The Tufts Daily - Thursday, February 10, 2022

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Thursday, February 10, 2022

Tufts alum Morgan Harper runs for Senate in Ohio

by Coco Arcand News Editor

Morgan Harper (A’05) is running for the open U.S. Senate seat in Ohio. The primary for this race is scheduled for May 3, and the general election will be held on Nov. 8.

The Senate seat opened following Republican Senator Rob Portman’s announcement in January that he will be retiring at the end of his second term.

The race to elect his replacement is seen as particularly important to Democrats, as it offers an opportunity to switch Portman’s previously red seat to blue, which could affect who controls the Senate in 2022. Ohio has historically been considered a swing state but has shifted to the right in the past decade.

Harper, who grew up in Ohio before attending Tufts for her undergraduate degree, is focusing a major portion of her campaign on improving Ohio’s economy. According to her campaign website, Harper plans to create more job opportunities, increase the usage of renewable energy and invest in rural areas in Ohio, all with the goal of stimulating the local economy.

If elected, Harper plans to help young Ohioans by implementing plans to fight the opioid crisis and increasing access to mental health services, with the

goal of reducing violence. She also committed to fighting discrimination based on race, disability and sexuality.

Isabella Getgey, a political science student from Ohio, said she supports Harper’s policies.

“She endorses universal childcare, tuition-free public college [and] she supports reparations and the Green New Deal…

She’s been called the AOC of the Midwest,” Getgey, a junior, said. “I think all of these policies would be great for Ohio.”

Harper is running against Tim Ryan, Traci Johnson and LaShondra Tinsley in the primary for the Democratic nomination.

Representative Tim Ryan is largely considered the front-runner for the Democratic nomination.

Mitchell Saunders, vice president of Tufts Democrats, said he believes Ryan “has a 95% chance of winning this primary,” as he is well known in Ohioan politics for serving in the House of Representatives since 2003.

Though the race is still very far off to predict, polling listed on FiveThirtyEight has Republican Josh Mandel, a Trump supporter, winning by slight margins in a potential matchup with Ryan.

Michael Dianetti, a senior from Ohio, said that Mandel’s popularity is reflective of Ohio’s shift to the political right.

“I think that Ohio is not really a swing state anymore. If you

look at the last couple of elections where … the Democrats won Georgia, and Texas was a couple points away [from electing a Democratic governor], but Trump beat Biden in Ohio by eight points,” Dianetti said. “I think the political culture in Ohio is very much shifting.”

Dianetti said that an increasingly old, white electorate might be one possible reason for this rightward shift.

“A lot of young people leave Ohio and don’t necessarily go back, so I think that’s shifting the electorate a lot,” Dianetti said.

“It’s a lot of older people, a lot of straight white people are really doing the majority of the voting in Ohio.”

Dianetti also highlighted that Republicans’ gerrymandering has played a role in the increasing number of Congressional districts in Ohio that vote Republican. However, Ohio’s Supreme Court recently struck down a new congressional map drawn by Republicans, reasoning that the gerrymander violated the state’s constitution.

Getgey said she expects Harper to face challenges during her campaign due to her race and gender.

“I think given how Black women have been marginalized throughout American history, Harper, as a progressive black

Tufts holds virtual admissions events, plans to add in-person tours

by Carl Svahn

Assistant Arts Editor

Following the surge of the omicron variant of COVID-19, Tufts is now conducting exclusively virtual campus tours and information sessions with a planned return to in-person programming on Feb. 14.

Despite this setback, admissions officials report that recent applicants have been satisfied with the university’s virtual offerings.

Tufts began offering virtual tours in June 2020. According to Associate Director of Admissions Lauren Wilkes, the admissions office piloted virtual admissions events just as COVID-19 took off in the U.S. back in April 2020. Once the office gained a better understanding of how to adapt to an online-only system, the cohort of virtual summer admissions

interns debuted its first set of virtual tours.

Wilkes explained that both in-person and virtual formats offer a meaningful way for prospective students to get a feel for Tufts.

“Our virtual offerings provide greater access to students to connect with Tufts and complement our in-person offerings in an impactful way,” Wilkes wrote in an email to the Daily. “They also enable prospective students to learn about Tufts without enduring the often financially prohibitive costs of a ‘college road trip,’ which expands access to our admissions process to students from further away and to those with limited financial resources.”

In-person events returned in July 2021.

“Tours were offered throughout Summer 2021 and

during Fall 2021 while our virtual programming continued concurrently,” Wilkes wrote.

“Restarting the in-person visit program required a lot of planning and preparation, as we knew it would work very differently than our pre-pandemic program.”

Tufts also offered virtual self-guided tours in summer. The self-guided option used virtual materials to guide participants around the physical campus. Sophomore tour guide Olivia Kelly said the self-guided tours received positive feedback from campus visitors.

“We had to direct people to [self-guided tours] a lot over the summer, because we had so many people coming to visit and only a certain capacity for the in-person tours,” Kelly see TOURS, page 2

Morgan Harper, candidate for U.S. Senate, is pictured. woman, is at a structural disadvantage against her candidates in a highly contested, red state,” Getgey wrote in an electronic message to the Daily.

Although Saunders does not expect Harper to win the primary, he sees value in her pursuit.

“Although I’ve been sort of pessimistic on Ms. Harper’s

COURTESY MORGAN HARPER

odds in the race, I think that what she’s doing is really important,” Saunders, a sophomore, said. “The more candidates that run for a race, the more that they reach out to … possible voters who might not normally be involved in politics, and just getting them to vote is the most important thing.”

CIRCLE releases data on youth voter engagement for 2022 election cycle

by Maggie Monahan Staff Writer

Tisch College’s Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE) released its 2022 Youth Electoral Significance Index (YESI) data showing the impact of the youth vote on the 2022 electoral races.

In 2020, CIRCLE estimated that 50% of 18–29 year olds who were eligible to vote cast a ballot in the 2020 presidential election. Youth voter turnout in the 2016 election was significantly lower with 39% of eligible youth casting a ballot.

CIRCLE estimates that young voters will have a major pull in several states in upcoming Senate and House races, particularly in battleground states, such as Pennsylvania and Georgia.

FEATURES / page 3

ARTS / page 4

OPINION / page 7

Books and bio: Pre-med student publishes children’s story

Euphoria’s struggle with Twitter trolls

One year in, how is Biden doing?

This new data identifies Pennsylvania as the state where youth voters will have the most sway in both the Senate race for Pat Toomey’s seat and the gubernatorial race to replace Tom Wolf.

Sixty-nine percent of young people in Pennsylvania are registered to vote.

According to CIRCLE, young voters voted for President Biden by a 25-point margin in 2020.

Anne Hamilton, who is from Pennsylvania, explained that while she is registered and plans to vote in the 2022 election, she struggles to find her personal impact in the state’s voting process.

“I personally have a hard time feeling like my vote would see CIRCLE, page 2 NEWS

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ARTS & POP CULTURE

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FUN & GAMES

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THE TUFTS DAILY | News | Thursday, February 10, 2022

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Admissions events adapt to omicron surge TOURS

continued from page 1 said. “People would come back and just tell us that it was a really great tour, or similar to in-person tours if they’d had the feeling.”

Despite the virtual and self-guided options, the majority of tours were given in-person by tour guides like junior Kyle Krell, and other student tour guides mainly led in-person events.

“Last semester we had mostly in-person tours that functioned the same as in-person tours preCovid,” Krell wrote in an email to the Daily. “We also had virtual tours in conjunction with in-person tours, but as far as I’m aware the majority of tours were in-person and most guides only did in-person tours.”

This new system continued operating through the summer and fall 2021 until the omicron variant emerged in the winter, at which point the university decided to postpone in-person events to protect faculty, students and visitors.

According to Wilkes, Tufts was not alone in this decision.

“Most universities are continuing to offer both in-person and virtual programming,” Wilkes wrote. “Several Bostonarea institutions have delayed their start to in-person visit programming this semester as well.”

Neither Krell nor fellow tour guide Kelly have given virtual tours. Both believe that most tour guides have stuck with in-person tours.

Kelly explained that when students returned to campus in fall 2021, tour guides who wanted to remain on the team were given a choice between leading in-person tours, virtual tours, or both.

Kelly chose to lead only in-person tours and is looking forward to getting back to work.

“I think, just as a general rule, I and everybody else are very tired of the online format for everything,” Kelly said. “You have the same access to the person who’s giving you the virtual or in person tour in terms of questions you could ask, but I just think it’s more fun to give it in person.”

Kelly admitted that due to her preferences, she does not

OLIVIA BELLO / THE TUFTS DAILY

Bendetson Hall, home to the Tufts Office of Admissions, is pictured on Feb. 8. know much about how virtual events operate.

“I know that they happen,” she joked.

Kelly said that Tufts has received mostly positive feedback on the virtual offerings “From what I know, we’ve had really good feedback on the virtual tours, as well as the self guided tours,” she said.

Responses to admission department surveys have also displayed positive feedback on virtual events.

“In our post-event surveys, we see that prospective students and families are thankful to be able to connect with current students to learn more about their Tufts experiences, ask questions, and see snapshots of campus,” Wilkes wrote.

CIRCLE data predicts the impact of youth voters in 2022 elections CIRCLE

continued from page 1 matter,” Hamilton, a first-year, said. “But I understand that it should matter and that I shouldn’t stop myself from voting because I feel like it doesn’t matter.”

Kelly Siegel-Stechler, a senior researcher at CIRCLE, explained how YESI pulls information from a variety of sources to determine the states in which youth will have the most influence over elections. These sources include census data showing employment status, income and education to estimate turnout rates, predictions on the competitiveness of the election and the infrastructure supporting voting.

Siegel-Stechler noted that Colorado is one of the states listed in which the youth vote will highly influence the Senate race. She elaborated that this is not because the race is expected to be particularly competitive, but rather because the state has taken various measures to invest in youth voting infrastructure.

In the past 45 years, only one Republican has held the Colorado Senate seat that candidates are vying for in 2022, and it is predicted that a Democrat will almost definitely win the seat again.

Siegel-Stechler praised Colorado for having some of the most facilitative election laws in the country.

“They have done an incredible job of setting up infrastruc-

The office sign of CIRCLE is pictured on Feb. 8.

ture among the voter reg[istration] and outreach community in Colorado to ensure that young people are always a part of the equation when it comes to Colorado elections,” SiegelStechler said.

The specific youth demographics that will have particular sway vary state by state.

CIRCLE reported that Black youth will be particularly influential in the Georgia and North Carolina elections, while Latino youth will likely be a deciding factor in the elections in Arizona and Nevada.

The report also predicted that youth residing in rural areas of Maine, Kansas and New Hampshire will have a major impact on the upcoming

CORA HARTMANN / THE TUFTS DAILY

elections in their respective states. While younger generations tend to be more liberal, rural youth have proven to be an exception and may contribute to conservative victories in their states.

When asked about strategies to mobilize these demographics, Siegel-Stechler emphasized the importance of relational organizing.

“Having somebody else that you know, and care about, and value their opinion encourage you to get engaged is really effective and really meaningful,” Siegel-Stechler explained.

Jane Romp, former democracy representative coordinator for JumboVote, discussed the importance of accessible voter education and noted that JumboVote devotes extra attention to students from states with more complex voting processes. Romp, a junior, explained that JumboVote tries to make sure that all students, regardless of the state they reside in, have access to information surrounding the voting process.

Siegel-Stechler credits the shift in youth turnout to the boom in voter engagement of younger generations.

“I think there’s renewed interest in reaching out to young people, especially since 2008, which was really a bump in youth engagement for Obama’s first election, and awareness that youth are interested and engaged,” she said. “If you take the time to reach out to them, to make them feel included in the election process, they will turn out and they do care a lot about politics.”

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Features

Lema Abuoqab’s children’s book aims to educate kids about science, health

by Delaney Clarke

Executive Features Editor

For many young children, visits to the doctor can inspire feelings of fear and confusion. These feelings are coupled with the fact that many conversations at the pediatrician’s office leave out children, as they are between doctor and parent, rather than doctor and patient.

This problem — frequently present within pediatric patient care — is one that Tufts sophomore Lema Abuoqab is attempting to solve. Her solution is interdisciplinary, a combination of both STEM and the arts: science books for children.

Abuoqab’s desire to create children’s science books is derived from her multitude of interests. She is a pre-med student majoring in biology and minoring in biotechnology, but at the same time, she possesses a passion for writing and art.

Now, in addition to academics, she is a published author and the founder of Lema Art & Writing LLC. Her first book is titled “Eric’s Brain Elementary.” It aims to explain the inner workings of the brain to young children in a way that is fun, engaging and doesn’t water down the science. Through this book, and the books she plans to write in the future, Abuoqab hopes to bring children into the conversations that surround their own health.

“Helping kids prioritize their health and realize that they can be active participants in their health is super important,” Abuoqab said.

Her book began as a high school psychology project, crafted quickly out of construction paper. Abuoqab had been tasked with writing a book that could explain the different parts of the brain to a kindergarten classroom.

Abuoqab, who hopes to work in pediatric medicine one day, noticed some of the ways that pediatric care needed to change and her attention shifted back to that high school project.

“Pediatric medicine really needs … a change in the way that we educate patients, and I kind of picked up on a lot of different things through my volunteering at Tufts Children’s Hospital [and] volunteering back home in Florida, or through all the shadowing I did at pediatric offices.

And so I decided to pull this project up again,” Abuoqab said.

Abuoqab revisited the project while taking a children’s literature course at Tufts with Cynthia Smith, a lecturer in the Eliot-Pearson Department of Child Study and Human Development in spring 2021.

The pre-med student rewrote the entire book, working on it well into the summer.

By the end of the season, Abuoqab had transformed her high school project into a full-fledged children’s picture book — “Eric’s Brain Elementary.” Now, her book is available for purchase on her publish-

er’s website, BookBaby, and for presale on Barnes and Noble. She is already working on her second book.

Abuoqab explained that she hopes the book will allow young children to become involved in their own health care. She pointed out the significant difference between the treatment of adults and children in a doctor-patient setting.

“When it comes to … adult medicine, usually it’s just the physician interacting with the patient. But then when you have pediatric medicine, it turns into a party of three people where you have the doctor, the patient and then the parent,” Abuoqab said. “And a lot of the times the kids get lost in conversation and it turns into just a conversation between the [parent] and the doctor. So I think if we start to provide more resources for kids to become more engaged in their learning experience, it’ll be super beneficial.”

“Eric’s Brain Elementary” introduces children to the science that underlies the human brain. The main character, Eric, falls asleep in class, and is suddenly greeted by the various parts of the brain. Each part is drawn as a colorful character. The prefrontal cortex, for example, is named Phoebe, and the pons is named Pablo.

“All the different parts of the brain [take Eric] on a little adventure throughout his brain,” Abuoqab said. “Each character was intentionally color-coded because at the end of the story … each character has a matching color to their respective region on a real diagram of the brain.”

At the end of the book, Abuoqab includes a glossary that explains the function of each part of the brain and its phonetic spelling, so that kids may easily pronounce them.

Each of the drawings throughout the book was illustrated by Abuoqab, who has always enjoyed artistic pursuits.

“I’ve always been super into art, but I was always into more realistic drawings … learning how to do cartoons and stuff was really challenging, but I feel comfortable with it now and I absolutely love doing it,” Abuoqab said.

The medium she used to craft the book’s images were inspired by many of the children’s books that are found throughout her family’s home. Abuoqab is the oldest of four children, which has had a heavy influence on her book’s development.

“When I was writing it, I was like, ‘Oh, is this something that my siblings would want to read? Is this something that they [would] laugh at?’ So that really helped,” Abuoqab said.

One of Abuoqab’s siblings also guided the creation of another one of her recent works of children’s literature. Her sister was recently diagnosed with scoliosis and was upset about wearing her back brace. Abuoqab decided

LOLA OWETT / THE TUFTS DAILY

Lema Abuoqab is pictured holding her book “Eric’s Brain Elementary.” to write a short story called “Embrace Your Brace,” which she wrote after her sister’s doctor told her to “Rock your brace.”

“With all my shadowing, I saw that a lot of the times there are kids who kind of just resist wearing their brace … the whole point of having a brace when you have scoliosis is to prevent your curve from getting worse so that you don’t have to get corrective surgery. There were so many patients that just didn’t want to wear their brace [and] their curve eventually got worse enough where the only option that was left was to have surgery,” Abuoqab said. “So I wanted to write this little book called ‘Embrace Your Brace’ … to show kids that it is possible [to] enjoy the things they love, even while having to wear a brace.”

“Embrace Your Brace” has been distributed throughout different orthopedic offices, furthering the intersection between Abuoqab’s interests in both literature and medicine.

“I guess that’s another way that I’ve just been finding ways to incorporate my writing into patient care,” Abuoqab said.

Moving forward, Abuoqab hopes to write more books, and she is already planning on working on a children’s book about the digestive system. She hopes to further engage with her passion for writing, while also pursuing a future career in orthopedic surgery.

Abuoqab outlined the direction she hopes her literature will take in the future.

“In the long run, I would love to be able to start making these [books] specific to medical conditions and not necessarily just different systems in our body,” Abuoqab said. “Whether it’s for orthopedic patients or for general surgery, [the books would be] talking about different conditions and the way that kids can become more involved in their treatment process.”

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3 Thursday, February 10, 2022

David Wingens Potty Talk

New beginnings

L

ast semester, I wrote this column with my friend Sam, and we aimed chiefly to provide entertainment. This semester, Sam has sought greener pastures and is looking to pursue “academics” with an eye on securing a “real job someday.” I, on the other hand, am loyal.

In light of this development, I would like to take Potty Talk in a slightly different direction. Instead of reviewing bathrooms such as those in the dungeons of Granoff or the penthouses of Ballou, I will review the bathrooms that Tufts students can successfully access during a 75-minute lecture without anyone noting their absence.

To achieve this goal, I will need to take a more systematic approach than I have in the past. I will lay out four key factors and rate each on a scale from 1–10; the average of those scores will be the bathroom’s overall score. The factors are ambince, privacy, convenience and how many things I have to touch. I will demonstrate the use of my rubric by rating the bathrooms outside of the ASEAN auditorium.

AMBIANCE Scant decor leaves the bathroom goer feeling a bit empty. I suggest upping the ASEAN connection with collectible statuettes of world leaders. In the meantime, it gets a 3/10 on decor.

PRIVACY Privacy is undoubtedly the toughest category for this bathroom, as it belongs to the “doubly locked lavatory” genre.

Even though the bathroom’s lone stall has a lock — a pretty run-of-the-mill safety measure — the outer door also has a lock. Upon entering the bathroom, you have to make the split-second decision of either locking the outer lock and affording yourself maximum privacy or leaving the outer door open for some peer to come and wait just outside the stall.

Leaving the outer door open may be beneficial to those who are more social, as it increases the likelihood of a chance encounter, but most of us will elect to lock the outer door, and in so doing, run the risk of being called “antisocial.”

While this bathroom has the potential to achieve a truly excellent score here, giving the user the burden of choice lowers it to a solid 7/10.

CONVENIENCE A great bathroom to know about for walks around campus, as it lies on Packard Avenue, right next to the Academic Quad.

It is especially notable because it is on many students’ paths back from Fresh at Carmichael, whose gluten-free menu has an impressive source of fiber. It gets a 9/10 on convenience.

HOW MANY THINGS DO I HAVE TO TOUCH This bathroom is old-fashioned, which is great for those who want a tactile bathroom experience but unfortunate for hygiene. The lack of automation and the two hand-operated locks force me to score it a 2/10 here.

Overall, this bathroom gets a 5.5/10.

It may not be the pride of the ASEAN alliance, but it is certainly a welcome sight after that one last bite of cauliflower gratin.

David Wingens is a junior studying international relations. David can be reached at david.wingens@tufts.edu.

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Arts & POP ARTS Pop CULTURE Culture

tuftsdaily.com

Thursday, February 10, 2022

RaiAnn Bu Micro-trend of the Week

‘Euphoria’ Season 2 struggles to uphold its These boots are reputation

made for moonwalking

With the rise of globalization and advanced textile capacity, fashion has begun to disseminate at rates reducing the seasonal trend cycle to monthly or even weekly micro-trends. The style forecast of these micro-trends follows a simple cycle: a style is seemingly plastered everywhere on social media by early adopters and, a week later, becomes tacky before ever reaching the mainstream.

Beyond the regular posts on my social media feed, these carefully crafted Instagram micro-trend photos reveal something more: the newest fleeting clothing trend — the moon boot.

The moon boot is like the final boss of the chunky shoe trend. It is one of those special pieces that, paired with gaudy labeling, shrieks with tackiness. It gives an instantly polarizing feeling: those who wear them, love them and those who don’t, don’t.

As you can guess, moon boots are inspired by the astronaut boot, born in an era of retrofuturism and nurtured in a kitschy late ’70s fashion scene. The retrofuturism aesthetic, beginning around the ’50s, dreams about how technology and progress will influence our lives. It uses the dichotomy of retro stylings and futuristic aspects to create an unsettling visual of the future. Born again, the moon boot was then revived in the 2000s inspired by the 1969 Apollo 11 landing, sparking a new optimism for the future’s potential.

So why now?

Firstly, we are amid a 2000s comeback in fashion with Y2K trends buzzing around social media. Those yearning for 2000s childhood nostalgia have grown up and begun their command of fashion and popular media. These shoes are a callback to the 2000s as well as the ’80s with a bright, bold playful aesthetic. Concurrently, irony has become a staple in contemporary fashion. This comes in the form of playing with the contrast between lowbrow items and refined environments to create a visceral reaction of distaste from the viewer.

These are items, like real-life clickbait, that get views and spark conversation based on their shock value, breeding a culture of irony for engagement. The Balenciaga Croc is alive and well. Finally, perhaps we are in our own era of retrofuturism with the rise of techwear. Techwear, a style that treasures practical pieces often used as workwear transformed into high fashion wear, has taken over media. You might have seen someone showering inside in their rain jacket to prove the quality of their clothes. The moon boot could be a preceding iteration of modern retrofuturism with the interest in the collision of innovation and wearability.

The moon boot, as I see it, is another “if you know, you know” item that only some can afford. Costing hundreds of dollars, it is on the pricier side for a pair of winter boots, but no one’s buying them for practical reasons. Nonetheless, I applaud the moon boot’s bold approach and call to the days dreaming for the stars.

0/10 impulse to buy.

RaiAnn Bu is a sophomore majoring in community health. RaiAnn can be reached at raiann.bu@tufts.edu.

The title screen for “Euphoria” (2019–) is pictured.

by Ashley Chung

Contributing Writer

Content warning: This article discusses drug addiction.

After two years of delaying production due to the pandemic, Sam Levinson’s highly anticipated and culturally groundbreaking hit series “Euphoria” (2019–) has finally returned for Season 2. After introducing each of the characters and their backgrounds in Season 1, Season T explores the progression of relationships between characters while honing in on the plotline of 17-year-old protagonist Rue Bennett’s struggle with drug addiction and relapse that serves as the backbone of the show. The show has received massive attraction and critical acclaim — including lead actress Zendaya’s Emmy Award win in 2020 — and its large audience has returned for Season 2. But, attitudes toward “Euphoria” have changed as a result of the new season.

Levinson’s uncompromising, raw depiction of drug addiction tries to stay true to addiction’s harsh realities, no matter how emotional to watch. Zendaya’s performance in the most recent episode of Season 2, “Stand Still Like the Hummingbird,” has raised many speculations at the possibility of her winning a second Emmy for the hit show. Formerly having struggled with drug addiction during his adolescence, Levinson’s authenticity shines through in Rue’s storyline espe-

cially in his portrayal of the mental state of a drug addict and the complex relationships that come with it. However, with an amazing performance portraying the self-destructive and abusive patterns of a drug addict comes just as much difficulty in watching it unravel. As Rue becomes more deeply entangled in activities that perpetuate her relapse, the decisions she makes become increasingly riskier and come with more severe consequences, contributing to the tense and bleak mood of the episodes so far. The turns that this season has made increase the intensity of the atmosphere drastically from Season 1, changing the audience appeal. Many viewers who became familiar with the provocative nature of the show in the first season are finding difficulty in adapting to its heightened intensity in the second season.

Further reasons for approaching Season 2 with a more critical viewpoint are the highly dramatized storylines of the other characters, particularly regarding Cassie, Maddy, Nate, Jules and Kat. In the first season, the plotlines centered on the personal backgrounds of different characters’ experiences with issues such as self-worth, identity, difficult relationships and mental health.

In this season, however, the characters’ greater purpose is not clearly defined.

In the first five episodes, the audience is strung along a love triangle that ensues between Cassie, Maddy and Nate that strictly adds to the drama of the show.

COURTESY WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

The relationship between Jules, Rue and the new character Elliot also serves this limited purpose. Additionally, with the choice of adding even more nudity and sex scenes, it is instinctive to ask about the motivations and reasoning behind this decision. Since no explanation or clear motive has been shared, this has created another source of controversy among viewers.

Despite issues with the progression of the show’s themes so far in Season 2, “Euphoria” continues to push the film and television industry standards for creativity in its filmmaking and production elements. Levinson has stated that Season 2 was shot entirely in the 35mm format, giving the series a new visual that suitably feels both nostalgic and crazed. One scene that stood out was the lover’s montage in Episode 4 with Rue and Jules referencing various romance movies such as “Brokeback Mountain” (2005), “Titanic” (1997) and “Ghost” (1990). The impressive cinematography, editing and visuals of Season 2 uphold the show’s status in terms of artistry and creativity.

Overall, the first half of Season 2 succeeds in continuing to raise the caliber on a filmmaking level. However, the show struggles to keep the values, relatability and thematic depth it possessed in Season 1. Hopefully, the show’s highly regarded reputation and revolutionary cultural impact will remain intact by the end of Season 2.

From 160 episodes to 3: Mike’s Mic recaps ‘Pretty Little Liars’

by Ryan Fairfield

Contributing Writer

If there is one defining trait of the 2010s, it is good television. The 2010s was an iconic era for teen television dramas. From “Gossip Girl” (2007–2012) to “The Vampire Diaries” (2009–2017), the world was unable to look away from some of the most memorable moments in teen drama to date. Whether you were watching “The Fosters” (2013– 2018) and wondering what trouble Callie was going to get herself into that season, or “Glee” (2009–2015) and trying to guess which pop song the New Directions were going to cover, there was never a dull moment in teen television dramas. Although one could argue that any of these shows was the “best” or “greatest,” one show stands out among the rest — “Pretty Little Liars” (2010–2017).

“Pretty Little Liars” focuses on four girls in the small town of Rosewood, Pa. after their friend Alison (Sasha Pieterse) goes missing. One year after her disappearance, Aria (Lucy Hale), Spencer ( Troian Bellisario), Hanna (Ashley Benson) and Emily (Shay Mitchell) start receiving threatening texts from an anonymous person known as “A,” who seems to know all their secrets.

Throughout the course of the show, there are many shocking twists and turns, from Allison’s actually being alive to the multiple identity reveals of “A.” Due to the show’s convoluted nature, in which the viewers could rarely guess what would happen next, it is no surprise that the show became extremely confusing at times and had some, debatably, unnecessary plotlines.

YouTuber Mike’s Mic recently took on the challenge of dissecting the entire plot of “Pretty Little Liars” in a three-part YouTube series titled “An Appropriately Unhinged Recap of Pretty Little Liars.”

The video series, the first of which was released in November 2021 and totals over six hours worth of viewing time has garnered millions of views.

The series is best described as a video essay. Video essays are not like your typical YouTube videos. While the average YouTube video is approximately 12 minutes, Mike’s Mic’s video essays are all close to two hours. Other YouTube video essays focus on specific popular television shows, such as Jenny Nicholson’s “THE Vampire Diaries Video” see YOUTUBE, page 5

Arts & Pop Culture

tuftsdaily.com

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Thursday, February 10, 2022

The popular YouTuber explains the series in comedic and extensive detail YOUTUBE

continued from page 4 and Quinton Reviews’ “The Failure of Victorious.”

What makes Mike’s “Pretty Little Liars” video essay so appealing and enjoyable to watch is that it successfully manages to provide an incredibly detailed summary of the show, including all the major plot points and characters, while also being entertaining and comedic. Whether he is coming up with absurd nicknames for the characters, like “Blob” and “Di-Swag-Rentis,” or sporting his blonde wig to pay homage to Alison, there is never a dull moment in the video series.

The highlight of Mike’s videos has to be the wall he put together to help the viewer visualize the chaos of “Pretty Little Liars.”

In all three parts of the series, Mike talks in front of a wall featuring pictures of all the relevant characters. The characters are connected with various colored strings, with the different colors of string each representing a different season and the strings themselves representing instances in which the characters interacted. By the end of the series, the abundance of colored strings makes it hard

to see who is connected to whom, but the reality of the show is that almost everyone is connected to everyone. Even the characters with giant “Xs” on their face, indicating their death, remain connected to all of the surviving characters.

Mike’s video series is an incredible feat.

He manages to summarize a 160-episode series into a mere six hours without the viewers feeling like they missed out on anything important. Not only is Mike’s series something “Pretty Little Liars” fans can watch to reminisce on the series without having to watch all seven seasons, but it is also something those who have never watched the show can enjoy. By going season by season, only revealing each “A” at the time each person was revealed in the television series, Mike makes his video essay series stand on its own by offering a comprehensive analysis that someone with absolutely no knowledge of “Pretty Little Liars” can watch.

The “An Appropriately Unhinged Recap of Pretty Little Liars” series is nothing short of a masterpiece. With incredible detail, Mike’s deep dive into “Pretty Little Liars” not only educates the viewers on all seven seasons of the show but also keeps

The logo for “Pretty Little Liars” (2010–17) is pictured. them thoroughly entertained for all six hours. From complaining about “crusty Fitz” and “menace Melissa” to referring to one of the key villains of the show as “bestie,” Mike’s series is the perfect blend of pop culture and social media-inspired humor. Whether you were watching the

COURTESY WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

television show live back in the 2010s, recently binged it on HBO Max or have no knowledge of the show whatsoever, if you have some time to spare, consider tuning in to Mike and his six-hour-long lecture on the pure, unhinged chaos of “Pretty Little Liars.”

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6

THE TUFTS DAILY | Fun & Games | Thursday, February 10, 2022

F& uG n & Games Fun & Games

SUDOKU

tuftsdaily.com LATE NIGHT AT THE DAILY

Elizabeth reading “Tufts alum Morgan Harper runs for Senate in Ohio”: “Oh! Morgan Harper’s a Tufts alum? ... Oh wait, it’s in the title”

LINDA C. BLACK ASTROLOGY

Aquarius (Jan. 20–Feb. 18)

Have fun with an intriguing challenge.

Disciplined attention strengthens your game. Reality doesn’t match your vision. Practice makes perfect. Take one step at a time.

SEARCHING FOR HEADLINES...

Difficulty Level: Computer fan going really loud because of InDesign.

Wednesday’s Solutions

CROSSWORD

Discover the unsearchable Discover the forest

Find a trail near you at DiscoverTheForest.org

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Opinion

7 Thursday, February 10, 2022

VIEWPOINT

Promises and approval: Where does Biden stand one year into his term?

BY ALIZA KIBEL

by Reya Kumar Opinion Editor

On Jan. 20, 2021, Joe Biden was sworn in as President of the United States with an approval rating in the mid-50s.

Now, a year later, his approval rating rests firmly in the low40s, which is lower than any president — other than Donald Trump — at this point in their first term. Despite many of Biden’s successes in his first year, the drop in approval likely arises from the fact that he has been slow to act on some campaign promises and suffered from circumstances out of his control.

One area where Biden swiftly fulfilled his campaign promises was diversity in his administration and appointees. Overall, his administration has delivered on its promises of diversity — particularly considering the percent of women and people of color he has appointed. His cabinet also includes the first Native American, Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, and the first openly gay man, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. His 42 judicial appointments — the most made in one year since President Kennedy — are the most demographically diverse in history, including the first Muslim federal judge and only two white men. His pledge to appoint a

Black woman to Justice Breyer’s Supreme Court seat is a continuation of his clear dedication to create a more representative government.

Biden also started his first term with an optimistic view on the pandemic, and an ambitious plan to end it. Although his plan began with optimistic results, the delta and omicron variants of COVID-19 crushed the country’s hopes.

Distrust of vaccines hampered attempts to ramp up vaccination — about 15% of American adults remain unvaccinated.

Biden’s strategy overemphasized vaccination, failing to react quickly to the new surges with guidance and increased access to masks and testing.

His recent effort to provide free high-quality masks and testing faced preexisting supply chain issues and came too late to help us through the 2021 holiday season overshadowed by the omicron surge.

In terms of jobs, this past year has seen a record increase in jobs created and a sharp decrease in unemployment.

However, the high inflation — often tied to low unemployment — that has occurred has resulted in criticism toward Biden. These criticisms fail to recognize the pandemic-driven universality of the issue.

Our current inflation is largely the result of global supply

chain issues and, to a lesser extent, policies implemented by both Biden and Trump to protect American families during the worst days of the pandemic. This includes Biden’s $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan, which aimed to help people who lost their jobs during pandemic lockdowns stay afloat. Ultimately, Biden is not to blame for the inflation being felt globally.

Immigration is an issue on which the Biden administration, so far, has fallen woefully short of campaign promises. While some of the worst Trump-era policies — such as separating migrant families — are being rectified, many others are still in place. One example is the continued use of Title 42, which allows the federal government to turn away migrants seeking asylum on the grounds that it is a public health risk. Biden has also raised the refugee cap, but this measure has done little, due to heavy cuts to resettlement infrastructure under Trump that have not been addressed.

The past year has revealed a continuation of many previous administrations’ immigration policies and little indication that the immigration overhaul many progressives hoped for is in the works.

Though he has prioritized climate on his agenda, rejoined

the Paris Agreement and made sweeping promises in Glasgow, Biden has delivered mixed results on climate policy. His bipartisan infrastructure package put aside funding for clean energy. However, his hard-hitting climate provisions have been halted by the recalcitrance of legislators like Sen. Joe Manchin and his refusal to support the Build Back Better bill. Additionally, though Biden started strong with executive orders intended to drastically reduce emissions by 2050, he also auctioned off land for offshore drilling — which the administration says it was legally obliged to do — and called for increased oil production when oil prices skyrocketed. Overall, Biden is working toward a better climate future but is failing to truly actualize the measures needed to meet the Glasgow pledges.

One move Biden doesn’t need Congress to make is forgiving student loan debt. He has previously stated support for canceling up to $10,000 per person, while progressives such as Elizabeth Warren have been pushing for $50,000.

This move would be hugely popular with young people and progressives, whose votes Democrats need for the midterm elections. Biden and the Democrats must also find

a way to compromise with Republican representatives to enact some form of the social spending and voting rights bills — both of which are crucial to American lives and American democracy.

Ultimately, Biden has faced challenges from deadly coronavirus waves to a far-fromsmooth Afghanistan withdrawal and a social spending agenda stalled by partisan divides. So far, he has certainly promised much more than he’s been able to deliver, especially from the perspectives of progressives who were unsure of his candidacy in the first place. As the midterms approach, Biden must prove that he has the power and agency to fulfill his promises in his role as president.

As voters, we must call out this administration on its poor record on immigration, mixed policies on climate and slow action regarding the recent COVID-19 surges. However, we must also recognize that the choices of senators and the global economy are not under the president’s control.

For progressives disheartened by the lack of progress so far, the most important next step is to volunteer and turn out for the 2022 midterms, and to indicate to the administration where we need its members to do better.

8 Thursday, February 10, 2022

SPORTS

tuftsdaily.com

Tufts indoor track teams continue to shine despite snowstorm

by Brigitte Wilson

Assistant Sports Editor

The Tufts men’s and women’s indoor track teams had a busy weekend competing in both the Branwen SmithKing Multi and Tufts Cupid Challenge. Due to snowstorm rescheduling, the Branwen Smith-King Multi was pushed back a week for competing athletes. In spite of the extra effort, both teams had a strong showing.

The Branwen Smith-King Multi, hosted at Tufts, included a heptathlon for the men and a pentathlon for the women.

At this event, the men’s team finished second, with junior Carter Rosewell scoring first in both the 60-meter dash and long jump. Both events were personal records, as was his high jump. His performance allowed the team to finish in second place.

For the women’s team, senior Rachel Eaglin came in third, finishing first in the 60-meter hurdles and high jump. Notably, her score for the pentathlon ranks 35th on the Division III national list.

Since the pentathlon includes five different events completed with 30-minute breaks in between, Eaglin had ample time to roll out her legs and prepare for the next event. She felt most confident going into the 60-meter hurdles and high jump.

“Hurdles are my bread and butter, they are my best event and what I used to do in high

school … high jump is one of my favorite but also least favorite events, because for me it is very mental … but it went very well,” she said.

Eaglin wished for better in regard to her 800-meter and long jump performances.

“The long jump was very mediocre because I haven’t practiced it, and [so was] the 800-meter,” said Eaglin.

The long-term impact of COVID-19 means that no matter how hard she tries, she may not return to her original pre-pandemic form.

“You can’t just shake off the dust and get back to it because you’re missing a whole year of practicing your technical ability … [it’s about] managing your expectations and being kind to yourself,” Eaglin said.

The Tufts Cupid Challenge, hosted at Tufts on Saturday, had no team scoring for either team but was marked by impressive individual finishes. The men’s team had six athletes improve their national rankings, including junior Alex Lemieux who also tied the Gantcher facility record with a time of 6.87 seconds in the 60-meter dash. The 4×4 team finished in a time of 3:26.16, the top performance of the year for the Jumbos.

The women’s team also had season bests and personal records. Anna Slager, the senior co-captain, finished the 3,000-meter event in second with a time of 10:01.83, while

COURTESY HANNAH NEILON

Tufts women’s track and field team at the Tufts Branwen Smith-King Invitational is pictured on Jan. 30.

Hannah Neilon, the other senior co-captain, scored first in the 800-meter with a time of 2:15.99. Both times allowed them to improve their Division III rankings.

Neilon described the event as one of their bigger meets, and one that the entire team was excited about.

“It was probably the best competition we’ve had,” Neilon said.

Due to the scheduling, Neilon ran the first and last events of the day — finishing in the 4×800 along with three teammates, also slightly fatigued from their previous runs.

“All four of us were coming off having run earlier in the day so we were all a little tired,” Neilon said. “We were able to get the time we wanted … we were trying to get a spot in the fast seat at the New England championships.”

Neilon and Eaglin are both excited about the potential to meet many individual and team goals as the season goes on.

“Coming out of winter break we had a big goal-setting meeting … as a team we’re hoping to get wins at the New England Championship … we’re definitely going in with big goals,” Neilon said.

She would also like to qualify for and attend the indoor track and field Division III national championships, as her previous chance was taken away due to COVID-19 in 2020.

For Eaglin, Steven Fleagle, the new jumps coach, is encouraging them to finish in the top five for jump squads in Division III, and Eaglin also wants to throw 10 meters in the shot put event and set a personal record in hurdles.

Both Jumbo teams will continue to show their prowess at the BU and MIT invitational meets next weekend.

Men’s, women’s swimming and diving compete at Boston Winter Open

by Ethan Grubelich Sports Editorw

The Tufts men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams competed at the Boston Winter Open at Boston University on Friday and Saturday. Tufts’ swimmers and divers who were not initially selected for this season’s NESCAC Championships roster shaved and tapered for this meet. While the meet represented the last one of the season for most of its participants, it also represents the last chance to be selected to fill one of the few open slots on the Jumbos’ NESCAC championships roster.

Tufts swimmers and divers faced opponents from a mix of NCAA Division I and Division III schools, which included Bates College, Boston College, Boston University, Brown University, Bryant University, College of the Holy Cross, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Northeastern University.

The men’s team finished fourth in team competition, with many personal best

times. One of these personal bests was earned by sophomore Will Stearns, who placed fifth in the 50-yard freestyle with a time of 21.15 seconds.

Stearns was the only swimmer not from Brown to place in the top nine in the event.

Stearns said that the team put in a lot of time preparing for the meet.

“We had a training trip to Florida,” Stearns said. “We really grinded for almost two weeks. Other than that, I would say the support of our teammates was really helpful because not the entire team swam at this past meet and everyone who wasn’t swimming came to every session and was cheering us on.”

Many other personal best times on the men’s team corresponded to podium finishes. Junior James Kim placed third in the 500-yard freestyle with a season best time of 4:41.97. First-year Vedant Bapna finished second in the 100-yard backstroke with a personal best time of 50.56

seconds. The Jumbos swept the podium in the 200-yard backstroke, with personal best times from sophomore Edwin Liang-Gilman at 1:50.63 and Bapna at 1:51.10, and a season best time from senior Ethan Webster at 1:51.36. Sophomore Bora Calis placed third in the 200-yard breaststroke at 2:06.27. Junior Sebastian Cai placed third in the 200-yard butterfly at 1:52.44. LiangGilman had another personal best time of 1:53.83 in the 200yard individual medley and a season best time in the 400yard individual medley, leading him to third place finishes in both events.

The women’s team, on the other hand, finished fifth in the team competition. Junior Allison Brea placed third in the 1,650-yard freestyle at 18:17.05. In the 200-yard individual medley, junior Tory Atkinson placed second with a personal best time of 2:05.90, and first-year Emma Claus placed third with a personal best time of 2:09.43. In the

COURTESY TRACY CLAUS

Tufts men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams at the Boston Winter Open are pictured.

400-yard individual medley, Atkinson placed first at 4:33.10 while Claus placed second at 4:36.04 — both personal bests once again.

For most participants, this was the final meet of the season and their quests for long-term growth begins now. Others who qualified for NESCAC championships, such as Stearns, hope to improve on short notice.

“For me, I need to work on going back to the fundamentals a little bit and getting my turns filed in more because … that was the weakest part of my races this past weekend,” Stearns said.

The women’s NESCAC Championships will take place at Colby College from Feb. 10-13, while the men’s will take place at Colby College from Feb. 17-20.