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THE TUFTS DAILY

TUFTSDAILY.COM

wednesday, February 18, 2015

VOLUME LXVIV, NUMBER 19

Where You Read It First Est. 1980

Collaborative Learning and Innovation Center to finish renovation in March by Melissa Kain Assistant News Editor

The renovation of the Collaborative Learning and Innovation Center (CLIC), which will house classrooms, lab spaces, seminar rooms and offices, is set to be ready for use by late spring, according to Barbara Stein, strategic capital programs director at Tufts. Construction on the new center will finish in March, she said. The building, located at 574 Boston Ave. in Medford, has been under renovation since August 2013, according to Stein. “[The CLIC is] going to provide a great event space,” Stein said. “There’s a wonderful open corridor on the top floor that has light coming into it,

and it backs up onto another big amenity that’s important, a [classroom] that can also be used for events. It’s going to have a reading lounge and there will be a lounge area on the ground floor as well.” According to Stein, the CLIC will hold the Department of Physics and Astronomy, the De pa r t me nt of Occupational Therapy, the Community Health program, the Entrepreneurial Leadership Studies program, Human Factors Engineering and part of the Child Study and Human Development department. “[The university] wants to promote academic synergies and collaborations within the building,” Stein said. see CONSTRUCTION, page 2

Nicholas Pfosi / The Tufts Daily

“Do #BlackLivesMatter?: A Dialogue on Blacktivism, Racial Justice, and the Value of Black Lives,” a panel conversation, convened in Cabot Auditorium last night. Topics of the panel included police brutality, the war on black and brown bodies, the role of social media in the #blacklivesmatter movement and the effectiveness and purpose of protesters.

Neighborhood Service Fund awards $18,500 to community organizations by Arin Kerstein

intended to implement and assist with a variety of community projects. The recipients include the Grafton Food Bank, the Boys & Girls Clubs of Middlesex County, the Community Cupboard Food Pantry of the Unitarian Universalist Church in Medford, the Asian American Civic Association

Assistant News Editor

The Tufts Neighborhood Service Fund ( TNSF) recently awarded $18,500 in grants to 35 community programs that are located in or serve the residents of Medford, Somerville, Grafton or Chinatown. Grants range from $200 to $2,000 in value and are

in Chinatown and Shortstop Somerville Wayside Youth and Family Services, among others. According to Barbara Rubel, director of community relations, the TNSF Committee met on Dec. 18 to discuss the allocation of funds. She explained that the committee see NEIGHBORHOOD, page 2

TCU Senate Update

Nicholas pfosi / the tufts daily

The Collaborative Learning and Innovation Center (CLIC), located at 574 Boston Ave., is set to be ready for use by late spring.

The Tufts Community Union (TCU) Senate spent the majority of its meeting this past Monday discussing issues of student life and club funding. TCU Parlimentarian Gauri Seth, a sophomore, opened the meeting with a resolution to establish a mandated gender-neutral bathroom for future construction projects on campus, which the Senate unanimously approved 20-0-0. Seth then outlined the opening of the bylaws in the next week’s meeting, which will assess the relationship between Senate and the Tufts Community Union Judiciary (TCUJ). Vice President Matt Roy, a senior, next opened the floor for updates from Senate Trustee representatives. The first update discussed reconstructing the memorial steps, acquiring a new power plant and updating facilities for engineers. The second update dealt with the current off-campus housing situation, in which students trying to live off campus are faced with high rent and zoning issues.

Inside this issue

Senior Joe Philipson, a Trustee representative, presented a new initiative to establish a four-year residential institution to bring students closer to campus and allow easy access to campus resources. The last update discussed fundraising and a speaker from Tufts Economics Society, who will give the Trustees a short presentation on Mar. 25. TCU Treasurer Adam Kochman, a junior, began his treasurer’s report with a series of requests for funding from various groups. The first group, Baseball Analysis at Tufts, requested $1846.24, which the Senate approved by a vote of 16-0-2. The second group TURBO, a breakdance/hip-hop group, requested $1712, which the Senate approved by a vote of 11-7-0. Consent Culture Network requested $500, Applejam Productions requested $3000, and the Pan African Alliance requested $3000, all of which the Senate approved by acclimation. The Catholic Community at Tufts requested $455.39, which was

approved by a vote of 18-0-1. The Tufts chapters of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) and the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AICHE) together requested $850 in funding, which the Senate approved by a vote of 17-0-2. The Senate, however, unanimously denied S-Factor and Tufts China Care their funding requests. Last on the agenda was TCU Senate’s funding request of $560.98, which was approved by a vote of 15-1-2. After the lengthy session of fund requests, the TCUJ informed the Senate of recent changes to the bylaws that were made as part of recent attempts to fortify working relationships between the Senate and the Judiciary. TCU Senate President Robert Joseph, a senior, concluded the meeting with updates on the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) conference, which is scheduled for Feb. 28. —by Roy Yang

Today’s sections

Kaju Tofu in Harvard Square offers a delicious variety of homemade soup and traditional Korean mix-ins.

The women’s basketball team heads to the NESCAC playoffs undefeated in conference play.

see ARTS, page 5

see SPORTS, back

News 1 Features 3 Arts & Living 5 Editorial | Letters 10

Op-Ed 11 Comics 12 Sports Back

The Tufts Daily

Wednesday, February 18, 2015

News

Phone scam The Tufts University Police Department (TUPD) has been investigating reported instances of telephone call scams since October, according to Sgt. Joseph Tilton. The most recent announcement to the Tufts community regarding these scams, issued jointly by TUPD and Tufts Technology Services, was sent out Feb. 2. “It’s a scam, a telephone scam and what [the scammers] use is a telephone spoof,” he said. “They use local police departments, such as the state police, Medford police, Somerville police [and] Tufts police. When you have it on your caller ID, it looks like a police department head calling you.” Tilton explained that the fraudulent callers instructed their victims to provide money directly over the phone. The scammers used various explanations to justify the payments, including overdue tax returns. Tilton speculated that the Tufts online directory, which is available to the public, supplied the students’ phone numbers to the scammers.

Thus far, only two Tufts students have fallen victim and paid the money, according to Tilton. He noted that these two incidents occurred earlier in the year, when the presence of the scam was not yet widely known. Although TUPD has received reports of other types of phone scams in previous years, Tilton said that this specific type of scam is new. He added that this scam has not been confined to Tufts students, as reports have come from other universities in the area, such as MIT. Tilton explained that it will be almost impossible for TUPD or local police to track or potentially apprehend the perpetrators of this scam. Instead, the best solution would be to inform people about the scam, making people less likely to fall for the false information, he said. “I think what it is is just educating people out there,” Tilton said.

—by Daniel Bottino

Nicholas Pfosi / The Tufts Daily

The Collaborative Learning and Innovation Center (CLIC) will be extremely sustainable due its insulation and efficent heating system.

Collaborative Learning and Innovation Center encourages interdepartmental connections

CONSTRUCTION

continued from page 1

According to Stein, the CLIC was originally an industrial warehouse building. It was purchased by Tufts about 25 years ago and was rented out to tenants with the hope that it would someday be repurposed for university use, she said. “About two years ago … senior leadership came to the realization that a lot of the academic departments needed more space, and they decided to have [the building] be for academic use,” she said. As a result, the CLIC will be one of the first buildings on campus to contain multiple departments and multiple schools, Stein said. The building will also be extremely sustainable and is currently tracking LEED Gold Certification, according to Stein.

LEED, or Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, is a green building certification program run by the United States Green Buildings Council, she explained. Buildings can receive different levels of certification for meeting certain criteria, such as being near public transportation. “We have such a tight, insulated building envelope and efficient heating system … that we were able to eliminate radiators under the windows,” Stein said. Director of Campus Planning Lois Stanley noted that the whole Tufts community can easily share the building. According to Stanley, one-third of the building is shareable by the campus, and two-thirds will be dedicated to lab space, offices and other areas specific to different projects and depart-

ments occupying the building. “Unlike smaller projects, we had an opportunity with this big project to say ‘How do we want this building to be years from now?’ in terms of how we use space,” Stanley said. “We went in thinking that we want as much of this building to be as shared as possible.” According to Stanley, a set of space-use guidelines was developed to preserve the collaborative nature and availability of the building in years to come. “We’re hoping … that even 10 years from now, [these guidelines] will be sustained, that the principle of the building is about collaboration and cross-departmental collaboration, rather than ownership by anyone,” she said. According to Christine Sanni, executive director of advancement, communica-

tions and services, the generosity of donors has made renovations for the CLIC possible. Sanni, who works in the Advancement Office, noted that the office is currently fundraising for both the CLIC and the Science and Engineering Complex (SEC), another new building coming to campus. “We would love to raise as much as possible for the buildings,” Sanni said. According to Sanni, donors can choose what their money goes toward funding in the CLIC. “We work with [the Department of ] Facilities [Services] to come up with a menu of opportunities [including] classroom spaces or lab spaces or things like the atrium or the foyer or the entrance,” Sanni said. “Different people will have different things that inspire them to give.”

Sanni said that the building will also help to extend the Tufts campus further, which she said is exciting for the university. “It’s really interesting to see the campus expanding in that direction,” she said. “Traditionally there was a different boundary line and now the campus map is being redrawn.” Stein expressed her enthusiasm for the project and emphasized the positive contributions that it will make to campus. “It’s going to be a wonderful amenity to campus, and we’ve tried to make the design process very inclusive,” she said. “We’ve had focus groups with undergraduates and graduate students about things they’d like to see in the building, and I think it’s going to be aesthetically beautiful.”

Tufts Community Appeal provides most of TNSF grant funding NEIGHBORHOOD

continued from page 1

received 63 proposals, totaling $90,829.70, and was able to fund 35 of them with its $18,500 available. The university absorbs expenses of the program, she said in an email. Criteria for recipients include serving or being based in local communities, having Tufts volunteers currently working with the organization and being tax-exempt or having a tax-exempt fiscal agent, Rubel noted. She said that prior to the TNSF Committee meeting, committee members are given the grant proposals and a spreadsheet to keep track of their reactions, along with information regarding whether or not each organi-

zation that requested funds met the outlined criteria. The money was mostly raised through the annual Tufts Community Appeal ( TCA), which collects contributions from Tufts faculty and staff to distribute to non-profit organizations in Tufts’ host communities, including Financial Aid, United Ways, Combined Health Appeal and others, Rubel said. Rubel stated that faculty and staff from all of Tufts’ campuses contribute to the campaign, ensuring the committee’s commitment to allocating funds back into each of Tufts’ host communities. “There have been a few small events, raffles held by individual departments, revenue from donated supplies,

that have been given to TNSF, but other than that we rely on TCA contributions,” she explained. “We would love to raise more money for these worthwhile programs in our host communities, but we are all volunteers with full-time university jobs and haven’t figured out yet a way to do that.” Rubel explained that the committee often has to wait for gifts to be completed through payroll before the money is given away to community organizations. “This is money that was raised in last year’s appeal because so many give through payroll deduction,” she added. TNSF Committee member Ange Brome added that, unfortunately, TNSF cannot provide for every community

organization doing powerful work with limited resources “We work diligently to stretch every dollar through creative and resourceful solutions in order to fund as many projects as possible,” Brome wrote in an email. “The committee carefully reviews each application and attempts to award funds in areas where the greatest need can be met most efficiently … We try very hard to ensure that funds are distributed equitably across our host communities.” Un i v e r s i t y P re s i d e n t Anthony Monaco serves as a co-chair of the TCA and has advocated for faculty and staff across the three Tufts campuses to get involved in active citizenship. He has historically praised the many faculty and

staff members who helped with last year’s campaign, some of the proceeds of which contributed to TNSF grants. “We are grateful to the many faculty and staff who participated in last year’s campaign and pledged over $160,000 in donations,” he wrote in an open letter to the Tufts community in October 2014. Brome also emphasized that it is important for the university to help local residents. “I am amazed at the level of generosity shown by the university employees, in spite of the current economic downturn,” Brome explained. “I would encourage everyone to support our students, faculty and staff volunteers working with organizations in the Tufts’ host communities.”

Features

tuftsdaily.com

With free speech policy, Tufts community seeks civil dialogue by Mengqi Sun Features Editor

This January, the shooting of 12 people at the offices of French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo shocked the world, and brought the topics of free speech and religious sensitivity to the fore. The violence sparked discussions across campus, where free speech has been a major topic of debate, and where both students and the administration have actively sought to build a campus that embraces differences of ideas, understanding, and active engagement. According to University Chaplain Reverend Greg McGonigle, an interfaith group of students is planning a panel program to discuss the Charlie Hebdo shootings and the relationship between free expression, education and religious and cultural respect this April. The panel will include Christian, Jewish, Muslim and Humanist voices. “We hope that many from across the university community will join us for that conversation,” he said. McGonigle also affirmed his belief in the individual’s right to free speech. “There is no justification for such violence, and the violence that has taken place must be condemned; people of all faiths have affirmed that the publication of offensive cartoons, no matter how egregious, can never approximate the value of a human life,” he told the Daily in an email. Muslim Chaplain Celene IbrahimLizzio expressed similar point of view. “There is no question that the horrific violence exhibited by the perpetrators of these acts is completely against Islamic law and ethics,” Ibrahim-Lizzio said in a statement to the Daily. However, McGonigle also made a distinction between free speech and responsible speech. “Beyond the individual right to free speech, however, many believe there is also a social and ethical question of respect and responsibility — how to responsibly use the rights we have,” he said. McGonigle also noted that a right to free speech doesn’t necessarily validate all speech. “The Charlie Hebdo events and aftermath cannot help but raise questions about religious and cultural respect. Even as we affirm a right to free speech, we do not need to affirm the content of all speech,” he said. In November 2009, in an effort to affirm the right of freedom of expression and inquiry, Tufts’ Board of Trustees approved the “Declaration on Freedom of Expression,” which asserts Tufts’ dedication to create “an educational community” that “requires an environment of respect, tolerance, and civil dialogue.” “Tufts is committed to the expression of a wide range of views as an essential part of our mission of teaching, creating new knowledge and contributing to the world around us,” an unspecified university spokesperson said when the Daily reached out for comment. Despite the fact that Tufts does not have a specific policy on religious sensitivity and freedom of speech, McGonigle believes that the Declaration has “provided a foundation for both values in our community.” “On the one hand, the right to freedom of expression and inquiry is affirmed as fundamental to the academic enterprise and to our mission as a university,” he said. “On the other hand, the Declaration also affirms the values of our university context, which include respect for human dignity, freedom from harassment, equal opportunity and a climate of civility conducive to learning.” McGonigle said that the declaration urges members of the community to be responsible for their views and to be properly informed about the issues to which those views pertain.

“The Declaration requires accountability for those who violate these values, and also places responsibility on all members of the university community to be educated about diversity and to support and empower those who are marginalized,” he said. In recent years, in its attempts to create an educational community that provides ‘diverse opinions’, Tufts has received criticism for some of its programs and decisions, as well as a number of speakers that it has brought to campus, according to the university spokesperson. “Last semester, for example, we heard considerable comment from the Tufts community about lectures and programs focused on current issues in the Middle East,” the university spokesperson wrote in an email. The spokesperson also said that calls for cancellation have targeted speakers or events on both sides of the political spectrum.

kayva Boorgu

“In the past, there have been protests over speakers ranging from Former President George H.W. Bush to U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren,” the spokesperson said. Last semester, a protest was organized by Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) against Eran ShamirBorer, former legal adviser for the Israeli Defense Forces, when he came to speak at The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy last November. SJP petitioned University President Anthony Monaco to cancel the speaker, calling Shamir-Borer “one of the primary architects of this summer’s massacres in Gaza” in the petition. The petition also stated: “We cannot allow hate speech to masquerade as free speech.” According to senior Hani Azzam, who has been a member of SJP since his first year at Tufts, the petition also meant to bring attention to the way the event was selectively advertised. “We found out about a week before the event was happening … we wanted to bring as much attention as we could to the fact that the event was being held,” Azzam said. According to Azzam, SJP hoped to make the event known to the broader community in order to promote discussion and bring it to the attention of those that might not support it. “We thought that with our petition [and] op-eds that [were] published in the Daily, that would be an effective way to make it known that somebody like that is coming to campus, because one of our main issues with the whole event was how it was advertised, only through the Hillel website and a Fletcher newsletter,” Azzam said. Azzam asserted that their protesting the speaker did not equate to the silencing of opposing views. “The reasoning behind our action in general was not to silence the speech of the people who disagree with SJP’s action or goals, but … the main complaint was the way the event was structured,” he said. According to Azzam, SJP believed that the event didn’t provide the opportunity for proper discourse. “The event was so restricted and advertised to such a small community, it only serves as a reinforcement of that viewpoint rather than an open exchange of multiple viewpoints,” he said.

Azzam also called the event a tacit endorsement of Shamir-Borer’s position by the university. “The fact that it was hosted specifically by Fletcher, rather than a student organization … it was the university providing with the platform, an institution,” he said. “Those are our main concerns, in the same way that institutions … that are apolitical, should not be endorsing or providing a platform for a message that whitewashes massacres.” Despite the emails and petitions from SJP members and alumni, the event was held. SJP held a die-in in the lobby during the event, as well as a vigil outside for those killed in Gaza. Azzam said that in response to the petition and the subsequent protest, President Monaco sent the group an email afterwards stating that Tufts has “policies in place regarding the appropriate conduct of demonstrations on campus,” and that Tufts is “fortunate that our student groups adhere to those policies and are generally respectful of those who disagree with their views.” The university spokesperson explained these policies in more detail, and stressed the importance of respectful actions. “While our policy supports the presentation of a full spectrum of ideas, it does not allow the unlawful violence or destruction of property; harassment or threats to individual members within our community; or impeding the ongoing activities of teaching, learning and scholarship,” the spokesperson said. The spokesperson also noted that the university has rejected petitions for the cancellation of speakers in the past. McGonigle believes that criticism and opposing views are important, but also that such criticism must be informed. He said that the academic study of religion is a crucial part of maintaining constructive criticism as it ensures religious hatred is not a part of this criticism. “In an academic environment, it is important that all things are presentable for critical and responsible examination,” he said. “That includes the long history and global manifestations of religious and philosophical traditions, which are analyzed and studied in our Religion Department and in other related disciplines.” He believes that students’ involvement is important in this process, noting that the Interfaith Student Council (ISC) often organizes events aimed at promoting the learning and understanding of religions. “Beyond the classroom, the work of Tufts’ Interfaith Student Council is intended to reduce religious and philosophical stereotypes and prejudice and support mutual learning, positive relationships and engagement in common action for the common good,” he said. Rabbi Jeffrey Summit expressed a similar opinion as he recognized the important work done by chaplains and the ISC. “I think our students and chaplains have been seriously involved in building relationships among the religious communities on campus,” Summit said in an email. “Such programs as interfaith text studies, visits to religious services, discussions on interfaith peace-building between Israelis and Palestinians and joint service projects have had a real impact.” However, McGonigle believes that the development of a healthy atmosphere of free speech and religious sensitivity at Tufts depends on engagement from the entire community. “I think that the University Chaplaincy, the Interfaith Student Council and our partners are doing important work to facilitate respectful and critical learning, dialogue and engagement across religious and philosophical identities and communities,” he said.

Miranda Willson | Ecofeminism for All

Politics, pollution and “overpopulation”

s an environmental studies and IR major (probably), I’ve discovered that there are a few topics you’re bound to encounter in almost any class that addresses the politics of the environment. One of these topics is “overpopulation.” In my Intro to IR class last semester, we read one of the articles that helped kick off the environmental conservation movement, Garrett Hardin’s, “The Tragedy of the Commons” (1968). Hardin’s argument is that individuals act independently and rationally to serve their own interests, and consequently deplete common resources, such as grazing land or water . Hardin’s article remains relevant to many environmental problems today, such as wildlife and water conservation. But what my IR professor — and my AP environmental science teacher, who also taught Hardin’s theory — glossed over was Hardin’s stance on population control. He believed that overpopulation was a serious threat to the Earth’s ability to sustain life, and promoted solutions such as forced sterilization targeted at what he deemed scientifically inferior populations and races of women who just wouldn’t stop having babies. Hardin didn’t leave his troubling idea behind after 1968. His final book, “The Ostrich Factor: Our Population Myopia” (1999), addresses the threat of overpopulation and calls for forceful restrictions on “unqualified reproductive rights.” Oh, and he says that affirmative action is a form of racism. I notice that Hardin’s convoluted, racist ideas influence the views of my peers in subtle ways. In many of my environmental studies and IR classes at Tufts, overpopulation is discussed as an environmental issue, when the real issue seems to be about overconsumption. We know that we currently produce enough food to feed everyone on the planet, yet so much is wasted and unjustly distributed. If a couple living in Niger produces eight children, but none of those children have access to heat, running water, transportation or enough food, why are we concerned with the environmental impact of their fertility rate? Instead, we need to discuss how we can reduce the environmental impact of the American family of four living in a large suburban house, owning three cars and eating meat every day, as well as how we can improve living conditions for the family in Niger. One method proven to improve living conditions is educating and empowering women. In places where women are given broader education opportunities, work opportunities and reproductive rights, employment rates increase, the infant mortality rate decreases and population growth often slows. Furthermore, population growth has already slowed significantly over the past few decades: estimates of population growth rates have been much too high. So the question is not, “How do we deal with a world population of 7 billion and growing?” but, “How do we make our global system more equitable?” Because let’s face it: we haven’t been feeding or serving our entire population for centuries. And yet, we cannot afford to have everyone living like upper-middle-class Americans. If everyone in the world drove cars as much as Americans do, we would probably experience catastrophic effects of climate change within a few years. Instead of addressing how to curb growth in developing countries, we need to drastically reduce consumption among rich people in developed countries so that developing countries have the room to satisfy basic needs. If my professors want to keep teaching Hardin’s article, so be it. But we need to change the way we talk about population control as an “environmental” effort, when it has nothing to do with the environment and everything to do with justifying the developed Western world’s rampant consumption and global domination.

Miranda Willson is a sophomore who has not yet declared a major. She can be reached at miranda.willson@tufts.edu.

The Tufts Daily

Wednesday, February 18, 2015

EPIIC FILM SERIES on RUSSIA presents

CHILDREN 404/ (DETI 404) in collaboration with

the Tufts LGBT Center and the Tufts Russian Program WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 7:30PM, TISCH 304 In 2013, Russian President Vladimir Putin passed a bill forbidding the “propaganda of nontraditional sexual relations to minors.” LGBTQ youths, now defenseless against insults and intimidation, are considered sick, sinful, and abnormal. Psychologists, teachers, and even parents can be fined or imprisoned for supporting them. This brave and harrowing documentary gives voice to 45 Russian teens who share their stories through anonymous interviews and video diaries, detailing their humiliations and discriminations, as well as their courageous stands against bullies. The testimonies are collected online as the Children 404 Project, named after the common “error 404 - page not found” Web message. Introduction by the Director of the Tufts Russian Program

VIDA JOHNSON Film Discussion with Spectrum Human Rights Alliance Project Coordinator

GLEB LATNIK Spectrum is an international organization devoted to human rights advancement on behalf of people who experience discrimination or abuse on the basis of their actual or perceived sexual orientation, gender identity or expression in Eastern Europe, Russia, Ukraine, Belarus and other former Soviet Union countries.

For More Information: tuftsgloballeadership.org or x73314

Arts & Living

tuftsdaily.com

‘Heroes’ spin-off ‘Heroes Reborn’ set to premiere this summer by Priyanka Dharampuriya Daily Staff Writer “They can’t just cancel a show like ‘Alphas’ (2011-2012), you know?” complains Sheldon Cooper of CBS’s “The Big Bang Theory” (2007-present). “They have to help the viewers let go. ‘Firefly’ (2002-2003) did a movie to wrap things up. ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’ (19972003) continued on as a comic book. ‘Heroes’ (2006-2010) gradually lowered the quality season by season till we were grateful it ended.” The jibe, if stinging, is accurate. “Heroes,” NBC’s sci-fi/fantasy drama billed as a show about ordinary people with extraordinary abilities, excelled as an origins story but could not maintain logical storylines and was canceled in 2010 due to low ratings and audience frustration. The final episode, “Brave New World,” served as the de facto finale for the series, bringing the stories of empathic hospice nurse Peter Petrelli (Milo Ventimiglia), regenerative cheerleader Claire Benett (Hayden Panettiere) and ruthless serial killer Sylar (Zachary Quinto) to a close. Through the series’ four seasons, the characters stopped a nuclear bomb from destroying New York City, destroyed a deadly virus before it could be let loose on the world and stopped a crazed carnival owner from opening up the earth and killing a million people. Though the show succeeded in creating compelling characters with interesting abilities, it tangled itself up in the complexity of its storyline and the cheesiness of its delivery, ultimately proving unsustainable.

However, the show’s comic-book style, where several different characters have independent stories and, occasionally, converging plotlines is an excellent source for spinoffs. The “Heroes” universe contains a number of web series and comic books, and a 13-episode miniseries, “Heroes Reborn,” is now set to premiere this summer. Speculation about “Heroes Reborn” has been floating around the internet since a teaser trailer premiered last February, and increased as a second was shown at the Super Bowl. The second teaser featured viewer favorite Noah Bennett (Jack Coleman), the non-magical — but still formidable — company agent known by fans as HRG, or the man in the Horn-Rimmed Glasses. Coleman’s character is complex and vaguely antagonistic, someone whose allegiances — except those to his daughter, Claire — are always unclear. “Heroes” creator Tim Kring has implied that HRG will have a small role toward the beginning of the new series, due mostly to the character’s “spine” and his knack for finding people with powers. Thus far, Coleman is the only confirmed returning cast member. Ventimiglia, Panettiere and Quinto will not reprise their roles as Peter, Claire and Sylar, nor will Ali Larter, who cites being too busy with TNT’s “Legends” (2014-present) to reprise her role as the political shark Tracy Strauss. Sylar’s character, originally a brutal serial killer, struggled with his hunger for power but had found at least partial redemption by the end of the series. The jury is out on Masi Oka, who plays comic-book-obsessed master of time and space Hiro Nakamura. Though

Oka has expressed excitement over the return of the series (writing “tick tock tick tock” in a recent tweet), he has not confirmed involvement one way or another. Oka’s character provides most of the few comedic moments in the series, as well as much of the series’ optimism — in a world where many of the “Heroes” are villainous or, at the very least, self-interested, he is one of the few characters that enjoys his abilities and wants to use them to help other people. Losing his character and not having another character with such strong morals as a replacement would create a drastic change in tone, but would eliminate some of the ridiculous plot twists necessary to keep the show interesting — Hiro, who is basically invincible because of his ability to stop time, has to lose his memory, lose his powers, get stuck in the past and even develop brain cancer in order to give the bad guys a fighting chance. No word either on Sendhil Ramamurthy (LA ’96), a Tufts grad, known later for his role as Jai on “Covert Affairs” (2010-present), who plays geneticist Mohinder Suresh. The show will, however, feature a new character played by Zachary Levi, who voiced the character Flynn in Disney’s “Tangled” (2010). It’s unclear exactly what role he will play or what power he will have, but judging by the aurora borealis he apparently generates during the Super Bowl teaser trailer, it will certainly be impressive. Levi has been presented as a series regular. “Heroes Reborn” will be accompanied by a webseries on NBC.com called Heroes Reborn: Digital Series, part of a streaming initative by NBC.

Kaju Tofu House's Korean menu melts the winter blues by Dana Guth Arts Editor

If ever there was a time for comfort food, that time is now. As Boston’s mood is collectively (and literally) dampened by the

Kaju Tofu House 57 John F. Kennedy St., Cambridge, MA,02138

(617) 864-6868 $$$ snow piles that surround us, cabin fever squirms into the back of our minds like an itch, reviving that longing for a comforting, home-cooked meal. For most of us college students, relief is miles out of reach. Enter Kaju Tofu House. An oasis of authentic Korean cuisine on the edge of Harvard Square, Kaju treats guests to hot, indulgent bowls of fill-me-up goodness. Offering everything from hearty udon noodles to spicy rice and bibimbap — all in Crockpot proportions — Kaju Tofu House is a richly satisfying remedy for the winter blues. Kaju offers fare lively enough to break the dining hall routine and excite the palate of intrepid foodies, but too tasty and accessible to offend the less adventurous. It boasts an open and welcoming atmosphere, with round booths that overlook the street. The kitchen envelops visitors in an aromatic cloud so warm and tempting that by the time your party sits down, even the pickiest eater will be ready to dig in. Don’t be fooled by its title, either; at Kaju “Tofu” House, tofu is more of an accent to a customizable menu of chicken, fish and beef. Everything is served fresh and piping hot. They also offer lunch and dinner combos with an impressively wide swath of options, including sushi, noodles, seafood salads and Korean B.B.Q. This means vegetarians, vegans and meat-lovers alike

Vivs Ngo via Flickr Creative Commons

An assortment of snack mix-ins are offered on the table so restaurant-goers can sample the delicious variety of Korean foods. have more than enough avenues to get their fix. But the real winner at Kaju is the house’s clay pots, prepared with a choice of veggies ($13.99), beef, chicken, octopus or seafood (all $14.99). The bowls are served steaming hot, sizzling and bubbling as the meat cooks in heavy spices before your eyes (pick mild, medium, spicy or extra spicy for the bold and daring). It arrives at the table thick and silky, filled to the brim with soft tofu. Throw in a free side of crispy rice and an egg to crack over the stew, stir it all together and it’s impossible to go wrong. If that’s not enough to fill you up — and no doubt, it is, but you’ll want more anyway — Kaju sets out a delicious sampling of traditional Korean mix-ins to nibble on between spoonfuls. The arrangement varies by the day, but it usually includes teeny dishes stacked with kimchi, scallion pancakes, spice-pickled cucumbers, spicy squid, pickled bean sprouts, marinated potatoes and potato salad. Toss them liberally into an entrée, or test each one out

before the main course arrives — they’re all refillable and remarkably zesty. This mix ‘n’ match method is why Kaju is best tackled in groups. Each item on the menu reveals a striking new blend of flavors as you add more ingredients, so the real way to get the most bang for your buck is by sticking your chopsticks into every bowl on the table. At nearly $15 apiece, the soups edge on the pricy side for most college kids. So round up a diverse group of friends and spread the love to make the trip well worth everyone’s while. There might not be any better coldweather console than a delicious, steaming dish. And if Dewick’s routine attempts just aren’t doing it for you, don’t underestimate the power of sushi, stew and sake bombs to melt away that ice storm. For some muchneeded belly warmth on a budget, Kaju Tofu House hits the spot. Kaju Tofu House is located at 57 JFK St., Cambridge, Mass., 02138. (617)-864-6868. Open for delivery, takeout and sit-down Monday-Sunday, 11:00 a.m. – 11 p.m.

Emily Gruzdowich | a caffeinated critic

Vibrant swatches: Rothko's Harvard murals Harvard. Our illustrious neighboring academic institution proves more than an academic rival. Pushing aside the cliché of Harvard exclusivity, the university houses a newly remodeled collection of its three art museums, the Arthur M. Sackler, Fogg and BuschReisinger, that are open to the public. The impressive collections are displayed beneath a natural skylight, which infuses the structure with soft light to complement the viewing experience. Collections at the Harvard Art Museums range from Dürer’s prints to Japanese Narrative Screens to Renoir sketches to the temporary exhibition “Mark Rothko’s Harvard Murals” (1961-62). The comprehensive scope of the museums is impressive, showcasing masterpieces from a variety of media and centuries. A unique aspect about the museums is that they exhibit lesser-known — yet equally beautiful — work by the contemporaries of greats alongside the popularized paragons of an extensive range of artistic periods. The mixture of antiquity and modernity that marks the museums’ architecture only adds to the diverse and exciting viewing experience. However, the layout of the museum is at times hard to navigate, as one must traverse backwards through history.Beginning with contemporary art and ending with antiquity on the upper levels, the museum forces the viewer to look at the present before the past. I found this layout a bit of a nuisance, but I must concede that others have found it intriguing to view the present before the past. This layout encourages one to look at each artwork in isolation, subsequently connecting it to its predecessors. After viewing the museum in its entirety, one can then recognize the connections and divergences between artistic trends by tracing art to the exit in a chronological order. After traversing a few flights of stairs, one arrives at the exhibition space, which is tucked away on the upper floor next to the classical antiquities. While hard to find and not easily marked, the Rothko exhibition was serene. Once I stumbled into the Mark Rothko galleries, I was overcome by their monumentality. The bold swatches of color, characteristic of Rothko’s artistic style, had been restored to their original vibrancy by the museum’s art restoration department. Along with the traditional wall text, there is a video produced by the curator detailing the vision of the exhibition as well as Rothko’s original intention for these murals. Moreover, the exhibition explores Rothko’s creative process, which entails many revisions and preliminary sketches. I found this investigation into the mechanics behind his work fascinating. Many perceive modern art as a free-form experiment in expression, but the Rothko murals refute this belief. The focus on the conception and the mechanics behind a finished work are concepts widely applicable to a student population such as ours. For those interested, it will be on view until July 26. If one simply wants a release from stress on campus, and an option closer to campus than the MFA, the Harvard Art Museums are a short 10-minute ride away on the T. However, unlike the MFA, the museums charge a $10 student entrance fee, except for Saturdays between 10:00 a.m.-noon during which admission is free for residents of Massachusetts — though I understand the aggravation towards having to pay at all for a neighboring campus’ art gallery. Our gallery on campus serves the purpose of an interactive teaching aid, but there is an intangible quality to entering an official museum. Stepping into the Harvard Art Museum galleries, I was no longer a Tufts-affiliated student, but rather another connoisseur of art. Emily Gruzdowich is a sophomore majoring in political science. She can be reached at emily.gruzdowich@tufts.edu

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Wednesday, February 18, 2015

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Wednesday, February 18, 2015

The Tufts Daily

THE TUFTS DAILY

Double standard in Greek Life partying needs to end

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Editorial

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Wednesday, February 18, 2015

Editorial

Drew Z. Robertson

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Editorial | Letters

A study from 2007 shows that women who are regular attendees at frat parties are at higher risk of sexual assault. Besides measures to regulate the drinking scene at frat parties, many students from different colleges have suggested that sororities should be allowed to host parties at which alcohol is served in order to reduce the risk of sexual assaults, which are some of the most under-reported crimes on college campuses. However, the reason that sororities should be allowed to host such parties does not stem solely from sexual assault prevention efforts, but also from the need to reverse an inherent double standard that exists in Greek Life today. Looking at the differences between sororities and fraternities from an objective standpoint, it seems that similar organizations are arbitrarily divided in the ability to practice activities solely based on gender lines. This is, of course, not acceptable in today’s world. If a group of women wants to host a party, they should not be forced to abandon their wishes because of their gender or sex. But at Tufts and other colleges, sororities may host parties and benefits, but are formally prevented from serving alcohol

at chapter gatherings or events. Lifting sororities’ alcohol ban is not as simple as it sounds, and contrary to urban legend, has little to do with fabled “brothel laws,” which supposedly prohibited more than five women to gather in a house with the presence of alcohol. In fact, the sororities’ alcohol ban complies with the National Panhellenic Conference’s policy that allows the sisters to enjoy healthy living, or substance free, housing with much lower insurance costs than those that fraternity brothers have to pay because they have alcohol on the premises. Tufts policy requires the Third Party Vendor, the fraternity or sorority that hosts the event, to own a liquor license and a certificate of insurance of at least one million dollars. This partially explains why the cost of membership in sororities tends to be lower than that in fraternities. This is not to say that sororities’ roles and functions on campus must be the parallel to fraternities.’ By not throwing alcohol-centric parties, a sorority is able to open its group to more women who wish to get involved and eliminate the stress of higher membership dues.

However, the way the system currently operates, those sororities have their choice made for them. It is clear that the fraternities have a choice here that the sororities do not. While this problem stems from a national level, the fact that whether lettered organizations have the ability to choose if they do or do not serve alcohol is based solely on the gender of their members seems like a policy from 1915 rather than 2015. This insurance policy is simply sexism masquerading as a way to “protect” sororities from the challenges of allowing alcohol in their houses. This textbook example of a double standard has no place at Tufts. If sorority sisters do not throw parties, it should be because they choose not to, not because they are forced not to so whilst fraternities have the freedom to make that choice. Since many agree that drinking culture in colleges cannot be curbed completely, providing students with more choice does not only improve campus security but also diversifies party scenes and accommodates more personal preferences. It is up to sororities to make a choice, but to do so they must have the freedom to decide.

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Letter to the Editor

Remembering the Chapel Hill victims

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by Benjamin Hosking I read Shaan Shaikh’s article on Tuesday, February 17th 2015 entitled “Remembering the Chapel Hill victims” with a mixed reaction. Although I applaud the author’s points about taking action to aid Syrian refugees, volunteering at soup kitchens, and proactively working to better the image of Islam, I nevertheless found his remarks on the New Atheist “crowd” inaccurate and misleading. As a secular humanist, I pay attention to prominent atheists such as Bill Maher and I watch his show weekly. There has been a savage and misinformed assault on Maher over his comments on Islam, with many liberals demonizing him as a racist. Maher is not a racist, as Islam is not a race — it’s

The Tufts Daily is a nonprofit, independent newspaper, published Monday through Friday during the academic year, and distributed free to the Tufts community. EDITORIAL POLICY Editorials represent the position of The Tufts Daily. Individual editors are not necessarily responsible for, or in agreement with, the policies and editorials of The Tufts Daily. The content of letters, advertisements, signed columns, cartoons and graphics does not necessarily reflect the opinion of The Tufts Daily editorial board.

a religion. Yes, he is an anti-theist, but implying he is an influence for hate is false. Bill Maher believes in racial equality, human rights and freedom of speech. Labeling him a racist without any logical justification makes liberals look the fool. Misconstruing antitheism as racism is a threat to rational freedom of speech and conversation. Leading a fabricated racist-hunt against Bill Maher and other anti-theists is not a productive use of our time. Furthermore, just because an atheist killed a Muslim does not make that a religious or racist hate crime — correlation is not causation. The details about Craig Hicks, from his neighbors’ testimony to that of his wife, indicate that the shooter had anger management issues and carried a gun. This is a bad combination,

and I believe that the focus should turn to the frightening number of weapons in our nation, rather than taking us down a trail of alleged racism. The author’s dismissive attitude toward the role of mental illness indicates a disregard for the likely causes. Let’s take a closer look at all of our ideologies, be they Islam, atheism, or Christianity, and think carefully about how they influence our world. I’m glad that the author advocates for positive action on the part of his community, but that is not just applicable to Islam. All communities should take a proactive role in their image, be they religious or nonreligious. We can start by coming together on the issue of guns in our society. It’s time to take action against weapons and their destructive role in the world.

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The Tufts Daily

Wednesday, February 18, 2015

TUFTS UNIVERSITY DEPARTMENT OF DRAMA AND DANCE PRESENTS

A NEW COMEDY

MARK TWAIN

AS ADAPTED BY

DAVID IVES

DIRECTED BY

LAURENCE SENELICK

February 12-14 and 19-21, 2015 at 8:00 pm 617-627-3493 for tickets & information

Tickets

dramadance.tufts.edu

$10 Tufts ID/Seniors

Balch Arena Theater Tufts University

(includes wine and cheese reception after the show)

$10 on February 12

$15 General Public $1 on February 19

Wednesday, February 18, 2015

The Tufts Daily

Wednesday, February 18, 2015

The Tufts Daily

Kiev: a case against arms

Op-Ed by Sam Berzok Op-Ed Contributor

It is time for the United States to evaluate our current foreign policy options in the embattled borders of Ukraine. Our millennial generation has sat back and watched the spottiness of President Obama’s foreign policy in the Middle East, Europe, and elsewhere abroad. Every geopolitical crisis has been addressed on a case-by-case basis often lacking a coherent regional strategy. This is evidenced by the wide spectrum of President Obama’s foreign policy results, including a “red-line” on Assad’s use of chemical weapons in Syria that was never upheld, the continual delay of withdrawal from Afghanistan, a NATO-led air campaign over Libya without a political reconstruction plan and a Nobel Peace Prize awarded during his first year in office for “his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples.” Another one of his more recent headline accomplishments was restoring diplomatic relations with Cuba and igniting a process of shedding old relics from the Cold War. However, the United States is now about to face its old enemy, Russia, who is perpetuating a conflict in eastern Ukraine. And now the President and Congress are perplexed on how to respond to a civil war that brings old conceptions of containment to the surface and into the minds of our foreign policymakers. First, we need to understand that Russian support to the eastern rebels is not entirely how the American public perceives it. American sanctions, combined with the falling price of oil, have sent the Russian economy into a downward spiral with the ruble rapidly depreciating in value. Russia is currently facing an epic recession, which has forced it to handle domestic economic affairs.

Putin and the Kremlin are very vulnerable at this time and are attempting to conceal this weakness with a show of force in the region. With their current economy, Russia realistically cannot support the cession of more people into its borders and offer them equal services and benefits as Russian citizens. This is seen in Crimea where residents have struggled to receive even basic utilities since their supposed “annexation” into Russia. This past weekend, a diplomatic negotiation hosted in Minsk between the presidents of Germany, France, Ukraine and Russia resulted in a cease-fire between the Kiev government and the eastern Ukrainian rebels. This wasn’t achieved in the spirit of Valentine’s Day love but rather through 16 hours of negotiations and finger pointing. Sadly enough, a shelling recently claimed the lives of 15 people in Ukraine after the signing of the cease-fire, raising the death toll near 5500 people. The very fact that a U.S. delegate wasn’t present in Minsk speaks volumes to our country’s stake in this conflict. Realistically, Ukraine holds very little geopolitical capital to the United States other than serving as a buffer between Russia and the European Union. Yet, President Obama has been pressured to reserve military aid as an option for response to the civil war by hawkish members of Congress, namely the ranking members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Sen. Bob Corker (R – TN) and Sen. Bob Menendez (D – NJ), who have titled this conflict a “Russian invasion”. Surely if Russia wanted to invade the entirety of Ukraine, it has the military might to do so — yet it remains steadfast in sending limited military resources to the rebels in the Donetsk region even though this includes roughly 10,000 plain uniform infantry. Under these conditions, the Ukrainian military holds the potential to repel the rebels

and re-unify the country. But the ten-month battle has reached a stalemate between the two sides and further escalation of arms will only claim more lives and cripple more Ukrainian infrastructure. The White House and/or NATO shouldn’t deliver arms to Kiev because the prolonged conflict will only demand more reconstruction in Ukraine and consume more of the IMF’s $17.5 billion rescue aid. It’s also unrealistic to see Russia bend to the full demands of the Western coalition including withdrawal from Ukraine, Crimea and allow Ukraine to swiftly join the EU. The best way to heal the country is through negotiation with the rebels, commitment to the ceasefire and gradual economic empowerment of Ukraine potentially through a partnership of both the West and Russia. In time, the EU can evaluate whether the new Ukraine under Poroshenko meets the requirements for membership in the EU. In the long run, the United States should aim to diffuse our diplomatic rivalry with Russia to impede the diplomatic partnership between Russia and China, our up and coming geopolitical contender on the global stage. We should not expect a significant regime change in Russia anytime soon, but the most successful war we’ve recently waged on them has been an economic one. If the United States forever strives to deter Russian imperialism or influence, then the Obama administration should partner with Congress to continue repressing Russia economically through the use of sanctions. As their economy continues to crumble and the Kremlin sees fewer options to revitalize the country, the power will trickle to the Russian people who might find that liberal spark to demand a new Russia. For now the question of European boundaries and concessions should be left to the European polar powers (EU and Russia) and Uncle Sam should sit this one out.

Off the hill | swarthmore college

Understanding the purpose of trigger warnings by Jodie Goodman Daily Gazette

I’ve honestly lost track of the number of times I have seen the idea of trigger warnings misconstrued as attempts to let people avoid anything that could ever make them upset. More often than not, their advocates are painted as sheltered, immature individuals who are unable to deal with any idea that is unfamiliar or unpleasant. Many professors at Swarthmore oppose trigger warnings on the grounds that it is crucial to engage with “uncomfortable” material in the name of academic integrity. These articles and conversations have made it clear to me that most people have an incomplete or entirely misguided understanding of the purpose of trigger warnings. To begin, here is an alphabetized list of unpleasant feelings that are not the same as “being triggered”: aggravated, angry, annoyed, apprehensive, ashamed, awkward, bitter, bored, bothered, conflicted, confused, contemptuous, critical, discouraged, disgusted, dismayed, embarrassed, frustrated, guilty, insecure, miserable, nervous, offended, regretful, resentful and sad. Being sad or uncomfortable or any of those feelings when tackling serious topics is not fun, but sometimes it is necessary as we work together to bear witness to the past. Professors who teach classes on topics like genocide and colonialism are prepared to work with most students to process those feelings in or outside of the classroom. Emotional vulnerability is sometimes frightening, but it is not always something to avoid. Having negative emotional reactions, even strong ones, is not the same as being triggered. Triggers are images, ideas, comments or experiences that can trigger post-traumatic stress reactions related to the experience of trauma. They are a symptom of a mental health issue that many survivors of trauma experience. Obviously, not every potential trigger can be flagged on syllabi — especially in cases where they are sensations or emotions associated with trauma, rather than exposure to the trauma itself. Controlling for those factors would be an impossible obligation, and no one expects that to happen. Right now, my appeal is for professors to

demarcate at least some common causes of PTSD — sexual violence, self-harm/suicidal thoughts and domestic violence, for example. Students will hopefully also be able to express their specific needs to their professors. In practice, a trigger warning is a line of text near a book on a syllabus that notes something like “TW: sexual assault, pages 81-85” next to a book. For most people on campus, that will be the extent of their interactions with trigger warnings. If you’re not a survivor of trauma, I advise you to ignore it like you’d ignore the voice that says “viewer discretion advised” before an episode of “House” (2004 – 2012) or the label “may contain nuts” if you don’t have an allergy. For survivors, trigger warnings are an issue of health and safety in classes. Simply put, triggers are topics that can cause an increase in symptoms in a survivor of trauma. While these symptoms can manifest differently in different individuals, they most frequently cause panic attacks, flashbacks or dissociation or a return to behaviors such as selfharm or disordered eating. In almost every case, being triggered with no warning is an experience that makes it nearly impossible to learn material or engage in the class. A student cannot take notes if their hand is shaking because of a panic attack. Being triggered could leave a student too depressed to get out of bed, let alone attend class. It’s baffling to me that so many people refuse to take a small preventative measure to avoid these massive harms. On top of that, if your goal is to have a productive conversation in class about trauma, it would probably be best that students with personal experience with that trauma have the ability to safely contribute to that conversation. Ultimately, trigger warnings are meant to ensure that survivors of trauma can still participate in classes to the greatest extent medically possible. A book being marked with a trigger warning does not mean that all survivors of that trauma will entirely opt out of that reading. It could be that they simply want to know which week they should not volunteer to give a presentation, if they cannot discuss the topic in front of a crowd. It could help them manage their time leading up to the reading, so that they can designate more time for self-care while they engage

Op-Ed

with the material. They might want to let their professor know that they would rather listen than participate that day, or that they might need to leave unexpectedly if their symptoms become unmanageable. Many people have argued that because trigger warnings do not exist in the “real world”, we should not incorporate them into the classroom. First of all, this ignores the fact that many things in the “real world” serve as de facto trigger warnings — like content warnings on every movie and TV show. Also it would be good if societal norms about how we approach triggering topics continue to improve. Saying that because the world is not accommodating to survivors, Swarthmore should not be accommodating to them is akin to saying that Swarthmore should never seek to surpass status quo societal conditions. As a preeminent progressive institution, changing norms in our community can help change norms on a wider scale. I do believe that professors at Swarthmore want the best for their students, so I hope they understand survivors when we say that the classroom is not the primary place to process trauma. Professors are not professionally equipped to make their classrooms sites for exposure therapy where students can face their triggers and overcome them. Even if we accept the premise that overcoming triggers is the path to healing for all survivors, real exposure therapy can only be conducted by a medical professional, and only then with informed consent from the patient. Proclaiming that you oppose trigger warnings because students need to expose themselves to discomfort in the classroom is like dumping a bucket of spiders on your friend unannounced and hoping that solves their lifelong arachnophobia. When it comes to trauma, it’s one thing to lean into discomfort, and another thing entirely to be pushed over in a public setting. Going forward, know that if you are not a survivor of trauma, it is nearly impossible to internalize the reality of the day to day struggle of life after trauma. What you can do is listen to the voices of survivors on campus when they request small accommodations that make it possible for them to continue pursuing their education in the midst of coping with trauma or post-traumatic stress symptoms.

Caitlin Thompson | Oppressive Regimes

Valentine’s Day in Bahrain

hile we in the US ate chocolates and celebrated love, Bahrain commemorated another occasion. This year, Feb. 14 marks the fourth anniversary of the most recent revolution. Unfortunately, the repression continues, and this Valentine’s Day is marked by more forceful responses to continuing protests, complete with tear gas, sound bombs and police violence against demonstrators. Bahrain has been turbulent since the 18th century, and recent decades are no different. The Khalifa family has controlled the small state since 1783, and the current Prime Minister Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa has held the position since 1971, giving him the longest period in this office in the world. Officially but not realistically, Bahrian is a constitutional monarchy. Because of the lack of variation in leadership, reform has been virtually nonexistent. The Khalifa family, including the current King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, benefits from the status quo and is reluctant to give the opposition an inch of influence. The royal family and general population are constantly at odds. First, the Khalifas are Sunni Muslims, while the majority is Shia. But that is only the start. The Khalifas control the wealth, and citizens have to deal with 15 percent unemployment, discrimination and restricted freedoms. Dissatisfaction is high and loudly vocalized. Bahrain did see a period of reform in the early 2000s under the current king. The 2002 Constitution made the National Assembly bicameral and gave the Elected Council of Representatives and Consultative Council new powers, including a veto. Political prisoners were released, dissidents were allowed to create opposition parties and the rights to assemble and speak openly were restored. But the opposition was not satisfied and protests continued. Eventually, the period of increased freedoms ceased. According to Amnesty International, the kingdom has been cutting down on fundamental freedoms ever since. Today, Shia citizens are subjects of violence and discrimination, and opposition cannot compel the government to pass effective reforms. Feb. 14, 2011 saw intense protests in the capital Manama’s Pearl Square. Their call was for equality and greater rights, but what they got were rubber bullets, live ammunition and no reform whatsoever. The 2011 protests were squelched mercilessly and violently by Saudi Arabian and UAE intervention supported by Khalifa’s permission. No change was sparked, but it remains an important day in Bahrain’s struggle for fundamental human rights. After the revolution came crackdown. Dissidents are tortured, dozens have died and hundreds are held as political prisoners. According to a report released in 2011 by the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry, the government uses “excessive force” in curbing opposition. Dissent remains a dangerous position, and the risks of torture and exile are ominously real. Bahrain goes through periods of revolt and repression, but human rights have not improved. Part of the problem is the government’s reluctance to accept the opposition. King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa benefits from ignoring challenges to his power and pretends dissidents and protesters do not exist or are the product of Iranian plots. As a result, the government refuses to engage in dialogue with dissidents. In addition, Bahrain is an important ally for the US in the war on terror and ISIS and is the base of the US Navy’s fifth fleet. Therefore, the US does not pressure the Khalifa family to improve human rights. The opposition is getting nowhere in their quest for a real functioning constitutional monarchy. The situation in Bahrain on Feb. 14, 2015 is no different from 2011, but hope continues. As one protestor told al Jazeera in the documentary “Shouting in the Dark” (2011), “We have touched the soul of freedom, we can’t go back now.” Caitlin Thompson is a sophomore who has not yet declared a major. She can be reached at caitlin.thompson@tufts.edu.

Op-ed Policy The Op-Ed section of The Tufts Daily, an open forum for campus editorial commentary, is printed Monday through Thursday. The Daily welcomes submissions from all members of the Tufts community; the opinions expressed in the Op-Ed section do not necessarily represent the opinions of the Daily itself. Opinion articles on campus, national and international issues should be 600 to 1,200 words in length. Op-Ed cartoons are also welcomed for the Campus Canvas feature. All material is subject to editorial discretion and is not guaranteed to appear in the Daily. All material should be submitted to oped@tuftsdaily.com no later than noon on the day prior to the desired day of publication; authors must submit their telephone numbers and day-of availability for editing questions. Submissions may not be published elsewhere prior to their appearance in the Daily, including but not limited to other on- and off-campus newspapers, magazines, blogs and online news websites, as well as Facebook. Republishing of the same piece in a different source is permissible as long as the Daily is credited with originally running the article.

The Tufts Daily

FOR RELEASE FEBRUARY 18, 2015

Crossword

Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle

Doonesbury

Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Lewis

ACROSS 1 Recitals showing promise 6 A way off 10 Big name in PCs 14 Braid 15 Where to get a bite on the street 16 Clue weapon 17 Abe’s youngest son 19 Friend on “Friends” 20 West Point newbie 21 Latin phrase usually shortened 23 Old hand 25 Exhortation from Santa, in Moore’s poem 28 Wrestling maneuver 30 Term of respect 31 “Liar!” in a playground 32 Nerdy types 35 Target 37 Shipping wts. 38 Halls product 41 NCR product 44 Reed in a hall 45 Stable rides for kids 49 Whodunit surprise 51 Org. with Eagles 53 Coin with 12 stars on its reverse side 54 Late-inning substitute 58 Like some grins 59 Crate up 60 Organisms of a region 62 Not fer 63 Gets the unspoken message ... which includes one of five synonyms found in this puzzle’s longest answers 68 53-Across fraction 69 Maui music makers 70 Lingerie fabric 71 Envelopepushing 72 Huff and puff 73 Bard’s “between”

Wednesday, February 18, 2015

Comics

by Garry Trudeau

Non Sequitur by Wiley

2/18/15

By Jeff Stillman

DOWN 1 Go (for) 2 __ française 3 Pond juvenile 4 “This Kiss” singer Faith 5 Kept in a pen 6 Tap into 7 __ Schwarz 8 CIO partner 9 Keep up on the issues? 10 Neat arrangements 11 Nuclear reactor need 12 Delta-zeta connection 13 Seasons a bit more 18 Pistons’ org. 22 Worker who gives people fits? 23 Honorary deg., perhaps 24 Fracas 26 Uppermost 27 Three-time MLB home run king 29 Advent mo. 33 Voting enclosures 34 Deli order 36 Word with modern or cave

Tuesday’s Puzzle Solved Tuesday’s Solution

Married to the Sea

39 Mongolian expanse 40 Key lime __ 41 Free from strife 42 Hurt suddenly, as a muscle 43 Preparing garlic, in a way 46 Persian Gulf native 47 Make a faux pas 48 Traditional Asian sauce base

2/18/15

50 Like a string bikini 52 If all goes according to plan 55 Hopping mad 56 Frozen Wasser 57 Holiday entrée 61 Turn to slush 64 Letters in a police record 65 Novelist Kesey 66 Eighty-six 67 Explosive stuff

THAT SCRAMBLED WORD GAME

www.marriedtothesea.com

by David L. Hoyt and Jeff Knurek

Unscramble these four Jumbles, one letter to each square, to form four ordinary words.

CANHR TULIFE

SUDOKU

Check out the new, free JUST JUMBLE app

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Level: Getting out of bed when your room is freezing.

Now arrange the circled letters to form the surprise answer, as suggested by the above cartoon.

Print your answer here: Yesterday’s

(Answers tomorrow) Jumbles: KOALA ORBIT CAMPUS ROTATE Answer: The prices on the granite floor tiles were — ROCK-BOTTOM

Late Night at the Daily

Tuesday’s Solution

Molly: “I just typed ‘butt’ 200 times.”

Please recycle this Daily.

Wednesday, February 18, 2015

The Tufts Daily

Wednesday, February 18, 2015

Tisch College Distinguished Speaker Series

Admiral James Stavridis, USN (Ret) Dean, The Fletcher School

TODAY February 18 | 3:30 pm Alumnae Lounge Free and open to the public, seating on a first-come basis

Join Tisch College for a discussion of international affairs and diplomacy with James Stavridis, Dean of the The Fletcher School at Tufts University. A former Admiral in the U.S. Navy, Dean Stavridis led the NATO Alliance in global operations from 2009 to 2013 as Supreme Allied Commander. Dean Stavridis will also discuss and sign copies of his newest book, The Accidental Admiral. The Tisch College Distinguished Speaker Series will bring diverse leaders from a range of fields and perspectives to campus to discuss public issues. Co-sponsored by Tisch College and ALLIES

activecitizen.tufts.edu

Wednesday, February 18, 2015

The Tufts Daily

Sports

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Tufts looks to peak for Nationals

Caroline Ambros / The Tufts Daily

Tufts’ mid-distance runners has the team expecting a high finish during the championship season.

MEN’S TRACK AND FIELD continued from back

in 34th with a time of 2:31.64. In the 400 meters, junior Alex Kasemir (50.17) and sophomore Nick Usoff (50.19) secured a 72nd and 74th place finish, respectively. The 4x400-meter relay team (currently ranked in the top 10 nationally) placed 14th of 52 teams with a time of 3:17.32. Relay team members Black, Kasemir, Usoff and firstyear Andrew DiMaiti look forward to championship season as they try to reach their full potential as a group. They plan to run the 4x400 in the meets leading up to Nationals.

With a time of 4:19.30, sophomore Luke O’ Connor led Tufts in the mile with a 114th-place finish in a field of 314. Senior Marshall Pagano also ran a strong mile with a time of 4:20.34 for 122nd place. In the 60-meter hurdles, sophomores Thomas Wang (9.00) and Henry Zhou (9.01) finished back-to-back in 46th and 47th, respectively. Firstyear Linus Gordon leaped 20’ 6.5” in the long jump, a distance good enough for 31st. Meanwhile, sophomore Pietro Possenti took 30th in the pole vault clearing 13’ 5.25”.

Tyler Maher | Beantown Beat The David Hemery Invitational marked a successful weekend for Tufts. However, the team is looking ahead to the Div. III Championships at Springfield College this upcoming weekend. “The first couple of meets are spent building up a strong team-oriented [mindset] toward supporting each other,” junior Veer Bhalla said. “It is the foundation for heading into championships.” On a personal level, Bhalla looks to repeat his first place finish in the 600 meters from last year’s championships. The team will look to veterans such as Bhalla and classmate Black for strong finishes, but also to younger members that have proven themselves as contributors throughout the year. “There is a lot of depth in the [first-year class] that will help the team throughout championship season,” Bhalla said. “The freshmen middle distance runners are very good. Most have qualified for the [Div. III] meet this weekend. One of our freshman sprinters, Drew [DeMaiti], is a contender in the 400. He is looking really good.” Coach Ethan Barron will look to push his athletes during this championship season in order to attain the success so common to the men’s track and field team. The Jumbos will look to improve upon their secondplace finish at last year’s Div. III championships held at MIT.

Jumbos finish off second consecutive undefeated season WOMEN’S BASKETBALL continued from back

[to Bowdoin] she’s just had some really big shots. We knew [going into the game] that’s she’s a big-time player that’s going to hit those shots.” A Tufts turnover from sophomore center Michela North gave the Polar Bears the ball back, which they converted into their first lead of the night, leading 8-5 with 15 minutes to play in the first half. Tufts took a brief 18-14 lead with help from first-year Melissa Baptista’s strong play off the bench, but a potential Tufts run was halted by Binkhorst who made a jump shot and then assisted teammate junior forward Shannon Brady to tie the game at 18-18. Then it was the Jumbos’ turn to go to work, turning defensive stops into points on the other end. A block by Kanner at the 6:43 mark silenced the Bowdoin crowd, and her follow-up 3-pointer had the Tufts fans on their feet. The Jumbos scored 11 consecutive points over a nearly sixminute stretch. Bowdoin pulled within five with 1:45 left in the half off another Binkhorst 3-pointer, but a quick layup from Kanner off an assist from Foley and free throws from first-year point guard Lauren Dillon and Baptista extended the lead to 10 at halftime. Defense was the key for the Jumbos, from the post defense of North and Kanner, to Dillon’s relentless pressure on Curle. A possession earlier in the game saw Curle nearly lose the ball twice en route to the team’s first shot clock violation. This clampdown from the Jumbos’ defense plagued the Polar Bears all game, recording two shot clock violations in the first half alone, while shooting just 39.1 percent from the field in the first half. Kanner picked up where she left off, scoring a quick layup to open the second half, and Tufts scored two more open baskets to take the lead to 16 before Bowdoin coach Adrienne Shibles called a timeout just 1:21 into the half. “In a lot of games this year we play our best in the second half. I think we are in really good shape and when we run the ball a lot we can tire out the other team, especially if they don’t go very deep into their bench,” Foley said. The Polar Bears scored quickly after the timeout but were unable to halt the Jumbos’ offense that went on another 7-0 run fueled

by a 3-pointer from Foley. Shibles burned a second timeout with 15:51 left in the game to try to slow the Tufts momentum, but her team was unable to pull closer than 15 until the two-minute mark, when Tufts had essentially sealed the victory and firstplace in the conference. “Putting some of their players into foul trouble, forcing them to sit on the bench longer than they would want definitely helped us,” Foley said. “I think we could have done better on the defensive end. We kind of let them back in it a little bit at the end, but we did a really good job on offense, executing, going for offensive rebounds and just being really aggressive.” The game against Bowdoin also marked the last regular-season home game and senior night for four seniors; Foley, Kanner, senior tri-captain point guard Kelsey Morehead and senior forward Hannah Artner, who had her first career start. “Our assistant coach Kate Barnosky was a senior our freshmen year, and it seems like just yesterday we were decorating the gym for her senior day,” Foley said. “Going into these last few games I’m really starting to think right before every game that this is one of my last few games and it makes me want to play that much harder. Everyone talks about senior year but it really takes you being on court on senior day to realize that we only have a few days left in those uniforms.”

Saturday saw Morehead warming up with the team after having been sidelined with a knee injury since winter break. “[Kelsey’s] on the upswing,” Kanner said. “One of my favorite moments was watching the other team see Kelsey shooting around and you could tell that they were starting to get nervous and that’s what teams should expect. She’s getting better [and] she’s getting out on the court.” The day before, Tufts blew past Colby 64-45 at home, led by Dillon’s 13 points and strong rebounding from the Jumbos, who out-rebounded Colby 42-25. As the womens basketball team’s regular season winds down to a close, its attention will be shifting to the NESCAC championship and its next opponent, eighth-seeded Hamilton. “Every game in the NESCAC is a battle,” Foley said. “In the first round we’re going to be playing Hamilton, who we went into overtime with this year. It was our closest NESCAC game.” “This part of the season is about finetuning everything,” Kanner said. “Coach has given us all the tools, we know exactly what we need to do and to execute. With that comes a lot of energy and a lot of buzz for each game, [and] to credit our fans it’s been an absolutely awesome experience playing at Cousens Gymnasium. We play our best basketball at home, and that gives us a lot of confidence for our upcoming games.”

Ethan Chan / The Tufts Daily

Senior tri-captain Haley Kanner attempts a 3-pointer in Friday’s 64-45 win over Colby.

City of champions

s the New England Patriots make their latest victory tour, I can’t help but feel incredibly blessed. In my 22 years on this planet — every one of them spent living in Massachusetts — I have witnessed Boston sports teams win nine titles. The Hub of the Universe has become the Hub of Sports Championships. We’ve won an embarrassing amount lately, and I’m almost starting to feel a little guilty at this point. All I can say is that I am tremendously fortunate to have come of age during this unprecedented run of success. No MLB team has won more World Series this millennium than the once-cursed Red Sox. No NFL team has won more Super Bowls during the salary cap era (1994-present) than the Patriots. The Celtics are the winningest franchise in NBA history with 17 championship banners hanging from the rafters of the Boston Garden. The Bruins, with six Stanley Cup flags in the same building, are no slouches, either. The championship cup runneth over in Beantown. It wasn’t always this way. For a long time Boston was a down-on-its-luck sports town. Fans flocked to local watering holes not to celebrate the sweet taste of victory, but to drink away the bitterness of demoralizing defeat. The Patriots were generally mediocre until the Brady/Belichick era, not once winning a Super Bowl. The Celtics went 21 years between NBA Finals appearances, losing their Irish luck somewhere along the way. The Bruins went nearly four decades without winning the Stanley Cup. And then there were the Red Sox, who are in their own category as far as sports-induced suffering is concerned. No team has ever been responsible for more heartbreak than the Sox, who famously failed to win a World Series for 86 years despite coming oh-so-close on numerous occasions. I saw this firsthand in 2003, when I went to bed in tears after Aaron Boone crushed Boston’s World Series hopes along with Tim Wakefield’s knuckleball. That all changed a few months after 9/11. After decades of failure, suddenly Boston teams couldn’t lose. Everything started going our way. Suddenly we were the ones getting all the breaks and mounting the improbable comebacks. Even though we never had the best players — no Kobe, no LeBron, no A-Rod, no Manning — we always had the best teams. We found a way to win. It was a swift and stunning transformation. From 1987-2001, Boston teams won zero championships. From 2002-2015, they won nine. NINE. That’s a lot of duck boat parades, people. Beantown’s longest stretch without a championship during that time; the three years between the Celtics’ 2008 title and the Bruins’ 2011 triumph. Might as well have been an eternity. In that same 20022015 timeframe, Boston teams appeared in 13 championship games/series. That means on average, a Boston team made the finals every year. And let’s not forget that 2015 is far from over, meaning it’s very possible there will be another victory parade before the year is out. This incredible stretch of good fortune has made it easy for Bostonians to forget that championships are supposed to be exceedingly rare, that generations can pass without ever seeing one. It takes a perfect storm for a city’s teams to reach the top of their respective sports at the same time, and it probably won’t happen again for a long, long time. All good things must come to an end, after all. The sports gods can’t shine down on Boston forever. It’s been a run for the ages, and I hope it isn’t over yet. But if it is, well, I’m just glad I was along for the ride.

Tyler Maher is a senior majoring in economics and English. He can be reached at tyler.maher@tufts.edu.

Sports

tuftsdaily.com

Men’s Basketball

Tufts clinches No. 4 seed, home playoff game by Steven Hefter Sports Editor

Sitting at 5-3 in the NESCAC with two conference games to play, the men’s basketball team went north to Maine over

MEN’S BASKETBALL (13-11 Overall, 6-5 NESCAC) at Brunswick, Maine, Saturday Tufts Bowdoin

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54 57

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at Waterville, Maine, Friday Tufts Colby

25 33

47 31

the long weekend to conclude its regular season. On Friday, Tufts beat Colby 72-64 before dropping a nail-biter at Bowdoin on Saturday, 57-5. The Jumbos finished their season at 13-11 overall and with a 6-4 conference record, earning the fourth seed in the postseason NESCAC tournament. Tufts’ loss to Bowdoin was every bit as close as the final score suggested, with 10 ties, eight lead changes and neither team gaining a lead larger than six. Both teams accrued 41 rebounds and nine assists. The game was tied at 26-26 at the end of the first half and neither team could pull away for most of the second half. With just under two minutes to play and the score even at 51-51, Bowdoin first-year forward Liam Farley’s running shot was goaltended, giving Bowdoin a two-point edge. Tufts was unable to close the gap over the next minute and a half and with 12 seconds remaining, Bowdoin senior co-captain guard Bryan Hurley nailed an off-balance jumper in the lane to give his team a 55-51 lead. Following a clutch three from Tufts sophomore point guard Tarik Smith, Hurley iced the game with a pair of free throws. Sophomore tri-captain forward Tom Palleschi and Smith led Tufts in the losing effort with 14 points apiece, while senior tri-captain guard Ben Ferris pulled down seven rebounds. “We were all able to get some very good looks against Bowdoin but just couldn’t connect,” junior guard Ryan Spadaford said. “We shot the ball very poorly as a team that day.” Spadaford did not struggle the previous day before at Colby though; he

Emma Kindig / The Tufts Daily

Sophomore tri-captain Tom Palleschi led the Jumbos in scoring over the weekend. knocked down five of nine 3-point attempts on his way to a team-high 17 points. After shooting just 29.4 percent from the field in the first half, which resulted in an eight-point deficit, the Jumbos shot 57.7 percent and outscored the Mules by 16 points in the second half on their way to a 72-64 victory. Junior tri-captain guard Stephen Haladyna scored all 12 of his points in the second half, including two huge threes. Tarik Smith also scored 12 points and paced Tufts with four assists, while first-year Ben Engvall notched a team-high seven boards off the bench. “Colby’s players were smaller but very quick and played mostly zone defense,” Palleschi said. “This allowed us to attack the soft spots, but [we] had to make quick decisions.” Spadaford was quick to praise his teammates for his big performance.

“My teammates just put me in good positions to score and all I had to do was hit the shots,” Spadaford said. “It was awesome to hit two big threes and put our team on top in a must-win conference game.” After Saturday’s loss to Bowdoin, Tufts closely monitored Sunday’s contest between Amherst and Middlebury — a loss for Amherst would even its conference record with Tufts and give Tufts the fourth seed because of the latter’s 80-53 win over Amherst on Jan. 16. The Panthers, despite going into the NESCAC finale with a 3-6 conference record, upset the Lord Jeffs 82-69. Amherst will have a chance to avenge its regular-season loss to Tufts this Saturday when it travels to Cousens Gymnasium for the first round of the NESCAC playoffs. “This weekend is going to be our biggest game of the year,” Spadaford said.

“Amherst will be coming in with an edge. It will be a battle but I think if we play tough defense on their shooters and play together on every play, we will have a great opportunity to win the game.” Before its loss to Middlebury on Sunday, Amherst had rattled off six straight wins with an average margin of victory of 20 points. Amherst has averaged the fourth-most points per game in conference play with 75.1 points per game, while Tufts has allowed the fourthfewest points per game in conference play, surrendering just 64.3 points per game. The Jumbos will also hopefully be buoyed by the return of their leading scorer, sophomore center Hunter Sabety, who has not played since Jan. 24. “We know Amherst is a good team, but we know that if we play our game and slow the tempo, we are very tough to beat,” Palleschi said.

Women’s Basketball

Track and Field

Jumbos earn top seed in NESCAC for third consecutive year

Black blazes BU on Valentine’s Day

by Alison Kuah Sports Editor

With the right to host a NESCAC quarterfinal matchup and an undefeated home

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL (23-1 Overall, 10-0 NESCAC) at Cousens Gym, Saturday Bowdoin Tufts

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at Cousens Gym, Friday Colby Tufts

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record on the line, the No. 4 women’s basketball team was in a must-win situation against No. 18 Bowdoin — the only other unbeaten team in the conference — on Saturday. An electrifying start to the second half, in which

the Jumbos turned a 10-point halftime lead into a 21-point game within four minutes, sealed the runaway 66-55 victory. “We’ve had a lot of games with Bowdoin in the past that we lost or won,” senior tri-captain guard Hannah Foley said. “They’ve been really close so there’s a bit of a rivalry there.” “There was a lot of energy in the gym, because it was the last [regular season] game against an undefeated NESCAC team and games with Bowdoin are always fun and energy-packed,” senior tri-captain Hayley Kanner said. “We both want to go up and down the court and I think it always ends up being a tight game. Those are the games that you’re thinking about in the preseason, and leading up to the game you’re thinking what are these big games going to feel like.” Both teams’ offenses started off slowly, with Bowdoin missing its

first three shots and neither team being able to convert until Foley kicked off scoring two minutes into the game with a deep three when the shot clock was down to five. The Polar Bears’ own No. 23, senior guard Sara Binkhorst, responded two minutes later with her first 3-pointer of the night. She was just getting started on a game-high 23 points on 7-of12 shooting and a perfect 5-of-5 from beyond the arc. She added another game-high seven assists, standing in for sophomore point guard Marle Curle, whose playing time was limited because of early foul trouble. “So No. 23 — Sara Binkhorst — is just a big threat from the three and she drives really hard,” Foley said. “She’s a senior so I’ve played against her all four years and the a couple of the games that we’ve lost see WOMEN’S BASKETBALL, page 15

by Abby Curran Contributing Writer

At Boston University’s David Hemery Invitational this past Saturday, junior Mitch Black reset the Tufts 800-meter record with an impressive time of 1:49.16. It replaced the standing school record (1:51.14) set by Black last season. “It wasn’t something I was looking to break,” Black said, “I was just trying to put down a faster time. The time came with the first half and maybe laps two and three.” Focusing on achieving the fastest time rather than breaking his record has certainly proven successful for Black this season. His time was good enough for a fifth place finish in the meet, but it was also the fastest recorded time this season in Div. III and the fourth fastest time recorded in Div. III history.

With championship season fast approaching, Black has high hopes for nationals. “The 800 is definitely the focus going forward,” Black said. “I will hopefully run that at nationals in March.” However, in order to diversify his training he plans to run the 800-meter race only one other time between now and then. In its place, he plans to run the 1,000 meters and then possibly some relays in the meets leading up to nationals. Notably, several Tufts athletes in addition to Black had great showings this past weekend at Boston University. Junior Veer Bhalia finished 17th overall with an 800-meter time of 1:52.58. In the 1,000 meters, first-year Ty Enos placed 28th with a time of 2:30.81, while junior Alex Apostolides placed close behind see MEN’S TRACK AND FIELD, page 15