The Tufts Daily - Friday, February 12, 2021

THE

VOLUME LXXXI, ISSUE 6

INDEPENDENT

STUDENT

N E W S PA P E R

OF

TUFTS

UNIVERSITY

E S T. 1 9 8 0

T HE T UFTS DAILY tuftsdaily.com

Friday, February 12, 2021

MEDFORD/SOMERVILLE, MASS.

New coronavirus variants prompt concern from Tufts health officials

by Sarah Sandlow Deputy News Editor

After three new coronavirus variants were discovered in the U.K., South Africa and Brazil, cases attributed to these variants began spreading around the United States. Health officials in the U.S. are still working to determine just how dangerous these variants are and if the current vaccines are able to provide enough protection against them. At the same time, Tufts health officials are in the process of understanding how these variants will affect COVID-19 on campus.

Shira Doron, epidemiologist and associate professor at the Tufts University School of Medicine, said the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention projects that the variants may become predominant in the U.S.

by March. There is a possibility that the variants could have a significant effect on the Boston area, including Tufts.

“We have limited data on the prevalence of variants in Boston, because only a relatively small proportion of positive specimens are subjected to genomic sequencing in order to know whether they are due to a variant,” Doron wrote in an email to the Daily. “Therefore, we could be experiencing silent spread.”

Marie Caggiano, medical director of Health Service, and Michael Jordan, university infection control health director, said in a joint statement that because some variant strains of COVID-19 have been shown to be more transmissible and potentially more virulent, it is even more important now to continue to follow health and safety protocols implemented on the Tufts campus.

“We are continuing to learn more about the new variants. At this time, it does appear to be possible for individuals who have previously been infected with the wild type SARS-CoV-2 to be re-infected with a variant type,” Caggiano and Jordan wrote in an email to the Daily. “This means no one should let their guard down and even individuals who have previously tested positive need to continue being vigilant about following public health guidance and any person experiencing symptoms should avoid exposing others and seek medical care right away.”

According to Doron, the primary variant that has currently been isolated with the most frequency in the U.S. is the B. 117 variant, which originated in the U.K. Although the variants from South Africa and Brazil are less common at the moment, Doron said that may change.

SOPHIE DOLAN / THE TUFTS DAILY

Students were given packs of disposable masks, pictured here, upon arriving on campus this semester.

“The UK variant is concerning because it appears to be more contagious. More contagious means more cases which means more hospitalization and death,” Doron said. “The South Africa variant is concerning because it appears to evade the immunity provided by [natural] infection, antibody therapy, and vaccination, to some extent.”

Doron added that it is not yet known whether the variants have different effects on young people than the original strain, but that is a potential concern given that Tufts’ population is mostly made up of young people.

STOP Spillover project, led by Tufts experts, begins work

by Marianna Schantz Assistant News Editor

Tufts is leading a five-year, $100 million project called Strategies to Prevent Spillover (STOP Spillover), working alongside the U.S. Agency for International Development. The program, which was announced on Sept. 30, works to understand and address the risks posed by zoonotic diseases, which are transmissible from animals to humans, that can spill over and cause epidemics.

“We are excited to work with Tufts University and the rest of the wildlife and human-disease experts that make up the STOP Spillover consortium, including from local and U.S.-based

university networks, academic institutions, and new and traditional implementing partners,” a USAID spokesperson wrote in an email to the Daily.

Over the next five years, STOP Spillover will work with at least 10 high-risk countries in Africa and Asia to strengthen their capacities to understand, assess and monitor risks associated with the spillover of zoonotic diseases.

Program director of STOP Spillover Deborah Kochevar explained that the project will achieve its goals through partnerships with local communities, institutions and colleagues.

“Government engagement and partnerships are key to achieving STOP Spillover objec-

COURTESY WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

The logo for the United States Agency for International Development is pictured.

tives and sustainable reduction of country and community risk,” Kochevar wrote in an email to the Daily.

Kochevar outlined what has been accomplished since STOP Spillover’s launch in October 2020.

“The priority activity during this start-up period has been development of a detailed project workplan based on the proposal that won ~$100M funding over 5 years from the US Agency for International Development (USAID),” Kochevar said.

She explained how they have interacted thus far with the countries they are working with.

“We have begun to introduce STOP Spillover to important stakeholders around the globe, including in Uganda, Liberia, Vietnam and Bangladesh.

Additional countries in Africa and Southeast Asia will follow by [the] end of year 1,” Kochevar said.

However, the project has faced various difficulties caused by the pandemic. see SPILLOVER, page 2

Caggiano and Jordan said Tufts is experiencing a higher positivity rate this semester, compared to the fall. Although it is possible there are variants present in the community, the increase in positivity rate on campus is consistent with the national surge in cases that has recently occurred, which has many causes.

According to the Daily’s COVID-19 dashboard, 46 individuals on the Medford/Somerville campus tested positive between Feb. 1 and Feb. 9.

The potential presence of highly transmissible variants in

the community is something the university remains conscious of.

“The emergence of new SARSCoV-2, especially those with higher transmissibility was one of several factors which influenced our decision to increase the frequency of COVID-19 surveillance testing at the opening of this semester,” Caggiano and Jordan said.

Caggiano and Jordan mentioned that the samples collected through surveillance testing and provided to the Broad Institute do not provide information as to see VARIANTS, page 2

Tufts examines relationship with online degree providers amid national scrutiny of for-profit educational partnerships

by Anton Shenk News Editor

Increased national scrutiny has been cast on the growing influence of for-profit companies on colleges and universities, and Tufts is one such university that outsources programs and services.

Tufts has long enlisted the help of private companies, including janitorial services and the Tufts bookstore, which is run by Barnes & Noble, often with the promise of efficiency and reducing costs.

However, as Tufts expands its partnerships with private, for-profit companies to assist with its online degree offerings, concern has grown as the gap between a Tufts education and a for-profit education narrows, according to an article published by the Washington Post last month.

FEATURES / page 3

OPINION / page 7

SPORTS / back

Tufts students mobilize as volunteers in Georgia runoff elections

Op-ed: An open letter to Tufts faculty and administration

Pair of former Jumbos land on Seakhawks’ coaching staff

At the center of that concern has been Tufts’ relationship with online program management providers, including Noodle and 2U. According to its website, Noodle “manage[s] the complex flow of data from schools and systems into a secure, cloudbased data warehouse (n:core).”

2U is focused on supporting universities with the power of education technology, according to its website.

Both programs have been essential in assisting faculty and administrators to launch Tufts’ new online degree offerings.

Aviva Must, chair of public health and community medicine, said 2U has been used to launch two online master’s programs at the Tufts University School of Medicine. She see PARTNERSHIPS, page 2 NEWS

1

FEATURES

3

ARTS & POP CULTURE

4

FUN & GAMES

6

OPINION

7

SPORTS

BACK

2

THE TUFTS DAILY | News | Friday, February 12, 2021

THE TUFTS DAILY Megan Szostak Editor in Chief

— EDITORIAL — ALEJANDRA CARRILLO ETHAN STEINBERG Managing Editors

LIZ SHELBRED COLTON WOLK Associate Editors Maddie Aitken Executive News Editor Sarah Crawford Executive Features Editor Tuna Margalit Executive Arts Editor Priya Padhye Executive Opinion Editor Julian Perry Editorial Editor Juanita Asapokhai Caroline Wolinsky Amulya Mutnuru Editorialists Alex Sharp Executive Sports Editor Jess Blough Investigative Editor Hannah Harris Executive Audio Editor Sophie Dolan Executive Photo Editor Austen Money Executive Video Editor

— PRODUCTION — YANQING HUANG Production Director Campbell Devlin Elizabeth Foster Kendall Roberts Executive Layout Editors Annabel Nied Calisa Sana Executive Graphics Editors Mariel Priven Kate Seklir Executive Copy Editors Michelle Li Tiffany Namkoong Executive Social Media Editors

— BUSINESS — EVELYN MCCLURE Business Director Rebecca Barker Jilly Rolnick Sam Russo Outreach Coordinators Etai Barash Web Manager Contact Us P.O. Box 53018, Medford, MA 02155 daily@tuftsdaily.com thetuftsdaily tuftsdaily tuftsdaily

Please rec ycle this newspaper!

The Tufts Daily is a nonprofit, independent newspaper, published Monday through Friday during the academic year, and distributed free to the Tufts community.

The content of letters, advertisements, signed columns, cartoons and graphics does not necessarily reflect the opinion of The Tufts Daily editorial board.

EDITORIALS Editorials represent the position of The Tufts Daily. Individual editors are not necessarily responsible for, or in agreement with, the policies and editorials of The Tufts Daily.

OP-EDS 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 and submitted to opinion@tuftsdaily.com. The editors reserve the right to edit letters for clarity, space and length. All material is subject to editorial discretion and is not guaranteed to appear in the Daily. Authors must submit their telephone numbers and day-of availability for editing questions.

ADVERTISING All advertising copy is subject to the approval of the Editor in Chief, Executive Board and Business Director.

tuftsdaily.com

Some OPMs charging institutions tens of thousands for programs PARTNERSHIPS

continued from page 1 has collaborated with 2U to implement these programs.

“The internal resources and time we would have needed to host and recruit for two fully online programs would have been significant, so working with an online program manager allowed us to meet the demand for flexibility and new programs in a more efficient and timely manner,” Must wrote in an email to the Daily.

Must further explained the nature of Tufts’ relationship with 2U. “[2U has] no role in admissions, content, or instruction in the program,” Must said. “They handle enrollment marketing for the program — which uses digital advertisements to target potential candidates, but they make no decisions regarding who is admitted.”

Not much more has been made public about the relationship between Tufts and the online program management providers it collaborates with — including how the for-profit online program management providers make money off of the programs.

Executive Director of Public Relations Patrick Collins said that contract details between Tufts and its service providers are kept confidential.

“Generally, [online program management providers] earn money through a revenue-shar-

ing model in which they receive payment for assisting us with the distance learning platforms and video recordings, marketing to prospective students, and providing other services,” Collins wrote in an email to the Daily.

Noodle is another online program management provider that partnered with Tufts this past year to launch online computer science and data science graduate programs. Despite Tufts’ inability to share its agreements with the online program management providers it contracts, Noodle quotes monthly fees between $12,000 and $22,000 for each program it manages, with an additional $88 per credit hour for each student enrolled in the program.

Although expensive, Tufts faculty and administrators agree that the benefit provided by online program management providers is clear. Bhaskar Chakravorti, dean of global business at the Fletcher School, explained that he views the partnership as a natural one. “[It has] been a classic partnership of two different organizations that bring different capabilities to the table … what Tufts and Fletcher bring is knowledge, credibility and an academic environment that is conducive to learning,” Chakravorti said. “What [2U] brought to the table … [is] technology.”

Marty Allen, associate teaching professor and director of online

STOP Spillover facing COVID-19 hurdles, remains on track SPILLOVER

continued from page 1 “STOP Spillover’s work is aimed directly at reducing the risk of just such another pandemic happening, and yet much of our work requires international travel, which we are unable to do at present,” Felicia Nutter, an assistant professor in the department of infectious disease and global health at the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine, wrote in an email to the Daily.

However, they are still on track.

“Despite the challenges of the current pandemic, the project remains on schedule. STOP Spillover is expected to be operational in the first quarter of calendar year 2021,” a USAID spokesperson said.

The team is currently working on Zoom and other virtual platforms. Although not an ideal situation, Nutter expressed that she is still excited to work on this project.

“I think one of our major accomplishments was assembling the amazing team of dedicated experts and organizations that was chosen to do this work, with Tufts as the lead,” Nutter said. “I’m excited to be working with colleagues who are world-leaders in their fields, and with whom I’ve wanted to work for a long time.”

Nutter is a senior technical lead for the Wildlife, Livestock, Epidemiology, Behavior Change and Gender Strategy Hub.

“As a co-leader of that group, my responsibility is to ensure that we bring the best technical expertise to the development of global project strategy, and that our activities are implemented with the best technical support,” Nutter wrote.

Nutter expanded on the progress of the plan mentioned by Kochevar.

“Our global workplan, covering the work we will do in all countries, has been submitted and we are now developing more detailed workplans for the specific countries, which will also be reviewed and approved,” Nutter said. “Once that is done, we can move on to organizing project teams in each country, and start the real work, which includes lots of initial meetings with the government agencies, other collaborators, and the communities in which we’ll do our work.”

USAID is equally excited about the project’s progress and what will come next.

“STOP Spillover will play an integral role in expanding on USAID’s 15 years of investments in capacity building, research, knowledge, data, and tools to promote a multisectoral “One Health approach” (which refers to the inescapable link between the health of humans, animals, and the environment) to address emerging and re-emerging zoonotic viruses before they pose an overwhelming epidemic or pandemic threat,” a USAID spokesperson said.

SOPHIE DOLAN / THE TUFTS DAILY

Zoom is open on a laptop with class notes on the side. programs in the department of computer science, echoed similar benefits brought to the department and program.

“The main thing Noodle brings to the table is experience,” Allen wrote in an email to the Daily.

“Since they’ve worked with a number of online programs, past and present, they are invaluable partners for me … it’s great to be able to get advice from people who have been doing online education often much longer than I have.”

Rebecca Petersen, program director of the online Master of Arts in Teaching at Tufts, believes 2U provides experience and marketing expertise.

“When you work with an [online program management provider] ideally you benefit from their expertise and experience, avoiding some common trial and error that can happen if you were to [do] it alone,” Petersen wrote in an email to the Daily. “By using [online program management providers’] marketing expertise, Tufts may be able to attract students who have not thought about applying to a [Tufts] program.”

A principal concern of the presence of for-profit companies in

non-profit education has been their influence on the academic and admissions components of programs. Allen explained that admissions and curricular decisions are still left to faculty.

“On the academic side, everything is handled as it always has been,” Allen said. “All admission decisions are made by the members of the CS faculty, including myself.”

Chakravorti said the partnerships with online program management providers help Tufts accomplish its mission of sharing and creating knowledge with the world. “[The model] originated with the intent of taking the university to the student and meeting the student where the student is,” Chakravorti said. “Now, with the pandemic having essentially reset the way we do things, we realized that many of those capabilities were enormously helpful in managing the virtual campus that we did over 2020 and we’ll continue to do over 2021. This is going to make a difference to the way we think about the role of technology and our interfacing with students on a day-to-day basis.”

University health officials keep increased testing frequency, CDC recommends double masking VARIANTS

continued from page 1 whether an individual is infected with a variant.

According to Doron, genetic sequencing is the only way to determine if someone is infected with a variant strain and is only conducted at specialized labs.

“There is a clue called ‘S dropout’ that can be seen on some PCR platforms that use multiple targets to determine test positivity,” Doron said. “If one of the targets is negative, it could represent a variant.”

The CDC reported that wearing two masks, a surgical mask underneath a cloth mask, is one way to increase protection against the more contagious variants. However, Caggiano and Jordan said they do not recommend double masking, as it may increase discomfort or difficulty breathing, which could lead to improper wear.

“We … encourage students to use the 3 ply disposable face masks that we provided at onboarding,” Caggiano and Jordan said. “We know the

masks we provide fit properly and are designed for this purpose whereas we don’t know the quality of the cloth masks people wear … If students do choose to wear a cloth face mask, they should ensure it fits properly, covering both the nose and mouth without gaps on the sides.”

Caggiano and Jordan urged students to continue following health and safety guidelines put in place by the university.

They emphasized that students should avoid eating in groups and look for opportunities to socialize while wearing a mask and maintaining proper physical distance.

“The next few months will require all of us to remain highly vigilant and follow all university and community safety protocols,” Caggiano and Jordan said.

“We urge everyone to stay safe and to continue to exercise caution. Furthermore, we encourage all members of the community to receive the COVID-19 vaccine when it becomes available to them.”

Features

tuftsdaily.com

3 Friday, February 12, 2021

Tufts students volunteer, vote in Georgia runoff races

COURTESY ORGANIZATION FOR SECURITY AND CO-OPERATION IN EUROPE

“I voted” stickers in English and Spanish are pictured.

by Sam Russo

Outreach Coordinator

First-year Violet Kopp has been an engaged Democrat since middle school, but she wasn’t filled with joy when she heard that President Joe Biden had won the 2020 presidential election on Nov. 7. “My first thought was ‘thank God,’” she said. “And then my second thought was ‘if we don’t have the Senate, it almost doesn’t matter who’s president’ … with the partisan gridlock we’re experiencing in this country right now, Biden would just not be able to function as a president and get anything done [without Democrats controlling the Senate].”

Once it became clear that Biden had won the presidential election, heads turned to the Senate, where 50 seats were certain to be held by Republicans and 48 would be held by Democrats or left-leaning independents. The two remaining seats would be determined by two runoff races in Georgia, one a regular election and the other a special election to replace retired Sen. Johnny Isakson. To control the Senate, Democrats would need to win both Georgia races, leaving thenVice President-elect Kamala Harris to cast the deciding vote in cases of an equal division of the Senate. Eventually, with the support of Tufts students and thousands of others across the country, both Sen. Jon Ossoff and Sen. Raphael Warnock won their races.

Seeing the difficult situation Biden would face without Democratic control of the Senate, Kopp decided to take

action, making phone calls to Georgia voters and sending them postcards in support of Ossoff and Warnock, who were running against Republican incumbents David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler, respectively. Kopp sees politics as one important way to have an impact on the world around her, using climate change as an example.

“Change needs to happen on such local scales, just … in the choices we make in our lives, and those individual choices need to be reflected in legislation so, for instance, sure, I will use less plastic and I will take public transportation, instead of [driving] when I can, but if there aren’t strict climate laws in place that expand public transportation and reduce companies’ abilities to produce plastic and fossil fuels, then my individual actions don’t have much of an impact,” she said.

Despite her enthusiasm, Kopp, a Brooklyn native, shared one major reservation about her work surrounding the election in Georgia.

“Something that made me kind of uncomfortable about working on the Georgia campaigns is I’ve been to Georgia once [and] I don’t really know anyone there,” she said. “I don’t feel like as a New Yorker I have the authority to speak to what Georgians want, just like I don’t think that a Georgian has the authority to speak to what New Yorkers want.”

Some Tufts Georgians themselves, though, didn’t mind the national attention, instead emphasizing that the experience of having the whole

country focused on them was strange and exciting but also overwhelming.

“It was pretty exciting to see outside help coming in,” said sophomore Olivia Gallant, an Atlantan who voted for Ossoff and Warnock in the runoff.

“It just shows that the whole nation was riding on this election, and I don’t know if it didn’t get so much publicity throughout the whole United States I don’t know if the result would have been the same.”

Sophomore Maeve McGean, another Atlantan who also voted for both Democrats, agreed that the national interest was exciting but caveated that it wasn’t all pleasant for people living in Georgia.

“In the weeks leading up to [the election], it was definitely getting very annoying,” they said. “So much money was being poured into the campaigns that there was just commercial after commercial after commercial of the different people who were running …

You could not escape it.”

Sophomore Mark Lannigan used his time over winter break to phonebank for the Democratic Party of Georgia.

He reached out to young people in particular, in partnership with the Young Democrats of Georgia.

Like McGean, Lannigan worried that this barrage of advertising could have the opposite effect than intended.

“I think what a lot of people were struggling with was an oversaturation of the information,” Lannigan said. “People heard so much about [the runoff ] that it just became commonplace, and it didn’t exactly

have the same effect [of ] ‘Oh, I actually need to go out there and vote.’”

In other words, because Georgians were hearing so much about the runoff races, Lannigan suspects that they may have internalized the elections as a national issue and with that, they may have forgotten their major role as voters. Lannigan said that most of the people he reached were already decided and explained that he was just encouraging them to vote but not convincing them to vote for certain candidates.

As Kopp explained, many campaigns specifically target voters who were likely to vote for Democrats rather than trying to convince undecided or Republican voters, which was also a more effective way to spend their time.

Another challenge faced by all candidates in the 2020 election and its runoffs were the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“It was just so hard to do outreach, and so much of campaigning and specifically getting those who aren’t inherently political on board is the flashy yard signs and the public events and the giving out free T-shirts and all of that, so that was a real challenge that both the Georgia campaigns had,” Kopp said.

In these ways COVID-19 made civic engagement difficult, however, it also allotted people the time to work on the campaign.

“On the other hand … the two Georgia campaigns were really able to use the awfulness of the pandemic to their

advantage and be like we know you’re doing nothing tonight and so come work for us,” Kopp said. “People are spending more time on social media because of the pandemic …

Jon Ossoff’s TikTok blew up … it was pretty empowering to see the way that the campaigns really responded to the challenges of today and capitalized on them in a positive way.”

Because the election happened over winter break, when students were away from the campus and their peers, it was more difficult to mobilize many students in volunteer efforts. For many politically active students, this was compounded by exhaustion from working and volunteering on general election races. Tufts Democrats president Rhys Murphy explained that because of the break, Tufts Democrats didn’t campaign as a group, and a representative for Tufts Republicans wrote in an electronic message to the Daily, “I am not aware of any [volunteer] involvement at [present].”

For those Tufts students who did engage in the election process, though, it was a rewarding and meaningful experience.

“I really was not expecting Ossoff and Warnock to win, and [when] they both did, it was so gratifying to know that the organizing that we were doing worked, so gratifying to hear that there are so many odds that went against,” Kopp said.

“The fact that Georgia elected not only two Democrats, but a Black man and a Jewish man is pretty phenomenal given the state’s history with racism and anti-Semitism.”

4

Arts & POP ARTS Pop CULTURE Culture

tuftsdaily.com

Friday, February 12, 2021

‘Malcolm & Marie’ is gorgeous, well-acted, but not much more

by Derin Savasan Contributing Writer

You know those ‘uh-oh’ moments in award shows when a star forgets to thank their significant other in their acceptance speech? “Malcolm & Marie” (2021), now streaming on Netflix, ponders what happens later that evening when that couple gets home.

Spoiler alert: things get real ugly, real soon.

Writer and director Sam Levinson’s new black and white, two-hander melodrama stars John David Washington and Zendaya as the titular Malcolm and Marie — the glamorous Hollywood couple returning home after a night out. Malcolm is a conceited yet talented director who just launched his debut feature about the story of a young drug addict, which was well-received by its audience.

Marie is his noticeably-younger morose girlfriend, rock, support-system, muse. And he forgot to thank her at the premiere. Yikes.

Levinson’s pandemic baby — written, conceived and filmed during the early months of quarantine — takes place over the course of a single night at the couple’s fancy (rented) Malibu house. Malcolm waits for the reviews of his latest “chef-d’oeuvre” to roll in.

He pours himself a drink in their luxurious kitchen, puts on some James Brown and indulges in a private after-party mood of peacockery and angry triumph.

Marie isn’t having any of it. She’s indignantly preparing a box of mac-and-cheese — deeply hurt by his failure to acknowledge that his movie is clearly based on her own struggles with addiction, sobriety and depression.

As Malcolm fails to get off his high horse, babbling and complaining about the critics — specifically a “white lady from the Los Angeles Times” — Marie chooses to stay silent, catching Malcolm’s attention. When he asks her about it, she says, “I promise you, nothing productive is going to be said tonight.”

Sadly, she’s right.

Hence, the tirade of screaming and stomping begins as the two spar all over the house until daybreak.

She accuses him of committing a “spiritual theft” of her past traumas to make the movie without her input or involvement.

He calls her “highly unstable” for being a solipsist, bringing up his ex-girlfriends, whom he credits as his other muses. Shocked by his cruel remarks, she then goes on to call him “mediocre,” suggesting he’s more privileged than the white female critic at the Los Angeles Times, and so on and so forth.

You get the gist: they scream, fight viciously, cry quietly, yearn

VIA IMDB

A promotional poster for Netflix’s “Malcom & Marie” is pictured. for one other — only to wind up fighting again.

All this screaming and shouting does make me wonder whether Sam Levinson, the privileged white son of Barry Levinson, famed director of “Diner” (1982) and “Rain Man” (1988), is using Washington, a successful Black actor at the height of his career, as a mouthpiece to whine about negative reviews of his own work — including one written by Los Angeles Times critic Katie Walsh on his 2018 feature “Assassination Nation.”

Coincidence? I think not.

Using romantic relationships as a framework to debate the relationship between an artist and a critic isn’t a bad idea. But Levinson, seemingly frustrated with the state of his position in the film industry, appears to be having this debate with himself. Malcolm and Marie feel like self-indulgent think pieces who scream at each other rather than three-dimensional characters who feel authentic.

The film often strives for theatricality, as seen with the smoking scenes and the bathroom breaks between the

action. But the writing fails to keep up. Being the talented performers that they are, Zendaya and Washington are doing all the heavy lifting. Yet, despite their best efforts, the script fails to answer two major questions. One, how and why have these two stuck together for as long as they have and, two, why can’t they just go to bed and discuss all this in the morning?

Nearly halfway through the film, Zendaya asks weakly, “Are you done?” and Washington replies, “Not even fucking close.”

At this point, I remember looking at the runtime with a bag of chips in my hand and seeing that I had a whole hour left of this film.

Perhaps, art does imitate life.

If you want to watch a couple fighting with each other for what feels like ages, watch “Before Midnight” (2013). If you want to witness a story based on the creator’s own relationship, watch “Marriage Story” (2019). Don’t watch “Malcolm & Marie” — it’s basically a black and white Calvin Klein ad in disguise.

A&P

Friday, February 12, 2021 | Arts & Pop Culture | THE TUFTS DAILY

5

‘WandaVision’ takes Marvel to new heights

by Emmy Wenstrup Contributing Writer

Women dealing with trauma has become a more common trope in mainstream television — critically-acclaimed series like “Fleabag” (2016–19) and “I May Destroy You” (2020–), for example, have dissected this subject. It is perhaps no surprise, then, that the Marvel Cinematic Universe should explore the same territory in its new series “WandaVision” (2021–).

The show follows Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen), also known as the Scarlet Witch, living as a sitcom character with her husband, Vision (Paul Bettany). Each episode is done in the style of a newer decade of sitcom, starting with the 1950s, and drawing inspiration from classics such as “The Dick Van Dyke Show” (1961–66), “I Love Lucy” (1951–57) and “The Brady Bunch” (1969–74). The catch is, of course, that Vision died in “Avengers: Infinity War” (2018) and their life in suburban New Jersey is not real.

It is fitting that “WandaVision” should come out during the age of escapist COVID-19 viewing, where shows like “Bridgerton” (2020–) are king. After more than a year without Marvel content, viewers are desperate to transport back into its familiar, carefully constructed universe. Marvel has always offered a reliable distraction, and “WandaVision” is no exception. While its recognizable characters offer relief from the dullness of life in quarantine, its sitcom format both distracts from and builds toward the broader plot that introduces the franchise’s next chapter.

Centered around the very idea of escapism, “WandaVision” runs with this reputation to make its point. Wanda finds her-

COVID-19 AT TUFTS

VIA IMDB

A promotional poster for Marvel’s mini TV series “WandaVision” is pictured. self in a sitcom-reality, in denial of her grief. In weaponizing historical critiques of the lowbrow art form that is the sitcom, the show attempts to elevate the

medium as a whole. For a franchise so well known for its movies, this approach is extremely impressive — rather than a Marvel movie split into nine epi-

sodes, “WandaVision” is fundamentally a television show.

While its commitment to genuine replication of various sitcom-era techniques

is both smart and admirable, it becomes clear there was a reason these styles fell out of fashion. Disney+ made a smart choice releasing the first two episodes simultaneously — both are done in black and white and feature overly simplistic plots and laugh tracks cued by dated humor. What results is sometimes boring, with the only relief coming in the form of Easter eggs that reference other events in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and hint at a broader plot outside of their isolated community.

Thankfully, these references become much more frequent in the following episodes, as the larger scheme is gradually unearthed, improving the show dramatically from the third episode on.

The sitcom approach is a bold choice for the franchise, which usually relies on dramatic fight sequences and computer-generated imagery. It allows a deeper dive into the psyche of a character who is perhaps overlooked. The show’s most powerful moments come when we see Wanda confronted with her real-life trauma. Instead of blowing up her problems with a wave of her magical hand, she participates in a delusional narrative that alleviates the burdens of being an Avenger and the pain of losing her love.

That said, with so much powerful media about women and grief already in existence, “WandaVision” feels a bit onenote so far, with five of nine total episodes currently streaming.

We see Wanda stuck in denial, but that’s about it. Hopefully, by the time the series ends, we will have a more complex portrait of a grieving Scarlet Witch — one that sees her denial break down into something more nuanced and raw.

6

THE TUFTS DAILY | Fun & Games | Friday, February 12, 2021

F& G

tuftsdaily.com LATE NIGHT AT THE DAILY Liz: “I don’t have a right brain.”

Fun & Games

SUDOKU

LINDA C. BLACK ASTROLOGY

Aquarius (Jan. 20–Feb. 18) There’s money to be made, and you’re well positioned. Take advantage of a lucky opportunity to surge ahead. Monitor sales and marketing. Wheel and deal.

SEARCHING FOR HEADLINES...

Difficulty Level: Week two of school and you are already behind.

Wednesday’s Solutions

CROSSWORD

tuftsdaily.com

Opinion

7 Friday, February 12, 2021

OP-ED

An open letter to Tufts faculty and administration calling for lightening of coursework ATHENA NAIR Content warning: This article mentions mental health struggles and suicide, and references violence against people of color and transgender individuals.

Dear Tufts University professors and administration, The fall semester of 2020 felt unreal. With the ruthless pandemic, the contentious election and the terrors of climate change, there was something devastating on the news to wake up to every morning. Meanwhile, students pushed forward, taking four to seven classes, going through assignment after assignment, exam after exam.

It has been difficult — and often impossible — to be held to the same standards of academic excellence, be expected to perform well on exams and achieve a high GPA while also experiencing the intense distress of the moment we are living in.

Students are worried about their own safety and the safety of loved ones, anxious over whether campus will stay open (especially for those whose home environments are not conducive to taking classes), experiencing financial insecurity and struggling with mental and physical health. Young adults are one of the groups

who have “disproportionately worse mental health outcomes, increased substance use, and elevated suicidal ideation.” One in four adults aged 18–24 had seriously considered suicide in the 30 days before completing the CDC’s survey. Stress and mental health issues are especially high for Black, Indigenous and people of color, especially Black and Latinx folks. First-generation, low-income and undocumented students also face exacerbated stress due to low support on campus. Some students are facing extreme financial hardship.

Isolation has led to more mental health issues; previous research demonstrates that students with lower quality social support were six times more likely to experience depressive symptoms than students who had high-quality social support.

Some professors and the university assure us that they value our mental health, yet demonstrate the opposite when they set the impossible expectation for us to complete a similar amount of work as in a previous, pre-pandemic semester. While some professors are understanding, others operate with a “business-as-usual” mindset. Some professors have increased the workload, assuming students have more

time on their hands. Some have also posted asynchronous lectures while making class mandatory.

We are grateful to those professors that have created space in classes for students to connect and discuss, and who have been flexible and adjusted coursework.

This should be the standard. It is not enough for Counseling and Mental Health Services to be available for appointments and to send out reminders of how to manage stress; the root of the issue must be tackled. Naturally, we are working on tackling the issue of the pandemic, but the issue that must be dealt with now is the intense academic pressure and overworking students face. We ask that a consistent standard be set for professors to implement a lighter and/or more flexible course load. Professors that already implemented such a standard taught courses where learning, not work, was the goal — and students have found that they retained more information from these classes.

We are living in a world that can feel apocalyptic. The number of COVID-19 cases and deaths remains very high in the U.S. The U.S. Capitol was stormed by white supremacists. Black lives, and especially Black trans wom-

en’s lives, are stolen consistently — about 23% of victims of fatal police shootings in the U.S. in 2020 were Black, and reported murders of trans folks were the highest they’ve been in 2020, with about 80% of victims being Black and Latinx. Black and Latinx folks are facing disproportionately worse health outcomes from COVID-19 in a country that offers them worse healthcare, discrimination and more polluted living environments.

We, as students, especially those of us that are people of color, first-generation, low-income and/or undocumented, are feeling immense burnout.

We are encouraged to be civically engaged and to think of our community, but when our university prioritizes schoolwork above all else, we barely have energy left to connect with friends virtually (especially because our schoolwork requires hours a day on the screen already), let alone make change in the world. We, as students, often have to choose between school, a social life and/ or working toward justice. This was true before COVID-19, but has been exacerbated since the onset of the pandemic.

We ask that the university acknowledge these challenging and upsetting circumstances

and encourage all professors to lessen the workload and be more accommodating to students’ needs. We ask that, for the professors who have not already, you follow through and change your syllabi in response to the intensity of our current situation — we cannot be following the same syllabi from previous years in a year like this one. We ask that you accommodate students’ absences from class. We ask that you make space for respites, breaks and catch-up periods in your courses, especially in a semester that lacks a spring break. We ask that you are generous with extra credit. We ask that you make space for students to connect with each other and discuss the world’s happenings with each other in class. We ask that you uphold our university’s values of empathy, accommodation and responsiveness to current events.

Sincerely, Athena Nair Signed by 350 students and counting; to add your name or sign anonymously, go to bit.ly/ tufts-open-letter.

Athena Nair is a sophomore studying psychology.

Athena can be reached at athena.nair@tufts.edu.

8 Friday, February 12, 2021

Sports

tuftsdaily.com

Former Jumbo Shane Waldron hired as Seattle Seahawks offensive coordinator

Nicole Setow Wonder Women

T

VIA PIXY

The logo for the Seattle Seahawks is pictured.

by Aiden Herrod Sports Editor

Look out, NFC West. The Jumbo offense is coming to the Emerald City.

After a series of successful runs all across the NFL, former Los Angeles Rams passing game coordinator and Tufts Jumbo Shane Waldron is taking his talents to the Seattle Seahawks as their new offensive coordinator. Waldron will look to draw from his diverse experiences in many different areas of the game to take Seattle’s already explosive offense over the top in 2021.

Waldron’s journey began at Tufts University where he was a tight end and long snapper for the Jumbos under coach Bill Samko.

“Coach Samko was just a great mentor to me and … I stay in touch with him to this day,” Waldron said in an interview with the Daily last March.

It was at Tufts that Waldron developed the mindset needed to succeed at the next level as a coach.

“I think the college experience in my mind is that while you’re there, you’re just trying to experience as many different things as you can,” Waldron said. “Just that ability to develop relationships and friendships with people from all different walks of life …

When you get into the coaching profession, that ability to communicate and relate to everybody has been a really helpful thing along my journey as a coach.”

After graduating from Tufts in 2002, Waldron’s career was sparked by an internship with the New England Patriots.

He then went on to work in a wide range of different football environments, picking up bits and pieces of knowledge and tactics from each organization along the way. After several successful stints at the high school and collegiate levels, Waldron landed with Washington, learning under then-offensive coordinator Sean McVay as an offensive quality control coach.

“I had a chance to work with coach McVay in Washington … and when he got the job out in Los Angeles I was fortunate to come with him on the ground level and start with the new coaching staff,” Waldron said.

Waldron’s opportunity in Los Angeles was what truly put him on the map. He was a key part of the Rams’ offensive resurgence in 2017, and has worked several roles with the heralded McVay offense since then.

His resume caught the eye of the Seattle Seahawks, an NFC West rival looking to rebrand their offensive identity. Seattle made headlines early in their offseason after a disappointing playoff exit, ironically to Waldron’s Rams.

While their offense had been explosive beyond measure early in the season, they had fallen back to Earth leading into the playoffs. The late-season offensive lull ultimately cost the Seahawks’ former offensive coordinator, Brian Schottenheimer, his job.

Head coach Pete Carroll had expressed a desire to return to a run-heavy approach, whereas Schottenheimer had advocated for a more pass-heavy system running through quarterback Russell Wilson. Carroll

ultimately had the final say, and Waldron’s hiring is likely to align much more with the run-game emphasis Carroll wants.

Waldron steps into an incredibly exciting and favorable situation, regardless of the offensive identity Carroll may demand. Wilson is an undisputed superstar quarterback in the NFL who throws to a pair of dynamic receivers in D.K. Metcalf and Tyler Lockett. Wilson also brings an extra layer through his ability as a runner, a rare trait for a quarterback that is known to aid the run games of teams across the league.

The run game itself boasted Chris Carson in 2020, a talented running back known for his no-holds-barred running style. If the Seahawks want to emphasize the run in 2021, bringing Carson back through free agency will be key.

Waldron will have another Jumbo working alongside him to jumpstart the Seahawks run game, as the Seahawks also hired Andy Dickerson to be the run game coordinator. Waldron and Dickerson are close friends and former teammates at Tufts. Dickerson interned alongside Waldron with the Patriots and the pair also coached together with the Rams, as Dickerson was an offensive line coach.

Waldron’s experiences working in various roles under McVay will help him along the way as he adjusts to his new responsibilities as a leader of an NFL offense.

“I’ve been fortunate to coach different positions throughout my career. Every different room offers a new

perspective,” Waldron told the Daily.

His role as the former tight ends coach in Los Angeles could be especially helpful as he works to install a run-heavy offense. The Seahawks boast a deep and intriguing tight ends room featuring Jacob Hollister, Will Dissly and Luke Willson.

They could also look to add another impact player at that position through free agency or the draft, to aid Waldron’s run-blocking scheme and add another wrinkle to the short passing game.

Ultimately, Waldron is faced with an intriguing puzzle featuring countless talented and breakout-primed pieces. If he can put them together effectively, the Seahawks could be a truly deadly rushing team reminiscent of the Marshawn Lynch days. That could open up big plays for the receiving corps, making the offense very dangerous.

“At the end of every season, unless you’re that final team that ends up on top, there’s that ‘What can we do better?’ feeling … It’s still that desire to improve and that desire to figure out what we can do better …

How can we help our team to win that one more game?”

Waldron said.

So next season, when you watch D.K. Metcalf make a dazzling touchdown catch or Chris Carson power through the line for a monstrous gain, you’ll know former Jumbo Shane Waldron’s tireless work behind the scenes and thoughtful approach to the game is what’s making it all click.

Eileen Gu

he mark of an incredible athlete is their ability to make their craft look deceptively easy. For example, Michael Jordan appearing to defy gravity for a slam dunk, Serena Williams serving a 120-mph ace without breaking a sweat or Simone Biles effortlessly pulling off a triple-twisting double backflip. In the case of freestyle skier Eileen Gu, it’s pushing physics to the limit after landing a right-side 900 — spinning two-and-a-half rotations — 12 feet off a superpipe.

For those unfamiliar, freestyle skiing is characterized by an assortment of acrobatic flips, twists and spins, whether that be on a slopes course, a 22-foot halfpipe or off one enormous ramp. Unlike slalom or alpine skiing, Gu’s craft is not just about speed — it’s about timing, muscle memory and a fair amount of throwing caution to the wind. Considering how much confidence she exudes on the slopes, it’s no surprise that she began skiing at the age of three.

Her story begins in San Francisco, Calif.

The Bay Area isn’t quite known as a ski destination, so Gu frequently endured fourhour drives to train. She first topped the United States of America Snowboard and Freeski Association’s leaderboards when she was nine, before entering senior competitions at age 13. Now, with two gold medals and a bronze from her impressive 2021 X Games debut — becoming the first woman to medal three times as a rookie — all eyes will be on her at the 2022 Winter Olympics.

Unfortunately for Americans, the U.S.born skier won’t be sporting the stars and stripes in international competition; she’ll be representing China, her mother’s homeland. In electing to compete for China, Gu recognizes that her role as a Chinese athlete in a sport with little Asian representation has impact. Ultimately, she’s built a platform in hopes of encouraging other aspiring women of color to challenge the demographics of freestyle skiing. Chasing greatness, not just on the behalf of herself, but for an entire generation of aspiring skiers, seems like a lot to ask from any athlete — especially a 17-year-old. Gu is not just any athlete, though.

All athletes and artists exhibit a certain sense of fearlessness in their work, but there’s something particularly captivating about how Gu approaches her sequences.

Even when she’s at the top of the leaderboard, she becomes bolder with every following run. She paints a picture in the sky with every soaring backflip and tail grab.

Perhaps it stems from youthful ambition or an intense competitive drive, but I see it play out on her face as joy — a pure and playful love of a sport that she’s dedicated her life to. Given how much more she has to contribute to freestyle skiing, I hope she never loses that.

Just as generations of aspiring basketball players imitate Jordan’s mesmerizing offensive plays, tennis players emulate Williams’ brilliantly placed serves and young gymnasts spend hours perfecting their aerials in hopes of becoming the next Simone Biles, I’m certain that the next generation of freestyle skiers will seek to reproduce the courage that characterizes Gu’s gravity-defying runs.

Nicole Setow is a sophomore studying biopsychology. Nicole can be reached at nicole.setow@tufts.edu.