The Tufts Daily - Thursday, October 26, 2017

Tufts students, faculty continue bringing awareness to indigenous studies see FEATURES / PAGE 4

MEN’S SOCCER

Jumbos hopeful for improved NESCAC tournament showing

The Front Bottoms wows crowds with new album see ARTS&LIVING / PAGE 6

SEE SPORTS / BACK PAGE

THE

INDEPENDENT

STUDENT

N E W S PA P E R

OF

TUFTS

UNIVERSITY

E S T. 1 9 8 0

T HE T UFTS DAILY

VOLUME LXXIV, ISSUE 34

tuftsdaily.com

Thursday, October 26, 2017

MEDFORD/SOMERVILLE, MASS.

Mama Kiota, Nigerien Muslim women’s activist, recognized by university

by Daniel Nelson News Editor

Saïda Oumoulkhairy Ibrahim Niasse, the leader of a Sufi Muslim women’s movement in Niger, was honored by the university with the Global Humanitarian Citizen Award during a ceremony in Distler Hall on Wednesday afternoon.

The ceremony was hosted by the Jonathan M. Tisch College of Civic Life and cosponsored by the Departments of Political Science and Music. Saïda Oumoulkhairy Ibrahim Niasse, known by her followers as Kiota, as her followers call her, is the Global Humanitarian Citizen Award’s inaugural recipient. Associate Dean for Research in the Tisch College and Lincoln Filene Professor of Citizenship & Public Affairs Peter Levine told the Daily that the award, which he said would likely be given in future years, was created to recognize Mama Kiota.

Mama Kiota has been an advocate for empowering rural African women for over 50 years, according to Associate Professor of Political Science Pearl Robinson. Event speakers described how Mama Kiota has founded community schools and grown her women’s organization Jamiyat Nassirat Din (JND) to 200,000 members in Niger and beyond.

Levine began the ceremony with a brief introduction to Mama Kiota’s efforts. Then Celene Ibrahim, Muslim chaplain for Tufts, came to the podium and praised Mama Kiota for her righteous leadership in an unrighteous time.

“In an age where many of our leaders are in some ways deplete of, seemingly, an inner moral compass, it is heartening to know that there are people who are still able to guide and lead and teach and inspire,” she said.

Ousmane Oumar Kane, a nephew of Mama Kiota’s and a professor of contemporary Islamic religion and society at the Harvard Divinity School, spoke next about Mama Kiota’s efforts with

Robinson, who has studied JND as a part of her political science research.

Kane said that Robinson cared for Mama Kiota’s community when other scholars didn’t.

“Dozens of scholars visit these communities every year in order to collect data, to write books, to promote their own career,” he said. “But very few care about these communities, and worry about what they could do to support them.”

Robinson has also played a major part in expanding Mama Kiota’s international visibility; Kane said that without her, Tisch College would never have known about Mama Kiota or her work.

Over the course of her working relationship with Mama Kiota, Robinson has sent students to Niger to study her efforts and spoken about her research at universities around the United States. She also produced a documentary of Mama Kiota, clips of which were shown during the ceremony.

Mama Kiota did not attend the ceremony due to logistical issues, according to Levine.

Her son, Sékou Aboubacar Hassoumi, accepted the award on her behalf.

“This ceremony is proof that mankind is the same everywhere,” Hassoumi read from a speech written

by Mama Kiota. “No matter from what part of the globe we are from, our skin color, our religion, our gender, we all want the same things: peace, love, progress and well-being.”

Hassoumi also gave his personal take on Mama Kiota’s impact.

“I wouldn’t be standing here today talking to you in English if it wasn’t for Mama Kiota’s dedication to give us a good education,” he said.

Robinson returned to the podium and shared anecdotes of Mama Kiota’s community efforts. She recalled a gathering of local leaders where Mama Kiota advocated for broad equality for women.

“To my soldiers, the women,” Robinson quoted Mama Kiota as saying.

“Men, let your daughters go to school, like your sons. Let your wives work and earn money. If they earn money the family will prosper.”

SOPHIE DOLAN / THE TUFTS DAILY

Associate Professor of Political Science Pearl Robinson speaks at the first annual Global Humanitarian Citizens Award, on Oct. 25.

Robinson said she was struck by Mama Kiota’s political tones, especially in the context of Muslim-majority Niger, which she

said would not be a site for gender equality movements in many Americans’ eyes. see MAMA KIOTA, page 2

Tufts Food Rescue Collaborative hosts ‘Ethics of Eating’ event

by Jessica Blough Staff Writer

Tufts Food Rescue Collaborative ( TFRC) launched their Tufts Food System Rescue series yesterday with the event The Ethics of Eating, featur-

Please recycle this newspaper

Rain 61 / 45

/thetuftsdaily

ing guest speakers from the Ethical Choices Program as well as Assistant Professor of Anthropology Alex Blanchette. The event series is a part of TFRC’s larger effort to facilitate more student involvement and conversation events.

For breaking news, our content archive and exclusive content, visit tuftsdaily.com @tuftsdaily

tuftsdaily

tuftsdaily

TFRC is an organization that partners with Tufts Dining, Food For Free, the Environmental Studies Program (ENVS), the Jonathan M. Tisch College of Civic Life and other groups on campus to prevent food waste and distribute leftover food to communities in

Contact Us P.O. Box 53018, Medford, MA 02155 daily@tuftsdaily.com

need, according to a video about the program on the ENVS YouTube page.

The organization started packaging meals to be distributed to local families last fall through a partnership with Food For Free, a Cambridge-based food see TFRC, page 3

NEWS............................................1 FEATURES.................................4 ARTS & LIVING.......................6

COMICS.......................................8 OPINION.....................................9 SPORTS............................ BACK

2

THE TUFTS DAILY | News | Thursday, October 26, 2017

tuftsdaily.com

THE TUFTS DAILY Gil Jacobson Editor-in-Chief

EDITORIAL

Eddie Samuels Joe Walsh Managing Editors Zachary Hertz Associate Editor Catherine Perloff Ariel Barbieri-Aghib Emily Burke Aneurin Canham-Clyne Daniel Caron Melissa Kain Anar Kansara Robert Katz Arin Kerstein Liam Knox Sophie Lehrenbaum Elie Levine Natasha Mayor Jesse Najarro Daniel Nelson Seohyun Shim Emma Steiner Hannah Uebele Juliana Furgala Kat Grellman Simran Lala Nina Joung Costa Angelakis Emma Damokosh Elie Levine Jessie Newman Sean Ong Emma Rosenthal Grace Yuh Michael Shames Fina Short

Cassidy Olsen John Gallagher Alison Epstein Justin Krakoff Libby Langsner Setenay Mufti Eran Sabaner Antonio Bertolino Tommy Gillespie Jack Ronan Arman Smigielski Maria Fong Shannon Geary Lydia Ra Rebecca Tang Deeksha Bathini Miranda Chavez Hannah Kahn Joseph Lim Sarah Nechamkin Madeleine Schwartz Maddie Payne Yuan Jun Chee Liam Finnegan Phillip Goldberg Savannah Mastrangelo Brad Schussel Caleb Symons Sam Weidner Sam Weitzman Liam Knox Angelie Xiong Ray Bernoff Ben Kim Rachael Meyer Vintus Okwonko Alexis Serino Seohyun Shim Ana Sophia Acosta Olivia Ireland

Executive News Editor News Editors

Assistant News Editors Executive Features Editor Features Editors

RACHAEL MEYER / THE TUFTS DAILY

Davis Square, a neighborhood close to the Tufts Medford/Somerville campus, is pictured on Oct.19.

Assistant Features Editors Executive Arts Editor Arts Editors

Assistant Arts Editors Executive Opinion Editor Cartoonists

Editorialists

Executive Sports Editor Sports Editors

Investigative Editor Executive Photo Editor Staff Photographers

Executive Video Editor Staff Videographer

PRODUCTION Evan Sayles Production Director Ellah Nzikoba Executive Layout Editors Alice Yoon Betty Cao Layout Editors Connor Dale Julie Doten Kenia French Maygen Kerner Omeir Khan Clair Li Nasrin Lin Olivia Markowitz Aidan Menchaca Isabella Montoya Julie Murray Steven Schwab Seohyun Shim Emily Thompson Sebastian Torrente Astrid Weng Ezgi Yazici Astrid Weng Executive Graphics Editor Peter Lam Graphics Editors Allie Merolla Rifat Ralfi Salhon Belinda Xian Mary Carroll Executive Copy Editors Liora Silkes Norrie Beach Copy Editors Caroline Bollinger Alison Epstein Madhulika Gupta Anna Hirshman Tess Jacobson Melissa Kain David Levitsky Katie Martensen Jack Ronan Arielle Sigel Netai Schwartz Nihaal Shah Seohyun Shim Hannah Wells Jiayu Xu Vanessa Zighelboim Deepanshu Utkarsh Rachael Meyer Alexis Serino Asli Akova Anna Hirshman Mitch Navetta Seohyun Shim Ercan Sen

Executive Online Editor Executive Social Media Editors Social Media Editors

Assistant Social Media Editors

BUSINESS Rayane Haddar Executive Business Director Hannah Wells Receivables Manager

Davis Square residents brainstorm for neighborhood renovation plan

by Robert Katz News Editor

Davis Square neighborhood residents met with representatives of the Somerville Planning Department on Oct. 19 to brainstorm actions that will be explored and addressed in a forthcoming Davis Square Neighborhood Plan.

The meeting, held at the Community Baptist Church in the Davis Square area, was one of a series of gatherings being held by the Planning Division in order to determine what neighborhood residents are most concerned about in regard to further development in the square, according to Daniel Bartman, a senior planner for the city of Somerville.

At the meeting, residents were divided into several groups, each of which spent the two-hour meeting crafting an idea for the Neighborhood Plan.

One group suggested the creation of a city-owned, multi-use community center, while another proposed encouraging more commercial growth in the neighborhood by advertising the square’s potential and identifying areas of potential development.

Multiple groups suggested improving pedestrian and bicycle safety in Davis Square, including adjusting pedestrian crosswalks and signal timing and connecting the bike path through the square.

Residents also supplied possible action steps that the city could take in order to achieve their ideas.

Lance Davis, Alderman of Somerville’s Ward 6, which includes Davis Square, believed that the City Planning Department was improving in its involvement of community members in the planning process.

“This process, particularly in the last few meetings, has done a good job of capturing community input, really putting the process in the hands of the people,” Davis said.

To Bartman, the significant emphasis on the pedestrian experience fits in with Davis Square’s character and what residents expect from the neighborhood.

“There are a lot of places that are fighting to make a place pedestrian-friendly to begin with and everybody here already understands that that’s an asset and that it should be considered gospel,” Bartman said. “We’re a pedestrian-oriented neighborhood. We got the hint and realized that we were going to focus this whole plan on people first.”

Lauren Drago, the economic development assistant for the city, who lives near Davis Square and was present at the meeting, mentioned that she was helping to research for and write the plan’s section on economic development.

“It’s not a huge portion of the plan, but we have a lot of [people’s] feelings about forming businesses and maintaining the independent businesses in the square,” Drago said. “It’s our job to take that feedback that other people are saying and thinking about how that will work into the future of Davis Square.”

The Davis Square Neighborhood Planning Process began in 2013 after a proposal to build a hotel in the parking lot that features Davis Square’s weekly farmers market received extensive pushback, Davis said.

The project stalled after several meetings due to Somerville’s planning staff being redirected to a renovation project in Union Square, according Bartman. In 2015, the Davis Square project was revived.

According to Bartman, the Davis Square Plan, along with a swath of other neighborhood plans in Somerville, had been mandated by SomerVision, a comprehensive plan for the city’s development between 2010 and 2030 that was endorsed by the Somerville Board of Aldermen in 2012 and Somerville Planning Board in 2012.

“Achieving a citywide goal has to be done on the ground somewhere,” Bartman said.

“Thinking about how a neighborhood can contribute towards a citywide goal is the first step toward rationally achieving that goal instead of shooting at the dark attempting to achieve something.”

Davis said that the revitalization of Davis Square has been necessary for a long time.

“The development of this plan is long overdue,” Davis said. “We still have the same beautiful brick sidewalks that are popping up and tripping people and [have] really very little city investment in Davis Square, which produces a significant amount of commercial tax revenue to the city.”

Bartman felt that the delay was necessary due to the greater urgency of Union Square’s development needs.

“They were looking at transformational redevelopment [at Union Square] and that’s what SomerVision calls for over there,” Bartman said. “This neighborhood [Davis Square] is going to have smaller scale, more surgical change happening, so it was about to accept sitting back and waiting for Union Square to be finished.”

Bartman said the meeting helped the planning department understand how community members’ viewed had stayed consistent and differed since the plan was introduced in 2013.

“Because the process had been so long [since its origin in 2013], there were some things that people didn’t remember us talking about in 2013 or know that we had addressed in the plan pages,” he said. “We realized we need to re-explore a lot of those things.”

The Neighborhood Plan is currently in an early draft form, and will be released as a public review draft for the Davis Square community to critique following two more public meetings in November, according to the slideshow featured in the meeting.

Mama Kiota is inaugural recipient of Global Humanitarian Citizen Award MAMA KIOTA

continued from page 1 “Nobody would believe this in America,” she said. “I’m here, and even I can hardly believe it.”

Mama Kiota has also shown her dedication to equality issues through JND, which Robinson said uses its quadrennial congress to showcase the power of Muslim women. Robinson said that past conference themes have included “The Role of Muslim Women

in Educating the Young,” and “The Contributions of Muslim Women to Poverty Reduction.”

The ceremony concluded with a series of musical presentations.

Three members of a New England Conservatory Ensemble played on Nigerian instruments, and then one musician performed dhikr. Dhikr is a repetition-based prayer form in Sufism, the branch of Islam to which Mama Kiota belongs.

In an interview with the Daily after the event, Robinson said that Americans would be well-suited to rethink what they might assume about Islam and women.

“If you think that a lot of our military presence in the Muslim world is because we’re concerned about how Islam suppresses women.You need to know that there are some Muslim women where Islam isn’t suppressing them,” she said.

News

Thursday, October 26, 2017 | News | THE TUFTS DAILY

3

Food Resource Collaborative looks to promote conversation

SEOHYUN SHIM / THE TUFTS DAILY

Alisa Marvel, Field Educator for the Ethical Choices Program, speaks during ‘The Ethics of Eating,’ an event hosted by Tufts Food Rescue Collaborative in the Crane Room on Oct. 24.

TFRC

continued from page 1 rescue organization, according to TFRC Co-President Josie Watson.

TFRC volunteers package food in Carmichael and Dewick-MacPhie Dining Centers six days a week. They receive a training that allows them to access the kitchens without food-handler licenses, where they package single-serving meals, according to Watson. The TFRC Facebook page boasted donating 197 meals from the beginning of the year to Oct. 20.

After the food packaging program took off, Tufts Dining hired hire two student interns to manage volunteers and package meals, according to Watson. Now, Watson and Co-President Lucy Zwigard are currently transitioning the organization to one with more student leadership.

“I think there’s been so much movement and energy in starting the program and building the momentum with Tufts Dining staff and people who run Tufts Dining to be really invested in the family

meals program, and student volunteers to be really excited about it,” Zwigard said. “It’s cool because it’s a lot of different community partners that have come together to make this happen.”

Part of this increased student involvement will include developing a more consistent method of scheduling students to package food for Food For Free, according to Watson.

Additionally, Watson and Zwigard are seeking students to take leadership roles after they graduate in the spring.

Watson and Zwigard are also expanding the program to promote conversation as well as action.

“What we do is very action-oriented. We’re donating food directly to people who need it,” Watson said. “But a lot of the students that we’ve talked to, especially at the activities fair, were asking, ‘Is there a group that discusses food system problems and how to fix them?’ A more conceptual group. And we decided that we could be that platform as well.”

She said these conversations inspired the Food System Rescue event series.

“We came up with this Food Systems Rescue event, where every once in awhile we could put together an atmosphere [in which] people could discuss the food system in general,” Watson said.

“The Ethics of Eating” was the first in a series of events intended to promote discussion related to food ethics and health, according to Zwigard.

The discussion began with a presentation by Alisa Marvel, a field educator from the Ethical Choices Program (ECP). Marvel explained that ECP is a nonprofit organization that educates students from middle school to college

on the impact of their food choices on their health and the environment.

“I think that young people have the [ability] to make their food choices for themselves. I think it’s important to be educated and to learn where our food comes from [and] how it might affect our health and environment, so people can be educated to make the best choices possible for them,” Marvel said.

Throughout the presentation, Marvel stressed that ECP’s goal is not to tell anyone what food decisions they should make; instead, ECP focuses on education and equipping young people with the resources to make informed decisions.

Marvel’s presentation also featured video documentation of conditions in the meat and animal product industry, as well as an interactive demonstration.

Following Marvel, Blanchette gave a short presentation on food systems and animal production in the United States, based on his work studying the evolution of U.S. pig farms. Blanchette’s work focuses on the codependence between humans and animals created by the meat industry and how this relates to speciesism.

The event featured food catered by Food Link, an Arlington food rescue nonprofit.

In the future, Watson and Zwigard hope to host more events to both serve the local community and encourage an open conversation about food ethics. They also hope that these events will build a curious and conscious community.

“It’s a presentation to foster discussion and definitely to foster unity, to bring together everyone with this interest so they can recognize each other,” Watson said.

senior commencement speaker

NOMINATIONS The Wendell Phillips Award

Each year, one graduating senior is chosen to be the class speaker at Commencement, and the speech takes place during the Baccalaureate Service. Established in 1896 and named for Wendell Phillips, the speech is intended to deliver a social justice message for our time.

Faculty, staff, and students may nominate seniors to apply to be the Wendell Phillips Speaker, and seniors many self-nominate. Nominees will be invited to apply by January with a resume of leadership and service activities and a recorded speech.

Applications are reviewed by the Committee on Student Life (CSL), who will invite finalists to audition at an open forum in March before selecting the winner. This award also carries a cash prize of approximately $900.

Wendell Phillips Nineteenth-century American lawyer, orator, fervent abolitionist, and advocate for women’s and Native People’s rights

Nominate today and learn more: http://chaplaincy.tufts.edu/wendellphillips For more information, please contact University Chaplain The Reverend Greg McGonigle at chaplaincy@tufts.edu or 617.627.3427.

Nomination Deadline: Tuesday, October 31, 2017 at 5 p.m.

4 tuftsdaily.com

Features

Thursday, October 26, 2017

Students and faculty continue indigenous peoples initiatives, promote acknowledgment of indigenous history

ANGELIE XIONG / THE TUFTS DAILY

Traditional food, dance, music and artwork are presented to students during Tufts Indigenous Peoples Day Celebration 2017 in Carmichael Hall on Oct. 9.

by Ilana P. Goldberg Staff Writer

Although the Indigenous Peoples Day celebration at Tufts took place on Oct. 9, the momentum for continued action and recognition of indigenous history continues among the indigenous students, professors and allies at Tufts.

Tufts Community Union (TCU) President Benya Kraus, TCU Vice President Anna Del Castillo and junior Parker Breza are part of the Tufts Indigenous Peoples Day Movement Planning Committee and have been working to promote more changes at the university level.

“We’re not an official student group or any major organization, but we’re students, mostly made up of native and indigenous students and then a couple allies, who are really focused on making sure that it’s not just a name change,” Breza said. “[We are] looking at other places within the university that we need to make changes to [in order to] recognize, honor and work towards decolonization with indigenous communities.”

The Arts and Sciences, and Engineering schools changed the name of Columbus Day to Indigenous Peoples Day after it passed a faculty vote in 2016.

The first Indigenous Peoples Day celebration on Tufts campus followed in the fall.

“After the faculty voted to change the name to Indigenous Peoples Day here at Tufts, we contacted grad schools from the entire university and as of now, every grad school except for

the dental school has passed it,” Del Castillo said.

In addition to the name change, these students hope to enact more changes this year as part of an ongoing process to focus more on indigenous peoples history.

“One of the things we’re working on this year is our continued push for an indigenous studies minor, and we hope that will be within the race, colonialism and diaspora studies consortium,” Breza said.

Ethnohistorian and Project Coordinator for the Winter Center for Indigenous Traditions John Moody described the benefits of offering indigenous studies programs at an institutional level.

“I think it’s crucial [that] every institution, including Tufts, have an active native studies program … departments that are involved in anthropology, history and all these should not just be doing the conventional histories of the world,” Moody said.

“I think Tufts is pretty good about that from my understanding, but I think there’s always much more to be done.”

Jami Powell, a lecturer at Tufts and a citizen of the Osage Nation, is teaching the course Issues in Native American and Indigenous Studies this semester and plans to teach Indigenous Ethnography in the spring. Building upon her own experiences, she described the importance of developing a native studies program to encourage Native American students to come to Tufts.

“When I was looking into schools, one of the things that was really important for me, as an Osage student, was to attend a university where there was some kind

of community or support system,” she said. “So I think that the presence of some kind of a formal, Native American studies department or support service would lead to more Native American students wanting to come to Tufts University.”

Kraus, Del Castillo and Breza also hope to see more Native American students at Tufts and are working toward improving recruitment and retention of these students.

“If you go to the diversity report for Tufts, there are less than one percent of native students on this campus, so [to encourage] more native students to come to Tufts, I think that means we need more resources for [these] students,” Del Castillo said. “That’s another part of the movement: working with admissions or administration to push for having more native and indigenous students at this school.”

According to Powell, we can look to other universities for examples of similar programs and their implementations.

“There are definitely a number of programs in the area that have demonstrated how to do this,” Powell said. “Harvard has the HUNAP — the Harvard University Native American Program — and they have a dedicated director of the center who works with students constantly, and they have funds to bring Native American speakers to campus on a regular basis.”

There have already been discussions focused on getting Native American speakers to come to Tufts, according to Powell.

“I most recently had a conversation with [Breza] about getting a series of speakers to come to campus and talk about

issues,” she said. “I think we decided that we might call it ‘Beyond Standing Rock.’ Like a Native American studies speaker series, since there aren’t as many classes offered.”

Moody also emphasized the importance of having speakers to educate people on native issues.

“It’s a pretty strange time, so you really want things to change, and Tufts I think can be part of all that,” Moody said. “Educational institutions, including Tufts, play a vital role in educating not only the people that are on campus but educating the world, setting better examples for the future that will hopefully get us all on track to a better life.”

Moody described the necessity of recognizing native populations such as the Abenaki nation, whose citizens live in parts of the Northeastern United States.

He outlined the hazards of ignoring these communities and their histories.

“If there’s danger, its of racial bias against living native children, people,” he said. “To refer, for instance, to the Abenaki people or native people in general in past tense is very common. And actually, I think in the discussions we had with the folks at Tufts earlier this year, the initial discussion was in the past tense and we essentially said to [them]: ‘Look, there’s nothing past tense about the Abenaki people [or] the Abenaki nation.’”

Kraus, Del Castillo and Breza also emphasized the importance of promoting conversations in clubs and student orgasee INDIGENOUS PEOPLES DAY page 5

F e at u r e s

Thursday, October 26, 2017 | Features | THE TUFTS DAILY

Institutional support for indigenous peoples continues after this month's celebration INDIGENOUS PEOPLES DAY

continued from page 4 nizations. Last fall, Tufts Mountain Club (TMC) was criticized in a Tufts Observer article for their apolitical status. Breza said that TMC subsequently reached out to him for guidance in promoting positive change.

“Last year, I met with a lot of TMC [executive board] members with a lot of changes that I thought they should make,” Breza said. “Some of those have been started or completed, and others are still being worked on or need to be worked on. I also met with the TMC president this year, Maxx Grossman, who was really humble about wanting to help out in whatever way possible … and I think for the first time, [TMC] really recognizes the importance of taking political stances, which was one of the main problems.”

Grossman and Vice President Julia Depp informed the Daily toward the end of September of some of the initiatives taken by the club.

“We will be having a book club this semester open to the general Tufts community and will be reading a book specifically about the violent effects of colonization on indigenous women.

We have encouraged everyone on our executive board and will be encouraging the entire TMC community to volunteer to help with the on-campus Indigenous Peoples Day event,” they told the Daily in an email.

According to Breza, Del Castillo and Kraus, all clubs on campus share the responsibility to educate their club members. Breza and Del Castillo discussed other student organizations that have begun taking steps to promote conversation.

“Last year, I met with A.L.A.S., which is the Association of Latin American Students at Tufts, around this time,” Breza said.

“They wanted to have some speakers from [the Indigenous Peoples Day movement] to talk about the connection between latinidad and indigeneity and talk about the push and the movement at Tufts.”

Del Castillo attested to a similar intent with BLAST (Bridge to Liberal Arts Success), a program that prepares firstyears who are first-generation college students, from underresourced high schools or part of a college access agency for the transition to Tufts.

“The BLAST scholars have also offered support and help … and continued to publicize our [Indigenous Peoples Day] event,” Del Castillo added.

Breza remains hopeful that the Indigenous Peoples Day Movement at Tufts will continue as it gains more university support from both students and administrators.

“When we began this movement, there were a lot of administrators that were really resistant, who have now come to financially support the movement,” he said. “I think that the university support that we have received for the Indigenous Peoples Day celebration is a good sign, and I’m hopeful that this will continue and that this will spread to other areas of the university.”

SURE, AT FIRST I WAS A LITTLE TAKEN ABACK

BY THE WHOLE PEEING STANDING UP THING. BUT I TAUGHT HIM TO THROW A STICK AND NOW HANGING OUT WITH HIM IS THE BEST PART OF MY DAY. — EINSTEIN adopted 12-09-10

5

Hayley Oliver-Smith In Defense of the Butterfly Effect

The best way out “Did you remember to bring your winter things?”

My grandfather misses me, expresses his care over the phone. I laugh and glance down at my short sleeves: we are not in for a cold winter. Weather projections I’ve read online predict warmth ahead, and, plus, the leaves have only just begun to fall. I describe to him the climate we have been experiencing, the warmth of the sun that never fully leaves. As I explain some of what I know about climate change and how it will affect my need for sweaters, I can hear him nodding. He already knows.

“Despite what it means for your generation,” he says, “I’ve lived through enough cold to be thankful about it.”

At 97 he is tired and has to hang up now. Before we say goodbye, he pauses.

“Wouldn’t it be better to bring out your winter things anyway?”

I don’t tell him the winter practice I’ve kept for the last few years. Born of a combination of unpreparedness and stubbornness, perhaps a smidgen of daring, it is admittedly odd: in the dead of winter, if it’s not too cold, I’ll go without a coat. I take the opportunity to run from place to place.

Not exactly the most comfortable or inviting way to dip into the outdoors in the winter, but that’s sort of the point. It may explain to the people in my classes throughout the years why at times I show up out of breath or flustered.

Many reasonable people find great comfort in their warmer clothing.

Instead of constantly chasing about, you can walk with ease and grace.

Warm air from inside your coat occasionally breathes up onto your face, a secret armor you guard against the frigidness of Boston in January. You are a warrior of sorts, but you do not have to struggle. Just being out there is enough.

The practice of underdressing may not be the most popular way of beating the cold, but I wish to challenge the notion that the cold is something to be conquered at all. You may think me mad, but at times I will walk, even if it’s snowing and my more primordial instincts scowl. I aim to see if I can take it, if I will really suffer any more from feeling a bit of chill as opposed to isolating myself from it.

I want to know it, to feel it and let it seep under my clothes. So far, I’m still here.

And in the end, no matter how many unseasonably warm winters we may live through, the cold will find a way in. When it does, we can protect ourselves, wisely so, with people around and laughter and loving. But though it’s uncomfortable, it always comes back, and better not to exhaust yourself resisting it. The best way out just might be through. And for now, in any case, the coat stays stowed under my bed.

Hayley Oliver-Smith is a senior majoring in international relations. Hayley can be reached at hayley.oliver_smith@tufts.edu.

6 tuftsdaily.com

ARTS&LIVING

Thursday, October 26, 2017

CONCERT REVIEW

COURTESY JIMMY FONTAINE

The Front Bottoms, an American indie rock band from Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey, consists of artists Brian Sella (right) and Mat Uychich (left).

The Front Bottoms debut new tunes at House of Blues

by Ryan Eggers Staff Writer

A lot went down between the time tickets for The Front Bottoms at the House of Blues went on sale and the time they took the stage Thursday night.

It was a quick and eventful couple of months leading up to the set, so here’s the gist of what happened: the show sold out (fairly quickly), The Front Bottoms’ new album “Going Grey” (2017) was released and the opening act, Basement, played a crowdsurf-ful set, warming up an audience that was already prepared to rock.

Once Brian Sella (guitar and vocals) and Mat Uychich (drums) stepped into the spotlight, the audience knew it was in for a fun night. And a fun night they delivered. The Front Bottoms could be described as many different genres such as “pop-punk,” “emo,” “folk-punk” or “not good,” depending on who you ask, but no one could deny that their performance on Thursday was anything but pure, unadulterated fun.

As the first show on their tour in support of “Going Grey,” which officially dropped Oct. 13, the fans at the House of Blues were treated to a handful of songs that had never been performed before. Aptly placed were the opening song of the set, “You Used to Say,” which happens to be the opening song on the album, and the encore’s closer, “Ocean,” which is the final song on the record.

Despite the album being out for less than a week, it seemed as though every set of vocal chords in the building was pushing out every word of the album along with Sella. Those concert moments where the singer stops and lets the crowd recite the next line? That happened multiple times throughout the night with songs that were only six days old.

The crowd certainly didn’t complain whenever The Front Bottoms brought out some of their older hits, though.

While most of the set comprised of songs from “Going Grey” and their previous album “Back On Top” (2015),

they still left time for earlier bangers like “Flashlight” (2011), “Skeleton” (2013) and the fan favorite “Twin Size Mattress” (2013). Despite the band’s stark change in style between their four studio albums, fans happily sang along to whatever was thrown at them.

As a bonus, the encore started with “12 Feet Deep,” a cut off their 2014 EP “Rose.” Sella performed teh first half of the acoustic track solo, before each band member was slowly introduced until they all came together for the final chorus. So yes, there was definitely something for everyone during the show.

Just as the night was fun musically, Sella’s quirky personality shined brightly throughout the evening. He frequently talked about the band’s tour of Fenway Park throughout the set; before one song he asked the crowd who they thought ran the bases the fastest, then laughingly admitted at the end of the song that they didn’t let any of them onto the field. At another point in the night, he boldly grabbed a ran-

dom shot from someone in the crowd and downed it as a precursor to their performance of “The Beers” (2011).

Speaking of the crowd, it let loose all throughout the show. At any given second during the night, someone was surfing their way to the front of the barricade. The floor was packed from front to back with people who danced, moshed and headbanged to the band’s awkward but relatable lyrics until the very last note was played. The upper balconies were filled to the brim as well; while they sensibly didn’t crowdsurf, their energy was still beaming even from up high.

Once the band finally left the stage, fans departed the venue satisfied.

Nothing too unexpected happened during the night: new songs were played live, everyone sang along and danced (or moshed) and almost everyone left drenched in sweat. It was a Front Bottoms show — and to their standards of fun pop-punk, it was a successful one.

TV REVIEW

Netflix crime drama ‘Mindhunter’ capitalizes on our obsession with serial killers

by Libby Langsner Arts Editor

Netflix’s latest thriller series “Mindhunter” (2017) follows two FBI agents in the late ’70s as they begin to

conduct research on America’s living serial killers. The show is produced by the highly acclaimed David Fincher, who worked on movies such as “Fight Club” (1999), “Gone Girl” (2014) and “The Social Network” (2010). Fincher also

directs some episodes. The main characters Bill Tench (Holt McCallany) and Holden Ford ( Jonathan Groff ) are based on actual FBI agents Robert Resslet and John E. Douglas, respectively. The series is based on the book “Mind Hunter:

Inside the FBI’s Elite Serial Crime Unit”

by Mark Olshaker and former FBI agent John E. Douglas. In the show’s first season, Holden Ford and Bill Tench interview serial killers Edmund Kemper see MINDHUNTER, page 7

A&L A rts & L iving

Thursday, October 26, 2017 | Arts & Living | THE TUFTS DAILY

7

Haruka Noishiki Majors and Minors

Cumbias and reggaeton in Panama with Carlos

T

COURTESY PATRICK HARBRON / NETFLIX

FBI agent Holden Ford (Jonathan Groff) from ‘Mindhunter’ (2017), Netflix’s latest thriller series, is pictured.

Strong performances and Fincher sophistication buoy ‘Mindhunter’ MINDHUNTER

continued from page 6 (Cameron Britton), Richard Speck ( Jack Erdie) and Jerry Brudos (Happy Anderson), among others.

The show begins with Ford’s career as a professor at the FBI Academy, teaching Agents in Training. He specializes in hostage negotiations, and it is clear from the first episode of the series that Ford differs from his FBI counterparts.

Unlike the young agents in training who are eager to shoot hostage-holders, Ford emphasizes de-escalation and is sensitive to the psychological states of the people he is working with. Upon overhearing another professor discuss Charles Manson, whose murders had shaken the American public, Ford had a hard time believing that Manson was unmotivated. Simply put, he was unsatisfied with the answer that these men who kill more than once are just crazy with no motive behind their crime. Later on, Ford is introduced to Tench, head of the behavioral science unit, and both later met Dr. Wendy Carr, played by Anna Torv and based on Dr. Ann Wolbert Burgess. Real-life Dr. Burgess cofounded the first ever center for counseling rape victims, and was one of the leading sociologists at the time.

Ford, Tench and Carr make for a dynamic trio. Ford is young and curious, as well as extremely temperamental. He

does not fit into the stereotypical FBI mold, where agents were supposed to be concerned with what to do after a crime is committed, not its motives or crime prevention. Ford is far too inquisitive and concerned with the psychology of these murders in comparison to his FBI counterparts. The show gives just enough context for this moment in American history by successfully demonstrating the paranoia around these novel, obscene crimes.

Ford often faces pushback from his superiors, and has to be reigned in by the more experienced and mature Tench. Dr. Carr serves as the academic mediator between the two, but she also faces difficulty when attempting to keep the serial killer interviews objective and systematic in order to establish the killers’ patterns of behavior.

As the show progresses, we learn more about the characters’ personal lives and how much they sacrifice to do the work they do. While “Mindhunter” is a riveting show, it can also at times be difficult to watch. Through this difficulty, the viewer can experience the emotional toll the work takes on the show’s main characters.

The tensions that arise are well balanced by the show’s actors, and it is clear by the end of the series that the characters have changed deeply. While interviewing serial killers, Ford and Tench also help local police units solve sexually motivated murders that the police are unequipped to handle. Dr. Carr and the FBI often run into conflict as she would

like to focus solely on serial killer interviews and research, whereas the two agents also want to apply the tools, however undeveloped, in order to solve real world crime. The real life trio would go on to publish “Crime Classification Manual: A Standard System for Investigating and Classifying Violent Crimes” (1992), and this standardization of handling these kinds of cases is hinted at on the show.

The ability to solve current crimes (some of which are based on real events) changes Ford’s character radically. Not unlike the serial killers he profiles, he turns more and more narcissistic after each serial killer interview and criminal confession.

He ostracizes his girlfriend Debbie Mitford (Hannah Gross), his only companion who does not work in the FBI. Mitford acts as a foil for Ford, as she is more blunt, academic and unabashed, but she becomes disillusioned as Ford becomes more and more obsessed with his success.

“Mindhunter” is a compelling show with a strong cast that carries the weight of the work the real life characters are doing with gravity. The actors who play the serial killers do an eerie rendition of them, and the show, without any cheesiness, demonstrates that maybe these killers are not much unlike ourselves — just more deeply disturbed than the majority of us will ever be. The series has already been issued a second season, and this Daily writer cannot wait to see what other cases the Mindhunters have in store.

TRASHING ONE EGG WASTES 55 GALLONS OF WATER

his is Carlos Irisarri, a firstyear from Panama and France who has already declared both his majors in political science and history. He used to play the acoustic guitar. He — along with the the rest of Panama — is very excited that his home country has just qualified for the World Cup. The entire nation was in such a state of euphoria that the President Juan Carlos Varela declared a national holiday to celebrate their World Cup birth. Carlos shared about music today in Panama.

Haruka (H): What’s pop music in Panama like? What genre, and which artist, is most popular right now?

Carlos (C): Right now, in Panama, the popular music is reggaeton and it’s been that way for a long time, at least among teenagers. Right now, it’s the first time in my life that reggaeton is popular beyond Panama. There are two kinds of guitar-oriented reggaeton: one is more lyric-centered, and a few popular artists in that style are Ozuna and Joey Montana. There is the more dance-oriented type which is represented by Maluma, J Balvin and Nicky Jam. H: What exactly is reggaeton?

C: Reggaeton is music with a very defined and recognizable beat. The beat makes it emblematically Latin American.

Some rap and other varieties of vocalization can be involved. What sets reggaeton apart is the beat, and in Panama, also that it’s always in Spanish (though it can be in Portuguese elsewhere).

H: What’s traditional Panamanian music like?

C: That depends on how far back you want to go. We have a lot of indigenous music. Traditional folklore, too, is centered around danceable beats just like pop music.

Postcolonial traditional music is centered around accordion, guitar and drums of course, for the beat. The accordion is hugely present in postcolonial dance music. We have cumbias, which is our equivalent of the waltz — it’s very elegant.

H: Is there a song that everyone knows in Panama?

C: Panamanian cumbias are really well known. November is Patriotic Month, when public and private schools showcase precolonial and postcolonial music. Through this cumbias has become an integral part of the culture. In the youth social scene, there are four or five reggaeton songs that are played over and over again. Also, the woman who wrote “Despacito” (2017) is Panamanian, so that’s known and is a source of pride.

Panama is more Americanized than people think, so many American pop songs are also really popular.

H: Is music in Panama City distinct from that of the rest of the country?

C: Absolutely. If you live in the city, you’ll be much more familiar with reggaeton.

In the country, traditional music is more popular.

H: How do you find Panamanian music different from other music you’ve encountered?

C: I would say the beat of Panamanian music is impossible not to dance to and that’s what makes both traditional and modern Panamanian music distinctive. I’ve never experienced the same beat in any other type of music and I think that’s why Panamanian music is becoming popular internationally.

Haruka Noishiki is a first-year who has not yet declared a major. Haruka can be reached at haruka.noishiki@tufts.edu.

8

THE TUFTS DAILY | Comics | Thursday, October 26, 2017

Comics

tuftsdaily.com LATE NIGHT AT THE DAILY Evan: “Honestly, I’ve considered selling my body.”

Comics

SUDOKU

GARFIELD

BY JIM DAVIS

NON SEQUITUR

BY WILEY MILLER

Difficulty Level: Finding the Joey in the location the app says it is.

Wednesday’s Solution

LINDA C. BLACK ASTROLOGY

Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 21)

Today is an 8. Welcome to the spotlight. A personal project is garnering attention. Polish your image and presentation. Make sure your materials represent you well.

CROSSWORD

Wednesday’s Solution

Thursday, October 26, 2017

Opinion OP-ED

Why Rihanna is the celebrity brand name

by Christopher Panella Celebrities are the people we know and love, the leading examples of excellence and success in their fields. We all have favorite singers, performers, Olympic medalists, award-winning actors and dedicated philanthropists. These are the names we grew up with and read in the news. These names sell in the business world, whether they are of fashion designers or reality stars. Names sell and businesses know this. Celebrity names pique our interests in products and connect both fans of that celebrity and fans of that product, bringing together two groups. This insanely effective method worked best, as demonstrated in 2016, with Rihanna.

Rihanna is practically beyond a household name. Stepping into the music scene with Jay-Z in 2005, Rihanna became one of America’s most loved singers and performers. With 30 top-10 hits, eight Grammy Awards, over 230 million claimed sales and a 2017 estimated net worth of $230 million, Rihanna is the definition of success in the music industry. Her success has, in recent years, transferred as well into the business and marketing world. In 2016, the NDP Group, a global market researching company, confirmed that Rihanna is the most marketable celebrity in the world, more marketable than celebrities like Beyoncé, Ne-Yo and Usher. Rihanna is also one of the most followed people on Instagram and Twitter, making her extremely accessible and showcasing her ever-growing fan-base.

The marketability around Rihanna and her celebrity name is evident in multiple business contracts, like her 2015 $25 million contract with Samsung, which featured Rihanna promoting the Galaxy line of products while Samsung supported and sponsored Rihanna’s eighth studio album, “Anti” (2016), and its supporting tour.

Rihanna’s marketability is not just something from her expansive music career and business ventures. Rather, Rihanna’s marketability comes from the empire she has built around her brand and her name. Rihanna’s every business investment and creation, from her work with four high-grossing fragrances and the company Jeep to her 2017 Fenty Beauty line, has been conveniently marketed not only on Rihanna’s popularity as a celebrity, but also on her presence in the popular culture industry for over 10 years Rihanna’s case is very exceptional and is far from the rule, however. From Rob Lowe and DirecTV to Nicole Kidman and Etihad Airways, celebrity endorsements of products can often result in lawsuits or economic loss. Many celebrity business empires do not stick due to lack of power behind the celebrity name. Kate Hudson’s Fabletics brand saw economic troubles when sales dropped last year due to a small group of customers claiming they were finding hidden charges on their purchases. Some celebrity business ventures are not successful due to other reasons, like Gwyneth Paltrow’s Goop, a

lifestyle brand that reportedly lied about many of the benefits of its products and recently won the 2017 Rusty Razor award for its promotion of “worst pseudoscience.” Many of the unsuccessful celebrity business stories come from celebrities not knowing what their name is promoting, which eventually hurts their name’s credibility. In a recent interview, Paltrow herself admitted to Jimmy Kimmel, “I don’t know what the f— we talk about.”

Thus, the question remains: why is Rihanna’s case so astoundingly successful while for other celebrities, it seems that business ventures can be messy and difficult? The answer is unclear, but it may lie simply in the fact that her international presence and power are far superior to other celebrity names. It may also lie in Rihanna’s creative control of her business ventures, which was truly cemented in 2014, when she became the creative director of Puma. Rihanna’s deep involvement works for her and her business vision, adding to her already established celebrity and brand-name without the pitfalls and problems other celebrity endorsements and involvements face.

As said, Rihanna’s case is exceptional and definitely one of the best examples.

In 2017, Barack Obama called Rihanna “a powerful force,” and she really is.

Christopher Panella is a first-year who has not yet declared a major. Christopher can be reached at Christopher.Panella@ tufts.edu.

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.

9 tuftsdaily.com

Luke Murphy Murphy's Law

Understanding income inequality

O

n Oct. 23, Ray Dalio, founder of Bridgewater Associates, the world’s largest hedge fund, posted an article to LinkedIn titled “Our Biggest Economic, Social and Political Issue The Two Economies: The Top 40% and the Bottom 60%.”

In it, he breaks down the differing economic conditions of those across different wealth levels in the United States. While he offers no prescriptive fixes, his piece importantly identifies the root differences between the successful and the struggling, which can help us think critically about bolstering economic vitality, instead of simply shouting “tax the rich” and blaming corporate greed for everyone’s problems.

Dalio points out the danger of using average statistics to assess economic health, because of significant wealth and income skews. Instead, he breaks the economy down into two groups: the wealthiest 40 percent of Americans and the poorest 60 percent of Americans. By juxtaposing these two groups, we can understand what has enabled the living conditions of the top 40 percent to improve and what has held back the bottom 60 percent.

As in many similar analyses, several key differences emerge, the first of which is the propensity to save of the two economies. As wealth increases, the portion of additional income spent diminishes. The wealthier top 40 percent hold most of their wealth in financial assets, saving for retirement. Conversely, roughly two-thirds of the bottom 60 percent do not save any portion of their income. Research from the Federal Reserve showed that most of them would struggle to raise $400 when presented with an emergency. The first difference between the top and bottom economies is that the top can and does save more, making it more financially secure in the long run and in emergencies.

Another key difference is the asset-liability mix. Most of the wealth of the top economy is held in financial assets like stocks and bonds, which benefit from soaring asset prices, while the bottom has a much smaller percentage of their wealth in financial assets. Someone not invested in the stock market has missed huge gains in this current expansion. The liabilities held by the bottom 60 percent are more likely to have higher interest rates and be less serviceable, like student, credit card and auto debt. So, the top is concentrated in financial assets and holds reasonable debt, while the bottom holds less valuable assets and more difficult debt.

Finally, the bottom 60 percent spends one-quarter of what the top 40 percent does on education. As the American economy shifts further away from manufacturing and more toward tech and service-based jobs, a college education is increasingly important.

The top 40 percent are obtaining the skills to succeed as the economy evolves, whereas the bottom 60 percent are not.

Without offering a prescription, Dalio lays out the economic fundamentals behind the rise of American populism. Understanding what the top 40 percent does, and what the bottom 60 percent does not or cannot do identifies the problems we should address to increase America’s economic well-being. To more healthily grow our economy, savings and education at the bottom need to increase, and wealth needs to reflect a stronger asset-liability mix. Given our government, I suspect these changes will likely have to come from philanthropy and the private sector.

Luke Murphy is a senior majoring in economics and Italian studies. He can be reached at luke.murphy@tufts.edu.

10

THE TUFTS DAILY | Opinion | Thursday, October 26, 2017

MIDTERMS BREAKING OUR PROMISES

BY LYDIA RA

tuftsdaily.com

Sports

Thursday, October 26, 2017 | Sports | THE TUFTS DAILY

Tufts prepares for last regular-season matches against Conn. College and Wesleyan

11

David Meyer Postgame Press

Superteams are super annoying

T

EDDIE SAMUELS FOR THE TUFTS DAILY

Sophomores Heather Holz and Brigid Bell jump for a block in the volleyball game versus Hamilton on Sept. 29.

VOLLEYBALL

continued from back six, sophomore setter Rachel Furash and sophomore outside hitter Maddie Stewart each recorded kills to help the Jumbos pull away. Compounded by a Babson error and another kill by Stewart, Tufts jumped out to a 10–6 lead, carrying the momentum to a 25–17 first-set win.

Garrett dominated the second set, serving up 10 unanswered points for Tufts. Between Garrett’s serve and their front line, the Jumbos proved too much for the Beavers, winning both the second and third sets 25–12.

Anchored by Garrett’s stellar performance — four aces on 23 serves and 10 digs — the Jumbos were also led offensively by sophomore middle hitter Christina Nwankpa. Nwankpa recorded nine kills in 17 attempts (a .529 hitting percentage) with three blocks.

As Garrett is the team’s only senior, the team’s success is a testament to its talented first-years and sophomores.

First-year outside hitter/opposite Sophia Acker feels as though she has improved substantially since joining the program just two months ago.

“I definitely feel like I have improved over the past few weeks,” she said. “I think my ball control has gotten better and I feel like I am a better player because of it.”

For Garret, being the only senior is not at all anticlimactic, especially given the team’s success. She is embracing her role as a leader and cherishes the unique opportunity that playing on one of Tufts’ smallest varsity teams offers.

“While this is the youngest team we have had all my four years, it hasn’t made a difference in team dynamic or performance,” Garrett said. “Our

younger players stepped up immediately on the court because that is what our team needed, and our older players have given them the environment to feel comfortable doing so. With such a small team, you tend to not notice age difference because you can connect with each player personally.”

In its second match of the day, Tufts downed Springfield in three sets: 25–18, 26–24, 25–19. Though the Jumbos found themselves playing from behind in the second and third sets, they pulled through thanks to a match-high 15 kills from junior outside hitter/opposite Mackenzie Bright. Nwankpa and Stewart each added eight.

When asked about the team’s strategy this season, Bright explained that the team has prioritized playing a high energy style. “[We] make sure we stay focused on the game we play next, not games we’ve played in the past and not games we will play in the future,” she said.

Garrett also suggested that the Jumbos’ resilience stems from a healthy acknowledgement that they can’t always be perfect. In fact, the Allendale, N.J. native believes that the Jumbos’ relaxed and reactive style of play has been crucial to their success.

“Our biggest weakness was perfection.

We found that even the best teams aren’t perfect, so we can’t always expect it of ourselves,” Garrett said. “I’m not saying that we don’t push ourselves to be better because we will always do that the second we step foot in the gym, but our practices and games have been focused more so around staying loose and remembering your roots and why you played the game in the first place.”

Acker agreed. Younger teams often feel more pressure to show that they can be competitive, but instead the Jumbos have taken the opposite approach. With strong team chemistry and a fun-loving attitude, Acker and the other first-years have felt at home.

“The team dynamic is great. We constantly strive to build each other up and and have fun,” she said. “The upperclassmen are so welcoming and are always there if we need anything.”

The familial atmosphere is not lost on first-year outsider hitter/opposite Jordan Kron, either.

“The sophomores, juniors and our senior have been there for all of us as a support system. They are constantly encouraging us and made us feel at home right from the start of the season,” she said.

With only one weekend of regular season play remaining, Tufts will go on the road to face Conn. College on Friday night and Wesleyan on Saturday. The trip may be a very rewarding one, as the Jumbos have an opportunity to wrap up NESCAC regular season play with a perfect 10–0 record.

Garrett maintains that the best way to finish will be to stay levelheaded, seeing each match as an individual opportunity.

Only when it’s all said and done can the Jumbos look back and be proud of their broader accomplishments this season.

“We set big goals at the beginning of the season, just as any team would, but those tend to get pushed to the back burner as we focus on the present moment,” Garrett said. “We figure the little goals we set will evolve into larger goals, eventually sitting right in front of us for the taking.”

he NBA is back, bringing a new season of dunks, blocks and stardom.

In fact, this looks like more talented basketball than I have seen in a while (see Giannis Antetokounmpo). It is nearly impossible to talk about the NBA, however, without talking about its most hated topic: superteams.

Superteams are formed, not built. Stars go to teams they think are contending for the elusive O’Brien Trophy. Contrary to popular belief, superteams are not something new. Yet, there is one difference now: Teams and players feel like they cannot win without a superteam.

When LeBron James helped form a superteam, starting the trend in the modern era, it was because he had tried to win with his Cavs team and, despite his best efforts (his ’07 playoff performance was a spectacle), he could not get a ring. Rings are often cited when debating the greats, so it was reasonable of LeBron to think that he needed one. Though even after moving to Miami, he only won two rings. Other teams stuck by competing, and winning, without having to build superteams of their own. Now, the attitude is that regular teams compete, while superteams win.

Last year, in the East, it was LeBron’s Cavaliers who were going to win (yes, they lost the one seed, but we knew who the better team was). In the West, the Spurs and Rockets put up fights against the Warriors, but the Warriors’ victory was clear from the start.

Side note: The Warriors were not a superteam until 2016. They drafted guys like Harrison Barnes and Draymond Green, picked up vets like Shaun Livingston and made an unbelievable roster. The team clicked, centering on shooters Steph and Klay. The Warriors were super, but they were built. It was only this past year that they became a superteam with the addition of Kevin Durant.

Durant to the Warriors made tidal waves, and rightfully so. The move basically rigged the NBA. Say what you will about other teams or LeBron, but putting one of the best NBA players on the best team was a recipe for another title (and more to come). Oh, and boringness. KD started that too.

This past offseason, the Rockets landed superstar Chris Paul. Another West team, the Thunder, found Carmelo Anthony and Paul George to team up with Russell Westbrook in an attempt to beat the Warriors and win a title (which they won’t and won’t come close to). Teams are signing stars instead of building teams, which can still work (see Spurs: have made the playoffs for 19 straight years and won five titles in that time).

It seems simple: Sports are boring if the same teams win every year. From day one last season, most people said that once again it would be Cavs-Warriors in the finals. And it was. And it will be this year. That is not fun. And like it or not, superteams are not the answer. They are just another way to make the league less competitive, giving better teams more firepower with which to crush the worse teams, causing star players to become annoyed when they lose to the Warriors or Cavs.

David Meyer is a sophomore majoring in film and media studies. David can be reached at david.meyer@tufts.edu.

12 tuftsdaily.com

Sports

Thursday, October 26, 2017

MEN'S SOCCER

Men’s soccer clinches No. 1 seed in NESCAC

SEOHYUN SHIM / THE TUFTS DAILY

Sophomore Gavin Tasker attempts to get past a pair of Bowdoin defenders to create a scoring opportunity during Tufts’ 0­–0 draw with Bowdoin on Oct. 24.

by Savannah Mastrangelo

league this year [Bowdoin] had to beat us, but if we tied or won then we would have won the NESCAC.” Finishing the regular season on a Bowdoin came the closest to netting a double overtime draw with No. 2 seed goal 48 minutes in, when the ball slipped Bowdoin and a 1–0 victory over Williams, through Tufts’ back line and Bowdoin Tufts enters the NESCAC tournament as sophomore Jason Oliver raced forward the No. 1 seed. The team has not conceded to take a shot from within the 18. The a single goal in seven-games, thanks to the shot, however, sailed wide on the right team’s impenetrable defensive mentality side. Less than a minute later, Tasker chaland the outstanding efforts of senior goal- lenged Bowdoin senior tri-captain goalkeeper Bruce Johnson. keeper Stevie Van Siclen one-on-one with The first half of the game against a rolling shot to the bottom right corner, the Bowdoin Polar Bears saw few sig- but Van Siclen came away with the save. nificant scoring chances for the Jumbos, “[The Polar Bears] had to change their as they only totaled two shots while the style of play to attack us, so we could sit Polar Bears had zero. However, both teams off and we could relax a little bit. We didn’t did threaten to score, with crosses being have to go win the game against them or played into the box multiple times on push numbers forward, so our halftime either side. Shots were slightly too high talk was about how we are a better team, to connect on both sides. Sophomore for- we can control the ball, and chances are ward Gavin Tasker and sophomore mid- going to come,” Coleman said. “We could fielder Zach Lane challenged Bowdoin’s be more patient than we have in past years defense by applying pressure up top. with Bowdoin and get over that anxiety.”

Tufts has not defeated Bowdoin in a With 26 minutes to go in regulation, regular or post season match since 2012, both teams were desperate to get on the and the team took on a different mentality scoreboard. Turnovers in the midfield entering this game. were rampant as both teams scrambled to “We still haven’t beat them [Bowdoin] take control of the game. Near the end of in my four years, but what was different the second half, Bowdoin was awarded a for our approach in this game than in oth- corner kick that curved into the right goal ers was that we get anxious and nervous post but was cleared. Just three minutes with Bowdoin because we haven’t done so later, senior midfielder Christian Zazzali well in the past,” senior co-captain Conor made a string of tackles and clears for the Coleman said.“We took a deep breath and Jumbos, squashing the Polar Bears’ late realized that, for us to win the NESCAC game efforts.

Sports Editor

Neither team could find the back of the net by the end of regulation, resulting in two 10-minute overtime periods. Sophomore midfielder Brett Rojas ripped a shot from the 18 that skimmed by the right post two minutes into the first overtime period. With five minutes remaining, Bowdoin took a free kick that bounced into the box and hit the crossbar, rebounding to a Bowdoin player who took another shot inches in front of the goal line. Johnson made a diving save, squashing Bowdoin’s last legitimate scoring chance in the game.

Johnson has yet to allow a goal this season.

Against Williams, Tufts got on the scoreboard early and clung to a 1–0 lead to clinch the victory. After a scrum in the Ephs’ 18, Lane found the ball at the corner of the box, where he beat an outside defender and got a shot off that was deflected into the net, scoring the winning goal for the Jumbos at 22:35.

Following the lone goal of the game, the defensive strategies of both teams were challenged.

“We didn’t necessarily need another goal but we always play to score; we weren’t sitting back and defending,” Lane said. “We weren’t really satisfied with the 1–0 win. It turned out that they had most of the pressure in the second half and ended up turning into more of a defensive battle more than anything.”

Despite the shutout, Williams generated many scoring chances in the second half and outshot Tufts 9–6 for the game, but both teams had four shots on net.

This was the second time all season in which Tufts did not outshoot its opponent. Williams applied enormous offensive pressure throughout the second half but was unable to put the ball between the posts.

The team attributes Williams’ scoring opportunities in the second half to a direct playing style. “[The Ephs] played a very direct style of play, so any time one of their defenders had the ball, they just would play a long ball forward,” Lane said. “We were good at winning the first ball, but our midfield wasn’t very connected with our back line, so [the Ephs] were winning a lot of second balls and putting it into our box.”

This Saturday, Tufts hosts the NESCAC quarterfinals against the No. 8 seed in the NESCAC. The Jumbos have lost their last three league quarterfinal matches and have not won a quarterfinal since 2012, which they hope to change on Saturday.

“We view [the NESCAC tournament] like it is the start of a new season so its 0–0 going into the season,” Coleman said.

“Hopefully against whoever we play, we will be able to get our first NESCAC win, which I know all of the seniors really want because we haven’t been doing so well in the NESCAC tournament over the years.”

Tufts volleyball sweeps rivals at New England Challenge

by Josh Steinfink Staff Writer

This past weekend, Tufts picked up a trio of wins, beating MIT, Babson and Springfield at the New England Challenge tournament at Williams College.

With their wins over the weekend, the Jumbos improved to 18–5 overall and

remain first in the NESCAC with an 8–0 conference record. They stand one game ahead of Bowdoin and Wesleyan, who are both 7–1 in the conference.

Led by coach Cora Thompson and assistant coaches Madison Smith and Brian O’Keefe, the Jumbos are well on their way to reaching the high bar they had set for this season. On

Oct. 14, the Jumbos picked up a win over Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Beverly, Mass., but lost in five sets to Endicott later that day.

“We are happy with how far we have come and have enjoyed every second of it, but we always look to push ourselves further and always know there is more we can do,” senior captain Alex Garrett said.

Against the Babson Beavers on Saturday, libero and defensive specialist Garrett proved dominant with a serve that dammed the Beavers. The Beavers stayed close initially, with the two squads matching each other blowfor-blow, but with the first set tied at see VOLLEYBALL, page 11