Issuu

‘Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.’ is campy, action-packed see ARTS AND LIVING / PAGE 5

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

Jumbos get back to the Final Four for the third straight year

Computer Science researchers use technology to teach piano see FEATURES/ PAGE 4

SEE SPORTS / BACK PAGE

THE

INDEPENDENT

STUDENT

N E W S PA P E R

TUFTS

UNIVERSITY

E S T. 1 9 8 0

T HE T UFTS DAILY

VOLUME LXXI, NUMBER 34

tuftsdaily.com

Monday, March 14, 2016

MEDFORD/SOMERVILLE, MASS.

First annual Dance Marathon raises over $3,600 for Boston Children’s Hospital by Kyle Blacklock

Assistant News Editor

The first-ever Tufts University Dance Marathon, sponsored by the Children’s Miracle Network (CMN), raised over $3,600 for the Boston Children’s Hospital at its event Friday. Tickets were sold at the door for $10 per person for the five-hour philanthropic event, which ran from 7 p.m. to midnight at 51 Winthrop St. According to Dominique Kaempf, overall undergraduate director for the Dance Marathon, dance marathons feature students actively remaining on their feet dancing and playing games for the entirety of the event. Kaempf, a first-year, said that while this is the first time the event has been held at Tufts, dance marathons are held all over the nation, with proceeds benefiting local Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals (CMNH) across the country. Boston Children’s Hospital, the area’s local CMNH, is one of 170 children’s hospitals in the United States and Canada that receives aid from CMN’s year-round fundraising and awareness campaigns for pediatric programs and services, which help children battling all types of

injuries and diseases, according to the CMNH website. According to Head Morale Captain of the Tufts Dance Marathon Elana Liebow-Feeser, there were between 40 and 50 students registered to be involved in the dance marathon and over 50 students ended up coming to the event. That number does not include the many students in attendance who performed in groups or facilitated activities. The event featured performances by Sarabande Dance Ensemble, Students participate Tufts Enchanted, JumboRaas, BEATs and Cheap Sox, and included games, activities and a photo booth, according to the Facebook event page. DJs BackOfTheClass, sophomores Panos Skoufalos and

ZIQING XIONG / THE TUFTS DAILY

in activities at Dance Marathon on March 11 at 51 Winthrop St. Jordan Stone, provided the music for the event. Liebow-Feeser said she and her fellow organizers began planning the event at the beginning of last semester.

“It’s essentially been an entire school year-long process,” LiebowFreeser, a sophomore, said. “Once [the see DANCE MARATHON, page 3

Interdisciplinary conference body discusses importance, influence of Arctic on international affairs by Joe Walsh

Assistant News Editor

ALEX KNAPP / THE TUFTS DAILY

Fletcher hosted the Opening Arctic V Conference on Saturday Mar. 12. Mieke Coppes (center left) discusses her research on the role of the Inuit Circumpolar Council and their influence on Arctic foreign policy.

Please recycle this newspaper

Rainy 39 / 42

/thetuftsdaily

For breaking news, our content archive and exclusive content, visit tuftsdaily.com @tuftsdaily

tuftsdaily

Academics, business leaders and diplomats gathered to discuss the future of the Arctic region at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy’s fifth annual Opening Arctic Conference on Saturday. The conference, which was organized by a group of 15 Fletcher students, was a part of its Warming Arctic International Inquiry Series, according to the event’s pamphlet. Through three panels, various speakers and a reception hosted by the Government of Japan, the conference served to address modern diplomacy infrastructure and commerce in the Arctic region, which conference panelists argued is newly open in the global market due to the rapidly melting sea ice. Following a brief introduction from conference organizers and Fletcher

second-years Molly Douglas and Rabia Altaf, the event began with a recorded video address by Senator Angus King (I-ME). King made a case for the necessity of infrastructure development, international cooperation, collaboration with indigenous populations and research as climate change reshapes the Arctic region. “We have an opportunity to move through the development process of opening up the Arctic in a stable and peaceful way,” King said. After King’s remarks, Admiral James Stavridis, dean of the Fletcher School, facilitated a panel discussion on Arctic diplomacy, in which six diplomats spoke about the need for cooperation in the Arctic. Panelist Susan Harper, the director general and senior Arctic official of the Department of Global Affairs

NEWS............................................1 FEATURES.................................4 ARTS & LIVING.......................5

see ARCTIC, page 2

OPINION.....................................8 COMICS.....................................10 SPORTS............................ BACK

THE TUFTS DAILY | News | Monday, March 14, 2016

T HE T UFTS D AILY Sarah Zheng Editor-in-Chief

EDITORIAL Nicholas Golden Mengqi Sun Managing Editors Nicholas Pfosi Associate Editor Arin Kerstein Executive News Editor Isha Fahad News Editors Abby Feldman Melissa Kain Sophie Lehrenbaum Emma Steiner Ariel Barbieri-Aghib Assistant News Editors Kyle Blacklock Gil Jacobson Robert Katz Liam Knox Catherine Perloff Vibhav Prakasam Hannah Uebele John “Joe” Walsh Kendall Todd Executive Features Editor Nicole Brooks Features Editors Nina Joung Jake Taber Diane Alexander Assistant Features Editors Constantinos Angelakis Emily Cheng Emma R. Rosenthal John Gallagher Executive Arts Editor Lancy Downs Arts Editors Justin Krakoff Josh Podolsky Jonah Allon Assistant Arts Editors Cassidy Olsen Eran Sabaner Hannah Hoang Dorie Campbell Emily Karl Erin Sifre Stephen Dennison Abigail Feldman Shannon Geary Allison Merola Cassie Bardos Miranda Chavez Frances DeFreitas Jake Goldberg Emma Henderson Michael Lefkowtiz Anita Ramaswamy Noah Weinflash

Executive Op-Ed Editor Op-Ed Editor Cartoonists

Editorialists

Maclyn Senear Executive Sports Editor Ray-Paul Biron Sports Editors Ross Dember Phillip Goldberg Alex Schroeder Chris Warren Yuan Jun Chee Assistant Sports Editors Maddie Payne Eddie Samuels Noah Smith Sofie Hecht Executive Photo Editor Alex Knapp Caroline Ambros Picture Tufts Editor Ray Bernoff Staff Photographers Laura DeArmas Maria Ferraz Henry Hintermeister Katlyn Kreie Mia Lambert Jiaxun Li Nora Nord Nicholas Pfosi Julia Press Evan Sayles Angelie Xiong

tuftsdaily.com

TUESDAY

“Granting Amnesty to Drug Addicts Seeking Help: The Opioid Crisis in MA and beyond” Details: Gloucester’s Chief of Police Leonard Campanello will be speaking about his department’s policy not to charge drug addicts who request help from the department, which has received national attention. When and Where: 12:00 – 1:15 p.m., Crane Room, Paige Hall Sponsors: Department of Political Science, Department of Community Health “The Heart of the Matter: An expert panel on life-prolonging medicine in the 21st century” Details: Doctors John Groarke, Eldrin Lewis and Mandeep Mehra, all associated with Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School, will be speaking on a panel about the future of noncommunicable diseases in the age of 21st century health care.

VISITING the

hill THIS WEEK

When and Where: 8:00 – 9:30 p.m., ASEAN Auditorium, Cabot Intercultural Center Sponsors: TuftScope Journal

WEDNESDAY

“Her Story: Screening & Conversation with the Stars!” Details: Following a screening of the “Her Story” web series, which portrays the daily lives of trans and queer women, there will be a panel discussion on the making of the series with participation from producer Katherine Fisher and actresses Angelica Ross and Jen Richards. The discussion will be moderated by Assistant Professor of Music Stephan Pennington. When and Where: 7:00 p.m., Room 008, Barnum Hall Sponsors: LGBT Center

Performance by Natasha Leggero Details: Stand-up comedian Natasha Leggero will headline the Entertainment Board’s spring comedy event. This is a ticketed event. When and Where: 8:00 – 10:00 p.m., Cohen Auditorium Sponsors: Entertainment Board

THURSDAY

“Development in this Century: Building Middle Class Societies” Details: Nancy Birdsall, founding president of the Center for Global Development, will speak as a part of the Birger Lecture Series. When and Where: 4:30 – 5:45 p.m., 51 Winthrop Street Sponsors: Department of Economics

Fletcher School hosts annual Opening Arctic Conference

ARCTIC

continued from page 1 of Canada, said that residents of the Arctic must be given opportunities for sustainable development. Finnish Ambassador Hannu Halinen talked about the critical need for research in the Arctic, and American Ambassador Mark Brzezinski applauded President Barack Obama’s focus on the Arctic. “If we do not act jointly, that will accelerate the worst challenges and struggles that we face as they pertain to the Arctic,” Brzezinski said. American Ambassador David Balton, who is the current chair of the Arctic Council’s Senior Arctic Officials, praised the Arctic Council for keeping the risk of conflict in the region extremely low, and American Ambassador Robert Barber spoke about Iceland’s partnership with the United States. Japanese Ambassador Kazuko Shiraishi said that, as an observer state,

Japan hopes to have an increased role in the Arctic Council. Later in the discussion, Halinen, Balton and Harper all agreed that observer states should enjoy larger roles. Following their remarks, the panelists took questions from the audience about funding for Arctic research, climate change mitigation and the potential for conflict over petroleum. Later in the day, Fletcher School Professor Paul Berkman moderated the second conference panel, titled “Advancing Pan-Arctic Infrastructure.” The five panelists, who represented both government and business interests, discussed the importance of developing regulatory architecture, investing robustly in infrastructure in the north and cooperating to ensure the safety of maritime traffic. “[Arctic development] is no longer a question of research,” Berkman said. “It is a question of implementation.” After the first two panels, Odaiko New

England, a Japanese music group, performed for conference participants, and the conference hosted several roundtable discussions to address Arctic commerce and indigenous interests. “The reality is that we are desperate for economic development in our territory,” Madeleine Redfern, the mayor of Iqaluit, which is in the Nunavut territory of northern Canada, said. A third afternoon panel, which covered entrepreneurship and innovation in the Arctic, was moderated by Fletcher School Professor Rockford Weitz and hosted six panelists from government, business and academic spheres. The event concluded with remarks by Shiraishi and an evening reception. Ultimately, most of the panelists and participants appeared optimistic about the future productivity of Arctic diplomacy and trade. “The Arctic region can and probably will be a zone of cooperation,” Harper said.

PRODUCTION Julie Doten

Production Director Astrid Weng Executive Layout Editor Jewel Castle Layout Editors Abbie Gantner Leila Li Allie Merola Brianna Mignano Mandip Pokharel Ellie Powers Annabelle Roberts Emily Sharp Andrew Stephens Sebastian Torrente Shirley Wang Creative Director Petrina Chan Executive Graphics Editor Allison Merola Graphics Editors Dana Pek Belinda Xian Jack Ronan Executive Copy Editors Dan Strauss Alison Beach Copy Editors Arthur Beckel Lancy Downs Alison Epstein Andrew Kager Melissa Kain Sarah Kalinowski Reena Karasin Sophie Lehrenbaum Rachel Salzberg Arielle Sigel Caroline Watson Maxwell Bernstein Executive Tech Manager Nitesh Gupta Online Editor Evan Sayles Social Media Editor

BUSINESS Yiran Xu Executive Business Director Qinyue Yu Receivables Manager Evan Sayles Online Advertising Eva Sachar Ad Managers Jay Hayes

ALEX KNAPP / THE TUFTS DAILY

Fletcher hosted the Opening Arctic V Conference on Saturday Mar. 12. Iqaluit Mayor Madeleine Redfern (right) and Professor of Political Science at Université Laval Thierry Rodon (left) discuss Inuit Nunangat’s Economy.

Want to get campus news the moment it happens? Follow us on Twitter and Facebook!

/thetuftsdaily @tuftsdaily

/tuftsdaily /tuftsdaily

Monday, March 14, 2016 | News | THE TUFTS DAILY

Students bring national Dance Marathon movement to campus DANCE MARATHON

continued from page 1 executive board finishes] planning this event, we’ll go into planning the event for next year: so, it’s kind of like a never-ending cycle.” Tufts Dance Marathon is not officially recognized by the Tufts Community Union ( TCU) Senate, so it does not receive any formal funding through the university. For this reason, the organization relied on on contributions to fund the event, Kaempf said. “We’re not officially recognized yet because it’s our first year on campus, but our goal is to be recognized as a Tufts club for next year,” LiebowFreeser said. “Basically we’re trying to be the Tufts chapter of this movement that’s already established at other schools.” Local businesses including Dave’s Fresh Pasta, Lisa’s Family Pizzeria, Starbucks, Whole Foods and Pizza Days provided free food and refreshments throughout the dance event. Natalie Araya, vice president of public relations for the Dance Marathon, said the organization held several fundraisers last semester to raise funds for some of the marathon expenses that could not be covered by contributions and donors. These fundraising efforts included a series of coffee and donut sales in Wren Hall. “We talked to Dunkin’ Donuts, and they agreed to sponsor us and give us free coffee and donuts,” Araya, a sophomore, said. The money generated during these fundraisers helped to finance logistical expenses, such as paying for a Tufts University Police Department ( TUPD) detail at the event, Araya explained. While Friday’s event spanned a period of five hours, Tufts University Dance Marathon team members hope that this event length will grow over the upcoming years. “We’re starting off smaller this year, just to get it started.” LiebowFreeser said. “With schools that have been established for longer, some of them go for as long as... 30 hours.” Prior to the event, Kaempf said the group hoped the atmosphere at the event would be fun and stress-free. “Essentially what Friday night is going to be is kind of like a huge party, the culmination of all of our fundraising efforts,” Kaempf said. “It’s just going to be something really fun to embrace the whole spirit of what Boston Children’s Hospital tries

ZIQING XIONG / THE TUFTS DAILY

Tufts BEATs performs at Dance Marathon on March 11.

ZIQING XIONG / THE TUFTS DAILY

to give back to the kids.” Members of the Tufts Dance Marathon executive board were very happy with the turnout for the event. “We’re very pleased,” Kaempf said.

“Everyone who was there [was] telling us how much they loved it.” Kaempf looks forward to continuing working with CMN and cultivating the tradition of Dance Marathons at Tufts.

“Our whole thing is Dance Marathon wis 365 days a year,” Kaempf said. “Just because our event was on Friday night doesn’t mean we’re stopping now. We’re already getting ready for next year.”

4 tuftsdaily.com

Features

Monday, March 14, 2016

The piano lesson of tomorrow: computer science department researches music learning by Siddharth Divakaruni

to the next part, the BACh system, evaluates the students’ Computer Science Ph.D. candidate readiness to move Beste Filiz Yuksel and her colleagues have forward and subsefound a new learning method for playing quently assigns the the piano – one that can read your brain next part for the as you learn. While the BACh system, or student to learn. Brain Automated Chorales system, works Jacob explained specifically with learning how to play the that the oxygen levpiano, the team aims to better understand els in the particihow computer systems and music can pants’ pre-frontal affect rates of learning in general. cortexes were meaThose working alongside Yuksel include sured to determine her advisor, Professor Rob Jacob, Ph.D., cognitive workload Tufts graduate Kurt Oleson (E ’15) and oth- while learning a siners. According to Jacob, BACh is a human gle part of the chobrain-computer interface that is designed rale with the BACh. to facilitate rapid music learning using The system meathe famous Bach chorales. Yuksel wrote sured short-term in an email to the Daily that she wanted memory workload to create a system that could help people through functional with their learning acquisition and chose near-infrared specmusic due to its complexity. troscopy (fNIRS). “My hope has always been that The system could MARIA FERRAZ / THE TUFTS DAILY brain-computer interfaces one day see how much a Professor Robert Jacob in the Human Computer Interaction Lab on March 8. become part of our everyday life,” Yuksel participant’s brain wrote in an email to the Daily. was “struggling” to process and memo- than without. Furthermore, self-identi- Yuksel, BRaaHMS involved measuring According to Jacob, he and Yuksel rize the notes. Once the system detected fied beginner pianists benefited more cognitive workload, which helped piano started working together on BACh in when a participant had nearly mastered than pianists who describe themselves players improvise and become more creearly 2015, having worked together one section, it would give the player a new as intermediates. ative in playing piano harmonies. before with music and brain-computer section once they had finished, Jacob said. Yuksel explained what differentiIn terms of future research regarding interfaces in 2013. In regards to BACh, More detailed results are included ates her research and what it means for the integration of computer science according to him, they decided to take in the BACh team’s paper, titled “Learn future research in the field. and music, Yuksel hopes to one day be beginner-level pianists and have them Piano with BACh: An Adaptive Learning “This is the first time that cogni- able to create a system that can also learn the Bach chorales. Interface that Adjusts Task Difficulty tive workload has been measured using detect emotions such as anxiety and Chorales are comprised of four sep- based on Brain State.” According to brain sensing and used in real-time in a frustration during the learning process. arate parts: soprano, alto, tenor and the paper, variables including missed learning task,” Yuksel wrote in an email She wrote that she would like to intebass. For the study, participants were notes, total time played and the gap to the Daily. “This has implications grate this into interpreting music learnasked to learn two different chorales. between notes were used for assess- beyond music and computer science ing rates. Furthermore, she wrote that For one chorale, they were told to learn ment of the participant’s successful and can be investigated in other fields one day, the fNIRS machine used to it with the method they normally use or learning. The paper will officially be of learning.” monitor the brain’s cognitive workload were taught to use. For the other chorale, presented in May. This was not Yuksel’s first time work- may be portable, thus facilitating this the participants learned the piece using The results of BACh were substantial. ing with music. She and Jacob previously type of research. the BACh system’s assistance. While the According to a Feb. 9 New Scientist arti- worked on a project titled BRaaHMS Professor Paul Lehrman, Ph.D., comtraditional learning method has partic- cle, pianists played faster and with (Brain Automated Adaptive Harmonies puter music expert and one of Yuksel’s ipants use self-judgement to progress more accuracy in 15 minutes with BACh in a Musical System). According to point people in her work, noted that computers have been involved with music production for at least 30 years, and the field is still continuing to move forward — the BACh project is a small piece in the entire advancement of the field. According to him, these advancements benefit society on multiple levels. “Music stimulates the brain in so many different ways,” Lehrman said. “We do know that the brain responds to [music] on a large number of levels simultaneously, and it engages the brain in a very complex way. So, to learn [music] means that you’re exercising your brain in a lot of ways having to do with patterns, perception of time, perception of space…and also on a social level. It teaches discipline, cooperation and social structure.” MARIA FERRAZ / THE TUFTS DAILY Ph.D. student places electrodes on his head in order to assess electrical impulses while playing simple melodies on the keyboard assigned by Professor Jacob. Contributing Writer

Monday, March 14, 2016

ARTS&LIVING TV REVIEW

ABC’s ‘Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.’ is a worth wild ride by Stina Stannik

Contributing Writer

The third season of ABC’s “Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D” (2013 – present) returned last week on the tail of its strongest episodes and a four-month winter hiatus. These factors combined to place a great deal of pressure on the mid-season premiere, and the show neither caved under, nor fully lived up to, those expectations. There was a lot to address in the March 8 episode “Bouncing Back.” In the previous installment, Fitz (Iain de Caestecker) and Coulson (Clark Gregg) had traveled to the distant planet Maveth to keep ancient criminal orga-

nization Hydra from bringing a mysterious entity back to Earth. In the process, Coulson killed S.H.I.E.L.D.agent-turned-Hydra-baddie Ward (Brett Dalton), and Fitz knocked off Will (Dillon Casey), an astronaut trapped on Maveth for many years before he died helping Fitz’s once-unrequited love Simmons (Elizabeth Henstridge) escape, who became inhabited by Hydra’s long-lost alien god Hive. Fitz and Coulson made it back through the portal to Earth but unwittingly allowed undead Ward — now inhabited by the creature Hive — to return as well. Meanwhile the global fish supply has been contaminated by Terregin mist,

which will activate superpowers among the Inhumans, a portion of the human population who have alien genes. Got all that? “S.H.I.E.L.D” opts to sidestep the audience’s many lingering questions to start the second half of the season at full throttle, which is somewhat effective in building suspense but also feels like a dirty trick to deny viewers any answers. This episode finds Joey ( Juan Pablo Raba), Daisy (Chloe Bennet), Bobbi (Adrianne Palicki), Hunter (Nick Blood) and Mack (Henry Simmons) in Bogota chasing rumors of see S.H.I.E.L.D., page 6

MOVIE REVIEW

Whitewashed ‘Gods of Egypt’ offers junk food fun by Rebecca Xu

Contributing Writer

Epic battles, a classic apocalyptic plot and self-sacrificing romances — “Gods of Egypt” contains all the markings of a crowd-pleasing film. The movie follows the journey of a young thief named Bek (Brenton Thwaites), who, by the most unfortunate of circumstances, ends up helping the god Horus (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) reclaim Egypt and also his eyes from the usurper Set (Gerard Butler); this is also part of a bargain to recover his love, Zaya (Courtney Eaton). In the epic tradition, the heroes — underdog Bek and lovable jerk Horus — (spoiler alert) end up saving Egypt. Since it follows familiar tropes in a fantasy film, plotwise “Gods of Egypt” fails to amaze, but it is not an unenjoyable movie. Film critics may hate it for the uncreative storyline and characters and historians for its whitewashed portrayal of ancient Egyptian culture, but “Gods of Egypt” still thrills with its action and larger-than-life themes. The immediately glaring issues concerning “Gods of Egypt” are its predominantly white casting for a film set in ancient Egypt and its mangling of Egyptian mythology. While the story of Set killing his own brother, Horus’ father, Osiris for the throne and Horus wrangling the throne back from his uncle do exist, “Gods of Egypt” totally alters the plot and inserts human actors that should not be there, including a deus-ex-machina-y Ra (Geoffrey Rush). It also features a sphinx riddle scene that is undeniably inspired by the sphinx in the Greek myth of Oedipus (which is confusing to say the least because, unlike its malevolent Greek cousin, the Egyptian sphinx is predominantly male and benevolent). It seems almost unfair to call “Gods of Egypt” an adaptation of the original Egyptian myth; perhaps it can be more accurately described as a film that takes the premise of the myth and turns it into a typical action-fantasy story. It is impolite at best, offensive at worst. Yet, despite all these things that make it a movie that should rationally be boring, tasteless and hard to watch, “Gods of Egypt” is actually rath-

er entertaining. The appeal of “Gods of Egypt” lies in the fact that it does not take itself entirely seriously with historical accuracy and in-character depictions. It does not try to tell the story of gods; it instead endeavors to relate some motivating and inspiring notions about mankind. Coster-Waldau’s Horus does not behave like a god; he acts like some manchild who banishes himself to his own room to sulk instead of work out a plan to save his nation. Hathor (Elodie Yung) is unashamedly opportunistic and pragmatic (but for good reasons…reasons that are a great deal better than the lack of reasons Horus has for sulking just because his eyes got dug out and kingdom snatched), and Thoth (Chadwick Boseman) is delightfully narcissistic and arroWALLY SKALIJ VIA TRIBUNE NEWS SERVICE gant. Yet, despite all their Nikolaj Coster-Waldau arrives for the 66th Annual Primetime flaws, the good guys Emmy Awards at Nokia Theatre at L.A. on Aug. 25, 2014. triumph with the very Coster-Waldau plays the god Horus in “Gods of Egypt.” much mortal Bek playing perhaps the most instrumental role in via its guzzling the Nile (though the keeping the entire thing together. Sure, viewer still feels distress and sympait is the typical, predictable, expected thy for the characters, who seem to kind of conclusion, but, nevertheless, it be losing the battle at this point in appeals to the audience, who is large- the film). Going into “Gods of Egypt,” ly human (hopefully). By humanizing one does not expect to get an educathe titular gods, “Gods of Egypt” makes tional portrayal of a classic ancient Horus’ story probably more relatable Egyptian myth; the viewer goes in to and less like an ancient history docu- drown themselves in fantasy and, in return, get imagery reminiscent of mentary. “Gods of Egypt” is the furthest “The Mummy”(1999). As long as one thing from cultural and historical can ignore the blatant appropriation reality, but that is precisely why it of Egyptian history (and many, probworks; it offers complete escapism. ably, should not) and instead see it as With the flying giant scarab chariots, just another far-fetched, almost campy Set’s Transformer-esque makeover and fantasy film, it does a fine job. Its charRa’s spaceship, the viewer knows the acters are sympathetic, it is reasonably movie is not grounded in reality. It paced, and it is a hell of a ride. Sure, is not as distressing to witness the objectively speaking it is not a great apocalypse when the world is literally movie, but hey, it is actually rather fun, being destroyed by a giant space worm in its own implausible, silly, way.

5 tuftsdaily.com

Isaac Brown Pop Filter

Highly questionable advice

get a lot of people who hear my a cappella group perform for the first time asking me how I take a song people grew up singing and convert it into something that echoes the original, but at the same time sounds completely different. There’s nothing glamorous or exciting about the actual arranging process itself; it’s just a matter of connecting piece A to piece B or laying brick one over brick two, until the pieces work together to create something greater than the sum of their parts. Asking someone how they arranged a piece is like asking them built their own wooden outhouse. No, too dignified. Perhaps arranging is more on the level of building a DIY lawnmower or a brick wall. Conceptually simple, and yet not something everyone can or ought to dive into after reading a few guide books and blog posts on the subject. But by your third brick wall, you certainly start seeing improvement. Perhaps “how do you do that?” is rhetorical. The asker doesn’t really care what I say as they listen to some answer that sounds exciting, and what they really mean is that the song exceeded their expectations. That’s all well and good, but what about those who are genuine? They should know that my methods for arranging are all wrong, and no one should ever follow them. But in order to clear up any confusion regarding the difference between what I practice and what I preach, I’ll outline how I make things happen. In theory, a cappella arranging has steps of preparation, thought and careful execution of every voice part, and in total you can go through about a dozen steps. I don’t like steps: the fewer the better. My step-bystep process for arranging goes more like this: motivation and production. No brainstorming sessions or planning needed. Why motivation? It’s all you need to do anything. Without that motivation, an arrangement is the kind of project that just falls by the wayside as real life takes over. You need to feel that desire to click, drag, click, drag, type something, click, drag, repeatedly until you’ve reached the end of the piece and hope it’s not all bad. Feel it and don’t lose it. Motivation to me also means fear of disappointing others, so I end up pulling the plug on most of my projects. But that’s just reason to make more. Perhaps that’s the answer people want to hear: I made it my personal mission to dedicate a substantial portion of free time towards something most people believe is dull and a lot of effort expended for something that doesn’t really matter. It’s not related to my educational, career or philosophical aspirations; it’s purely for “recreation.” After motivation comes production. You set a day, and say you need the score done by then. If you aren’t working on production, you need better motivation. Simple as that. There’s no in between — either you’re hammering it out noteby-note or the arrangement is stuck on measure five forever. Production doesn’t end until the song is performed for the first time. It’s a fairly important step. Isaac Brown is a junior, an English major and a contributing writer at the Tufts Daily. He can be reached at isaac.brown@ tufts.edu.

THE TUFTS DAILY | Arts & Living | Monday, March 14, 2016

tuftsdaily.com

Strong acting from series regulars, guest stars buoys ‘Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.’ in third season S.H.I.E.L.D.

continued from page 5 a new Inhuman, while Coulson begins the hunt for Gideon Malick (Powers Boothe), the international businessman who heads Hydra and against whom Coulson has a personal vendetta. “Bouncing Back” felt a bit like peacocking, reminding viewers of S.H.I.E.L.D’s competence and power. There was too much telling rather than showing, a chronic issue against which “S.H.I.E.L.D” has struggled and repeated explanations of past events and of the logistics of Terrigenesis frustrate long-time viewers. Moreover, what felt like exposition for the coming installments sacrificed some of the depth and sharpness that have marked other episodes in favor of trying to tackle too much at once. In addition, the phenomenal Ming-Na Wen, who plays Agent Melinda May, is criminally underused in this episode. Despite these not-insignificant weaknesses, this episode did a serviceable job setting up the rest of the season. Coulson is newly callous, stepping out of his Batmanesque do-no-harm past, and this alarming development will surely ignite clashes with the rest of the team. Several characters suggest that Inhumans are part of an intelligent design, and this mythology is sure to be explored further. Fitz and Simmons, universally touted as the emotional heart of the show, take an important and mature step forward in their surprisingly not trite will-theywon’t-they relationship. But the best moment of the week goes to Clark

Gregg’s perfect deadpan while listen- within that universe before tuning into an Emmy-winner — nor is it supposed ing to Hydra’s cheery hold music. “S.H.I.E.L.D.” The show draws on and to be. Appropriately for its comic book In the series as a whole, the acting interacts with comics, films and other roots, it’s often quite campy, with overtalent may be its greatest strength and resources within the Marvel universe, acting and dramatic music and less makes commitment to the series entirely but it functions semi-autonomously self-awareness than Whedon’s simiworthwhile. In addition to a solid main and can be viewed alone — a praise- larly campy “Firefly” (2002 – 2003). cast, “S.H.I.E.L.D.” has featured the likes worthy feat. The March 3 renewal of “S.H.I.E.L.D.” sometimes slips in qualof Kyle MacLachlan, Patton Oswalt, Blair “S.H.I.E.L.D.” suggests that ABC and ity and is unlikely to make deep, origUnderwood, Dichen Lachman, Ruth Marvel are invested in the show in the inal statements about the world or Negga and Bill Paxton in memorable long run. humanity, but it nonetheless offers a guest roles. The emphasis on a diverse “S.H.I.E.L.D.” is no “Breaking Bad” riotous and wild ride to those willing cast and complex female characters, (2008 – 2013) — that is to say, it’s not to jump on. both trademarks of co-creator Joss Whedon, must also be recognized. “Bouncing Back” introduced Colombian Inhuman character Elena “YoYo” Rodriguez, and there was an outpouring of support on Twitter for her portrayer, actress Natalia Cordova-Buckley, with fans expressing excitement and gratitude at seeing a Latina heroine. Though a part of the massive Marvel cinematic universe, it is not necessary to know anything DISNEY | ABC TELEVISION GROUP VIA FLICKR about the comic The original cast of “Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.,” featured in this promotional shot, continue to shine in the books or films sometimes campy, but very lovable, ABC series.

VIDEO GAME REVIEW

‘Last Stand’ update brings much needed new content to ‘Vermintide’ by John J. Gallagher Executive Arts Editor

“Warhammer: End Times – Vermintide,” an October 2015 first-person cooperative hack-and-slash title by the independent Swedish developer Fatshark, was something of a surprise critical darling upon release (we at the Daily adored the beta). The game, which pits four players against hordes of ratmen in a Games Workshop’s medieval-Germany-meets-magic“Warhammer Fantasy” (1983 – present) setting, has earned praise for its loving rendition. Additionally, its gameplay, though clearly inspired by Valve’s “Left 4 Dead” series (2008 – 2009), managed to differentiate itself from its predecessors by putting the emphasis on melee combat and loot. But just like those of the “Left 4 Dead” games before it, dedicated players of “Vermintide” found that playing and replaying its limited number of missions quickly became dull. After all, blowing the Horn of Magnus to rouse the defenders of Ubersreik for the 50th time stops feeling like a feat of heroism and instead feels like a chore. “Vermintide’s” daily player numbers reflect this unfortunate reality. According to Steamcharts, a service that tracks games’ player numbers over time, “Vermintide” has been hemorrhaging players month to month since

its release, which could very well be the kiss of death for a game that didn’t have a huge player base to begin with. The solution to declining player interest, particularly for a title with solid core gameplay like “Vermintide” is to simply release a steady stream of new content to keep players hooked, though this is easier said than done. In the months since “Vermintide’s” release, Fatshark has only released tweaks that have included bug fixes and an overhaul of the game’s crafting system but no new content — until now. Last week, Fatshark released “Last Stand,” the first substantial piece of downloadable content (DLC) for “Vermintide.” The content pack contains two new levels, both of which play host to a new “Last Stand” game mode, where players must endure against an endless horde of ratmen for as long as possible. The first of the DLC’s two levels is called “Town Meeting” and takes place in von Junfreuudplatz — a circular city plaza with a large central statue (a suitably inspiring man holding a great sword aloft), rendered in “Warhammer’s” characteristic medieval German style. What could have been a largely mundane circular level is instead broken up with piles of lumber and market stalls that lend the plaza a lived-in feel. The level’s lighting is also gorgeous, with the soft early morning light casting an ethereal glow over the bloody proceedings.

The structure of “Town Meeting” is such that players inevitably find themselves in the naturally-defensible center of the plaza, standing on the statue’s pedestal beset by enemies on all sides. Though defending a single point sounds bland on paper, watching a horde of rats sweep towards your vantage point makes for a striking visual that recalls the Balin’s Tomb scene from “The Fellowship of the Ring” (2001). “Let them come” indeed. The second of the two new levels is behind a $3 paywall and takes place in a ruined mountain fortress called “Schluesselschloss” (try saying that ten times fast) that sits on the edge of a waterfall. Enemies enter “Schluesselschloss” from a greater variety of paths than they do “Town Meeting,” and as such there is no obvious defensible position; players are forced to fight a running battle with the ratmen amid the fortress’ rotting wood and crumbling stone. The natural beauty of the setting (dramatic mountains AND a waterfall!) should make for some breathtaking environment art and for the most part, Fatshark delivers. The fortress itself is immaculately put together, with tattered pennants and banners hinting at the building’s history and Rube Goldbergesque crane acting at the level’s clear focal point. “Schluesselschloss” is redolent with history and groaning with the

weight of the lore that the “Warhammer” setting has built up over the past 30-odd years. That the team at Fatshark has managed, yet again to, encapsulate the essence of “Warhammer” in a level is a feat for which they will certainly earn insufficient praise. The quality of the background art, however, leaves much to be desired. Shoddy texture work abounds on the far away mountains and the river that snakes into the distance clips through the ground regularly. Though players are unlikely to contemplate the background in the heat of battle, should they glance up from the gore for a moment in-between waves, these frankly amateurish failings will shatter the immersion that an otherwise fantastically atmospheric level has worked to build. All in all, it is encouraging to see a smaller independent developer continuing to support its game with quality content post-launch. “Last Stand” has injected some fresh blood into a game that became monotonous months ago and will hopefully draw some lapsed players back to “Vermintide.” The $3 asking price for the “Schluesselschloss” is also more than fair for the quality of the content on offer (sub-par background art notwithstanding). Hopefully Fatshark realizes what an absolute gem they have in “Vermintide” and that “Last Stand” is, but a taste of the quality content to come.

Monday, March 14, 2016 | ADVERTISEMENT | THE TUFTS DAILY

tuftsdaily.com

1/4 AD

MARCH th 15

1/8 AD

12:00 – 1:15PM

TUFTS POLITICAL SCIENCE DEPARTMENT & COMMUNITY HEALTH PRESENT:

LEONARD CAMPANELLO

CHIEF OF GLOUCESTER POLICE

1/2 AD

CRANE ROOM, Paige Hall

Granting Amnesty to Drug Addicts Seeking Help: The Opioid Crisis in MA and beyond Chief Campanello spent 7 years as a narcotics detective before becoming Gloucester’s Chief of Police and implementing a groundbreaking department policy where any addict who walks into his police station with the remainder of their drug equipment or drugs and asks for help will NOT be charged. Instead, the police department will walk them through the system toward detox and recovery, assigning them an "angel" who will be their guide through the process. Gloucester’s approach has received national attention for its innovative approach.

FREE

PIZZA

8 tuftsdaily.com

Opinion EDITORIAL

College admission reforms should address high school pressure The number of students, from middle school to graduate schools ,are experiencing extreme stress, and its side effects growing at an alarming rate. In an anonymous study conducted last spring at Irvington High School near Silicon Valley, Dr. Stuart Slavin of Saint Louis University School of Medicine found that over 54 percent of students showed moderate to severe signs of depression, and over 80 percent of students showed moderate to severe signs of anxiety. Last December, West Windsor’s school district in New Jersey made national headlines for calling for educational reforms after 40 students were recommended for mental health assessments and subsequently hospitalized. And yet, at the same time, graduating students often thank the stressful high school experience for preparing them for college education. The greatest fear students have when it comes to reforming the education system is that the reforms will cause schools to lose their competitive edge in college admissions cycles. The immense workload given to many high school students prepares them for the next step of education, college, like nothing else. Being given hundreds of pages of reading per week, daily math problem sets and also balancing multiple extracurriculars teaches students how to prioritize, how to manage their time and how to develop rea-

sonable expectations. However, high school students often don’t get more than five hours of sleep each night. The urge to satisfy every point on the theoretical checklist of college admissions (academic rigor, grades, extracurricular activities…the list goes on) turns into an ongoing obsession. The question to ask is whether alleviating pressure in high school should be one of the main concerns of college admissions reforms. We need to reassess the ultimate goal and the meaning of these academic struggles. In a society where selectivity means eliteness, where quality itself is overlooked for quantity of students who are accepted, it is only natural that students try to become the most competitive applicant they can be — even if it means coming close to dangerous levels of stress and mental/physical fatigue. What comes of this education, though? Why is it so important to get into such a selective school, when students in the United States can receive such high quality educations at so many colleges? More and more top-ranked students are choosing to pursue careers in finance and consulting, author William Deresiewicz says in his book Excellent Sheep. In these areas, connections are crucial to finding jobs and getting promotions. However, these are also sectors in which suicide rates are high; the highly competitive nature of these

sectors mixed with the idea of “high risk, high reward” cause people to feel “replaceable.” Deresiewicz argues that students are choosing to throw away academic curiosity and “passionate weirdness” to instead take jobs in areas like the financial industry in order to gain material wealth and security; he calls this generation of students “excellent sheep.” In this day and age, with students being criticized for not having high enough aspirations, for conversely being criticized for working too hard to attain material goals, it gets more confusing to understand what is truly right for everyone, especially in a time when college-aged students are derisively called “sheep.” That’s what it ultimately comes down to: education isn’t a one size fits all. Though grades are a measurement of success, they measure a very specific subset of skills. Perhaps educational reforms could be effective if they altered the way in which grades are calculated. If a student’s aspiration is to get into a highly selective college, they may need to be willing to subject themselves to the stressful high school experience that many of us students at Tufts experienced. But if a student’s main aspiration isn’t to get into a highly selective college, maybe it’s time that the curriculum can be adapted to suit their aspirations.

CARTOON

BY SHANNONGEARY

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.

Monday, March 14, 2016

Jake Lawicki The Jumbo Steps

Food for thought: on weenies

“T

ufts has no weenie game,” stated an irate Jonathan at last night’s dinner. He wore a UNC Football shirt, which is how we got onto the subject in the first place. I asked him about why he likes UNC football right as Jif, another friend, joined us. And, boy, did I ask a loaded question. It turns out that if you take one Tufts nerd who knows just north of nothing about weenie culture (me) and plop him in Dewick with two other Tufts nerds who are enamored by the art of The Game (Jonathan and Jif), you learn that some students are upset at the absence of weenies on campus. Alright, now, get your mind out of the gutter and get it focused more on gutter balls. I’m talking about the weenies and accompanying junk food you get at sporting events. The conversation quickly turned to their dissatisfaction of sports culture on campus. I, anything but a sports enthusiast, picked their brain on this for a bit. I told them I was actually attracted to Tufts in part because its students downplay sports culture compared to other schools I’d been considering. I expected to get some response along the lines of “oh, c’mon, you have no school spirit” but was instead enlightened by how collegiate sports is more than just about school pride. I’d asked them their thoughts on my go-to saying: “Go Sports!” In a very Tuftsian way, they agreed no one can say anything about my ambivalence to sports if that’s how I feel. But they qualified that by noting how very few people regularly attend sporting events to cheer on our fellow ‘Bos. I asked them what we, as a student body, could do to ameliorate this. Jif stressed that students would be more inclined to go to games if they knew someone competing in them. To him, a weakened sports culture isn’t a by-product of our D3 status. Rather, the lack of interest to attend the meets themselves, combined with no strongly identifiable rival school, create a lack of investment to sports. Jonathan took a slightly different approach: there is more to a successful game than just winning. In other words, while winning the game is important, the game itself provides a way by which spectators can create and foster friendships. It’s not a matter of having an affinity to or dislike of sports; it’s about the social and fraternal nature of the event. He also suggested that Tufts provide transportation to away games. I learned that only half of men’s football games are held on campus. If we had greater facility of transport to away games, coupled with increased enthusiasm, we’d have what he calls “four more homecomings.” They also suggested tailgating, which they both affectionately described as “a pool party without the pool.” In their eyes, tailgating is an easy solution: all you need are some weenies for a grillin’, and you’re set. Jake is a first-year student in the College of Liberal Arts at Tufts University. He can be reached at jake.lawicki@tufts.edu.

Monday, March 14, 2016 | Opinion | THE TUFTS DAILY

OP-ED

If you want to help, help by Avner Golov Two weeks ago, I confronted a personal dilemma: should I attend Avner Gvaryahu’s lecture at Tufts or should I go to a new initiative whose objective is to improve relations between Israelis and Palestinians in the region? Though the right answer was clear, it was a tough call. As someone who invests considerable effort to bring the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to a peaceful end and someone who pays the terrible price of this conflict, I felt a moral duty to hear Mr. Gvaryahu slandering the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) and ask him some profound questions. However, for the same reasons, it was quite obvious that talking will not change reality on the ground; hence, I went to the forum that promotes deeds rather than speech. Nevertheless, it was important to me to share my message with those who also care about the people that live in the region, and I hope to also achieve that in this article. I served as an officer in the IDF. Every time I listen to lectures by Mr. Gvaryahu’s organization, Breaking the Silence (BTS), it feels like they come from Mars. Avner, like myself, was educated according to the IDF moral code which is undergirded by the principle of purity of arms: “the soldier shall make use of his weaponry and power only for

the fulfillment of the mission and solely to the extent required; he will maintain his humanity even in combat. The soldier shall not employ his weaponry and power in order to harm non-combatants or prisoners of war and shall do all he can to avoid harming their lives, body, honor and property”. It is often argued that Israeli soldiers as a whole do not follow this code. This argument does not hold water. Just few weeks ago, the Commander of the IDF talked with Israeli high-school students and emphasized the need to remain human, even in face of the current wave of terrorism from the West Bank. Last year, Israeli activists founded, “My Truth,” an NGO, which collects and shares thousands of stories from Israeli soldiers about their experience in the military. These stories significantly contradict the reality portrayed by Gvaryahu and his colleagues. I can also share my experience. I always educated my soldiers to follow the IDF code, and they regularly risked their lives in order to save Palestinians from Hamas. As a commander in the Israeli Air Force, I was also a witness to the number of operations aborted solely for humanitarian reasons, despite otherwise being in accordance with international law. After the last war in Gaza, the former American Chairman of the Joint Chiefs

finAliSt AuDitionS WEDnESDAy, MArch 16, 2016 • noon, goDDArD chAPEl EAch finAliSt Will PrESEnt A 3-5 MinutE SPEEch on thE folloWing toPic: “ There must be a few times in life when you stand at a precipice of a decision. When you know there will forever be a Before and an After...I knew there would be no turning back if I designated this moment as my own Prime Meridian from which everything else would be measured.” –Justina Chen, North of Beautiful Discuss a situation, either personal or public, which represents a “Prime Meridian” for either you, for others, or for all of us. Michael Maskin, A15 Wendell Phillips Speaker 2015

2016 finAliStS: Aniket De Janna Karatas

Abuzar royesh Sharad Sagar

All are welcome to attend.

thE WEnDEll PhilliPS AWArD The Wendell Phillips Award was established in 1896 to honor Boston’s great orator and advocate for abolition and women’s and Native People’s rights. The award is given annually to a senior who demonstrates both marked ability as a speaker and a high sense of public responsibility. Selected by the Committee on Student Life, the winner is the one graduating senior invited to offer a speech as part of Commencement, and the speech takes place during the Baccalaureate Service. It is intended to deliver a social justice message for our time.

organization lost the public support it had in Israel, particularly among the peace camp followers. If what Gvaryahu says is true, these soldiers should be sentenced to jail according to all Israeli standards. And if he protects them to promote his agenda or his organization’s interests, he has no legitimacy to talk about morality. I am sorry that Gvaryahu decided to take this path and describe a complex reality in such a reductive way. Whoever asks people to choose sides does not seek justice or peace but to promote their own interests at the expense of the people who truly suffer. My experience with Tufts students is that they are eager to understand the complexity of the reality in the Middle East, and when they are offered an opportunity they come with great ideas and meaningful initiatives to improve the lives of the people that suffer from the conflict: Palestinians and Israelis. We have many of these initiatives running today. This is why I chose yesterday to do rather than to talk, and I hope my fellow students will do the same whenever faced with the choice. Avner Golov is a Ph.D. student and Harry S. Truman Scholar at The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy. He can be reached at Avner.Golov@ tufts.edu.

NOW HIRING

Senior commencement Speaker

of Staff General Martin Dempsey, publicly repudiated some of the international criticism against Israel, arguing the IDF “did what they could” to avoid civilian casualties. Does it mean that in wars civilians will not die? That there are no individual soldiers that violate our norms and rules? That we are always perfect and infallible? Absolutely not! And it is our moral responsibility to work hard to make sure these accidents will not happen; but claiming that this type of misbehavior is the common one, or even the formal Israeli policy, is both far-fetched and misleading. How does everything I just described align with Mr. Gvaryahu’s message? It does not. So the onus of explaining this gap is on him. But every time I ask him or his colleagues about it, they mumble and retreat to their talking points. Gvaryahu talks about morality. Yet, there is nothing moral in presenting horrible stories to an international audience, avoiding legal cooperation with the Israeli jurisdiction system which enjoys a high international reputation. No one can check if Gvaryahu tells the truth or assess the validity of his explanations. In his world, Gvaryahu and his colleagues are the legislators, the court and the police. This contradicts the democratic values upon which Israeli society was built. This why Gvaryahu’s

THE TUFTS DAILY | Comics | Monday, March 14, 2016

Comics

tuftsdaily.com LATE NIGHT AT THE DAILY Jack: “Do you need some testosterone? You can absorb it through my body.”

Comics

CROSSWORD

Friday’s Solution

SUDOKU

JUMBLE

Difficulty Level: Letting your spring break plan fall through.

Friday’s Solution

NON SEQUITUR BY WILEY MILLER

Monday, March 14, 2016 | Sports | THE TUFTS DAILY

Tufts, led by Baptista, North, looks to earn its first Final Four win in program history WOMEN'S BASKETBALL

continued from back had to keep composure to fight through Scranton’s momentum and retake control. “Scranton came out with a lot of energy in the third quarter,” North said. “They were not done yet. They wanted to get right back into the game, and they got rid of our 13-point lead by the fourth quarter. We kind of just kept huddling during the game, and during our huddles with coach, too, we talked about staying composed and being level headed, falling back on our defense like we always do and making sure we get a stop every time, and then push it and get a score. Not panicking — that gym was really loud, there were so many Scranton fans there. It was hard to hear anyone really talking on the court. We had to really bring it together to play through it.” After coach Carla Berube called a timeout with just under seven minutes to play, the Jumbos found their stride once again and went on a 12-3 run to close out the game with a nine-point victory. Lee hit a big shot from beyond the arc to push the lead to five, and then Baptista ended the game with seven consecutive points of her own. She led all scorers with 23 points and also added four rebounds and two blocks. North had a double-double of 14 rebounds and 13 points, while Roberson tacked on 10 points and seven rebounds. Roman led the way for Scranton with a double-double of 13 points and 13 rebounds. In the game from Friday night’s Sweet 16, Tufts overcame some foul trouble and defeated Albright College 62-49. It took Tufts a little longer to get going in this contest, as both teams started with low offensive production. Albright led 7-6 after one quarter of play. By halftime, the Jumbos were up by just one point, leading 25-24.

It was not until the end of the third quarter that Tufts was able to finally break out and take a definitive lead. With just over two minutes to play before the fourth quarter, the Jumbos went on an 8-0 run for a seven-point lead. Though the Lions were able to shrink the Jumbos’ lead to as few as five in the fourth quarter, the Jumbos continued to match any offensive production, eventually taking the 13-point win. North was dominant in the post for Tufts pouring in 17 points and grabbing 19 rebounds. Dillon had 11 points on the game, and senior Maura Folliard had a huge game off the bench for the Jumbos. She scored 11 points on 5-of-8 shooting from the floor and also grabbed two rebounds. Though the Jumbos had to do it on the road rather than at home, they have proven they can take on the challenges of tough competition no matter where games may be played. “It’s definitely different not having that home court advantage and not having as many fans,” North said. “But, I mean, our men’s team was doing a great job [at home], pulling out some great wins. I think we play just as well on the road this year, too. We had a big win at Amherst, breaking their streak, so we knew we could play on the road. I mean, a basketball court is a basketball court, and we just need to play our game. And rallying through it, despite all the cheers against us, it was actually kind of fun, kind of taking it away from the home court crowd and showing them that we could be road warriors too.” The Jumbos now return to a remarkable third consecutive NCAA tournament Final Four, a testament to how much work the team, assistant coaches and head coach have put in to make the Tufts program so focused and successful. “I think it really speaks to coach

Berube as a coach and how talented she is and also the players she’s bringing in and the assistant coaches that she has next to her,” Roberson said. “I have nothing but good things to say about her. We’re obviously a defensive-minded team, so we are always focusing on defense, and I think she’s very motivating and really gets the best out of all of her players, and it shows in how well the program has done over the past few years.” This year’s NCAA Final Four features a chance for drama. Tufts (27-3) is set to take on little-known Wartburg College (23-7) this Saturday at Capital University in Columbus, Ohio and looks to end the small Iowa school’s Cinderellastory run on the national stage. In the other semifinal matchup, defending national champion and national No. 1 seed Thomas More (31-0) takes on an impressive-looking Amherst team (301). Should Amherst upset the defending champions, and should Tufts prevail against a previously unranked but dangerous Wartburg squad — which boasts a skilled 6 ft. 2 in. center in senior Kailey Kladivo who can neutralize North’s size advantage — Tufts will earn a chance to avenge its NESCAC Championships loss. This year also marks the 35th anniversary of the NCAA women’s basketball championships, which will be marked with a special tournament format. The winners of this Saturday’s Div. III Final Four games will face off on Monday, April 4 in Indianapolis at Bankers Life Fieldhouse, the same venue where the Div. I and Div. II national championship games will be played within the same 48-hour time period. That means that, should the Jumbos win this Saturday’s matchup, they would have the chance to fight for their first ever NCAA title on the most prominent of stages. The tip off for Saturday’s TuftsWartburg game is at 5 p.m.

Yuan Jun Chee On the Spot

Why Guus Hiddink’s Chelsea is merely a façade, what needs to be done

f the Premier League started on Boxing Day, Chelsea would be playing in the Champions League next year. To make it even better reading for Blues fans, if the League started on New Years’ Day, it would have been in a great position to defend its title! Chelsea has been hot since handily beating Crystal Palace 3-0 on Jan. 3, and it seems that Stamford Bridge is truly well again. They are, after all, unbeaten in the Premier League since Guus Hiddink’s arrival. But things are less rosy than they actually appear to be. Chelsea’s mid-week defeat to Paris St. Germain in the Champions League was to the same opponent at the same stage as last year. Its disappointing defeat in the FA Cup quarter final to Everton in the rematch of its 2009 Final highlighted Chelsea’s inability to cope with pressure. No fairytale ending for Hiddink then. He may blame the TV schedule, but come on, if you’re a big club with the European experience that Chelsea has, you’re almost expected to be able to manage this. In those two games, Chelsea players were not willing to get stuck in, and challenge for every ball. They were not aggressive enough, crumbling in the face of substantial pressure and hassling from their opponents. It’s as if they’ve given up fighting for their careers at Stamford Bridge. After all, given that Chelsea’s season is effectively over, some of these players may have been casting their eyes on a future away from a Stamford Bridge without any European nights next year. Granted, Guus Hiddink seems to have brought the atmosphere back at the home of the outgoing champions. He’s also solved Chelsea’s fullback problems by shifting Azpilicueta to right-back and bringing in the pacier Kenedy at left-back. But in this “run” that the Dutchman has put together, he’s been helped by some terrible refereeing. John Terry was miles offside when he scored his equalizer against Everton in the League. As was Diego Costa’s winner at Norwich. Its more spectacular wins were against an abject Newcastle and a youthful Man City. Teething problems still exist. Eden Hazard has improved, but he was dismal against the Parisians and has largely been unable to recapture his form from last year. Diego Costa is becoming more potent under Hiddink but against Everton, seemed more interested in riling up opponents, or even biting them. It’s almost as if the “progress” made under Guus had disappeared in one week. Some of those already looking at a future away from the Bridge should be allowed to move on. With a massive rebuilding job at Chelsea, it may make sense to try integrating the youth players into the first players. Any self-respecting top European club would attempt to do that. The Blues have some quality in their youth ranks: Ruben, Loftus, Cheek and Bertrand Traore have made their step-up this year. It’d be healthy for the club, rather than spending millions to bring in big names, to allow its youth investment to pay off. Yuan Jun Chee is a first-year majoring in History. He can be reached yuan.chee@ tufts.edu.

12 tuftsdaily.com

Sports

Monday, March 14, 2016

WOMEN'S BASKETBALL

Back to the Final Four

Jumbos will go to NCAA tournament semifinals for third year in a row

LAURA DE ARMAS / THE TUFTS DAILY

Tufts sophomore forward Melissa Baptista drives to the hoop in the women’s NESCAC Championship game against Amherst on Feb. 28. by Alex Schroeder

This year was different. Tufts fell by one point in a heartbreaking loss to Amherst in the NESCAC championship For the past two years, Tufts had but still earned an at-large bid. The gotten it done at home in the post- Jumbos again qualified to host the first, season. The Jumbos had qualified for second and sectionals rounds, but the the NCAA tournament by winning the men’s basketball team got the nod to NESCAC championship, earned home host at Cousens Gym because, as NCAA court advantage and fought their way rules stipulate, when both of a school’s through dominant first-round wins and teams qualify, the men’s team hosts in overtime thrillers alike to reach the even years while the women’s team hosts NCAA Div. III championship semifinals, in odd years. Thus, the women’s team the Final Four. had to forgo the easier home-court route that they took to the last two years’ NCAA semifinals and instead battle through two weekends of road games. Yet despite this new sort of run to the Final Four, one which the program had not yet dealt with in its postseason success, Tufts is back once again, in a position to advance to the NCAA title game. “I think we played more with a chip on our shoulder because we weren’t home, we weren’t hosting, we weren’t automatically expected to win,” senior tri-captain ZIQING XIONG / THE TUFTS DAILY Roberson Tufts women’s basketball team competes against Middleburg College Emma Feb. 20. said. “We knew that Sports Editor

we were playing really talented teams away and that we really had to bring it.” In a weekend of NCAA Sweet 16 and Elite 8 matchups, the Jumbos took down the previously undefeated University of Scranton Royals on Saturday and the Albright College Lions on Friday. Now in the Final Four, two wins away from a national championship, Tufts will face off against Wartburg College out of Iowa on Saturday at Capital University in Columbus, Ohio. In one of its toughest tests of the season, Tufts showed up strong on Saturday night against Scranton and took it to the Scranton Royals in the first half. The host Scranton, which was 30-0 headed into the contest, had the benefit of a home crowd and no travel, but Tufts seemed to be the more prepared team of the two in the game’s first 20 minutes. Sophomore Melissa Baptista, who has been one of the Jumbos’ most consistent performers over this second half of the season, kicked things off in a way that was ultimately indicative of how she would impact the entire game. A layup followed by a three-pointer on the Jumbos’ first two possessions gave the visiting team a 5-0 lead right off the bat. Though Scranton answered with five points of its own, buckets by junior Michela North, Roberson and Baptista over the rest of the quarter, along with tight defense, pushed Tufts to a 10-0 run and a 15-5 lead by the end of the first quarter. Even early on, Tufts’ roster showed its ability to knock down the important shots when they’re open. Along with a tough, constricting defense, it was the Jumbos’ ability to convert on open opportunities that ultimately sealed the win.

“I think when you’re playing good teams like Scranton in big NCAA games, you need to make those shots,” Roberson said. “I know that’s what Scranton did to come back. They hit a couple of big 3s on their end to tie it up. I think games like this when two teams are playing in a close game, you just need to step up and hit big shots. And Melissa obviously did that, [junior tri-captain] Josie [Lee], too, had a huge three. [Sophomore] Lauren [Dillon] took it to the basket, had a big basket for us, so just making plays at important times really helped us.” Tufts controlled the rest of the first half, leading by as many as 16 off the offensive production of Lee, Roberson and North. Scranton was able to stick around, thanks to buckets down low from junior tri-captain Sarah Payonk, but by intermission Tufts still had a commanding 30-17 lead. The Royals, however, were far from finished. Scranton returned in the second half with a steadfast chipping away at Tufts’ lead. Payonk, along with first-year guard Bridgette Mann and junior forward Alexix Roman, led a 12-3 run in third quarter that closed Tufts’ lead to just three points with two minutes to play before the fourth quarter. The comeback was momentarily halted as Tufts scored the final five points of the third period to retake an eight-point lead on yet another Baptista three-pointer. The Royals crawled back yet again in the final period of regulation, as Roman hit a layup at the 6:53 mark to knot the game at 45. Tufts, knowing Scranton was capable of making this type of run, see WOMEN'S BASKETBALL, page 11