The Tufts Daily - Tuesday, September 25, 2018

JumboVote aims to increase student registration, turnout see FEATURES / PAGE 3

MEN’S CROSS COUNTRY

Jumbos maneuver through mud at Purple Valley Classic

With its daunting and sad portrayal of Detroit in the 80s, ‘White Boy Rick’ tackles poverty, racial issues see ARTS&LIVING / PAGE 4

SEE SPORTS / BACK PAGE THE

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VOLUME LXXVI, ISSUE 13

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Tuesday, September 25, 2018

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Students, faculty react to OCR’s decision to re-open Rutgers case

by Gil Jacobson News Editor

Tufts students and faculty responded this week to a Department of Education (DOE) decision to reopen a case filed against Rutgers University by the Zionist Organization of America (ZOA) in April 2011. According to a New York Times story about the matter published on Sept. 11, the organization claimed that the previous administration, in closing the case, had ignored a hostile response to Jewish students on campus.

The decision comes from newly confirmed Assistant Secretary of Education for Civil Rights Kenneth Marcus, who opposes Palestinian rights causes, and marks a shift in the department’s civil rights enforcement, the Times reported.

In addition, Marcus has used a new definition of anti-Semitism, which defines Judaism as an ethnic origin rather than a

religion and treats opposing Zionism as an anti-Semitic act, a definition already in use by other federal agencies such as the State Department.

Molly Tunis, a member of student groups Tufts Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) and Tufts Jewish Voice for Peace, believes the move hurts Palestinian rights activism on campus and delegitimizes the anti-Semitism that Jewish students face on campuses. Tunis, a junior, added this differs from the definition that Marcus is going by in his decision.

“It is concerning that in a movement for Palestinian human rights, a movement that focuses on liberation and justice, the voices of Jewish students are being centered and heard louder than those of Palestinians,” she told the Daily in an email. “[T]hese voices have the capacity to override those of Palestinian students fighting for their own liberation.”

Ben Shapiro, co-president of Tufts

Friends of Israel (FOI), a pro-Israel student group, said that the Office for Civil Rights’ decision instead needs to be examined in the context of the new definition of anti-Semitism.

“Any administration has the right to reopen a closed investigation,” Shapiro, a junior, said. “But I think that this reopening is particularly interesting because it’s not Trumpian in the respect that it’s trying to undo something the Obama administration did, but it’s re-evaluating something according to an updated and more correct definition which may or may not yield a different result.”

Shapiro also emphasized the importance of the ethnic dimension of the definition.

“The Jewish people are an ethno-religious group, and this updated criteria defines the Jewish people as not just a religion, but also an ethnicity, which is just historically and genealogically true,” he said.

He further believes that the Jewish people are the ones who should be determining what it means to be Jewish and what it means to be anti-Semitic.

“I don’t think it’s other people’s place to comment on what anti-Semitism is, as a [form of ] discrimination and oppression, if they’re not invested in this and it doesn’t affect them,” Shapiro said. “And I think that that’s the case with all forms of racism and discrimination.”

Tufts FOI does not plan to carry out any actions in response to the case right now as this case is dealing specifically with an incident that occurred at Rutgers, according to Shapiro.

Parker Breza, a member of Tufts SJP, expressed his concern over the potential for this decision to associate criticisms of Israel with a state definition of anti-Semitism. see OCR DECISION, page 2

Indonesian Vice President Jusuf Kalla speaks at Fletcher

by Conor Friedmann Assistant News Editor

Muhammad Jusuf Kalla, vice president of Indonesia, spoke about his country’s place in world affairs at a conversation hosted by The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy on Sept. 21. Indonesia is the fourth-most populous country and most populous Muslim-majority country in the world.

Kalla, who has been serving his second term as Indonesia’s vice president since 2014, addressed a nearly-full ASEAN Auditorium in the Cabot Intercultural Center.

Over the course of the discussion, Kalla centered on three major themes as they relate to Indonesia: peacemaking, Islam in the world and economic investment and development.

On peacemaking, Kalla highlighted Indonesia’s role in helping other states navigate religious ideology.

“We are working now to support Afghanistan to make peace in the region,” he said. “We are focused on the problem of ideology that you see in Muslim and Buddhist countries, whether in Indonesia, Afghanistan or Myanmar as well.”

Kalla also emphasized that politics and winner-take-all elections were more likely to catalyze conflict than religious or ethnic allegiances. He gave the audience some advice for the process of peacemaking.

“If you want to make peace, you need to be neutral. Next, know where the problem is. And you need courage,” he said.

Kalla transitioned to discuss the role of Islam in the world today. He focused on how

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Jusuf Kalla, Vice President of the Republic of Indonesia, answers student questions in ASEAN Auditorium on Sep. 21, 2018.

Indonesia is working to avoid falling into the trap of radical Islam.

“The Indonesian government has worked hard at this. We have organized meetings between former terrorists and victims of terrorism. We do this because if terrorists go to jail, they only spread their ideology and create more terrorists,” Kalla said.

The final topic of discussion surrounded economic development and foreign investment in Indonesia and Southeast Asia. In particular, Kalla downplayed the role that a

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rising Saudi Arabia has on Indonesia.

“Saudi Arabia is still conservative in allegiances and cultures, but it will change.

To change, Saudi Arabia needs economic changes. Saudi Arabia doesn’t invest much in Indonesia directly, only through market shares,” he said.

Kalla emphasized that to invest, a country needs three factors: capital, skill and technology. “Saudi Arabia only has capital,” he said.

When asked about his plans after next

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year’s presidential elections in Indonesia, Kalla responded: “I’ve spent 35 years in business, 20 years in politics. For me, that is enough. I plan to retire.”

Even in retirement, Kalla emphasized he will continue to be involved in the betterment of Indonesian society. He has served as chairman of the Indonesian Red Cross Society since completing his first vice-presidential term in 2009, and also serves on the board of trustees of three universities in Indonesia.

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

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THE TUFTS DAILY | News | Tuesday, September 25, 2018

THE TUFTS DAILY Seohyun Shim Editor-in-Chief

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Middle Eastern Studies Program doesn't anticipate major impact from OCR decision OCR DECISION

continued from page 1 “Anti-Semitism still exists at Tufts, in the US, and around the world,” Breza, a senior, told the Daily in an email. “[B]ut, this ruling would not combat anti-Semitism, and will instead seek to criminalize Palestine solidarity activists.”

Student leaders from Tufts’ J Street U chapter declined to comment on the specifics of the decision and how it could impact Tufts, but provided the Daily with a copy of the national organization’s statement. The release notes that OCR’s decision suppresses free speech on college campuses, rather than fighting anti-Semitism.

“The initial Rutgers investigation into an event held by a Palestinian group on campus was triggered by a complaint from the [ZOA] — an ultra-right group that has sought to suppress virtually all activities critical of Israeli government policy, and which regularly traffics in anti-Palestinian and anti-Muslim bigotry. The complaint was thoroughly investigated and dismissed by the DOE in 2014. Its reopening is not about upholding civil rights or a serious effort to combat anti-Semitism, but about advancing a right-wing agenda that seeks to silence open discussion and debate of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict,” the statement reads.

The Times, in its reporting, also notes that Middle Eastern Studies programs at multiple universities are preparing for accusations of bias from the current administration.

However, this does not appear to be the case at Tufts.

Associate Professor of Religion Ken Garden, who also directs the Middle Eastern Studies program at Tufts, noted that OCR’s decision will not have a major, if any, impact on Middle Eastern Studies because the program does not receive federal funding.

He also emphasized the differences between a department and a program in why Middle Eastern Studies will experience a minimal impact. A department has a chair,

VIA WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

Kenneth Marcus, the newly confirmed Assistant Secretary of Education for Civil Rights, is pictured. receives funding to make its own decisions on faculty and is generally grouped together in the same office space.

“A program doesn’t do any of that,” Garden said. “As a program director, I receive a modest budget — $3,000 a year — for programming. We sometimes put on programs and then pass the hat to other programs for co-sponsorships, [while] other programs pass the hat to us for co-sponsorships for their programming if there’s a Middle Eastern aspect to it.”

Faculty within the Middle Eastern Studies program all primarily work in another department, Garden added.

“If I talk about the position of Middle Eastern Studies on any given issue, maybe that means I’ve had a meeting with four or five other members, and we’ve discussed something,” Garden said. “But we’re not really in the position of putting out statements as a program.”

To the best of his knowledge, the Tufts Middle Eastern Studies program has never been formally accused of taking a particular stance on the Israeli–Palestinian conflict.

“There was an event [one year] ago, when I was here, [where] the student senate took a vote on criticizing or condemning Israel, and it was during Passover so Jewish members of the student body weren’t here to debate or vote on the issue,” Garden said. “Somebody did call me anonymously and leave a message on my machine saying, ‘Well I don’t know what you’re teaching kids there.’ But other than that, I’ve never encountered any criticism of us as a program.”

There are also faculty affiliated with both the Middle Eastern and Judaic Studies programs at Tufts, he added. The two programs co-sponsor events for one another.

“I’d like to think that relations are pretty good between the programs,” Garden said.

The university continues to monitor the case and surrounding updates in the meantime.

“It is premature to speculate about potential implications for Tufts until the Trump administration has completed its re-examination,” Patrick Collins, executive director of public relations, told the Daily in an email.

Tuesday, September 25, 2018

Features

JumboVote increases civic engagement on Tufts campus and beyond

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Henry Stevens The Weekly Chirp

Loons in love

I

COURTESY JUMBOVOTE

The JumboVote table is shown at the Tufts Dining Orientation Food Fair this fall.

by Kevin Doherty

Assistant Features Editor

Throughout American history, various movements and people have worked to expand access to the right to vote. The American Revolution was fought over representation, Susan B. Anthony fought to give women the right to vote and the 20th century ushered in the civil rights movement.

JumboVote, a nonpartisan, student-led initiative that started in the run-up to the 2016 election, aims to increase voting on all of the Tufts campuses, according to Jennifer McAndrew, the director of communications, strategy and planning at the Jonathan M. Tisch College of Civic Life. McAndrew said that the impetus for JumboVote came from research done by Tisch College’s Institute for Democracy and Higher Education (IDHE).

“The [IDHE] runs the largest study of college student voting in America. They have 1,100 colleges and 10 million college students enrolled in the study, including Tufts,” McAndrew said. “They produce a report for each university that is in the study after every federal election of the number and percent of students who are registered and vote. They do that by marrying up de-identified enrollment records with college voter rolls in all 50 states.”

McAndrew explained that the research proved that the voting rate among Tufts students was “very much average compared to the whole study overall.”

“Tufts is a participant in the study and also decided to make the report public so that the community could know. After 2014, when the 2012 and 2014 election data came out, Tufts was very much middle of the pack [with] around 50 percent [voter turnout] in 2012 and 20 percent in [the] 2014 [midterm elections],” McAndrew said.

McAndrew said that former Provost and Senior Vice President David Harris suggested implementing a practice with Tisch

College’s resources to improve Tufts’ voting turnout, and thus JumboVote started.

According to the National Study of Learning, Voting, and Engagement (NSLVE), Tufts students increased their voting participation by 12 percentage points, from 51.2 percent in the 2012 presidential election to 63.2 percent in the 2016 presidential election. Nationally, that increase was only 3.2 percentage points, from 45.1 percent in 2012 to 48.3 percent in 2016.

Peter de Guzman (LA ’18), Tisch College student outreach coordinator, said that Tufts compares very well to its peers in terms of voter registration.

“One thing that’s cool is that when TurboVote published their new leaderboards in 2018, Tufts was number three in the nation.

So it was Michigan, Harvard, Tufts, MIT and University of Maryland, College Park. If you go by percentage of undergraduates, we’re number two,” de Guzman said.

De Guzman, explaining JumboVote’s goal and how it works, said that JumboVote is led by students and works in conjunction with Tisch College’s student outreach coordinator, whom Tisch College hires among graduating seniors every year.

“Giving people those resources [to vote] is our real goal. We have a partnership with TurboVote, which is under the non-profit Democracy Works, so if you see students registering people on laptops with absentee ballots, that’s what that is. Since it’s in its third year, JumboVote is growing into something that you can’t just operate within episodic elections. You need to tell people and train people and have teach-ins and educational opportunities every week,” de Guzman said.

Sophomore Matthew Tolbert, the co-chair of JumboVote, is part of that dayin, day-out effort.

“We’re doing something just about every day. We have absentee voter office hours at the Women’s Center and we’re going to plan some at the Rainbow House and the Africana Center. We just try to make ourselves available

to assist people with the registration process and the absentee voting process,” Tolbert said.

This is all part of JumboVote’s underlying philosophy of increasing voter turnout by decreasing barriers and increasing motivation, while remaining nonpartisan, according to McAndrew.

“We don’t think voting is a partisan issue.

We believe that society benefits when everyone participates, and we will work with any group.” McAndrew added.

Tolbert also stressed that JumboVote is a nonpartisan effort.

“We’re just registering people to vote. We never tell people how they should vote strategically. It’s completely up to you for who you want to vote for,” Tolbert said.

Tobert and de Guzman both said that they hope to expand reach of JumboVote beyond political groups on campus.

“In the past JumboVote has been made up of all the different civic organizations. So there would be representatives from Tufts Republicans, Tufts Democrats, Tufts Progressive Alliance, CIVIC and … [other] groups, but this year we really wanted to be more overarching,” Tolbert said.

De Guzman said that JumboVote has been working with Chris Swan, the dean of undergraduate education in the School of Engineering, to reach engineering students.

“We’ve had a lot of success … working with Chris Swan,” de Guzman said. “So far, we’ve presented in five of the 10 intro to engineering classes and are confirmed for seven of the 10, and hopefully can end up with 10 of the 10.”

JumboVote also plans to increase motivation by getting students excited about voting and showing that voting is relevant to all students, according to de Guzman. “[The School of Engineering] is doing a pilot program this year to incorporate civic engagement and civic education aspects to all of the intro to engineering classes,” de Guzman said. “It is really cool, because one thing that I think of is that nothing you do, no matter what field you study, is nonpolitical.”

spent this summer up in New Hampshire working as a loon biologist for the Loon Preservation Committee (LPC). Yes, that is a real thing. The LPC has been around for over 40 years now and hires several loon biologists each summer to monitor the entire loon population of N.H. It was such a sweet job; I basically kayaked around in the sun all day.

Like most migratory birds, loons arrive in spring and breed in the summer. They spend their winters on the ocean, but breed on lakes throughout the northern United States and Canada. Some will arrive on lakes as soon as the ice thaws, which can be as early as March, but won’t breed until May. Loons are extremely territorial and will mercilessly defend their breeding territories against other loons that are audacious enough to enter them.

Historically, scientists assumed loons mated for life since their site fidelity is so high, and the same pairs seemed to be returning to the same lakes annually, but banding data recently revealed the inaccuracy in that assumption: If one individual of a breeding pair does not return to the same lake, the other individual will either not breed or mate with a new loon. There are also cases where the male of a breeding pair gets defeated and replaced by a younger, stronger bachelor loon. Loon fights in general are gruesome, for they try and swim underneath each other to stab each other with their razor-sharp bills until defeat or death.

Those inspired by love rank among the bloodiest encounters experienced by birds across the world.

You may sit there reading this and think, “My goodness, such barbaric creatures loons are!” Easy with the judgment there, kiddo. Are we really that different? Sure, we don’t swim underwater and stab each other with knives; at least, I hope no one does that. And sure, maybe the intention of the loon is less inspired by love and more inspired by sex, but the bottom line is that aggression inspired by love manifests itself in everyone. The only difference with humans is that the loser is emotionally scarred instead of mortally wounded.

Think back to the last time you saw someone you liked flirting with someone else. Remember that fist-clenching wave of rage you felt? That’s your inner loon. You know how when you’re lifting or playing a sport and you see someone attractive walk by, and suddenly you get this wild burst of energy? Inner loon. Loons use their bills because that’s their only way to fight for love, but the emotional complexity and technological capacity associated with being human offers us a diverse arsenal of tactics. Loon or human, at the end of the day, the goal is the same — fight for the one you love.

Henry Stevens is a senior majoring in biology. He can be reached at henry.stevens@tufts.edu. Interested in birds? Email Henry at tuftsornithologicalsociety@ gmail.com.

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Arts & Living

Tuesday, September 25, 2018

James Ray The Starving Aesthete

FILM REVIEW

Decorating inside ‘White Boy Rick’ explores issues of justice with a giant whale shocking true story

G

iven how expensive they are, it’s hard not to see your dorm as a gift horse with a serious case of lockjaw. However, studies (I totally haven’t made up) show that fluorescent lighting is the leading cause of ego death among 18 to 22 year-olds, so it seems appropriate that I should furnish you with the jaws of life necessary to crack those equine mandibles open. And I’ll even do it in a super neat listicle! #1: Opulent dishware “I bought Venetian glass when I was at college, and for the first term my servant broke one glass every day, and a decanter on Sunday, but I persevered in buying them, and during the succeeding terms of my whole stay at college, he did not break a single piece.” — Oscar Wilde While I don’t doubt that many Tufts students could afford to outfit their scullions with the finest foreign flatware, anybody can afford to go the extra mile when it comes to cookware. When you’re rambling up and down the aisles of the Davis Square Goodwill, household staff in tow, take a moment to remind yourself that this is a thrift store. Get the flimsiest, sexiest champagne flute you can buy — heck, get 20. They’re 50 cents each. If it breaks, buy another. If you don’t use it, give it to a friend who doesn’t want or need it! The world is your oyster. #2: Lamps Nothing classes up a dorm like a 20-pound porcelain lamp with cast-iron feet and watercolor flowers on the side. I should know — I’ve got five. Hook those babies up with some LED bulbs and rejoice in lighting that doesn’t make you look like a drunken Irish poet-laureate down with the grippe. #3: Go with a theme College only lasts four years. Three, if you’re really good or bad at it. Why not sacrifice a couple semesters’ worth of comfort and good sleep by turning your bedroom into the O.K. Corral? Or get some hanging lamps and make it a Chinese tea room. Know any amicable carnies? Have them hook you up with a fun-house mirror and wake up every morning to a distorted nightmare of your own creation. The world is your oyster; have fun with it! #4: Phone a friend An engineer acquaintance and I once hung a four-foot chandelier from the ceiling with Command hooks. Enough said. #5: Gimmicks Last but not least are the gimmicks. Use and abuse them. As my adoring fans and brutal enemies will tell you, I myself keep an ornate globe in my living room, and it pops open to reveal a wet bar. Turn your door into a bookcase. Plant a Bluetooth speaker in a vase of peonies. Put some candy out in a little dish. Whatever you go for, a properly placed centerpiece will charm visitors and divert all eyes from the weird green mold congealing on your floor tiles.

I would go on, but paper doesn’t grow on trees. Please, take some time to turn your dorm room into something approximating a home. The world has an easy enough time turning us into soulless, shambling husks; we ought to put up a little fight.

James Ray is a senior majoring in political science and film and media studies. James can be reached at james_m.ray@tufts.edu.

by Sofia Zamboli

Contributing writer

The location is Detroit, the time period the mid-80s, and 15-year old Rick Wersche Jr. is navigating his way through a gun show. Rick approaches a booth to engage in conversation with the manager about the Russian AKs that he is selling.

Rick messes around with the guns and can clearly tell that they are fakes. He begins spitting out facts about them like the expert his father trained to be. Once he snags a deal with them, given that the manager of the booth can’t deny the truth, Rick and his father go home with the plan to resell the guns to drug dealers, their biggest clients.

It is alarming to see a teenage boy carrying around a gun, and even more alarming when he clearly knows what he is doing with it. In “White Boy Rick,” a true story and film directed by Yann Demange, these sort of shocking images become the norm throughout the film.

With the dizzying array of drugs, alcohol, money and addiction depicted, the movie truly transports viewers back to a sad time in Detroit.

As Rick continues to stay involved with his father’s business, he befriends members the drug-dealing community.

Rick eventually falls into the dark spiral of selling drugs on the black market.

While one may think that the reason behind this is the influence of Rick’s new friends, the audience will be surprised to find that the FBI forced him into this business. When the FBI comes knocking on his door one day to bust his dad for illegally selling guns, without which he would go bankrupt, they decide to make a deal with the Wershe family. They force Rick Jr. to become an undercover spy.

They want Rick to get closer to the drug

dealers to procure more information for the FBI, all so his dad will not be sent to prison. Obviously Rick complies, but he later becomes seduced by the glamour of the business and the riches it provides his poor family. The manipulation of a young child that is depicted, especially in terms of being involved in an industry as dark as the dealing of drugs, is sickening but draws the viewer into the film more and more with every sordid twist and turn.

One of the highlights of “White Boy Rick” is the strong importance of family throughout. Rick Sr. and Rick Jr.’s relationship is touching to witness, as they go through good and bad times. Rick Sr. consistently struggles to make ends meet, even when selling expensive guns, but Rick Jr. stays by his side helping out in any way he can. While Rick Sr. (Matthew McConaughey) makes some questionable decisions as a parent, including allowing Rick Jr. to leave school at fifteen, his love for his kids, Rick and Dawn, is never in question. He consistently mentions his ambitions to open a film store and provide an honest living for his family. Although Rick Sr. had the best intentions and wanted to protect and provide for his children, their lives are out of his hands.

The film also has strong social implications. This movie touches on many sensitive issues that are evident in our country today: recurring conversations around the prison system in America, corrupt police officers and mass incarceration. In addition to making Rick Jr. complicit in the illegal industry of drug dealing, the FBI continuously puts his life at risk. They give him the drugs to sell, they threaten him and when he eventually gets caught, they do nothing for him in court. They do not mention their involvement in his experiences and pretend as though they never had a deal, which brings the film to an agonizing end.

While race may not seem to be a significant theme of the film, the many details combine to make it an important underlying part of the movie. The group of dealers that Rick befriends are all black, hence the nickname they gave him: “White Boy Rick.” Throughout the film, unless Rick is with his family, he is the only white person present on the screen. One message clearly conveyed throughout the film is that the only option some black people have in order to rise up from poverty is by dealing drugs.

The reality that people of color in urban communities often lack opportunity is ubiquitous in the film. Drug dealing becomes their way out of the cycle of poverty. One of the most memorable scenes in the film depicts Rick and his new friends walking down the Las Vegas Strip. They each sport gold chains and large fur coats. Johnny’s (the main drug dealer) wife makes the point that the money and success aren’t worth anything unless you have someone to share them with. The dealers, however, are eventually caught, leaving their wives and families to fend for themselves.

“White Boy Rick” is a film that everyone should see. It does an excellent job at making the viewer reassess the society in which we live, especially when it comes to the issue of justice. While it may be a little daunting and sad to watch, there are some points of comedic relief too. It is also visually stunning and accompanied by a fantastic soundtrack. There are many reasons to make the trip to see “White Boy Rick” on the screen, whether one simply wants to be entertained or is curious to learn about a story of injustice and tragedy that has been swept under the rug by the FBI for years.

EXHIBITION REVIEW

Lorraine O’Grady’s ‘Miscegenated Family Album’ at the MFA turns ancient works contemporary

by Libby Langsner Arts Editor

The Museum of Fine Arts (MFA)’s current exhibition “Lorraine O’Grady: Family Gained” commemorates the museum’s acquisition of O’Grady’s work, “Miscegenated Family Album” (1980/1994). O’Grady currently lives in New York, but she was brought up in Boston. The artist calls her work “concept-based,” and the MFA’s current show of “Miscegenated Family Album” consists entirely of photo collages. O’Grady’s work often deals with notions of hybridity and black subjectivity, both referenced in the work on display. The word “miscegenated” relates to the derogatory term “miscegenation,” which was used in U.S. law to ban inter-racial marriages until 1967.

The photo-series was inspired by a trip O’Grady took to Egypt in her 20s. She felt that for the first time in her life, she saw people depicted like her in art. O’Grady’s work directly addresses the lack of depictions of black people across all forms of media,

MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS, BOSTON. BARBARA LEE ENDOWMENT FOR CONTEMPORARY ART BY WOMEN, COURTESY ALEXANDER GRAY ASSOCIATES, NEW YORK, © 2018 LORRAINE O’GRADY / ARTISTS RIGHTS SOCIETY (ARS), NEW YORK, COURTESY MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS, BOSTON.

Miscegenated Family Album (Sisters IV), L: Devonia’s sister, Lorraine; R: Nefertiti’s sister, Mutnedjmet, 1980/1994 Lorraine O’Grady (American) Cibachrome prints and her work serves as a means to fill the void. Instead of looking to the present, O’Grady looks to the ancient

see O'GRADY, page 5

Arts & Living

Tuesday, September 25, 2018 | Arts & Living | THE TUFTS DAILY

5

O'Grady exhibit highlights multifaceted effects of history, colonialism O'GRADY

continued from page 4 past to find realistic visuals of black people and people of color. Equally importantly, these images are created by people of color.

As the MFA stated in their description of the exhibition, O’Grady’s work reflects her perspective of ancient Egypt as “a ‘bridge’ country” between Africa and the Middle East. Many of ancient Egypt’s greatest treasures reside outside of Egypt due to mass plundering by Western archaeologists.

Similar to the Elgin marbles from the

Parthenon, these artifacts were seized

by Westerners who believed that the country in which they resided did not have the resources or infrastructure to keep precious artifacts safe.

“Miscegenated Family Album” is a result of, as well as a commentary on, that history. Ancient Egypt is a historical center of cross-cultural exchange, and the violence of colonialism against both individuals and entire cultures has left an indelible mark on the Egyptian culture that exists today. O’Grady’s work appropriates that hybridity similar to how she appropriates the term ‘miscegenated,’ and shows mixed-race

people as empowered individuals by linking them directly to Egyptian monarchs of an ancient past. Her work also challenges the Western notion that time is inherently linked to progress: She has to look to the past to find dignified and naturalistic depictions of people of color. The dearth of representation in our own contemporary world pales in comparison to the visual world of the past.

Collage is a mode of destruction as a means of creation. By juxtaposing a portrait of a family member next to a photo of an ancient Egyptian sculpture, the viewer cannot fully devote

themselves to one image. However, the synthesis of the images emphasizes their similarities and differences, and how the images’ historical context reflects both visual culture and social realities. O’Grady’s work challenges the stereotypical ways in which people of color have been depicted, and showcases personal family photos to challenge contemporary narratives in a contemporary medium. The ancient Egyptian sculptures also challenge these stereotypes, but the world in them was also one of hybridity — not division.

Take the pledge at ItsOnUs.org

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THE TUFTS DAILY | FUN & GAMES | Tuesday, September 25, 2018

F& G

tuftsdaily.com LATE NIGHT AT THE DAILY Lexi: “You just ruined heterosexuality for me.”

FUN & GAMES

SUDOKU

LINDA C. BLACK ASTROLOGY

Virgo (Sept. 23–Oct. 22)

Resolve an obstacle with your partner over the next few weeks. Beware contradictions. Avoid arguments. Old assumptions get challenged with the recent Aries Full Moon.

Difficulty Level: Getting a pumpkin spice latte with ~almond milk~.

Monday’s Solution

CROSSWORD

Monday’s Solution

Tuesday, September 25, 2018

Opinion

7 tuftsdaily.com

Aneurin Canham-Clyne Red Star

EDITORIAL

Random roommate assignments foster exploration, A party for everyone growth among first-years Among the multitude of changes the university made in the 2017—2018 academic year to student housing included adjusting the first-year housing assignment process. According to the Office of Residential Life and Learning (ResLife), students can no longer request specific roommates, with the Class of 2022 the first to be affected by the policy change. While this change is a positive one for future classes, further changes can be made to ensure the success and stability of first-year students.

In years past, the random roommate option has been optional, allowing students to handpick their roommate through the Facebook group or other social media platforms. ResLife’s new system now matches all students based on their preferences. The new system shifts away from students choosing roommates via social media, which can be more misleading than telling of someone’s true personality. Often times, students will gravitate towards similarity, but this new system might allow for exploration that transcends background to facilitate learning and cultural competency.

According to Matt Austin, associate director of housing operations, Residential Life “really wants people, at least for their first year, to deepen and

broaden their horizons. Get to know people who aren’t like you.”

Tufts’ new system is not unusual.

Many universities are moving toward an all-random system. Some schools, such as Harvard University and Duke University, have made similar changes in pursuit of teaching students to engage with diverse people. Davidson College takes an interesting approach to randomization that Tufts should consider. They base their roommate selection on a plethora of different answers, not just personal interests and sleep schedule. They take into account student preferences, hobbies, study habits and students’ Myers-Briggs types, according to Davidson’s student life website. And on average, 35–40 percent of people there continue to live with their roommate in their sophomore year.

Tufts’ current selection process includes basic questions on sleep schedule and study preferences along with a section on music taste, where students are asked to rank different genres of music from one to 10. Although the current system does attempt to match students beyond their bedtime preferences or study habits, they give much less weight to questions about intellectual interests and passions. If the university maintains the random roommate pro-

cess, giving more weight to questions relating to social preferences or a student’s personality traits could be beneficial to fostering friendship between first-year roommates.

Duke specifically changed their roommate selection process to encourage students to “embrace new experiences” and expose students to different cultures and viewpoints, according to their Housing and Residence Life.

They also focus on blending curricular and co-curricular experiences for first year residences; each of their four “residential neighborhoods” has its own academic dean, advisors and resource librarian. Despite Tufts’ attempt to group residence halls into neighborhoods like Tilton and Bush Halls or Miller and Houston Halls and have similar programming, little to no community exists on a broad scale in and across residential halls.

The new system evens the playing field for all students and, in doing so, promotes a healthier, more equitable culture on campus. If the university implemented a more holistic approach to the housing selection process and invested in first-years’ communities to solidify “houses” or “neighborhoods,” future students could reap the benefits of this new housing system.

CARTOON

BY RUIJINGYA TANG 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.

W

e need a workers’ party if we are to win any lasting change.

With the far right in control of all branches of the U.S. government and the Democratic Party increasingly reliant on the military-industrial complex for its candidates and fundraising, the need for a left-wing party is clearer than ever.

Political parties draw their power from an organized social class. In the cases of the Republicans and the Democrats, this is the organized rich, divided according to their social conservatism and supported by relatively small segments of the upper middle class. They represent different shades of the same inequality, which is why the Democrats have made no serious effort to benefit working people or increase public investment since the 1970s. We have a choice between ‘woke’ white supremacy and exploitation, and naked white supremacy and exploitation.

But it doesn’t have to be this way. A socialist party draws its strength from the working class and is the conscious weapon of the masses against inequality and exploitation. Such a party fights the fight of the working class — for peace, against racism, for workers’ control, against property and privilege — alongside other organizations. Only this kind of a party is capable of consciously organizing the struggle of the workers against the American ruling class; single-issue organizations will never be enough.

A socialist party cannot function like a capitalist party: A group of donors with a media wing and a database of voter information. Socialist parties, like the Party for Socialism and Liberation, live and die by their members. They train themselves to be organizers, to be disciplined activists, to be revolutionaries. The members control the party directly by electing the leadership, organizing struggles and building the base. Socialism does not appear as a fully-formed idea in the heads of millions; it is a physical thing we will build with our hands and our collective will. It is this structure, combined with its roots in and direction by the working class, that makes a socialist party incompatible with a liberal party.

A coalition of working-class organizations and liberal donor groups will always implode under its own contradictions, as top-down control by rich liberal groups clashes with the organized will of the mass base. The 2016 primaries and the continued marginalization of the Democratic left is exactly this type of conflict. In trying to fuse working class interests with the political structure and strategy of the ruling class, the Sanders campaign guaranteed it could never govern or lead the party, even if Sanders had won the 2016 Democratic primary.

The struggle for equality and justice will not be won by waving the red flag and proclaiming insurrection. Yes, the working class grows its consciousness and power through fights, but also through collective social acts. Parties need to be in the people’s lives to provide solidarity and comradeship in an atomized, antagonistic world.

Building a workers’ party happens through mass resocialization. We need block parties as much as we need workplace blockades.

Aneurin Canham-Clyne is a senior majoring in history. Aneurin can be reached at aneurin.canham_clyne@tufts.edu.

Sports

8 tuftsdaily.com

David Meyer Postgame Press

Boo to booing

T

wo weeks ago, the Philadelphia Eagles took the field for the first time since they won their first Super Bowl ever. In the first half, they had 68 yards of offense and 66 penalty yards. The team kneeled to end the half and headed into the locker rooms. That is when the fans started booing.

My immediate thought was simply: “What?” This team just won the city’s first Super Bowl by beating the Patriots, an NFL dynasty, and beating one of the most impressive quarterback performances ever by Tom Brady.

30 on-field minutes later, the fans were shouting “Boo.” I have mixed feelings about booing.

Part of me wants to hate it no matter what, but I cannot say that. I can honestly say I love when a ‘villain’ gets their name called by the announcer and the crowd boos. It adds another layer of competition to the game. You have to show the opponent that you, the fanbase, are going to do whatever you can to stop them from performing at their best level. I love booing an opponent just like I love that guy yelling absurd insults from the stands.

Booing your opponent is one thing.

Booing your own team is another. I believe that you should never boo your own team. I have seen pitchers booed after poor performances and entire teams booed during blowout losses. I do not get it. Booing gets in players’ heads. A player or team trying their best, no matter how horribly they are actually playing, does not need the extra stress of having their own fans turn against them. I do not have much experience with this specific scenario, but I can imagine that if I was taking a test and it was not going well, the last thing I would want is for those who I thought were rooting for me to suddenly turn against me and tell me that I am terrible.

For me, what it really comes down to is that these players are your players. I consider myself a part of every team I cheer for. I get made fun of endlessly for this, but I say “we” when speaking about the Cubs, Rutgers, etc.

It would be pretty crazy if a guy on the bench of the team got up and started booing his own teammates. I am certainly not as on-the-team as that bench player, but as an extension of the team, I want my team to do the best that they can. Booing them does not help.

Next time you think about booing your favorite team, perhaps consider going with another, more positive phrase. Instead of “boo,” say “Let’s go ____.” If you would like, you can even go with a less-than-clever pun about one of the players. That is my favorite by far. Whatever you do, try to give the team, your team, positive energy instead of negative energy. It might pay off.

David Meyer is an assistant sports editor for the Daily. David is a junior studying film and media studies. He can be reached at david.meyer@tufts.edu.

Tuesday, September 25, 2018

Men’s cross country places seventh at Purple Valley Classic

by Sejal Dua

Assistant Sports Editor

In its second meet of the season, Tufts took on 15 other teams at last Saturday’s Purple Valley Classic hosted by Williams at Mt. Greylock High School in Williamstown, Mass. and finished a respectable seventh.

Tufts totaled a score of 235, which trumped WPI’s 247 points, but came just 10 points short of Conn.

College. RPI, ranked sixth nationally, scored 41 points to claim the victory over host Williams (72 points).

Though the runners hoped for a better finish, the season is young and many runners are still learning the lay of the land.

Saturday’s course was a muddy mess, making hills challenging to navigate. “[The course] is a series of field loops and wood loops with hills mixed in between,” senior co-captain Dylan Jones said. “Greylock in western Mass. is a really lovely area, but it certainly was a bit muddier this time compared to what we’ve been used to. It was definitely one of the more challenging courses we’ve experienced.”

The top three finishes for the Jumbos were Jones (26:57.0) and fellow senior co-captains Brian Reaney (27:05.5) and Colin Raposo (27:12.5), who scored 33, 41 and 46 points respectively. The next four runners were sophomore Peter Horvath (27:32.7), first-year John “Jack” Cyprus (27:40.1), and seniors Rory Buckman (27:44.0) and Tom Doyle (27:48.9).

Jones explained that the team is preparing to race well against Williams, Middlebury, Amherst and MIT, who finished second, third, fourth and fifth respectively on Saturday. Tufts was specifically keeping track of Conn. College and Williams jerseys at the Purple Valley Classic, with an emphasis on always showing them the backs of their bibs.

Paying attention to these teams can provide insight into what NESCAC competition has in store for the Jumbos. The Purple Valley Classic mainly also served as an evaluation of fitness levels, according to Jones.

“People are still training really hard and being bolder than last year in terms of how they’ve been trying to race,” Jones said. “I think people went out bold. People wanted to really show what they had, and just because it didn’t stick doesn’t mean it won’t later on in the season.”

The Jumbos saw this meet as an opportunity to improve. A seventh-place finish left much to be desired against competition that in their minds was within reach.

“It’s not a huge disappointment,” Reaney said. “I think it just shows us that there’s definitely work that we need to be doing. Even if we’re doing hard workouts and it leaves us tired for races, we still recognize that in the long-term, it’s a good thing.”

Adding onto his reflections on the race, Reaney believes that despite any feelings of dissatisfaction, there are always individual performances that deserve to be acknowledged. “[First-years] Sam Gatti and Collin O’Sullivan, the winner of the [five-kilometer] race, were up there too, which was great,” Reaney said. “It’s nice when you see [first-years] doing well, because I think they encourage each other that they’re capable of being at the front.”

Gatti had a notable performance in the 8K, finishing eighth overall for the Jumbos, no more than a second behind Doyle.

Earlier in the day, Tufts also competed in the 5K race. O’Sullivan scored eight points in as he finished first for the Jumbos with a time of 17:14.9. Less than 13 seconds later, junior Dylan McEniry crossed the finish line for 10 points, followed by junior Roman Lovell who scored 17 points with a record of 17:47.4. To round out Tufts’ top six in the 5K were first-year Nick Delaney and sophomores Aiden Lewis and Joe Barbaro.

One of the team’s strengths this season is their dynamic combination of young runners with good energy as well as senior runners who take their mark time and time again without fail. For instance, Jones has placed first for the Jumbos in both of the meets this season.

“I think my fitness is better than it has been in years past,” Jones said. “I had a solid outdoor track season which can lead to good performances in cross country, so I feel a lot more comfortable racing this year. Because it’s senior year and my last cross country season, I think every race is a little bit more important and meaningful, and I think all that com-

bined is making me perform a bit better, and it’s making me more excited about each race.”

Reaney also feels good about his last season on this team. His first race this past weekend was a strong one, and he hopes to only improve.

“I had better summer training, which was nice and gave me some more confidence,” Reaney said. “My time at this course was faster than it was the past couple of years. I hope that in the future, as we get toward the end of the season, I can be closer to the lead pack rather than sort of fighting in the middle of the race.”

A perfect opportunity for the Jumbos to work on being bold and getting out towards the leading pack will be the Paul Short Run at Lehigh this Saturday.

“At the Paul Short race, we will see a lot of the same teams as we did at Williams,” Reaney said. “When we’re in that race, those are the jerseys we are looking for — sort of the battles that we are fighting, as we sometimes put it. The better we can do against those teams now, the better that will reflect on us later in the season.”

MADELEINE OLIVER / TUFTS CROSS COUNTRY

Sophomore Peter Horvath runs up a hill at the Purple Valley Classic at Mt. Greylock High School on Sept. 22.