Alum Harry Weissman discusses involvement in Tufts Hillel, IfNotNow see FEATURES / PAGE 4
LACROSSE
Jumbos win ninth straight to start season
Lorde brings ‘Melodrama’ to Boston see ARTS&LIVING / PAGE 5
SEE SPORTS / BACK PAGE
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TCU Senate discusses financial year 2019 budget, votes to pay its members Seohyun Shim News Editor
The Tufts Community Union (TCU) Senate met in Sophia Gordon Multi-purpose room to discuss the budget for fiscal year 2019 (FY 19) and to hear a resolution about tuition hikes and updates on Spring Fling logistics. In the context of discussing budgeting, the senate voted to give an additional $8,500 to 15 people serving positions within TCU student government. The body also voted to appropriate $10,000 for the Student Leadership Fund, which provides stipends for student leaders whose work is “logistical, administrative.” Their roles must take up a comparable amount of time as a part-time job, and the priority will be given to students on financial aid, according to the presentation given before the body. However, while Senate’s vote to pay members of student government will go into effect next fall, the body merely secured the funding for the Student Leadership Fund. The fund’s creation depends on senate passing a resolution to encourage the university to create such a program, which they will vote on next week. TCU President Benya Kraus, a senior, opened the meeting and then gave the floor to Trustee Representative Kristen Moran, who shared updates on Spring Fling logistics instead of Assistant Director at the Office for Campus Life John Wescott, who didn’t make the scheduled appearance at the meeting. According to Moran, a sophomore, metal detectors will be installed at the concert entrances, and students won’t be allowed to carry any bags. Part of Professors Row from Latin Way to Packard Ave. will be closed. Each student, in addition to one free student ticket, will be allowed to purchase two guest tickets that will be on sale for $30 a ticket. Moran also added that guest ticket holders will be required to enter through a separate door to expedite the process. Next, the body heard a resolution, titled, “A Resolution Asking Tufts to Maintain its Current Level of Affordability.” The resolution urges the university to provide more financial aid, or to limit the increase in tuition, “such that the overall increase in average total cost is no greater than the rate of inflation.” Authored by Trustee Representative Nathan Foster, a senior, and three Class of 2021 Representatives Grant Gebetsberger, Mateo Gomez and Sarah Wiener, the resolution points out that Tufts, for the Class of 2013, had one of the wealthiest student bodies in the country, according to The New York Times, and that the university’s tuition is the seventh most expensive in the United States, according to USA Today.
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Authors said that the resolution provides a realistic guideline for the university in keeping its affordability level. Wiener, in particular, argued that education is a form of service and that price for education should stay within the inflation rate, if not lower. TCU Parliamentarian Adam Rapfogel, a junior, introduced the resolution to the body and TCU Historian and junior Jacqueline Chen read the text of the resolution. Following a discussion on both non-substantive changes relating to grammar, the body entered the debate phase and voted to make a substantive change in the text, by adding a line that calls the university to “adopt goals and metrics addressing its average total cost and economic diversity.” The body then passed the resolution by acclamation. Before the body moved to hear supplementary funding requests, Rapfogel shared with the body that seven resolutions will be introduced on the floor at the next Senate meeting on April 16. The body voted to match the initial recommendations of the Allocations Board (ALBO) for the following groups: $223 in funding to the TuftScope Journal for its spring panel event about climate change and human health on April 17, $2,568 to Tufts Mock Trial for its trip to national championship in Minneapolis from April 20 to 22, $2,055 to Men’s Club Volleyball for its stay in St. Louis for national championships from April 11 to 15, $1,010 to Tufts Queer Students Association for a speaker event featuring Pidgeon Pagonis, $1,650 to Students for Justice in Palestine for its speaker event on campus, $2,000 to Tufts Returning Students Organization for a speaker event featuring Vermin Supreme on April 25, $1,962 to Tufts Sino-US Relations Group Engagement for speaker travel funding, $1,090 to American Society of Civil Engineers for hotels to attend the Bridge Building Competition in Burlington, Vt. from April 27 to 29 and $300 to Singapore Students Association for its lunch event with the Singaporean Ambassador for the United States. Next, ALBO members took the floor to explain the budget changes for each council they chair. Budget changes for all groups in ten councils were presented before the body. After each council chair went over the shift in budget, the body voted on the proposed amount. The proposed budget for each for FY 19 was passed by the body after a question-and-answer session for each council. Most notable shifts in budget came from the following councils: Council 3, a category for media organizations on campus, saw a 16.83% increase in budget from FY 18’s $110,571.31 to
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Sophia Gordon Hall is pictured here on May 7, 2014. $129,185. Council 3 Chair and Class of 2019 Representative Emma Phillips explained that most of the increase was a result of an overall increase in printing cost for paper-publications. Council 7, a category for pre-professional groups on campus, saw a 12.56% increase from FY 18’s $33,566 to $37,781. Council 7 Chair and Class of 2020 Representative Kevin Gleason explained that four new groups asked for funding for FY 19, including groups that didn’t request funding previously and new groups on campus. Engineering Council saw a 84.71% increase from FY 18’s $31,400 to $58,000. Kraus, who chairs the Engineering Council, explained that groups under this category have been “underfunded” in the past, even though they experienced cuts from their initial requests. While all the other councils experienced an increase in budget, council 8, a category for political groups on campus, saw a 14.05% decrease from FY 18’s $31,219 to $26,894. Council 8 Chair and Assistant Treasurer Sharif Hamidi explained that political groups have had budget inflation in the past as they often request more funding than they need. Hamidi, a first-year, added that political groups can often find external sources of funding, citing Tufts CIVIC, a campus political group that doesn’t ask for funding from TCU Senate. For Council 9, a category for student government organizations, the body first voted on Student Government Stipends and Student Leadership Stipends. The proposed amount for added paid Senate positions was $8,500, including a $500 increase in the stipend for TCU Vice President, a $1,000 stipend to Senate Parliamentarian, Senate Historian and Senate Diversity and
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Community Affairs Officer, $750 to Senate Assistant Treasurer and $500 to allocations members. For non-Senate positions, Judiciary Vice Chair will receive $500. Judiciary Re-recognition Chair, Judiciary Recognition Chair and Committee on Student Life Chair will all receive $250. Many senators voiced their concerns over the Student Government Stipends. Chen said the proposed system favors student leaders on TCU Senate. Rapfogel agreed with Chen, and said the matter should be decided by a referendum. He also said it is conflict of interest: “We are essentially funding ourselves.” However, Diversity and Community Affairs Officer Shannon Lee and Gebetsberger argued that Senate has given the student body every opportunity to engage with Senate on the matter, and the body should be voting on it rather than letting the students decide by a referendum. In particular, Gebetsberger said that students may be voting on something they do not understand the details of, should there be a referendum. The body passed the proposed amount of $8,500 by a 16–14–0 vote. The body then passed the proposed amount of $10,000 for Student Leadership Fund by a 29–0–1 vote. Only one opposing vote came from Class of 2018 Senator Jamie Neikrie, who argued that there is lack of detail in the proposed system. Lastly, TCUVice President Anna Del Castillo opened the floor for committee updates. Education Committee Chair Phil Miller announced that the Tufts Textbook Exchange will be funded entirely by the Office of the Dean ofStudent Affairs. There were no other significant updates from other committees. Then the meeting adjourned.
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Asian Health Symposium discusses stress in Asian-American communities by Jennifer Huang Contributing Writer
More than 80 researchers, healthcare providers and community partners gathered for the fourth Annual Asian Health Symposium at the Pao Arts Center in Chinatown on April 6 to discuss stress in Asian immigrant communities. The symposium was hosted by the community-academic partnership program Addressing Disparities in Asian Populations through Translational Research (ADAPT), which is part of the Tufts Clinical and Translational Science Institute (CTSI). The symposium, titled “In Pursuit of Health & Wellness: Addressing the Impact of Stress in Asian Immigrant Communities,” had two panels. Carolyn Rubin, director of ADAPT, kicked off the event by explaining the importance of addressing stress facing Asian immigrant communities. “We want to have a broad conversation about wellness and across different Asian ethnic communities,” Rubin said. “There is pain in immigration story, but there is also resilience.” Alice Rushforth, executive director of the CTSI, addressed in her opening remarks why it is important to translate fundamental research findings into medical practices that bring about meaningful health outcomes. The first panel discussed the stressors that most directly impact Asian immigrant communities, the second identified innovative strategies for addressing stress and the symposium ended with conversations about the critical factors that contribute to community mental health and wellness. Ed K.S. Wang, director of policy and planning at Massachusetts General Hospital’s Chester M. Pierce, MD Division of Global Psychiatry, moderated the first panel, entitled “Stressors that Impact Asian Immigrant Communities.” Wang started his introduction by sharing his immigration story. Wang explained that when he was a child, he was amazed that multiple families living in the same apartment unit to save money could harmoniously share a kitchen and bathroom. His story focused on resilience. Wang then asked panelists Lisette Le, Mary Truong, Mary Chin, Niem Nay-Kret and Ahn Vu Sawyer to consider the stress-
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The Chinatown Gate in Boston, Massachusetts is pictured. ors facing their communities and discuss strategies to mitigate those stressors. Le, executive director of the Vietnamese American Initiative for Development, said common stressors include “not knowing how to advocate politically and navigate bureaucracy.” “Stress is not about [solely] adults,” Le said. “It moves down generationally too, when children translate for parents.” Truong, executive director of the Massachusetts Office for Refugees and Immigrants, mentioned social isolation, difficulty learning English, impediments to accessing services, stress related to poverty and separation as frequent stressors. As for mitigation strategies, Chin, executive director of the Asian American Civic Association (AACA), spoke to the role her organization plays in workforce placement programs. She believes that economic self-sufficiency can help her immigrant clients handle their stressors. Community health worker Nay-Kret shared that the Lowell Community Health Center provides primary care for many Asian immigrants from countries including Vietnam, Cambodia, Myanmar and Bhutan. Niem also said Metta Health Center, a part of Lowell Community Health Center that serves Lowell’s immigrant populations, was created to increase cultural sensitivity in healthcare by taking measures such as including traditional healing advice.
Wang then asked the panel about the overall themes across the different communities. Panelists agreed that the immigrant communities in which they work all reflect a common theme of resilience. “Our stressors resonate with each other [because we all left our hometown] with the hope to provide safety for our family,” Sawyer, executive director of Southeast Asian Coalition, responded. Wang opened the event to questions from the audience. Questions included whether gender roles and the current politics of immigration could be additional stressors. “Women for some reason learn English, make friends and get work right away, which is difficult for men, so this is an invisible stressor,” Anh explained. Niem also mentioned that the fear of detention and deportation creates more observable stressors. Chin added that even lawful permanent residents are often worried because of misinformation. Wang ended the panel by giving the attendees food for thought. “Think about collective impact. It is based on [relationships],” he said. “Part of resilience is triggered by connection. How can we operationalize collective impact and form creative partnerships [to address stress in Asian immigrant communities]?” Later, the symposium included a panel about addressing stress, as well as further discussions about community mental health.
Friedman School hosts 11th annual Future of Food and Nutrition Research Conference by Nako Kobayashi Contributing Writer Executive Graphics Editor Graphics Editors
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This past weekend, The Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy hosted the 11th Annual Future of Food and Nutrition Graduate Student Research Conference. Graduate students representing a wide range of disciplines and universities gathered to demonstrate their unique approaches to food and nutrition issues. A diverse collection of research was presented, with projects on topics ranging from the relationship of mitochondrial function and intestinal barrier integrity to the food insecurity of undergraduate students. The welcoming reception that took place on Friday also doubled as an initial poster session for students presenting their research on Saturday. Ariana Gunderson, an MLA candidate at Boston University’s Gastronomy program, expressed her excitement for the energy in the room. “Everyone is really engaged in all the presenters’ work, even if this is just the reception,” she told the Daily. Over 180 people were registered to attend the event, according to Laura Gallagher, an
MS candidate at the Friedman School and chair of communications for the conference. On Saturday, the Jaharis Family Center for Biomedical and Nutrition Sciences — home of the Friedman School — overflowed with current and prospective students, faculty, researchers and visitors. Ed Saltzman, the academic dean for education at the Friedman School, opened the conference on a hopeful note. “The future of food and nutrition is now, and you are the future of food and nutrition,” he said. Emphasizing the importance of the kind of interdisciplinary research represented at the conference, Saltzman concluded his remarks by acknowledging the students in the room. “I’m delighted that you’re here, and I think that as we move forward, the future is indeed in good hands,” Saltzman said. The two speakers invited to the conference, as well as the student presenters, echoed Saltzman’s call for a holistic approach to addressing food and nutrition issues. Britt Lundgren, director of organic and sustainable agriculture at Stonyfield Farm
and Friedman School alumna, delivered the keynote address. Addressing how consumers can support farmers in making correct decisions about the environment, Lundgren introduced Stonyfield’s current approach to sustainability. Lundgren emphasized that if environmental sustainability comes at the expense of financial sustainability for a farmer, the solution is not truly sustainable. “We haven’t achieved sustainability at all if it’s at the expense of sustainability in a different sense,” she said. “Not only can agriculture be a part of the solution to climate change, but agriculture must be a part of the solution to climate change.” Lundgren repeatedly emphasized the importance of approaching sustainability in a way that simultaneously benefits farmers, the environment and consumers, rather than thinking of each of those factors separately. Doug Rauch, the founder and president of Daily Table and former president of Trader Joe’s, also shared his vision of sustainability and what it means for solutions see FOOD AND NUTRITION CONFERENCE, page 3
Monday, April 9, 2018 | NEWS | THE TUFTS DAILY
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Research conference at Friedman discusses food insecurity, sustainability
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FOOD AND NUTRITION CONFERENCE
continued from page 3 to food insecurity during a question-and-answer session moderated by Professor of Food Policy at the Friedman School Norbert Wilson. Daily Table is a nonprofit community grocery store that offers healthy food at affordable prices. They currently have two locations, both in Boston. “We all should feel entitled to lead healthy, happy lives,” Rauch noted. He explained how this view led to the transformation of Daily Table from an initiative that resembled a food pantry in its early stages to one that now replicates a retail model. In retail, the store must earn the patronage of the customer, he said. This helps change the power dynamic to provide a “dignified shopping experience to a community that is nutritionally suffering,” according to Rauch. Seventeen student presentations were divided into six sessions based on thematic similarities: food insecurity, child health and nutrition outcomes, sustainable agriculture in relation to dietary patterns, nutrition and health implications, influencing agricultural productivity, and consumer food access and choice. Many of the students aimed to fill in gaps within existing literature on food and nutrition. Anne Byrne, a Ph.D. candidate at Cornell University, discussed her findings on food insecurity, a topic that is often understudied within economics literature due to the variability of food pantries and the difficulty in obtaining adequate data. Sarah Eissler, a Ph.D. candidate in rural sociology at Pennsylvania State University, focused on the role of women within the cacao production chain in Indonesia. Even though they often play critical roles in the cacao production process, women are frequently overlooked, in large part due to
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Dr. Tim Griffin speaks to a group of students at the welcoming reception for Future of Food and Nutrition Conference at the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy. their own perception of their roles within their households, Eissler said. The conversations continued into the hallway and café spaces between sessions as attendees passionately exchanged their thoughts and ideas with each other. Attendees also flowed into the two classrooms filled with poster presenters who readily and enthusiastically responded to questions people had about their research. The Graduate Student Research Conference is co-ordinated to coincide with the accepted students’ open house.
One of the poster presenters, Edwin Ortega, is also a prospective student of the Friedman School. Participating in the conference gave Ortega a meaningful opportunity to get to know the school better. “I didn’t realize I would fit in so well,” Ortega explained. “I love that people here are interested in the functionality of food in relation to diseases, public policy, health and generally just helping people.” Gallagher also mentioned that having the conference open to incoming
students helped solidify her decision to pursue her graduate studies at Tufts. “Coming to this event was a cool way to see what this school does,” Gallagher explained. In her closing remarks, Ariella Korn, Ph.D. candidate at the Friedman School and deputy chair of the conference committee, thanked everyone for their participation. “We hope you leave with new ideas on how to advance research on food and nutrition topics,” Korn said.
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Features
Monday, April 9, 2018
Former Tufts Hillel president Harry Weissman speaks on ‘anti-occupation’ movement IfNotNow
Ross Sonnenblick The Tuftonian Dream
by Colin Kennedy
hen you were young, you maybe had a dream. You were going to fly to the moon, pass EC 5, cure cancer. Then, you grew up. You cut your hair, chose your major, changed your outlook. You changed a lot, but did you change your dream? Sophomore Robert Joseph was just a youngster in Utah when he “caught two praying mantises and put them in a cage together, and one of them bit the head off of the other.” He recalls feeling “very upset about that,” but at the time, the grisly spectacle didn’t derail his dream of becoming an entomologist. In retrospect, he says, “Really, what I enjoyed about [studying insects] was the information, picking up little facts about the different types.” (Little facts, apparently, and little decapitated heads.) Moving into high school, Robert picked up the pace of his education in science by taking AP Biology his sophomore year. He loved that class, and his interests expanded to include other unusual organisms like tarantulas and cephalopods. Robert explains, “I was always attracted to the weirder creatures, the more outlandish ones.” Still, his interest in the “niche outliers” of the animal community cannot hold a candle to his larger quest for academic enlightenment. As a junior in high school, Robert appreciated his chemistry class and at Tufts, he intends to major exclusively in chemistry, but only because Tufts doesn’t offer a major called “everything.” Where Robert once collected bugs, he now collects facts. This semester, he opted to take The Meaning of America and German, along with his two conventional chemistry classes. He comments, “I’ve had so many other interests develop like history, languages and philosophy, that I feel compelled to study all of those things.” He continues, “That initial interest in biology hasn’t gone away, but it’s been tempered by a desire to learn more broadly about other subjects.” In other words, Robert wants to shine a light on as much knowledge as he can possibly uncover, and in the future, Robert jokes, “I want to bring news of the electric torch to Utah.” Of course, Utah already utilizes electricity, but Robert really doesn’t have “any solid career plans.” Instead, he says, “I think about the kind of person I’d like to be and the characteristics I’d like to have.” After college, he just wants to “be a good person, live a good life in those philosophical terms.” Last year, Robert happily snuck Classics of Greece and Western Political Thought into his crowded schedule. Those classes posed “challenging questions” like “What are desirable virtues to have?” and “Is it enough to be a middle-class person with a secure lifestyle?” Robert expresses, “I’ve enjoyed wrestling with those questions,” and with a laugh, he adds, “I don’t have any conclusions … It’s something I go back and forth on every single day.” Although Robert’s future remains uncharted, he maintains, “I’m not in any particular hurry to plan out the next 80 years of my life.” He spent his winter break reading and trekking across great swaths of the western United States, and for now, he says, “I’m still just exploring.”
Contributing Writer
Harry Weissman (LA ’17) was the former president of Tufts Hillel and is currently an active member of IfNotNow, a national movement “to end American Jewish support for the occupation.” IfNotNow has organized several demonstrations in Boston over the past year, such as an anti-Semitism vigil in August, a rally calling for the release of Moroccan activist Siham Byah in November and a protest against President Trump’s decision to move the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem in December. Most recently on April 3, eight protesters from IfNotNow were arrested after chaining themselves to the door of the Israeli consulate in Boston to protest the violence against Palestinian protesters in the Gaza Strip, according to an article in the Boston Globe. The next day, the Daily sat down with Weissman for a conversation about his role in this movement and his time at Tufts. Tufts Daily (TD): What is IfNotNow? Harry Weissman (HW): It’s a movement of young Jews seeking to transform our community’s support for the occupation in Israel and Palestine into a call for freedom and dignity for all people, including Israelis and Palestinians. We know that part of our community’s reason for upholding the occupation is because of our fear that anti-Semitism is going to wipe us off the map, and our fear of annihilation, which comes from centuries of trauma and near-annihilation. That fear sometimes incentivizes our community to cozy up to power where that can actually be hurtful to us. But, as long as we’re supporting the occupation in Israel and Palestine, we’re not aligning with our Jewish values of freedom and dignity. TD: When you say “the occupation,” what is IfNotNow’s definition of it? HW: It’s a system of violence and separation that denies Palestinians civil, political and economic rights. We don’t take a stance on Boycott, Divest, Sanctions (BDS), nor do we take a stance on statehood. We don’t all have to agree on those questions to agree on the fact that it’s bad that we support the occupation. TD: What is your role in IfNotNow? HW: Part of what I do in IfNotNow is thinking strategically about college campuses and students, to think about how they can get involved. The reason IfNotNow is popping up on a lot of campuses is because we see that the American Jewish community and institutions are really hyper-focused on young people. There are so many organizations on college campuses that have the purpose of, or have a secondary goal of, promoting Israel on campus. What we’re thinking about in IfNotNow is that only supporting Israel doesn’t align with our Jewish values. TD: How would describe the effect of IfNotNow in the community, at Tufts and in Boston? HW: It certainly has a huge effect on the Boston community. IfNotNow is a national decentralized movement. We have chapters, which we call hives, in different cities and the largest ones are in New York and Boston. There are currently 250 people who have been trained by IfNotNow in the Boston area. As for Tufts itself, it’s hard to say. It’s mostly up to the students who are currently there. However, I will say that Tufts has more alumni in IfNotNow than any other school in the country. There are 60 or so Tufts alums who have been trained by IfNotNow.
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Harry Weissman (LA ‘17) poses for a photo in Davis Square on April 4, 2018. Weissman is currently involved in IfNotNow Boston, which according to its national website “seek[s] to end American Jewish support for the occupation.” TD: How did you learn about IfNotNow and why did you choose to join? HW: It was a few weeks after Trump was elected. This Facebook event popped up on my news feed: Fire Bannon: Jewish Resistance Against Trump. It was a protest downtown that was meant to protest the appointment of Steve Bannon because he is an anti-Semite. We know, as Jews, having an anti-Semite in the White House is not going to help us. So I went, and it was really beautiful. I think I’d only been to one or two other protests in my life. This one felt authentically me as a group. It was quite a few months between the anti-Trump rally and when I did my orientation training and joined [the movement]. As I continued through my senior year, I started to learn more about the occupation and the issue itself. TD: How did you get to learn more about the occupation? HW: My senior year, I was President of Tufts Hillel, and it forced me to grapple with the issue in a way that I had never really had to before. I used to be able to say, “This is too complicated, I just want to be Jewish in a Jewish community and I don’t want to think about Israel or the conflict.” Once I became president, this was a little harder to do because there are people in the Jewish community that have differing views and very strong views on this issue. I began to learn more, partly just by actively doing my research and partly by interactions I was having with other people in Hillel. The primary experience where I learned so much about the occupation was when I actually got to go to Israel and Palestine during my spring break last year for this Visions of Peace trip, sending a group of interfaith students to learn about the conflict from people on the ground, and also to learn about the co-existence and peace work that was being done there. We had the opportunity of touring a city where the Israeli settlement and the Palestinian neighborhoods are divided. The Israeli part is a very happening place, while the Palestinian neighborhood is pretty ghettoized and rundown. I remember walking through this Palestinian marketplace, and we can see above us this wire fence casting long shadows on the ground. Lying atop this wire fence was all this garbage because Israeli settlers would often throw junk down at the shopkeepers below, which is extremely dehumanizing. Seeing the
difference between the lives of Israelis and Palestinians, regardless of how we feel about Israel as a state or BDS or any issue, this clear separation between the peoples is awful. TD: How did you reconcile what you saw during your spring break with your responsibility and duty to your community as the President of Tufts Hillel? HW: I remember feeling very proud of Tufts Hillel. I knew that Hillels at other schools can be conservative … How many Hillels would send students on a trip like this? It was really exposing us to the horrors of the occupation, which I don’t think is something most people expect of their Hillels. My Hillel cared that we were having informed conversations and meaningful conversations with people who speak from perspectives and experiences. However, three weeks later, some students proposed a resolution to the [Tufts Community Union] Senate, calling on Tufts to divest from four companies that profit off the occupation, so this was a BDS resolution. It’s a nonviolent tactic to boycott Israel and put pressure on the occupation. The majority of my community and Hillel were opposed to this resolution. I saw us pouring our resources into fighting this [resolution], and I didn’t see BDS as the issue where we should be putting our priorities. We were having discussions on racial justice and how to bring that into the larger community. We were talking about ways Hillel could be more sustainable. We were having discussion groups for LGBT students and Jewish women. What was upsetting to me is that these are the things we should be prioritizing, but I saw so many people show up to oppose the BDS resolution that I had never seen before in Hillel. I don’t blame them because I think this is the narrative we’re fed, that this should be our priority, but I don’t agree with that. TD: What, then, do you think is the purpose of IfNotNow in this context? HW: I’m not against my community. It’s the exact opposite. IfNotNow strives to transform the Jewish community. I want all of us to say that we do not support the occupation. Our community has strayed a bit, and we know that our community is better than that, and that’s why we’re moving our whole community with us. Editor’s note: This interview has been edited for clarity and length.
The good life
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Ross Sonnenblick is a sophomore majoring in psychology and international literary and visual studies. He can be reached at ross.sonnenblick@tufts.edu.
Monday, April 9, 2018
ARTS&LIVING
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Alec Provost The Art of Games
Lorde hosts the perfect house party on Melodrama World Tour
Music in games is an art by itself
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Lorde performs on July 1, 2017 at Lotnisko Gdynia-Kosakowo in Poland. by Christopher Panella Staff Writer
“I see myself as such a mess, so cluttered full of emotions and dreams and … it gets pretty messy in here sometimes … I’m not always the easiest person to love, you know? But that’s who I am,” Lorde said, before asking thousands in TD Garden last Tuesday to sing her song “Writer in the Dark” from her most recent album “Melodrama” (2017) with her. In that moment, Lorde claimed that loving her wasn’t easy, but as the thousands of fans cheered, screamed and danced along with her at the Boston stop on her Melodrama World Tour, it was clear she’s quite wrong. The concert had two opening acts: Mitski and Run the Jewels. At first glance, it’s questionable how these artists ended up with Lorde. After listening to their sets, however, their similarities to the New Zealand star became clear. Mitski has a unique, soothing voice, and Run the Jewels played songs that made TD Garden feel like a club. From her first song, Lorde encompassed the same things, beginning with her odes to adolescent house parties, “Sober” and “Homemade Dynamite,” and flowing into previous suburban-based hits from her 2013 album “Pure Heroine.” She also covered some songs from other artists like Frank Ocean, almost as if she were curating a playlist for the audience to jam to at this con-
cert-turned-party. Arguably the best moment was when she came back on stage for an encore with a miniature soundboard to play “Loveless.” The concert wasn’t just focused on Lorde, though. The stage featured a cage that could lift off the ground and tilt. Dancers, sometimes acting out different scenes, moved around in the cage, acting out scenes to match the songs Lorde was singing. It was like watching something theatrical, something more like a music video than a concert. Lorde herself got in the cage to change her outfit in between “Ribs” (2013) and “The Louvre” (2017). The concert had euphoric highs, with Lorde showcasing her iconic, wild dance moves while backing dancers performed under bright and flashing lights. There were also solemn, individual moments like “Liability;” it almost felt like the audience should turn away. It felt like an invasion of privacy, like Lorde was showing her deepest self to Boston. Showing audiences her different sides is nothing new, but she went a step further with the use of colors and lights throughout the concert. Lorde has sound-to-color synesthesia, which allows her to see specific colors when certain notes are played. She’s confirmed that synesthesia helps her create her albums and has suggested that listeners can see the colors through her songs if they listen closely. Accordingly, with each song, the lights on
stage projected different colors and combinations, from the blue and purple hues of “Perfect Places” to the greens, blues and pinks of “Magnets” (2015). The light show keyed the audience in on the colors Lorde possibly associates with the songs and made the experience all the more personal. The moment that most captured the concert and Lorde herself was when she asked the audience to dance and sing with all their might during her break-up anthem “Green Light.” She jumped, flailed and screamed the lyrics with the fans, giving concert-goers their three minutes to perform with her. Lorde commanded the show with her loud party anthems and her desperate, emotional ballads, but also with her charming personality. From talking about feeling “a kinship with Boston” and joking about catching athlete’s foot from the Celtics, Lorde made audiences laugh in between songs. At one point, she mentioned getting a lobster roll for dinner and asked the audience if that was their dinner plan. On her Melodrama World Tour, Lorde somehow managed to make TD Garden into an intimate house party. She played fan favorites, dedicated songs to “everyone who grew up in the suburbs,” let fans see her as more than a star and danced like no one was watching. No artist can touch Lorde at her best, and her best could be found right there, sharing her three-act melodrama with everyone.
is finally delivering some maxi-challenges worth watching. The PharmaRusical brought us into RucoLabs — “Better living through fake science” — and introduced us to a series of headstratching prescription drugs, including but not limited to “Badonkadonx” for … well, rear-end growth; “Flaccida,” kind of like Viagra but tailored to the Drag profession; and, of course, “Conflama,” a cocktail of conflict and drama that seems to be readily available in the workroom this season. Last Thursday, Mother Ru followed up the PharmaRusical with another
maxi-challenge that seemed to comment on the vapidness of modern life, as she tasked the queens to sell three niche dating apps: “End of Days” for those looking to find love before the apocalypse, “Madam Buttrface” for queens with rocking bodies but little else and “Fibstr” for pathological liars. The real standouts were Miz Cracker and Eureka in “End of Days,” who served frantic middle-aged women at a church luncheon, and of course Asia O’Hara, whose open-mouthed death stare
‘RuPaul’s Drag Race’ season 10: The PharmaRusical, The Vixen strikes back
by Jack Ronan Arts Editor
It’s safe to say that we’ve all recovered from “All Stars” Syndrome. “RuPaul’s Drag Race” (2010-) season 10 has proven to be the light at the end of the school week we all needed to get through the gray slog that is “spring” in New England. With two not-so-tearful goodbyes to Kalorie and Yuhau, let’s revisit the past few weeks of Drag Race. PharmaRusical and Tap that App: Finally, salvation. After a series of mainstage snoozes on “All Stars,” Drag Race
see RUPAUL'S DRAG RACE, page 6
ne of the most overlooked aspects of a video game is its music. While most appreciate a good score in a game, I feel that the music in a game can completely change the player’s experience. The value of music is especially important for indie games. Oftentimes, the music makes up for less detailed graphics in setting the atmosphere for the game. “Hotline Miami” (2012), for instance, utilizes synth-heavy psychedelic music to complement its bizarre and twisted story. The fast-paced sections of the soundtrack mirror the game’s brutal violence, whereas the slower sections starkly contrast the fast gameplay. In “FTL: Faster Than Light” (2012), Ben Prunty’s incredible soundtrack does an amazing job of setting the tone for the game. Tracks such as “Space Cruise” capture the emptiness and isolation of space far better than any lifelike visuals. Consequently, the game’s graphics can be functional, leaving its atmosphere up to the soundtrack. A strong soundtrack is not only important for indie games, however. Even high-budget titles are impacted by their music. “Skyrim” (2011), one of my favorite games of all time, would not be nearly as beloved without its score. The gameplay is middling, the graphics were never top-tier and the story was mediocre. But the experience of exploring its world was magical. This magic, however, would not have been so strong without Jeremy Soule’s score. From the grand title track “Dragonborn” to the peacefully haunting “Frostfall,” the soundtrack of “Skyrim” perfectly captures the feeling of exploring its world. On the same note, the “Fallout” series would not be as charming without its 1950s soundtrack. Exploring the Mojave Wasteland in “Fallout: New Vegas” (2010) would not be the same without Dean Martin’s “Ain’t That a Kick in the Head?” playing in the background. Even “Fallout 4” (2015), which is a game I do not love, is improved by Dion’s “The Wanderer” contrasting a post-apocalyptic Boston. Just as music can add to a game, it can take away from a game as well. While many may love the largely music-free exploration in “The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild” (2017), I did not. I found that the lack of music took away from the experience, making the world feel less atmospheric. The few times where music did play, however, significantly added to the game for me. The moment when epic music began playing while enemies surrounded me in an empty field stands out as one of my favorite moments in games from 2017. In contrast, both “Dark Souls” (2011) and “Bloodborne” (2015) are games that largely eschew music. While a lack of music hurt the epic world of “Breath of the Wild,” it added to these games. The fear and intensity in the “Soulsborne” games is increased by not having music, letting their decayed worlds speak for themselves. The boss fights have music playing, mirroring the intensity of the fights themselves. Although the way games can utilize music varies, it has an immensely important impact on the experience. In many games, their soundtrack is what elevates them into greatness. For others, however, their music, or lack thereof, hurts the experience. Alec Provost is a junior majoring in history. Alec can be reached at alec.provost@ tufts.edu.
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THE TUFTS DAILY | Arts & Living | Monday, April 9, 2018
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Race plays an uncomfortable role in most recent episodes of 'Drag Race' season 10 RUPAUL'S DRAG RACE
continued from page 5 can be compared to celebrated works of art such as the Giménez’s ‘Beast Jesus.’ Best Drag: The queens gave us looks for days. After they wrapped up marketing “Swallowease” — no explanation necessary there — the queens walked the runway in their “very best drag.” Asia O’Hara stunned in a jeweled bodysuit with ruffles of pink fabric spilling down to her ankles. Rhinestoned for the gods, the Dallas diva gave us the very best of the pageant scene, picking up stylistically right from where Kennedy Davenport left us in “All Stars 3.” And there was fan favorite Miz Cracker, who looked like she should have been in the “All Stars 3” promo shoot with an angular gold metallic dress and topped with a rectangular blonde wig. And of course there’s Eureka, whose sequined, futuristic bodysuit was like Samus meets the pageant circuit. And the Tennessee queen wowed again last week as well — the category was feathers — and had viewers screaming, “Nevermore!” with a Raven-inspired black gown and flameshaped blonde wig. Another deserved mention is Kameron Michael’s goth, bird-of-prey overlord look last week, which has established the Nashville muscle queen as having some of the most versatile drag of season. The Vixen: Let’s take a look at the Chicago native who seems to carry a gas can around the workroom, ready to ignite drama at any moment. She landed herself team captain after a Hoedown Throwdown of a mini-challenge and proceeded to be, well, heavy-handed in her role as team leader for the PharmaRusical maxi-challenge. “That is so cute,” she quipped in response to the queens who tried to delegate the team roles democratically, before she assigned everyone a part. But that’s only
VIA VH1
A promotional image for the 10th season of RuPaul’s Drag Race (2009 – ) is pictured. the beginning of the drama. The Vixen’s been stirring the pot since the first episode’s Untucked, when she accused Miz Cracker of faking her way into the competition by copying Aquaria’s looks. “No, too vague!” Vixen shouted as Aquaria diplomatically tried to explain her fraught history with Cracker. The Vixen doesn’t have time for niceties: She’s been in the competition to fight ever since she strutted into the workroom. But don’t think her attacks on Cracker mean she’s on Aquaria’s side. She and Aquaria have been sparring ever since the New York staple questioned why The Vixen
would borrow Monique’s wig for the “Very Best Drag” runway look. The Vixen clapped back until Aquaria stormed off set. But the real tea was in the episode’s Untucked, when the Vixen framed her feud with Aquaria through a racial lens. When Aquaria questions the integrity of The Vixen’s drag and she responds, the Vixen reads as the “angry black woman” while Aquaria gets all the sympathy. The fight fizzled as Untucked went on, but Aquaria vs. The Vixen has been the most fiery drama of the season, and we should expect more in the coming weeks. Yuhua Hamasaki vs. Michelle Visage: Last Thursday we got one of the weirder judge/contestant confrontations of the season. Her wounds fresh from flop of an appearance in Madam Buttrface, Yuhua received even more flack from the judges
for her runway look. She contrasted a bright red wig with a black feathery gown with two crows jutting out of her body. Michelle questioned the look, and Yuhua calmly explained that her look was inspired by the crow’s symbolic meaning as death in some Asian cultures. The judges were insensitive to say the least, mocking her response in their private critiques. It was extremely iffy, like they were belittling her Asian identity, and unfortunately the criticisms landed her in the bottom two and ultimately got her eliminated. So let’s file that incident under “Drag Race’s” most uncomfortable moments — right next to Ru’s train flag — and move ahead to next week with a clear mind. As much as we could keep chatting about Untucked drama and runway looks, let’s regroup in two weeks. Until next time, Miss Vanjie!
before anything else, we’re all human rethink your bias at lovehasnolabels.com
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THE TUFTS DAILY | Comics | Monday, April 9, 2018
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Comics
LATE NIGHT AT THE DAILY Zach: “Is she a soap?”
Comics
SUDOKU
Q A
ASK THE DAILY: SUMMER PLANS ANSWER BY ELLAH NZIKOBA
: I’m nervous about my lack of summer plans — all my friends seem to have their lives figured out while I’m still trying to cobble together something to do. Any advice to help put my mind at ease?
: First of all, most people, we don’t have our lives figured out. It’s all a facade to try to ease our nerves because we think other people have everything figured out. So, you shouldn’t be stressing yourself out in trying to find something to do over the summer because you feel like you’re falling behind your friends. You don’t know what kind of resources they may have had or what they had to do that’s helped them get to where you see them; they were probably going through this same thing while making their plans a while ago. Having different starting points, like majors, background and experiences, and having some idea of where you want to end up (something you absolutely always have the time to think about and do not need to always know 100 percent, by the way), will certainly come into play when trying to make plans for the summer. Your class year will also greatly determine if you need to have some big summer thing going on and how much easier it is to find something, because most programs or internships do look for upperclassmen. If you’re a first-year, you definitely still have time to do a lot over the next three years, since you probably don’t even know what your major is, so it shouldn’t be stressing you out too much. So, don’t feel too nervous and just focus on you. Difficulty Level: Going on a first-year Carm date.
Friday’s Solution
That said, you still have a while before classes and finals are over to find something to do. It doesn’t have to be anything big like traveling the world or having an internship at a top company. Most of us don’t get to do that anyway. There are tons of things to do over the summer that are low-key and still teach enough skills and give you the experiences to boast on a resume. You can do a lot of things from home that will certainly add more to your experiences like learning a new language or a new skill, like playing an instrument or baking or working. I know a lot of people who, in my first year, decided to just return to their hometown and work a small job at a cafe or tutor at their old middle school or high school. These are certainly exciting things to do. Tufts also offers a lot of jobs and opportunities over the summer that may be useful to look at if you are not that thrilled to head back home. But, definitely don’t feel pressured to have something over the summer. Sometimes it might be nice to just use the time to relax and stay around family and friends and just take a break to do what you can’t do when school is in session. Good luck!
CROSSWORD
Friday’s Solution
Monday, April 9, 2018
Anita Ramaswamy Anita’s Angle
Let Kullman speak, let’s listen
T
his May, Tufts alumna Ellen J. Kullman (E ’78) will send off our seniors at commencement, and in true Tufts fashion, her appearance on campus has already sparked debate. The university’s enthusiasm about her speech conflicts with the popular sentiment among students right now that she is an unworthy choice for the role. As a result, some seniors are even planning not to attend the ceremony. TuftsNow issued a press release highlighting her laudable achievements in the business world, most notably as DuPont’s first-ever female CEO. She is a University Trustee, one of Forbes’ “World’s Most Powerful Women” and a past President of the U.S. China Business Council. Despite these qualifications, though, her tenure at DuPont was far from spotless. The company was found liable and fined heavily for exposing a woman, Carla Bartlett, to local drinking water contaminated with the carcinogenic chemical C8, as well as for failing to report toxic pollution in West Virginia. In light of those events, many students on campus have expressed the sentiment that inviting her in the first place was a mistake. I don’t want to mince words here — what happened at DuPont during Kullman’s tenure was immoral and unconscionable. But that being said, I disagree with the idea that Kullman should not have been invited as commencement speaker due to a scandal at the world’s largest chemicals company, for which she was not directly responsible. Leaders in business and politics are almost always forced to make unpopular decisions. To contextualize Kullman’s decision, as a CEO of a multinational corporation, it is impossible to control every single action taken by your employees. In fact, Charles Elson, chair of Corporate Governance at the University of Delaware and a leading authority on corporate compliance, said of Kullman, “She was handed a bad set of cards when she came in. The issues at DuPont go back a long time. It wasn’t her doing.” While Kullman indubitably could have done more to prevent these fiascos, given her position of power, it is unfair to paint her failure to do so as malicious, and absurd to insinuate that this should preclude her from speaking on campus and sharing her extensive knowledge of business and leadership with the graduating class. Considering the much higher standard to which female CEOs are subject compared to their male counterparts, even for the same actions, drawing such a conclusion is even more harmful. Tufts has taught us how to think critically about the imperfect world around us and how we can improve it. Controversy is not new to us, and we have been able to face it with a healthy dose of skepticism. Madeleine Albright spoke at our Commencement in 2015 despite the fact that she oversaw U.S.led sanctions that have been thought to have caused the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Iraqi children. Hank Azaria was praised as 2016’s Commencement speaker although he has built his career off of a racist portrayal of South Asians and used his speech at Tufts to make jokes about “worship[ping] an elephant.” Most of our leaders are flawed in some way, so rather than unrealistically hoping we can invite a speaker who is a paragon of virtue to send off our seniors, we should try to understand and learn holistically from Kullman’s career after hearing out what she has to say. Anita Ramaswamy is a junior majoring in political science. She can be reached at anita.ramaswamy@tufts.edu.
Opinion
9 tuftsdaily.com
EDITORIAL
Tufts faculty joins conversation on gun violence, administration must be next In response to the Feb. 14 mass shooting that killed 17 and wounded dozens more at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., students across the country have taken a stand by participating in walkouts and marches calling for an end to the American gun violence epidemic. It is critical that influential institutions like universities extend their support for this movement. Students can make a difference, but they need the help of institutions with power and financial resources to push for meaningful government action. For this reason, the recent action by the Tufts Arts, Sciences and Engineering (AS&E) faculty calling on the university to divest the school’s endowment from companies that produce, manufacture or distribute military-style assault weapons is a significant step in the right direction. According to a Daily article, the faculty came together in a 50–0–4 vote to urge the Board of Trustees and the Tufts administration to divest. The
faculty vote added an important voice to the ongoing student conversation about how to stop gun violence. In addition to faculty action, student efforts in the movement to tighten restrictions on the availability of guns and to put pressure on assault weapon manufacturers have been crucial. As noted in a Daily article, Tufts students have expressed their thoughts and ideas for change through political discussion groups like Cooperation and Innovation in Citizenship (CIVIC). Tufts Democrats and Tufts Progressive Alliance also planned a walkout and rally that has been rescheduled to take place April 20. This event will provide an important opportunity for Tufts students to show solidarity with the national student movement and series of walkouts. Tufts Republicans published a statement on their Facebook page on March 2 with policy proposals around gun control. It is critical for people on both sides of the political spectrum to work together to stop gun violence, and Tufts
students have been at the forefront of such collaboration. The next step is for the Tufts administration and the Board of Trustees to do their part by actually divesting from these companies. According to the Feb. 28 AS&E meeting minutes, Professor of Urban and Environmental Policy and Planning Sheldon Krimsky brought the petition before the Senate, noting that stopping gun violence will have to be a collaborative effort that includes American universities. University President Anthony Monaco said at the meeting that he was sympathetic to the petition, as gun violence presents a particular threat to college campuses. Monaco added that while there could be some logistical barriers, he would try his best to advocate for divestment to the Board of Trustees. The Tufts faculty has helped spark an important dialogue on campus, and now the administration must act to show that it is committed to our safety and to the safety of students all over the country.
THE SUMMER STRUGGLE
BY SHANNON GEARY 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.
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Monday, April 9, 2018 | Sports | THE TUFTS DAILY
Jumbos' defense leads the way in 14–10 win MEN'S LACROSSE
continued from back Cardinals in the ground-ball battle, 34–27, and converted 22 of their 25 clear opportunities. Hollen led the way, picking up seven ground balls for the hosts. “Ground balls are a staple of our team,” Hollen said. “Because they don’t count as a point or get the attention of goals and assists, it’s just about being tough and wanting it more. We make sure we domi-
nate in that aspect of every game.” Tufts travels to Endicott (3–7) on Tuesday for a mid-week non-conference game before returning home for a marquee matchup against No. 7 Amherst (9–2) on Saturday. The Mammoths sit one game behind the Jumbos for the top spot in the NESCAC, and both teams are positioned to make a run at the regular season title. Nevertheless, Tufts remains steadfast in approaching every game with the same mentality.
Arlo Moore-Bloom The Equalizer
“Especially after last year, when we started off hot and then fell off in the second half of the season, we aren’t going to make that mistake again… We just keep the same attitude going into every game,” Stockdale said. Katz echoed the measured outlook of his teammate. “The mentality never changes,” he said. “The next team is the most important team to us, no matter how good they are.”
Jumbos excel in individuals events and relays at Ellis Oval WOMEN'S TRACK AND FIELD
continued from back al record, as well as a season-best for the Tufts squad. First-year Jacqueline Kirk took part in the high jump and cleared the bar at 1.54 meters — a personal best. Junior Sydney Ladner set another personal record for the Jumbos, clearing 3.10 meters in the pole vault competition. Tufts coach Kristen Morwick was pleased to see athletes improving their performances after facing tribulations earlier in the year. “I’m really excited about those athletes who [set] their personal-best record,” Morwick said. “It is very rewarding for them to see the results of their training. We had some awesome performances, especially Julia [Kissel]. She just came back from injuries after weeks of recovery indoor trainings. I’m very happy for her.” Meanwhile, a handful of Tufts runners also performed well on Saturday. Senior co-captain Annalisa DeBari ran a time of 14.79 seconds in the preliminaries of the 100-meter
hurdles. The Melrose, Mass. native then went on to win the finals of the same event in 14.97 seconds — the 11th-best mark in Div. III. DeBari explained that although the performance was not her best, she was pleased with her recent consistency. “I ran 14.75 [seconds] at this same quad meet last year at Bates,” DeBari said. “I had a bigger tailwind for that race, and I have been very consistent so far this year, running about 14.80 [seconds] the past three weeks. So I feel pretty good about my season so far, but I would love to reach 14.50 seconds. I think with more endurance technique practice and warmer weather, I will race faster.” Running the 800 meters outdoors for the first time since last spring, sophomore Rhemi Toth took first place in with a time of 2:15.55. Toth’s mark set a new career-best and currently ranks 12th in the country. Her time is nearly 13 seconds faster than her previous best mark of 2:28.28. In the 4×400-meter relay, the top Tufts foursome of sophomore Raquel
Whiting, sophomore Julia Gake, sophomore Nehalem Kunkle-Read and DeBari turned in a second-place time of 4:06.36. The mark is 35th on the Div. III leaderboards for the 2018 outdoor season. The Jumbos also took third in this event, as sophomore Sarah Levine, first-year Kristen Andersen, first-year Olivia Schwern and firstyear Sydney McKiernan turned in a time of 4:18.57. DeBari and Morwick both spoke about the positive effects of the quad meet. “I enjoy smaller meets like this because [they have] a more casual feel and there is more time and space to warm up,” DeBari said. Morwick focused on how the Jumbos’ competition pushed them to improve on Saturday. “This kind of meet really is about making individual progress,” Morwick said. “Especially when a better school participated, it really pushed our athletes to look ahead.” Tufts will continue its outdoor season with a two-day event at Conn. College on Friday and Saturday.
WEEKEND SCOREBOARD SOFTBALL (15-6)
WOMEN’S LACROSSE (10-1) 1-0 7-0 1-0
@ Bates @ Bates @ Bates
BASEBALL (10-8)
WOMEN’S TRACK AND FIELD vs. MIT/Bates/RPI
vs. Wesleyan
12-7 17-6
2nd
vs. MIT/Bates/RPI
@ MIT vs. Emory (@ Colby) @ Colby
14-10
vs. Vassar vs. Babson vs. Middlebury
9-0 7-2 3-6
SAILING 2nd
@ Conn. College @ Yale
MEN’S CREW Sat./Sun.
5-4 4-5 9-0
MEN’S TENNIS (6-2)
MEN’S TRACK AND FIELD
WOMEN’S CREW @ Tufts
WOMEN’S TENNIS (8-3)
MEN’S LACROSSE (9-0) 8-2 11-5 23-7
vs. Nichols vs. Nichols vs. Keene St.
@ Wesleyan @ Babson
@ Tufts
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Sat./Sun.
11th/12 16th/18
The CCL and the CONCACAF myth
W
hile the UEFA Champions League (UCL) quarterfinals took center stage last week, MLS and Liga MX — Mexico’s top league — duked it out in the CONCACAF Champions League (CCL) first-leg semifinals to determine North and Central American supremacy. Toronto FC’s historic 3–1 semifinal home win against Club America on Tuesday was only the second time an MLS team has won a CCL semifinal against a Liga MX opponent. Ahead of the embarrassing loss, Club America coach Miguel “Piojo” Herrera had to flex Mexico’s continental superiority: “Our league doesn’t compete with MLS,” he said. “Our league competes with European leagues.” The claim may come as a surprise to soccer fans operating in an MLS bubble, but Liga MX is still the most-watched soccer league in the United States, and Toronto’s historic CCL run only proves Liga MX’s superiority. Liga MX teams have won the tournament the last 12 times, and only three MLS franchises have ever reached the CCL final. In an effort to save face, the U.S. Soccer demographic has created the phrase of getting “CONCACAF’d” — that is, when MLS teams face other CONCACAF teams away from home, they always seem to be beaten by anything but the other team’s soccer. Getting CONCACAF’d can entail poor refereeing, playing on flooded pitches and under poor weather or having almost every player on the other team cramping up in the dying minutes of a match to save a result. Usually, it’s a combination of all three. Perhaps the idea stems from the fact that other American sports teams don’t experience any culture shock when they play away from home, so such a difficult and unfamiliar atmosphere is seen as unnatural. Of course, there’s also the idea that the U.S. is the best at everything and that any match that says otherwise must have some sort of blemish. Funny as the joke may be, it deflects any accountability for American performances in the CCL and essentially disregards other CONCACAF teams as lucky at best and deceitful at worst. The New York Red Bulls’ 2–0 win against Club Tijuana in the quarterfinals was the first time an MLS team had beaten a Mexican team away from home in a knockout round — a watershed moment for MLS. The game was no fluke, either: In the second leg, New York beat Xolos 3–1. Toronto and the Seattle Sounders also beat Mexican opponents in the quarterfinals, defeating Tigres UANL 2–1 and Chivas Guadalajara 1–0, respectively. Playing the second legs, though, Toronto won on away goals while losing 3–2, and the Sounders crashed out of the competition after a 3–0 thrashing. The first leg of the semifinal wasn’t so easy on the Red Bulls. The team’s 1–0 away loss to Chivas Guadalajara — which is in 15th place out of 18 Liga MX teams, no less — proved the CCL will always conform to the laws of nature and regress back to the mean. MLS teams are getting better, and their performance in the CCL proves it. As MLS grows up, complaints of getting CONCACAF’d will look childish. The U.S. soccer demographic will realize that other CONCACAF teams were simply better than them at soccer. Arlo Moore-Bloom is a first-year who has not yet declared a major. Arlo can be reached at arlo.moore_bloom@tufts.edu.
12 tuftsdaily.com
Sports
Monday, April 9, 2018
MEN’S LACROSSE
Tufts maintains dominant form with victory over fourth-ranked Wesleyan
EVAN SAYLES / THE TUFTS DAILY
Senior midfielder and co-captain Frank Hattler dodges a defender in Tufts’ 11–8 home win over Conn. College on March 31. by Onat Tarimcilar anced offensive attack, the hosts were its fast-paced and collective approach Staff Writer able to keep Wesleyan at bay in the to offense. The No. 3 Tufts men’s lacrosse team second half, never letting their lead “We always say we have six threats (9–0) triumphed over No. 4 Wesleyan slip under four goals. to score the ball — anyone that’s on (8–2) by a score of 14–10 on Saturday Junior attackers Danny Murphy the field at the time,” junior midfielder afternoon at Bello Field. Both teams and Ben Connelly continued their Henry Hollen said. “Obviously, Ben and were undefeated in NESCAC play head- strong play to lead the offensive effort. Danny are unbelievable players, but ing into the game, sporting matching Murphy tied his season high with seven they rack up points because someone 5–0 conference records. points, and Connelly had four goals of got open for them or someone made The Jumbos used a 4–0 run in the his own — two of them assisted by a good pass. It’s always a team effort.” second quarter to separate themselves Murphy. Despite the duo’s impressive Wesleyan was able to keep the in an otherwise tightly contested game. performance, Tufts had seven different game close thanks to the heroic play Paced by their defense and a bal- players score on Saturday, a tribute to of sophomore goalie Otto Bohan. The
Westlake, Ohio native made 18 saves on the day, including six in the third quarter when the Jumbos were threatening to put the game out of reach. Though Tufts never increased its lead to an insurmountable margin, the home side felt comfortable playing its aggressive style throughout the second half instead of resorting to a defensive approach. “It is just the way the game goes. We never decide to pack it in and play conservative to preserve a lead,” junior midfielder Nick Katz said. “We have an attacking mentality for 60 minutes, and we don’t take our foot off the gas — we just trust our game plan.” Ultimately, the Jumbos’ defense dictated the play on Saturday. The unit stymied Wesleyan in the first half, giving up just four goals and forcing 15 turnovers in the first two periods. Tufts’ defense has been rock solid all season and has recently upped its game at the most important time of the year; the group hasn’t conceded more than 10 goals to an opponent in its last three games. “We have meshed really well this year. We are flying around a lot more,” junior defender Arend Broekmate said. “It has really just been team defense. We aren’t even always making the right play, but we are covering for each other and fixing our mistakes.” Broekmate, who started in 19 games for the Jumbos last year, anchors the defensive line along with fellow junior Stewart Stockdale and senior defender and co-captain Connor Lansdale. The Jumbos’ physical play shows on the stat sheet, as they led the see MEN'S LACROSSE, page 11
WOMEN'S TRACK AND FIELD
Jumbos take second in quad meet at Ellis Oval by Patrick Wang Staff Writer
The Tufts women’s track and field team played host to Bates, MIT and RPI in a meet at Ellis Oval on Saturday. Multiple Jumbos won events and recorded personal-best times in the third meet of their spring season. Individual event winners received nine points for their teams, second-place finishers garnered seven and each successive athlete through tenth place earned one less point. Meanwhile, the relays were scored with a 9–7–6–5 point template. Tufts took second place with 186 points, trailing only MIT (212 points), which has won this meet for the past two years. Bates (132.5) and RPI (122.5) placed third and fourth, respectively. The meet got underway at 10 a.m. with wind conditions that were not nearly as brutal as in previous days. The athletes confronted only a light breeze under sunny skies at Ellis Oval. In the javelin competition, Tufts sophomore Julia Kissel threw 37.47 meters, good enough for second place. Kissel’s mark currently ranks 36th in the Div. III rankings. In the hammer throw, junior Evelyn Drake’s 40.75-meter mark set a personALINA STRILECKIS / THE TUFTS DAILY
see WOMEN'S TRACK AND FIELD, page 11
Junior co-captain Brita Dawson charges forward in the 100-meter dash at the Snowflake Classic on March 31.