THE TUFTS DAILY
Rain 56/40
VOLUME LXVIV, NUMBER 39
Where You Read It First Est. 1980 TUFTSDAILY.COM
Thursday, March 26, 2015
Literary magazine Parade provides space for marginalized voices by Miranda Willson Daily Staff Writer
Hoping to provide a creative outlet for people of marginalized identities, first-years Sandy Yin and Jennifer Lee recently founded Parade, Tufts’ newest and currently unrecognized literary magazine, this semester. While open to all identities and perspectives, the magazine intends to prioritize submissions from students of marginalized backgrounds and perspectives, including students of color, students with disabilities and gendernonconforming students, according to Parade’s website. “Jennifer and I are both very interested in systems of oppression and the way they shape how people of marginalized identities live their lives and see themselves represented in media, politics and society as a whole,” Yin said. “We both had experiences working with publications before, so we decided that creating a magazine that showcases marginalized identities would be a good way to voice the voices that aren’t being heard.” The executive board is composed entirely of first-year students, according to Yin, Parade’s editor-in-chief. Lee serves as the the creative director, and other executive board representatives and
editors include Priyanka Padidam and Ray Bernoff, the prose editors, Morgan Freeman, the poetry editor, Miranda Perez, the magazine’s spokesperson and Y-Binh Nguyen, the treasurer. The magazine allows students of all identities and backgrounds to submit, striving to avoid tokenization of minorities and other students, Yin said. Parade is now accepting poetry, prose and visual art submissions, according to its website. “We’re interested in how systems interlock,” Yin said. “We’re interested in white supremacy playing off with gender politics, how race and class play off each other … basically anyone who doesn’t see themselves represented in mainstream media, we’re trying to liberate their voices.” Padidam emphasized that the magazine does not select which submissions to publish based on the subject matter they address. “We aren’t creating any bounds for people’s identities,” she said. “No matter the topic, it’s still a way to push back against mainstream media, because it’s coming from those voices that are usually silenced.” “We’re not policing anyone’s identity,” Yin added. “As a literary magazine, of course we want to have quality content, but first and foremost, our goal
is to be a platform, so whatever narratives the people who are submitting want to tell, that’s what we want.” Yin emphasized the importance of creating a space that does not simply tolerate or accept different identities, but actively emphasizes those perspectives. “In general, if you look at what some people think of diversity, it’s just a way of checking off that you have someone of each identity in the room,” Yin said. “But it’s not enough to say, ‘We welcome people of all identities,’ because when you say that, you’re still allowing dominant voices to take over. This is a space where we are intentionally amplifying the voices of people who aren’t heard. Their voices are still silenced, unless you intentionally make them heard.” Padidam said that she thinks the presence of first-years on Parade’s executive board is beneficial for the magazine’s future. “We’re going to be on campus for longer; we will have time to dedicate ourselves to this publication,” Yin added. “And of course we have upperclassmen who are helping us, who have more connections and are more experienced.” The executive board intends to publish the first issue of Parade, which will be in the form of a shorter zine, in early April, Yin said. It hopes to
publish a longer literary magazine when it receives additional funding and enough submissions. The executive board members have also created a Tumblr and Instagram to advertise the publication and are organizing a second writing workshop for March 25, according to Yin. While the executive board members will select pieces for the magazine based on each issue’s theme, they intend to publish every submission they receive online, according to Bernoff. “Unless it’s hate speech or truly awful in some other way,” he noted. While Padidam hopes to gain a large readership, she also thinks that Parade should primarily stick to its mission statement: “To act as a creative forum and space for people of marginalized identities to tell whatever stories they feel are worth telling.” Yin emphasized the importance of Parade’s mission statement as the magazine moves forward. “I think success for us is defined by how people perceive our space, whether people feel we’re coming forward with what we’re trying to do,” she said. “Success isn’t about how much money we get, how much advertising we get to do. This isn’t something we’re trying to appeal to the majority, because the majority has a space on this campus.”
Students embark on microfinance trip through ExCollege course by Daniel Bottino News Editor
A group of students spent their spring break on an Experimental College-led trip in Bucerias, Mexico. The goal of the trip was to give students a better understanding of microfinance. The trip’s attendees included sophomores Lara LoBrutto and Sara PearceProbst and senior Gabriella Zoia, who is also an assistant news editor at the Daily. The students were accompanied by Adam Grenier, a lecturer in the Experimental College, and Elly Rohrer (LA ’11), who is the director of Human Connections, a nonprofit dedicated to leading educational and academic tours for college students. According to Grenier, Rohrer pitched the idea for the trip. She expressed interest in organizing a microfinance tour for Tufts students. “[Last fall] we started building out what the itinerary would look like for Tufts students, with a focus on microfinance, which is what I teach here,” Grenier said. “We’d basically be embedded with three different microfinance institutions while we’re there for the week.” Grenier explained that microfinance can be defined as financial services for the poor. “[Microfinance] is most commonly connected with the distribution of micro-loans — that’s how it was popularized — but it entails a lot more than loans. It’s about loans, savings programs, insurance programs, education … financial education,” he said. “It’s much bigger than just loans.” Financial services, including loans, are relatively easy to obtain in the United States, Grenier said, where someone in need of a loan to start a business can request one from a bank. In contrast, he noted that microfinance operates at a more informal level.
“These [microfinance] institutions are able to target those that don’t have easy access to the commercial [and] formal sector,” he said. In Bucerias, the students were able to interact with clients of microfinance services and learn how microfinance loans work in the culture of the local community, Grenier said. Students were able to get handson experience with several aspects of microfinance, including meeting loan clients, members of microfinance institutions, people in remittance programs and people involved in lending circles, as well as more recreational activities, he said. “[Lending circles] are even more informal than the traditional microloans,” Grenier said. “These are circles that are established in villages [and are] very locally built.” Pearce-Probst said she was extremely pleased with the outcome of the experience, emphasizing that the trip helped her gain an understanding of microfinance that she could not have gotten through her engineering studies. “Learning about what microfinance actually is was a highlight, but more than that, the most interesting, fun and also awkward part to me was actually visiting people’s homes,” she said. “You don’t get that just going as a tourist by yourself … to really meet these people and have them welcome you into their homes is a very special experience.” She added that since Rohrer had previously established connections with the people they interacted with, the visits felt more comfortable despite the personal nature of the financial questions being discussed. Pearce-Probst believes that the trip was also valuable in that she was able to find a connection to her classroom studies at Tufts.
Inside this issue
Courtesy Adam Grenier
From left to right: Lara LoBrutto, Gabriella Zoia and Sarah Pearce-Probst admire the artisan work of Human Connections client Leonarda, especially the Tufts Jumbo elephant inspired by Leonarda’s indigenous Huichol culture. “I wasn’t expecting anything related to my studies when I went … but the community center was by far my favorite place because they combined social entrepreneurship with engineering: How they designed the building, how they made it energy efficient and environmentally friendly and combined that with strong community building and bringing together people of American descent and Mexican descent,” PearceProbst said. LoBrutto added that the trip enabled her to learn about the importance of communities in Mexican microfinance. “I learned that the reason for microfinance’s relative success in Mexico is the existence of strong communities,” she told the Daily in an email. “Speaking to real-life microfinance participants was a hundred times more valuable than learning about it in a classroom.”
In addition, LoBrutto explained that the stories she heard from the residents of Bucerias left a major impression on her. “The families we visited had incredible stories to share, from Leonarda’s perseverance as a single mom to Don Carmelo’s rise from an orphan to a successful restaurant owner raising 10 children,” she said. “They will stick with me for a long time to come.” These experiences allowed LoBrutto to gain a new perspective on microfinance and its related questions, she noted, as well as stimulating her interest in future career paths. “I believe that the discoveries and realizations that this trip facilitated will have an invaluable impact on my future,” she said. Although this trip is the first of its kind, Grenier hopes that similar trips can be made, perhaps on an annual basis.
Today’s sections
Granoff All Night Music Festival promises a night of great tunes from Tufts musicians and a variety of activities and food.
The women’s tennis team went 2-2 against some of California’s top teams.
see WEEKENDER, page 5
see SPORTS, back
News 1 Features 2 Weekender 5 Arts 6
Editorial 10 Op-Ed 11 Sports Back