The Tufts Daily - Thursday, February 6, 2020

ATHLETIC FIELDS

Tufts STOMPers teach engineering to local students see FEATURES / PAGE 3

Jumbos gain from new turf installment in Carzo Cage

Editorial: Tiered housing creates means-based isolation see OPINION / PAGE 6

SEE SPORTS / BACK PAGE

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VOLUME LXXIX, ISSUE 9

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T HE T UFTS DAILY Thursday, February 6, 2020

MEDFORD/SOMERVILLE, MASS.

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Professors sue Tufts over new compensation, lab space policies

by Connor Dale News Editor

Eight faculty members at the Tufts University School of Medicine sued Tufts over the medical school’s revised compensation plan and research space allocation guidelines, which they allege violate their lifetime work contracts and threaten to force them out from the school.

According to the official complaint filed in Middlesex County Superior Court on Dec. 5, 2019, the university has cut the tenured professors’ salaries and threatened the laboratory space critical for their research to continue.

The professors, who have been members of the medical school’s basic sciences department for decades, are challenging certain policies relating to faculty compensation and research space.

According to the compensation policy, which the university implemented on July 1, 2017, tenured faculty are expected to support 40% of their salary through external research funding. Faculty who do not meet this expectation may be subject to appointment reductions.

When the professors were first offered tenure at Tufts, there was no obligation to support their salaries with outside funding, according to Kevin Peters, the attorney with Gesmer Updegrove LLP who represents the faculty members.

Peters said that tenure, which traditionally provides professors academic freedom and guarantees them economic security, has allowed the faculty members to engage in research regardless of whether that research was funded by federal agencies.

However, Peters said that the new fundraising requirements mean that any tenured Tufts professor who wishes to keep their job must instead focus almost exclusively on scientific topics of sufficient interest to the reviewers for federal or philanthropic grants to attract funding.

“If you put a condition on these professors that they have to meet certain production standards, if you will, then they are going to have to shift the focus of their research to areas that are more attractive to federal funding,” Peters said. “And their academic freedom, as guaranteed by their tenure, is violated as a result.”

As a result, the new fundraising requirements have put intense financial pressure on the faculty members in the lawsuit.

Despite their distinguished careers and substantial contributions to their respective areas of study, the professors are not necessarily focused on topics that generate a lot of federal research grants.

“Almost everything that is developed and discovered in basic science has major applicability to questions in human medicine,” Professor Michael Malamy, one of the

JOHN PHELAN / WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

The Arnold Wing of the Tufts University School of Medicine is pictured. plaintiffs, said. “However, this is not immediately recognized by sources of funding.”

The professors are also challenging policies relating to research space which threaten to curtail or shut down faculty members’ laboratories at the medical school.

The medical school’s research space guidelines, which were adopted in 2016

according to Executive Director of Media Relations Patrick Collins, allow the university to determine a professor’s research space utilization based upon the amount of funding they sustain per square foot of research and research-related space.

According to the policy, if a senior

see LAWSUIT, page 2

Body cameras complicate Somerville’s contract negotiations with police

by Alexander Thompson Contributing Writer

Collective bargaining negotiations between Somerville Mayor Joe Curtatone’s administration and one of Somerville’s police unions remain deadlocked on the issue of body cameras, which the mayor supports and the union opposes.

Curtatone says that body-worn cameras for police are his “top priority” in the talks with the Somerville Police Employees Association (SPEA), which represents rank-and-file officers.

Somerville Chief of Police David Fallon, who was appointed to that position by the mayor and is not a member of a union, also strongly supports the implementation of body cameras, Meghann Ackerman, a spokesperson for the City of Somerville, confirmed.

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However, the SPEA continues to oppose body-worn cameras, the mayor said.

Curtatone argued that body cameras are a win-win for the public and the police.

“It lends protection to the resident, the citizen, the person who’s being stopped or being questioned but also the police officer. I mean the camera is not going to lie, you’re going to hear and see everything that happened,” he said.

Curtatone believes that body cameras would build the trust and credibility of the police department with residents.

Leaders of the SPEA did not respond to repeated requests for comment.

The Somerville Police Department’s other union, the Somerville Police Superior Officer’s Association (SPSOA), which represents senior officers, also supports body cameras, according to its president, Lt. Gerard Rymill.

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Rymill claimed that it was the SPSOA which first proposed implementing body cameras in an email to the Daily.

The push for body-worn cameras was thrust back into the spotlight after the Somerville police’s deployment to the Straight Pride Parade in August 2019 caused outcry and provoked calls for greater police accountability.

In response to accusations of heavy-handed policing at the parade, an internal investigation conducted by Chief Fallon in the fall cleared the officers involved of any potential department policy violations.

The investigation, lacking body camera footage, relied on a three-day search for publicly available videos of the incident and only found multiple clips from five locations, the report said.

Following the release of the report, Curtatone and Fallon said in a joint

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memo to the Somerville City Council council that body camera footage would provide a “critical source of information and transparency” in such investigations.

The pair called on the City Council to pass a resolution in support of body-worn cameras.

At a community meeting on Jan. 22, Ward 6 City Councilor Lance Davis, who chairs the Public Health and Public Safety Committee, and Ward 2 City Councilor J.T. Scott, a critic of the police’s handling of the deployment, both confirmed they would support such a resolution.

This is not the first time Curtatone and Fallon have met police opposition to body-worn cameras.

As the Boston Herald reported at the time, Curtatone pushed hard for body-

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

see CAMERAS, page 2

FUN & GAMES.........................5 OPINION.....................................6 SPORTS............................ BACK

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THE TUFTS DAILY | News | Thursday, February 6, 2020

THE TUFTS DAILY Ryan Shaffer Editor in Chief

EDITORIAL Alex Viveros Nathan Kyn

Managing Editors Tys Sweeney

Associate Editor

Robert Kaplan Alejandra Carrillo Connor Dale Abbie Gruskin Natasha Mayor Matt McGovern Sara Renkert Anton Shenk Seohyun Shim Daniel Weinstein Maddie Aitken Carolina Espinal Alex Janoff Renner Kwittken Bella Maharaj Stephanie Rifkin Sarah Sandlow

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TUSM professors claim new funding requirements undermine academic freedom LAWSUIT

continued from page 1 researcher’s lab has been underfunded for more than three years, the university can take measures to downsize the space or reallocate it entirely on the grounds that it is being underutilized.

The consequence of the research space guidelines and the compensation plan, when considered in conjunction with one another, is a “degenerative spiral” where those who have dedicated their lives to researching problems too “original or arcane” to attract funding from federal agencies are denied the allocated space to pursue such novel and yet-to-be funded work, according to court documents.

“The lab space becomes important because in order to obtain grant money, you almost always have to have preliminary data that you submit with your grant,” Professor Brent Cochran, another plaintiff, said. “So if you don’t have a lab to generate preliminary data, then you can’t get your grant, and if you don’t get a grant, then your salary is going to be cut — and you have no way of regaining your salary.”

The university became aware of the lawsuit on Friday, Dec. 6. It has since then defended the policies, claiming that they are fully consistent with the commitment of the university and the medical school to core principles of tenure, academic freedom and equitable treatment of all employees.

“Tufts University believes that [the faculty members’] claims are without merit,” Collins wrote in an email. “The research space guidelines and the compensation plan, which were adopted in 2016 and 2017, respectively, apply to all tenured basic science faculty in the School of Medicine, are equitable, transparent and reward quality research and related productivity, which are integral to the School’s mission.”

The faculty members who have not been able to meet the new fundraising requirements have seen their salaries cut or threatened and their laboratories closed or downsized, according to court documents. According to Malamy, the constant threats of laboratory closure and pay reduction have created significant problems for the professors, ranging from an inability to hire graduate lab assistants to the cessation of potentially ground-breaking research.

Professor Henry Wortis began researching the loss of resistance to infectious diseases associated with age after experiencing a serious infection himself, making a discovery that mice could be used to discover genes related to older people’s immunity to infection, according to court documents.

The complaint went on to explain that the closure of his laboratory and subsequent pay cuts made it virtually impossible for him to continue his research.

Police body cameras build trust in police, aid in investigations, Sherborn police chief says

by Renner Kwittken Assistant News Editor

Executive Social Media Editors Outreach Coordinators

BUSINESS Jonah Zwillinger Executive Business Director

s

CAMERAS

continued from page 1 worn cameras during the 2015 round of contract negotiations with the SPEA. He told the Herald that he hoped to see implementation within a year.

Four and a half years later, the mayor seems no closer to that goal.

Hundreds of law enforcement agencies nationwide have implemented body-worn cameras since the highly publicized deaths of black youth by police officers, which include the shooting of Michael Brown in 2014 by a Ferguson, Mo. officer and the death of Freddie Gray in 2015 while in the custody of the Baltimore City Police Department.

Massachusetts, however, has lagged behind.

According to a report by Boston 25 News in July 2019, only eight departments in Massachusetts use body cameras, two of which were pilot programs.

Rick Thompson, the chief of police for one of those departments in Sherborn, Mass. explained that while the technology is not perfect, he does not see any major downsides.

Thompson told the Daily in an email that he believes body cameras have increased public trust in police and help in “separating facts from fiction” during investigations of the three to five complaints against officers received each year

ALEXANDER THOMPSON / THE TUFTS DAILY

A Somerville Police Department patrol car is pictured outside SPD headquarters on Jan. 31. by his small department located southeast of Framingham.

Unlike in Somerville, Sherborn officers are broadly supportive of the program.

“Most Officers embrace accountability and embrace [body cameras] as a tool that demonstrates their willingness to be accountable to those we are responsible to protect in our role as guardians of our community,” Thompson wrote.

Despite political support for cameras in Somerville and elsewhere, the research on their effectiveness is mixed.

Police Briefs – Week of Feb. 3 Executive Online Editor

The professors, Wortis, Amy Yee, Theoharis Theoharides, Ana Soto, Emmanuel Pothos, Malamy, David Greenblatt and Cochran, are also concerned about their general economic security. As a result of this, a number of faculty members have actually given up tenure to take up short-term teaching contracts, according to Cochran. Others have left the medical school entirely.

Peters explained that the key question the lawsuit seeks to answer is whether or not faculty members awarded tenure before the changes were made to the research space guidelines and compensation plan should be required to follow them, because their tenure contracts were agreed to before such changes were made.

“Academic freedom is what it is and should be honored,” Peters said. “As to my collection of people, they have been tenured for a long time and to change the rules on these folks, especially since some of them are at the tail end of their careers, it’s not only contractually improper — it’s frankly unfair.”

As for now, the future of the faculty members’ financial security and academic freedom at the medical school remains unclear.

“The university is waging a war on its faculty,” Malamy said. “It is not the comfortable academic home that I have enjoyed for such a long period of time.”

On Jan. 30 at 10:10 p.m., a fire alarm was activated in the basement of the Delta Tau Delta house at 98 Professors Row, Medford. The Somerville Fire Department (SFD) and Tufts University Police Department (TUPD) responded. At the scene, they concluded that a discharged fire extinguisher was the cause of the alarm. John Walsh, the Tufts fire marshal, was notified.

On Jan. 31, around noon, a student working in Tisch Library reported a theft. The student reported that after leaving their items unattended to use the restroom, they returned to find their gloves and ID missing. The student’s backpack and laptop remained untouched. The lack of camera coverage of the incident prevented TUPD from confirming the theft.

On the same date, a fire alarm was activated in Haskell Hall, to which TUPD and SFD

h

A report published by researchers at thew Center for Evidence-Based Crime Policy atP George Mason University last spring found that while cameras tend to reduce complaintsO against police, it is unclear whether they havew any effect on use of force by officers. u The report also concluded that,t although some police officers and pros-l ecutors oppose body-worn cameras for the financial, logistical and supervisoryg burden they may impose, many haveg warmed to them on the grounds thatf they can be used to refute conductf complaints or to collect evidence. a

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responded. Upon further investigation, a stu-t dent admitted to pulling it accidentally whilew w leaning against the wall.

On the same date, around 10:30 p.m.,C TUPD investigated a report of property dam-c age at Hill Hall. Upon further investigation,t a group of students was seen damaging ad security camera outside the residence hall.

The students were found to be in possessionv of alcohol. The security camera sustained nob s permanent damage.

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Features

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Thursday, February 6, 2020

Shivakumar Through STOMP, Tufts students bring engineering Aadhya What's Next to local schools Santos, Castro and

the early states

“T

RACHEL HARTMAN / THE TUFTS DAILY ARCHIVES

Community members construct LEGO structures at the table for the Center for Engineering Education Outreach (CEEO) at Community Day on Sept. 24, 2017.

by Jake Freudberg

Executive Sports Editor

When Massachusetts became the first state in the U.S. to formally add engineering to its K-12 curriculum framework in 2001, the Center for Engineering Education and Outreach (CEEO) at Tufts was already a key player in engineering education. Established in 1996 within the School of Engineering, the CEEO had already been researching engineering education for five years and had helped lead the campaign to add engineering to the Massachusetts K-12 standards.

“At the time, it was super new for K-12 — it wasn’t a thing,” Merredith Portsmore, director of the CEEO, said.

With the new, revised 2001 frameworks in place, the CEEO began to increase its outreach efforts to meet the new demand for STEM. “The phone started ringing off the hook with teachers going ‘We want to do this! This sounds great! But we don’t know what to do and we don’t have any stuff!’”

Portsmore said.

Portsmore started the Student Teacher Outreach Mentorship Program (STOMP) within CEEO, putting together a team of undergraduates and graduate students to run hands-on engineering projects in local elementary schools.

Now, almost 19 years later, STOMP has grown, employing over 50 paid undergraduate and graduate student teaching fellows to meet the ever-growing demand for more STEM education. This reflects a larger trend in STEM education and jobs in the U.S. The Pew Research Center reported that from 1990 to 2018, STEM jobs grew 79%.

The STOMP Fellows, or STOMPers as they are known, teach in pairs once a week for one hour. STOMPers generally work with third to fifth grade students.

Classroom teachers apply to have STOMP come to their classes. All of the lessons try to get students to think like engineers and do a hands-on activity.

Since a central goal of CEEO is to provide resources to the communities neighboring Tufts, most of the participating schools are located near the Medford/

Somerville and Boston campuses.

According to CEEO Director of Outreach Programs Elissa Milto, this semester STOMP is in Arthur D. Healey School and West Somerville Neighborhood School in Somerville, Brooks Elementary School and Columbus Elementary School in Medford, Josiah Quincy Elementary School in Boston and Linden-STEAM Academy in Malden.

In the past, STOMP had a database of previously-used lessons and activities that fellows could choose from for their weekly lessons, or they could create their own.

“You can create your own lessons — and that’s kind of the beauty of STOMP in my eyes, is that creativity and iteration that we get as novice instructors,” senior Liz Moison said.

Moison, who is studying sociology and education, has been involved with STOMP since her first year at Tufts.

“There’s a little bit of freedom, but there’s also that element of support for… when I don’t have the energy to plan something when it’s final weeks or midterms week and I need to go into this classroom,” Moison said.

Recently however, Milto, who directly oversees STOMP, has been working with the STOMPers to specifically tailor lessons that span several weeks, which research and experience have shown work better.

“One week isn’t enough because they don’t have time to iterate,” Milto said, referring to the cyclic process of engineering design. “It’s unrealistic to expect that students are going to be able to finish something in 40 minutes.”

Although not required, STOMPers can also coordinate with the classroom teachers to do lessons on relevant topics.

“If they’re learning about the Earth, maybe tectonic plates, maybe we can build disaster-proof structures,” Moison said. “Or maybe if they’re learning about animals and food chains, maybe we can do an animal engineering or like biomimetics activity.”

With the field of STEM growing rapidly in the past two decades, the mission of CEEO to teach engineering skills in K-12

has become more commonplace, too.

Portsmore estimated there are between 50–100 similar outreach centers and programs at universities in the U.S., which try to expose kids to engineering early on.

A private university like Tufts plays a complicated role in providing outreach for public schools, especially in terms of funding. While CEEO receives grants from organizations such as the National Science Foundation, STOMP relies primarily on donations for its operating expenses.

“We’ve been super lucky to have had Tufts alums and other folks make gifts to the program to support [STOMP], but a lot of folks don’t see it as a direct way of impacting the community to donate to a private university,” Portsmore said.

The program is generally received well by both classroom teachers and students.

“The kids like it because it’s not just doing work,” STOMPer and sophomore Collin Geary said. “They love building things, and it’s more hands-on.”

STOMP allows young students to be introduced to engineering, regardless of whether it is a field they will enter in the future.

“The goal isn’t to make every kid an engineer, because some kids don’t want to be engineers, and that’s cool. We just want to introduce these things to younger students. I think there are some kids who do want to be engineers now, too,” Geary said.

Overall, STOMP provides a place for students to try out engineering in a lowstakes, engaging environment. The hope is that students have a chance to at least learn about what engineering is and gain something from that experience, even if they do not want to become engineers.

“I’m not saying we’re solving all the societal hurts of the world when we come in with our cardboard and our LEGOs, but there’s something about STOMP and engineering where we’re not asking you for grades, we’re never going to punish you, we’re never going to have these expectations for you…It’s a space where you can engage in valuable, empowering learning experiences that you have agency over,” Moison said.

he West Wing,” a critically-acclaimed political drama that aired from 1999 to 2006, is more than just a nostalgia trip that reminds viewers of a time when pagers were a thing. In recent years, it’s become almost therapeutic — a way to remind ourselves that politicians can be honest, good-hearted and strive to do what’s best for the people they serve.

The show seems to exist in an alternate timeline: one with a Democratic president and a group of starry-eyed policy wonks.

That being said, there are certain issues and episodes that keep it grounded in reality.

There’s now an odd dichotomy in the show between the plot points that are so idealistic they’re unfathomable to a post-2016 election viewer, and the plot points that seem like they were written last week instead of 20 years ago.

In this column, I want to talk about the latter, highlighting parallels between “The West Wing” and recent news stories.

With the conclusion of the Iowa caucus and the New Hampshire primary coming up, it feels like an appropriate time to talk about “Opposition Research”: season six, episode 11 of “The West Wing.” The episode follows Josh Lyman (Bradley Whitford) as he travels to New Hampshire with Congressman Matt Santos (Jimmy Smits) to start the latter’s presidential campaign. A significant plot point in the episode is when Josh discovers a statement Santos made eight years prior about the New Hampshire primary: JOSH: “You said the New Hampshire primary shouldn’t go first because, quote, ‘The state’s as diverse as a Mayflower reunion.’”

SANTOS: “That’s a funny line.”

JOSH: “Yeah. We got a state full of Mayflower descendants laughing.”

While campaigning in Cedar Rapids, Iowa in November 2019, Democratic presidential candidate and former Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Julián Castro said, “Iowa and New Hampshire are wonderful states with wonderful people, but they’re also not reflective of the diversity of our country, and certainly not reflective of the diversity of the Democratic Party.” Secretary Castro is right. Although the state is becoming increasingly diverse, Iowa is still 90.7% white, while New Hampshire is 93.2% white, according to the Census Bureau. In comparison, white people make up 76.5% of the U.S. population.

Clearly, not much has changed since “Opposition Research” first aired 15 years ago. The parallels between the two Latino Democratic presidential candidates are striking, but there is a clear divergence in their stories: In “The West Wing” universe, Congressman Santos goes on to win the Democratic nomination and eventually the presidency; Secretary Castro dropped out of the race this January. Both make a credible point. It’s important to ask whether two of the least racially diverse states should so greatly affect the outcome of the primaries.

Although it is a slightly controversial issue, I think Secretary Castro — and Congressman Santos on the show — were right in bringing it up. Making people question their preexisting ideas and beliefs isn’t a bad idea, especially in an election year like this one.

See you next week, Tufts. To quote “The West Wing”: What’s next?

Aadhya Shivakumar is a sophomore studying political science. Aadhya can be reached at aadhya.shivakumar@tufts.edu.

4 Thursday, February 6, 2020

ARTS&LIVING Colette Smith and Madison Lehan Love It or Haute It

BOOK REVIEW

Miranda Popkey’s “Topics of Conversation” explores power and desire

Carhartt beanies

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by Devina Bhalla

Assistant Arts Editor

Miranda Popkey’s debut novel “Topics of Conversation” (2020) brims with sex, violence, drinking and failed relationships. Its unnamed narrator goes over different conversations she’s had with women spanning back to the year 2000, her college graduation year.

From a recent college graduate to a divorced single mother, she reveals the rawest and most troubled aspects of herself.

The first conversation is between the narrator and the mother of her college friend. The mother, Artemisia, has hired the narrator to take care of her children during a family vacation.

It is mostly one-sided, with Artemisia describing her past marriage and relationship with her own desires in a husband and sexuality.

This conversation about sex and power dynamics sets up the rest of the book. The narrator goes on to talk about her relationship with her old, married professor. The power dynamic between them and her enjoyment of his power over her follows her to her next relationship. We learn soon about her devoted husband and how she cheated on him, leaving him promptly after.

She searches for a job, fights alcoholism and lives as a single mother, all while the reader peeks into her intimate conversations, further illustrating the intricacies of sex, power and violence.

Popkey makes a novel out of networks of historically whispered conversations. At its core, this novel is about female desire and power, something that is historically left out of popular conversations. At the same time, she is exploring her sexuality and seeking out what actually fulfills her.

Popkey employs social norms that women are constantly confronted with throughout their lives and tips these on their heads through her narrator, letting the warped message unravel in the process. After rejecting her suburban ‘ideal’ life with an overly-understanding husband, the narrator moves back home and works to rebuild her life in a way that can actually please her.

In the post-#MeToo era, where women are declaring their power, the narrator explores her desire to have men assert their power over her. It is an unpopular sentiment, but a real desire that she has and is trying to understand. She uses her novel to develop answers to her own questioning about the desires she has struggled to recognize in herself.

The narrator is truly honest.

Whether it be certain sexual desires or infidelity and power dynamics, she gives insight into conversations that are really hard to start and often even more difficult to have. She reveals her enjoyment of having an affair with her married professor and how cheating on her husband actually satisfied her desires. She breaks up with friends and boyfriends and feels the weight of these losses and changes.

VIA GOODREADS

The book cover for “Topics of Conversation” (2020) by Miranda Popkey is pictured.

Part of the most striking element of Popkey’s novel is how captivating each chapter is. Each one is a different conversation at a different moment in her life that yanks your interest, forcing you to tumble through, no matter how hard the content is. Her self-destructive behavior makes it difficult to keep reading. Yet, these types of conversations are not usually depicted outside of closed doors, which makes it impossible to not read on.

As the book continues, her character grows, as does her understanding of the negative behaviors that plague her.

She almost becomes cheeky with the reader, acknowledging the judgment you might be giving her while turning that judgment back upon the reader.

You understand her faults, whether it be in relationships or her struggle with alcoholism. But you also understand the ways that she refuses to let anyone else have jurisdiction over her desires — something that forces you to think

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about letting yourself push through to your own desires.

“Topics of Conversation” is about this woman’s struggle, but it is also a struggle to read itself. One of the most difficult aspects is her rape fantasies and the necessity for male domination over her body. Sometimes she wants things usually thought of as ‘problematic,’ like relinquishing her power to a man that society tells her she should not want. Popkey asks her reader if women’s desires should be deemed ‘bad’ or not if they consent to and enjoy them.She pushes the reader to think about whether or not social politics are allowed to rule over desire.

In this way, she is sparking conversation simply with whether or not this book is helpful in any way. Popkey herself uses the book to understand whether or not this is a narrative worth creating and sharing. It is controversial, but that is her point. She forces topics out of the closet and into your hands, refusing to let you look away.

fter a few weeks back on campus, we have noticed a sudden rise in the number of students wearing beanies. Gone are the days of ear warmers and rabbit-skin caps. While a slight increase in the number of warm hats is to be expected in a New England winter, we feel that the sudden surge is much more than usual and may even be ‘statistically significant.’ Our hypothesis is that more people are wearing these hats not for protection from the harsh elements, but because they think it makes them look fashionable and fly. So, today we will examine whether this is a hot trend or a not trend. In order to maintain our scientific integrity, we have specifically narrowed our analysis to the most popular brand of beanie: Carhartt.

Coco: I think that the beanie is definitely an efficient way to make yourself look cooler than you actually are. The Carhartt beanies come in so many colors that there is really one for every mood or look you are going for. No matter the color, the hats make people look like they were like, “yeah I am cool but I am also not trying too hard.” So, the look understandably became more and more popular. I even forced my sister to buy me one over break because I wanted to up my status like everyone else. However, I am becoming increasingly concerned that this look is becoming too connected to TikTokers and the general aura of hypebeast hipsters. This shift in demographic is disappointing because the beanie was the perfect answer to real-life issues like bad hair days and when you are just feeling a little chilly. So, while I do not think I will be able to make a completely clean break from my beanie, I will be extra cautious to pair it with other non-TikToker-esque clothing items.

Beans: I hate the beanies. I hate them because I could never pull one off. I hate them because I hate myself. It all started when I was a little girl, living out my days in a cul-de-sac. Razor scooter in one hand, SmartPop in the other. I would sit on my porch every afternoon, hoping, waiting for the skaters to roll through. They were cool high schoolers with four wheels and not a care in the world. They skated with passion and they skated with pride, but most importantly, they skated with style. Oversized graphic tees, Dickies pants, and, oh yeah, little tiny beanies, barely covering their ears. They would taunt me saying, “you will never be as cool as us, scooter nerd. Go buy a baseball hat because that is what you deserve.” I wanted that life, that aesthetic. But I will never be a skater with a warm noggin; I will only ever be a scooter nerd. In conclusion, I think they are a little overdone and maybe too small to offer any real warmth. But, if you do buy a Carhartt hat, I will definitely think you are better than me.

Colette Smith is a sophomore who has not yet declared a major. Colette can be reached at colette.smith@tufts.edu. Madison Lehan is a sophomore who has not yet declared a major. Madison can be reached at madison.lehan@tufts.edu.

Thursday, February 6, 2020 | FUN&GAMES | THE TUFTS DAILY

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F &G FUN & GAMES

LATE NIGHT AT THE DAILY Rebecca: “This is a really stupid question, but do we put a year after ‘Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star?’”

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Nurture your health and wellness. Physical performance could face a barrier. Get enough rest. Take your medicine when needed. Get expert feedback.

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Iowa reporting fiasco

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fter months of anticipation, Iowans caucused in school gyms, churches and union halls on a freezing Monday evening, officially kicking off the 2020 presidential contest. As I watched the coverage of the antiquated form of ‘voting’ that somehow persists in Iowa, I was not filled with interest or satisfaction, or even speculation about the implications of the outcome. As the coverage and lack of results dragged on, the only sentiments I could muster were disappointment and concern.

American democracy as we know it feels fragile at the moment. Efforts have been made across the country to disenfranchise voters.

President Trump claimed that the 2016 election was rigged against him, and that he lost the popular vote because millions of illegal immigrants cast votes against him. These examples show the deterioration of our collective commitment to, and faith in, the democratic process. The Democratic party has done its share to undermine faith in democracy as well. In 2016, the superdelegate system, a separate class of delegates allocated to candidates not based on votes but rather personal preference, led to claims by progressives that the party was working to rig the primary against Senator Bernie Sanders. In addition to American institutions attacking the integrity of our system, fear is widespread that foreign interference may take place again in 2020. The real likelihood of these threats is almost immaterial. The success of our democracy relies not only on its functional legitimacy, but on the faith of the people in it.

That faith seems weak right now.

It was against this backdrop that the Iowa caucuses went so wrong. As the night wore on, results remained shockingly absent from news websites and the live broadcasts that were supposed to offer punditry as precincts reported. The big question shifted from “who won?” to “what the hell happened?” The lack of result came down to the failure of an app commissioned by the Iowa Democratic party, an effort at streamlining precinct reporting that fell flat on its face.

If the failure of the system and nearly 24-hour delay in results were not confusing enough, the candidates’ speeches added to the disarray. Pete Buttigieg essentially claimed victory, despite no numbers having been released.

Bernie Sanders, the favorite for several weeks, did not claim to have won but struck a victorious tone. As time wore on without official results and Buttigieg continued to imply victory, the Sanders campaign released internal data from precincts that suggested the former South Bend mayor had actually come in a close second to Sanders. Elizabeth Warren was simultaneously optimistic and tempered in her speech, and Klobuchar spoke of a better-than-expected outcome. Biden had the poorest showing of the night, relative to expectation, falling well short of the top tier in all estimates. In his speech, he emphasized the upcoming states where he is expected to do better.

While the results will eventually come in, something has certainly been lost in Iowa. The caucuses have the ability to make or break campaigns, and this lack of a result will stoke concerns about legitimacy and party interference. One thing is certain: If a failure of this degree happens in the general election, the validity of the presidential outcome will be seriously damaged.

Spencer Christiansen is a sophomore who has not yet declared a major. Spencer can be reached at spencer.christiansen@tufts. edu.

Opinion

tuftsdaily.com

EDITORIAL

Tiered housing threatens values of financial accessibility, inclusivity This past fall, Tufts implemented a tiered housing system for sophomores, juniors and seniors, transitioning from a flat housing rate to a range of rates that vary by type of living arrangement. According to a Tufts page announcing the new system, these changes were instituted in order to enable the university “to sustain expansion, investment, and maintenance of the University’s residential facilities.” Prior to the implementation of this system, numerous on-campus groups expressed their concern and opposition to tiered housing; the Tufts Housing League wrote a coalition statement emphasizing that tiered housing would exacerbate inequity and economic segregation, and a September 2018 editorial in the Daily highlighted concerns about financial inaccessibility. With the implementation of tiered housing this semester, its negative impacts on our community have become more apparent. Though the administration may intend to use this system to improve housing in the long term, its immediate, adverse effects on current students run counter to this goal; tiered housing imposes a great financial burden and has infused the housing process with social tensions and exclusivity. Tufts should return to a flat housing rate in order to restore values of financial accessibility and inclusivity to the housing system.

Although Tufts claims to champion accessibility and equal opportunity, the tiered housing system counteracts this goal, as it poses great challenges for Tufts’ student population that has financial need but does not receive aid from the university. While Tufts does provide financial aid based on necessity, factors used to calculate aid needed, such as family income, home value estimates and retirement information, often do not directly translate into what a family can afford to pay for college and housing costs. It does not factor in the countless nuances of a family’s experience, like a relative relying on the family’s financial support, travel costs and income spent on other necessary household resources or

student opportunities such as summer programs and internships. The factors that Tufts uses to calculate aid threaten the system’s accuracy as well: They use home equity, or the market value of a family’s home, in calculations, leading to an aid deficit for students with high home values but family incomes that warrant financial aid. Additionally, a Tufts website states that only a “fairly small and highly qualified group of international students will be offered financial aid,” indicating that the university does not provide aid for all international students in need. Further, since Tufts students often do not receive aid despite financial necessity, they must pay the added costs of living in Latin Way, Sophia Gordon Hall or other more expensive housing options, which could pose financial risk. Tufts families may also have just enough assets to pay full tuition, so additional housing fees could still threaten their financial comfort.

Unlike other students on campus, this group cannot pick and choose which dorm they will live in, given the up to almost $2000 variation in on-campus housing prices. Since financial accessibility is already a nuanced issue, instating tiered housing complicates matters, increasing the amount students must pay to live in higher-quality dorms and leading to divisions within the student body.

This financial inaccessibility threatens an invaluable part of the college experience: the ability to find a solid community and fully experience the social side of college. In an effort to reduce discord caused by choosing housing, Tufts announced modifications to the lottery system in November 2018, revealing that lottery numbers of students in a housing group would no longer be averaged to determine their selection time; instead, the highest lottery number in the group would determine selection time in order to prevent the alienation of students with lower-ranking numbers and alleviate the associated stress of this process. In many ways, tiered housing undoes much of this progress, for it creates instead means-based social isolation.

Similar to how students with lower-ranking lottery numbers were cast out of their desired housing groups, factors beyond their control within the tiered housing system inhibit students’ ability to live with friends. If an individual’s housing group plans to live in a more expensive option such as Latin Way or Hillside Apartments, limited financial means could prevent them from living alongside friends, an important part of the college experience. Thus, a clear problem arises: As many Tufts students do have this opportunity, the issue of tiered housing instantly becomes one of inclusivity, community and fairness.

This problem also applies to Greek and themed housing options, for they are priced higher within the tiered housing system. The 2020-2021 sustainability-oriented “Green House” is located in Tufts’ new Community Housing (CoHo), which means a single room costs over $1000 more than a traditional sophomore, junior and senior single and nearly $2000 more than a traditional double. Additionally, doubles in sorority, fraternity, Crafts or certain cultural houses such as Russian House cost $600 more than doubles in dorms such as Lewis Hall. For students with financial need, the additional costs of living in these specialized houses create a clear dilemma that they should not have to face: place a greater financial burden on their families or lose a unique, valuable opportunity.

Tufts must return to a flat housing rate in order to address these issues and eliminate the financial and social exclusivity that has emerged with the tiered housing system.

This action is vital in order to restore values of equal opportunity and allow students to focus on what truly matters in their college experiences: community, academic success and full engagement with all of college’s opportunities. Housing should be a vehicle that allows for this involvement, not the block in the road that inhibits it.

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Sports

Thursday, February 6, 2020 | Sports | THE TUFTS DAILY

7

Opening of new squash facilities highlighted by victory for women’s team

NICOLE GARAY / THE TUFTS DAILY

Tufts senior Catherine Shanahan prepares to return the ball during a match against Conn.

College at the Tufts Squash Center on Feb. 1.

by Delaney Tantillo Sports Editor

It was a busy weekend for the women’s squash team, who played four matches in three days, including the program’s first ever home match at the newly opened Tufts Squash Center.

Tufts played their final match of the weekend on Sunday afternoon against NESCAC opponent No. 17 Middlebury at home. The No. 19 Jumbos fell to the Panthers 7–2.

Playing in the first position for Tufts, senior co-captain Claire Davidson defeated Middlebury sophomore Ideal Dowling

in a close five-game match. Trailing Dowling 2–1 heading into the fourth game, Davidson fought back winning the fourth and fifth games 11–4 and 11–6 to defeat Dowling.

“It was really nice to play a close match at home with lots of supporters,” Davidson wrote in an email to the Daily. “My opponent was a good player that I have played many times over the years and it’s always close, but that day I had the excitement of playing on our home courts and having so many parents, friends and supporters watching, it made the difference.”

First-year Isa Schneider recorded Tufts’ only other win against Middlebury as she

defeated her opponent, junior Virginia Schaus, in a decisive three game win.

Earlier that morning, Tufts fell to No. 10 University of Virginia (UVA) 9–0.

Facing a top 10 opponent who they had not yet played this year proved a challenge for the Jumbos — they only won two games across the 10 matches. But, it was still an opportunity for individuals to gain exposure to some of the nation’s top collegiate players.

“They’re an incredibly talented team and it was really cool to be able to play at that level,” senior co-captain Catherine Shanahan wrote in an email to the Daily.

Shanahan lost 3–0 in her match against UVA first-year Maria Paula Moya.

On Saturday, Tufts faced No. 25 Conn.

College in front of an enthusiastic crowd at the Tufts Squash Center in the program’s first ever home match at the facility.

Students, families and friends poured into the new facility to watch the Jumbos’ decisive 9–0 win over the Camels.

All 10 individual matches lasted just three games in Tufts’ sweep of Conn.

College. Playing in the fourth position for the Jumbos, sophomore Megan Chen had a standout performance, giving up just eight points in her 11–3, 11–4, 11–1 victory over Conn. College junior Molly Carabatsos.

The excitement surrounding the new facility was tangible in Tufts’ performance on the court, according to Shanahan.

“I cannot express how excited and grateful I am about the opening of the Tufts Squash Center,” Shanahan wrote. “I truly never thought I would get to play a home match so the whole experience was

really surreal … the excitement definitely contributed to nerves and energy towards the match against Connecticut College so I’m glad it went well.”

Davidson echoed a similar sentiment of excitement and highlighted the simplified logistics of having on-campus facilities.

“We are all so excited about the new facility,” Davidson wrote. “After years of driving the van 25 minutes to and from practice late at night, the squash program finally has the state-of-the-art facility we deserve.”

Saturday’s exciting win came after a hard-fought loss 7–2 at No. 16 Amherst on Friday. The two wins for the Jumbos came from Chen and junior Rachel Windreich, playing in the fourth and seventh positions, respectively.

The jam-packed weekend was tiring both physically and mentally for the team, but Davidson believes it served as solid preparation for the upcoming tournaments.

“We were definitely all feeling a little tired after the weekend,” Davidson wrote.

“However, it’s important to play long weekends of tough matches because the NESCAC tournament and CSA (College Squash Association) nationals are both weekends with multiple matches and we want to get our bodies as prepared as they can be for long, tiring weekends of squash.”

Tufts will travel to Wesleyan this weekend for the three-day NESCAC Championship. The Jumbos have already faced seven of their 10 NESCAC opponents this season.

8 Thursday, February 6, 2020

Sports

New turf surface in Carzo Cage to offer health benefits, strategic advantage

Staff Writer

The Tufts Athletics Department completed the installation of a field turf surface in Carzo Cage in December, which promises to provide several teams with safer and more realistic conditions during their winter training.

“The previous surface was almost 20 years old and was long past its period of usefulness,” Director of Athletics John Morris said.

“We are very excited to have replaced it with a turf surface that provides a better space for our club and intramural programs to use, as well as gives our spring sports teams a place to practice indoors in February and March prior to the start of their seasons.”

Representatives from R.A.D. Sports finished the week-long process of laying 21,720 square feet of turf over the old synthetic track on Dec. 17, 2019. They began by covering the track, which was installed in 2002, with a padded surface in order to create a cushioned layer below the turf.

The resurfacing cost the Athletics Department $145,000 and was the result of a competitive bidding process, according to Executive Director of Media Relations Patrick Collins.

The turf installed is known as True Hop, a baseball- and softball-specific model that can also be used for other sports, which is manufactured by Shaw Sports Turf, a Georgia-based company. The surface’s infill of sand and rubber pellets is designed to prevent it from splashing into players’ faces while they field ground balls and encourages sliding, according to baseball coach John Casey.

“Our guys slid on [the old track], and I used to hold my breath,” Casey said. “Now we can [slide] with a lot more assurance that we’re probably not going to get hurt.”

Casey, who also serves as associate director of athletics, stressed the safety improvements of the new turf.

“I think it’s healthier overall when people are working out there,” he said. “For the sig-

Jeremy Goldstein The Little Londoner

On Acclimating to London

G

ANN MARIE BURKE / THE TUFTS DAILY

The Carzo Cage in the Steve Tisch Sports and Fitness Center is pictured on Feb. 5.

by Caleb Symons

tuftsdaily.com

nificant majority of people, we’re running, cutting and doing all that stuff. It’s so much better for your legs and so much more realistic, too, for the translation to go outside and on turf.”

Casey and softball coach Lauren Ebstein also identified the strategic advantages of being able to practice on turf until their seasons begin in March, if the weather permits.

“The old floor was fine … but the turf is just a better surface for us,” Ebstein said. “[It’s] a little bit more game-like, a little bit more realistic to something we would play on outside. To have that kind of indoor space, and for it to be mainly for softball and baseball, is a great advantage for our program.”

The field turf can even play too consistently, which has forced the baseball team to get creative in order to replicate the bad hops of a grass surface.

“We’ve had to modify some baseballs to work in bad bounces for our guys,” Casey said. “The advantage now is for a grass team to play on turf because there are no bad bounces, as opposed to a turf team coming to grass because they haven’t practiced bounces.”

Ebstein also noted the recruiting benefits that having a state-of-the-art turf surface offers the softball program.

“To be able to show an [indoor] turf facility, I think puts us above a lot of our NESCAC opponents … and a lot of our Div. III opponents in the area,” Ebstein said. “I think for our kids, Tufts athletics is putting so much money into our facilities, and it’s a demonstration of how the university is behind us.”

While the turf is designed for baseball and softball use, several other varsity teams, including the men’s and women’s lacrosse teams, plan to take advantage of it, as well.

But the increased demand may threaten recreational opportunities for other members of the Tufts community.

Notably, the turf installation cut the number of available basketball hoops in the university’s athletic facilities from eight to four. The remaining hoops are located in Cousens Gymnasium and Chase Intramural

Gymnasium, which are frequently occupied by club and varsity teams.

Casey rejected the notion that the new turf surface limits recreation space, explaining that the basketball hoops in Carzo Cage were typically taken down in January anyway. He added that the turf will benefit a number of physical education classes and may free up other athletic facilities for recreational use.

“I don’t think we’ve really hurt many people,” Casey said. “I think it’ll get people out of other places and therefore open up Chase [Gymnasium] more for basketball.”

Tufts’ Quidditch team, known as the Tufflepuffs, first learned of the resurfacing on social media. The team traditionally practiced in Carzo Cage in the evening, when the space was often free, but has been forced to adopt a less convenient practice time this semester, as varsity athletes are using Carzo Cage more frequently.

“We used to have our practices in the Cage from 7–9 [p.m.],” senior captain Finn McGarghan said. “Now that the Cage is full almost all of the time because of this nice new space, we practice there at 7 a.m.”

Similarly, Tufts Wilderness Orientation (TWO), which uses Carzo Cage extensively during pre-orientation, was not given advance notice of the switch to turf, according to TWO Program Coordinator senior Daniel Fier. However, the Athletics Department reassured TWO after the installation that the change would not disrupt its use of the Cage.

Despite the inconveniences it may cause, student organizations are generally excited about the resurfacing. McGarghan lauded the new turf as more suitable for the speed of Quidditch, which was hard to replicate on the old track surface.

“We were always afraid of going too fast in scrimmages [and] in drills because we didn’t want someone to stop too quickly and twist their knee or twist an ankle,” McGarghan said. “The turf allows us to actually do more game-like situations, which is really nice.”

roveling over an exhilarating final 10 minutes during the ArsenalChelsea fixture on Jan. 21 in London pub The Fountain Abbey, I suddenly found myself in the middle of Serbia.

Not literally, unfortunately, but I had indeed spiritually landed there from a tale spun by a drunken web. The spider responsible? A cheery bloke from the north donning the same newspaper flat cap that Eric Cantona wore during his eccentric Shakespearean rant during the Champions League draw. Tony, as he went by, resides naturally in Bolton, a small mill town just north of Manchester. He got riper with tales the riper his ripe lager got, and not unlike Roy Keane after yet another dismal Manchester United performance, was as animated as ever.

So as Tony spun his tale of compliantly following Serbian police guards to avoid rash and brash ultras from Red Star Belgrade for a UEFA Cup (now known as the Europa League) fixture, I slowly began to drift into the mindset of lesser-club British footballing fans. In that 2008 season, the little Wanderers from Bolton made it out of a group featuring Bayern Munich, Red Star and Braga before defeating heavyweights Atletico Madrid in the round of 32 (they would fall to Sporting Lisbon in the next round). This was his Champions Final, and thanks to Bolton’s recent financial struggles and relegation to League One domestically (England’s third tier), will likely serve as the pinnacle of his fandom.

American “soccer” fans are spoon-fed the most successful teams in England on television every morning, which, of course, goes hand-in-hand with the Premier League’s capitalistic business plan to increase the stature of England’s cemented “Big 6” internationally. (At least the Premier League equally distributes the league’s television coup across the division, which American sports leagues cannot say.) After gaining a massive interest in the sport following the 2014 World Cup, I fell victim to the same model and gained quite an interest in Liverpool. It was all quite simple: after instilling new manager Jurgen Klopp a year later, Liverpool has been resurrected and can put in a shout to reclaim its podium as the most storied club in the land.

But it wasn’t that simple to Tony, born into Bolton fandom by his region and his father’s love of the game. An Englishman I met abroad named Dunstan, who was a season ticket holder of Queens Park Rangers (QPR) for over 20 years, surely felt the same way when he told me that he “supports not for the trophies, but for the moments.”

Meanwhile, I was unable to even purchase tickets to QPR’s match against Leeds United on Jan. 18 because I could not prove to the club’s website that I was a supporter of the club (there was also a security threat because Leeds fans were buying tickets in QPR’s home end, but that’s a story for another time).

Perhaps my fandom of the game originates from hollow beginnings, but over the course of my semester studying here, I will try and right my wrongs and embrace not the Liverpools of the game, but the Boltons and QPRs (who play in England’s second-tier) of the world. Thus, I will try to break the capitalistic model.

Jeremy Goldstein is a junior studying political science and film and media studies.

Jeremy can be reached at jeremy.goldstein@tufts.edu.