
Two tune-up matches sit between Jumbos and Nationals WOMEN'S SQUASH
continued from page 16 swept the match 9-0. Davidson kept pace for four games before falling, but the no other Jumbo managed to take a game off the Panthers. In their first match of the weekend, the Jumbos started off strong with a win over 11th-seeded Conn. College. The Jumbos swept the Camels 9-0, with six of those matches won in only three games. Sophomore Hannah Burns, Shanahan, Karthik, LaddLuthringshauser, Tirmizi and Irani were all responsible for those threegame sweeps, with Burns keeping her opponent to fewer than seven points for the entire match. With a 12-0 run to start the season, Irani explained that much of the team’s success can be attributed to a consistent work ethic as well as teamwork. “Our team’s success this year is
greatly due to our team’s chemistry and also the focus we bring to every practice,” Irani told the Daily in an email. “I think since day one of the season, we took our practice sessions very seriously, and that definitely prepared us, physically and mentally, [for] some of our harder matches this season. Despite their terrific start to the season, the Jumbos have hit a bit of a rough patch as of late. “It’s been really eye-opening for us to play some of the harder teams that we saw either at the beginning of the season and now we’re seeing again or teams we haven’t seen at all,” LaddLuthringshauser said. “But we’re taking a new mindset going forward.” Ahead lies the College Squash Association Na t i o n a l Te a m Championships, hosted at Princeton from Feb. 24 to 26. With only games against Wellesley and Boston College
scheduled between now and Nationals, the Tufts squad is taking this opportunity to rest and recover from its grueling NESCAC weekend. “Right now we’re really focusing on rest and recovery,” Burns said. “It was a really long weekend, and it’s been a bunch of long weekends consecutively.” Burns added that the Jumbos are taking this opportunity to set specific goals ahead of the biggest tournament of the year. “Before matches, we talk about what we want to accomplish as a team and how as a team, we can best take the match head on,” Burns said. “Every day, we all know what we have to focus on in practice. I think that holding each other accountable and reminding each other of those goals we need to work on every day helps us hold each other up together as a team.”
Passionate about sports? Have a unique perspective on student athletics? Interested in covering the intersection of sports and the larger Tufts community? Write for us! Contact dailysports@gmail.com!
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Vinny Donofrio Vinny's Variety Pack
NFC East draft needs, part 1
F
antasy football and regular football are finally over (hold it together, Vinny, don’t let ‘em see you cry). Unfortunately, that means that all we have for sports until August is regular season baseball. Can you believe it? Kickoff isn’t for another 31 weeks, if I did my math correctly. That means that we have six months to talk about the football offseason. How exciting! Every week from now until the draft, I am going to break down the needs of each team and talk about possible players that could fill those needs. Players that I’ll mention might not be familiar names, but I will give a quick highlight of their skills. Additionally, I will talk about each of the league’s biggest free agents and discuss both their best fit and their most likely landing spot. There’s no season quite like the football offseason, am I right?! So, sit back, relax and let’s talk football. New York Giants, Pick 23 Draft Needs: LT, RT, TE, LB If you watched any New York Giants game, these needs are no surprise. One of the league’s top QBs (Eli Manning) paired with arguably the best receiver in the NFL (Odell Beckham Jr.) produced the 22nd best offense. This might be because, according to Football Outsiders, the G-men had the 24th best offensive line. With Ereck Flowers (LT) being the most pressured and most penalized tackle in football, it’s no wonder they boasted one of the worst rush defenses in football. It is time to give up on Flowers and find a bruiser for Manning’s blindside. The ideal lineman would be Cam Robinson out of Alabama, but he will likely be a top 10 pick. I think a more suitable choice would be Roderick Johnson out of FSU. This 6’7” LT is a blocking machine, earning the award for the ACC’s top OL the past two years. This man is the perfect choice to prevent Manning from taking any more hits to the head — something he desperately needs. Philadelphia Eagles, Pick 14 Draft Needs: WR, RB, LG, CB, FS According to Pro Football Focus, the Eagles had the NFL’s eighth best offensive line. The big men are definitely doing their job in protecting their rookie sensation, Carson Wentz (QB). The problem is that Wentz has no one to throw the ball to. Jordan Matthews is, at best, a slightly above-average receiver, and after him, there are no players worth naming. If Philly wants success, its needs someone to catch the damn ball. My suggestion is Curtis Samuel ( WR) out of Ohio State. Originally a running back, Samuel is quick and versatile. In today’s NFL, having a hybrid playmaker is the new (and successful) fad. Take a look at Tyreek Hill out of Kansas City or Ty Montgomery out of Green Bay. These guys are successful when running in any direction and can do every route on the route tree, and both caused their teams’ offenses to explode. A guy like Samuel could bring the same success to Philly. Vinny Donofrio is a senior majoring in clinical psychology. Vinny can be reached at vincent.donofrio@tufts.edu
16 tuftsdaily.com
Sports
Friday, February 10, 2017
MEN'S BASKETBALL
Jumbos put up triple digits in penultimate game of the season by Sam Weitzman
Assistant Sports Editor
The Tufts Jumbos (18-5) comfortably outpaced the Pine Manor Gators (15-8) 106-87 on Tuesday. Last year’s matchup in Chestnut Hill, Mass. was a tenser affair, as Tufts needed 26 points and 17 rebounds from senior tri-captain center Tom Palleschi to secure a 105-98 overtime victory. This year, however, the Jumbos never led by fewer than 10 points after the 11:01 mark in the first half. Tufts’ success came despite facing an unfamiliar defensive scheme, as Pine Manor aggressively employed the full-court press. According to junior guard KJ Garrett, the Gators’ unorthodox tactics presented the Jumbos with a unique challenge. “A lot of NESCAC schools don’t really fullcourt press like that,” he said. “[Pine Manor has either] a zone press that they’re going through or a man press. They change it up, so it’s pretty interesting [because] we don’t go against that often.” Garrett added that combatting the unconventional tactic required Tufts to practice breaking the press in the days leading up to the game. “In practice, we have a few drills where we’ll go five, six or even seven guys in kind of a man and zone defensive press,” he said. “We have our own press break. Four guys [are] lined up in front of half court: two at the three point line in a vertical position and then two guys at the wings. We have one go break out, usually me or a five … and then one guy flashes to the middle and we kind of break it that way.” Junior guard Ben Engvall explained the press coverage forces the Jumbos to play more carefully across the entirety of the court.
ANEGLIE XIONG / THE TUFTS DAILY
Senior guard Tarik Smith runs with the ball during the game against Conn. College on Jan. 21. “We threw a couple extra guys out there on the court when we were doing our press break practice just to kind of simulate how hectic [it would be] and how they would try to speed
us up,” he said. “We try not to turn the ball over, just be pretty sound with our passes, and just make sure we weren’t rushing and make quick decisions.”
Tufts controlled the encounter from the outset, and their 12-2 run to start the game see MEN'S BASKETBALL, page 15
WOMEN'S SQUASH
Jumbos take down Camels, fall to Panthers, Polar Bears and Mules by Mackenzie Bright Contributing Writer
Tufts started the NESCAC Championship weekend off strong with a win against Conn. College
but fell short in its matches against Middlebury, Bowdoin and Colby. It was a long weekend in Amherst, with four matches for the team over a span of three days. Sixth-seeded Tufts took on
ninth-seeded Colby on Sunday in a consolation round. Sophomore Sahana Karthik and junior Lauren Banner won their matches. Karthik fought an extended five-game battle and Banner recovered from a first game loss, win-
ning the next three in a row. Their efforts weren’t enough to stop the Mules from taking the Jumbos down with a rattling final score of 7-2. So p h o m o re Ol i v i a LaddLuthringshauser explained that while the team ultimately lost, the scoreline does not reflect how close the matches really were. “Four of those matches went to five games,” Ladd-Luthringshauser said. Ladd-Luthringshauser, as well as first-years Claire Davidson, Catherine Shanahan and Sahar Tirmizi, all fought for five games at the tail end of an exhausting weekend, barely falling short to their Colby opponents. Before facing Colby, Tufts ended Saturday with a match against seventh-seeded Bowdoin. The final score of an extremely close matchup was 5-4, and five of those matches went to four games. Tirmizi and sophomores Chista Irani, Sinclair Meggitt and LaddLuthringshauser provided the Tufts squad with its four wins. Both LaddLuthringshauser and Meggitt defeated their opponents in clean sweeps. Saturday morning started with the Jumbos facing off against the third-seeded Middlebury Panthers. It proved to be the toughest round of the tournament for the Jumbos, as Middlebury
RAY BERNOFF / THE TUFTS DAILY
Junior Lauren Banner swings at the ball in a match against Dickinson at Harvard's Murr Center on Jan 20, 2016.
see WOMEN'S SQUASH, page 15