The Tufts Daily - Thursday, February 13, 2020

CLUB SPORTS

Analyzing the accuracy of a certain “National Treasure” see ARTS&LIVING / PAGE 4

With newfound club status, Club Cricket looks to continue

Editorial: Inequitable health accommodations harm student outcomes see OPINION / PAGE 7

SEE SPORTS / BACK PAGE

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VOLUME LXXIX, ISSUE 14

Thursday, February 13, 2020

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TCA rallies, petitions for divestment from fossil fuel industry

Students mobilize in New Hampshire for Sanders, Buttigieg, Warren

CONNOR DALE / THE TUFTS DAILY

Tufts Climate Action gathers in front of Mayer Campus Center to advocate for fossil fuel divestment on Feb. 12.

by Connor Dale News Editor

Members of Tufts Climate Action (TCA) rallied yesterday ahead of today’s day of action by activists from over 50 colleges across the U.S. to demand that their universities divest their endowments from the fossil fuel industry.

TCA activists gathered outside of the Mayer Campus Center during open block.

As members of Bangin’ Everything At Tufts (BEATs) drummed on plastic pails, TCA members Celia Bottger and James Morse, a senior and a first-year, energized a small crowd of students and passersby, leading them in chants which called on Tufts to divest from its fossil fuel investments.

The activists then marched throughout the Campus Center with drummers from Tufts BEATs in tow, disrupting lunching students and continuing their chants.

“We want divestment, we want climate justice, and we want it now,” Bottger said.

At the same time, other TCA members canvassed the Campus Center, circulating a petition in which students could demonstrate their support for divestment with the additional option of indicating that they would not donate to Tufts until it divests from fossil fuels. According to TCA member Hanna Carr, a senior, the activists plan on sending the signatures to University

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President Anthony Monaco, Executive Vice President Mike Howard and the Board of Trustees.

The nationwide day of action was coordinated by Divest Ed, a national training and strategy hub for student fossil fuel divestment campaigns. According to Divest Ed’s website, the “Fossil Fuel Divestment Day” marks the beginning of a mass escalation for the divestment movement throughout 2020.

According to TCA member Maddy Tennant, yesterday’s rally on campus was not only meant to express solidarity with the nationwide collegiate divestment movement, but also to continue to exert pressure on the university as it begins the process of reviewing its own investments in the fossil fuel industry.

“We’re using this action to get students as involved as possible in making the Tufts administration realize that this whole campus cares about divestment and that it is really time to get the process going,” Tennant, a sophomore, said.

Tufts decided last month to convene an investment advisory committee that will review the university’s investments in the fossil fuel industry and advise the Board of Trustees’ Investment Committee on its findings. see DIVESTMENT, page 2 For breaking news, our content archive and exclusive content, visit tuftsdaily.com @tuftsdaily

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Disclaimer: Hannah Kahn is a former executive audio producer at the Daily.

Hannah was not involved in the writing or editing of this article.

Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders won the New Hampshire primary election on Tuesday with 25.7% of the vote, followed closely by former Mayor Pete Buttigieg of South Bend, Ind. with 24.4% of the vote.

Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar outperformed expectations, coming in third at 19.8%, while Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren and former Vice President Joe Biden faltered, winning 9.2% and 8.4% of the vote, respectively.

“We definitely are all very excited.

Kicking off with two wins has really shown us that we have the momentum going into both South Carolina and Nevada, and then later, on March 3, states including Massachusetts,” firstyear Anthony Davis-Pait said, who helped found Tufts for Bernie last semester and remains involved in the leadership of the organization.

Ben Cooper, a senior and the campus team coordinator for Tufts for Pete, reflected on their candidate’s performance in the New Hampshire primary election.

“I think it was a really strong finish for Pete. Definitely something that the campaign needed to move forward into the early states that will spread the message nationally. Overall, very excited to move forward,” Cooper said.

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New Hampshire was the first primary election, which followed the Iowa caucuses last week that similarly ended with Buttigieg and Sanders on top. In Iowa, Buttigieg received 26.2% of the votes and Sanders got 26.1%.

In Iowa, however, Warren followed more closely behind Sanders and Buttigieg with 18% of the vote.

“In New Hampshire and in Iowa, it’s not what we were hoping for, but it is what it is,” co-president of Tufts for Warren and first-year Amanda Westlake said.

Westlake leads Tufts for Warren along with Hannah Kahn, a senior. Despite the loss in New Hampshire, Tufts for Warren remains hopeful.

“There’re still a lot of delegates left and there’s still Super Tuesday left. There’s a lot of time left in the race,” Westlake said.

Tufts for Warren, Tufts for Bernie and Tufts for Pete have been working to mobilize Tufts students in addition to organizing with the campaigns directly.

“The goal of the club is mostly, I think, to get people into New Hampshire, because it was the closest place we could really volunteer as Tufts students,” Cooper said.

Westlake echoed Cooper with similar action from Tufts for Warren.

“We do tabling in the [Mayer Campus Center] to try to get new members and we also got up to New Hampshire. We’ve

see NEW HAMPSHIRE, page 2

ANTHONY DAVIS-PAIT / THE TUFTS DAILY

The Tufts for Bernie student group is pictured watching the results come in for the New Hampshire democratic primary in the Olin Center on Feb. 11.

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THE TUFTS DAILY | News | Thursday, February 13, 2020

THE TUFTS DAILY Ryan Shaffer Editor in Chief

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as some of Tufts’ peer institutions have already made public commitments to fully divest their endowments from fossil fuels.

Just last week, Georgetown University

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A banner hangs in the Mayer Campus Center as Tufts Climate Action advocates for fossil fuel divestment on Feb. 12.

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announced that it will fully divest from the public and private investments it has made in the fossil fuel industry within the next decade. Georgetown will also discontinue any new investments in fossil fuel companies and prepare to invest in renewable energy and related fields, according to the university’s new policy.

TCA member Violet McCabe pointed to the fact that Georgetown and Tufts have similarly-sized endowments as a reason for the university to commit to divestment.

As of 2019, Georgetown’s financial endowment was approximately $1.9 billion, while Tufts’ was around $1.87 billion.

Accordingly, McCabe, a sophomore, hopes that Georgetown’s decision to divest will not only signal to the administration that divestment is a financially feasible option, but also exert pressure on Tufts as it competes with one of its peer institutions to attract students.

“Tufts prides itself as a liberal arts school with a progressive student body, and the fact that they still have around 2% of their endowment invested in fossil fuels kind of ruins that image, especially after a more conservative university like Georgetown divests,” McCabe said. “Fossil fuels are on the way out — it genuinely makes sense to invest in the future.”

Student organizers to focus on MA ahead of March 3 primary NEW HAMPSHIRE

continued from page 1

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CONNOR DALE / THE TUFTS DAILY

Members of Tufts Climate Action and Tufts BEATs march with drums and petitions through the Mayer Campus Center on Feb. 12.

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The decision to activate the Responsible Investment Advisory Group (RIAG), which the Board of Trustees voted to establish in November 2019, came on the heels of nearly seven years of student activism on the issue as well as a formal proposal submitted by members of TCA encouraging Tufts to join more than half a dozen of its peer institutions in divesting its endowment from fossil fuels.

The administration is currently undergoing the process of identifying committee members for the RIAG. It will be ultimately composed of three trustees appointed by the Board, Tufts’ chief investment officer, the vice president of finance or their representatives, as well as two students and two faculty members appointed by the provost, according to the Board’s policies.

The convening of the RIAG and TCA’s Fossil Fuel Divestment Day action comes

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been calling Iowa and New Hampshire,” Westlake said.

Cooper spent time canvassing in New Hampshire with other members of Tufts for Pete.

“I had never done that before, but it was really interesting to go out and talk to people. Definitely a lot of undecided voters,” Cooper said. “Overall it was a great experience. I think it’s really good to be able to get out and actually speak with people.”

Davis-Pait expanded on how powerful canvassing can be.

“We’ve really heavily been pushing going up to New Hampshire every weekend. The campaign has been renting us buses, so we’ve been going on trips like that. Three last semester and one this

semester, those were super awesome,” Davis-Pait said.

Davis-Pait said that he noticed a clear shift among voters. They were generally undecided in the beginning, but by the most recent canvassing trips they had narrowed their preferences to two candidates and wanted to hear more from canvassers for Sanders to help with their decision. The Tufts for Bernie canvassing efforts contributed to that, according to Davis-Pait.

The Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE) housed at the Jonathan M. Tisch College of Civic Life found that young people had a “decisive influence on the 2020 New Hampshire Democratic primary,” according to their analysis released yesterday.

Of the 19% of eligible 18–29 year old voters that voted, who made up 14% of the

primary electorate, 51% voted for Sanders.

20% voted for Buttigieg, with only 6% choosing Warren as their candidate.

The three Tufts groups are turning toward action in Massachusetts, which has its presidential primary election on March 3, Super Tuesday.

“After New Hampshire, we’re hoping to do more around Massachusetts, and prep for Super Tuesday as well,” Cooper said.

Similarly, Tufts for Bernie will be honing in on organizing in Massachusetts.

“We are leading canvasses every Saturday and Sunday and some weekdays as well. We have a headquarters here in West Somerville,” Davis-Pait said. “As of right now, it’s all volunteer-led, so a lot of our leaders are going to be leading those canvasses.”

Police Briefs – Week of Feb. 10 Executive Online Editor Executive Social Media Editors Outreach Coordinators

BUSINESS Jonah Zwillinger Executive Business Director

by Renner Kwittken Assistant News Editor

Constant caller On Feb. 7, around 1:30 p.m., a student reported that for the last two days, they had been receiving numerous calls from a number without a caller ID. The content of the calls were

not reported. The student reported on Feb. 8 that the calls were still ongoing and persistent. TUPD recommended keeping a call log and contacting them if any threats are made, or with any other contents of the call.

Parked perils On Feb. 11, an employee who had parked a truck in the facilities lot

the previous day arrived to work and noticed a substantial dent and scratch on the passenger side of the vehicle. The facility worker reported the damage to their supervisor, who then informed TUPD. Food fire alarm count This week, TUPD responded to two fire alarms caused by cooking accidents.

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Features

In deep-blue Somerville, it’s a race between Sanders, Warren

3 Thursday, February 13, 2020

Aadhya Shivakumar What's next

Censuring the president?

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ALEXANDER THOMPSON / THE TUFTS DAILY

Supporters of Mass. Senator Elizabeth Warren’s presidential bid are pictured on Feb. 11 (right). Supporters of Vt. Senator Bernie Sanders’ presidential campaign are pictured on Feb. 11 (left).

by Alexander Thompson Contributing Writer

Some 20 people were crammed into Colin Peterson’s modest second-story apartment in the Spring Hill neighborhood of Somerville around 9:30 a.m. last Saturday morning.

The crowd turned out on a bright but chilly weekend morning to carpool up to New Hampshire to canvas for Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders’ presidential campaign three days before voters began casting ballots in the state’s all-important primary.

Peterson, who works in higher education, has been organizing in Somerville for Sanders for a month now and quickly listed his reasons for supporting the senator.

“I think he’d be a socially revolutionary president. I think he’s the best person to beat Trump. I think that he addresses longstanding problems that people don’t want to acknowledge in our society,” Peterson said.

The canvassers paused on Peterson’s porch for a group photo before piling into cars for the two-hour drive to the Commonwealth’s northern neighbor. As they smiled on the porch with a pair of Sanders’ campaign signs, a passing driver shouted “Elizabeth Warren for president” out his window.

“We like her too,” someone in the group shouted back.

In Somerville, the crowded 2020 Democratic presidential primary seems more like a two-horse race between the race’s two most progressive candidates, Sanders and Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren.

Both senators are the only ones in Somerville with well-organized groups of supporters who coordinate dozens of events each month in the run-up to the Commonwealth’s March 3 Super Tuesday primary.

Warren and Sanders also dominate the money race in Somerville, according to data from the Center for Responsive Politics, a Washington D.C. based transparency non-profit. Warren has raised $205,230 from the city during the 2020 cycle followed by Sanders with $117,031 raised. Former South Bend, Ind. Mayor Pete Buttigieg trails at third with less than half of Sanders’ haul.

At Tufts, Sanders and Warren are some of the only candidates with dedicated student groups. Warren has also garnered the vast majority of donations from Tufts affiliates, a Daily investigation found last year.

The dynamics in Somerville epitomize the duel between the two candidates trying to

stake out their claim as the standard bearer for the left-wing of the Democratic Party.

Energized activists and politicians on both sides of that divide have been working for months to win over their friends and neighbors in this city that could play a large part in either campaign.

On Tuesday morning as the first ballots were being cast in New Hampshire, more than a dozen Warren supporters assembled outside Porter Square Books just over the Somerville line in Cambridge to carpool north and turn out votes for Warren.

Somerville resident Pamela Blittersdorf has been making the trek every weekend for months. She attended Warren’s campaign launch nearly a year ago in Lawrence, Mass., but says that she supported Warren’s bid for the presidency long before that.

“She’s smart. She’s capable. She’s anti-corruption,” Blittersdorf said.

Despite the strong feelings from their supporters, both Sanders and Warren share many of the same policy positions, according to Brian Schaffner, the Newhouse Professor of Civic Studies at Tufts.

“There’s not that much daylight between them on most issues. I think it’s more about rhetoric when it comes to those issues,” Schaffner said.

Schaffner highlights that Sanders proudly labels himself a democratic socialist while Warren promotes “accountable capitalism.”

This semantic rift points to an underlying difference in the way the candidates are perceived to approach the issues on which the two find so much agreement. Warren is regarded as more willing to work within the system to get her policies passed while Sanders advocates for overturning that system in a “political revolution,” according to Schaffner.

That is exactly the kind of thinking that brought Zachary Gabor around to supporting Vermont Senator Sanders after supporting Hillary Clinton in the 2016 primary.

“I’m out here for Bernie, and I never would have been out here four years ago,” he said at the carpool meet-up on Saturday. “I never would have been out here for another candidate because of the way [Sanders] thinks political change happens.”

Warren just cannot match Sanders’ political vision for the country, said Gabor, a graduate student who lives in Somerville.

But Sanders’ ambitious political vision, which has attracted some voters like Gabor, repels others, Schaffner said.

“People who are turned off by Sanders are turned off by that kind of thinking about politics in this wistful way that they don’t necessarily buy as realistic,” Schaffner said.

Standing in the rain and cold waiting to get in the car to New Hampshire, another Warren supporter, Anne Haggerty, said that her choice of Warren over Sanders came down to who could better turn their bold rhetoric into reality.

“Nothing’s going to get done in Washington if we don’t accept that we have to compromise, and I think that she’s the most willing to face that and do that,” Haggerty, a Medford resident, said.

Somerville’s political class is just as divided between Sanders and Warren as the voters they represent.

Ayanna Pressley, who represents Somerville in the House of Representatives, is a national co-chair of Warren’s campaign.

Somerville Mayor Joseph Curtatone was up in New Hampshire two weeks ago campaigning for her.

However, State Representative Mike Connolly supports Sanders.

Schaffner is dismissive of the effect local endorsements can have on votes, as most people who know whom their local representatives are voting for have already made up their minds. However, local endorsements can help mobilize volunteers for candidates.

One thing that local endorsements cannot change at this point is the campaigns’ momentum, Schaffner explained — which, after Warren’s fourth-place finish in New Hampshire Tuesday night, has shifted sharply in Sanders’ favor.

According to Schaffner, Warren must beat Sanders in places like Somerville to have a shot at the nomination.

“If she can’t beat him in Massachusetts handily, I think she’s in big trouble,” Schaffner said.

Another challenge for Warren is Sanders’ previous strong performances in Somerville. In the primary four years ago, Sanders beat Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton by 15 points in the city even while losing in neighboring Cambridge, Medford and Boston.

Blittersdorf said she knows plenty of people in her city will end up choosing Sanders over Warren, but she is not worried.

“All any of us can do is support the candidate we support and see what happens,” Blittersdorf said.

uring the impeachment trial in the U.S. Senate, Democratic Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia suggested a different method of holding the president accountable: a censure, or a “formal statement of disapproval.”

Sen. Manchin said he felt a “bipartisan majority of this body would vote to censure President Trump,” as opposed to voting to remove him, which would require 67 votes in the Senate. “Censure would allow this body to unite across party lines and as an equal branch of government to formally denounce the president’s actions and hold him accountable,” Sen. Manchin said in his remarks on the Senate floor last Monday.

The only president to have been censured is Andrew Jackson, who had the censure expunged in 1837. There is, therefore, no data on how a censure could affect public opinion or Trump’s re-election campaign. The closest thing we have is season 3, episode 10 of “The West Wing,” (1999– 2006), titled “H. Con-172″ (2002).

President Bartlet (Martin Sheen) reveals publicly in season 2 that he has relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis. His failure to disclose this illness earlier leads to an investigation by Congress. In the episode “H. Con-172,” the Congressional Oversight Committee offers to end its investigation of Bartlet’s concealment of his illness in exchange for a joint congressional censure — House Concurrent Resolution 172, or H. Con-172. Bartlet’s Chief of Staff Leo McGarry (John Spencer) wants to reject the offer. His arguments include the fact that a censure would be a huge blow to Bartlet’s re-election campaign and would also affect many House Democrats in tight races, but Bartlet makes an important point: PRESIDENT BARTLET: “I was wrong. I was, I was just … I was wrong. Come on, we know that. Lots of times we don’t know what right or wrong is, but lots of times we do, and come on, this is one. I may not have had sinister intent at the outset, but there were plenty of opportunities for me to make it right. No one in government takes responsibility for anything anymore.

We foster, we obfuscate, we rationalize.

‘Everybody does it.’ That’s what we say.

So we come to occupy a moral safe house where everyone’s to blame so no one’s guilty. I’m to blame. I was wrong.”

Although the idea of Congress censuring a president in his first term does make this 18-year-old episode of television relevant, it’s hard to imagine a less Trumplike response than that of Bartlet, who goes on to accept the House’s censure.

Since Senator Manchin’s vote in favor of impeachment, Trump has attacked him on Twitter several times, calling him a puppet in the “Impeachment Hoax.” Trump being willing to admit his wrongdoings seems about as likely as an actual censure, which senators from both parties have called “a non-starter,” according to CNN. In “The West Wing,” Bartlet is re-elected to a second term despite the MS scandal and his censure. Only time — 263 days, to be precise — will tell how Trump’s many scandals affect his re-election efforts.

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

4 Thursday, February 13, 2020

ARTS&LIVING

Debunking ‘National Treasure’ through the eyes of an archivist

by Megan Szostak and Sam Heyman Assistant Arts Editors

Rumors have recently been circulating surrounding the release of a third film in Disney’s “National Treasure” (2004–2007) series after The Hollywood Reporter wrote that writer Chris Bremner had begun work on a script for “National Treasure 3.” The prospective new release traces its roots back to Disney’s 2004 film “National Treasure” starring Nicolas Cage, in which protagonist Ben Gates (Cage) undertakes an epic quest in search of the treasure of the Knights Templar which, according to a cryptic message passed down through his family for generations, lies hidden in the United States.

Gates, along with tech-savvy sidekick Riley Poole (Justin Bartha) and obligatory love-interest Dr. Abigail Chase (Diane Kruger) races against gluttonous treasure hunter Ian Howe (Sean Bean) and the FBI to steal the Declaration of Independence, which Gates believes is encrypted with an invisible map revealing the treasure’s location to whoever is clever enough to crack it.

As these two parties race to the finish line, the Declaration itself plays an integral role in the action. Its value is immeasurable and multifarious: both an instrument and a symbol, it’s at once a clue, a bargaining chip and a precious national heirloom. The struggle for possession of the Declaration lands the document in a slew of remarkably precarious situations.

For starters, the Declaration is shot at multiple times with a gun. Additionally, the original manuscript of the philosophical scripture of American liberty suffers treatment analogous to the daily routine of a stereotypical young adult female: anointment with essential oils (lemon juice), a bout with a blow dryer and a trip to Urban Outfitters. The horror endured by the 243-year-old piece of parchment prompts important questions: could the Declaration of Independence actually take such a beating?

Incredibly, in the 15 years since the film was released, it seems that no one has undertaken an answer to this question. That ends today.

Cage wouldn’t be the first person to manhandle this pioneering treatise of liberty; the Declaration of Independence is actually in such poor condition that it’s practically illegible. It owes its sorry state in part to the vicissitudes of history. From the day it was drafted on July 4, 1776, the Declaration was constantly on the move. According to the National Archives, it would have been touched, rolled, unrolled and compressed countless times during our nation’s infancy, which “took its toll on the ink and on the parchment surface through abrasion and flexing.” It finally settled down in Washington, D.C. after the War of 1812, but before long a new threat emerged: mass-market publishing.

As early as 1817, widespread demand for copies of the Declaration left the document in disrepair. The prevailing method at the time was to make “press copies,” which involved pressing a damp cloth onto a manuscript to remove some of the ink from the original, and then using the freshly inked cloth to make copies — think along the lines of placing Silly Putty on a newspaper.

It is unknown whether this buckwild procedure was ever performed on the Declaration of Independence, but it would explain the rapid degradation of the document less than a century after it was penned.

In 1841, the Declaration was hung in a new building — today the home of the National Portrait Gallery — at the behest of Secretary of State Daniel Webster, where it remained for the next 35 years. After more than three decades of direct exposure to sunlight, humidity and temperature fluctuations, people began to remark on the sorry state of the document. One commentator in the Historical Magazine in October 1870 warned that “[t]he original manuscript of the Declaration of Independence … [is] rapidly fading out so that in a few years, only the

naked parchment will remain. Already, nearly all the signatures attached to the Declaration of Independence are entirely effaced.” These and other scathing remarks finally moved government officials to prioritize the document’s conservation. After 1921, the Declaration was kept in the Library of Congress before moving in 1952 to its current home at the National Archives. Today, it is displayed in an aluminum and titanium case filled with argon gas, which maintains a relative humidity of 40% and a fixed temperature of 67 degrees Fahrenheit.

As far as “National Treasure” is concerned, history could only get us so far, so we decided to do some research of our own. In watching the original “National Treasure” and cataloging every tribulation to which the document is subjected, four classes of misconduct directed towards the Declaration of Independence emerged: impact, contact, exposure and storage-related crimes. From there we brought the results to the Tufts Digital Collections and Archives office in Tisch Library, where Collections Management Archivist Adrienne Pruitt helped us to sort out the fears from the fiction. We also contacted Christopher Barbour, the library’s curator of rare books and humanities collections librarian.

Both had a lot to say about the film’s dubious archival practice.

Surprisingly, the myriad forms of vigorous jostling the document experiences — including but not limited to being shot at three times in its case with a handgun — don’t represent the most serious threat to the Declaration in “National Treasure.”

“General movement of the document isn’t so much of an issue — we carefully move our documents into the reading room for researcher[s to] use all the time,” Pruitt wrote in an email to the Daily. “Worse than jostling or high-speed chases or even being thrown into the street would be rolling and unrolling of the document.”

When storing parchment documents, consistency is key. The more inconsistent the position of a document relative to itself, the more likely the parchment is to be damaged. That being the case, when the treasure-hunters unfurl the Declaration in Independence Hall, they don’t realize they’re repeating history in more ways than one.

“It was the rolling, unrolling, and folding of the document that led to much of the original damage, visible as early as the 1820s,” Pruitt wrote.

Barbour added in an email to the Daily that while the parchment could likely survive careful rolling, the “protective” plastic film in which it is carried throughout the movie actually does more harm than good.

“Parchment is a durable material, and a document normally kept in sound, archival conditions probably could survive being rolled in a tube, if not tightly,” he wrote. “However, only a very high class of thief could be expected to employ a plastic enclosure of archival rating appropriate for the material to be stolen, acquired from a recognized dealer of conservation supplies. I fear that most thieves would resort to ordinary food-grade plastic wrap, (awful stuff, destructive to documents of any kind), or something from the hardware store.”

Ben Gates may not be your average cat burglar, but you wouldn’t know it from the plastic film he uses, which looks like he grabbed it off the floor of Michael’s Arts & Crafts.

Hidden danger also lurks in the air itself. “[R]emoving [a document] from a climate-controlled environment and then subjecting it to further mechanical stresses would cause much further damage” than frequent motion, Pruitt said. Much of this danger owes to the delicate constitution of the parchment itself. “[P]archment documents are complex objects; there is the writing support — the parchment itself, which varies in quality, and through such variation may react differently to changes in conditions; also ink, often pigments, and

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VIA IMDB

A promotional poster for “National Treasure” (2004) is pictured. possibly seals,” Barbour wrote. “An ideal relative humidity for storage strikes a balance good for all these materials, in order to maintain the strength and flexibility of the document.”

Considering the different climates to which the Declaration was exposed in “National Treasure,” it is safe to say that the parchment would not have been left unharmed.

Complex considerations aside, however, Barbour emphasized that “in every case, stability of conditions is a good thing, and variation is bad.” Pruitt added that “[c]limate-controlled environments are very important for archival documents, because fluctuations lead to actual changes in the dimensions of the materials, and too much of that leads to degradation.”

Had the film’s so-called historians done their research, they would have felt this concern acutely. Popular Mechanics reports that conservationists of the Declaration realized in the 1940s that the fluctuating humidity of Washington, D.C. had created tears at the edges of the document, which grew over time. In the wake of this realization, “exposure to air suddenly became public enemy number one.” Indeed, exposure to open air can cause severe damage to parchment in just moments.

“A sheet of parchment can curl within minutes in a warm, dry room,” Barbour wrote.

Conversely, “[e]xposure to air that is too moist opens the door to biological attack, by mold and other agents; this can happen quickly,” Barbour wrote.

In light of this, carrying the Declaration into a labyrinth of underground catacombs probably wasn’t a good idea.

Of course, that’s not the only kind of exposure threat faced by the Declaration. In an attempt to reveal a hidden message on the back of the document, Gates and Dr. Chase douse the back of the parchment in lemon juice, and then proceed to heat the parchment first with their breath and then with a hair dryer.

“Aside from the fact that their chemistry regarding invisible inks is highly questionable, obviously exposing parchment to an acid like lemon juice and then to heat is an extremely bad idea that would make the parchment even more brittle,” Pruitt wrote.

This painful scene essentially amounts to a production misstep: the Declaration appears unharmed after this act of archival sacrilege.

Cage and company make yet another mistake in the film — two times over. When first removing the Declaration from its case and once more while accosting it with citrus, the Declaration is handled with gloves. Pruitt made it clear that gloves are a no-go when handling a document like the Declaration.

“Touching parchment with clean, bare hands is actually the preferred method,” Pruitt wrote.

“Wearing gloves — especially cotton gloves — can worsen dexterity and removes your ability to feel what kind of shape the material is in. You might accidentally use too much force because you can’t feel the page accurately and accidentally tear it, or you might drop a book because the gloves make you clumsy. Gloves also easily transfer dirt.”

So dire is this transgression that it’s painful for experts to witness.

“I promise you, every archivist who watched them handle the document with white gloves winced internally,” wrote Pruitt.

According to Pruitt, The Library of Congress recommends glove-free hands for handling parchment. Even when the treasure-seekers abstain from wearing gloves, they are not off the hook in the eyes of an archivist; natural oils and dirt accumulate on hands, and not once did a character perform the sacred art of ablution.

We thought our notes had covered everything, but Pruitt observed yet another way in which the film’s archival practice defies reality. “[O]ne of the more unrealistic aspects [of the movie] was the depiction of a young woman as the Archivist of the United States: although we’ve had two acting Archivists who were women, the permanent Archivists of the United States have all been older white men,” Pruitt wrote.

It is fair to say that although “National Treasure” tells an exciting story with just the right amount of fantastical fiction, the unrealistic portrayal of historical artifacts pushes the plot over the edge from believable fiction to pure fantasy.

Disney: next time, talk to an archivist.

Thursday, February 13, 2020 | Arts & Living | THE TUFTS DAILY

tuftsdaily.com

Fulkerson presents novel system in Granoff Colloquium series

NICHOLAS PFOSI / TUFTS DAILY ARCHIVES

The Granoff Music Center is pictured on on May 7, 2014.

by Megan Szostak Assistant Arts Editor

Although only here for a short time while Tufts Musicology Professor Melinda Latour-O’Brien is on sabbatical, Dr. Jessica Fulkerson is making good use of her time at Tufts. After teaching Intro to Western Music last semester, Dr. Fulkerson currently teaches Sound and Structure II and a seminar on medieval harmony. Fulkerson is an expert in medieval music and hopes to bring more visibility to the field.

“I think that with most undergraduate educations there is a strong focus on the common practice era, and I think that’s great for a lot of reasons, but because we are limited by the number of hours, classes and years that students are here, some of the other stuff gets put on the back burner,” Fulkerson said.

Fulkerson earned Bachelor’s degrees in flute performance and music theory from Texas Christian University (TCU) and went on to receive a Master’s in music theory from TCU shortly after. She received a Ph.D. in Musicology-Analysis (Theory) from Brandeis University, where she went on to act as a teaching fellow and writing seminar instructor.

Her dissertation topic, as well as the topic of her lecture on Feb. 10 which kicked off the semester’s Granoff Music Center Colloquium series, was on a revised system of notation for traditional diatonic set theory — a method of harmonic analysis — and its applications to medieval polyphony, or music with multiple distinct lines. The talk, wittingly named “O V, Where Art Thou? A New Approach to Diatonic Set Theory,” surveyed her original system of intervallic analysis for polyphonic music and its application to several specific polyphonic works of the 13th century.

Fulkerson’s system puts a new spin on what is known as arithmetic modulo seven (mod seven) set theory through the incorporation of symbols that give analysts more information about a particular harmony.

Fulkerson believes that traditional mod seven set theory is oversimplified, because the same set can be used to represent a variety of harmonies; her theory incorporates symbols to differentiate analogous but not identical patterns in music.

Fulkerson then put her system to work through the analysis of two works of 13th century tripla by Pérotin, a French composer and teacher who was integral in the shift from plainchant (music with just one melodic line and no supporting harmony) to the polyphonic music that set a precedent for music of the post-medieval world. To aid in her presentation of the set theory analysis, Fulkerson used graphs to map occurrences of dissonance and consonance in Pérotin’s works. Fulkerson admitted that dissonance is difficult to quantify and represent graphically, so she created a system that assigned different levels of dissonance to different sets from her modified system, where certain sets are inherently more dissonant than others due to their intervallic content.

One question that arose in the lecture from audience members was that of historical versus anachronic listening.

According to Fulkerson, there is a debate among scholars of medieval music regarding the appropriate way to listen to and analyze early music; some scholars prefer to adhere to the treatises and what was the common practice at the time, while others prefer to listen to and analyze music with a modern ear. Although there are arguments for both sides, Fulkerson falls into the group supporting an anachronic analysis

of music over a historical one — though this is not meant to say she abandons the historical approach to medieval harmonic analysis entirely. Through looking at treatises contemporary to the compositions of Pérotin that were central to her lecture and specifically a treatise produced

by Johannes de Garlandia, a 13th-14th century French music theorist, Fulkerson was able to check her classifications of dissonance against a medieval listener’s ear. Garlandia classified intervals based on their relative levels of dissonance in a similar way to Fulkerson, and when each dissonance classification was implemented in the analysis, the results were nearly identical. While it is impossible to know what a medieval listener would find dissonant because “they are all dead” as stated

by Fulkerson in her presentation, checking modern classifications of dissonance against treatises contemporary to the works of interest appeases those on the “historical listening” side of the debate.

Fulkerson hopes that students are inspired and encouraged by her strides in music theory.

“I am really excited for this opportunity for the colloquium,” Fulkerson said, “because I hope that students, especially undergrad students, can see what work is being done, not only in medieval sonority analysis, but also… that you can come up with your own stuff.”

Dr. Fulkerson will be presenting her new approach to diatonic set theory in several regional music theory conferences in the coming months. The Granoff Music Center Colloquium series will continue on March 9 with a lecture by Evergreen State College Professor of Music Sean Williams entitled “Irishness, Celtic Culture and Magical Whiteness in the 21st Century.”

Colette Smith Madison Lehan Love It or Haute It

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5

Loafers

ith the temperatures rising and Punxsutawney Phil not seeing his shadow this year, we decided to review a warmer weather footwear trend that we expect to see more frequently this coming spring: loafers. Loafers are obviously a classic — one might even say the most classic — shoe. However, the way in which they are worn has expanded greatly these past few years. It is no longer just for history professors, lawyers and business professionals, it is for everyone. So, why not college-aged students?

Coco: Loafers seem to be part of a larger shift of more traditionally masculine and often business-inspired fashion into women’s daily casual outfits. Popularized by celebrities after the trend was featured on many runways, the more masculine silhouettes and accessories have leaked more and more to the mainstream. And I have to say, I am here for this trend — specifically the loafers. When I wear them, I feel like I belong in a cozy café in some artsy city, like Paris, latte in one hand and thick, vintage book in the other. Unfortunately, instead of Paris though, I am sitting in the campus center drinking Rez coffee. I mean yeah, it’s not the same and definitely not as good but at least the loafers give me a small escape from this monotonous reality we call life! Anyway, loafers are truly the move. Besides the way they make you feel, they can take the basic sweater-and-jeans look to a new level.

Add the loafers and suddenly you look like you just emerged from a stack of books (like maybe Joe Goldberg but not?) They are also very versatile: from class, to going out to dinner, to events that require business casual, loafers are a great option. So in conclusion, purchase some loafers and wear them to the Career Fair this Friday.

Beans: If masculine silhouettes have only just recently been leaking into the mainstream, call me Anna Wintour. “Masculine silhouettes,” in other words, my brothers’ hand-medown boxers and oversized wrestling sweatshirts, have been a staple of my wardrobe since the first grade. I showed up to my first day of school in a pair of basketball shorts and a sweater vest. The jury is still out on why my mom was surprised when I came out to her, but I digress. Despite my history with this type of fashion, I have never seen an outfit made better by a loafer.

Truthfully, the only person I know of who wears loafers is my grandma’s boyfriend, Herb. Herb likes to sail. Herb also likes to golf. Herb’s loafers offer the very specific look of “I used to be an orthodontist but now I like boats and the Florida Keys.” The way I see it, unless you’re comfortably retired, living out your days with a beautiful woman named Sharon, it’s best you leave the loafers at home. Maybe instead wear a tasteful pair of dress shoes to the Career Fair.

When life throws you a financial challenge, you’ve proven you have what it takes to ace it.

Now it’s time to tackle your retirement savings at AceYourRetirement.org

Colette Smith is a sophomore who has not yet declared a major. She 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.

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THE TUFTS DAILY | Comics | Thursday, February 13, 2020

F &G FUN & GAMES

tuftsdaily.com LATE NIGHT AT THE DAILY

Rebecca: “I feel like if I tell people I live in Maryland, they’ll just ask me ‘How are the crabs?’”

SUDOKU

LINDA C. BLACK ASTROLOGY

Aquarius (Jan. 20–Feb. 18)

A professional goal is within sight. Focus and winning is a distinct possibility. Get your team on your side. Prepare for a test.

Difficulty Level: Using the gym at 1 p.m.

Wednesday’s Solutions

CROSSWORD CORRECTION A previous version of the article “Somerville zoning overhaul establishes housing, environmental standards for new development” misattributed a comment made by Dan Bartman. The article stated that Rocco DiRico said that Tufts must comply with Somerville’s LEED requirements, when in fact Bartman said it. The article has been updated to reflect this change. The Daily regrets this error.

tuftsdaily.com

Opinion

7

Thursday, February 13, 2020

Spencer Christiansen 2020 vision

EDITORIAL

Tufts must value student wellbeing by revising health Candidates battle in accommodations system

New Hampshire after Iowa uncertainty

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CARTOON BY ANNABEL Being a college student entails living in close-quarters, experiencing much stress and often getting less-than-ideal amounts of sleep. These characteristics of university life lead waves of sickness to move through campuses, often causing students to miss classes in order to recover. Although perhaps it is reasonable for professors to expect students to make up work missed during short absences, longer absences due to more severe, prolonged illnesses require different accommodations that Tufts does not adequately provide. Its current exemption system unfairly places the burden on students, for they must advocate for themselves and actively seek accommodations while they should be recovering: Tufts must revamp this system to value student wellness above the convenience of the university’s administration and professors.

Inconsistent policy plagues the current process for acquiring accommodations. The general policy for student accommodations states that “students are expected to negotiate any adjustments directly” with their professor. As such, accommodation protocol is not uniformly honored across various departments and courses but rather professors often make unilateral and course-specific decisions about accommodations for coursework. Such policies seem to favor the busy schedules of professors at the expense of students who, as a

result, face difficulty when rescheduling exams or making up coursework. Unlike health professionals, professors may not understand the severity of illness, yet the current system tasks professors with the responsibility of determining the workload and rigor that recovering students can manage.

Further, this system disadvantages sick students because it requires them to effectively negotiate, a cognitive ability, which is compromised by illness.

The university’s policy signifies that the acquisition of accommodations hinges on an ill student’s ability to self-advocate, which puts them in an unfair, stressful position while they are already struggling. In addition, the lack of uniformity between professors’ policies makes these negotiations more difficult and needlessly complicated.

These complications and inadequacies within the accommodations process also affect student health. The protracted process to receive permissions often forces students to attend classes while ill, which increases the risk of their illness spreading to other students. Self-advocating and working instead of resting also affects the recovery of sick students: Documented links between stress and health suggest that additional stress from classwork and negotiations hinders recovery. If recovery periods last longer and accommodations do not sufficiently allow students

to catch up on missed content, students will fall further behind in their classes, perform worse academically and have a turbulent return to life as a healthy university student.

Given this insufficient, complicated process, Tufts must revise its health accommodation policy in order to protect student health and overall wellness. In order to reduce student stress and simplify the process of obtaining exemptions, it is critical that an academic dean or health services employee actively oversees this process and advocates for students in need. This individual would work with Student Services, Health Services professors and the student to gather documentation, arrange for timely exemptions and coordinate makeup work. This change would reduce miscommunication among departments, remove the process’s burden for recovering students and thus alleviate the associated stress and pressure.

If Tufts wishes to be a truly student-centered institution, it must prioritize the wellbeing of its students, and optimizing student wellness means allowing students to fully recover from illness without added stress. Student health and safety must become a priority through the adjustment of Tufts’ health policies, for only then can Tufts fully practice a “student-first” philosophy.

ith the impeachment trial of President Donald Trump concluded and the train wreck that was the Iowa Democratic caucus fading into the past, the Democratic primary race is now in full swing. After New Hampshire there are clear leaders, but the nomination is still far from a sure thing for any candidate.

The Granite state is proud of its traditionally important role in the electoral process, but the dynamics of this race are anything but traditional.

The momentum that the Iowa winner typically experiences was largely absent from the New Hampshire campaign, although both former South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg and Senator Bernie Sanders finished in the top two spots in Iowa and New Hampshire.

As election day approached, new polling showed Senator Bernie Sanders in the lead, followed most closely by Pete Buttigieg, and farther back Joe Biden and Senators Elizabeth Warren and Amy Klobuchar. A Monmouth University poll showed that 24% of voters would pick Sanders and 20% for Buttigieg, followed by Biden (17%), Warren (13%) and Klobuchar (9%).With the results in, it appears that the polling was quite accurate in the case of the top two, with Sanders taking first (25.7%), followed by Buttigieg (24.4%). Predictions were off farther down the podium however, with Klobuchar coming in a strong third (19.8%), followed by Warren (9.2%) and Biden (8.4%).

Sanders’ success in the state is not altogether surprising. As the senator of neighboring Vermont, Sanders has a distinct advantage in the state.

Sanders also won New Hampshire before; he beat former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton 60% to 38% in the 2016 primary there. Buttigieg seems to be profiting from his strong showing in Iowa and, along with Sanders, has had upward trending support in the state since earlier this year. Coming off of her impressive performance in Iowa and strong debate, Klobuchar campaigned hard on the ground, which evidently paid off. With her better-than-expected results in the first two states she is a force to be reckoned with, but her momentum will have to carry to later states. Warren’s lack of success is surprising, considering the geographic advantage she shares with Sanders as a neighboring state senator. Biden has long been predicted to fare poorly in New Hampshire, and accordingly did not concentrate much effort there, hoping to right the course of his presidential bid in slightly later states. With his back-to-back poor performances Biden’s position as the “electable moderate” is in question, and without a big win in South Carolina his candidacy could be as well.

Similar to the Republican primary race in 2015, preconceived notions of electability have gone out the window in this contest for the nomination.

The candidate considered most conventionally electable, Biden, has suffered and badly needs a win. Unconventional platforms and identities have been the commonality for successful candidates so far, and regardless of the eventual nominee and their success in the general, this race has changed our notions of which candidates and ideas can win elections.

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

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Thursday, February 13, 2020

Alex Sharp Game Day

Best Game of 2019

Sports

tuftsdaily.com

Tufts Club Cricket kicks off 1st season as club sport

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n May 12, 2019, Kawhi Leonard released a high arcing shot over the outstretched fingertips of seven footer Joel Embiid.

The entire sports world watched at the edge of its seat as the ball bounced four times on the rim before falling through the hoop, giving the Toronto Raptors a 92–90 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers in game seven of the NBA Eastern Conference Finals.

Leonard’s heroics prompted Boston Globe columnist Bob Ryan to tweet “You saw it. Why Sport is one of life’s greatest gifts. Pity the non-sports fan. He or she will never know what we know.” Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals was certainly one of the best games of 2019, but not the best. With a spot in the NCAA basketball tournament final four on the line, Virginia and Purdue played the game of the year.

My parents allowed me to skip elementary school on my birthday, and Thursday and Friday of the NCAA tournament’s round of 64. Anyone who’s watched the goosebump-inducing “One Shining Moment” tournament montages knows there’s just something special about college basketball in March. The Virginia–Purdue clash epitomized the NCAA tournament’s competitive purity, with both teams taking turns riding waves of momentum. The rollercoaster affair included 11 ties and 15 lead changes.

Ty Jerome (24 points, 7 assists and 5 rebounds) and Kyle Guy (25 points and 10 rebounds) showed up in a big way for Virginia. Both stat lines would have earned a lot more chatter on SportsCenter if it weren’t for Purdue’s outstanding guard Carsen Edwards. Edwards came out on fire in the first half, adding gasoline in the second, going 10 for 19 for three and finishing with 42 points.

In a game where three stars combined to score 91 points, the biggest play was made by 5’9” true freshman Kihei Clark, who had yet to score a point. With 5.9 seconds left in regulation, Jerome went to the free throw line with Virginia trailing by three points.

He made the first, then missed the second off the front rim. The ball was tipped backwards and corralled by Clark around the opposite 3-point line.

What followed can only be described as an act of basketball mastery: the point guard equivalent of catching a fly with chopsticks. With the clock ticking toward zero, the freshman surveyed the court and calmly rifled a long one arm pass to Mamadi Diakite. Diakite caught the pass with less than a second on the clock and floated the ball over the outstretched arms of Purdue’s 7’3” Matt Haarms.

Nothing but nylon. Virginia went on to win 80–75 after a tightly-contested overtime period. Nine days later they would defeat Texas Tech University in overtime to win the national championship.

A game like this keeps cell phones in pockets and makes homework assignments due the next morning impossible to complete. After watching the game at a friend’s house, I drove home in silence feeling awesome. Pity the non-sports fan.

Alex Sharp is a first-year who has not yet declared a major. Alex can be reached at alex.sharp@tufts.edu.

COURTESY TUFTS CRICKET CLUB

The Tufts Cricket Club is pictured on Oct. 6, 2019.

by Sruthi Kocherlakota Assistant Sports Editor

Most people in the U.S. typically associate the term cricket to an insect. But, cricket — the sport — is the second most watched sport in the world and is popular across countries such as India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and England, where it is deeply rooted in the culture. While cricket remains unfamiliar to many in the U.S., at Tufts, the Cricket Club has formed over the past few years, seeking to spread love for the sport.

The club was founded in 2017 by co-founders junior Uzair Sattar and junior Sidharth Anand. In the fall of 2019, it was recognized by the TCU Senate, and in the spring of 2019, the club held its first general interest meeting.

Last semester, the team met weekly for practices and executive board meetings to prepare for local matches. Although the club only recently received TCU recognition, the club decided to transition to a club sport this year. The spring 2020 semester marks the first semester that the Tufts Cricket team joins the group of club sports on campus, which are overseen by the athletics department.

Currently, the team consists of around 20 regular players, and has a core group that makes up the executive board. President Anand, sophomore captain Charlie Short, sophomore team statistician Kiran Misner and sophomore team treasurer Akash Mishra are among some of the members of the executive board who work closely together to plan practices, organize tournaments and keep track of the team’s overall progress. In addition, a few first-year students are shadowing existing executive board members.

After becoming a recognized club sport, the team has shifted its goals for this semester and the following club season.

“The biggest goal in being a club sport was to add a bit more legitimacy to the executive board positions as a whole,” Mishra said. “We wanted to become a more serious playing group. Last semester, even as a TCU club, we went to the Northeast Regional Championship with [the] American College Cricket Organization, one of the few organizations in the U.S. that governs college cricket.”

Now, the cricket team is able to schedule practice times and space more efficiently — something it has struggled with in the past.

The team often practices in Carzo Cage in the Steve Tisch Sports and Fitness Center,

but the team hopes to practice on Bello Field or on Ounjian Field in the coming weeks.

“The process of becoming a club sport was relatively painless,” Mishra said.

“Because our sport requires open practice spaces we typically do have trouble finding practice spaces. It is definitely a struggle to work with club sports to book that space for tryouts and practice spaces before we are [in] season … That is probably the biggest struggle we are facing right now.”

The team’s first scheduled practice this semester was cancelled due to lack of field availability. However, when the team cannot schedule practices in the cage or if weather restricts practices outside, it looks to play box cricket at the International House on 13 Sawyer Ave. Box cricket, an abridged version of the game, allows cricket to be played in smaller, indoor spaces. Last semester, the Tufts Cricket Club set up a small box cricket tournament, where teams of four competed. Additionally, the team has been playing box cricket early this semester to maintain members’ excitement for the game while they wait for official practices to kick off when club season starts.

Aside from box cricket tournaments, the team constantly communicates with other cricket teams from surrounding Boston area schools — including Boston University, Harvard University and Northeastern University — to schedule local matches throughout the season. Although the team hopes to travel to larger tournaments in the future, for now the focus is on local matches, according to Mishra.

“The decision [we] made as an executive board this semester is to focus on the transition into club sports and continue playing in local matches,” Mishra said. “We will keep playing matches with Boston area colleges and set a goal of going to a national tournament either next fall or spring.”

First-year Saumya Mehta explained that the team is working on gelling more first, before entering any large tournaments.

“The team is still going through this transitional phase where we are trying to build a team from scratch,” Mehta said. “Before we go to any major tournaments, we have to build a little bit more harmony within the team and get to know each other more.”

The team also traveled to New York during the fall semester to compete in the American College Cricket (ACC) North East Regional Tournament. While the team did not perform as well as it had hoped, the players look back fondly on the experiences the trip provided.

“About 15 of us went to the ACC championship in New York,” Mehta said. “None of us knew each other particularly well as a group, but we got to know each other really well. Although we lost most of the matches, we were able to bond over making fun of each other over our performances and how bad we were.”

As the team is still growing, it welcomes all different backgrounds and playing experiences. The team has a few graduate students, first-year students and beginners; however, they are still looking to reach out to other groups, especially women.

“We definitely have an active effort to involve women on the team,” Misner said.

“Obviously, there is no restriction as to who can join the team, we are open to grad students, Ph.D. students, underclassmen, upperclassmen, whoever wants to play cricket is welcome to join.”

First-year Akash Jyothish shared his positive experience on the team.

“It has been a place to find a good community of people who share an interest that I won’t find in common with the average friend or student at Tufts,” Jyothish said. “It has been really nice to have in some ways a cultural connection to home.

Also, as a sport, it is a really fun sport and it is a really great time, whether it is playing for fun or serious drills. It feels good to be doing something I haven’t had the chance to do before.”

Other teammates have similar feelings, as the club has given them an opportunity to meet new people who share the same passion.

“Tufts Cricket was the first community [where] I actually felt at home from the moment I went to one practice and met everyone from other countries that share a similar interest and passion,” Mehta said. “I love talking about cricket and playing cricket, so it was really fun to find 20 other people who loved doing the same thing. The community is amazing and I got to meet a lot of people that I have friendships with outside of cricket.”

Going into the club season, the team will plan more bonding events, along with their scheduled matches.

“Team bonding is something we are looking to do more this semester,” Misner said.

“Most of the team bonding we have done has been informal; the trip to New York was probably our biggest event.”

The team is holding tryouts this Saturday, Feb. 15.