Thursday, March 1, 2018

TASA culture show features performances and philanthropy see ARTS&LIVING / PAGE 5

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Jumbos move up individual rankings at Last Chance Qualifier

Admissions & students discuss increasing proportion of ED applicants in freshman classes see FEATURES / PAGE 3

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Thursday, March 1, 2018

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International Club’s Parade of Nations stirs controversy

COURTESY I-CLUB

An email the I-Club sent out on Feb. 5 included this photo from a past event, featuring a student holding a Tibetan flag.

by Noah Richter

Contributing Writer

Promotional materials for the annual Parade of Nations event hosted by the International Club (I-Club) and International Center (I-Center) have sparked controversy among some in the Chinese community at Tufts, according to junior Shari Sun and sophomore Cheng Li. Sun and Li said that promotional emails from I-Club stoked their concerns, including an email sent on Feb. 5 which featured a photograph of a student holding a Tibetan flag.

“The specific controversy stemmed from concerns that were raised by a group of Chinese students at our GIM, regarding an email that we sent out that contained a picture [from] a previous Parade of Nations show that portrayed a student holding the Tibetan flag,” Nidhi Rao, the president of I-Club, told the Daily in an email.

Sun and Li said they called for more clarification from I-Club regarding Tibet’s

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inclusion in the Parade of Nations, focusing on an email the I-Club had sent on Feb. 8 to promote the event.

The Feb. 8 email began by outlining the mission of the I-Club.

“We would also like to clarify that the I-Club defines nation as: ‘a large body of people, associated with a particular territory, that is sufficiently conscious of its unity to seek or to possess a government.’ … If you self-identify with a nation according to this definition, this is a space for you to represent yourself,” the email said.

Though the first part of the email emphasized the I-Club’s care for “cultures and nations,” the bottom portion of the message used the word “country.”

“We’d like to represent as [many] countries as possible so tell your friends!!” the email said.

The Chinese students said they saw an implicit recognition of Tibet as a country in the I-Club’s use of the word “country” in the email.

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“We’re not talking about if Tibet should be a country. We’re talking about if Tibet is a country, which it’s not by common acknowledgment,” Sun said. “And that’s something we wanted [to clarify with] the International Center.”

Jane Etish-Andrews, director of the International Center (I-Center), said that the I-Center became aware of the discomfort caused by their Parade of Nations advertisements when Chinese students raised concerns.

“I understood that the group of Chinese students were not concerned with whether or not Tibetan students would hold a flag during the show, but rather were raising a concern about the unintentional political statement that I-Club was making through its email advertising,” EtishAndrews told the Daily in an email.

Rao, a sophomore, explained the clarification in similar terms.

“We found that the group of Chinese students weren’t actually concerned with whether or not Tibetan students would hold a flag during the show, but rather

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were raising a concern about the unintentional political statement that we … were making through our email advertising,” Rao wrote. “We sent a clarifying email to our E-list, apologizing for our oversight and also to clarify the definition of nation we choose to follow for our show.”

Sun said that when the group of Chinese students called for an apology for the inclusion of Tibet as a country, they received an emailed explanation from the I-Club.

“We understood that by asking for an apology that would put the I-Club under criticism. Because if you apologize to Chinese students now you’re leaning toward them,” Sun described. “That’s why later we said, ‘You don’t have to apologize … but you have to clarify.’”

Olive Baerde, a sophomore from Tibet, offered an alternative perspective and agreed that clarification was beneficial.

“I was super surprised about this controversy because I never thought this was see I-CLUB CONTROVERSY, page 2

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THE TUFTS DAILY | News | Thursday, March 1, 2018

THE TUFTS DAILY Catherine Perloff

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I-Club emails raise Chinese students' concerns

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continued from page 1 a problem. Many of the Chinese students who organized this protest are my friends and suitemates,” Baerde told the Daily in an email. “A nation is different from a sovereign state, and I think this is just a common language misunderstanding between Chinese and English translation.”

Last week, the I-Center sent out a second clarifying email.

“It has been brought to our attention that our previous email … contained a potentially confusing message,” the email said. “We unwittingly used the word ‘country’ in the portion … about signing up for the flag show. We would like to again clarify that the Parade of Nations event is … a celebration of cultures and nations.”

Although they feel that the conflict has been resolved, it has had a continuing impact, according to Li. In the days following an initial protest of the use of the Tibetan flag at the Flag Show GIM on Feb. 6, the situation spiraled into a bitter online debate, Li said.

“It’s kind of funny how people buy into rhetoric instead of knowing what’s going on,”

KIRT THORNE / THE TUFTS DAILY

Sophomore Olive Baerde, a Tibetan student at Tufts, poses for a portrait outside of Tisch Library on Feb. 27.

Li said. “And then the fact that people are posting this rhetoric toward us … I started to question if my actions were too aggressive or not.”

Sun and Li said the transition to an online debate has become exacerbated, and what was initially a small conflict has turned into a larger issue. They consider the brief controversy as little more than a misunderstanding between the I-Club and students.

Conner Habib discusses consent, intersectionality in Sex Health Week event

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Conner Habib speaks about consent and intersectionality within and outside of the porn industry at an event hosted by the Tufts Sex Health Reps in Cohen Auditorium on Feb. 28.

by Shantel Bartolome Staff Writer

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“Before I came to the United States, the Tibet area felt nothing different to me than any other provinces in China.

Personally, between the people, whether its Chinese or Tibetan people, I think we’re mutually very friendly,” Sun said.

“The reason I wanted to stand up and say something was that I just wanted some clarification on this issue.”

Content warning: This article discusses sex and consent.

Tufts Sex Health Reps welcomed Conner Habib to present about consent, intersectionality, sexuality and society at Cohen Auditorium yesterday evening. Habib is an author, lecturer, adult performer, activist and host of “Against Everyone with Conner Habib,” a podcast and web series, according to Han Lee and Elena Phethean, both sophomores and Tufts Sex Health Rep Coordinators, who introduced Habib. Kareem Khubchandani, Mellon Assistant Professor of Drama and Dance, moderated the talk.

Lee explained that it was important to the Tufts Sex Health Reps to invite a speaker who could shed light on today’s political climate and the #MeToo movement.

“We really wanted to talk about intersectionality, and especially because Conner has done a lot of work in … talking about his race and his identity and how that plays into the porn industry,” Lee explained. “We really just wanted to bring that all together … especially because the discussion right now is about consent and the #MeToo movement.”

Habib first focused on the intersectionality of sex and culture, explaining that his role as a sex worker is more important than any of his other identities.

“Even more so than being a man who’s attracted to men or being Arab, I identify as a sex worker … because that’s where the most

oppression is. That’s where the most threats are to me and my identity,” he said. “Even when I’m not making porn … I know that my porn is still out there … and what I’ve done is legislated against, regulated, stigmatized, all that sort of stuff, even if people are enjoying it.”

He then argued that consent is a cultural construct, heavily influenced by one’s community and surroundings.

“Consent is constructed by cultural forces, and the way it’s constructed ends up filtering into what we consider to be healthy sexuality,” he said.

He urged the audience to think critically about consent.

“Who is framing consent? Who’s empowered by the kind of consent that is being framed? And who is not? Who is being disempowered by it?” he asked. “Because [consent is] still about … protecting people from something. What are we protecting people from?

And who’s benefitting from this protection?”

Habib described that consent is framed for college students through an individual college’s policy on sexual conduct.

“When you have sex with each other, how many of you have consented to have a threesome with the person who wrote the code of conduct manual for your school?” he asked. “Because the people that made these frameworks are in the room with you … telling you what to do. Your sexual experiences as well as what you consider consent are shaped by other parties that shape how that sexual experience happens.

We don’t get to consent to the kind of consent we get.”

Finally, Habib explained that sex does not exist within a binary of pleasure and violation, but rather is neutral.

“We have so many anxieties and fears and concerns and insecurities wrapped up in sex that once we get to have it, it can cause problems for us, or it can cause problems afterwards,” he said. “Sex is neutral, and we need to remove sex from these poles of totally pleasurable and immersive or totally violated, and we need to remove it from the narratives of what the state and corporate narratives are about sex, about monogamy, love and interaction.”

After the talk, Habib engaged in a question-and-answer session with Khubchandani and Tufts students, discussing labor politics, power structures in porn, sex and spirituality, prejudice, erotica in the classroom, race-based porn, performed aggression and Arab identity.

“I thought it was great to have both historical perspective that tells us that consent is not a universal right, and that it’s specifically people of color and queer people who have bared the brunt of that,” Habib explained in an interview with the Daily. “We really spectacularize sex and the reason we’ve done that is to manage race, gender, class, power … So I really liked the idea of naming sex as neutral, so that it can mean many, many things.”

Habib described what inspired him to be an activist.

“Being intelligent is probably what has brought me more suffering and stigma than any other aspect of my identity,” Habib told the Daily. “Where I grew up, it was preferable to be stupid and obedient, and so my determination to be an activist was really loneliness. I felt lonely in the ideas I was feeling and thinking, … and so I wanted to create spaces where ideas could be discussed in a deep way.”

Habib also gave general advice for Tufts students exploring their sexualities and thinking about consent.

“There’s the work that’s happening on campus, which is to negotiate and talk about communication of consent between two people. What needs to happen in addition to that is examining your own desires and boundaries, so you can do that on your own,” he said. “No one has a right to push you on what your boundaries are, but we have a duty and responsibility to examine our own boundaries and try to understand them, so we don’t use them merely as weapons against others.”

Thursday, March 1, 2018

Features

The early bird applicant: trends in early admissions at Tufts

Idah Designs

S

EVAN SLACK / THE TUFTS DAILY

Assistant News Editor

Early Decision (ED) is a binding method of admission by which students apply early to a single school — usually their first choice — and pledge to attend if accepted.

In an email to the Daily, Karen Richardson, dean of undergraduate admissions and enrollment management, stated that she expects at least half of the Class of 2022 will come from the ED applicant pool.

History of early admission programs According to documents obtained from the Digital Collections and Archives, in the 1959-1960 bulletin, a new heading of “Early Decisions” was introduced.

“Serious, well-qualified applicants who know they wish to enter Tufts may apply for early decision prior to March 15 of the Senior year [of high school],” the bulletin reads.

Eventually, Michael Behnke, who served as dean of admissions from 1976 to 1985, made early applications a permanent fixture on the hill, according to a 2017 article in Tufts Magazine.

For the Classes of 2012 and 2013, Tufts chose not to publicize the number of ED applications it received, in a move designed to make the college admissions process less stressful for future applicants, according to a Jan. 23, 2009 Daily article.

Richardson said that the number of applications for ED has increased steadily over the past ten years, but the acceptance rate has not changed as significantly given the increase. However, the percentage of the incoming first-year class that was admitted ED has shifted accordingly, Richardson noted.

“We don’t go into the early process with a set percentage in mind,” Richardson told the Daily in an email. “Rather, we see the students admitted through [early admissions] as setting the foundation for the incoming class.”

Experiences of current students Junior Sammy Levy was drawn to Tufts and made the decision to apply ED, because she liked its location and the opportunity for students to explore a range of different disciplines.

“I chose Tufts because I liked having family nearby, as well as the flexibility to study liberal arts and/or engineering depending on what I discovered I liked more,” Levy said. “Ultimately I’m really happy that I did apply because I found Human Factors Engineering, and that’s not offered at a lot of schools.”

While Levy applied under ED I, in which applicants have a deadline of November 1 and are notified of admission results in mid-December, Tufts also offers a later deadline under ED II. “Tufts offers Early Decision II because some students have not yet decided

by Nov. 1 that Tufts is their first choice,” Richardson said. “ED II gives a student who knows that Tufts is their first choice the ability to apply by Jan. 1 and learn their decision by mid-February.”

Despite this flexibility in deadlines, first-year Alyssa Blaise did not apply early to Tufts or any other schools in large part due to her uncertainty about financial aid.

“I didn’t want to be committed to a school and then be offered a financial aid package that didn’t meet my family’s needs,” Blaise said. “I’m also not sure how one would navigate that kind of situation of having to argue for more once you’ve already basically told the school you’re going to come, so I didn’t even want [to] consider that possibility.”

While Tufts meets 100 percent of demonstrated financial need for all admitted students and would offer the same financial aid package to a student regardless of whether they applied Regular Decision (RD) or ED, Richardson said that the admissions office advises potential applicants that ED may not be the best option for students who wish to compare financial aid packages, as applicants will have to make a binding commitment to attend the university if admitted.

However, Richardson noted that Tufts will allow a student to back out of the ED agreement for financial reasons after working with the financial aid office to determine if a resolution is possible.

tuftsdaily.com

Dorothy Neher How Tufts Works

Bendetson Hall, Office of Undergraduate Admissions, is pictured.

by Jenna Fleischer

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For Blaise, applying ED meant she would have had to be confident that she and her family would be fine with the financial aid package the school offered her, in addition to knowing that the school she was applying to was the right fit.

“I leveraged my financial aid offers from other schools against Tufts in order to try and get a better package,” she said.

“Besides financial aid, there weren’t any schools that I immediately clicked with. It’s different for everybody; I see the appeal of knowing ahead of time and not having to pay for and send out tons of applications, but I liked all the schools I applied to and was very torn about where I should go.”

Levy also deliberated about where she wanted to go to college, but financial aid was not a deciding factor in her choice.

“My parents have always been very frugal, but when it came to my education that was something they said we’d never look for a discount for, so I’m incredibly lucky that financial aid wasn’t a deciding factor when it came to applying to college,” Levy said. “However, I think if money was a part of the picture, then I might not have looked at a school like Tufts.”

Recent trend of early admissions While ED offers students the ability to show a school that it is the student’s first choice and to hear back earlier in the college admissions process, there has been some criticism that ED favors the more privileged and leaves other applicants at a disadvantage. In 2006, the University of Virginia announced that it was ending its ED program in an effort to attract more low-income students; it now uses Early Action. “[Tufts does] not offer Early Action, which is non-binding and would make projections of yield very difficult, putting the university at risk of over- or under-enrolling from year to year,” Richardson said.

Tufts is not alone in embracing and using ED to its advantage. ED provides security not only for college applicants, but also for the schools themselves. For see EARLY DECISION, page 4

itting outside of Hodgdon Foodon-the-Run last week, I noticed a strange phenomenon. Those exiting the take-out spot appeared to be significantly happier than they were upon entry. I found myself wondering what could possibly be causing these transformations.

The answer was glaringly obvious as soon as I stepped foot inside. There at the checkout station was Idah Duche. Idah, a dining services attendant, makes every interaction she has a positive one. She has the unique ability to exude overwhelming love and kindness through small gestures and short conversations.

While Idah is gifted in her social skills, she is equally talented with fabrics and patterns. As a teenager back home in Zimbabwe, Idah often used her mother’s sewing machine to make clothes and took courses on fashion and design in school.

It was the teacher of her class on fabrics that inspired her to pursue clothing design more seriously.

Ever since graduating college Idah has singlehandedly managed her own fashion company. In the early stage of her career, Idah owned a small boutique called Idah Designs. After moving to Botswana in 2004, she expanded her business and started producing clothing on a larger scale.

On top of managing her own company and raising four kids, Idah was teaching a class on clothing technology at a local technical institute. Faced with the challenge of juggling these demanding responsibilities, Idah simply told herself to “soldier on.”

Idah’s unwillingness to accept defeat also helped her with the transition to life in the United States when she moved here for her husband’s job. Upon arrival, Idah took great care to study and learn about American culture. After seven years in the United States, it is clear that she has thrived; I can hear the pride in her voice as she tells me about buying her own house and becoming a citizen.

“I feel like I am that American Dream girl,” she said.

On top of getting herself and her family acclimated to life in the States, Idah has successfully established her place in the American fashion world. She has developed her business model to cater towards African women whose fashion needs are not being met by American designers. In the future, Idah hopes to expand her operations from the online sphere to a brick and mortar store.

Regardless of where she is in the world, her love for fashion has never waned. Idah says that she is always taking inspiration from the clothes she sees around her, something that she says is deeply rooted within her.

Idah’s passion for her work at Tufts has also been key to her success. But, she says, the student body makes working at Hodgdon particularly special.

“I am so proud of Tufts students, and I am so happy working with you guys,” she said.

Regardless of how much praise Idah radiates outwards, I think we can all agree that most of it should be directed back at her.

Dorothy Neher is a columnist at the Tufts Daily. She is a sophomore majoring in international relations and Spanish. Dorothy can be reached at dorothy.neher@ tufts.edu.

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THE TUFTS DAILY | Features | Thursday, March 1, 2018

tuftsdaily.com

Students, admissions dean discuss pros, cons of Early Decision EARLY DECISION

continued from page 3 colleges and universities, ED provides stability in a volatile, frenzied college admissions market. ED also enables a school to become more selective with a lower overall acceptance rate, and increase its yield because it already has a certain percentage of admitted students guaranteed to attend.

Both Levy and Blaise believe it’s important for prospective applicants to weigh the pros and cons of applying ED and to know if and why the school is right for them.

“I’d say only apply if you’re confident that that school is a good fit for you and you’ve explored and are okay with the financial aid policies, if that’s something that applies to you,” Blaise said.

Levy echoed this sentiment.

“If the academics, the opportunities, the campus culture and other important things check their boxes, then I’d encourage [a prospective student] to apply ED,” she said. “But I think kids are told if they don’t know exactly where they want to go, they won’t have a chance of getting in. So some people may feel pressured to do ED because

they see the majority of a class being accepted [that] way.”

While the pool of applications is much smaller for ED than RD, the process Tufts uses and the criteria for admission are the same, according to Richardson. She also emphasized that it is not easier to get in ED, contrary to popular belief.

“The biggest difference between ED and [RD] students is that those who apply ED have already decided that Tufts is the place that they want to be,” Richardson said. “As the ED pool has grown and gotten stronger, it’s difficult

to say ‘no’ to good students who are good fits and who have made the commitment to attend if accepted.”

Richardson’s statement reflects the upward trend of ED applications and class composition: ED applicants made up 35 percent of the class of 2015 and 39 percent of the class of 2016, while approximately half of the classes of 2021 and 2020 came from ED. “I definitely think applying ED will become even more the norm in the future,” Levy said. “If … 50 percent of the current [first-year] class is ED, does that mean in another 10 years 60 percent could be from ED?”

Thursday, March 1, 2018

ARTS&LIVING

5 tuftsdaily.com

TASA’s annual Culture Show builds community, celebrates for good cause

PHOTO COURTESY SOFIE HECHT FOR TASA

Performers dance at the Tufts Association for South Asians’ annual culture show on Feb. 25, 2017.

by Issay Matsumoto Assistant Arts Editor

Tufts Association of South Asians ( TASA) held “FilmFare: Desi Night Live,” their annual culture show in Cohen Auditorium this past Friday and Saturday nights, Feb. 23 and 24.

Directed by TASA sophomores Tashwita Pruthi and Simran Lala, this year the show’s format was modeled after the annual Hindi language film awards show, the Filmfare Awards.

Interspersed with witty “awards” recognizing performers in each dance, the experience showcased performances from Bollywood Fusion dance team Tamasha, competitive Raas and Garba team JumboRaas, Tufts Bhangra, Pulse

and members of TASA. Performers in each group worked tirelessly to put together a show that demonstrated many aspects of South Asian culture.

First-year TASA co-representative Hritik Bhansali expressed his enthusiasm for the fun rehearsal that the “Freshman Dance” provided. Co-choreographing the dance with fellow TASA first-year representative Saachi Pai, Bhansali reflected on the joy of the process.

“Yes, we’re coming for rehearsals but we’re having fun,” Bhansali said.

“If someone doesn’t get a step it’s not like, ‘How can you not get that step?’

It’s like, ‘How do you make this step more fun to do?’ You do it in your own fun way.”

Pai agreed preparation for the culture show was fun this year, expressing her surprise at the many new faces the Freshman Dance rehearsal brought to TASA. “At first we kind of forced our immediate friend groups to do it,” she said.

“But then we realized that a lot more people wanted to do it so that way the first practice times 40 or so people showed up. We did this game where everyone had to memorize each other’s names … That little icebreaker helped us laugh about each other and have fun right in the beginning. After every practice, we would hang out, talk and chill.

We just became friends through that.”

While the stage was set for fun, this year’s show also brought to light

serious issues. In the spirit of previous years’ culture shows, philanthropy was a key aspect of the event’s success.

At intermission, samosas were sold to benefit The Banyan, a non-governmental organization whose mission is to provide support for homeless women with mental health issues in South India.

For Bhansali, philanthropy is not just an act of goodness but also recognizably part of his South Asian identity.

“I think that’s something you can really relate to as a South Asian, because philanthropy is really big in South Asia,” he said. “It’s just another aspect we’re emulating from back home over here. see TASA CULTURE SHOW, page 6

Drama ‘Every Day’ blends romance, social critique

by Julian Blatt Staff Writer

We have all experienced the pain of being judged for our appearances.

No matter how many times we hear the hackneyed phrase, “It’s what’s on the inside that counts,” we still find it impossible to leave the comforting privacy of our homes without first scrutinizing our reflections in the bathroom mirror. But what if our physical features weren’t so important to us? What if we realized that the internal actually should be more highly valued? “Every Day” (2018) provides entertaining yet

thought provoking answers to these questions, and in turn asks some of its own.

Protagonist and high school student Rhiannon (Angourie Rice) desperately longs for someone who understands her. The daughter of a neurotic father (Michael Cram) and seemingly unfaithful mother (Maria Bello), the younger sister of a “rebellious” punk (Debby Ryan) and the girlfriend of a selfish and arrogant sleaze ( Justice Smith), Rhiannon maintains very few close relationships and will soon fade away into nothingness unless someone comes along who cares enough

about her to reignite her passion for life. However, as Rhiannon will soon discover, this “someone” is not a person, but rather a consciousness (selfnamed “A”), that wakes up every day in a different body. Of course, Rhiannon is originally cynical and suspicious, but as she begins to appreciate and accept A’s unrelenting gestures of adoration, she gradually regains the ability to love herself.

Although the film is centered around Rhiannon, the supporting characters provide palpable energy to every scene. They are each flawed in their own ways, but their

humanity still shines through, making them quite sympathetic; their good natures become even more apparent as Rhiannon realizes that she is not quite as alone as she had once thought.

These characters reinforce the lesson that one cannot determine everything from appearances and also demonstrate that the people in our lives who we deem insignificant are in fact the protagonists of their own stories. For example, Rhiannon’s seemingly uninteresting and aloof friend Alexander (Owen Teague) reveals himself to be see EVERY DAY, page 6

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THE TUFTS DAILY | Arts & Living | Thursday, March 1, 2018

Julian Blatt Tufts Creatives

C

Think fast

oming to Tufts with minimal improv experience under her belt, sophomore Isabel Schneider was terrified when she auditioned for Cheap Sox at the beginning of her first year. However, Isabel is now an integral member of the improv troupe and looks forward to its musical performance, “The Sound of Mucus,” which will be presented this Saturday, March 3.

Julian Blatt (JB): What is the key to successful improv?

Isabel Schneider (IS): Contrary to what you might expect, improv is actually much more about listening to each other than actively trying to entertain the audience.

An unsupportive scene partner can ruin the entire show.

JB: What never fails to make you laugh?

IS: I’m a sucker for situational humor.

Not necessarily jokes (although puns are always appreciated), but situations that are hilarious and bizarre. Subverted power dynamics are my Achilles’ heel.

JB: With all the tragedies that have occurred recently, how do you keep the laughs going?

IS: Last year, our director did something that I thought was powerful. During one rehearsal, we had an open discussion about how to better portray empathy in our scenes and how to create characters that are more empathetic and understanding. So far this year, we’ve continued to focus on scenes that are true and authentic and real and empathetic, which has helped us keep the darkness at bay for both ourselves and the audience.

JB: When you are onstage, is there a goal besides laughter that you hope to achieve?

IS: Again, we find empathy and authenticity incredibly important, and we try to impart that to our audience. Of course we aim to make people laugh, but we also want them to think about their relationships with others and how they might strengthen these connections.

JB: Does Tufts play a role in any of your scenes?

IS: Cheap Sox is a bit different from the other sketch comedy groups on campus in that we don’t often draw directly from experiences either at Tufts or in our lives.

Generally our scenes are about two ordinary people, neither of whom is connected to Tufts in any way, which I honestly find very refreshing.

JB: So you enjoy the distraction from reality that improv offers?

IS: I’m also in Traveling Treasure Trunk, which is children’s theater. Acting forces me to mentally travel outside the Tufts bubble. As soon as I enter the rehearsal space, I automatically set aside everything else going on in my life. It’s one of my favorite ways to escape.

JB: Any embarrassing improv goofs you care to share?

IS: We play this game called Alphabet Soup, which is a two-person scene and each line has to start with the next letter of the alphabet. In the most recent show, my scene partner had the letter “Q,” and in my mind I thought “U always comes after Q,” which is of course not how it works, so I totally biffed that.

JB: In 50 words or less, why should people see the show?

IS: You’ll laugh. You might cry. And we’re going to be wearing pink shirts while singing and making outrageous fools of ourselves.

Julian is a first-year majoring in cognitive and brain sciences. Julian can be reached at julian.blatt@tufts.edu.

tuftsdaily.com

TASA culture show brings sense of community to many of those involved TASA CULTURE SHOW

continued from page 5

We’re just trying just continue what we’ve always been doing.”

Arriving at Tufts as a first-year after living in India all her life, Lala wanted to remain connected to her culture. In TASA, she found a way to retain a piece of home. Choreographing the Freshman Dance as a first-year, Lala was inspired by upperclassmen who took leadership on TASA to direct and choreograph the show. Now, leading the show’s production as a sophomore, Lala sees the value the culture show has toward building community outside of the immediate TASA community.

“I think community-building is one of the biggest aspects as to why people are doing this,” Lala said. “And it’s just surely great to see people who are not from the South Asian culture coming to be a part of this show. As a freshman, I tried to get a lot of my international friends to get on board. Everyone was a little bit nervous because they’d never done that sort of dance before, but after seeing how lively and fun the show was, now they’ve all come back around this year to be a part of it.”

In his fourth year involved with the culture show, senior and TASA president Rushabh Sanghvi reflected on the broadening reach that the event has taken.

“I feel like [participation in the culture show] has definitely grown in numbers as well as in diversity because we do have a lot non-South Asians who are coming and celebrating the culture with us,” Sanghvi said. “Especially in today’s world where you have so many stereotypes being propagated everywhere, we have a chance to break those stereotypes and welcome other people into our culture.”

While the community he has discovered in working on the culture show has changed throughout his four years, Sanghvi has found one constant in this work.

“It’s the same feeling you live each time you get on stage and you see your friends perform,” he said. “It’s amazing. I’m really sad to be doing this for the last time.”

'Every Day' acting and cinematography parallel movie's essential message

COURTESY PETER H. STRANKS

Debby Ryan and Angourie Rice in Every Day (2018).

EVERY DAY

continued from page 5 an intelligent and thoughtful dreamer, passionate about the vibrancy of humankind. Thus, the minor characters are just as enticing as the heroine, and they pull the audience even further into the story.

Based on David Levithan’s book of the same name, “Every Day” brings the novel to life on the big screen through the immense effort made by the cast and crew. Director Michael Sucsy encouraged the 15 actors who played A to read all of the character’s scenes, not just the ones in which they appeared. Because of this excellent direction, the acting is praiseworthy; the movie flows seamlessly, and the audience can easily follow A’s narrative, despite the constant changes between

actors. In other words, the acting beautifully reflects the lesson that the film endeavors to teach — appearances do not and should not matter.

Interestingly, the cinematography also mirrors this message.

Nothing about the camera work or the soundtrack particularly stands out, so viewers direct their attention solely to character development. After all, as with any movie, it is the acting that drives the story forward. A diminished emphasis on special effects also allows the audience to better relate to the film and even imagine themselves in the roles. Similarly, the structure of the film feels much like “Groundhog Day” (1993), in that the day-to-day lives of the characters are repetitive — not necessarily monotonous, but instead an echo of the repetition that

we often discover in our own lives.

Thus, because the audience can easily identify with Rhiannon, we experience her final triumph as ours. We leave the theater feeling hopeful about the futures of our relationships with others as well as with ourselves.

“Every Day” is not just a film. It is the incredibly real teenage narrative that anyone of any background is familiar with. In the age of technology, in which appearance is everything, we need reassurance that we are not just bodies, but also that our inner light shines brighter than anything external ever could. Though we all have days when we wish we could be different people, we can only strive to be the best selves that we can be; as soon as we welcome that person into our hearts we can be truly happy.

Thursday, March 1, 2018 | ADVERTISEMENT | THE TUFTS DAILY

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THE TUFTS DAILY | ADVERTISEMENT | Thursday, March 1, 2018

Call for Submissions!

Beyond the Classroom Student Forum for Research on Women, Gender, and Sexuality to be held on NEW DATE & LOCATION

Friday, April 20, 2018 12:00PM – 4:30PM Cabot Center, Rm 702

NEW DATE & LOCATION

(Refreshments will be provided)

Open to all students

This forum is an opportunity for students to share their work on women, gender, and/or sexuality with the wider Tufts community.

Undergraduate and graduate students from a range of disciplines present on research (includes creative projects) done in classes or independent studies during the year.

• Students each present for 5-7 minutes.

• We welcome submissions of any length.

• Please consider submitting your work:  A paragraph description of the research  Part or all of the project

NEW!

Submission Deadline: Thursday, March 8, 2018 ***Decisions will be announced: Monday, April 2, 2018***

**Applications should be submitted to the WGSS office at 111 Eaton Hall or by email to wgss@tufts.edu**

Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Program, 5 the Green, 111 Eaton Hall, Medford, MA 02155 Ph: 617-627-2955/http://ase.tufts.edu/wgss

FEBRUARY 26 — MARCH 2 Monday, February 26

Sociology: Sociology Majors Week Event—12:00-1:15pm, Eaton 124 Join Sociology faculty, current majors, and alumni to learn more about the Sociology major and what you can do with it, along with a free lunch!

Religion: Religion Majors Event — 12:00-1:15pm, Eaton 302 Meet students and faculty, learn more about the major and minor, and hear about our upcoming fall courses. Includes a tasty lunch too!

Music: Music Major 2.0 Info Session — 12:00-1:15pm, Granoff Music Center Lobby Come learn about our new Music Major, pick up useful information, grab some snacks and swag, and connect with faculty and other students about our exciting, highly inclusive music curriculum.

Art and Art History: Arts Majors and Minors at Tufts — 12:00-2:00pm Granoff Music Center Lobby Representatives from all the departments and programs in the arts at Tufts will be on hand to discuss majors and minors in Art and Art History, Drama and Dance, Music, Film and Media Studies, and Studio Art. American Studies: American Studies Majors Week Social — 12:00-1:15pm Eaton 206 We invite you to attend our majors week event to meet faculty and students and learn about the program Institute for Global Leadership: IGL Majors Week Event — 12:00-1:30pm, 96 Packard Ave Interested in global affairs? Come learn about all the great courses, events, programs, and internships supported by the Institute for Global Leadership! You can find more information on the website: http://www.tuftsgloballeadership.org/programs International Literary and Cultural Studies: Information Session with the Peace Corps — 12:00-1:15pm, Olin 007 Attend an information session with the Peace Corps followed by a Q&A with former Peace Corps volunteers. Light refreshments will be served.

Math: Math Department Majors Meeting: Dumplings & Derivatives — 5:30pm-6:30pm, 574 Boston Ave, Room 202 Mathematics Majors & Minors enjoy some food while learning about Fall 2018 course offerings!

Tuesday, February 27

Education: Education Majors Week Event — 12:00-1:00pm Paige Hall First Floor Hear about some projects done by Education students!

Wednesday, February 28

International Relations: IR Majors Week Breakfast — 9:00-11:00am Cabot Mezzanine IR Majors week breakfast to learn more about the major and its various areas of concentration Anthropology: Anthropology Majors Week Event — 12:00-1:15pm Eaton 302 Please join us for lunch and to meet students and faculty, learn more about the major and hear about our upcoming fall courses.

Child Study & Human Development: What can you do with a Child Study & Human Development Major? —12:00-1:15pm Hotung What can you learn with a major in Child Study and Human Development and what can you do with it? You'd be surprised at the variety of things!

Chemistry: Chemistry Majors Week Event —12:00-1:15pm Pearson 104 Information session on chemistry and biochemistry majors for sophomores and first years.

Drama and Dance: Drama and Dance Majors and Minors Mixer—12:00-1:15pm Balch Lobby, Aidekman Arts Center Come and enjoy a delicious pasta lunch while learning about our majors and minors.

Political Science: PoliSci Department's Majors Week Coffee Chat — 3:00-5:00pm Packard Hall 3rd Floor Lounge Come converse with PoliSci Professors over coffee and cookies!

Architectural Studies: Architectural Studies Now! — 12:00-1:30 pm 11 Talbot Ave Meet Diana Martinez the new Director of Architectural Studies and discover how the major will enhance your learning experience and future career Film and Media Studies: Film and Media Studies Major and Minor — 12:00-2:00pm 95 Talbot Ave 2nd floor Faculty and staff from the Film and Media Studies Program will be on hand to discuss the FMS major and minor Africana Studies: Africana Studies Majors Week Social — 12:00-1:15pm Eaton 124 Please join Africana Studies faculty and students to learn about the program.

Thursday, March 1

Asian American Studies: Asian American Studies Dinner — 4:30-6:00pm Asian American Center 17 Latin Way Please join AAST faculty and current minors for dinner to learn about the program, and to view a student presentation.

Friday, March 2

Biology: Biology Majors Week — 2:30-3:30pm Robinson Hall, 3rd Floor Meet and greet between faculty and prospective biology majors *Monday, March 12* History: History Majors Open House — 12:00-1:15 East Hall Lounge History Major Open House, faculty will speak. We will also have course booklets available for Fall 2018.

tuftsdaily.com

Thursday, March 1, 2018 | Comics | THE TUFTS DAILY

tuftsdaily.com

Comics

LATE NIGHT AT THE DAILY Cathy: “Are women now fluorescent?”

Comics

Puzzle 1 (Hard, difficulty rating 0.61)

9

SUDOKU

6

2

4

8

6

5 1

9

3 6

5

7

BY JIM DAVIS

9 9

1

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6 9

1

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GARFIELD

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3 7 3

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Difficulty Level: Changing your major as a junior.

Generated by http://www.opensky.ca/sudoku on Mon Feb 26 01:36:19 2018 GMT. Enjoy!

Wednesday’s Solution

NON SEQUITUR

BY WILEY MILLER

CROSSWORD

Wednesday’s Solution

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Opinion

10 tuftsdaily.com

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

In defense of the language requirement

by Mia Kazman I am a language nerd. I have loved languages for as long as I can remember, and it has always been my goal to learn as many of them as I possibly can. When I first heard about the Tufts language requirement, I was drawn to the university even more, to this institution that puts such a high premium on knowing a language other than English. While I realize that not everyone is as enthused about learning new languages as I am, I was surprised — and if I’m being honest, somewhat indignant — when I saw the article “Editorial: Arts and Sciences should lessen the language requirement” that was published in the Daily on Tuesday, Feb. 27. I fundamentally disagree with several of the claims made in the article.

One of the main issues the editorial cited with the language requirement was that it “places a real strain on liberal arts students” by requiring more than the two classes necessary to fulfill other distribution requirements. However, what the author failed to note is that languages are not the same as world civilizations and humanities; they are taught differently, they employ different skills, and they are comprised of a different kind of information. It takes more semesters to acquire a basic understanding of a language than a basic understanding of a science or a humanity, so

students would not be achieving the basic proficiency that is the goal of the language requirement if they did not take more than two semesters. The author also mentions that this inhibits students from taking other courses that they want to take, and possibly double majoring. However, Tufts does allow students to take non-language culture classes for three of the six semesters, allowing students to take classes that they are more interested in taking if languages aren’t their forte. Between this and double counting, most students are able to complete their language requirement and all major/minor requirements without sacrificing much more than time.

The second aspect of the argument presented in this editorial that I fundamentally disagree with is the idea that languages are not useful to STEM majors. Although engineers are not required to take a language, many choose to do so anyway, because they recognize that it is a valuable skill. I would go so far as to argue that premed, pre-vet, and pre-dental students have a particular need to learn a language, so that they can better serve their patients. Additionally, knowledge of foreign languages can be useful for doing research in many STEM fields.

My father, for example, is a professor of computer science, but his knowledge of French and Chinese has been integral in forming professional relationships with European and Chinese academics

and companies. What it comes down to is this: we live in a multilingual, multicultural, interconnected society, and frankly, there is no excuse for not at least attempting to learn a language other than English.

The final main point that I would like to confront is that the language requirement hurts admissions. I disagree with this as well, on several levels. First of all, this statement seems to imply that the language requirement as it is drives people away from Tufts.

According to Tufts Now, 21,057 high schoolers applied to be members of the class of 2021, and application numbers have risen 28% over the past five years.

Clearly, Tufts is not in any danger of driving people away. Additionally, I would argue that the emphasis on learning about other languages and cultures that the language requirement reflects is part of the appeal of Tufts. In fact, I mentioned the language requirement in my “Why Tufts?” essay, as part of what drew me to apply here.

At the end of the day, the language requirement is part of what makes Tufts so unique, what makes a Tufts degree so high quality, what makes Tufts graduates so well-rounded. I stand by the six semesters as an integral part of the Tufts education. But hey, I’m just one language nerd.

Mia Kazman is a senior majoring in international relations and Spanish with a minor in Latin American studies. Mia can be reached at mia.kazman@tufts.edu.

CARTOON

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

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

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

OP-EDS The Op-Ed section of The Tufts Daily, an open forum for campus editorial commentary, is printed Monday through Thursday. The Daily welcomes submissions from all members of the Tufts community; the opinions expressed in the Op-Ed section do not necessarily represent the opinions of the Daily itself.

Opinion articles on campus, national and international issues should be 600 to 1,200 words in length and submitted to opinion@tuftsdaily.com. The editors reserve the right to edit letters for clarity, space and length. All material is subject to editorial discretion and is not guaranteed to appear in the Daily. Authors must submit their telephone numbers and day-of availability for editing questions.

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

Thursday, March 1, 2018

Alexa Weinstein The 617

Bob Massie

O

n Feb. 27, the Tufts Democrats welcomed Bob Massie as the third and final speaker in their gubernatorial speaker series in partnership with Jonathan M. Tisch College of Civic Life. While the event wasn’t overflowing with people, students still showed up to hear about what Bob Massie had to say.

Bob Massie was born with the disorder hemophilia — a bleeding disease that causes joints to swell with blood. By the age of four, Massie couldn’t walk. He spoke of the lessons this taught him, such as learning, “Sometimes you can be very eager to connect with a group … and yet people react to you sometimes with fear, and with judgement and with prejudice.” Massie then explained how this went on to affect the rest of his life and his passion for activism. In high school, Massie became dedicated to human and labor rights. In college, women’s rights and labor rights were important to him. Massie grew up during Apartheid and spoke of how deeply that affected him and impassioned him. He decided to attend the Yale Divinity School and he became ordained.

Massie spoke to how he clinched the Democratic nomination for Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts in 1994, but unfortunately ended up losing. Massie was an excellent public speaker and engaged the audience by asking us what we wanted to see from the world in 20 years and if we were on the path to obtain that.

As someone with such a big name in the private sector, having led Ceres and founded the Massachusetts Energy Efficiency Coalition, Massie was of course very focused on climate change. Massie said that, “We could do a great deal just by building the economy in Massachusetts around the concept of sustainability.” He even mentioned that Governor Baker used to be a “climate denier” and how important it was for a governor to address climate change and renewable energy.

Very few tangible political goals came from Massie’s speech. One that did was to create a committee on future work to address the rise in artificial intelligence that is taking jobs away from the economy. Otherwise, Massie addressed his lack of a political “checklist” by saying, “I think that in this race, we have the opportunity not only to define the problems which are severe but also to weigh out the opportunities … [the other Democratic candidates in this race] tend to have a checklist … but I see this structural flaw in the economy as a whole, that needs to be addressed systematically, systemically … Then we can move forward with unifying the state into a single commonwealth…” While it can be great for a candidate to remain open to all ideas and not be confined by a checklist, it’s necessary to have a strong platform based on some kind of tangible changes. Reforming the entire economy and how society functions is a task that no governor would be able to fix in four years. It’s important to focus on the short term fixes that can help Massachusetts families immediately.

Massie’s gubernatorial headquarters are right in Davis Square, at 53 Chester Street.

Massie encouraged everyone to stop by and spoke to how many people had been trickling in recently. Get involved in the 2018 race for governor! Massie’s office is looking for volunteers to help aide their fight for a greener, more equitable Massachusetts.

Alexa Weinstein is a columnist at the Tufts Daily. She is a sophomore majoring in political science and history. Alexa can be reached at alexa.weinstein@tufts.edu.

Sports

Thursday, March 1, 2018 | Sports | THE TUFTS DAILY

11

WOMEN'S TRACK AND FIELD

Tufts eyes NCAA Championships with three relays at Boston University

by Ethan Zaharoni Staff Writer

The Tufts women’s track and field team traveled to Boston University on Sunday for the first of its two Last Chance Qualifying Meets. The Jumbos ran three relays at the meet, but they were unable to record any

times that would qualify them for the upcoming NCAA Championships, to be held March 9–10 in Birmingham, Ala. Tufts put up two teams in the distance medley relay (DMR), in which there are legs of 1,200, 400, 800, and 1,600 meters. The Jumbos’ first quartet consisted of sophomore

presents

A World in Disarray Is the Age of Global Stability Over?

“A World in Disarray”, a VICE special report, is a feature-length documentary that explores the disorder in today’s international landscape, how it arose, and how it plays out in four areas of conflict and tension: Syria, Ukraine, the South China Sea, and North Korea.

The assumptions of an orderly world underpinned by U.S. leadership no longer hold. Other actors increasingly challenge Washington’s authority. The character of American society—what former Deputy Secretary of State Antony Blinken calls “an open, connected America in an open, connected world”—is in question. Terrorism and other threats from abroad unsettle Americans at home.

Ultimately, the documentary drives home the reality that what happens abroad affects the security and prosperity of the United States. The world has an impact on every American.

TONIGHT, February 27, 8:00pm, Barnum 104 part of the EPIIC 2018 International Symposium, March 1-3 For more information: tuftsgloballeadership.org or x73314

ION OF STA IAT TE OC

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The 2018 EPIIC Film Series on Is the Liberal World Order Ending?

more Raquel Whiting and Gake ran the 4×400 in 3:58.49, a mark that ranked 26th in the nation entering Sunday’s meet. The Jumbos rolled out the same squad again, finishing the relay in 3:59.28 — less than a second off their previous time. However, with four relay teams posting sub-3:55 times at BU, the Tufts women slipped to 29th on the Div. III leaderboard.

The Jumbos will host their final qualifying meet on Saturday at the Gantcher Center, with the hopes of securing spots at the NCAA Championships for a few more runners. DeBari believes that the team will focus on the DMR and overall individual improvements, with an eye for both Nationals and the upcoming outdoor season.

“For the Last Chance Meet this Saturday, we are going to focus on our distance medley relay team,” DeBari said. “The four members of the relay are currently ranked 10th nationally, and [the] top 12 teams qualify for Nationals. It is common for other teams to run faster times at this meet, so in order to solidify our relay team’s position, we would like to run a slightly faster time in that event.

Other athletes competing are also looking to qualify or [to] practice their event in preparation for the outdoor season. I think our team is really excited to have one final shot at qualifying.”

NATIONAL A SS

MADELEINE OLIVER / TUFTS TRACK AND FIELD

Sophomore Nehalem Kunkle-Read runs the second leg of the 4x400-meter relay at New England Div. III Championships on Feb. 17.

Rhemi Toth, sophomore Sarah Levine, firstyear Olivia Martin and junior Sarah Perkins.

They finished the relay eighth overall with a time of 12:15.37, which currently places them 32nd in the Div. III rankings. Tufts is already in good position to field a DMR team at Nationals: Toth, sophomore Julia Gake, Martin, and senior co-captain Brittany Bowman currently sit 10th. Levine, who ran the 400-meter leg of the relay, hopes that the Jumbos can serve another top-12 time next week, which they need to qualify for the national meet.

“This weekend, we’re trying out different people for the relay in the hope to get the best time possible,” Levine said. “Hopefully, everything goes well and we run a time that guarantees the relay [team] a spot at Nationals.”

The other Tufts foursome to run the distance medley relay consisted of sophomore Lauren Diaz, first-year Emily Murray, junior Julia Noble and sophomore Nicole Kerrigan.

They finished in tenth position, about half a minute behind their teammates, with a time of 12:47.11.

The Jumbos’ final relay of the day was the 4×400-meter race. At the David Hemery Valentine Invitational on Feb. 9, the Tufts team of sophomore Nehalem Kunkle-Read, senior co-captain Annalisa DeBari, sopho-

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Sports

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Yuan Jun Chee On the Spot

Romelu finally shows up

O

n a day that might decide the order of those finishing behind Manchester City, Manchester United’s premier summer signing finally showed up against the big boys.

If the earlier meeting at Stamford Bridge vindicated one’s preference for Alvaro Morata over Romelu Lukaku, Sunday’s matchup against Chelsea at Old Trafford showed how much the tables have turned. If anything, the way the match turned out was reflective of the strikers’ fortunes this season. Morata had a great chance to put Chelsea in front inside five minutes but was denied by the crossbar, and he later had another goal chalked off wrongly for offside. In contrast, while Lukaku was originally isolated up top as Chelsea controlled the early phases of the game, he slowly grew into the game, much like he has done in recent weeks.

To any relatively objective viewer, Lukaku has improved in the past few weeks.

I’ve been impressed with his transition since the dip in form earlier in the season.

His hold-up play has gotten better, offering his team an attacking outlet to relieve the pressure on Manchester United’s defense.

He has also been able to pass the ball better to bring his other teammates into the game. Since the turn of the year, Lukaku has had either a goal or an assist in every game in which the Red Devils have scored.

And so he proved on Sunday, scoring and assisting as his team came from behind to defeat the defending champions 2–1. Lukaku proved his physical capability in the build-up to the first United goal, which came in the 39th minute. He was able to hold off the challenges of Andreas Christensen and N’Golo Kanté — the latter of whom is seemingly everyone’s favorite midfield player — as well as Marcos Alonso right at the end to pull his team back on level terms just seven minutes after Willian’s opener.

Lukaku’s athleticism was also on show.

About 67 minutes into the game, his spectacular volley may have reminded the Manchester United faithful of Wayne Rooney’s acrobatics against Manchester City in 2011. It required the outstretched fingertips of Chelsea’s Thibaut Courtois to prevent an almost like-for-like recreation of Rooney’s BBC Goal of the Season.

Eight minutes later, Lukaku ran into the channel, finding space against Antonio Rüdiger and Pedro to squeeze in his cross for Jesse Lingard to head in the winner. And right at the end, to take time off the clock, Lukaku showed his power and pace to beat three Chelsea defenders. While his shot was blocked by Christensen, Old Trafford applauded the Belgian’s efforts and his performance on the day.

In short, Lukaku demonstrated the qualities of a top striker and put in a strong performance against a top-class defense for the first time in a United jersey. He ended his season-long goal drought against top-eight sides, and the relief among the United faithful was plain to see. The question for Manchester United fans is whether this run continues. If recent form is anything to go by, one might think United will be able to finish top of the rest of the pile come May. Yuan Jun Chee is a sports editor at the Tufts Daily. He is a junior majoring in history and international relations. Yuan Jun can be reached at yuan.chee@tufts.edu.

Thursday, March 1, 2018

MEN'S TRACK AND FIELD

DiMaiti, Duvivier improve national rankings at Last Chance Qualifier

MADELEINE OLIVER / TUFTS TRACK AND FIELD

Juniors Dylan Jones (left) and Andrew Doherty Munro (right) match strides in the 5,000 meters at the Cupid Challenge on Feb. 3.

by Liam Finnegan Sports Editor

On Sunday, the Tufts men’s track and field team competed at the Last Chance Qualifier, held at Boston University. The meet included athletes from Div. I, II and III schools, as well as high school and club track teams. Despite competing against athletes in higher divisions, the Jumbos performed well, with some improving their national standing.

A dozen Jumbos competed at the meet, which gave runners an opportunity to post faster times before NCAA Championships (March 9–10 in Birmingham, Ala.). Among them were senior co-captain Drew DiMaiti and senior Stefan Duvivier, who set a personal record and a season record, respectively. DiMaiti ran the 400 meters in 48.29 seconds, placing fourth overall at the meet and besting the time of 48.80 seconds that he posted earlier this season at the David Hemery Valentine Invitational, also held at BU. The Medford native’s previous time had ranked him 21st in Div. III, but DiMaiti advanced nine spots with his new time and is now ranked 12th.

“I had really been focusing on this meet,” DiMaiti said. “I knew running on the BU banked track would be my best opportunity to set a new personal best. It was very exciting to set that new mark. I was fortunate that so many of my teammates were

there at BU to support me. I love the atmosphere at BU, and it was even more special to have my friends and family there to cheer me on. I am hoping that this 400 time gets me into Nationals. There is still one more week of competition, but that time usually makes it. I am also very excited to be on our [distance medley relay team], which should qualify for Nationals. It is a very fun event and we have a great squad in it.”

Duvivier also posted a season-best mark in the high jump. The Fort Lauderdale, Fla. native recorded a jump of 2.06 meters, earning him third place at the Last Chance Qualifier. Duvivier’s previous season-best leap of 2.04 meters had ranked 19th in the nation, and his new mark puts him 13th.

First-year OJ Armstrong also put in a good showing at the meet. He ran the 200-meter dash in 22.26 seconds, good for 23rd place in a talented field, which included three other Jumbos. The time was a personal record for Armstrong, who edged out Tufts junior Anthony Kardonsky (22.31 seconds) in the process. With Kardonsky in the midst of a superb individual season — his 200meter time at New England Div. III Championships (21.87 seconds) ranks 21st in the country — Armstrong’s performance was quite impressive.

The Jumbos have just one more meet until NCAA Championships, so it was important that DiMaiti and Duvivier improved their national

rankings — only the top 15 athletes in each event receive invitations to the national meet. Tufts Coach Joel Williams recognizes that the Jumbos’ spots at Nationals are not secure quite yet, but remains confident.

“Drew and Stefan’s marks have historically traveled, but the nature of our sport is that the top 15 changes every week, so you just don’t know until the list goes final at midnight on Saturday,” Williams said. “Both are likely to compete this weekend to better their marks and climb up in the rankings.”

Tufts will host another national qualifying meet at the Gantcher Center on March 9, the team’s final event before Nationals. Williams is optimistic that even more Jumbos will record top15 marks at the meet.

“We are hoping to qualify at least three more events and two more athletes this weekend,” Williams said.

“Anthony Kardonsky and Josh Etkind have been running consistently at a national level. But we also have four or five other guys that have what it takes to make big improvements and get in the conversation. Each week, someone new impresses me, and we have a national-level field coming to compete. We hopefully will have a solid group of guys traveling to Birmingham.

Every year, our goal is to improve on the NCAA finish from the previous year. Last winter we were 18th with 11 points. If we pick up the qualifiers, I think we should have another special performance next weekend.”