The Tufts Daily - Wednesday, February 6, 2019

Shadow grading system would reduce stress for firstyears see OPINION / PAGE 5

MEN’S SQUASH

Men’s squash team wraps up successful season

Men’s track & field team gears up for New England Div. III Championships see SPORTS / PAGE 7

SEE SPORTS / BACK PAGE

THE

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T HE T UFTS DAILY

VOLUME LXXVII, ISSUE 10

tuftsdaily.com

Wednesday, February 6, 2019

MEDFORD/SOMERVILLE, MASS.

Tufts receives inaugural grant for JED Campus mental health training program

by Austin Clementi News Editor

The Hudson’s Bay Company (HBC) Foundation recently gave Tufts a grant to join the JED Campus program, an initiative of the Jed Foundation that aims to improve campus mental health services, according to an article in TuftsNow. The grant was the first of its kind.

The grant follows the recent establishment of the HBC Foundation Campus Scholarship Fund, JED Campus Advisor Kristelle Aisaka told the Daily.

Aisaka stated in an interview that Tufts was the first campus to receive this grant due to its ongoing commitment to improving mental health services.

“We had already been having ongoing discussions with Tufts about joining the JED Campus program when the HBC Foundation Campus Scholarship Fund was established,” Aisaka said in an email to the Daily. “Tufts’ enthusiasm and commitment to addressing young adult mental health made them an obvious choice to receive support from the fund.”

According to Aisaka, 262 campuses throughout the country are currently in the JED Campus program. According to Aisaka, each JED Campus is paired with a campus advisor to work on improving mental health services over the course of four years.

Aisaka, who will serve as Tufts’ campus advisor, said that campus advisors see the JED Campus approach to mental health as “a cross-campus collaboration.” She also emphasized that each JED Campus implements its mental health improvements through several different departments within the university, including counseling services, academic affairs and student affairs, among others.

“We really see mental health and well-being as a campus-wide approach,” Aisaka said.

Aisaka explained that while many of Jed Foundation resources are available online to all campuses and information is available in conferences, the four-year JED Campus program “tailors support” for each individual campus.

“[With the four-year program] we’re able to be a lot more hands-on with campuses in terms of really understanding what’s going on on the campus,” she said.

Will Hodge, a co-president of Active Minds at Tufts, told the Daily in an email that he was excited about this opportunity to improve mental health resources on campus.

“What’s great about being a JED Campus is that it’s a continued partnership — the Jed folks just don’t come in, do their assessment and leave,” Hodge, a senior, said. “They work with us for four years and focus on making sustainable changes that’ll last.”

Michelle Bowdler, the executive director of health and wellness for Health Service at Tufts, said that the Jed Foundation first contacted her with the prospect of Tufts becoming a JED Campus. “[The Jed Foundation] first contacted us and said, ‘We’re really aware of a lot of the innovative work that you do, and we think you would be a great school to be chosen as our … inaugural scholarship,'” Bowdler said.

Bowdler also acknowledged that Tufts had followed the work of The Jed Foundation for some time before becoming a JED Campus, using resources available to schools both online and in conferences concerning mental health. “[The Jed Foundation is] widely known as being … one of the most important signature programs for college mental health and suicide prevention,” she said.

Dean of Student Affairs Mary Pat McMahon also said she had followed The Jed Foundation before, meeting with them at the 2018 National Association of Student Personnel Administrators (NASPA) conference in Philadelphia. McMahon said this was the first time Jed Foundation officials told her they would be interested in establishing a partnership with Tufts.

Bowdler also stated that she admired The Jed Foundation for their work in asking many departments on different college campuses other that counseling centers to make efforts to improve the mental health of students.

MEREDITH LONG / THE TUFTS DAILY ARCHIVES

The Tufts Counseling and Mental Health Service office is pictured on Oct. 23, 2018.

According to Bowdler, Tufts’ work with the Jed Foundation will begin in the next couple of weeks when she speaks to a representative from the Jed Foundation. “[The Jed Foundation has] already given me a checklist that is several pages long and it involves getting a number of people who would be key partners together and putting them on this portal so they have access to articles and information,” Bowdler said.

Bowdler emphasized the exchange of ideas about mental health that results from the Jed Foundation’s work with several different campuses. Specifically, Bowdler cited an interaction students had with the CEO of the Jed Foundation John MacPhee. Bowdler said she shared the Active Minds’ Mental Health Monologues initiative with MacPhee and that MacPhee subsequently said he would make sure to include such programs as an option for other JED Campuses.

The Jed Foundation could help Tufts increase student access to mental health, pointing to the increasing volume and

increased need for mental health services on campus, Bowdler explained.

Hodge agreed, saying that although Tufts has improved its mental health services lately, the university still has work to do.

“Tufts has made some important changes over the years (tuition reimbursement for students on leave for mental health reasons, getting the Counseling and [Mental Health Service] CMHS number on student IDs, adding evening CMHS hours),” Hodge said. “[The Jed Foundation] will up the ante and provide Tufts with evidence-based recommendations to improve overall student mental health and improve suicide and substance abuse prevention efforts.”

Hodge emphasized the positives of having a personalized JED Campus program for Tufts. “[The Jed Foundation] has worked with universities like Tufts so they’ll be able to identify our strengths and weaknesses when it comes to addressing mental health on campus and propose steps we can take to be better.”

tainment co-coordinator, the additional events include Late Night FUN, which started last year, and the new Coffeehouse monthy acoustic nights, which began last semester.

She explained that Late Night FUN events take place every weekend that has late-night dining and that the Coffeehouse events will take place four times over the course of this semester.

Van Scoy facilitated the Late Night FUN events last semester. She said that the goal of Late Night FUN is to provide an activity for any and every student, a sentiment which Brown shares. “[TUSC] is always trying to offer different options for anyone who wants to participate,” Brown said.

TUSC expands programming with Coffeehouse concerts, Late Night FUN

by Madison Reid Staff Writer

Tufts University Social Collective (TUSC), a student-led organization that plans events on campus, has expanded its programming this academic year in order to stimulate social life on campus.

Noah Brown, a junior and member of the executive board of TUSC,

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explained that the organization hosts over 100 events every semester and has been looking to find new ideas for programming.

“We have our film series events, we have events that go on during the day, we have the big stuff like Winter Ball and so [TUSC is] trying to find more stuff for everyone to do,” he said.

According to Brown and Margaret Van Scoy, a sophomore and TUSC enter-

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NEWS............................................1 ARTS & LIVING.......................3 OPINION.....................................5

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THE TUFTS DAILY | News | Wednesday, February 6, 2019

THE TUFTS DAILY Elie Levine Editor-in-Chief

EDITORIAL

David Levitsky Anita Ramaswamy Managing Editors Luke Allocco Jessica Blough Austin Clementi Charlie Driver Jenna Fleischer Juliana Furgala Kat Grellman Abbie Gruskin Liza Harris Zachary Hertz Gil Jacobson Rachael Meyer Cathy Perloff Seohyun Shim Hannah Uebele Joe Walsh Alejandra Carrillo Robert Kaplan Noah Richter Jilly Rolnick Alexander Thompson

Associate Editor Executive News Editor News Editors

Assistant News Editors

Grace Yuh Executive Features Editor Costa Angelakis Features Editors Jenna Fleischer Sean Ong Michael Shames Fina Short Sidharth Anand Assistant Features Editors Amelia Becker Mark Choi Sarah Crawford Claire Fraise Jacob Fried Mitch Lee Ellie Murphy Ananya Pavuluri Libby Langsner Executive Arts Editor John Fedak Arts Editors Tommy Gillespie Stephanie Hoechst Setenay Mufti Christopher Panella Rebecca Tang Danny Klain Assistant Arts Editors Yas Salon

Aneurin Canham-Clyne Shane Woolley Simrit Uppal Kaitlyn Meslin Amulya Mutnuri Arlo Moore-Bloom Yuan Jun Chee Ryan Eggers Liam Finnegan Jeremy Goldstein Savannah Mastrangelo Maddie Payne Haley Rich Brad Schussel Josh Steinfink Sam Weidner Julia Atkins Tim Chiang Jake Freudberg Noah Stancroff Helen Thomas-McLean Alex Viveros

Executive Opinion Editor Editorialists

Executive Sports Editor Sports Editors

Assistant Sports Editors

Daniel Nelson Investigative Editor Madeleine Oliver Executive Photo Editor Christine Lee Photo Administrator Anika Agarwal Staff Photographers Ann Marie Burke Mike Feng Ben Kim Max Lalanne Meredith Long Julia McDowell Evan Slack Kirt Thorne Caleb Martin-Rosenthal Executive Video Editors Lawrence Ojugbeli Ann Marie Burke Video Editors Annette Key

PRODUCTION Daniel Montoya

Production Director Ryan Eggers Executive Layout Editors Catalina Mengyao Yang Yuan Jun Chee Layout Editors Mia Garvin Jordan Isaacs Maygen Kerner Aidan Menchaca Kiran Misner Alice Yoon Isabella Montoya Executive Graphics Editor Myshko Chumak Executive Copy Editors Justin Yu Caroline Bollinger Copy Editors Mary Carroll Rachel Isralowitz Ali Mintz Nihaal Shah Liora Silkes Avni Ambalam Assistant Copy Editors Rebecca Barker Nathan Kyn Simone Lipkind Chloe Lyu Ethan Resek Ryan Shaffer Aadhya Shivakumar Filipa Sturm Russell Yip Abigail Zielinski Deepanshu Utkarsh Esra Gurcay Rebecca Tang Asli Akova Ercan Sen Amy Tong Mitch Navetta Amanda Covaleski Olivia Ireland Lillian Miller Chris Panella

Executive Online Editor Executive Social Media Editors Social Media Editors

Assistant Social Media Editors Outreach Coordinator

BUSINESS

Olivia Davis Executive Business Director

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TUSC to host 4 Coffeehouse Concerts this semester TUSC

continued from page 1 According to Brown, TUSC has seen an increasing number of students attending Late Night FUN since it began during the 2017–2018 school year. ”I know that numbers are growing for this year compared to last year, and I also see that there’s more brand recognition,” Van Scoy said. “People know what Late Night FUN is and they generally know to expect it upstairs in the CC.” Van Scoy added that despite the fact that a lot of first-year students end up attending the events due to proximity, Late Night FUN is not necessarily geared towards any group of students in particular. “[Attendance] depends on what we put on [and] whether it’ll pique people’s interest,” she explained. “Again, it’s both people who are looking for another option and just want to hang out and people who come around 11:30 or 12 from their parties.”

According to Van Scoy, the first Coffeehouse Acoustic Night was The Wolff Sisters last semester.

“We had a pretty good turnout. I think we had around 65 students show up, which is awesome,” she said.

She explained that the idea behind the Coffeehouse concert series is to help students relieve stress by listening to music and enjoying the atmosphere. According to Van Scoy, TUSC hasn’t required an increase in funding to run the Coffeehouse concerts.

“We have a lump sum of money that we use per semester and we allocate that money, which events get which funding,” she said. “We haven’t gone in for supplementary funding.”

Brown mentioned that TUSC is undergoing budget changes.

“We’re restructuring so the budgets are all going to change next year, and so Coffeehouse is going to be under TUSC Concerts,” he said.

According to Brown, TUSC has stepped up to fill a void created by the reduction of Greek life events on campus by hosting social events on a bigger scale.

“We do have programming that is geared towards having that kind of social nightlife both on campus and off campus,” he said. “But it’s hard for us to have the same impact.”

Brown referred to events like Winter Ball as “traditions” that try to fill that role.

For Van Scoy, TUSC has an opportunity to create a new, safer type of social life at Tufts.

“It’s an important transition from Greek life because one of TUSC’s main goals is to provide a space for all students. It’s just inherently a very non-exclusive environment, whereas Greek life could be seen as such.”

Van Scoy also added that TUSC is partnering with Green Dot, the

COURTESY TUSC MARKETING

Blue Light Bandits perform at the TUSC Coffehouse event at Hotung Cafe on Jan. 25. bystander intervention program, to make their events safer.

Brown acknowledged the difficulties TUSC faces in creating viable alternatives to other things happening on campus.

“I think that TUSC’s role in filling that void is limited,” he said.

“TUSC is getting TCU [Senate] funding and can’t really provide the social party atmosphere, but it does add to the ‘another option’ movement on campus by having substance-free events.”

Siddarth Jejurikar, a junior who has attended several TUSC events, including Late Night FUN, the Tisch Film Series and daytime campus center events, stated that while the Late Night FUN events are enjoyable, he doesn’t see them functioning as alternatives to other weekend events on campus.

“It’s not really an event,” Jejurikar said. “You spend three minutes and then you get something free out of it. You get

things, which is cool, but you don’t get much time enjoyed out of it.”

According to Van Scoy, TUSC events can serve as both another option and a complement to preexisting social life. She cited TUSC’s Tisch Library Film Series, noting that it is very popular.

Jejurikar exemplified this with his excitement about the series.

“I’ve been to some of the movies,” he said. “They usually pick good things to screen — I saw ‘Eight Grade.’

They got an early screening of that.

That was cool.”

Brown touched on the importance of all of these events, stating that feeling connected to campus can help students feel more comfortable at Tufts.

“TUSC is so important to give everyone something to do on campus and make sure there’s always something going on for people who don’t want to go out or for people who feel that they’re not transitioning well into college.”

Police Briefs — Week of Feb. 4

by Jenna Fleischer News Editor

Hit lock bottom On Jan. 25 at 2:00 p.m., Tufts University Police Department (TUPD) received a report from several students that cash had been stolen from their lockers at the Steve Tisch Sports and Fitness Center ( Tisch Center). The students had left their gym lockers unlocked. TUPD has a possible suspect and will be working with the District Attorney’s office to file charges.

Tuftstonian vandal On Jan. 28 at 11:40 a.m., TUPD received a report of vandalism to the rear of Houston Hall. The graffiti depicted a penis. Facilities removed the spray paint with a pressure washer. TUPD is currently investigating.

Sleep on it On Jan. 29 at 12:23 a.m., TUPD responded to an alarm at Goddard Chapel. Upon arrival, officers found a homeless person sleeping outside.

It is believed the individual may have

been inside the church and was subsequently locked out. TUPD picked the individual and sent them on their way.

Steal a sweat Later that day at 2:48 p.m., TUPD received a report from a student that their sweatpants had been taken from their cubby at the Tisch Center.

The student’s sweatpants were swapped with another pair, and the student lost their wallet and several gift cards.

ARTS&LIVING

Wednesday, February 6, 2019

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REVIEW

Graciela Iturbide’s ‘Mexico’ offers a touching, intimate look at Mexico and its people

MENGQI IRINA WANG / THE TUFTS DAILY

Photographs from Graciela Iturbide’s ‘Mexico’ are pictured at the Museum of Fine Arts on Feb. 04.

by Setenay Mufti Arts Editor

For the last couple of months, the “Ansel Adams: In Our Time” exhibit has been the buzz of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (MFA), but there is a second, smaller but arguably more impressive and impactful, photography exhibit at the MFA right now.

It is Graciela Iturbide’s “Mexico”: an intimate and stunning collection of Graciela Iturbide’s photography from the 1970s to the present. From nursing plants to slaughtering goats, this exhibit brings aspects of Mexican culture and personal fascinations together in a collection that is sometimes joyful, sometimes devastating but always alive.

The exhibit is split into nine sections with themes including birds, death, “fiestas” and specific studies of Mexican women. Three focus on indigenous communities, the Zapotec, Mixtec and Seri, and another, in a different gallery, captured Frida Kahlo’s bathroom that had been sealed off for over 50 years. Iturbide’s photographs of people are often close-up and personal; all the portraits have an air of dignity about them, and her candid pictures also capture peo-

ple, often women, in the midst of something personal. But Iturbide also has a fascination with birds — she can depict them in the same manner as Alfred Hitchcock — as well as plants. Her photographs of the Oaxaca Ethnobotanical Gardens show cacti and trees “in intensive care,” as the MFA describes, supported by rope rigs and with IV-like bags hanging off their branches. Are people hurting them or healing them?

These themes of death, sacrifice and tradition in Mexico show up all over Iturbide’s work; one of the sections of the exhibit is simply titled “Death.” Some photographs are almost too painful to look at, capturing the intense grief that comes with death, and others are celebratory.

Mexico celebrates the Day of the Dead (“Día de Muertos”), a holiday to pray and remember loved ones who have passed. But it is a day of honor more than grief, and Iturbide captures the dynamism of the celebrations, even if the black and white hides the colors of the flowers and skulls (none of the photographs are in color). Despite being a universal concept, death specifically speaks to Mexico’s history. In “Mexico… I want to get to know you!”

(1975), the titular phrase is the slogan

of the Mexican tourism bureau and hangs in a sign above a store. Inside the store is a skull with a swastika-emblazoned helmet, and a shadowy figure in the window. Here, Iturbide questions what Mexico advertises, what it offers and how it reconciles itself in a modern world catered to the West.

The Day of the Dead is a pre-colonial celebration that has continued in modern times, and Iturbide takes care to also capture others that are not so famous outside of Mexico. One example is her series on “muxes,” a Juchitec practice of men dressing as women and, according to the exhibit, “a Zapotec gender status reported to have existed for centuries.” Some, of a muxe named Magnolia, are poised and girlish. Another, titled “Muxe” (1979), shows a muxe turning with comical, laissez-faire sexuality holding a cigarette. Iturbide is wonderful at capturing both historic pride and individual personalities in her work.

Where Iturbide is truly exceptional is in her ability to capture personhood. Her pictures often frame people in distinct compositions, as with her famous piece of a Seri woman from behind, wearing a traditional dress, holding a boombox and seemingly running into the stunning land-

scape ahead of her (“Angel Woman,” 1979). Iturbide is not afraid of showing women slaughtering goats, protesting in political rallies and doing work while men lie drunk in the background. Even in her photographs of Kahlo’s bathroom, which include no people (except for her own feet in the bath, as a lovely tribute to Kahlo’s “What the Water Gave Me”), she captures Frida’s individuality in her belongings. Objects that represented her poor health and suffering, like enemas and prescribed narcotics, were left in front of those representing strength and perseverance, like a portrait of Stalin. Kahlo’s and Iturbide’s idiosyncrasies come through in this particular collection, and it is an exceptionally personal end to a personal, as well as cultural, exhibit.

Overall, Graciela Iturbide’s “Mexico” is one of the best photography exhibits the MFA has had in years, showing a dynamism that flows throughout Mexico and all its crevices. It is unfortunate that it is shown concurrently with Ansel Adams’ exhibit, because this one is far more personal and yet grander than any landscape; it is the story of people and a place, deeply connected.

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THE TUFTS DAILY | Arts & Living | Wednesday, February 6, 2019

Evan Zigmond Out on the Town

Harvard Square chess hustlers

R

egardless of what we Jumbos think of Harvard University, there is no denying that the school has become a symbol of decadent intellectualism. People from around the world associate Harvard with cozy, upperclass success, evidenced by the school’s doubling as a tourist attraction. It is no surprise, then, that the area has become a beacon for chess players to meet and play with one another.

After all, chess and aristocracy go together like salt and pepper. All sorts of folks stop by the Harvard Square chess boards for a friendly game or maybe something more high-stakes.

This is where the chess hustlers have seized their opportunity. Camped out at the picnic tables in Harvard Square, these seasoned locals will play with you — for a price.

Recently, I decided to challenge one of them to a game or two to see just how skilled they were. I came away from the experience with a newfound desire to improve my understanding of chess, as well as knowledge of a great pastime quite close by. Our wonderful MBTA public transit system makes it pretty easy to get anywhere in Greater Boston, and Harvard Square is no exception.

For those who have not made the trip, there are a few ways one can get there. Personally, I prefer walking to Davis Square and taking the Red Line inbound for two stops. One may also use the 96 Bus, which has two stops on Boston Avenue en route to Harvard Square.

This latter route eliminates walking entirely, which has its own benefits. Either way, the chess boards are right in the square, so they are not hard to find upon arrival. When I first got there, I was petrified of playing.

Interaction with strangers isn’t my forte, but after mustering up some courage, I approached one of the men sitting at a board. He looked slightly withered but greeted me with a smile as I introduced myself.

I sat down at the board, which was already set up. He also had a timer ready, which we agreed to set to five minutes apiece. Before starting, he explained to me that he prefers to play with money on the line, so we both wagered $5. He let me use white pieces, so I started off with a slight advantage. However, that advantage gradually disappeared over the course of our game.

Not only did my opponent make good moves, he also dealt with time pressure incredibly well. He never took more than 10 seconds on a move, whereas I would get stuck on a position and spend too long looking for a solution. In the end, I lost on time and forfeited my $5, satisfied.

Walking away from the game, I felt like I had come close to winning.

Part of me wanted to return the next day and challenge him again. How much of my perception of our skill gap came from his hustling prowess? I have no idea, but in any case, I fully recommend taking the trip to Harvard Square to play chess with some grizzled players.

Evan Zigmond is a sophomore studying music. Evan can be reached at Evan.Zigmond@tufts.edu.

tuftsdaily.com

REVIEW

Despite its shocking title, ‘Conversations with a Killer’ is boring

VIA WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

FBI agent Bill Hagmaier and Ted Bundy during the final death row interview.

by John Fedak Arts Editor

Content warning: This article refers to a serial killer and contains a brief discussion of violence.

With the release of “Conversations with a Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes” (2019–), Netflix at first glance seems to have a powerful premise for their new true-crime documentary: While Bundy was in prison awaiting his execution, he claimed once more that he had been wrongfully convicted and promised journalists Hugh Aynesworth and Stephen G. Michaud exclusive access to his story in return for a re-examination of the case against him. Unfortunately, the promised tapes don’t live up to their hype, and while the show is an interesting look into the mind of an infamous serial killer, it fails to reach beneath the surface of Bundy’s murderous exploits.

The show includes a mix of present-day interviews of those affected

by Bundy, the aforementioned recordings of the killer himself and various archival footage — standard fare for a documentary. Inspired by the book of the same name, the story revolves around Aynesworth and his partner Michaud, who traveled to prison to interview Bundy in the hope of gaining unique insight into his mind and motives. Starting with his childhood, Bundy is quick to talk about everything in his life — besides the killings themselves, on which he at first remains

mute. Eventually, Michaud suggests that Bundy should talk about the killings in the third person, and the floodgates open (sort of ). Bundy begins to talk about some of the murders, and the show’s footage and narration fill in the gaps he leaves, tracing the bloody arc of his four-year murder spree and touching upon the double life he maintained with those close to him.

While there is nothing explicitly wrong with the show’s format, its overwhelming failure is its inability to offer any new insights into the inner workings of Bundy. The killer himself did not admit to the crimes he committed until 1989, years after the tapes the show revolves around were recorded.

Because of this, Bundy himself confesses to absolutely nothing over the show’s four-episode run, and while it is unsettling to hear him talk, there is nothing of substance that comes from his recordings. The most startling fact to be gleaned is that he was incredibly narcissistic and considered himself exceedingly intelligent, but his label as a serial killer tells interested viewers just as much.

The show itself is decently well-made, with the present-day interviews ranging from those who considered Bundy a friend to relatives of some of his victims.

Hearing people discuss Bundy offers a good contrast to his obvious delusions about his childhood and character, although they don’t achieve anything more meaningful than that. The show itself also does a good job at building suspense, especially before Bundy

begins to talk in the third person. It alternates between the series of crimes conducted in the Pacific Northwest and Bundy’s rambling about his childhood, creating a sense of unease as the killer edges closer to discussing the national hysteria he created. However, this suspense is obvious and to a certain extent unnecessary — we already know Bundy committed the crimes — and after he begins to discuss the murders the rest of the show is cut-and-dry, with little experimentation done in the way of narrative creativity.

While there may be nothing wrong with Netflix’s documentary beyond the show’s conception from society’s unending fetishization and fascination with serial killers, the show does nothing extraordinary. The average viewer would already know that Bundy didn’t look like a killer, that he led a double life and that escaping across state borders to commit new murders revealed flaws in the way the police share information between different regions. For the viewer who is unfamiliar with the large details of his life, “Conversations with a Killer” will be engaging enough to warrant a viewing. For most, there is nothing shocking besides the accounts of his murders and some of the footage which is designed to elicit a reaction.

The documentary is too safe for its own good, and its lack of depth causes it to border on, well, boredom, perhaps the worst fate for a documentary about one of America’s most dangerous killers.

TRASHING ONE EGG WASTES 55 GALLONS OF WATER

Wednesday, February 6, 2019

Opinion EDITORIAL

Shadow grading will ease the first-year transition The transition from high school to college is daunting. Students often have to move away from home for the first time, participate in new extracurriculars and find a new network of friends.

Academic competition, financial pressures and obsession with grades add to the stress. Many first-years are unsure of their academic path but expect they will earn high grades in a new, rigorous setting.

These pressures can be overwhelming and hinder academic success.

A handful of universities have implemented shadow grading for the first semester of college in order to make the transition less emotionally difficult. At Wellesley College, Swarthmore College, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and others, first-semester students receive either a ‘pass’ or a ‘no pass’ as their grade. Students and professors know the actual letter grades these students earn on assignments, but the letter grades do not appear on official transcripts.

This policy aids students who are making a significant transition from high school to college. Students at these schools can discover and develop the work ethic, time management skills and responsibility needed to do well in their courses without fear that mistakes made in the first semester will haunt them forever. This security encourages intellectual exploration. Shadow grading gives students a semester to match their habits with the rigor of the university and adjust to a new environment. Furthermore, shadow grading allows students to focus on club activities and extracurricular involvement. It can be especially useful for students who would like to use their first semester to explore a number of disparate fields of study without hindering their grade point averages or ability to count specific courses toward a major. In addition, shadow grading would benefit students coming from schools that did not offer extensive college-level AP and IB

coursework by giving them a semester to level the playing field.

Tufts should implement this policy to strengthen its liberal arts education and give students the chance to explore new fields and take personal risks in course loads.

Data shows that this policy can be effective. Research from Wellesley College found that 94 percent of students surveyed stayed in difficult courses because of the security afforded by the shadow grading policy. In Wellesley’s fall 2014 semester, the first semester in which the policy was implemented, there was a 50 percent decrease in dropped courses compared to past years.

Shadow grading aids first-year students as they acclimate to college life, and if Tufts implemented it, our school would be a more welcoming place. It encourages a balanced approach to college life, instead of a crushing focus on academics at the expense of all else. We would welcome this policy with open arms.

CARTOON

The team we love to hate

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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.

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Deeksha Bathini America is Dying

Opioid addiction

T

he opioid epidemic has pervaded American life. This public health crisis began when physicians over-prescribed this highly effective painkiller, not knowing its addictive nature. Efforts to decrease opioid prescriptions caused many to turn to purchasing substances such as heroin and fentanyl, which are illegally manufactured and extremely potent. Within the past decade and a half, overdoses from prescription opioids have accounted for more than 165,000 deaths in the United States. This epidemic requires some serious attention. Education and prevention are valid means to address this public health issue, but an epidemic of this magnitude requires more than just lectures and campaigns.

A novel idea has emerged out of cities like Columbus and Los Angeles which are piloting a controversial strip test that allows addicts to test their drugs for traces of fentanyl. While these strips are not 100 percent effective and can even yield some false negatives, they will reduce the harm of illegally obtained street drugs. Even giving addicts the opportunity to decide how to take the drug (i.e. shoot half of the drug or abstain completely) could be both cost-effective and life-saving. When coupled with other harm reduction interventions such as clean needle exchanges, which subsidize access to sterile needles, this could be a useful method to reduce overdose deaths.

Additionally, Narcan, an easily-administered nasal spray, can be used to reverse the effects of an opioid overdose. Expanding accessibility to this drug could mitigate overdose deaths by equipping the community to act when a need arises. During an emergency, even two minutes could make the difference between life and death. Recently, efforts have been taken to supply every library and YMCA with a Narcan supply. Continuing to supply high-risk areas with Narcan, including high schools and colleges, will be largely beneficial.

Taking it one step further, Surgeon General Dr. Jerome Adams believes average citizens should carry this drug because “keeping it within reach could save a life.”

After overdoses, it is integral that systems are set in place to promote healing and prevent relapse. Most rehabilitation centers are largely ineffective, particularly in regard to opioid addiction. Short-term residential rehab programs, which last about two to three weeks, have a relapse rate of almost 100 percent.

However, a new treatment plan is being tested called Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT).

MAT is an evidence-based practice which uses a mix of three drugs to reduce opioid cravings.

Naltrexone blocks the brain’s opioid receptors, and the other two drugs, known as methadone and buprenorphine, stop the body’s withdrawal symptoms. MAT is unavailable to many patients because physicians who can administer this treatment require additional training to obtain approval from the Food and Drug Administration. Methadone clinics, which differ from MAT in that they only offer one of the three drugs, are in high demand.

Unfortunately, long wait times prohibit access for many addicts. Mandating training for physicians in hospital settings to offer MAT to patients would be consequential in curbing this epidemic. It is time that public health professionals, doctors, politicians and innovators come together to end the vicious cycle of opioid addiction. Drug addiction is a medical condition and requires the same attention as any other disease.

Deeksha is a sophomore studying community health. Deeksha can be reached at deeksha.bathini@tufts.edu.

6

Wednesday, February 6, 2019 | FUN & GAMES | THE TUFTS DAILY

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Wednesday, February 6, 2019 | Sports | THE TUFTS DAILY

Men’s track & field begins preparation for New England Div. III Nationals

MADELEINE OLIVER / THE TUFTS DAILY

Seniors Rory Buckman, Andrew Munro-Doherty and Dylan Jones race together in a tight pack on Jan. 29 at the Branwen Smith-King Classic.

by Arlo Moore-Bloom Executive Sports Editor

In its build-up to the New England Div. III Championships, the men’s track & field team competed in the Cupid Challenge in the Gantcher Center on Saturday and in the New England Intercollegiate Amateur Athletic Association Championships (NEICAAA) on Friday and Saturday in Roxbury, Mass. The NEICAAAs featured 27 teams, while the Cupid Challenge featured 11. The Jumbos finished tied for 15th on Friday and in the semifinals finished 26th. The Cupid Challenge had no team scoring.

On Saturday in the Gantcher Center, Tufts athletes competed in a multitude of events, securing nationally ranked times. It was a non-scoring event, meaning that athletes competed as individuals to get qualifying times for the New England Div. III Championships or for the NCAA Div. III National Championships.

In one of four field events, junior Kevin Quisumbing finished third in the shot put, launching the shot a whopping 50’6’’. Sophomore Daesoeb Lim finished 4th in the pole vault, stretching out to 13’5¼”. It was his all-time personal record. Junior Ranjit Thomas finished second in the triple jump with a 41’5” effort. Firstyear Tommy Bhangdia brought home the only Jumbo victory in the field events, winning the long jump with a 21’1½” leap.

Jumping coach Linus Gordon commented on the younger Jumbos’ performance.

“There are a bunch of great young jumpers who are finding inspiration from some of the older guys on the team,” Gordon said. “The collaboration between upperclassmen and lowerclassmen jumpers has been great.

There’s a lot of good cooperation and teamwork going on there. They’ve been putting in so much hard work and it’s good to see it pay off.”

In the long distance runs, Senior Hiroto Watanabe ran a 1:54.20 converted time in the 1,000-meter and finished fourth in a competitive race that saw the top four athletes finishing within three fourths of a second of each other. His effort was good enough for 17th in Division III. His classmate, senior Colin Raposo, raced the mile in a 4:13.30 converted time, good enough for third in the race and 18th in the nation. Senior Brian Reaney commented on Tufts’ good long distance performances.

“It was a pretty good weekend for distance,” Reaney said. “We had two qualifiers for DIII New England’s and lots of success elsewhere in the squad too. So that was really cool to see, especially because some of those guys are younger and improving a lot.”

In Tufts’ second victory of the meet, Watanabe, first-year Sam OomenLochtefeld, junior Billy Witrock and first-year Ben Stein raced together in the 4×400 relay race beat out all competitors with a time of 3:29.82. It was the Jumbos’ best time of the season for this event.

On Saturday in the NEICAAA semi-finals, both Jumbos in the meet, juniors Josh Etkind and Anthony Kardonsky, failed to make it out of their qualifying group. With the top eight performers moving on the finals, neither Etkind’s 7.11 second effort in the 60-meter hurdle nor Kardonsky’s 8.35 second effort in the 60-meter dash was enough to qualify them. The two both finished 12th in their respective races. Though they were the only two Jumbos competing in the semifinal round, Kardonsky surprisingly thought that he and Etkind could’ve performed better, noting that the two of them were tapering off for the New England Div. III Championships.

“Neither of us were too pleased with our performances at the NEICAAA Championships,” Kardonsky said.

“We’re starting to taper back their workouts and get some qualifying marks either for the New England Division III Indoor championships and for Nationals.”

On Friday in the NEICAAA first round races, Tufts’ performance was highlighted by senior co-captain Benji Wallace’s career best pole-vault effort.

His 15’5’’ effort was good enough to be ranked 17th nationally as of Tuesday night. It was the best effort among Division III competitors, seeing him finish seventh overall and qualifying for the semifinals held on Saturday.

Etkind and Kardonsky qualified for their respective events’ semifinals in narrow fashion; Etkind finished 11th in the 60-meter hurdles with 8.33 seconds, while Kardonsky finished the 60-meter dash in 7.11 seconds, squeezing into the semifinal race in 15th place. Etkind’s effort was good enough for 22nd nationally as of Tuesday night. The top 16 performers moved onto the semifinal meet the next day, and the duo’s performance added to Wallace’s two point effort, placing the Jumbos in 15th after day one of the meet.

Reaney commented on his teammates’ preparation for the New England Div. III Championships.

“In terms of mindset, different people are probably at different places, especially since some people have their eyes on Nationals, while for others the culmination of their indoor season will come sooner,” Reaney said. “Even though we haven’t yet been quite as successful as we were last year, we still want to get out there and be competitive. We need to show teams that we’re still in the picture, so that people don’t sleep on us.”

Tufts races in the David Hemery Valentine Invitational at Boston University on Friday and Saturday and the MIT Invitational on Saturday as it anticipates the New England Div. III Championships in a fortnight.

7

Jeremy Goldstein The Anti-Bostonian

Patriots derail the hopes of everyone … again

The article’s title should clarify the unceremonious downturn my mood took last weekend.

In case you were wondering amidst the 21 Savage meme hysteria on Sunday evening, a football game was played. Only it was an encounter played for three quarters like two chess masters determined to have the game end in a stalemate, wanting to slowly wring the life out of the audience, something that Adam Levine had already achieved by grounding it into a pulp.

Regardless, in classic nihilistic fashion, I was rooting for my fellow classmates to be absolutely devastated. I followed a similar script for last October’s World Series and in a near-identical style. And I was karmically punished. As Stephon (not Stefan) Gilmore put his greasy mitts up to swallow up an under-duress and underthrown and underwhelming wobbly duck from pseudo-underdog and underperforming Jared Goff, the dream ended. It would be New England. Again.

It’s a dream of mine that the Patriots’ demise will slowly be teased out in a melodramatic fashion, like an orange slowly being sapped of its juices on public display as everyone cheers watching, looking forward to tasting its citrusy delight. Two Super Bowl losses in a row? Tom Brady another year older?

On Sunday evening, however, the juice was bitter.

Bill Belichick must have somehow transformed this juice, which everyone else should be drinking in celebration of the Patriots’ slow demise, and used it as an offshoot of Michael Jordan’s “Secret Stuff” to give random players mammoth games. Julian Edelman, who literally has the athleticism of a quarterback and maybe showed up to the game because he missed the “Good Will Hunting” casting call, absolutely shredded pass-interference-evader Nickell Robey-Coleman all evening. Punter Ryan Allen and special teams “gunner” Matthew Slater could actually open a clinic on confining punts to five yards before the touchdown.

The most irrelevant, tangential side note of the special teams hoopla is that Matthew Slater has four first-team allpro nods, which slightly edges the three possessed by Sir Tom Brady (or whatever he’s known as around Boston). I don’t hear everyone calling Slater the GOAT. (I kid, or do I?) For another year, the Patriots rode another season of rhetoric emphasizing how everyone counted them out. They were the forgotten team, and in a sea of young and up-and-coming quarterbacks, Tom Brady was the forgotten gunslinger. They were a disenfranchised bunch not receiving the respect and attention they deserved. Fortunately, they rallied together around the colors of red, blue and white/silver to work towards a common goal. For the cherry on top, they knocked off the young and pesky upstarts from California to reassert themselves as America’s tried-and-true heartbeat.

The 2016 election comparisons aren’t supposed to be eerie, just a grim reminder. After all, it’s not like any of the players have been seen with “Make America Great Again” hats or anything. Right?

Jeremy Goldstein is a sophomore studying political science and film and media studies. Jeremy can be reached at Jeremy.

Goldstein@tufts.edu.

8 tuftsdaily.com

Sports

Wednesday, February 6, 2019

Men’s squash finishes 7th at NESCAC Championship, gear up for CSA Nationals

RAY BERNOFF / THE TUFTS DAILY ARCHIVES

Junior Raghav Kumar swings to hit the ball in a match against Dickonson at Harvard’s Murr Center on Jan 20, 2017.

by Neal Chan Staff Writer

The Tufts men’s squash team finished its regular season on Jan. 26 with a 4–8 record; in post-season play, it finished seventh in the NESCAC championships the following weekend. The Jumbos wrap up their season with a trip to the CSA Nationals on Feb. 15–17 at Yale University. The Jumbos hope to close out their encouraging year on a good note after a season marked with close wins against evenly matched rivals and losses to formidable opponents.

The season started well for the Jumbos, who tallied two straight wins over Wesleyan and Colby, 8–1 and 5–4, respectively.

“When we beat [Colby] 5–4 at the beginning of the season in November, I thought maybe we were going to have a really good year,” coach Joe Raho said.

While Raho took some comfort in the team’s performances early in the season, the Jumbos suffered a painful 5–4 loss to Bowdoin at the end of the fall semester. The loss was amidst a five-game losing streak to close the fall season that had a varied effect on the players. Raho observed that while some were beaten up by it, others used the Jumbos’ defeats as motivation for future matches against the Polar Bears.

Winter break saw Tufts fall at Yale (9–0) and against Amherst (7–2). The Jumbos turned things around by the time spring term started started with a crucial 5–4 win over the Dickinson College Red Devils to keep their season alive. With the score tied at four apiece, junior Connor Wind came back from four match points to defeat his opponent in five games (11–7, 4–11, 7–11, 12–10, 11–6). Senior co-captain Brett Raskopf commented on Dickinson’s past triumphs over Tufts.

“Dickinson historically has beaten us 8–1 or 9–0,” Raskopf said. “[In the past] we didn’t even really have a chance to be honest.”

Raskopf cited Wind’s incredible comeback as one of the biggest moments of the season.

“If [ Wind] hadn’t [won] we’d probably be in the D division at Nationals,” Raskopf said. “That was honestly one of the greatest squash matches I’d ever seen.”

The team fell to Bates before recovering strongly to defeat Hobart to finish its regular season. Seeded seventh for the NESCAC Championship, the Jumbos took on the Wesleyan Cardinals in the first round of the NESCAC tournament on Feb. 1. The team started on a good note, sweeping 10th seeded Wesleyan 9–0.

Junior Raghav Kumar picked up the victory in the top spot in a back-andforth five game match against sophomore Sean Choi (11–8, 9–11, 11–6,

9–11, 11–7). First-years Konrad LaDow and Marco Rodriguez in the second and third spots, respectively, won in four games, while the rest of the team collected three game wins in a dominant performance.

The Jumbos then found themselves on the receiving end of that same scoreline the next day as they were trounced by the Middlebury Panthers in the quarterfinals. The team was unable to find their way past most of the Middlebury line-up — six players lost their matches in three games or fewer. First-year Will Dewire in the fifth position led his opponent, first-year Teddy Best, by two games, but lost the last three and subsequently the match (9–11, 8–11, 11–4, 11–6, 11–4).

The loss knocked the Jumbos out of the championship bracket, but set the team up with an opportunity to rectify their loss to Bowdoin earlier in the season in a consolation match.

The Jumbos were unable to capitalize on this opportunity, falling 8–1 to the Polar Bears. Senior co-captain Aidan Porges recorded Tufts’ sole victory as he defeated first-year Ishaan George despite losing the first game (8–11, 11–9, 11–6, 11–6).

Tufts then played No. 26 Colby College for seventh place in the NESCAC Championship, and managed to edge the Mules 5–4 again. Dewire showed his grit and determination and rallied from 0–2 to win the next three games, defeat-

ing junior Jason Brodo in the fifth spot (7–11, 9–11, 11–7, 11–9, 12–10). “[Colby] has solid players and they were really ready to go, but our guys played really well,” Raho said. “[Firstyear] Dillon O’Shea lost earlier in the season [against Colby]. This time he played someone different but played a really good match against a kid who beat us the first time that we played [Colby] and [O’Shea] won.”

The close win over Colby was decisive in keeping the team in the top 24, which allows Tufts to compete in CSA Nationals in the C division. Raskopf commented on the accomplishment.

“Playing in the C division at Nationals was definitely a goal of ours,” Raskopf said. “My freshman year we were in the E division, then the last two years we were in the D division and so to get to play in the C division with … really good squash teams that are going to be in our division is really impressive and probably the highest possible goal we could have asked for.”

Raskopf also pointed out how the bottom five players all won their games in the 5–4 win over Colby, showing the Jumbos’ remarkable depth on their roster. The men’s squash team in Raho’s second year as coach has thrived from experienced senior leadership from Raskopf and Porges and from an influx of firstyear talent. The team finishes up the season at the CSA Nationals at Yale University from Feb. 15–17.