The Tufts Daily - Thursday, November 1, 2018

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Students speak to CMHS’ quality of service, express frustrations with short-term care model see FEATURES / PAGE 4

WOMEN’S CROSS COUNTRY

Jumbos battle tough conditions at NESCACs

Screening tonight at Somerville Theatre: ‘The Front Runner’ illuminates rise of political scandal see WEEKENDER / PAGE 5

SEE SPORTS / BACK PAGE

THE

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T HE T UFTS DAILY

VOLUME LXXVI, ISSUE 38

tuftsdaily.com

Thursday, November 1, 2018

MEDFORD/SOMERVILLE, MASS.

CIVIC hosts debate on climate, cybersecurity, healthcare policies

ANN MARIE BURKE / THE TUFTS DAILY

Members of the Tufts Democrats, Tufts Republicans and Left Unity Project speak at a debate hosted by Tufts Cooperation and Innovation in Citizenship on Oct. 25. by Alejandra Carrillo Contributing Writer

Disclaimer: Aneurin Canham-Clyne is a columnist for the Daily. He was not involved in the writing or editing of this article.

Tufts Cooperation and Innovation in Citizenship (CIVIC) hosted a debate between campus political groups on Oct. 25 at ASEAN Auditorium. With more than 70 people in attendance, representatives from the Tufts Democrats, Tufts

Republicans and Left Unity Project debated controversial issues including energy policy and climate change, privacy and cybersecurity and healthcare. Those in participation included senior Andrew Feder and first-year Nicolas Salem of Tufts Democrats; first-years Arlen Belitsky, Keenan Rhea and junior Robert Whitehead of Tufts Republicans; and seniors Ria Mazumdar and Aneurin Canham-Clyne of the Left Unity Project. Each team was given one minute to present an opening statement. Then, three questions were asked to each team with only one minute allotted for answers. Lastly, teams had four minutes per question for a rebuttal and one minute to make a closing statement. CIVIC member Zachary Intrater, a sophomore, and CIVIC co-president Daniel Lewis, a junior, moderated the event. Brett Isaacs, co-president of CIVIC, stated that the format of this year’s debate was modeled on past experiences. “A lot of the structure is there from previous years,” Isaacs, a senior said. “So a lot of it is wrangling people together to get the teams and making sure we have the questions together on time.”

She emphasized the importance of providing a platform for students to engage in political discourse. “This debate is super valuable because it shows students’ political involvement and how even undergraduates could have a handle on the political issues today,” Isaacs said. “[It provides] students a window into different political views.” She added that in the future the club hopes to have a libertarian group participate in the event. Belitsky began the debate by addressing deficiencies in the American response to climate change. “[The U.S.] policy has been one of inaction and ignorance … we need to act now with swift action,” Belitsky said. “This includes a cap-and-trade system on carbon emissions.” Feder then responded, emphasizing the importance of the U.S. reassuming global leadership in climate change and to enact meaningful changes. Mazumdar attributed this issue partly to the power of lobbyists. “Fossil fuel lobbying has done so much that in the face of changing pubsee CIVIC DEBATE, page 2

Somerville outlines action plan for trees damaged by invasive beetle by Robert Kaplan Staff Writer

The City of Somerville’s Urban Forestry & Landscape Planner and the City Tree Warden hosted a public information session Thursday night regarding the city’s treatment plan for trees affected by the invasive, tree-killing Emerald ash borer (EAB). EAB is a species of beetle that lays eggs under the bark of ash trees. Upon hatching, the larvae burrow deeper in the tree, killing it. According to a press release about the event, there are approximately 1,000 ash trees in Somerville, which represent about eight percent of the city’s total tree population. The beetle was first discovered in Michigan in 2002 and has since been found in 35 states across the eastern United States, according to the United States Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service. According to the city’s website, EAB was first detected in Somerville in August 2018.

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Vanessa Boukili, urban forestry and landscape planner and conservation agent for the City of Somerville, explained the consequences of the city’s high concentration of ash trees. “Back in the day, making a monoculture along a street makes a really beautiful tree-lined street,” Boukili said. “It looks so even and nice, but if there are pests that attack a species or genus, it’s critical that we have a diverse canopy so we won’t lose all of the trees in an area all at once.” Boukili described the city’s response to the presence of EAB at the information session. “We’re monitoring trees around the city for [EAB] presence and population density, and we’re treating all of our healthy trees,” Boukili said. Somerville has begun laying traps to catch and kill the beetles, Boukili said. “We check them regularly to see if we captured any, but we’ve only found one this season,” Boukili said. “It was on the see EAB, page 2

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The Emerald ash borer is pictured on a leaf on May 23, 2016.

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NEWS............................................1 FEATURES.................................4 WEEKENDER..........................5

FUN & GAMES......................... 7 OPINION.....................................8 SPORTS............................ BACK


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