The Tufts Daily - Thursday, February 17, 2022

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VOLUME LXXXIII, ISSUE 16

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Thursday, February 17, 2022

MEDFORD/SOMERVILLE, MASS.

‘Leading While Black’ to honor legacy of Black leaders at Tufts

by Ariana Phillips

Assistant News Editor

Tufts will host “Leading While Black,” a livestreamed event that will highlight and celebrate the contributions of Black leadership at Tufts, on Feb. 19. The event will honor eight Black leaders who had a lasting effect on the university by transforming decision-making, advancing equity and disrupting existing norms.

“Leading While Black” also examines how the university can move forward and build on the legacy left by these leaders. The project features a multimedia archival exhibit at Tisch Library and a website featuring each honoree’s story.

The 2022 honorees are Bernard W. Harleston, Vivian W. Pinn, Bobbie Knable, Marilyn Glater, Lonnie H. Norris, Lisa M. Coleman, Joanne Berger-Sweeney and David R. Harris. These leaders arrived at Tufts starting in the 1970s. Some bore witness to major events in Black history such as the Great Migration and the civil rights movement, and some are graduates of his-

torically Black colleges and universities.

The event was originally proposed by Katrina Moore, director of the Africana Center; Kris Manjapra, a professor of history at Tufts and Alonso Nichols, Tufts’ chief photographer. The event has been in the works since last June.

Moore and Manjapra both said that Harleston was one of the first individuals to come to mind at the inception of the “Leading While Black” project.

Harleston, who was the first tenured Black faculty member in the School of Arts and Sciences, came to Tufts in 1956 and served as dean of faculty from 1970 to 1980. Harleston is best known for leading with justice and seeking to transform Tufts as an institution.

He is also known for organizing the first faculty of color cluster hire when he brought Professors Gerald Gill, Daniel Brown, Pearl Robinson, Glater and Knable to the university. “[Harleston] had the tenacity and the drive to work through what I’m sure were lots of challenges for him to essentially … set up the first

set of cluster hires of Black faculty,” Moore said.

Gill, who was not named as an honoree, struck Moore, Manjapra and Nichols as another important figure who shaped the legacy of Black leadership at Tufts by institutionalizing many of the changes Harleston set in motion.

Manjapra compared Gill’s legacy to that of Knable, as well as that of Coleman, a former director of the Africana Center and former executive director of the Office of Institutional Diversity.

“They all practice a particular kind of leadership which was not from the top down, but it was being with … students [and] with other faculty and staff,” Manjapra said. “And so that theme of walking with the community as a way of leading feels like it’s one of the things that they’ve given us.”

Manjapra attributed the creation of the project to the summer of unrest in 2020 following the death of George Floyd.

“The Black community has always shown this tremendous power of … community organizing, and of being in a

COVID-19 increases obstacles for Somerville residents with disabilities

by Aaron Gruen News Editor

As the world enters a second year of the pandemic, immunocompromised people and individuals with disabilities continue to face systemic and social detriments to their health and well-being. While many able-bodied individuals are lowering their risk potentials, people with disabilities often have little choice but to remain vigilant. This is not unfamiliar to residents of Somerville, who have expressed frustration over the difficulties that individu-

als with disabilities continue to experience even as the pandemic wanes.

Beth Marfeo, an associate professor of occupational therapy and community health at Tufts, noted that COVID-19 poses a larger threat to those with disabilities.

“Individuals with various health conditions or situations that may predispose them to having a disability, they’re already at a higher risk for negative health consequences.” Marfeo said. “The pandemic has just enhanced those risks.”

CORA HARTMANN / THE TUFTS DAILY

Massachusetts Handicap Parking Signs are pictured on Feb. 16.

Immunocompromised people and those with disabilities face a higher mortality rate from COVID-19 and often encounter mistreatment in hospital settings.

Bonnie Denis, chair of the Somerville Council for Persons with Disabilities, highlighted some of the compounding risks and systemic issues faced by people with disabilities during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I am an amputee, and I am a wheelchair user,” Denis said.

“Those things make me more prone to blood clots. I’m not technically immunocompromised, but I am at greater risk in ways that people aren’t thinking about.

And on top of that, if I were to end up in a hospital, there has been clear bias against people with disabilities and the quality of our life, so I might not get as good treatment.”

Holly Simione, chairperson of the Massachusetts Developmental Disabilities Council and a member of the Somerville Council for Persons with Disabilities, shared her daughter Elizabeth’s story and expressed her frustrations see PANDEMIC, page 2

KIANA VALLO / THE TUFTS DAILY

“Leading While Black,” a multimedia archival exhibit at Tisch Library, is pictured on Feb. 16. struggle together and of showing tremendous creativity and resilience and … especially joy in the struggle,” Manjapra said. “To me, that is the spirit of the ‘Leading While Black’ project.”

Moore noted that many at Tufts are unaware of the history of the contributions of Black staff, faculty and students. “Leading While Black” aims to help build a complete picture of the achievements

of Black members of the Tufts community by sharing the honorees’ life stories through videos and archival work.

Nichols hopes that “Leading While Black” will demonstrate to students and faculty that they have the power to create the communities and spaces that they want to see.

“What I take away with this … is the idea that we make and remake this community see LEADERSHIP, page 2

New GSBS application aims to increase equity, inclusivity

by Amelia Colafati Staff Writer

A committee of faculty, staff and students recently revised the application for Tufts Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences to make it more equitable and accessible for the 2022 admissions cycle. The committee’s work was a project of the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences’ Anti-Racist Working Group.

Elizabeth Storrs, who was the director of enrollment services at the graduate school until December 2022, explained that the committee worked carefully to identify possible areas to improve the application.

“Everybody [was] involved in the admissions process in one way or another, reading very carefully for places we might be restricting what people might feel comfortable telling us, looking for places we invalidated identities, looking for places we didn’t help people show us themselves in their best light,” Storrs said.

The changes in the application ranged from rewording questions

OPINION / page 6

ARTS / page 4

SPORTS / back

The SAT is going digital. What does that mean for test-optional admissions?

The ‘90s: America’s age of apathy

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about socioeconomic background to dividing the personal statement into two distinct parts. The changes were aimed at giving applicants the opportunity to provide a more comprehensive description of their background, abilities and interests.

Another key area of improvement dealt with clarifying the application questions. Najla Fiaturi, assistant professor of medical education at the graduate school and a member of the committee reviewing the application, explained that the application now gives clearer instructions on how to answer each of the prompts.

“The previous version was just asking two things, like you write down [a] personal statement and then [an] academic purpose statement, but there [was] zero guidance on what we are looking for on these statements,” Fiaturi said.

“If you think about someone who doesn’t have [any] exposure with a grad school before, or they … don’t have a counselor or a family member with a graduate degree, it would be really challenging to write.” see INCLUSIVITY, page 2 NEWS

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FUN & GAMES

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OPINION

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THE TUFTS DAILY | News | Thursday, February 17, 2022

THE TUFTS DAILY Alexander Janoff Editor in Chief

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Seminar to highlight the role of Black leaders at Tufts LEADERSHIP

continued from page 1 every day with every interaction [and] with every engagement in our presence on this campus,” Nichols said. “So, if there’s something that we want in our community, then we make that by the ways in which we interact. And so, to me, that’s a powerful tool.”

Be rg e r- Swe e n e y, who served as dean of the School of Arts and Sciences from 2010 to 2014, laid the foundation for what is now the Department of Studies in Race, Colonialism and Diaspora.

As dean of the faculty and dean for natural and social sciences from 1994 to 1997,

Glater devoted her work to diversity and inclusion, beginning the First-Year Scholars Program to support first-year students from underrepresented groups.

Harris, former provost and senior vice president, created Tufts’ first comprehensive university-wide strategic plan and founded the University Faculty Senate.

Knable served as dean of students at the School of Arts and Sciences from 1980 to 2000 and played a role in the creation of the Asian American, Women’s, Latinx and LGBT Centers.

Norris, former dean of the Tufts University School of Dental Medicine, helped Tufts become a

national leader in the enrollment of Black and Latinx students.

Pinn, former associate dean of student affairs at the Tufts University School of Medicine, focused on increasing the admission and mentorship of women and students of color to Tufts.

Pinn is still serving on the medical school’s Board of Advisors.

Nichols reflected on the impact of Black leadership.

“I think the fact of the matter is, Black leadership confronted this university with the question of its limits and what it was not doing. And once the university acknowledged those limits, it began to say, ‘Okay, there’s more,’” Nichols said. “I think that is a way [in] which Black leadership has

operated nationally and locally within our institution to open up the doors for everyone to have a fuller experience and to have their needs met in the institution.”

Manjapra hopes Tufts will create more opportunities for leadership in the Black community and in other underrepresented groups.

“That kind of recognition will broaden the gates [and] allow talent that is in there to be at the decision-making tables,” Manjapra said.

“Because it’s when the decision-making table looks different than it does today that the university can truly understand how to grow beyond its limits.”

best outcomes for the majority of patients — rely on snap judgements that often disfavor people with disabilities.

“The judgements that are passed based on looking at someone … It’s inexcusable,” Simione said.

For many people with disabilities, in-home care or nursing is essential, but the risk of COVID-19 infection and the understaffing of nurses have made it more difficult for many to receive quality care.

“A lot of individuals with disabilities count on social services or supports, … and a lot of those services were suspended for a time to help prevent the spread of COVID,” Marfeo said.

In Somerville, some outdoor dining setups have adversely affected people with mobility impairments by encroaching on sidewalks and failing to offer adequate ramps.

Denis said that although the Somerville Council for Persons with Disabilities has suggested minor changes to make outdoor dining safer and more accessible, government officials have largely focused on the needs of local businesses.

“We want a thriving business

community, but there seems to be a fundamental lack of understanding that complying with the [Americans with Disabilities Act] and other disability-related laws is not a choice,” Denis said. “It’s the law, and it’s part of the cost of doing business.”

For some individuals who are immunocompromised, even simple chores are risky. Meg GradyTroia, a Somerville resident who is immunocompromised, said they can afford to take only a few essential risks.

“I spend [my risk budget] on my child’s getting to have some social time with friends and on going to the doctor, and that’s pretty much it,” Grady-Troia said. “It’s been really hard to do simple things, like pick up prescriptions safely and patronize the restaurants and shops I love around town” With Massachusetts’ easing of mask mandates, Marfeo suggested that hybrid options should remain available to be inclusive of people with varying needs.

“People need different things at different times, and being flexible with that [by] having hybrid modalities as standard can be

really beneficial,” Marfeo said.

Denis expressed frustration that hybrid options are being removed, even though it’s clear that many people with disabilities rely on hybrid options to remain safe.

Simione’s daughter was unable to attend school during the early days of the pandemic.

“Not being able to go to school when you have those needs is very difficult,” Simione said. “Her medical situation made it unsafe for her to be in school. Even on regular days when someone might have a cold could be very dangerous for her.”

Grady-Troia believes a stronger enforcement of mask rules would be a simple way to protect vulnerable populations.

“I wish there was some way for local businesses to enforce mask mandates that didn’t put the burden on the lowest paid,” GradyTroia said.

For now, Simione plans to keep on telling Elizabeth’s story.

“I’ll stand in front of anyone,” Simione said. “I’ll do whatever it takes to get people to understand that it didn’t have to happen, but we can make it not happen in the

COVID-19 pandemic limited medical resources needed by people with disabilities PANDEMIC

continued from page 1 about the way health care facilities treat individuals with disabilities.

“Elizabeth was really sick, but because she didn’t cry, because her pain thresholds were different, because her labs didn’t fit the typical [standards], they refused to operate,” Simione said. “They sent her home, and when she did go back months later, not only did she have to have that organ removed … a one-hour [emergency] surgery became three [hours].”

Elizabeth, who was blind and deaf, passed away in May 2020 when many healthcare services were suspended because of the pandemic.

“They wouldn’t do lab tests, they wouldn’t check anything, they just stopped,” Simione said.

“And if they didn’t have those [policies] in place, she wouldn’t have been in pain.”

Simione noted that crisis standards of care — metrics that hospitals use to determine the

GSBS application pool increasing in diversity INCLUSIVITY

continued from page 1 The committee derived two new essay questions from that singular personal statement with the intent of giving applicants more space to talk about themselves instead of simply their research experience, Storrs said.

In terms of identity questions, the original application had a series of generic questions, with binary answers. On a question regarding disability, the prompt asked, “Are you disabled?” The committee worked to make these questions more inclusive, by including open-ended response boxes and by rephrasing the questions.

Storrs discussed some of these changes. “[For] the current labeling of the field where we asked about gender identity, it was labeled sex/gender, and we just changed that straight up to gender,” Storrs said. “On pronouns, we had called that field ‘preferred pronouns,’ and we’re like, we don’t need the word ‘preferred’—

‘pronouns’ is a perfectly good field there. We [also] added a free text box for self-identification in the race and ethnicity sections.”

The committee worked to change the question on socioeconomic status to clarify why the question is asked.

“Students who meet [the National Institutes of Health’s] criteria are eligible for specific types of grants, … so it’s both advantageous for students to know that those [resources] exist and also advantageous for us to be able to say we have a program that serves these students,” Storrs said.

Leon Reijmers, associate professor of neuroscience at Tufts University School of Medicine, explained in an email to the Daily that the school’s applicant pool has been changing in recent years due to efforts to reevaluate the accessibility and inclusivity of its admissions process.

“Yes, our applicant pool has become more diverse over the past years and we have been able to

QUAN TRAN / THE TUFTS DAILY

The Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences is pictured on Feb. 11. more successfully recruit applicants from under-represented groups,” Leon Reijmers wrote.

Another change the team made was adding a fee waiver request question to the application so that applicants do not have to climb through bureaucratic loopholes to find the proper form.

The team was happy with the overall result. The team members were especially pleased with the

rewording of questions to create a more inclusive application, aimed at attracting a more diverse group of applicants.

Fiaturi shared her evaluation of the revised application.

“I think the thing that makes me happy is that I want to know that we are accessible to students with different backgrounds,” Fiaturi said.

“And then to do this, we need to use the right language.”

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David Wingens Potty Talk

Barnum’s last act

B

arnum Hall is known for its status as the only nice building available to humanities students, but lesser known are its anomalous bathrooms. Renovated from 2018–19, Barnum’s visionaries seem to have had a more naive view of what a bathroom could be than the rigid designers of newer buildings like the Cummings Center did. Instead of being designed for efficiency, Barnum’s bathrooms are an ode to idiosyncrasy.

Features AMBIANCE This bathroom is so cavernous that I spent about 15 minutes screaming just to marvel at the impressive echo. It is as if someone was told they had a set amount of space for a bathroom, made of a list of about four things that often go in bathrooms, arranged them randomly and then forgot to finish the job. The most fascinating omission is the lack of a mirror — a nod to P.T. Barnum’s famously ascetic lifestyle.

The only decoration is a single sign detailing how to wash hands, but without a mirror I was not able to verify that I was accurately following instructions. This barrier may cause people to refrain from handwashing entirely.

It fails to live up to the Barnum family name but has plenty of room for improvement, which means it will get a hopeful 6/10.

PRIVACY While it is technically quite private, the abundance of open space made me slightly uncomfortable 6/10.

CONVENIENCE The bathroom I am reviewing is on the second floor of Barnum, making it convenient for walks around campus, but only if you have time to traverse the Barnum stairs and deal with the signs in Barnum that have arrows suggesting multiple paths to your destination.

This bathroom also has a shower, but much like the showers discussed in last semester’s

3 Thursday, February 17, 2022

column, it lacks the necessary amenities. It is stocked with neither soap nor shampoo, making it more of a decoration than a real convenience. Additionally, the floor of the shower is flush with the floor. Dear reader, if you were not aware, being flush with the floor is to shower design what unsliced bread is to bread design — an unmitigated disaster. If left running, the shower will undoubtedly flood the bathroom. The architects tried to mitigate this effect by placing a drain in the shower section of the bathroom.

Having a drain outside of the shower is no replacement for proper design!

Pretty good location and the option of a (however flawed) bathing experience merit this

bathroom a 6.5/10 on convenience.

HOW MANY THINGS DO I HAVE TO TOUCH This bathroom gets credit for having a little protrusion on the toilet seat which can be used to place it in either sitting or standing position. Additionally, the paper towel dispenser is of the variety that only needs to be touched if it malfunctions, but that is a reasonably likely occurrence. Still too much touch for my liking. 3/10.

Too strange to be truly avant-garde, this Spartan shower room gets a 5.4.

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

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Thursday, February 17, 2022

RaiAnn Bu Micro-Trend of the Week

Inspired by the children’s section

P

retties Venice is ’90s supermodel nostalgia captured in a bottle.

The clothing brand is certifiably authentic and from the mind of Linda Meltzer, a stylist credited for the popularization of the baby tee of the ’90s and the built-in bra cami. Back in the ‘90s, Meltzer’s brand, then called Tease Tees, attracted the influential ‘it’ girls of the decade as Meltzer’s clientele: Drew Barrymore, Reese Witherspoon, Naomi Campbell and more. The brand owner’s style influenced a decade, and we can see her work in definitive ‘90s cultural moments, like in “Friends” (1994–2004), “Clueless” (1995), famous photoshoots and music videos.

Meltzer’s brand, now revived as Pretties Venice, includes her personal curation of lingerie, bras, tees and dresses all reminiscent of a hazy vintage California. Inspired by the feminist icons of the ’80s as well as ’80s nostalgia, Pretties Venice depicts an understated yet remarkable femininity that Meltzer characterized as “à la Gloria Steinem.”

Pretties Venice, though minimalistic in design, has a definitive look: ethereal whites, a predilection for frills and romantic knitting. Her clothing sells this softness of childhood mixed with hazy nostalgia for a lost type of femininity, when women would wear matching set pajamas and curlers. Followers, sometimes paying upwards of $140 for a top, wait for the clothing brand’s limited stock drops.

The aesthetic stylings of Pretties Venice have subtly integrated into the current mainstream in the repopularization of baby ribbing and lace details for cotton shirts. Brands such as Skims and Brandy Melville have released their own renditions of baby tees and cotton eyelet tops lined with lace and decorated with delicate pointelle. This style also synthesizes well with the trend of ballet-inspired fashion, both playing on themes of softness, romance and distinctly feminine aesthetics.

However, the brand exemplifies society’s problematic relation of femininity to a childlike nature. These trends, delicate and feminine, take direct inspiration from baby clothing, perpetuating a sexualization of children’s clothing. From lacey details to frilly edges, the brand endorses the physical infantilization of women and further reinforces female beauty standards, tying femininity to fragility, demureness and innocence.

The popularity of Pretties Venice demonstrates how youthfulness is integral to the desirability of women, definitive of their femininity. But Meltzer is not the one to blame; she only capitalizes off of this phenomenon. Beauty standards of women reflecting childlike attributes exist and will continue to exist because of a preexisting patriarchal inequality which manifests in the sexualization of young girls and children. Our current fashion craze is simply a reflection.

7/10 impulse to buy. Despite everything I’ve said, I’ve become a huge sucker for her designs and if given the right price I would most definitely fold.

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

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Chuck Klosterman’s book ‘The Nineties’ and why we shouldn’t care

The author of “The Nineties” (2022), Chuck Klosterman, is pictured.

by Sadie Leite Arts Editor

Chuck Klosterman writes about society’s most prevalent topics, including pop culture, sports and music, in his many works of nonfiction and fiction. The bestselling author’s newest novel showcases his brilliant, blunt writing style. “The Nineties” (2022) tackles one of humanity’s most tumultuous decades.

Klosterman focuses on some of the complex truths of the decade. For instance, he asserts that people in the ‘90s cared most about not caring at all. This idea, among many others he describes, seems silly, and yet he explains how it permeates to this day. Some of the ‘90s’ seemingly ridiculous, forgotten principles which he explains in his book are still true –– many saturate modern life. Other highlights frozen in those 10 years are also timeless, and Klosterman writes about these lost features in a way that makes those who lived the experience crave them and those that didn’t long to recreate them.

In the introduction, Klosterman writes, “There’s always a disconnect between the world we seem to remember and the world that actually was” in order to frame the narrative. When discussing a historical time period that feels lost in time when really its end is very recent, confusion clouds defining moments.

Still, the ‘90s were revolutionary due to the technological advances that arose.

Yet, despite much of the decade being memorialized on tape, the illusory nature of the decade still muddles the timeline.

So, what happened? Klosterman explains what happened with disconnected anecdotes that combine (somehow) into ‘90s themes. Television, for example, exploded. The most popular show “Seinfeld” (1989–1998) shifted comedic tropes and reinvented language parts. “Game of Thrones” (2011–2019) is rooted in the modern consciousness as

one of the most watched series of recent years. Its 2019 finale garnered a particularly large viewership. Klosterman reveals that each episode of “Seinfeld” maintained the same mind boggling audience as the “GOT” finale. The more astonishing note when comparing the two hits, though, is that in the ‘90s no one cared if they missed a “Seinfeld” episode. A missed “GOT” episode, however, with its hour-long adventures buttressed by complex details all crucial to the millions of diverging plotlines, would torment a 21st century fan. But Klosterman claims that a ‘90s dweller would rather claim that they didn’t own a television than admit to caring about “Seinfeld’s” most recent plot conflict.

Not caring wasn’t the only definer of the time. Still, its paradoxical nature extends to Klosterman’s other stories definitive to the ‘90s. For Klosterman, for example, the authors who embodied the ‘90s the most were Elizabeth Wurtzel and Mark Leyner because “They were supernatural exaggerations of so many ‘90s personalities who were just walking around, talking about themselves and driving everyone crazy.” They were smart and charismatic — reflected in their selfaware, strangely intimate novels like “Prozac Nation” (1994) and “Et Tu, Babe” (1992) — to an extent that everyone, in Klosterman’s opinion, wanted to be them, hated them because they weren’t them and liked them so much because really all the characters of the ‘90s really were them.

Does Klosterman ever stop writing in extremely well written circles? At times.

For instance, he explains that the ‘90s were “pre-programmed” by the ‘80s –– many thought the trends and culture popular the decade before would just persevere. This was true for a moment, until the release of Nirvana’s “Nevermind” (1991). It was the most popular punk album because it wasn’t exactly punk. As Klosterman

COURTESY WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

explains it, “Nirvana is popular against their will, despite all the conscious choices they made in order to become the most popular band in the world.” In other words, “Nevermind” launched the ‘90s because Nirvana’s attitude exuded the contrarian vibe of not caring, while simultaneously caring a lot.

Klosterman also dips into ‘90s politics. Specifically, he discusses the 1992 presidential election. George H. W. Bush was a widely popular president, until he was cognizant of this, so in ‘90s fashion, and because of broken tax promises, his popularity degraded into widespread discontent.

Evidently, as a result Bill Clinton won the election. What was explicitly ‘90s for Klosterman was the in-between, or the “19%.” Nineteen percent of the popular vote went to independent party runner Ross Perot. A radical voice could pull votes from conservatives and liberals.

Even more, Klosterman explains that the 20 million Americans who voted for a 5-foot-10-inch man from Texas “wanted an alternative.” Perot’s support emphasizes that the ‘90s, though complex and paradoxical, were pushing forward.

People wanted change, even if they had a hard time admitting they cared.

It seems like the ‘90s were about innovation. It was a time to be self-aware of growth and also punish those who celebrated change too loudly. Greatness happened in the ‘90s: Quentin Tarantino, the Bowl Championship Series and the advent of the cell phone era.

Klosterman’s dialogue is complex in a clear way and funny to a specific, impactful point. Read the rest of his backwards stories stemming from the most paradoxical decade: It’s hard to regret doing it, but be careful of admitting you care too much about the book — or too little. “The Nineties” went on sale Feb. 8 and is available at most local bookstores.

Thursday, February 17, 2022 | Fun & Games | THE TUFTS DAILY

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F& G

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LATE NIGHT AT THE DAILY Alex: “https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2OpZ93uHydPXSGp06W3gzb?si=4c4459359306460b”

Fun & Games

SUDOKU

LINDA C. BLACK ASTROLOGY

Aquarius (Jan. 20–Feb. 18) Study financial strategies with your partner. Join forces to find resources. Gather nuts and store for later. Take advantage of a windfall opportunity.

SEARCHING FOR HEADLINES...

Difficulty Level: Gathering all your stuff at Hodge after paying.

Wednesday’s Solutions

CROSSWORD

6 Thursday, February 17, 2022

Opinion

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VIEWPOINT

For many, ‘test optional’ is not really optional When the decision for colleges and universities to go test-optional spread rapidly through the country like a wildfire due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the SAT started to lose its relevance. Harvard University decided to go test-optional until 2026 to limit the weight of standardized tests in the admission process due to their biased nature, which disproportionately disadvantages students of color and those from low-income families. In 2020, universities in the University of California system decided to steer away from the SAT and ACT permanently for similar reasons.

While some students took this opportunity to pursue other passions which would enhance their applications, 83% of surveyed students indicated a preference toward having the option to submit test scores. This reveals that the high school graduating class of 2022 continues to place value on the SAT. Despite the high-stress environment that testing can cause, students are hesitant to relinquish this opportunity to bolster their applications. This comes from the uncertainty over whether those who decide not to submit test scores will be disadvantaged over those who do.

The College Board’s announcement about the SAT shifting to a digital platform could be seen as an effort to acknowledge the growing lack of confidence in the exam.

“In a largely test-optional world, the SAT is a lower-stakes test in college admissions,”

Natalie Brownsell Blue, Brown and Green

The spirit of sustainability

T

ufts is widely known for its student engagement. We all know this.

It’s also well known that we have a bit of a green streak here, proudly supporting our Office of Sustainability and the Eco Reps. As we dive headfirst into another semester on the hill, it’s a good time to step back and appreciate the community we are a part of,

BY ASLI KOÇAK Priscilla Rodriguez, vice president of College Readiness Assessments at the College Board, said.

Recognizing the shift in consensus over the importance of the test, the College Board is now attempting to make the testing experience align with its smaller role in the college admissions process. The changes, which will go into effect in the U.S. by 2024 and globally by 2023, are

meant to meet the evolving needs of current students and teachers alike.

This decision was made in light of results that came from the College Board’s fall pilot program which received positive feedback due to the new exam’s low-stress, time-efficient quality. The exam is now only two hours long and includes reading passages that are more brief, allowing students to have more time per

question. Additionally, calculators are a provision for the entirety of the math section.

The student response to this pilot revealed that these changes improved concentration and lessened time-related anxiety.

Furthermore, the College Board is attempting to address the inequities in accessibility through this new test format.

For example, they are trying to level the playing field for students with financial need

the community that has been built on decades of Jumbos’ voices and their dedication to shaping both Tufts and the world into a better place, one person at a time.

When I first arrived at Tufts two years ago and joined this community, I was in awe of the dedication I saw in students to what was important to them. As I’ve spent more time here, my eyes have been opened to what it means to have such a vibrant community spirit on campus. I have seen peers go out of their way to constantly take more sustainable actions, and I have watched as the entire student body rallied together time and time again, showing our dedica-

tion to improving our campus.

Over time, these observances have caused me to question what it means to me to be part of a community so dedicated to sustainability. Asking myself this question helped me see the connection between being a university of student engagement and a place of community, and caused a transformation of my understanding of this community into a group made of individuals, each acting consistently in ways that better the entire group as a whole. It showed me that the green streak running through the community is not made of paint but of life. It’s made of people and their actions

that build day by day, until the impact can be seen across the entire campus. I realized that dedication to sustainability is a living, breathing thing that can be seen everywhere you look.

So, with the start of a new semester, I ask you to remember that a community is made of individuals, and each individual has an impact on the betterment that the community as a whole can create.

I ask you to take a moment to look in the mirror and ask yourself what you do each day to build our community into a better place, and what you could do tomorrow that you didn’t think of today. What is the betterment you would like

by providing them with the technology necessary to take the test.

Some critics argue these efforts by the College Board are not sufficient to remedy the test’s underlying bias against low-income students and students of color. These new policies have yet to address the advantage that high-income households have through expanded test prep options like tutoring and being able to take the test multiple times.

Its lack of accommodation for students with disabilities has yet to be clearly addressed .

Whether these changes to the SAT create a more equitable process, and whether the test should continue to have the importance that it has historically held, depends on how colleges factor these tests into their admissions processes. Students will likely continue to take the test out of the fear that colleges may not faithfully adhere to their test-optional policies.

However, one upside of this shift in testing policy is that it shows the College Board’s flexibility and its willingness to adapt to new circumstances. For countless students, test scores will continue to be a way to show academic strength. It would be beneficial to all students for the College Board to use its position of monumental importance in the college application process to bridge the gap of inequity instead of slowly losing its relevance.

Redefining the perception of these tests in a changing academic world could help these tests to regain significance as a valuable ‘optional’ opportunity for students to demonstrate their capabilities. to see on campus, and how can you increase the strength of the herd through your own individual, everyday actions?

For me, betterment entails movement toward a more sustainable campus, similar to so many Jumbos before me. I ask you to also consider what it means to you to be a part of a community dedicated to sustainability. And I hope that, like me, it will help you appreciate the role that community plays in sustainability.

Natalie Brownsell is a sophomore studying applied environmental studies. Natalie can be reached at natalie.brownsell@ tufts.edu.

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Thursday, February 17, 2022 | Sports | THE TUFTS DAILY

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Men’s hockey loses two of three in weekend set HOCKEY

continued from back The Jumbos allowed five goals in the second period — including three scored within a minute. Senior forward Angus Scott scored the lone goal for the Jumbos with fewer than five minutes left in the game.

Norton offered his assessment of what he said was the

only bad period of hockey the team played over the weekend.

“Too many turnovers,” Norton said. “We had opportunities to make plays, and we just turned it over at inopportune times, and it got a little contagious there.”

Sophomore goalie Peyton Durand, who started in the net for just the fifth time this season in the second Hamilton match

up, agreed that there was room for improvement in regard to the disappointing second period.

“They basically just dominated us,” Durand said. “For me, I could have been a little better in that second period, but we were just tired. Playing three NESCAC games [is] really hard; three in a row is even tougher.”

With the mixed bag of a weekend, the Jumbos now find

themselves ranked No. 8 out of 10 NESCAC teams.

This year, all 10 teams will qualify for the NESCAC tournament given the effects of COVID-19 on scheduling. While that’s good news for the Jumbos because they don’t need to fight to qualify for a playoff seed, Norton said seeding is not a concern or even a topic of conversation for his young team.

“For us, it’s just been about focusing on getting better every game, trying to get guys to gain confidence, trying to get guys to feel better about how they’re playing,” Norton said. “We want to be playing our best hockey regardless of what seed we are.”

The regular season concludes this Friday and Saturday with games at Colby and Bowdoin, respectively.

Sadio Mané leads Senegal to AFCON triumph AFCON

continued from back tinue his studies and remain a devout muslim, Mané left for Dakar with his uncle.

Far from home, in a city that dwarfed Bambali, Mané was thrown into the deep end.

In a trial showing at Dakar’s foremost academy, Mané remembers being questioned about his boots and shorts, both of which were torn, but he didn’t care as long as he got to play. Once on the ball, he outshone everyone. After joining M’Bour, a club south of Dakar, Mané caught the eye of scouts at Generation

Timothy Valk The Wraparound

Des Richesses en Haillons A quick pass through the neutral zone lands on the stick of Artturi Lehkonen, and he buries it! The Montreal Canadiens are headed to the Stanley Cup Final. That moment was just eight months ago but it seems like a lifetime. Today, the Habs are projected to finish the year with 39 points, a total that would eclipse the 2016–17 Colorado Avalanche for worst in the salary cap era.

We knew Montreal would be depleted this season. Vezinawinning goaltender Carey Price, who many would say carried the team to last year’s finals, had

Foot, a club known for cultivating young Senagalese talent. With ties to French club Metz, GF has produced several African stars beginning in 2000. Emmanuel Adabayor was one of these talents, as the Togolese forward went on to represent the likes of Arsenal and Manchester City.

In 2011, Mané signed for Metz. Upon arrival, the young striker wanted to send a picture to his mother but didn’t own a phone, let alone a camera. He saw a photographer and asked him to take a picture but famously asked if the picture would be free. In his

first season, Mané scored just once and Metz were relegated.

The following season, Mané was sold for a record fee of 4.4 million euros to Austrian club Red Bull Salzburg. After two seasons, Mané had contributed 45 goals and 32 assists, and his name began drawing headlines. In 2012, he represented Senegal at the Olympics in London, falling short at the quarterfinals, which drew further attention from Europe’s top five leagues.

After two successful seasons, Mané transferred to English Premier League club Southampton for 10 million

euros in early September 2014.

Expectations were high on the back of his performances for Salzburg, as the Senegalese was the Saints’ main signing alongside Belgian defender Toby Alderwield from Atlético Madrid. In the 2014–15 season, Mané scored 10 goals, most famously setting the Premier League record for the fastest ever hat trick, completing it in two minutes and 56 seconds against Aston Villa.

The following season, Mané scored 15 goals in all competitions as Southampton finished sixth, only three points behind Manchester United.

As Liverpool manager Jürgen Klopp assembled a new squad of hungry players, Mané fit his template perfectly. Having signed a five-year contract for 34 million euros, Mané joined Liverpool on the cusp of the club’s arguably most successful era. In his six seasons at Anfield, Mané has formed a lethal trio with Mohamed Salah and Roberto Firmino. His pace, deft touch and eye for goal have left veteran defenders on their knees. Now both a Premier League and Champions League winner, Mané sits at the table alongside the greatest African players to grace the sport.

meniscus surgery during the offseason and has yet to lace the skates. Captain and shutdown defenseman Shea Weber’s career is likely over due to battle scars.

Faceoff wizard Phillip Danault fled to Los Angeles as a free agent.

The signs were there for a drop in the standings, but becoming pulseless on the ice was not in the cards.

Because it’s not just that the Habs are losing — it’s how they’re losing. Recent thrashings by the lowly Devils and Sabres show just how noncompetitive this team is. Newly hired president Jeff Gorton and general manager Kent Hughes finally pushed the default emergency button last Wednesday by firing head coach Dominique Ducharme and replacing him with recent NHL forward Martin St. Louis in the

interim. St. Louis was a small but fierce player — can he jumpstart the development of the Habs’ own undersized sniper Cole Caufield?

Whatever the case, Montreal management should have its sights on the future. First up is the March 21 trade deadline, where Gorton and Hughes will be selling veteran assets like the aforementioned Lehkonen and quality blueliner Ben Chiarot. In July, Francophones should be attending the NHL Draft in Montreal, where, if they officially win the loser’s race, the Canadiens will have the best odds at drafting consensus top prospect Shane Wright of the Kingston Frontenacs. Fans must be prepared for an ugly on-ice product until a new generation of Habs takes place.

Other tidbits from around the league:

1. The race for the Art Ross Trophy — awarded to the player with the most points in the regular season — is heating up, with Jonathan Huberdeau, Nazem Kadri, Alex Ovechkin and teammate Connor McDavid all within three points of the leading Leon Draisaitl.

2. Gorton and Hughes officially kicked off trade deadline season on Monday by shipping right-shot winger Tyler Toffoli to the Calgary Flames for a first-round-pick-highlighted package. Planned or not, Toffoli makes it three former Vancouver Canucks that Calgary has obtained — alongside goaltender Jacob Markstrom and defenseman Chris Tanev.

3. Boston’s own Brad Marchand was suspended six games

after sucker-punching and high-sticking Pittsburgh goalie Tristan Jarry in a 4–2 loss last Tuesday. Marchand now becomes the all-time NHL leader in an uncelebrated category — most suspensions.

4. The Islanders, hit by a COVID-19 outbreak in November, have played the fewest games of any team and are paying the price for that. New York has 17 games scheduled in March alone and will finish the season with 11 games in 18 days.

For the first time in 13 years, the Winter Classic will return to the beloved Fenway Park in 2023!

Enjoy the action this week!

Timothy Valk is a sophomore studying quantitative economics. Timothy can be reached at timothy.valk@tufts.edu.

8 Thursday, February 17, 2022

Sports

tuftsdaily.com

Men’s track and field produces myriad of team bests at BU Valentine Invitational

by Arnav Sacheti Sports Editor

The men’s and women’s track and field teams competed at Boston University’s David Hemery Valentine Invitational, named after the legendary track and field athlete David Hemery, on Friday and Saturday. This was no ordinary collegiate meet: it featured the top high school, college and professional athletes around the country, many of whom broke national records.

“People were flying all the way from Texas to run at a meet, … and they don’t want to travel all that way just to run a mediocre time, so people were definitely very hype in the arena,” sophomore Jack Taylor said. “The atmosphere definitely lended itself to wanting to go out there and compete at your highest level.”

The Jumbos certainly got to a high level, performing well against competitors from all over the nation and across all levels from Division I to Division III. Taylor, the only Jumbo in the 1000m, finished with a time of 2:29.03 and placed 23rd out of 66 finishers. This is both a team best in the 1000m this season and a personal best for Taylor.

“Once I was in the race, I felt pretty good going into it,” Taylor said. “I felt pretty relaxed and didn’t have too many nerves. I was pretty confident going into it that I would run well, and I was pleased with it in the end that it went about as planned.”

In addition, junior Alex Lemieux performed extremely well in the 60m invite race, in which only 26 runners ran, and the 200m, achieving times of 7.04 seconds and 21.75 seconds, respectively. These perfor-

mances netted him 14th overall out of 25 finishers in the 60m and 20th out of a whopping 210 competitors in the 200m. Lemieux was able to break through the crowd, and not only finish in the top 20, but also come very close to the personal best that he achieved two weeks ago at another Boston University meet.

Sophomore Luke Botsford performed impressively in an equally large field of 196 competitors in the 400m event. With a time of 48.65 seconds in the event, he placed 24th overall.

Along with it being his personal best in the indoor 400m and the team’s best this season, after the banked track conversion, it is the 14th best time in Division III across the nation this season. Junior Andrii Campbell, who came in 64th with a time of 49.99; first year Noah Turner, who came in 79th with a time of

Hockey team loses twice to Hamilton but crushes Amherst

50.37 and first year Ethan Forde, who came in 91st with a time of 50.62, rounded out Tufts’ top 100 finishers in the event.

In the 800m, senior Nick Delaney finished 93rd out of 226 with a time of 1:55.68. It was only 0.22 seconds off of his personal best in the event, despite this being only his second race after fully recovering from an injury he has been dealing with for almost two years.

“Nick Delaney … had been battling injury for two years, and he had his first race in the 1k the week prior to this and then he came out in the 800 and ran a 1:55, which was an amazing time for someone who had a run through so much adversity in the past two years,” Taylor said.

In the mile, first-year Alex Friedman finished with a teamwide season best time of 4:20.13,

The boy from Bambali: Sadio Mané rewrites history for Senegal

by Bharat Singh

Assistant Sports Editor

KIANA VALLO / THE TUFTS DAILY

Tufts forward Brendan Skarda skates towards the puck during Tufts 8–5 win over Amherst on Feb. 12.

by Jake Freudberg Sports Editor

It was an up-and-down weekend for the Tufts hockey team: an overtime loss, a commanding victory and a crushing defeat.

The weekend’s two losses against Hamilton and a win against Amherst bring Tufts’ record to 5–13–2, with just one weekend remaining in the season.

On Friday, Tufts hosted Hamilton, losing 4–3 in overtime. The game was closely contested through the second period though Hamilton pulled ahead 3–1 in the final seconds of the second period. But two Tufts goals scored by senior defenseman Tom Tresca and sophomore forward Fisher Shea in the first seven minutes of the third period tied the score.

A roughing penalty on the Jumbos at the end of the third

period gave the Continentals a man advantage to begin overtime, and they capitalized on it. With control of the puck, the Continentals fired off several shots in the first minute of the extra period before Nick Ritugliano found the back of the net to end the game, 4–3.

Despite the loss, head coach Patrick Norton said he thought the team played well overall, which continued into the next night’s Senior Night 8–5 upset victory against Amherst.

Sophomore forward Aidan Lovett started the scoring for the Jumbos just over two minutes into the game, and by the first part of the second period, four other Jumbos scored to give the team a 5–1 lead. The scoring fest continued for both teams into the third period, but the Mammoths couldn’t catch the Jumbos.

Eight different Jumbos scored each goal. Amherst did outshoot Tufts 46–25, but senior goalie Josh Sarlo made 41 saves.

Norton was impressed by how the Jumbos played in the game against Amherst.

“Our guys really competed hard, and I thought [they] had great focus and stayed within the program despite the fact that there were some challenges,” Norton said. “Offensively and defensively, I liked the way we moved the puck and I liked the way we attacked the net. I thought there were even more opportunities to shoot the puck.”

Things went south the next day, in another matchup against Hamilton, which had been rescheduled from earlier in the season. see HOCKEY, page 7

which was good for 179th out of 275. Four Jumbos ran the mile under 4:30. This race had an extremely competitive field, with 12 runners going under four minutes.

The highest finish that the Jumbos got in any of the races was by senior Sam Gatti, who finished 11th out 72 in the 5000m unseeded race. With a time of 14:45.70, it is the 40th ranked time in the nation this season.

Finally, sophomore field standout Harry Rienecker-Found finished third out of 26 competitors in the high jump, jumping 6 feet 7 inches.

The team will now focus its attention on the Triangle Classic this Saturday at Springfield in preparation for the New England Division III Indoor Championships happening the following weekend at Middlebury.

A sea of Egyptian red holds its collective breath as midfielder Mohanad Lasheen steps up to the spot. After a slightly stuttered runup, his shot is saved as Senagalese goalkeeper Edouard Mendy who dives confidently to his right.

Now the score reads 3–2 Senegal, and with a chance to win it, a chance to conquer the continent, up steps Senegal’s talisman, Sadio Mané. Time stood still, as did the ball he so gently placed on the penalty spot. A swift glance at the sky, followed by the referee’s whistle, and Mané had scored, striking the ball powerfully past the outstretched glove of Egypt’s goalkeeper Gabaski. As the net bulged, the Lions of Teranga charged the field, engulfing their star player as their tricolor flags waved proudly into the night. Mané had done it, but amid the euphoria, he hadn’t forgotten his Liverpool teammate, Mohamed Salah, as the pair embraced. Mané’s brilliance as a player and a man had led him to glory at the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), but his quest for this crown has been a long journey in the making.

Born in Bambali, a tiny village tucked 400 kilometers southwest of the capital Dakar, Mané grew up playing football on the streets, at times using grapefruits, cans and even stones as balls.

In his documentary “Made in Senegal” (2021), Mané explains how becoming a farmer was the only path out of extreme poverty in the area. Poverty, however, couldn’t stand in the way of the beautiful game. As a child, Mané followed older players from the

local village team who inspired him to begin playing.

During the 2002 FIFA World Cup, Senegal shocked the world by making the quarterfinals and surviving a daunting group stage that included Uruguay, Denmark and France. Mané recalls Senegal’s 1–0 victory over defending champions France with his hero El-Hadji Diouf leading the attack. Seeing the Senegalese side challenge on the world stage lit a spark for Mané — his dream felt attainable. He, too, dreamed of wearing the green and white jersey. One morning while working the fields, he promised his uncle Ibrahima Touré that he’ll make sure that one day he won’t have to work as a farmer. His uncle laughed in disbelief.

Mané’s first major setback came with the loss of his father.

Just seven years old, Mané heard the news from a cousin while playing on a communal field.

The tragedy shook Mané to his core, as he worried about his mother and struggled to accept the situation.

At 15, Mané was widely considered the best in his region and began representing his village club. His friends nicknamed him “ballon buwa” — “ball wizard” — as his magical dibbling dazzled local crowds.

Mané’s family members were the imams, people who lead prayers in mosques, and weren’t supportive of his footballing obsession. To truly blossom and have a shot at his dream, Mané knew he had to leave Bambali.

After convincing his family and promising his mother to consee AFCON, page 7