The Tufts Daily - Wednesday, April 3, 2019

Teach-in CORES at Tufts gives back to the Somerville community see FEATURES/ PAGE 3

MEN’S TENNIS

Tufts fights hard in narrow loss to No. 7 Wesleyan

Conor Oberst and Phoebe Bridgers’ new duo plays show at The Sinclair see ARTS&LIVING / PAGE 4

SEE SPORTS / BACK PAGE

THE

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VOLUME LXXVII, ISSUE 44

Wednesday, April 3, 2019

MEDFORD/SOMERVILLE, MASS.

Alfre Woodard to speak at 2019 commencement ceremony

by Alejandra Carrillo Assistant News Editor

Alfre Woodard, an award-winning actress, producer and activist, will deliver the commencement address to the Tufts University Class of 2019 on May 19. According to a press release sent to the Daily, she will be given an honorary Doctor of Fine Arts degree at the ceremony.

Woodard is best known for her roles in numerous films and productions, including HBO’s “Mandela” (1987), Spike Lee’s “Crooklyn” (1994), “Captain America: Civil War” (2016) and the Academy Award-winning film “12 Years a Slave” (2013). She has four Emmy Awards, three Screen Actor’s Guild Awards, an Academy Award nomination and a Golden Globe, according to the press release.

Alongside her career as an actress, Woodard has supported the fight against HIV/AIDS in the U.S. and South Africa, according to the press release.

She has been extensively involved in politics and in 2009 served on the Arts and Humanities Committee under President Barack Obama. Additionally, she has worked with Turnaround Arts, which, according to its website, is a national program of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. The program focuses on integrating arts education into designated schools with the goal of increasing student engagement and encouraging academic achievement. Woodard has also supported the Children’s Defense Fund.

Ellen Ochoa, Marie Cassidy, Edward J. Markey and Eva Moskowitz will also receive honorary degrees at the commencement ceremony, according to the press release.

Ochoa, a former astronaut and director of the Johnson Space Center, will receive an honorary Doctor of Engineering degree. She was the first Hispanic director and second female director of the Center. Ochoa received a doctorate in electrical engineering from Stanford University and joined NASA’s astronaut program in 1990. She became the first Hispanic woman to go to space on a nine-day mission aboard the space shuttle Discovery. Ochoa is a recipient of the Distinguished Service Medal, NASA’s most prestigious award, and received the Presidential Distinguished Rank Award.

Cassidy is the director of the Medford Family Network. According to its website, the network is a parenting education and family support program that serves Medford constituents. It works to ensure that all students achieve their academic and personal goals by creating a safe learning environment.

Cassidy will receive an honorary Doctor of Public Service degree.

U.S. Senator from Massachusetts Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) will receive an honorary Doctor of Laws degree. A native of Massachusetts and graduate of Boston College, Markey served for 37 years in the U.S. House of Representatives and represented Massachusetts’ 5th District, which includes parts of Tufts’ Medford and Somerville campuses, according to

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COURTESY PATRICK COLLINS

2019 Commencement Speaker Alfre Woodard poses for a portrait. his website. He was elected to Senate in 2013 and has amassed an array of environmental legislative achievements. Markey is the co-author of the

Green New Deal with Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.).

see COMMENCEMENT, page 2

Student theater groups revise code of conduct regarding consent, conflict resolution

by Jillian Rolnick Assistant News Editor

Content warning: This article discusses sexual assault.

Torn Ticket II and the umbrella organization of which it is a member, Pen, Paint, & Pretzels (3Ps), have updated their student codes of conduct to include guidelines on consent and conduct, according to Torn Ticket II President Claire Mieher.

Mieher, a senior, said that the purpose of the code of conduct is to increase safety and raise awareness for performers.

“My main hope is that it makes people, especially directors, more aware of conducting them-

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selves in the rehearsal room and [that it] also creates a safe environment for people where they feel like there are these rules and regulations set in place,” Mieher said.

The change in the code of conduct is a response to student feedback to include more guidelines about consent and suggestions by a director who has experience in dealing with issues surrounding consent, according to Mieher.

Abby Schmidt, the president of 3Ps, said that Tufts’ student theater groups’ revisions follow a similar trend in the theater community.

“I think a lot of theaters around the country are grappling with the same thing because [theater is] something that asks you to be realFor breaking news, our content archive and exclusive content, visit tuftsdaily.com @tuftsdaily

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ly intimate with people both emotionally and sometimes physically,” Schmidt, a senior, said.

“There’s a lot of improvisation and touching people without having planned it.”

Schmidt said that the new guidelines are based on the Chicago Theatre Standards, an existing document that has been adopted by many theaters around the country. The standards include protocol for how to handle issues including compensation and sexual harassment. Schmidt and Mieher implemented sections of the Chicago Theatre Standards into their code, including parts on identity and cultural personhood and on how to disclose sexual content and nudity, according to Schmidt.

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She also said that they received help from Tufts’ Center for Awareness, Resources, and Education (CARE) office.

“The thing about theater is [that] you have to deal with a lot of these hard issues,” Schmidt said. “[You have] plays that deal with stuff like racism or sexual assault or a myriad of these kinds of tough issues, and that’s not something that you can or should avoid. When you try to avoid difficult subjects, you’re kind of negating the point of the arts.”

A six-page-long draft of the guidelines has been implemented since late January, but the document will be revisited and edited later in

NEWS............................................1 FEATURES.................................3 ARTS & LIVING.......................4

see THEATER, page 2

FUN & GAMES.........................6 OPINION..................................... 7 SPORTS............................ BACK

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THE TUFTS DAILY | News | Wednesday, April 3, 2019

THE TUFTS DAILY Elie Levine Editor in Chief

EDITORIAL

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3Ps’ revisions to code of conduct inspire revisions in Theater Department THEATER

continued from page 1 the semester after Mieher and Schmidt receive feedback, according to Schmidt.

She said that, among other suggested changes, they plan on condensing the document to make it easier to understand.

“We’re going to test it for a semester [to] get people thinking about it,” she said. “Then we’re going to see how it goes and we’re going to update and change [it to] make it our own after that.”

Before the groups’ productions this semester, the entire cast read through the guidelines and signed the code of conduct, Schmidt said.

Schmidt said that she believes that these changes will have the most impact on the audition and casting processes.

“A lot of people don’t read the whole script before they sign on to the show,” she said. “The big thing that I think these guidelines do that I’m most excited about is they make it very systematically clear what you have to disclose … and make sure everything is transparent and everyone is aware and ready to tackle whatever is in the script.”

In addition to the updated student code of conduct, both groups also created the position of a cast representative to bring the worries of cast members to the attention of the higher-ups, Mieher said.

“That’s a person who is chosen from the cast by a vote of only the cast,” she said. “The idea is that they would take the concerns of anyone in the cast and talk to the director and stage managers so that people feel comfortable going to someone who who does not have authority over them necessarily.”

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RAY BERNOFF / THE TUFTS DAILY ARCHIVES

Senior Abigail Schmidt poses for a portrait on the stairs of Tisch on April 17, 2017.

3Ps and Torn Ticket II also created a conflict resolution path to go along with the new code of conduct, according to Mieher.

She said that the path lists different levels of people to talk to or contact if there is an issue in the rehearsal process.

Additionally, these student-created guidelines inspired the Department of Theater, Dance and Performance Studies to create department wide guidelines on conduct and consent in general, according to Department Chair Heather Nathans.

“Our faculty has been inspired by the students’ project and our Season Selection Committee is currently working on a department-level version of the guidelines,” she said. “We were excited that the expansion of the guidelines offered us a chance to be transparent about our values as a faculty in creating respectful working environments.”

Nathans said that the department guidelines are still being edited and will be presented to the faculty for feedback in a meeting later this semester.

the broader goals of the TUAA. One such goal is “heightening the visibility of Tufts and the accomplishments of its graduates,” according to the TUAA website.

“By recognizing these seniors, it helps the entire community of alumni to understand kind of what Tufts is doing on campus,” Glossner said. “It’s a nice window into what Tufts is contributing … spreading the light on the hill more broadly.”

Peter Brodeur, one of the co-chairs of the Awards Committee, added that the awards are intended to reward and encourage students.

“As an alumni association, part of our goal in helping the school is to have a strong alumni association,” Brodeur said. “We certainly always hope that these really fantastic individuals will be encouraged to … continue all of the good things that they’ve done for the community and for Tufts and to be future members and leaders of the Alumni Association.”

Recipients shared their excitement about the awards. Wingard, one of these recipients, told the Daily in an electronic message that he will use the $1,000 award to pay off student loans.

“I am grateful to be receiving a senior award … However, I would also like to note that the senior award money will be used to start paying off my student loans,” Wingard said. “It is unfortunate that a university with the endowment and caliber of Tufts chooses to saddle low income students, like myself, with thousands of dollars of debt.”

Birne, another recipient, shared the honor with her peers.

“The contributions to the Tufts community that I am most proud of, such as co-creating Public Harmony, would not have been possible without the support of wonderful peers, faculty, family and friends,” Birne said. “Thank you to these people for helping me to grow … and give back to this community during the past four years.”

Tufts University Alumni Association announces 12 recipients of Senior Awards

by Alexander Rowe Contributing Writer

The 12 recipients of this year’s Senior Awards have been announced. The recipients, according to the Tufts University Alumni Association (TUAA) website, will each receive $1,000.

The recipients are Marissa Birne, Patricia Blumeris, Parker Breza, Ailish Dougherty, Anne Hall, Anjalique Knight, Bri Pastro, Melanie Ramirez, Will Shackelford, Emily Sim, Hiroto Watanabe and Chris Wingard. According to the TUAA website, an award ceremony for the recipients will be held on Saturday at Gifford House.

Criteria for the award, according to the TUAA website, are “(a) outstanding student leadership, (b) significant academic achievement (3.0 GPA or higher), (c) extraordinary service to Tufts and the greater community, and (d) demonstrated potential to be an alumni leader.”

Joda Glossner, assistant director of alumni engagement, said that the Senior Awards reflect

Award-winning actress Woodard to be joined at commencement by Ed Markey, Ellen Ochoa COMMENCEMENT

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continued from page 1 The final honorary degree recipient is Moskowitz, founder and CEO of Success Academy Charter Schools. According to its website, Success Academy Charter Schools was founded in 2006 and is the highest-performing public charter school network in New York City. Moskowitz not only founded the organization but also served as the Chair of the New York City Council’s Education Committee. She will receive an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree.

Also, Susan Elizabeth Rice will be speaking to the graduates of the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy on May 18. Rice served as the U.S. National Security Advisor under President Barack Obama and Ambassador to the United Nations.

U.S. Representative Jim McGovern (D-Mass.) will address the Gerald J. and Dorothy R. Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy graduates on Sunday, May 19. He is the founder of the House Hunger Caucus and Ranking Member on the House Subcommittee on Nutrition, according to his website.

Ioannis Miaoulis, a Tufts alumnus and former dean, will speak to bachelor’s degree graduates of the School of Engineering during their commencement program on May 19. He is the former director of Boston’s Museum of Science and has advocated for the incorporation of engineering into the curriculum of public schools in Massachusetts.

Michael Tzannes, former Aware, Inc. CEO, will address the School of Engineering’s graduate program students on May 18.

Wednesday, April 3, 2019

Features

Teach-in CORES bridges gap between Tufts, Somerville community, hosts ESL classes

tuftsdaily.com

Nate Rubright Somerville with Townie Tim

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by Grace Yuh

Executive Features Editor

Tufts understands the significance of English language competency development, with the English for Academic Purposes program providing specialized training, support, classes and activities to help enhance the experience of international or multilingual students. But many Tufts students want to extend that help to other members of the Somerville community.

Teach-in CORES at Tufts is an English as a second language (ESL) organization that works with local immigrant center Committee on Refugees from El Salvador (CORES) to provide ESL and/or citizenship classes to adult immigrants in the Somerville community. According to senior and co-president Maria Grant, CORES was founded by two refugees from El Salvador who came to the U.S in the 1980s to flee the Salvadoran Civil War. Since then, it has grown into a non-profit organization that helps build trust, engagement and social aid across the greater Somerville area. According Teachin CORES member Lucia Francese and other volunteers from Tufts, while Tufts students teach ESL classes for free, those who utilize CORES pay a small fee to allow the Center to provide legal aid and other advanced services.

“We teach English grammar and vocabulary that is necessary to go about one’s daily life, necessary to one’s job and necessary to one’s well-being,” Francese, a senior, said. “Decisions are made according to the feedback from students and teachers.”

Francese joined Teach-in CORES during the second semester of her first year at Tufts after hearing about the club from her roommate. According to Francese, as a Latina from Miami, she understood how knowledge of the English language could greatly improve the lives of immigrants, and wanted to provide that opportunity to the community around her. Francese is currently the curriculum director for levels 1 and 2 and uses feedback to mold specific lessons.

“I also ask teachers to give me feedback on lessons so that if certain vocabulary is requested, I can provide it,” Francese said. “For example, my sophomore year a woman I was teaching worked at a makeup stand, and she didn’t know any English makeup vocabulary, so I compiled a list for her and taught her the words she needed to do her job.”

According to Grant, forming relationships with members of the Somerville community is also a large goal of Teachin CORES, especially since residents are more likely to trust and learn from a student with whom they have a connection. Grant spoke on how she works to bridge the gap between Tufts students and Somerville residents.

“Working with the surrounding community is the main focus of Teach-in CORES,” Grant said. “We leave campus to teach and work directly with a local organization. Our students live in and around Somerville, so it’s a really great way to get to know residents who we normally wouldn’t.”

Having been a member since the beginning of her first semester at Tufts

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EVAN SAYLES / THE TUFTS DAILY ARCHIVES

Senior and co-president of CORES, Maria Grant, poses for a portrait on Feb. 23, 2016. after seeing it at the club fair, Grant says she is passionate about partnering with CORES to enhance experiences on both sides of the program. Grant meets with the founders and directors of CORES multiple times a month to discuss class progress, dual events and future projects.

“My biggest priority is to make sure that we as a club are doing as much as we realistically can to ensure the success of our students and to reinforce the idea that we’re working alongside an already existing organization that provides a lot of important resources to Somerville’s Latin American immigrant community,” Grant said.

Co-president Pamela Toscano and Social Chair Justine Aquino, also work to find other ways to get people involved, whether that be through raising awareness, participating in other cultural events or fundraising for CORES. “We try to make our events align with the ESL-focus of our club, so a lot of what we do is Spanish-language movie screenings,” Aquino, a senior, said.

“Additionally, we’ve been getting more involved with fundraising for the center through Tufts — the proceeds from the afterparty for the next ALAS Culture Show all go to CORES, and recently we did the TCU cause dinner night.”

Toscano, a senior, elaborated on how Teach-in CORES members have also participated in Tufts community events such as “Read by the River,” a Tufts Hillel initiative that collaborates with local libraries and schools to encourage reading and promote literacy to over a thousand children in the area, and Kid’s Day, a division of the Leonard Carmichael Society that hosts a day of fun and games for kids in the Somerville and Medford area.

According to Francese, while Teach-in CORES has been around for more than a

decade, the club is still setting new goals for the upcoming future.

“We’ve been trying to bring in more underclassmen into the club. It is currently very upperclassmen dominated and we would like this club to last forever, so more continued involvement is really the goal,” Francese said. “We’ve also been trying to fundraise more for the center, so we can provide not only English classes but also funds so the center can better serve the community.

This is especially important now given the current political climate and the very real fears that the immigrant community is experiencing right now.”

Grant also said that the club hopes to further restructure the curriculum in order to go more in-depth and cover a broader range of topics, which will help accommodate the needs of Somerville residents.

“We want to keep improving the curriculum and have teachers continue feeling confident in their teaching abilities.

The center also has some plans for the future regarding expanding classes to teach other skills in addition to English,” Grant said.

According to Aquino, Teach-in CORES is also partnering with JumboCode and has its sights set on an official website to help better recruit members, educate students and the surrounding community and provide resources to those in need. Grant clarified that club members can co-teach classrooms once a week in two-hour time blocks for various English-language skill levels, or a citizenship class that’s geared toward the citizenship exam. Francese encouraged anyone who is passionate about teaching, immigration and/or social justice, and can speak Spanish or Portuguese to join and said that recruitment and interviews happen every semester and that new teachers are always welcome.

Grad School

do not have to ask if you are thinking about graduate school. If you are reading this paper and live in Somerville, you are thinking about grad school. It is a straight-up fact that this town makes you want to pursue a master’s degree, and the longer you live here, the worse it gets.

I find myself wondering why all of us think higher education is the next step.

Because there are so many colleges in this area, it stands to reason that we are more exposed to the education-industrial complex than most. But Boston is so different from anywhere else when it comes to the pursuit of education. It’s like the general feeling of this town is that in order to progress through your career, a master’s degree is the necessary first step.

Before I get any further, I have to come clean. Your mans Townie Tim is applying to grad school this fall, and I figured this column is as good a place as any to share my thoughts. I graduated with a bachelor’s degree some years ago, and at the time, I thought my schooling days were over. I lived in a large city, and figured the path up the corporate chain was just a function of experience and luck. Anyone I knew going to grad school was planning to stay in academia forever and become a professor or researcher. As a matter of a fact, I had a lot of friends who saw their undergraduate degree as a waste of time, and believed that years of experience were the only currency that mattered in the working world.

I moved here a few years ago for my job, and something definitely changed.

All of a sudden, a solid half of my friend group was in a constant state of taking the GRE. The other half already went to grad school and claim it helped them solidify their current careers. The industry I work in isn’t necessarily even one that lends itself to higher education, but here I am, considering hundred thousand dollars of debt just to assuage my uncertainties about my career.

Maybe it’s like in any other city, where there is a cultural element you inevitably pick up on just by living there. I can think of a few examples: If you live in Pittsburgh, you become a fan of the Penguins. If you live in Austin, you get all weird about tacos. If you live in Atlanta, you claim to have seen Ludacris in almost every coffee shop. I guess in the Boston area, you go to grad school.

If it is our thing, we might as well lean into it. I don’t know the last time you crossed the Science Bridge, but there is a billboard that reads “smartest city for a reason” (the advertisement is for WBUR). That sounds like something we can chant at the next Red Sox game.

As for me, I take the GRE in June, and I’ll be the one on the Red Line, swiping through vocabulary words.

Nate Rubright is a member of the Somerville community. Nate can be reached at nathan.rubright@gmail.com.

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Wednesday, April 3, 2019

ARTS&LIVING

Evan Zigmond Out on the Town

Boston Tattoo Convention

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or all its flaws, Facebook is the adventurer’s best friend. I learned recently that by searching “events in Boston this weekend,” one has access to information about many different kinds of events. Scrolling the search results this week, I encountered the Boston Tattoo Convention, a large gathering of tattoo artists and enthusiasts from around the U.S. Immediately intrigued, I moseyed down to the Hynes Convention Center in Back Bay to learn about a subculture pretty foreign to me.

There are two main ways to get to the Hynes using public transport: One can either catch the number-one bus from Harvard or Central and get off near Berklee School of Music, or transfer to the Green Line train and get off at the “Hynes Convention Center” stop. I always recommend the former because it’s less crowded. Folks clad in black and covered in tattoos loitered outside the venue. I knew I was in the right place.

After entering the venue, I was subject to a short security screening. Then, I bought my pricey $30 ticket before entering the main exhibition room. I expected the convention to be a place for artists to advertise their designs, and encourage convention-goers to get tattoos at their shops. I was not expecting what I saw, that is, hundreds of people getting tattoos at booths. No matter where I walked, I could not escape the buzzing of tattoo needles, which reverberated in my skull. This, combined with loud music from individual booths and large crowds, led to an overwhelming experience.

Despite my headache, I was enjoying the atmosphere of the convention.

Tattoo subculture is surprisingly varied.

Each corner of the exhibition hall had a different feel. Between the “Punk Rock,” “Hard Rock,” “Hip Hop” and “Metal” tattoo booths, one could observe different art styles, contrasted by recurring themes in design from area to area.

Between the many tattoo booths laid various shops, where one could purchase everything from tattoo salve to CBD oil to furry handcuffs. Any of these items coupled with the $30 ticket price make for a pretty expensive day, so if you’d like to attend in future years, I’d recommend bringing extra cash.

Finally, to the right of the entrance to the hall, there was a large stage. Events are held there over the course of the weekend. On Saturday, I witnessed two acrobats swinging on a hoop, but there were plenty of events I missed, including a tattoo contest.

According to the Boston Tattoo Convention website, tattoos entered in the contest must have been completed that weekend at the convention, so they’re all fresh as can be.

I expected the convention-goers to be flippant about getting tattoos, but the extent to which convention-goers didn’t mind impressed me. Despite all the needles buzzing from every direction, everyone was quite relaxed, and I left the convention in awe of these folks who commit to art enough to showcase it on their bodies for the rest of their days.

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

tuftsdaily.com

Better Oblivion Community Center is indie-rock perfection

by Yas Salon

Assistant Arts Editor

Better Oblivion Community Center, a newly-formed musical duo composed of two of indie rock’s darlings, Conor Oberst and Phoebe Bridgers, played a show — which they refer to as a “meeting,” a play on the band’s name — at The Sinclair on March 28. Oberst, who has long enjoyed clout in the indie and alternative scene through his band Bright Eyes, which formed in 1995 and released its last album in 2011, teamed up with up-and-coming Bridgers, who rose to prominence following her 2017 debut, “Stranger in the Alps,” and subsequent participation in the indie supergroup boygenius.

The two released their eponymous album in January to much critical acclaim, receiving a 7.7 rating on Pitchfork. Their fan base may be relatively small — the band amasses slightly under 600,000 monthly streams on Spotify — but is passionately devoted to the band, which was remarkably noticeable at the concert.

The show opened with Americana singer Christian Lee Hutson. Donned in a black turtleneck and carrying an acoustic guitar, Hutson’s set fell along the lines of a folksy coffeehouse jam. His musical style can best be described as a softer Cat Stevens with a modern, indie feeling. Hutson took breaks to crack jokes to the audience, most memorably remarking to the audience that, despite having three names, he is not a serial killer. His vocals ranged from stable country twangs, to powerful belts, to soft, accented falsetto, providing an engaging but mellow opening to the night.

Following Hutson was Chicago-based performer Lala Lala, who masterfully blended elements of dreamy bedroom pop, post-punk and synth-y alternative into a set that felt straight out of an underground house show.

Lala played tracks off of her most recent LP, “The Lamb” (2018), which dissects themes of loss, mourning and evolution of the self, coupled with simple but beautiful melodies, creating a fresh, grungy musical experience. In short, her songs are the kind that feel like they belong perfectly in a critically-acclaimed indie coming-of-age film.

Following Lala Lala’s set, the venue buzzed with anticipation for the headlining act. The room became claustrophobically full with concert-goers who arrived in time to see Oberst and Bridgers, and chatter about the two filled the room. Fans discussed their excitement, expressing that they had been lifetime fans of Oberst, or that they are die-hard followers of Bridgers, and they were elated that two of their favorite artists had teamed up. It was evident that only a minority of the audience were passive listeners of the two, or had

COURTESY OF BETTER OBLIVION COMMUNITY CENTER'S WEBSITE.

The album cover for Better Oblivion Community Center’s eponymous album is pictured. come to the show on a whim. These listeners could recite every lyric to the duo’s songs, and were committed to these artists. Nothing exemplified this quite like one fan near the front who started crying when the duo came out, remarking that she was overwhelmed by seeing “her husband.”

The set opened with a spoken-word poem, a ‘welcome’ to the Community Center, followed by Oberst and Bridgers walking out onto the neon-lit stage to manic applause.

The two kicked off the show with the opening track “Didn’t Know What I Was in For” from their debut album. Bridgers’ soft vocals filled the room during the first, acoustic verse, which flowed into the vocally robust chorus, where she was joined by Oberst’s vocals. The melancholic and reflective song was accompanied by the voices of dozens of audience members relaying the lyrics alongside the duo. Following was the more upbeat “Dylan Thomas,” which included an astonishingly impressive guitar solo Oberst, who somewhat arrogantly showed off his guitar skills.

The duo continued with tracks off their album until around halfway through the set, where they covered The Replacements’ “Can’t Hardly Wait” (1985) and Bright Eyes’ “Lime

Trees” (2007), much to the delight of those who had been longtime fans of Oberst.

Perhaps the most memorable song performed by Better Oblivion Community Center was the 12th song of the set, which Bridgers jokingly claimed was a “new song” she “mostly wrote.” As soon as the opening notes of “Lua” (2005) by Bright Eyes played, die-hard fans began to lose their minds with excitement over hearing one of the band’s most iconic and emotional songs. While the previous songs had been met with the audience members energetically belting out lyrics, the performance of “Lua” cast an emotional, nostalgic feeling over the crowd, with members softly swaying in place to the gentle, doleful ballad.

The set closed with an energetic performance of “Funeral,” a track of Bridgers’ “Stranger in the Alps” (2017) and “My City,” a reflective track on their recent album. The pair returned for a three-song encore, playing songs by Bridgers, Oberst and Better Oblivion Community Center.

Immediately after the set, crowd members, high off of the thrill of the concert, immediately burst into conversation about the show’s excellence and hopes to see the duo again and beelined straight to the merch table.

Q&A: Noise rock band Daughters discusses latest album, tour

by Geoff Tobia Jr.

Contributing Writer

The Providence-based noise rock band Daughters made serious waves last year with its latest album, “You Won’t Get What You Want” (2018). Sticking to a powerful formula of hard-hitting drums and abrasive guitar riffs, “You Won’t Get What You Want” was a standout project.

The record was met with acclaim from the likes of Pitchfork, Consequence of Sound and YouTube critic Anthony Fantano. Before heading abroad for their tour, the band performed at The Sinclair

in Cambridge on March 12, where the Daily spoke with singer Alexis S.F. Marshall before the show.

The Tufts Daily (TD): What is your favorite part about performing live for an audience?

Alexis S. F. Marshall (AM): The exhibitionism, I suppose. I like just being with people, interacting with large groups of people, strangers. I don’t like to do it in my personal time, so being able to do it while we play just has this exhibitionistic quality to it that I enjoy.

TD: You guys released your first-ever music video for “Less Sex” earlier this

year. What was the idea behind the visual for that song?

AM: [Daughters’ drummer] Jon [Syverson] played the recording, pre-mastered for [guitarist] Jeremy [ Wabiszczewicz]. He was the original guitar player for Daughters when we started in 2002, along with Nick [guitarist]. He’s been in LA filming and all this business. So, he got the song, and sort of absorbed it and couldn’t get this imagery out of his head, and sent us the storyboard that he had. We said, “Yeah, this seems cool” … Aesthetically, what

see DAUGHTERS, page 5

Arts & Living

Wednesday, April 3, 2019 | Arts & Living | THE TUFTS DAILY

5

Daughters singer Alexis S.F. Marshall discusses music video production, writing books DAUGHTERS

continued from page 4 he was doing was really interesting, and it fit well. So we flew out to LA, and we recorded out in the desert and in some soundstage in LA for about two days. We got very sweaty … It was probably 110 degrees in the desert, and it was August.

TD: Where was that?

AM: We went to film that just outside of LA to shoot the head-in-the-box scene … Then we drove maybe another two hours way out into the desert, I didn’t even know where the hell we were. And it was just unbelievably hot.

TD: I can imagine.

AM: Yeah, and I was wearing a suit. So I was just cooking, man. It was fuckin’ rough.

TD: I mean, you got the music video, though!

AM: You know, it was actually really fun. I’ve never acted or been directed, so it was pretty cool to just have that experience. I actually enjoyed it, as stupid as it feels, especially the soundstage software; music is playing, people are looking at you, and you’re just pretending, lip-syncing. It’s very awkward. But Jeremy did a really good job, he was a good director, he made everybody feel pretty comfortable, so it was easy.

TD: Now, asking more questions about you specifically. You had your first book published in 2017, “A Sea Above the Pains of Our Youth.” How does writing for a book compare to writing and performing song lyrics?

AM: I feel like anything for the band really needs to not be so personal that it’s specifically mine and doesn’t belong to everybody else in the group.

I wouldn’t go on some sort of politi-

cal or sociopolitical tangent about my feelings on this or that or the other subject, because it should represent everybody, or everyone should be able to relate to it. So [the book is] definitely more of a narrative, or perhaps … something more ethereal and heady when I’m writing for the band. But when I’m writing for myself, it’s just for me. It’s an experience that I’ve had in my life — that I’m trying to work it out, not even understand it, just sort of discuss it. So it’s for me, I don’t have to worry about anyone else’s opinion on it, or if I’ve offended anybody. It’s just mine. It’s vastly different from writing for the band.

TD: Certainly. I wanted to ask about the album cover art of “You Won’t Get What You Want,” but I’m wondering more out of personal curiosity than anything. What exactly is the album cover art?

AM: Jesse Draxler, Nick [Sadler] was familiar with his work, but our friend Casey [Gleghorn] … manages Jesse. Casey pitched this to him, and it was brought to our attention that he was interested. So we talked to Jesse, and he made all these faces, he sent us maybe a half dozen. Some of them were a little too much like a skull, and I think we liked this one because it has these very alien attributes to it. That’s Jesse’s style, if anyone is familiar with it enough — it’s very human and alien simultaneously …

He’s got a great … vibe and I really dig what he’s doing.

When we got the stuff from Jesse, we were originally actually just going to use everything, similar to the self-titled record where we would have rotating album covers, where you could put any

GEOFF TOBIA JR. / THE TUFTS DAILY ARCHIVES

The band Daughters at its March 19 show at The Sinclair is pictured. of those faces on the cover. We thought we could do the same with this, but we realized it was just too expensive to have it. So we just simplified it this time, and just went with the one we picked, with the strange alien face.

TD: What is one thing that everyone needs to know about Daughters that a lot of people might not know?

AM: We’re really good.

TD: I mean, that’s true.

AM: For years, people didn’t know, and didn’t pay attention. I think, with this record, we wrote a great record, I’m happy that it’s gotten all the attention that it’s gotten. I think we deserved it. I’m not trying to be an egomaniac … but I think we made a really good record, and I’m really proud of it. I think that everyone should give it a try. You might like it.

TD: Thank you so much for your time and good luck on your set!

AM: I appreciate it!

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6

THE TUFTS DAILY | FUN&GAMES | Wednesday, April 3, 2019

F &G FUN & GAMES

tuftsdaily.com LATE NIGHT AT THE DAILY

Justin: “Saying your favorite place on campus is Dewick is the college version of saying your favorite class is recess.”

SUDOKU

LINDA C. BLACK ASTROLOGY

Aries (March 21–April 19)

News could astonish. Hide somewhere peaceful and quiet. All is not as it appears. Avoid rumors. Verify accusations from a second source. Wait for developments.

Difficulty Level: Having to drink tap water.

Tuesday’s Solutions

CROSSWORD

tuftsdaily.com

Opinion EDITORIAL

The Board of Trustees should have public meetings The Board of Trustees wields a great deal of power in determining the future of Tufts; according to its website, “the Board appoints the President, who leads and manages the institution; approves the University’s mission and purpose, institutional policies and changes in academic programs; guards the University’s finances; and sets an example of generous financial support.” Despite being appointed, not elected, the trustees have incomparable influence over long-term decisions concerning the university.

While there are three student representatives to the Board who offer their insights at meetings, they do not have much say when it comes to decision-making, as pointed out by former student trustee representative Nathan Foster.

“Not necessarily expecting to have your voice heard in the position makes it very difficult for [student] trustee representatives, in the way the position is currently constructed, to really participate in governance and to really give their perspective,” Foster (LA ’18) said in an interview with the Daily last year.

The Board of Trustees should make itself more accessible to students and find ways to actively include the student body when making decisions about how to spend our tuition dollars in ways that impact our community and future.

The Tufts Community Union Senate currently has three of its members attend

the Board meetings, acting as student representatives. Each of the representatives sits on a different committee: one on Administration and Finance, one on Academic Affairs and one on University Advancement. Connor Goggins, the student representative on the Administration and Finance committee, said his committee oversees finances including money spent on construction, renovations and department funding. Goggins, a sophomore, told the Daily that while he gets information that is privileged due to his role, he is not allowed to attend the general meetings and is only allowed to sit in on the meetings of his own committee. Further, Goggins said he did not have much of an input in these meetings, which run on a tight schedule and leave little time for student feedback.

According to Goggins, this makes it difficult for the representatives to push for a student voice.

Given that these committees make the rules, divide up the money and set longterm plans for Tufts, students have a right to provide their input. After all, they are just as much stakeholders of the university as administrators, faculty and staff.

Even if the Board of Trustees cannot let students vote on every allocation decision, it should at least be transparent and willing to answer questions and solicit input from students before, not after, decisions are made.

Goggins said that years ago, the Board would have a meeting in the winter that the student representatives would attend in order to provide their input, but that these meetings no longer take place. At these meetings, he explained, student representatives would give a presentation to their committee, detailing the changes students wanted and providing the rest of the Board with a clear idea of what the students were thinking about the direction and policies of the school. Goggins added that the timing of this meeting was helpful, as fall meetings occur too early in the semester for students to have concrete, comprehensive lists of changes, and the spring is too late for such changes to have an impact.

We believe the Board should make sure that the voices of student representatives are heard on a consistent basis. It should revive winter meetings with student representatives in attendance. But we also feel that one meeting between three students and dozens of trustees is grossly insufficient. The trustees should publicly schedule meetings with students so that the student body can at least express its views — an effort that would require no sacrifice on the part of the trustees given that they would still have voting power that student representatives currently do not. An insular, unelected body cannot govern for everyone, especially without even hearing the concerns of the people.

CARTOON

Beach Bods

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.

7

Wednesday, April 3, 2019

Deeksha Bathini America is dying

A growing distrust

T

he story of Christopher Duntch, known as Dr. Death, is unnerving.

As a neurosurgeon in the Dallas area, Duntch botched dozens of surgeries, leaving his patients paralyzed, in pain and even dead. Scalpel in hand and with absolutely no signs of remorse, this man continued to practice for years despite seriously injuring 31 human beings, with two others dying from surgical complications. Case after case was a disaster, but still no legal action was taken. Finally, in 2015, a grand jury indicted Duntch for multiple counts of aggravated assault and one count of harming an elderly person. Now, Duntch sits in jail serving a life sentence for his abominable acts.

Of course, this is one very extreme example. But upon listening to Wondery’s podcast, which spotlights the entire scenario in a series titled, “Dr. Death” (2018), I began to question how much faith we put into the people that take care of us. Once, Duntch even cut a patient’s vocal cords, leaving her permanently voiceless. Our healthcare system failed to protect Duntch’s patients in so many ways, so this made me wonder: how much are we really trusting the people with the medical degrees?

Well, as it turns out, there is actually a growing distrust among Americans towards the healthcare system. According to an article by The New York Times, only 34% of Americans have confidence in medical personnel compared to the 75% of people in 1966. This makes sense. I mean, look at the current political climate — it has everyone questioning everything. American institutions themselves seem to be falling apart at the seams. But this new skepticism that has pervaded the country has public health professionals very worried.

Trust is the most integral part of any patient-physician relationship, so the lack of it can decrease a person’s likelihood to take a particular health action. Take, for example, vaccination. When patients refuse to immunize as a result of distrust, they endanger entire communities, and public health professionals could be tasked with containing an outbreak. The most glaring example is the recent measles outbreaks, which came as a result of vaccine non-compliance. Close to 90% of all people who are not immune to measles will contract the illness if they come in contact with an infected person. In these cases, containment is really difficult without some degree of institutional trust among target populations.

While this growing distrust is disconcerting, there is some good news: Trust can be rebuilt. One way is practicing cultural relativism. This means engaging with patients, keeping in mind that each person has a different socialization which can only be judged in the context of said person’s own culture.

Another way is to include patients in decision-making and policy refinement. The goal of healthcare is to keep people healthy — we can’t do that unless the patients have a seat at the table. Finally, continuity of care is essential to building trust. Long-term patient-provider relationships can assist in promoting populations to take certain health-advised actions. A certain degree of cynicism is vital to healthy systems, but too much of it can be dangerous.

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

Sports

8

tuftsdaily.com

Jeremy Goldstein Anti-Bostonian

Wednesday, April 3, 2019

Men’s tennis impresses in 5–4 loss to No. 7 Wesleyan

From hope to nope on Opening Day

C

hris Sale toed the rubber on a balmy late-afternoon affair in Seattle Thursday evening. The solemn, slanky (a combination of slinky and lanky) left-hander, fresh off sealing the ‘sale’ of his new $145-million contract, carried the weight of his price tag to the mound. Sale was disturbed.

He would last but three innings and escaped with scars atypical of a man walking off a pitcher’s mound in Seattle.

T-Mobile Park, the Mariner’s spacious stadium, is renowned for its deep, offenseaverse dimensions that have doomed many a home-run hitter. To make matters worse, while the Seattle offense is not a Div. III baseball team (as the Baltimore Oriole offense seems to be), it would certainly not be mistaken for a high-powered machine; in fact, it was Seattle who came in at a paltry 21st (out of 30!) in runs scored for the 2018 season, and that was before losing Nelson Cruz, Robinson Cano and other friends who made it tick.

They’re not ‘sleepless,’ but they’re certainly not well-caffeinated.

Chris Sale proved to be their coffee. In those three innings, Sale gave up seven runs and, most surprising of all, three home runs. In 2018, Sale allowed two home runs in a single start once, let alone three dingers. Two of them came to a man named Tim Beckham, who was released by the Orioles and their Div. III-level offense and, as of Sunday, has 51 career home runs in 1,329 at bats. That’s not good. And he hit two in consecutive innings off of the Boston lefty.

“Sale did not elicit a single swing-andmiss on his fastball,” Alex Speir of the Boston Globe said, via NESN. “[This was] the first time in 61 Red Sox starts [regular season or playoffs], that he’d failed to get a swing-and-miss on a four-seamer.”

Sale could provide interesting room for discourse on an under-the-radar philosophical debate, many to one typical college student may grapple with: does one achieve peak performance with the certainty of the next few years in their career insured, or does the incentive to earn a contract propel one to perform at the highest possible level?

Consider a college student getting a job for post-grad two years into school: would their grades and performance increase from a possible lack of pressure, or maybe alternatively decrease from a lack of incentive? Now, the average student isn’t in line for a $145-million dollar contract, but the principle of incentive should hold true.

It’s also rather difficult to sympathize with a man carrying the baggage of a nine-digit contract — a contract not too far below the price that Red Sox-owner John Henry paid for the franchise back in 2003.

But Sale is caught in an incentive-dilemma that cakes the soul with arbitrary values of worth and questions what the money really represents and how to throw a good four-seam fastball and what the weather is on a normal Seattle Thursday and if Sale even knows his last name means salt in French. In other words, doubt.

Jeremy Goldstein is a sophomore studying political science and film and media studies. Jeremy can be reached at jeremy. goldstein@tufts.edu.

RAY BERNOFF / THE TUFTS DAILY ARCHIVES

Junior co-captain Ethan Bershtein approaches a drop shot during Tufts’ 6–3 loss to Middlebury on April 8, 2018.

by Tim Chiang

Assistant Sports Editor

In their opening home game, the No. 17 Tufts Jumbos (4–5, 0–2 NESCAC) displayed their most impressive form of the season on Sunday against the No. 7 Wesleyan Cardinals (9–2, 2–1 NESCAC). Tufts pushed Wesleyan to the brink in a marathon match: It started at 10 a.m. outdoors, and finished after seven hours indoors. Tufts ultimately suffered a painful 5–4 loss in the final set. The Jumbos also fought valiantly the previous day in their 6–3 loss against the No. 9 Amherst Mammoths, where two of their losses came in close three-set matches.

Despite just missing out on a key upset, junior co-captain Ethan Bershtein remained optimistic following the loss to the Cardinals.

“As expected, we were all pretty bummed out,” Bershtein said. “But those were teams that kind of killed us last year, and we had a strong class [that year]. We thought this season would be a rebuilding year, but to see we are literally right there with the top teams in the NESCAC, top teams in the country, has actually kind of invigorated us.”

Outside, on the Voute Tennis Courts, Tufts’ impressive doubles play nearly propelled them to a 3–0 lead.

“We really placed a heavy focus on doubles in the offseason,” Bershtein said. “I feel it’s the first time I’ve been here where we can confidently win [against] every team at every spot in doubles.”

Sophomore Carl-Herman Grant and junior Zach Shaff edged past sophomore Ali Mooraj and junior Princeton Carter by two points in an extended tiebreaker, 8–7 (9–7). Then, the duo of sophomore Niko Hereford and Bershtein tallied another point on the scoreboard for Tufts with a 8–4 victory over the sophomore pair of Zach Fleischman and Andrew Finkelman.

At No. 1 doubles, sophomore Boris Sorkin and junior Nathan Niemiec earned a handful of match points when up 7–6, 40–15 against sophomore Adrian Roji and first-year Noah Lilienthal, but the Jumbos eventually fell in a crushing loss by just two points in yet another tiebreaker 8–7 (7–5).

After the Jumbos established a 2–1 lead out of doubles play, the match was moved indoors to the Hirsch Tennis Center due to high winds and rain. At No. 3 singles, first-year Isaac Gorelik continued his streak of impressive form by sealing his fifth straight match. Gorelik struck the ball aggressively off both wings and attacked Roji’s one-handed backhand to get the win, 6–3, 6–4.

Yet the Wesleyan Cardinals responded with a win of their own at No. 4 singles, as Grant lost in a tricky matchup against Lilienthal in two tight sets, 7–5, 7–6 (8–6). Grant demonstrated skill both offensively and defensively, as he both attacked the net and slid behind the baseline to retrieve every ball. Still, Lilienthal struck with pace with his lefty forehand and one-handed backhand and just squeezed by the Oslo, Norway native.

At No. 1 singles, Sorkin, the No. 1 player ranked in Div. III, came in clutch to break back in the first set after being down 4–5. Sorkin and his opponent exchanged long, grueling rallies, but Sorkin was able to capitalize on his passing shots and consistently develop the point with his forehand to win, 7–6 (7–4), 6–2.

First-year Paris Pentousis rallied back from a set down against first-year Peter Anker at No. 2 singles, delivering punishing, flat groundstrokes especially off the forehand wing. However, Anker fought hard and ripped several forehand winners of his own and earned Wesleyan another victory, 7–5, 4–6, 6–3.

Tufts led 4–3, as No. 5 and No. 6 singles both went to a third set.

Anticipation grew as victory in either match would have clinched the match for the Jumbos. Niemiec played aggressively to come back from a 6–0 first set deficit and push his opponent sliding past the baseline at No. 5 singles, but the Scottsdale, Ariz. native ultimately fell 6–0, 3–6, 6–1.

With the match even at 4–4, all eyes were on the last remaining match at No. 6 singles as total match time stretched past the seven hour mark.

First-year Jack Moldenhauer hit heavy groundstrokes and attempted to control the points with his forehand.

Despite the enormous effort in coming back from down 5–2 to win the first set in a tiebreaker 7–6 (4), Lieb came back and closed out the match 6–7 (4), 6–3, 6–2 to clinch the match for Wesleyan.

The previous day against Amherst included highlights like Sorkin’s 6–3, 6–4 win over sophomore Sean Wei at No. 1 singles and Gorelik’s 7–5, 6–4 victory against junior Jayson Fung.

Pentousis also fought hard to win the second set before falling in a third set tiebreaker to sophomore Kevin Ma at No. 2 singles, who is currently ranked No. 25 in Div. III. After demonstrating their potential this weekend against some of the top teams in the country, Bershtein emphasized the thin line between the Jumbos and the upper echelon can be transcended through confidence and execution.

“We have the talent,” Bershtein said.

“We need to believe in ourselves. Once we believe in ourselves we can do it, the other [wins] will come easier. The key for this week especially is to keep doing what we’re doing and get over the hump. We really need to attack it. Every weekend is an opportunity to prove ourselves.”

The Jumbos are back on the court at home against another top-10 team in No. 6 Williams on Sunday, April 7, and against Trinity on Wednesday, April 10.