Tufts faculty weigh in on new Center for Expanding Viewpoints in Higher Education
Yasmin Benitez Contributing Writer
Tufts faculty members have voiced differing opinions about the newly announced Center of Expanding Viewpoints in Higher Education, citing concerns over how it will be integrated with their teaching. The announcement of the center came earlier this month from University President Sunil Kumar and has been placed under the stewardship of its inaugural director, Eitan Hersh, a professor in the Department of Political Science.
CEVIHE was partly born out of student feedback to Hersh’s course, “American Conservatism,” which was one of the first of its kind to discuss conservative values and viewpoints. Hersh explained that it has roots in his own undergraduate experiences at Tufts, shaped by the post-9/11 landscape and talking politics with peers of various ideological tendencies.
He recounted a shift in the student population when he returned to Tufts as a professor in 2017, feeling that conversations across ideological divides that had defined his undergraduate experience were missing from campus.
“I felt like cross-ideological engagement was really missing,” Hersh said. “For one thing, there just wasn’t the same kind of lively conservative ecosystem that there was when I was a student. And to the extent that there was, there just wasn’t a lot of these rooms of engagement across difference.”
Hersh structured “American Conservatism” around discussions of hot-button political issues from multiple opposing views. He shared that the student feedback from the course was mainly positive. After students asked him to expand upon the class, Hersh began to believe
Private music lessons suspended for fall as director of applied music position remains unfilled
Private music lessons for students have been suspended for fall 2025. Instructors received news of the suspension in July, and students were notified in August. The main reason provided was that the position of director of applied music — responsible for overseeing and organizing the lessons — was left vacant.
The initial announcement came in an Aug. 15 email by Kwasi Ampene, chair of the music department, stating that the reason for the cancellation stemmed from the
administration’s withdrawal of funding for the director position. The email was recalled later the same day and replaced with an update citing a “continued staffing vacancy” as the reason for the suspension.
“It remains a mystery why, after very frequent dialogue over the summer with the Music Department Chair, faculty and staff who expressed to the Senior Director of Administration’s office that we needed timely permission to search for a professional musician and administrator to take on the components of the [director of applied
Ketanji Brown Jackson hosts event at Chevalier Theater
Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson spoke at an event at the Chevalier Theater in Medford on Sept. 11. One of the latest stops on her book tour, the venue was full of attendees.
The justice did not focus on discussing national political issues, instead reflecting on her life before the Supreme Court and her new memoir “Lovely One.”
The event opened with Jackson reading from the preface of her book, detailing her personal journey to the Supreme Court. She spoke of her experience being sworn in and reflected on the progress that made it possible for a Black woman to take her place on the nation’s highest court.
“I had to keep reminding myself this moment was real,” Jackson read aloud from her preface, describing her experience swearing in. “[I was] the first black woman to sit on the Supreme Court in its 233-year history.”
Jackson was interviewed by Imani Perry, a writer and professor at Harvard University, who asked about specific vignettes from the book and Jackson’s intentions in writing it. Jackson highlighted the strength she drew from understanding where she came from.
“I think for me, personally, history helps when I think about the adversity, anger and outrage of prior generations,” Jackson said. “It helps me put it in perspective.”
Jackson then went on to answer pre-submitted
audience questions about a range of topics, including her daily life and personal interest in theater.
One audience question posed to Jackson was how she keeps faith when dealing with adversity. She once again drew inspiration from history and took hope in the distance the nation has traveled.
“When I think about how far we’ve come as a nation, not only do I feel grateful, but it gives me hope, and it helps me to endure the anger, outrage, et cetera,” Jackson said.
Answering another audience question about what brought her the most joy during her tenure on the Supreme Court, Jackson mentioned that inspiring young people was one of the most joyful aspects of her role.
“The thing that I love about my job the most is when I get to invite future students to the board,” Jackson said. “I get to have audiences and people who listen to my life story. It’s a wonderful opportunity to connect.”
Sophomore Isadora Alexis, who attended the event, found that the event was enjoyable,
though it was not what she was anticipating.
“I think it wasn’t exactly what I was expecting, but I appreciated the fact that I could be in the same space as her and hear some of her opinions and thoughts and ruminations on her own life and what brought her to the moment where she is now,” Alexis said.
Alexis also described an exciting energy in the theater.
“It was so cool, also being around such an invested crowd. Like everyone was there, everyone was very enthusiastic, very much in the moment,” Alexis shared. “It really helped me, at least, to make the most of it, and really take away as much as I could from her interview.”
While much of the talk was very thoughtful and serious, there were also several humorous vignettes about Jackson’s life.
“I enjoyed how light-hearted [Jackson] was. She was very comedic. It felt very informal, which I wasn’t expecting,” Alexis said.
Carly Hope Assistant News Editor
see CEVIHE, page 2
see MUSIC, page 2
see JACKSON, page 3
Anika Parr Deputy News Editor
VIA WIKIMEDIA COMMONS Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson is pictured.
Professor Hersh aims to diversify campus discussions with new center
CEVIHE continued from page 1
that many of the liberal-leaning students he was teaching would benefit from more exposure to conservative ideas.
Despite this, he stressed that there is a balance between presenting conservative ideas and being committed to viewpoint diversity.
“This is going to be a mature political space on campus; it’s not about one side or another,”
Hersh said. “It’s about students who want to lean into a core feature of adulthood, especially in a diverse political space, where they are going to try to learn from other people and take them seriously and also challenge them respectfully and benefit from that experience.”
It is a mission that Alon Burstein, visiting assistant professor of political science, finds pressing as well. Burstein, an Israel Institute Fellow whose work centers on violent collective action with a specific focus on the Israel-Hamas conflict, has observed a shift in debate, with student discussion on contentious issues being preceded by an apology in fear of offending someone.
“First and foremost, students are scared in class to present their opinion,”
Burstein said. “The amount of times that students start their question with: ‘I’m sorry,’ ‘I’m sorry if this is offensive,’ ‘I’m sorry if this is wrong,’ ‘I’m sorry if I don’t know,’ ‘I’m sorry if I’m uneducated.’ It’s exhausting. But also that shows you the level of fear students have. Everyone’s scared cause they feel like they should know.”
Natasha Warikoo, professor in the Department of Sociology, pushed back against certain
reasons for the establishment of the new center. She acknowledged that circumstances have changed with the rise of social media and polarization, but opposed the idea that self-censorship among students is a new development.
“I do think sometimes students hesitate to share their views because they worry what their peers will think of them. That has always been the case, that was the case when I was in college,” she said.
Warikoo also questioned a proposed policy of having faculty opt in to have their syllabi reviewed by CEVIHE to ensure courses include differing viewpoints, as a similar program already exists, called
the Pedagogical Partnership Program, in which a student can give feedback on syllabi.
Warikoo added that it is a general goal of faculty and in academia to promote differing opinions and induce debate in classrooms.
“I’ve spoken with a lot of colleagues around the country and at Tufts who also really think about pedagogical strategies to encourage students to disagree and to voice dissenting opinions in the classroom,” Warikoo said.
Although both Burstein and Warikoo have different plans on whether to collaborate with the center, both emphasized the importance of the center’s first few years in deciding the level of campus-wide collaboration it will create and the biases
the center may be perceived as having.
“I think the way it’s perceived in the first couple of rounds will probably have a lot of impact on whether this is well received as: ‘If you want to diversify, this can help you.’ As opposed to: ‘Oh, this is the university meddling in my syllabus,’” Burstein said. Hersh said that he is aware of these concerns.
“This is not a right-wing center, this is not an attempt to change the university on the behalf of conservative donors. It’s not like that at all,” Hersh said. “Most people can see that there’s a problem to be solved. … We have a hard time having conversations across differences, not just among students.”
Swan song for the private music lesson program
MUSIC continued from page 1
music] position … the result was: nothing,” Music Professor John McDonald wrote in an Aug. 21 letter to Bárbara Brizuela, dean of the School of Arts and Sciences.
While details about implementing the program’s return have not yet been released, both the music department and the administration stated that they remain committed to resuming private lessons in the spring. Ampene confirmed that a search committee is now being formed to fill the director role.
Students expressed frustration at the abrupt change.
“I was definitely blindsided by it,” sophomore Sara Levenson, a double major in music and clinical psychology, said. “It was very short notice, especially when I’ve spent this whole summer preparing pieces to play with my teacher and get feedback on.”
The timing also left instructors scrambling to make up for lost income this fall.
“Teaching at Tufts is my primary source of income. It has been for many years,” Jerry Bussiere, a guitar and ukulele instructor, said. “I’m suddenly placed in the position of, until I can start earning again … how am I going to pay rent and other living expenses, which are quite expensive for me?”
While students can pursue lessons independently, off-campus instruction presents challenges. Campus facilities cannot be used due to liability concerns, creating obstacles with transportation and practice space. Out of roughly 25 students he typically teaches, Bussiere has been contacted by only three to continue lessons privately. Of these three, only one has managed to navigate the logistical challenges and attend a lesson at Bussiere’s home.
“Most students who want course credit are probably not going to take lessons if they can’t get credit,” Bussiere added.
The department has struggled to cover the duties of the director role since the abrupt retirement last year of Edith Auner, who had served as director of applied music and director of outreach activities. While the department managed temporarily last spring, the arrangement quickly proved unsustainable.
“The burden fell on the department administrator, who we just hired in November.” Ampene said. “He had to step up way over and above his duty, and the staff assistant had to step up over and above his duty to cover all the job descriptions.”
According to Department Administrator Christopher Stetson Wilson, he and the staff assistant faced challenges last spring when taking on the coordinator’s duties while maintaining their own.
“The position touches literally hundreds of individuals and families, and all those people need attention and help,” Wilson said. “My role and the staff assistant’s role are already busy enough supporting a midsize academic department. We simply don’t have extra time to commit to an extra job.”
In his letter to Brizuela, MacDonald criticized the suspension of private lessons for the semester.
“What our private teachers do here is interconnected with our research goals and ultimately cannot be separated from the overall educational dynamic that characterizes our departmental contributions to the vibrancy of university life,” MacDonald wrote. “In my three and a half decades here, I have not seen a problem that compromised our departmental mission to both the university and its host communities as detrimentally as this decision.”
STELLA JEONG / THE TUFTS DAILY
Eaton Hall is pictured on April 14.
Jackson speaks about her memoir at Medford live event, connects with local community
JACKSON continued from page 1
While Jackson did cover many topics in her time on stage, Alexis wished she had touched on more current events.
“I wish that she talked more about the current political climate,” Alexis remarked. “I wish we had deviated just a bit from just talking about her book and talked about the modern world a little bit.”
showcase a unique and unseen side to Jackson.
was very nice seeing a bit of a more human side to her.”
Despite wishing that the talk had referenced today’s politics more, Alexis found the event to
“When we see government officials and people who work on the federal level like her, especially at such a polarizing time, they’re definitely boiled down to their decisions and their opinions,” Alexis said. “It
Also, in an effort to protect judges in a period of political violence, there was a group called Support the Courts demonstrating outside of the theater, passing out flyers which read “Support
The Courts” and “Protect our Judges,” calling for nonpartisan support for the protection of judges from violence. Their flyer describes their goal to “demonstrate to judges that there is tremendous public respect for their role and concern for their safety.”
The Fletcher School launches Graduate Certificate in Business for undergraduates
that the aim of this new program is to better equip students for professional careers.
The Fletcher School is now offering a graduate certificate in business for juniors and seniors at Tufts. The program is designed to equip students with skills in finance, marketing and supply chain management, among other competencies. It offers a unique opportunity for undergraduates to earn a graduate-level certification while complementing a wide variety of majors.
To receive the certificate, students must complete four courses: three core courses focused on problem solving fundamentals and one elective. These courses count toward the 120 credits required for an undergraduate degree and are included in regular tuition at no additional cost.
Undergraduates may begin pursuing the certificate as early as fall 2025 or spring 2026.
Bhaskar Chakravorti, Fletcher’s dean of global business, explained
“We have been developing what I would say is a uniquely Tufts approach to business education at Fletcher, which is to connect business intelligence with what we call contextual intelligence,” Chakravorti said.
“What I mean by that is helping people who are preparing to be professionals recognize that business decisions have an enormous impact on decisions that are not in the business area, and vice versa.”
Chakravorti emphasized that the certificate could benefit students across disciplines, including in the sciences and arts.
“You could be a biology major, or you could be an art major, and you could be using your biology major to set up your own bio startup, or you could be an art major and you might want to work in an auction house,” Chakravorti said.
Chakravorti added that the program’s value is heightened
by the complexity of today’s job market and economy.
“We find business to be a very powerful set of tools and principles and frameworks to cut through the noise,” Chakravorti said. “It offers you on-ramps into the private sector, whether you want to go into consulting or finance, or start your own business.”
Chakravorti also noted that the certificate could strengthen applications to graduate programs and provide undergraduates with access to Fletcher research and consulting opportunities.
“We have a number of major research projects across the school where we typically have large numbers of our students who participate,” Chakravorti said.
Arjun Moogimane, a sophomore studying international relations and quantitative economics, said he is interested in completing the certification.
“It seems like a great opportunity to interact with The Fletcher School and take specifically international business classes,” Moogimane said.
In a statement to the Daily, Patrick Schena, professor of the practice and director of Tufts’ finance minor, conveyed excitement over the increased emphasis on economics and business at Tufts and Fletcher.
“As a practitioner-academic, my view is that study of economics and business is essential to a well-rounded undergraduate education,” Schena wrote. “This is because both are so deeply integrated into most fields and disciplines.”
Schena further stressed the broader professional value of business knowledge.
“Even a basic understanding of economics and business can add new dimensions to problem-solving and decision-making in one’s chosen field,” Schena wrote. “It can accelerate advancement into managerial roles. It can even offer opportunities for career transitions.”
In addition to allowing undergraduate students to take Fletcher courses at no extra cost,
the program is also manageable in terms of time commitment.
“The big benefit is you’re not going to be taking extra time to complete the certificate, [and] you’re not going to be paying more to complete the certificate,” Chakravorti said.
For students like Moogimane who already plan to take Fletcher classes, the additional coursework is relatively light and can be achieved with just a few extra semester hours. However, despite having the certificate advertised in one of his first-year courses, Moogimane questioned how many students actually know about the new certificate.
“I don’t know that a lot of students know about it,” Moogimane said. “I know last year, in my Intro to [International Relations] class, they came and gave a little talk about it and gave an intro to the program. So I don’t know how many other classes they did that in.”
The Fletcher School, Tufts' graduate school of international affairs, is pictured
Eli Brigham Assistant News Editor
FEATUrES
MATCHA POWDEr LINES, ANTI-PErIOD CrIES: TUFTS STUDENTS TAKE TO TISCH r OOF FOr PErFOrMATIVE MALE SHOWDOWN
Claire Quirk Wood Features Editor
“Being a performative man just means being a man of the century.”
First-year Christian Hess shared this sen
“When I heard we had a performative [male] contest, I couldn’t believe it, and I said, ‘I have to go. I have to find more performa tive males,’” Herraiz explained.
matcha,” Hess said.
But beyond feminism and matcha, what exactly is a performative man?
The New York Times describes the so-called ‘performative male’ as a man who comports himself in a way — or performs, rather — to make himself more appealing to progressive women. To do so, many men express a distaste for periods and the patriarchy an interest in things oftdeemed either effeminate or feminist, like drinking mat cha, listening to particular music artists (e.g., Clairo or Beabadoobee) and reading feminist literature (preferably multiple books at once).
Performative male competitions, much like the celebrity lookalike competitions that took the country by storm last year, have reached major U.S. cities as well as college campuses like Yale, Syracuse and now Tufts.
Over 200 spectators gathered on Tisch Roof to watch dozens of Tufts stu dents vie for the crown of being Tufts’ most performa tive man.
Inigo Herraiz, a firstyear, was eager to participate.
Cyrus Lerner, anoth er first-year, agreed.
“I’m here to real ly find my people. There aren’t many performative males like me out there, and I wanted to make some friends,” he said.
First-year Meggie Stenback was also excited to participate, especially as one of a select few nonmen in the compe tition.
“You may think I’d be at a kind of disadvantage in the competition given the fact that I might be the only one who’s not a man in the performative man contest, but I truly believe that … we’re all performative,” Stenback said. “Performative men, they love what ‘soft women’ like, so Clairo, Beabadoobee, the tote bag, the jorts, just everything I’ve been rocking, you know? I feel like, if they’re trying to performatize my culture, why I just get in there?”
were strictly performing. First-year Rohaan Iyer prepared himself to share in the interests of performative men, but he ultimately that he doesn’t actu -
“I just really like matcha lattes and Clairo and Beabadoobee. … That’s a lie, I don’t. I like iced lattes. I like Erykah Badu. That’s a little bit more underground,” Iyer said.
First-year Sasha Foster admitted that he was not actually enjoying the matcha in his hand and described it as
When asked to describe women in one word, performers expressed high praise. Iyer chose “sexy,” Herraiz said “everything,” Lerner said “perfect.” Hess suggested two words: “greatness” and “celestial.”
products and threw them into the crowd.
First-year students AlanaKaye Morgan and Mila VonderHaar were spectators at the event. They found out about the event from posters around campus.
“I saw the poster, and I was like, ‘Yeah, I’m going,’” VonderHaar said.
Although the perform ers were trying to gain audi ence approval, VonderHaar emphasized that performa tivity is all about surface-level feminism, and Morgan admit ted that the tampons and pads flying through the air caught her off guard.
“We didn’t appreciate the projectile launching of peri od products,” Morgan said.
Iyer, himself a performer, noted that the performative men were, perhaps, not con tributing to the feminist
A number of students did not cease performing when interviewed, suggesting that the performative man archetype is, for them, an authentic
“I don’t even really think about [being performative]. It’s just so natural for me,” Lerner said.
First-year Em Fritz felt similarly.
“It’s not even a performance, really. It’s just our lifestyle,” he said.
Others, though, were clear that they
Each performer was granted 30 seconds to perform for the crowd however they saw fit. Some performers focused on the difficulties of men struation and led the crowd in chants like “We hate peri ods!” or “F--- the pink tax!” One performer threw a fistful of matcha powder into the air, and Stenback pretended to snort the remnants off the ground. One of the last competitors performed a guitar solo. A number of performers also came equipped with menstrual
“I feel like the fact that there’s this many men one place is already not inist,” he said. “I feel like it’s counterproductive.”
The event was organized, advertised and emceed by sophomores Ava Reijmers and Dhriti Swamy. They were inspired by performative male contests they saw
“We saw it on TikTok, and we thought it looked pretty interesting. And we figured at Tufts especially, there were a lot of performative males, so we thought there would be a very high success rate,” Reijmers said.
“We were just sitting in our dorm one day, and we were like, ‘This would be perfect for our school,’” Swamy said.
to come, and it was a little nerve-wracking to show up and see all these people … but it was definitely exciting,” Reijmers said.
“We’re just so glad people came and were so enthusiastic about everything,” Swamy said. “It was a lot of fun.”
Reijmers expressed hopes that the event could return next year.
“It was a really good time. We could even make it an annual thing. … Maybe next time we have even bigger prizes like free matcha for a year,” she said.
The performers enjoyed the event as well. Fritz noted that they enjoyed the company of the other contestants and expressed interest in getting to know them beyond their performativity.
“It was a nice community on the roof,” Fritz said. “All the people who performed — I want to meet them out of character and be friends with them.”
A Jumbo’s Journey Beers, borders and breakdowns
Iwas recently detained at the border between the United States and Canada. My friends and I decided that it would be fun to spend some time in Montreal before the school year got too tough. Unfortunately, to our dismay, the school year got tough before classes started. Despite the fact that we spent a decent amount of time working during our trip, it was super fun! I got to spend quality time with my friends in a new country, and we were all able to drink legally. (That wasn’t the main point of the trip, but let’s just say it played a pretty big factor in the destination!)
Overall, the trip was excellent and memorable, so much so that every single one of us got sick! I may be patient zero for the Tufts plague…
After our trip, we expected our drive back to be relatively easy — the only challenges being quieting our hangovers and not going crazy over some ridiculous ‘would you rather’ questions. Unfortunately, we were wrong.
At the border crossing, my friends and I were bombarded with questions ranging from the routine ‘Where are you coming from?’ to the more unexpected, like a round of two truths and a lie. When the agent asked if we had anything to declare, one of my friends leaned in with suspicious innocence and dubious intent and announced, “I declared that I currently possess 17 beers in the trunk!” The agent did not like that.
He snatched the keys from the driver and proceeded to inspect every nook and cranny of the car. When he opened the trunk, he meticulously handled all 17 beers, pulling them one-by-one out of the case. He even shotgunned one, leaving us with only 16.
After his thorough inspection, he silently returned to his booth and started furiously writing. He wrote as if he was the next Shakespeare. After some time, he
told us that he was writing us up for minor possession of alcohol (despite the fact that two of us were 21) and instructed us to go inside. Our passports and keys were confiscated and shortly thereafter we were escorted inside by a border patrol agent. Scary times. Inside, we sat side by side on some chairs. We couldn’t talk to each other, nor use our phones. We sat there anxiously waiting. During this time, instead of thinking about what could happen to us, my mind drifted to one of the questions the border patrol agent asked us: “Who are you?”
When he posed the question, I answered with my legal name, as listed on my passport. But deep down, I questioned myself: Who am I?
It’s hard to believe that the school year has just begun. Only two weeks in, and it already feels like I have been here my whole life. But that’s not true. Just a few weeks ago, I was commuting on the L train to my internship in downtown Chicago, sleeping in the same bedroom I have had since middle school and hanging out with friends I’ve known since I was 4 years old. Now, all of that feels like a different life.
Can I confidently say that is who I am: my Chicago self. Or, is it my Tufts self? What about when I graduate college? Will I shift to another self yet again?
These questions haunted me as I sat in detainment. The very essence of who I am felt called into question. It reminded me of a conversation I had with someone about their summer: They loved who they were during those months and worried that returning to Tufts would mean leaving that self behind.
When I was talking with them initially, I didn’t offer any good advice. But sitting at the border, I realized that maybe the point isn’t to choose one ‘true’ self. Being detained doesn’t define who I am — it’s just one version of me, a single sliver of the complete picture.
Life is full of moments like being detained: moments that test us, surprise us, excite us or even embarrass us. Each one adds another layer to who we are. Instead of searching for one true self or thinking that I can only be one version of myself, I think the real growth comes from noticing and celebrating
the different pieces of ourselves. The fun, the awkward, the silence and the spontaneous versions all shape us, guiding us toward the individual we are becoming. And honestly, isn’t it kind of exciting to have a wardrobe of selves to wear?
My existential crisis ended there because we were called up to figure out our 17–beer situation. The agent at the desk looked at us, asked who was 21 years old and then threw our passports and keys back at us and told us to get out and not drink and drive.
We drove the rest of the way back to campus without any more surprises (other than the fact that my friend ordered four small waters from McDonalds…)
So, in the end, the next time I am at the border being detained, and I get asked, “Who are you?” I’ll just give them the truth: “I’m 17 beers deep, and I’m still figuring it out.”
Officially detained, Ben Rachel
Ben
is a junior studying economics. Ben can be reached at benjamin.rachel@tufts.edu.
Meet Juan Gnecco, a professor working to end endometriosis
Flaherty Deputy Features Editor
Originally published Sept. 16.
Nearly one in 10 people assigned female at birth suffer from endometriosis, a chronic disease associated with extreme pain, especially during menstruation, sexual intercourse, bowel movements and urination. Despite its widespread impact worldwide, endometriosis has been severely understudied and the causes and mechanisms underlying the disease remain poorly understood. In 2022, 0.04% of the National Institutes of Health’s budget went towards studying the disease.
Juan Gnecco, assistant professor of biomedical engineering, is working to better understand endometriosis.
Although initially interested in pursuing a career in medicine, Gnecco credits a class he took in college with sparking his interest in biomedical research.
“I was pre-med at the time, so I was very much into trying to do something with human health, so I thought I was going to be going down the doctor route,” Gnecco said. “But then I took a class at community college that was basically making cells fluoresce green, and that was the click [for what] I wanted to do. … Rather than doing the patient component of it, I wanted to do the research-track of understanding and identifying how we cure some of these diseases.”
Following this initial exposure to biomedical research, Gnecco completed his undergraduate degree in biotechnology at Rutgers University and went on to complete his Ph.D. in cellular and molecular pathology at Vanderbilt University. While earning his Ph.D., Gnecco was exposed to women’s health and engineering, two disciplines which would come to play important roles in his career as a researcher.
“I joined a lab that was working on a disease called endometriosis and [studied] the uterus and environmental factors and how they impact the reproductive tract,” Gnecco said. “I came out thinking, how do we not know how this reproductive tract functions?”
While working in a lab at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, he helped to create an organ-on-a-chip model of the uterus. These artificial devices mimic the human uterine environment, enabling comprehensive study of uterine function and disease. Unlike animals — like cattle or mice — that lack the same menstrual cycle or reproductive system as humans, this model enables a more nuanced understanding of cell-cell communication in female reproductive organs. After graduating, he completed his postdoctoral work in biological engineering with the endometrium team at MIT with Dr. Linda Griffith.
Since joining the Tufts faculty in 2022, Gnecco has continued to explore the field of reproductive biology, serving as the principal investigator of the Gnecco Laboratory of Reproductive Engineering, colloquially known as the Gnecco lab. In explaining his rationale behind this research group, he expressed his interest in applying models to better understand physiological and pathological conditions.
“When I was ready to move on to my faculty position, I really wanted to utilize the tools that we had created for a more biological purpose, to try to understand the mechanisms that regulate these processes,” Gnecco said. “Rather than just creating these models, I wanted to apply some of these models.”
The lab studies many different topics related to reproductive health, including endometriosis, fertility and infertility, and the
role of nerve fibers in disease progression.
He shared that the guiding principle of the lab is to understand tissues and how they regulate inflammation. Endometriosis occurs when tissues similar to those inside the uterus grow outside the uterus. He explained that while tissue inflammation can sometimes be very harmful, it is also essential for biological processes like pregnancy.
“We think of inflammation as this really bad thing … it’s also a necessary thing to maintain normal tissue function,” Gnecco said.
He further emphasized the importance of understanding these tissues.
“How does a tissue know and regulate that inflammatory process? That’s still a black box we do not know … but if we can unlock them, then we can start to think about how we can utilize that to treat diseases … both in the reproductive track but also systemically,” Gnecco said.
Significantly, the university’s support for Gnecco’s research extends beyond research funding. He cited his emotional connections with other faculty and students, as well as the university’s positive learning environment, to be essential factors in his motivation, especially during challenging times in the BME department.
“Tufts in particular is very supportive,” Gnecco said. “In my department, people have been very collaborative. On hard days, it makes it easier … when you have a good community then you thrive even more.”
In addition to his role as the Gnecco lab’s principal investigator, Gnecco also shared that he is looking forward to teaching an introductory engineering class titled “Applications in Engineering: Reproductive Engineering.” The three credit class — available to all engineering first-years — introduces
students to engineering ethics and design processes with a specific focus on reproductive health.
“What I take out of this class the most is that … the next generation are going to be the ones solving these problems, and I think there is a lot of excitement for that,” Gnecco said. “That’s the thing that motivates me the most.”
The future is not entirely certain, however, for the field of reproductive biology. The field has faced uncertainty amidst threats to cut funding for research. Earlier this year, the Trump administration planned to cut funding for the NIH’s Women’s Health Initiative, which has produced groundbreaking research since its founding in the early ’90s. While the move was ultimately reversed, Gnecco maintained that obtaining funding remains a challenge.
Challenges have long plagued the field of women’s health. According to a 2020 study, only 5% of global research and development funding was allocated to women’s health research. However, Gnecco’s research represents a push against the misconceptions and social conventions that have caused reproductive health to remain understudied and underfunded.
“This organ system has been taboo and understudied for many centuries … people don’t want to talk about it,” Gnecco said. “When you look at it biologically it’s really one of the most fascinating tissues that we have in the human body.”
Despite these challenges, at the end of the day, Gnecco envisions an optimistic future for the ever-expanding field of reproductive engineering.
“I suspect an increase [in reproductive research] and a brighter future … especially for younger students,” Gnecco said.
“[Reproductive engineering] is an area where [research] hasn’t been very well-funded at the end of the day to really explore some of these processes,” Gnecco said.
Arielle
COURTESY JUAN GNECCO
Professor Juan Gnecco is pictured.
Rachel
Ben Rachel
ArTS & POP CULTUrE
Depop made sustainable shopping consumerist
Annika Pillai Executive Arts Editor
Depop was once imagined as the future of sustainable fashion. When it was founded in 2011, the resale platform offered itself as an antidote to fast fashion: a community marketplace where clothes that were already in circulation could be given a second life. Its design looked more like Instagram than eBay, and that was the point. Shopping on Depop felt less like scrolling through dusty thrift store racks in a Goodwill or Savers and more like browsing someone’s curated Pinterest board. For a generation raised primarily on social media, it offered a way to shop that felt authentic, personal and, most importantly, socially conscious.
The model had obvious appeal. Rather than turning to notable fast fashion brands like Shein or Zara for a new outfit, young people could discover distinctive pieces, purchase directly from other individuals and extend the lifespan of garments that might otherwise be discarded. Sellers — often teenagers or college students — were able to turn closet cleanouts into income, sometimes even building recognizable brands with loyal followings. Buyers, in turn, could feel that they were participating in something different. Shopping secondhand on Depop seemed to offer a way to engage with fashion without fully giving in to the clutches of fast fashion.
As Depop expanded, though, the neatness of its early vision began to fray. By 2025, the app counted tens of millions of users and no longer resembled the small, somewhat-eccentric resale community it had once been. What started out as a platform for vintage enthusiasts had grown into a significant player in online retail, and in that shift, it became increasingly difficult to separate the app from the very forces it was meant to resist. Depop’s mission statement declares the desire for Depop to “be the most exciting place for anyone to engage with fashion and trends in a more circular way.” Unfortunately, in practice, it showed how hard it is to step outside the cycles of trend and the desire that drives the industry as a whole.
The pandemic only deepened this transformation. With stores closed and people spending more time online shopping, Depop emerged as an obvious substitute, and in the process became closely intertwined with TikTok. Trends and aesthetics on social media could emerge and vanish in a matter of days, and each one sent waves through the resale market. A series of ‘cottagecore’ dresses or Y2Kinspired tops could spike almost overnight. The experience of
shopping on Depop, which was once defined by the randomness of stumbling across something unexpected, shifted toward a more curated and calculated feel.
As you might imagine, this evolution produced a paradox. Buying secondhand, even when the items are mass-market, does extend the lifespan of clothing and, in principle, diverts it from landfills. Yet the growing presence of fast fashion on Depop has complicated that narrative. Pieces from the 2000s and early 2010s from Forever 21 and Abercrombie began showing up for resale, often priced five times their original cost. A platform that was built on challenging disposable fashion sometimes ends up reinforcing it, only with a different kind of markup attached.
The dynamics of the marketplace played a role in this shift. Depop rewards sellers who can move quickly, respond to trends and present their shops as cohesive aesthetics. The more consistent and on-trend a storefront looks, the often more likely it is to gain followers and attract sales. This kind of structure does not align with what Depop originally was built for –– selling off old clothes in the back of your wardrobe. In fact, it only promotes aggressive sourcing and encourages people to stockpile inventory for resale.
Clothes that once might have remained affordable in local thrift stores are instead pulled
into an online market, markedup and offered to buyers far-removed from the communities where they originated.
Some sellers pushed this boundary further, skipping the thrift store entirely. Dropshipping — where a seller lists products from wholesale sites like AliExpress or Shein and ships them directly to the buyer without ever handling the merchandise — became a persistent issue. Even after Depop officially banned the practice in March 2020, it remained widespread enough to blur the distinction between resale and retail. For buyers, it could be hard to tell whether they were purchasing a secondhand garment or a bulk-produced item marketed as rare. The persistence of dropshipping underscored how thin the line can be between sustainable reselling and just pure greed.
At the same time, the way value is constructed on Depop has shifted. In traditional secondhand shopping, the thrill often came from finding something unusual or distinctive. On Depop, however, rarity is largely defined by virality. For example, a pair of leopard-print sequined Forever 21 hotpants, originally priced under $20, sold on Depop for nearly $300 after a TikTok trend spotlighted a similar Charlotte Russe version worn by a Coachella backup dancer. On Depop, the perceived rarity of an item often comes from its
popularity in a viral trend, rather than its inherent quality or craftsmanship.
All of this being said, can we say that Depop has failed to do what it intended? It is hard to make such a bold claim. The app has undeniably reshaped the cultural meaning of secondhand clothing. Vintage and resale no longer carry the stigma of being associated strictly with necessity; instead, they have become aspirational, fashionable and mainstream. Many young sellers have used the platform as an entry point into entrepreneurship, experimenting with branding and community-building in ways that resemble small business ownership. For buyers, the app has made sustainability visible, reframing secondhand shopping as not only acceptable but fun and desirable. Along the questionable listings and inflated prices, there are also genuine archival finds, handmade sweaters and earrings, and well-worn but beloved pieces that find new life rather than ending up in the trash.
What Depop ultimately reveals, though, are the contradictions that are inherently embedded in consumer culture more broadly. The platform was built exactly at the intersection between sustainability and desire. On Depop, deciding what to buy or sell is influenced as much by fleeting trends as by ethical considerations. The platform isn’t a simple
solution to overconsumption, nor is it entirely to blame; it simply exposes how complicated it is to navigate style and conscience in a world that demands both.
Sustainability, as Depop makes clear, cannot be reduced to a platform or a business model. Buying secondhand is not inherently sustainable if it falls victim to the trend cycle and removes affordable clothing from local circulation. At the same time, reselling fast fashion is not automatically exploitative if it extends the life of garments and delays their disposal. Perhaps it more so depends on how sellers approach their practices and how buyers think about their choices.
Depop started as a promise of an alternative to fast fashion, but it has revealed just how inescapable the system really is. Reselling clothes can extend their life, but it can’t dismantle the larger forces of overproduction, trend cycles and the plain desire to own more. In many ways, the app has simply spotlighted these contradictions; it has become a place where fast fashion is simultaneously resisted and encouraged, where secondhand can feel both sustainable and exploitative and where an item’s worth is shaped more by virality than by quality.
To shop on Depop today is to shop within a tension of wanting to consume responsibly while still being caught in the desire to consume at all.
VIA FLICKR
Ironic protests against consumerism are pictured.
How slime tutorials opened Broadway to a new generation of theater kids
Lea Epstein Contributing Writer
In many a school auditorium, a theater kid could be spotted sitting crosslegged with a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, surrounded by peers who had just belted their way through the entire Hamilton soundtrack. Between bites, they sipped water to preserve their voices, already preparing for the next reprise.
While some classmates gushed about the upcoming Homecoming game or staged elaborate promposals, these kids counted down the days to the Tony Awards, imagining themselves standing under Broadway’s bright lights, delivering acceptance speeches to imaginary crowds.
Their headphones carried the voices of Jonathan Groff’s trembling “Mama Who Bore Me” or Idina Menzel’s “Wicked” battle cry, which they would attempt in the stairwells during passing periods.
Yet, for many of these students, Broadway itself remained a citadel. Tickets were prohibitively expensive. Families were busy. Geography alone rendered attendance almost impossible. Instead, Spotify and cast albums became their refuge, guiding them song by song through shows they had never actually seen.
Their imaginations sewed together choreography, sets and costumes in the blank spaces between each ballad and monologue.
Then came a theater kid’s saving grace: slime tutorials.
For those outside theater culture, the term is misleading. These weren’t
craft videos or DIY projects made into middle school businesses, but surreptitious, often illicit, recordings of Broadway productions, posted in hidden corners of the internet — grainy, shaky, often recorded from an acute angle, but magical nonetheless. Slime tutorials granted students a glimpse into performances they otherwise might never experience. They watched late into the night, eyes aching from the blue light rays, unwilling to close their laptop until the curtain call.
The existence of slime tutorials raises urgent ethical quandaries. They are, essentially, acts of piracy, recordings disseminated without consent, circumventing copyright law and undermining the economic scaffolding of professional theater. Actors’ unions and production companies argue that such recordings imperil revenue streams and threaten the livelihoods of performers, instrumentalists and stagehands whose labor sustains the theater. Theater has hinged upon ephemerality; its significance is shared in the fleeting connection between performer and audience, a phenomenon diminished by a shaky camcorder recording being passed around the internet.
There is also a question of consent: These actors never agreed to be filmed in this way, and preserving the sanctity of the live moment is central to theatrical tradition.
However, to many kids, slime tutorials are also lifelines. They democratize access to an art form that has been barricaded by wealth and privilege. For a kid in a small town hundreds or
thousands of miles from Times Square, these shaky videos can be a portal, sparking creative fires.
Some theater kids discovered Broadway shows for the first time through slime tutorials and other bootleg recordings online, experiences that often shaped their early passion for theater. For others, slime tutorials encouraged them to view the show on Broadway or in a regional production.
Strangely, slime tutorials reveal a deeper truth: Art yearns to circulate. If Broadway is to thrive in the future, it cannot rely only on those who can afford orchestra seats. Broadway must interrogate its own selectivity. The technological era has transformed film, music and visual art to expand beyond their original structures; why not theater?
The slime tutorial phenomenon demonstrates the paradox between protecting art and sharing it. Yes, creators deserve to have their labor respected and protected, yet art loses its purpose if it is only confined to a privileged minority. Creativity flourishes when art is copied and reimagined, sometimes being brought to places that it never intended to reach. Perhaps the question slime tutorials asks us is not whether they are morally correct themselves, but whether the current systems of access are just. If theater is about the collective human experience, then its future rests on the balance between generosity and protection.
Perhaps a future can be found where artists are honored while the next generation of talent isn’t locked out before their voices are even discovered.
CorePower
Fiona Hinrichsen
If you’ve walked around Boston, you’ve probably seen a CorePower Yoga studio. But what exactly is CorePower Yoga? Beyond being an intense workout that combines strength, flexibility and mindfulness, CorePower is a vibrant community of passionate ‘yogis’ across the country and right here in Boston.
Take Meghna Singha, a senior at Tufts and a CorePower instructor, as an example. “I started going to CorePower just because of the proximity, but now that’s my community,” she shared.
Singha played soccer growing up, so staying active has always been a big part of her life. But she never thought she’d be a yogi. After high school, she was searching for a new way to stay active, so she went to her first class with her mom. She fell in love with it and never looked back. During the summer after her first year at Tufts, Singha decided to deepen her involvement by doing the teacher training at CorePower. Now, as of this past summer, she leads training sessions right here in Boston.
When Singha first started at Tufts, there weren’t many other students from Tufts taking classes at CorePower. Now, the classes are packed with Tufts students, and she has a “CorePower friend group” that she goes to classes with every week. Going to CorePower off campus has helped her step outside her ‘Tufts bubble’ and connect with a new community.
Teaching has been especially transformative for Singha. She enjoys designing sequences and curating playlists, but beyond the creative aspects, it has significantly boosted her confidence in ways that carry over into her professional life. Teaching a room of students, many of whom are older and more experienced in yoga, requires her to command her space with confidence and maintain a strong, clear voice. “When you have to teach people who are older than you, who have been doing yoga for longer than you’ve been alive, and it’s 40 of them … it really does force you to be confident in what you’re saying,” she explained. That same confidence and leadership extend to other areas of work, such as her experience in finance, where presenting yourself assertively is crucial for being taken seriously.
CorePower offers a variety of classes, from Yoga Sculpt classes, which focus on strength and cardio, to more relaxing, restorative options. Singha’s favorite is the classic hot Vinyasa yoga, known as CorePower 2. It’s a perfect way to detox both your mind and your body, thanks to the energizing breath-to-movement flow.
With many locations near campus and in Boston, there’s almost definitely a CorePower within walking distance of you. Plus, new members get a free week when they sign up, so there’s really no reason not to try a few classes and see if you like it. If you fall in love with CorePower classes, many of the same instructors also teach at Wonder Yoga in Arlington, giving you even more options to keep your practice going. CorePower isn’t just about fitness — it’s about building community and gaining confidence. It might become your new favorite way to stretch, sweat and connect with others.
Editor’s Note: Meghna Singha is a former executive layout and social media editor for the Daily. Meghna was not involved in the writing or editing of this article.
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The Broadway Theatre, showing the musical “The Color Purple,” is pictured.
Night At The Daily Editor in Chief Dylan Fee: “Guys drop a 1 in the chat if you think God is real.”
Inquiry:
We are two friends (and housemates) Kate and Eric. We move through the world very differently. So submit your queries, problems, questions and musings to get both of our unique perspectives. Our qualifications: Someone asked us to do this.
Hi Eric and Kate! I’m currently studying abroad, and my housemates are going on a spontaneous trip tomorrow to a nearby city. The only problem is that train tickets are about $80, and I’m not sure if I want to spend that amount for a day trip. If we go in a few weeks, the tickets would only be about $20, and we would be able to plan ahead for the trip. I don’t want to feel like I’m missing out, but I also want to think about my budget. What do you guys think?
Eric: While I don’t know your exact financial situation, and how close you are with these housemates, here’s what I do know: FOMO can truly drain the spirit, but I think overpaying for a trip you dislike is even worse.
Seeing as you have the whole rest of the semester to go and explore this other city, and a $60 discount due to time, I think you should wait it out. I personally find largegroup travel headache inducing and somewhat embarrassing (like, why are so many of us being loud on this train in a foreign
country?). Think about it this way, by letting your housemates go ahead without you, you’ll be getting boots on the ground and any recommendations they have. You like to plan ahead — now you’ll have the whole internet’s advice, plus the intel of your housemates. Yes, you will likely miss out on some moments of group bonding — and that sucks — yet the thought of overpaying for a seven hour group trip is enough to keep me at home.
When your housemates get back, ask them to recount their trip, listen and learn about their time. You’ll get to hear about all their group bonding, all the while having not spent a cent!
Kate:
I think you should go on the trip tomorrow.
Studying abroad is a time to challenge yourself and explore new places. I believe that going on this day trip will be very rewarding for you. You will be able to explore somewhere that you really want to visit and can bond more with your housemates. Spending a lot of money when you could be spending a lot less in the future is a hard decision. But I think in this case being a little spontaneous and outgoing is warranted. It’s easy to feel isolated studying abroad and I think going will avoid that issue for you. I think the fun you will have on this outing in the larger group and avoiding feeling left out is worth the extra spending.
Form to submit question: https://forms.gle/eUfHeQo6EnPfeEZG6
Eric Frankel is a junior studying international relations. Eric can be reached at eric.frankel@tufts.edu.
Kate McAndrew is a junior studying economics and environmental science. Kate can be reached at kate.mcandrew@ tufts.edu.
GRAPHIC BY GRETTA GOORNO
Since 2022, the Daily has published 35 collectively written opinion pieces on issues relevant to Tufts students under what is called the Editorial Board. But what does this board entail, and why does its position matter? We, the Daily’s seventh Editorial Board, believe it is time to finally define who we are, what we do and why our work within the Daily matters.
We are a group of select writers and editors who serve as the institutional voice of the Daily’s editorial board. Together, we draw on diverse experiences across the opinion, news, features, arts and production sections, as well as the Ethics and Inclusion Committee, with representation from the Daily’s managing board, executive board and staff. To uphold the integrity of the Daily’s news, features, arts, sports and science coverage, we refrain from writing or editing for those sections,
OPINION
Editorial: Who are we?
ensuring that our editorials remain fully independent.
Our goal is to provide thoughtful discussions on issues concerning all Tufts students and our local communities in order to encourage pluralistic and nuanced dialogue about important campus, local and political matters. Some of our articles may focus on an issue unique to the Tufts campus, and other times we may engage with how the Tufts community fits into a broader conversation. Through collective writing, we hope to reflect a diverse array of viewpoints and promote conversation across differences at Tufts. We recognize that we represent a very small percentage of the Tufts population and that we will never be able to represent the voice of the whole Tufts student body, and we don’t strive to. We are, instead, a collective voice of experienced Daily writers refining our views through rigorous debate.
The process behind each editorial is designed so that it is representative of as many perspectives within the Daily as possible. Every piece begins with our editorialists collaborating to pitch and develop an argument. Once a draft is ready, it is shared with the Daily’s 42-member executive board for feedback. After incorporating that feedback, the chair of the Editorial Board makes final edits before the piece is reviewed by the managing board. Finally, like any other article, the editorial undergoes copy editing before publication. Our articles go through multiple rounds of fact-checking to make sure they meet our standards of journalistic integrity and align with our commitment to the truth.
From light-hearted pieces about a campus pub to discussions of heavier issues such as campus safety during protests, we hope to engage our readers on
topics that matter most to students and faculty alike — whether in agreement or disagreement. We call on our administration to act with urgency when the circumstances demand it, call on our community to speak louder when their words go unheard and call on ourselves to bring timely issues to the forefront. When Tufts is silent on things that matter, we will not be.
The Daily is committed to creating a platform for all members of the Tufts community to feel comfortable expressing their opinion on relevant university, local and national issues. The Editorial Board believes in the right to question the institutions and structures that govern us without fear of retaliation and aims to reflect that in our editorials, while encouraging you all to do the same.
The revolution will not be televised: How media suppresses protest coverage
our country. That same support, however, has not been extended to modern movements.
As counterintuitive as it may sound, protest, revolt and revolution are embedded in American culture. Our very country was founded on the American Revolution, with radical acts like the Boston Tea Party celebrated by our founding fathers. Suffragists endured hunger strikes and prison sentences just so women could secure the right to vote. Civil rights leaders organized bus boycotts so effectively that the very legislation surrounding them changed. Disability activists staged sit-ins in politicians’ offices for weeks on end to advocate for laws protecting disabled people. These acts of resistance are now remembered as honorable acts of courage, necessary for the development of
This American tradition of revolution continues, despite claims that Generation Z is largely detached from politics or that resistance to President Donald Trump’s second term is lacking. However, this narrative could not be further from the truth. There have been countless protests since Trump was sworn in, from the “No Kings” and “Hands-Off!” protests to anti-ICE gatherings. In fact, this February saw over 2,000 protests in the United States, compared to about 900 in February 2017. Yet, the exponential increase in national protests has not garnered the attention of America’s major news outlets. The day following the “No Kings” protest — where an estimated 4 to 6
million people were in attendance — news headlines were few and far between: a photo story on The New York Times’ front page, no top billing in the Wall Street Journal and dismissive coverage from Fox News. Local outlets and a handful of national platforms like CNN and The Guardian offered more substantial reporting, but overall, coverage of one of the largest protests America has seen in years was lacking. Lack of protest coverage is nothing new. Even though historical moments like the suffragist movement and Civil Rights Movement are now honored, the popular narratives at the time often saw protesters as disruptive and upsetting. Consequently, many outlets likely refrained from reporting on these movements for fear of losing readers. In fact, the phrase ‘the revolution will not be televised’ emerged in the 1960s among Black militant groups and reflected this suppression of resistance.
At the end of the day, major newspapers like the Times and The Washington Post are corporations that prioritize readership and investors. They often refrain from covering topics like protests in order to maintain their readership and their investors. For example, the Times, receives millions of dollars in advertising from fossil fuel companies like Saudi Aramco, who would be financially devastated if
mass protesting forced Trump to implement greener policies. Furthermore, the Washington Post is notoriously owned by Jeff Bezos, a billionaire who benefits from tax cuts with Trump in power. This is not to dismiss the talented and valuable journalists working at these outlets, but at the end of the day, televising revolution rarely aligns with corporate interests. People successfully mobilizing threatens those in power, and the Times and the Post, as billion dollar companies, are part of that power structure. By showing Americans just how many people are coming together to protest our administration, the movement will only be strengthened.
Protest suppression and mediation have a historical precedent, and can result in readers unknowingly turning a blind eye to community voices and resistance when their primary newspapers do not disclose such activism. A few decades ago, local newspapers were abundant across the United States, meaning they could reliably cover community resistance without ownership by billionaire tycoons. Instead, they were historically owned by local residents, the Ochs family and Bingham family being a couple of the most famous examples. But there has been an epidemic of local newspaper closures as of late, with nearly one in five newspaper organizations shutting down
over the past decade and a half, with more closing each week. It’s becoming increasingly difficult to access news updates from the media without corporate interests. Instead, people turn to social media, where protest attendees post TikToks about their experiences. Accessibility and transparency are imperative to the Daily’s mission, which is why the organization’s role on campus and the surrounding Somerville and Medford area is so important. Being integrated into the larger community means that The Tufts Daily will report on local mobilization efforts, such as the protest that followed Rümeysa Öztürk’s detainment — whereas, in most communities, these events receive little attention.
The good news is that, even though protests are not being published, people are organizing in ways that will inevitably gain attention and prompt change. For example, stock in Tesla has likely dropped due to boycotting efforts, people have openly criticized Immigrations and Customs Enforcement agents and the National Guard as they move throughout D.C. and during “No Kings” protests, millions of people across the country mobilized to hold one of the largest protests in recent memory. The American tradition of revolution is alive and well, even if corporate news organizations refuse to deem it a front-page story.
The Tufts Daily is a nonprofit, independent newspaper, published Monday through Friday during the academic year and distributed free of charge to the Tufts community. The content of letters, advertisements, signed columns, cartoons and graphics does not necessarily reflect the opinion of The Tufts Daily editorial board.
EDITORIALS: Editorials represent the position of The Tufts Daily Editorial Board. Individual editorialists are not necessarily responsible for, or in agreement with, the policies and editorials of The Editorial Board. Editorials are submitted for review to The Tufts Daily Executive Board before publication.
VIEWPOINTS AND COLUMNS: Viewpoints and columns represent the opinions of individual Opinion editors, staff writers, contributing writers and columnists for the Daily’s Opinion section. Positions published in Viewpoints and columns are the opinions of the writers who penned them alone, and do not necessarily represent the opinions of the Daily itself. All material is subject to editorial discretion.
OP-EDS: Op-Eds provide an open forum for campus editorial commentary and are published Monday through Friday. The Daily welcomes submissions from all members of the Tufts community; the opinions expressed in the Op-Ed section do not necessarily represent the opinions of the Daily itself. Opinion articles on campus, national and international issues should be 600 to 1,200 words in length and submitted to opinion@tuftsdaily.com. The editors reserve the right to edit letters for clarity, space and length. All material is subject to editorial discretion and is not guaranteed to appear in the Daily. Authors must submit their telephone numbers and day-of availability for
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The Editorial Board
The Tufts Daily office is pictured on April 6, 2024.
VERONIKA COYLE / THE TUFTS DAILY
Monica Reilly Opinion Editor
The “No Kings” protest in downtown Los Angeles is pictured on June 14.
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Colonialism’s unlikely successor: Religious mission trips in Central and South America
As a native Texan, I’ve spent my fair share of time at Christian overnight camps, where many of my former bunkmates gradually shifted their summer plans from Bible study and kayaking to religious mission trips. These missionaries, predominantly white and Christian, waste no time posting on Instagram to commemorate the end of their missions. They often capitalize upon South American communities and exploit their interactions with children to garner empathy and praise from their peers without the consent of the families they work with.
Missionaries — individuals sent on religious missions abroad,
often to promote Christianity — can unknowingly embody white saviorist and colonial practices through their attempts to re-educate with Christian ideology. They assume the self-serving role of mentors and shamelessly use the communities they ‘help’ for publicity and fame.
Although the brutal colonization that permeated Central and South America throughout the 15th century may have purportedly ended, traces of its sinister effects live on in modern religious mission trips. While today’s missions may not involve the formal political control of colonialism, there are parallels between the saviorist attitudes of Spanish colonizers as they traversed across oceans to Christianize indigenous populations and
modern Christian missionaries that impose foreign religious practices upon communities, sometimes without interest from the communities themselves.
After arriving in the Americas, Spanish colonizers terrorized indigenous populations, forcibly enslaving them, converting them to Christianity and ignoring their traditional social structures and religious practices. Many communities of Latin America were destroyed as the Spaniards enacted a cultural genocide upon them — one that resulted in lasting threats to the livelihood of Latin American communities, including the spread of disease, environmental degradation and economic instability.
Bartolomé de Las Casas, a Dominican friar and one of
the first Spanish settlers in the Americas, dedicated himself to exposing the horrors of colonialism in Latin America after renouncing his association with the Spanish conquistadors. His work highlighted the abuse and dehumanization of the indigenous populations, whom Spain often deemed uncivilized. Other Spanish conquistadors continued to employ their privilege and painted themselves as the saviors of Latin America. They claimed to have brought civilization to the indigenous population that was so-called “lazy, idle, melancholy and cowardly,” as one 16th-century Spanish historian wrote. Their minimization of the indigenous populations — who already possessed complex trading systems that spanned the length of the Andean mountain range and established elaborate empires — was rooted in white saviorism.
White saviorism rests on the idea that it is the responsibility of white people to ‘help’ people of color because they “lack the resources, willpower and intelligence to help themselves.”
White saviors — colonial or otherwise — inject themselves into marginalized communities to ‘make a difference’ without evaluating whether or not the work they’re doing is wanted or even beneficial.
Online resources promoting the benefits of Christian missions outright admit that “sharing the Gospel with people, whether they are receptive to it or not, is part of what makes a mission trip so fulfill-
Wake up, America
Originally published Sept. 16.
Just this past week, conservative organizer and internet personality Charlie Kirk was shot and killed at Utah Valley University while holding a political event. No matter your political leanings or personal beliefs, we should all agree that the assassination of a political figure of this magnitude is and should always be utterly unacceptable in these United States of America.
Regardless of your political ideology, I think it is fair to say that Kirk, only 31, father of two children and a husband, was unjustly killed. Yet, I see people on the internet openly celebrating his assassination. Even around me, I have seen those who, while not openly celebrating, are quietly expressing a sense of satisfaction that an oppositional figure to their political ideals is being killed. This is absolutely incompatible with American ideals.
What is often forgotten is that Kirk’s death is only the most recent event in a string of politically motivated attacks in recent years. In 2017, a gunman fired
at least 70 rounds at Republican congressmen Steve Scalise at a Congressional baseball practice. In 2022, a man broke into the house of former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and threatened her husband with a hammer. Just this summer, another gunman shot and killed former Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman along with her husband. Now, with Kirk’s death, America takes another step towards normalizing violence.
This is not a problem unique to Republicans or Democrats. This is an American problem.
The discourse on both sides of the aisle is so toxic that we can look at a father and husband murdered in cold blood and brazenly celebrate his death on the internet. In the first half of 2025, more than 520 plots of terrorism have occurred, resulting in 96 deaths. Enough is enough — grifters and frauds on both sides are on a race to the bottom as they spew hatred and further divide America. It is time for us to realize that no one actually gains anything from the incitement of hatred except for those who spread it. This is not the America that I grew up in.
I grew up in an America where we could be neighbors with those who we disagreed with.
ing.” These resources acknowledge the white savior aspect of religious mission trips and note that they do not enter communities as “saviors.” Their transparency about their goals as an organization and commitment to understanding the role of privilege in service work is promising. However, the very foundation of their mission is to disseminate Christian ideology with or without the consent of the individuals they interact with. Without acting in accordance with their words, these Christian mission organizations perpetuate the cycle of white saviorism. The Church of Latter Day Saints, for instance — which represents only one of the Christian denominations participating in religious mission trips — reported 411 active missions worldwide in 2022, many concentrated in areas colonized by the Spanish.
Modern-day mission trips do assume a variety of objectives, from educational support to medical aid, infrastructure development, youth programs and disaster relief. The nuance that exists under the umbrella of ‘mission trip’ makes it difficult to evaluate. I have no doubt that many communities have benefited immensely from the work of missionaries. However, at their core, the majority of mission trips are innately associated with white saviorist ideals that parallel the ideology that guided Spanish colonization and imperialism. It’s imperative that missionaries and college students alike understand the historical context surrounding religion and colonialism in Central and South America.
I grew up in an America where John McCain could run against Barack Obama in a presidential election but still call him a “decent family man.”
Where is that America now? It lies all but shattered at the feet of vicious gunmen who know no other way to disagree except to kill. It is forgotten by the very politicians who have sworn oaths to defend it. If we, the American people, do not change how we engage with each other, then Charlie Kirk’s killing will not be a lamentable end, but the begin -
ning of a very dark chapter in America’s history. This is not a time to point fingers. It will get us nowhere to blame each other over the cause of Charlie Kirk’s death. It is not the Democrat’s fault for inciting the ‘radical left’ nor is it the Republican’s fault for failing to act on gun laws. It is the fact that we as a nation can seemingly no longer disagree peacefully on simple issues. Congressional leaders should consider how they respond to this tragedy carefully, and we here on Tufts’ campus should be
even more mindful of how we act as well. There should be no celebrations or calls for retribution. We need to come together and realize the tragedy and gravity of Wednesday’s shooting. Hating the other side is not going to bring about a better America; only through dialogue can we move forward. Only with compromise can there be peace. I hope that one day I can once again live in an America where disagreement is not expressed at the end of a barrel, and I hope that we are all working to make that happen.
Olivia Zambrano Deputy Opinion Editor
A vintage globe is pictured.
Evan Wang Deputy Opinion Editor
Charlie Kirk is pictured.
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Vibrio vulnificus permeates the waters of coastal Mass.
Shanzeh Haider Deputy Science Editor
On Aug. 13, the Massachusetts Department of Public Health issued a warning regarding a potentially dangerous bacterium found in the waters of Cape Cod: Vibrio vulnificus.
This warning was prompted by an “extremely rare case” of Vibrio vulnificus infection that occurred in an individual after swimming with an open wound at Old Silver Beach in Falmouth, Mass. Since the announcement, no new cases have been identified, though the warning still stands.
The genus Vibrio encompasses many species of bacteria that can cause an infection called vibriosis. In 2025, Massachusetts reported 71 cases of vibriosis, with 30% involving hospitalization. Species of Vibrio that can cause illnesses
include Vibrio fluvialis, Vibrio parahaemolyticus and Vibrio vulnificus.
Vibrio species are often found in saltwater and brackish water (a mixture of saltwater and freshwater). These bacteria thrive in higher temperatures, especially during the summer months when coastal waters are warmer. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that it is contracted through the consumption of “raw or undercooked shellfish, particularly oysters” and through an open wound in coastal waters. Regardless of the mechanism of infection, the symptoms usually begin less than 24 hours after contact. Symptoms from ingestion include nausea, vomiting, chills and diarrhea. Symptoms of infection from a wound include swelling, redness, fever and blisters.
According to the University of Florida, Vibrio vulnificus is
Dissertation Diaries
Amarachi Osuji
Shoshana Daly
Originally published Sept. 16.
In this second installment of “Dissertation Diaries,” we highlight Amarachi Osuji, a fifth-year chemistry and biotechnology Ph.D. candidate in the lab of Professor Joshua Kritzer here at Tufts. Originally from Nigeria, Osuji earned her bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from the University of Debrecen in Hungary. For her Ph.D., she chose to shift her focus, moving away from engineering to delve more deeply into chemistry. Osuji works in the field of synthetic peptide synthesis. To understand what this means, let’s talk a little bit about proteins. Proteins are one of four major macromolecules of life — you can think of them as the workers of the cell. There are so many types of proteins — enzymes, motor proteins and signaling proteins, for example — and they are made of peptide chains which, in
considered the “most dangerous” species of Vibrio. According to the CDC, about one in five individuals with Vibrio vulnificus infection die within 48 hours of contact. In wounds, it can cause necrotizing fasciitis, which refers to death in the flesh around open wounds. In fact, the general public often refers to Vibrio vulnificus as a ‘flesh-eating bacterium’ due to this. Furthermore, Vibrio vulnificus can cause thrombocytopenia, sepsis, internal bleeding and damage to the organs.
Some individuals are at a heightened risk for Vibrio infection. The Cleveland Clinic reports that individuals with liver disease, hemochromatosis, kidney failure, diabetes and those who are immunocompromised are at a higher risk.
When detected early, Vibrio vulnificus can be cured with antibiotics, including doxycycline,
ceftazidime and ciprofloxacin. However, in more severe cases, hospitalization and procedures including wound debridement, blister draining and limb amputation can be necessary.
The CDC guidelines for avoiding vibriosis include not eating raw or undercooked seafood (particularly oysters), washing hands after handling raw shellfish, avoiding coastal water if you have an open wound (even if small) and covering wounds that could potentially come in contact with coastal water.
The science behind leaves of change
As fall begins its descent on the Hill, pumpkin spice everything and cozy knit sweaters accompany the perpetual change in scenery that beckons the need to take a picture of every angle of Tufts campus. The quintessential New England autumn is characterized by vibrant hues of reds, oranges and yellows, adding a richness of colors that researchers have actually found to improve physiological stress recovery and emotional ratings. But, how are these leaves able to transform into the iconic colors of fall we know to recognize with the season?
The way our brain perceives color is dictated by reflected light — aka the light that a molecule
turn, are composed of amino acids. In cells, DNA is transcribed into RNA which is then translated into proteins by ribosomes. However, in the Kritzer lab, Osuji is able to actually build these peptide chains amino acid by amino acid, as if threading beads on a string.
In 2020, a paper published in the journal “Nature” showed a connection between a receptor called LRP1 and the spread of misfolded tau protein. Tau proteins typically function to maintain the structure of neurons, however, when these proteins misfold they cause neurons to clump together and die. Further, when misfolded tau comes into contact with normal tau, it causes the normal tau to misfold and become diseased as well. In this way, a few misfolded tau can cause a cascade of misfolding, resulting in the spread of disease through the brain.
This neuron death is implicated in various forms of dementia, including Alzheimer’s disease. LRP1 is a signal receptor on the outside of cells that, upon binding tau, tells the cells to bring the tau into the cell.
The goal of Osuji’s research is to design and test peptides that will inhibit LRP1, stopping the mis-
folded tau from spreading to more cells. There are several stages to a project like this one, and the very first step is designing the peptides. Although LRP1 is “pretty extensively studied” due to “a plethora of other functions in the human body,” Osuji noted that it has not been widely examined in the context of Alzheimer’s or neurodegeneration. “So for this project,” Osuji said, “I just looked in the literature to see, ‘Are there other peptide ligands that have been studied to interact with this receptor?’”
She began by identifying nine peptides known to interact with LRP1. While these hadn’t been tested for interrupting tau binding, they offered a strong starting point. After producing and purifying the peptides, Osuji designed a custom assay to test their ability to stop tau-LRP1 binding.
From this assay, she identified a few peptides that impacted binding. From there, Osuji began modifying those initial peptides to enhance their inhibitory effect. Essentially, she found peptides that were mediocre at doing the job and then used those peptides as scaffolds on which she could build and improve.
does not absorb. This characteristic is determined by the energy gap required to excite electrons in the molecules that compose various objects. For example, carminic acid — a crucial ingredient in the pigment carmine, traditionally found in insects and used in food, cosmetics and more — will absorb green light and reflect all colors except for green. The reds and yellows, which are reflected by the carminic acid, are the reason our eyes see red.
The color of leaves is thus determined by the mixture of pigments within them. Chlorophyll, a pigment that absorbs sunlight so that plants can perform photosynthesis, is typically the dominant pigment of leaves, producing the characteristic green color. As
But drug development is a long process that goes beyond one team of researchers, so Osuji also has “a collaborator at a different institution who is currently [testing the] hit peptides in cells,” specifically in a neuronal cell line, Osuji explained.
Just like drug development, getting a Ph.D. is a long and winding process and the project that becomes a student’s final thesis is often not the first or even the second project that they have worked on in a given lab. Prior to her current project, Osuji was working on a project involving the development of peptides that targeted proteins involved in a cellular process called autophagy. However, “the way science works is most things don’t work,” Osuji said. The hypothesis for the autophagy project ultimately failed, and that data never led to a publication.
“There are pros to it, because I know that I got trained a lot in those three years when I was, you know, grinding at this project that wasn’t really working. So when I ended up on a project that worked beautifully, it was good, like I had all the skill sets that I needed to make this project succeed,” Osuji said.
the temperature cools and daylight shortens, however, chlorophyll begins breaking down due to a signal produced by the trees in preparation for winter. Then, the other pigments present, like xanthophyll, carotene and anthocyanin, begin showing themselves, developing those warm-toned colors throughout the leaves.
So, the next time you find yourself stopping to snap a photo of the vivid autumn landscape, take a moment to not just enjoy the beauty but also appreciate the intricate processes behind this transition. The newness that comes with the start of a school year can be overwhelming, but let the trees’ picturesque adjustment to seasonal shifts be a reminder that change in your life, too, can be beautiful.
Further, the successes make the struggle all worth it. “It almost feels like taking a flashlight and shining it into a dark room and just finding something exciting or interesting,” Osuji said.
“The possibility that what I’m doing today could be the beginning of very, very basic research for something that … might end up being a therapeutic in the future,” Osuji said. “This might actually end up being something viable that will be helpful and useful to people who suffer from neurodegenerative diseases [is] super exciting” — and a huge reason why she chose to pursue this degree in the first place.
Osuji leaves current and future graduate students with a reminder: “Don’t be afraid to say you don’t know and to ask for help.” In the long winding process of research, it’s the learning and the people around you that make it all worthwhile. “People are very, very willing and open to help” — all you need to do is ask.
Shoshana Daly is a senior studying biochemistry. She can be reached at shoshana.daly@ tufts.edu.
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Old Silver Beach, the site of a vibriosis case in Falmouth, Mass. is pictured.
Grace Lee Associate Editor
GRACE LEE / THE TUFTS DAILY
Fall foliage on President’s Lawn is pictured.
Net gain: Tufts men’s tennis redefines winning
After a remarkable 2024–25 season that saw the Tufts men’s tennis team reach the NCAA semifinals with a 23–3 record and an undefeated 10–0 NESCAC campaign, Tufts is taking a different approach to their championship aspirations.
One day at a time
Following an exclusive series of interviews with the Daily, it’s clear that this year’s team has undergone a fundamental philosophical transformation. “In the previous years, we were so fixated over … winning the national championship,” senior Alex Ganchev said. “And I came to the realization that when we can’t control the outcome … I personally decided to focus more on improving my game, my mindset and just being a better teammate every day.”
Senior Sacha Maes emphasized that the goal for the upcoming year is showing up. “I want people’s focus this year to be [on] how [they can] bring their best effort, day in, day out,” Maes said. “Whatever your role is that day, it can change match to match, but whatever your role is that day, you stay in the present, and you give your best effort.”
Fresh faces
The team’s cultural transformation is aided by an influx of talented first-years who bring both skill and a team-first mentality. First-year Jackson Rich embodies the program’s balanced approach to excellence. “Off the court, I want to get at least a 3.7 GPA. On the court, I want to do whatever I can do best to contribute to the team,” Rich said. He expressed that at Tufts, he “completely fell in love with the team from the beginning.”
First-year Anirudh Dhanwada from Lake Nona, Fla., brings forceful tennis and an enthusiasm for team competition to Tufts after a junior career focused on individual play. “When I visited Tufts, it was probably the best visit I had out of every other visit I’ve been on. The team was so welcoming, and it was just the energy of the team I loved more than anything else,” he explained.
The addition of first-year Matej Djokic from Bosnia and Herzegovina adds a unique family dynamic to the team, as he is the younger brother of senior Andrej Djokic. The clay court specialist is making the transition to American hard courts, while also embracing team tennis. “I always wanted to be part of a team,” Matej Djokic said.“It is amazing to have the opportunity [to play] with my brother … it feels like home.”
First-year Will Moldenhauer from Denver, Colo. arrived with confidence and championship aspirations, excited by “the chance to compete for a national title,” while first-year
Logan Mahan from Tulsa, Okla., focused on development and team dynamics. “The team culture seems like they’re pretty big on being one unit,” Mahan observed. “There’s been a big emphasis on uplifting everyone.”
One year wiser
The sophomore class bridges the program’s championship aspirations with its cultural evolution. Sophomore Eren Cheung is eager for increased responsibility. “I think that my role as a teammate has changed from learning to helping the [firstyears] adapt ... there’s a lot more at stake. So I think I will take practices, fitness, recovery, a lot more seriously,” he said.
Sophomore Andrey Ignatyev learned valuable lessons about American college tennis. ”[The] biggest learning curve [is that] there’s levels to this game. You play in one country, you think you’re good and then you pull up here and you get grounded real quick,” he said.
Sophomore Stavros Mastrogamvrakis, who stepped up in crucial doubles matches last season, explained the team’s practice intensity. “We play a lot of match style point play, which is really important. Obviously, we’re all friends off court, but during practice, we’re all focused on one thing,” he said. He also emphasized the team’s use of productive competition. “There’s so many guys, everyone’s hungry, everyone’s ready to play. We push each other, and the level just gets higher,” Mastrogamvrakis said.
Sophomore Nico Tremblay embraces long-term development. “With a sport like tennis, there’s so many aspects that you need to be highly proficient with. … You’ve got four years here, so it’s not going to be sort of a one-week progression. It’s going to be a progression over time,” he said.
Transfer sophomore Kaetan Mehta brings Division I experience to Tufts’ Division III program. “To win a national championship, to raise everyone’s level ... we have to be able to push each other in practice. It all starts in the practices,” he said.
Leading by example
Junior Takehiro Shuda relishes taking a greater leadership role. “I definitely see my role as a junior having a little bit more responsibility in terms of being a better role model for the team,” he said, also identifying the team bond as crucial. “Team chemistry has meant not only our presence on court during matches, but more so off the tennis court, hanging out more as a team … so that during matches, we feel more close together and we’re fighting as a team.”
Shuda has also worked extensively on mental preparation. “Learning how to control my nerves was a huge thing that I wanted to work on over the summer. By playing a lot of matches and really delving into specific stuff, like breathing, even though it sounds cliche, it’s helped a lot,” he said.
Junior Davide Mirza exemplifies leading by example. “Even if
his preparation. “I think that that was honestly part of the success that we were actually enjoying, playing throughout the season. I started well. I usually have the tendency to start being very nervous, but as you continue playing more and more matches, you kind of lose that,” he noted.
Andrej Djokic, who was rallying in his match when play was halted in the NCAA semifinals, channels that experience into team preparation. “I was actually up a break in the third set. … But that’s something that I would like to take and make the whole thing work on this year, to actually feel the pressure during practice and more often, so once we get in this situation, we are able to overcome it,” he said.
Djokic emphasizes the foundation of success. “If we build trust within our team, that’s something we needed and relaxed in the last couple of years. I think [titles will] just come in our hands. By the end, it’s all about trust and about creating chemistry,” he said.
Championship culture
I [haven’t been] a starter for the last two years, I promised myself that I really want to give an example to the younger guys, to be disciplined,” he said. His holistic approach extends beyond tennis: “Give 100% in classes and have good team bonding experiences.” Technically, he’s focused on expanding his game. “I worked on coming into the net and give more consistency,” he said.
Veteran voices
The senior class embodies the team’s philosophical shift most dramatically. Ganchev and Maes formed one of Division III’s most dominant doubles partnerships last season, with their chemistry stemming from a friendship that began before college. “We’ve been really close ever since we met at the U.S. Open a few weeks before we started [our first] year,” Maes recalled. “Last year, we finally got a shot at playing pretty much the whole season. … We made the most of it.”
Senior Javier Gonzalez, who reached the NCAA singles semifinals last season, embraces the team’s new approach. “This year, we’re trying to focus a bit more on different goals. … We’ve had very kind of quantitative goals in terms of what ranking, what position, what number we want to end up as,” Gonzalez said. “So I think that we have to focus a bit more on the process, and making sure that we’re doing everything that we should be doing,” he says. His breakthrough season exemplified the power of sustained confidence and trust in
Ganchev’s legendary “Goggins” mentality, named after ultra-endurance athlete David Goggins, has become synonymous with the program’s relentless work ethic, but even this iconic moniker has evolved to reflect the team’s cultural transformation. Originally earned through his habit of pushing teammates beyond their perceived limits, the nickname has transcended individual achievement to embody collective growth.
Andrej Djokic offers insight into Ganchev’s evolution. “[Ganchev] was always Goggins, not because of his mentality, because how he’s always pushed everybody in the court,” he said. Djokic, however, sees something deeper emerging. “I trust in [Ganchev] being the real Goggins now, or actually, let’s say the Alex Ganchev.”
Ganchev himself still embraces the core philosophy while applying it to team development. “I still try to embrace [Goggins], because one of the things he always teaches is to keep pursuing and pushing the limits, like see how far you can go. And once you think you’re done, that’s when you have to push even harder,” he said.
As the Jumbos prepare for what could be their most promising season yet, their transformation from a results-oriented program to a culture-driven collective represents a fundamental reimagining of what championship pursuit looks like. With returning players who reached individual national championship matches and newcomers bringing fresh energy, this team has learned that the path to titles isn’t forced with pressure and expectations, but rather built through trusting and enjoying the process as a team.
