The Tufts Daily - Wednesday, February 3, 2021

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Wednesday, February 3, 2021

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Tufts sees 35% increase in undergraduate applications

by Sam Klugherz News Editor

Undergraduate applications for the class of 2025 soared 35% since last year, with the most ethnically and racially diverse firstyear applicant pool ever. More than 31,190 students applied for admission to the class of 2025, which is the largest applicant pool in Tufts’ history, and for the first time, students of color make up a majority of U.S. applicants.

The School of Arts and Sciences saw 24,378 applicants, and the School of Engineering saw 5,874, according to Dean of Admissions JT Duck. Both the Bachelor of Fine Arts program

The logo for the Common Application is pictured.

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and the five-year combined degree program through the School of the Museum of Fine Arts grew as well.

“We are thrilled to have received applications from more students than ever before, and even more thrilled with the compositional diversity of the applicant pool,” Duck wrote in an email to the Daily.

This year’s 35% jump is significant. Last year, the applicant pool for the class of 2024 saw only a 1.5% increase from the previous year.

Duck anticipates a lower acceptance rate for the class of 2025 because of the large

and the student leaders,” Nelson Winger said.

She said that her first few months have been spent getting to know students, learning what they are passionate about and figuring out what programs established prior to her arrival have worked well on campus.

Nelson Winger highlighted that social justice is an urgent priority shared by her and many members of the community.

“One of the things I’ve learned in these past few months is how important social justice issues are to our students in our community … I think making the connection between spirituality and values and the social justice issues is really critical,” Nelson Winger said.

Nelson Winger added that she wants to tie that into her goals for the Chaplaincy. “[It] is a primary commitment of mine for us at the Chaplaincy … to be participating in these efforts to become an anti-racist institution and to think about

the ways in which our varied religious and philosophical and spiritual traditions can contribute to that vision and action,” she said.

Meeting weekly during the semester with the Interfaith Student Council, a student organization with representatives from spiritual, religious and philosophical groups, Nelson Winger has worked alongside student leaders to create a curriculum for two workshops focused on housing justice and community building.

The council and Nelson Winger also spent time in the fall reflecting on the history of civil rights as it relates to interfaith cooperation and what it means as an interfaith community to be committed to anti-racism.

“I’m really excited about expanding those opportunities for students to learn and grow as advocates for justice,” Nelson Winger said.

Zahra Rizvi is a member of the Interfaith Student Council and a student worker at the Chaplaincy. During the fall semester, Rizvi, a junior, built her relationship with Nelson Winger by working closely with her on the Interfaith Student Council’s strategic planning group and envisioning how the group and the Chaplaincy can better serve the community moving forward.

“I really enjoy working with Elyse, she has lots of ideas and is also really open to students’ opinions on everything,” Rizvi wrote in an email to the Daily.

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The plaque for the Tufts University European Center in Talloires, France is pictured.

Tufts European Center New university chaplain focused on announces virtual social justice, connecting with students summer programs

by Emily Thompson Contributing Writer

The Rev. Elyse Nelson Winger assumed her role as university chaplain on Oct. 1, 2020. She has used her position to connect with various members of the Tufts community while committing to anti-racist action and addressing issues of social justice, according to students on campus.

In addition to her university chaplain role, Nelson Winger also sits on the Institutional Audit Committee for the university’s anti-racism initiative and the Tufts Steering Committee on Student Mental Health.

Despite beginning her time at Tufts under the restrictions of the COVID-19 pandemic, Nelson Winger emphasized how welcomed she has felt by the Chaplaincy team and students.

“The energy and excitement and openness to new leadership, that is such a gift … I have been learning so much from this team

SOPHIE DOLAN / THE TUFTS DAILY

Chaplain Elyse Nelson Winger is in her office in the Goddard Chapel.

see ADMISSIONS, page 2

see CHAPLAINCY, page 2

by Matt Chen

Contributing Writer

The Tufts European Center announced that of their three annual summer programs, two will be held virtually and one will be canceled entirely for summer 2021. The European Center traditionally offers three short-term summer programs abroad: Tufts in Talloires, Tufts in Annecy and Tufts Summit.

“It was a particularly sad decision for us. We are deeply committed to in-person international exchange,” Gabriella Goldstein, director of the Tufts European Center, wrote in an email to the Daily. “However, given the situation both here and in France, it was the safest decision.”

Tufts in Annecy is a four-week long program normally held in Annecy, France. Students in the program take French language courses aimed at improving their skills in reading, writing, speaking, listening and grammar.

Tufts in Talloires is usually a six-week long program held at the Tufts European Center in Talloires, France. Students take six semester-hour units, with courses available from a wide range of departments and all taught by Tufts professors.

Tufts Summit is typically a fourweek long program for rising high school juniors and seniors also held at the Tufts campus in Talloires.

Students take two non-credit-bearing courses in international relations and French.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, all three programs were canceled for summer 2020. This summer, Tufts in Talloires and

FEATURES / page 3

ARTS / page 4

SPORTS / back

EP/F policy sparks conversation about future of grading

Netflix’s ‘The White Tiger’ captures class relations, corruption in India

Former NFL player Nate Boyer talks kneeling during national anthem

Tufts Summit will resume in an all-virtual format. Tufts in Annecy will again be canceled due to its site-specific design.

However, despite the programs being held virtually for the first time, they will still offer a unique experience for students.

“I’m highly confident in the ability of our team and faculty to create and deliver a rich and robust online experience for our participants,” Diana Chigas, senior international officer and associate provost, wrote in an email to the Daily.

Last summer, the European Center developed a model adapted for COVID-19 for Tufts in Talloires with the hopes that students and faculty would be able to return to France in the summer of 2021. The model, which included two distinct three-week sessions instead of the traditional six-week program, will be retained but modified for virtuality. Tufts Summit will also be three weeks long this year.

“Each [three]-week session will allow students to complete a full course ([three] SHUs) in a much shorter, more intensive format,” Goldstein said. “Our courses will feature Tufts in Talloires’s trademark international lens and will include many of our regular French and European guest speakers, providing a unique perspective that goes beyond the course material itself.”

There will also be the option of adding a one-SHU culture course designed to give students a look into French life and French history. Classes will be held every day, see TALLOIRES, page 2 NEWS

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THE TUFTS DAILY | News | Wednesday, February 3, 2021

THE TUFTS DAILY Megan Szostak Editor in Chief

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Admissions expands virtual recruitment events to appeal to greater number of prospective students amid pandemic ADMISSIONS

continued from page 1 increase in the number of applicants.

“Our enrollment target this year is similar to last year’s across the three undergraduate schools, which means that the increase in applications will lead to a lower percentage of applicants being admitted,” Duck said.

Last April, Tufts Admissions opted to go SAT/ACT test-optional for a three-year period due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Duck cited this new policy as one of the factors that drove the 35% increase, explaining that other selective test-optional universities also saw significant increases, though he said he believes Tufts’ percentage is on the higher end of the spectrum.

Duck said there are a number of other factors that may have caused the increase. He explained that offering a robust array of virtual engagement programs played a role in reaching more students this year.

“We found that our virtual events broadened our reach and we could now show students all over the world what makes Tufts special without requiring them to travel to campus or requiring us to visit their high school,” Duck said.

These programs included regional evening information sessions, virtual SMFA art portfolio reviews, the Virtual Voices of Tufts Diversity Experience weekend program and Fall for

Tufts, a month-long, virtual open house, which included student and faculty panels, admissions workshops and campus tours for prospective students.

Admissions also introduced Jumbo Chats, which allowed prospective students to participate in one-on-one conversations with current Tufts students, according to Emily Lazorchak, an admissions fellow and tour guide.

“These virtual opportunities helped us reach more prospective students than during a typical in-person application cycle, and the rise in applications shows that more students than ever are connecting with everything that the Tufts community and a Tufts education have to offer,” Lazorchak, a senior, wrote in an email to the Daily.

Current students, including tour guides, admissions fellows and others who joined Admissions for panels, all played a major role in the success of the virtual programming, according to Duck. “[Current students] were all integral to our outreach efforts, as were faculty and staff across the university,” Duck said.

Lazorchak remarked on the support that student tour guides provided during the virtual application cycle.

“Tour guides also function as an entry point into the wider Tufts community by answering students’ questions and pointing them in the direction of

Tufts in Talloires sessions to be three weeks instead of six TALLOIRES

continued from page 1 including weekends, in order for courses to cover all content necessary. Final exams and assignments will be due two weeks after the conclusion of the courses.

Many students who have participated in the programs in the past report positive experiences.

“I loved it. [Going to Talloires] was probably one of the best decisions I made at Tufts,” Julian Lang, a senior who participated in Tufts in Talloires in 2018, said.

“Community has always been an important part of the European Center Programs and we will continue to provide a range of activities and opportunities for connection online.”

Though Tufts in Talloires will be virtual this year, Goldstein hopes to still provide positive experiences for students, and the three-week model may actually help with that. By holding two three-week sessions virtually, students with other commitments over the summer or students located internationally can still be part of the programs.

“We believe that this condensed, virtual program model will help students who have other commitments in the summer, allowing them to juggle their many priorities, or just let them dive deeply into a course topic,” Goldstein said.

Outside of the virtual classroom, students will still have the opportunity to interact with each other, just as they would if the program were held in France.

“Community has always been an important part of the European Center Programs and we will continue to provide a range of activities and opportunities for connection online,” Goldstein said.

Since this year’s programs will be virtual, costs will be significantly lower compared to past years, but students will still have access to scholarships. “We remain committed to making our programs financially accessible to all students,” Goldstein said.

Despite this year’s programs going virtual, Lang said he believes that students would still benefit from participating in the program.

“It’s a good summer program where you get to maybe take a class or … be a part of a group of students that is different from maybe your other classes that you would take during the year,” Lang said. “I’m sure it would be worth doing.”

other campus resources – something that is even more important in a virtual environment,” Lazorchak said.

Virtual engagement programs also allowed Admissions to accommodate students in different time zones and students with different schedules since much of the programming was recorded.

“Virtual opportunities helped us reach more prospective students than during a typical in-person application cycle.”

Overall, virtual programming was well-received by prospective students, according to Lazorchak.

“We saw an incredibly high percentage of positive review[s] for virtual tours, which indicates that prospective students are enjoying their virtual visits and learning about the things at Tufts that are important to them,” she said.

Matt Stinson, a class of 2025 applicant who attended a virtual campus tour, agreed that he was still able to get a good sense of what Tufts is like despite the programming being virtual.

“From talking to alumni and former students I was able to learn about the wonderful and inclusive culture at Tufts,” Stinson wrote in an email to the Daily.

Duck highlighted Admissions’ focus on expanding outreach to Black, Latinx and Indigenous prospective students.

“Events like our virtual ‘Conversations’ with the centers within the Division of Student Diversity and Inclusion and our Spanish-language initiatives, as well as our Voices program, invited prospective students to get to know our community better,” he said.

Another factor that played a role in the increase in applicants was the use of new email campaigns directed to prospective students and school counselors.

Some of these campaigns served as specific efforts to communicate with historically underrepresented students, and contributed to the most diverse applicant pool on record. Black applicants increased by 39% this year, Latinx by 42%, American Indian/Alaska Native by 35% and Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander by 35%, according to figures released by the Office of Undergraduate Admissions.

“Targeted email campaigns allowed us to amplify the voices of the BIPOC community at Tufts. And we made a concerted effort to communicate the opportunities available here with college advisors and school counselors at high schools and college access organizations across the country that enroll large populations of BIPOC students,” Duck said.

Humanist chaplain Walker Bristol engaged with Nelson Winger Chaplaincy’s future CHAPLAINCY

continued from page 1 In addition to meetings with the council, Rizvi said Nelson Winger spent a significant portion of the fall semester getting to know the campus and community through initiatives such as virtual coffee meetings and a poetry reading.

With the chaos and uncertainty of the past year, Rizvi said having a settled chaplain is an opportunity to start looking toward the future of the Chaplaincy.

“I see the Chaplaincy becoming much more Interfaith focused,” Rizvi said. “I also imagine we will [begin] seeing new roles for students within the Chaplaincy, and more opportunities for students to take initiative in planning and executing programming.”

Walker Bristol, humanist chaplain and assistant director at the Chaplaincy, works alongside Nelson Winger to think about the future and vision of the University Chaplaincy.

They believe Nelson Winger has embraced her new role as university chaplain, and that the community has responded positively. They emphasized

the collaborative relationships she has built with members of the Chaplaincy team.

“This is such an unprecedented time to be starting in the role … and I really appreciate how she’s taken the reins the way she has, and how she … brought her own vision to the work,” Bristol said.

Undeterred by the pandemic, the University Chaplaincy is looking forward to co-sponsoring the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Symposium today, featuring a keynote address from author, historian and journalist Jelani Cobb. It will also be hosting the annual James A. Russell Lectureship on Spiritual Life in April and planning the Baccalaureate Ceremony.

Bristol said Nelson Winger’s attitude toward her work is one that seeks to acknowledge the limitations of this moment while also serving the community as best as she can through the Chaplaincy.

“We are going to continue to be a resource for counseling and care and support, and we’ll continue to be a resource for multifaith engagement on campus, and … a resource for justice on campus,” Bristol said.

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Features

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Exceptional pass/fail raises questions about equity in grades

by Kevin Du

Assistant Features Editor

As a first-year at Tufts and an international student from Costa Rica, Isaac Rodriguez Zuniga has faced many challenges in college life during the COVID-19 pandemic. With English as his second language, Rodriguez Zuniga often encounters language barriers in class; the muffling effect of masks and Zoom lectures with over 200 participants do not make things easier.

“I still have a really big … language gap,” Rodriguez Zuniga said. “I can get lost pretty easily [over] just one word that I have never heard before.”

In his in-person class, Rodriguez Zuniga worries that it is difficult for his classmates to understand his accent, especially when he is wearing a mask.

Rodriguez Zuniga reported that Zoom’s subtitle function makes it easier to understand others in his online courses, but he still found it difficult to acquaint himself with his professor and his classmates or get sufficient help in his large physics class.

“Sometimes I have a really good idea, but I don’t know how to develop it or how to show it … so I [end] up just saying, ‘yeah, I agree,’” Rodriguez Zuniga said about his class discussions.

Working overtime in his physics course and having no time for any extracurricular activities, Rodriguez Zuniga still could not make up the 54% on his first exam and chose to apply the exceptional pass/fail policy for the class.

“The policy is … like a stress relief,” Rodriguez Zuniga said.

Rodriguez Zuniga is one of many beneficiaries of this new grading policy that Tufts has enacted since the virus outbreak in March 2020. According to Grant Gebetsberger, the vice president of Tufts Community Union Senate, the blueprint of this policy started after students were sent home. Several students created an online petition to introduce a modified grading policy, and it quickly disseminated on social media.

“It was really a grassroots effort,” Gebetsberger, a senior, said.

According to Anne Mahoney, a senior lecturer in the Department of Classical Studies and chair of the Educational Policy Committee, the EP/F proposal was brought forward by Dean Carmen Lowe to the committee, which consists of both students and faculty.

At the time, the newly elected TCU Senate President, Sarah Wiener, met with academic deans to inform them of the student body’s will. The Educational Policy Committee presented the policy to the faculty for a vote, and according to Wiener, it passed by a landslide.

There was some debate among both students and professors on whether adopting a universal pass/fail policy would be more equitable. However, according to

Wiener, most faculty members favored the exceptional version.

“It should be a choice of the students. The students who I work with, the students who contacted me, [and] a lot of my advisees felt that it was in their best interest to have the pass/fail as something that was a choice rather than mandated … so I advocated for that position,” David Proctor, senior lecturer in the Department of History, said.

When it came to deciding whether to continue the policy for fall 2020, the TCU Senate strived to represent students’ voices, according to Wiener. The Senate sent out the Fall 2020 Student Survey consisting of 86 questions last summer. The survey results indicated that students faced unprecedented emotional and financial challenges due to the COVID-19 pandemic and that the EP/F policy was helpful for their academics. According to a report shared with the Daily, over 93% of students who responded to the survey were in favor of continuing the exceptional pass/fail policy or implementing a universal one.

Senior Jillian Impastato, an art history and education major, wrote in an email to the Daily that she thinks the EP/F policy is “super important.” Although she has not used it herself, she said she heard firsthand from her friends that the policy “made last semester livable.”

Both Wiener and Gebetsberger are also advocates for the policy.

“I think it’s kind of outrageous that we are in school right now to begin with. There’s so much on people’s plates … to have the same expectations that we would in a normal world is kind of futile,” Wiener said.

According to Gebetsberger, EP/F helps to alleviate some of the equity concerns posed by the pandemic by offering extra breathing room for students disproportionately affected.

“You’re talking about students who are primary caregivers for

parents and siblings. And you’re also talking about students who have parents and loved ones who are essential workers … and we know COVID disproportionately impacts Black communities and other communities of color in the United States,” Gebetsberger said.

According to Dean of Undergraduate Studies Carmen Lowe and Dean of Academic Advising and Undergraduate Studies Jennifer Stephan, the main reasons behind continuing the EP/F policy in the fall were the concerns over the general pandemic impact, time zone differences of virtual students and “the worsening of inequities in the way in which the pandemic is disproportionally impacting some populations,” they wrote in an email to the Daily.

Faculty members voted to extend EP/F into the spring 2021 semester, but concerns about the policy are rising among them, Mahoney said.

According to Deans Lowe and Stephan, there is concern that the policy could lead students to slack off in their academic attendance and effort. They said students could use the policy to max out their GPAs, which could cause repercussions in applying to graduate schools or internships.

Mahoney said in an email to the Daily that many faculty members heard from students saying that they would choose the policy if they likely would not get an A. “We found this distasteful, though we can see why students would want to do this,” Mahoney said.

Mahoney believes that EP/F sends a wrong message that faculty members do not believe Tufts students can handle challenges and the essential result of courses is a grade. “Students do of course need support … but they need support that’s relevant to the actual problems they face, not just to manipulating their GPAs,” Mahoney said.

According to Mahoney and Deans Lowe and Stephan, the fac-

ulty do not expect that they will use EP/F again after spring 2021.

However, Senior Lecturer and Co-Director of Educational Studies Erin Seaton understands but dismissed these concerns.

Seaton is an active member of Tufts Action Group, a faculty organization at Tufts that advocates for progressive policies and focuses on marginalized student groups.

“I really don’t think that there were students who use this as a way to boost their GPA or take more classes,” Seaton said. “I think the students that put this into place were really struggling … and [the policy] gave them a way to take a course without the stress and the anxiety of getting a grade,” Seaton collected 20 to 30 stories from her students about how they benefited from EP/F. “That’s a powerful reason to take an exceptional pass/fail that ‘my dad lost his job, and now I’m working full time and I didn’t expect to be working full time and a student,’” Seaton said.

Moreover, student leaders like Gebetsberger also believe that GPA manipulation is not the case for most of the students. “Even if it were [the case], it’s so much more important that we support students who need support, than preventing students from having a slightly higher GPA,” Gebetsberger said.

According to Deans Lowe and Stephan, the majority of students in fall 2020 took letter grades for all their classes, and those who opted for EP/F grading overwhelmingly took it for just one class.

Despite the opposing positions, school members from both sides agree that EP/F is a valuable opportunity for the Tufts community to re-evaluate the effectiveness of the grading system.

Wiener thinks the policy has introduced deeper conversations about academic equity. “What do we want students to be learning?

Students with protective masks walk outside Hodgdon Hall on March 13, 2020.

And are we measuring that in a way that is equitable to students that are historically and repeatedly institutionally disadvantaged?”

Wiener said.

Impastato echoed Wiener’s stance.

“There is no even playing field.

[EP/F grading] is what is needed at the current moment, but we must come together to find a better, more sustainable solution,” Impastato said.

Mahoney said she recognizes the issues with the common grading policy. She said that a subgroup of the Educational Policy Committee, of which she is a part, found that Black and Latinx students systematically get lower grades than white and Asian students at Tufts.

“If there is a systematic discrepancy in the grades we give, this is a problem,” Mahoney said.

According to Mahoney, the Educational Policy Committee is currently working with student representatives to come up with potential changes to the broad grading policy and may implement them in fall 2022.

According to Seaton, the positive thing about EP/F is that faculty has been talking more about the pressure students face but she urges for a deeper discussion. “[It is] very challenging to do something radical like take grades away, but there needs to be more conversations about what grades mean,” Seaton said.

Rodriguez Zuniga said he is grateful that EP/F grading is extended for spring 2021. He will take French this semester, which he said is a completely new territory for him. Rodriguez Zuniga said EP/F will enable him to keep learning and not have to drop the class because of low grades.

“I know that it will be different if our classes go back in person, but I feel like this policy … even in person … it’s something that I [would] take advantage [of ],” Rodriguez Zuniga said.

ALEXANDER THOMPSON / THE TUFTS DAILY

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Wednesday, February 3, 2021

‘The White Tiger’ book roars louder than its film adaptation Assistant Arts Editor

Netflix’s “The White Tiger” (2021) adapts Aravind Adiga’s award-winning book of the same name (2008) almost too well.

For the most part, sticking close to the novel’s events and language works. The movie effectively captures Adiga’s vision of a piece of India — a dark story of soured class relations and corruption hiding under a facade of democracy. However, jamming so much of the original plot onto the screen also has downsides.

Namely, the movie loses much of the book’s satirical humor and leaves many moments without sufficient context.

The story centers around Balram Halwai (Adarsh Gourav), a self-proclaimed Indian entrepreneur. It interweaves three stages of his life: childhood (portrayed

by Harshit Mahawar) in a small village, working as a wealthy family’s driver and running his own business managing other drivers.

Gourav’s acting is spot on. As a driver, he masks his inner resentment toward his employers for their mistreatment of him with innocence and subservience.

Simultaneously, the expectation of being a good servant is so ingrained in Balram that he sometimes takes pride in it, and his desire to switch places with his boss Ashok (Rajkummar Rao) even manifests itself in homoerotic tension between the two.

Gourav displays a masterful balance of these many conflicting emotions perhaps nowhere better than in the scenes following the birthday of Ashok’s wife, Pinky Madam (Priyanka Chopra Jonas). Pinky gets drunk and accidentally runs over a child. In order to prevent her from getting caught, Balram insists they flee before someone sees them. He reassures Ashok that he will clean the evidence from the car, and he falls asleep with the “big contented smile that comes to a servant who has done his duty by his master even in the most difficult of moments.” In the morning, Ashok’s family responds by treating Balram unusually kindly, only to demand he take the blame for Pinky’s crime. Balram’s smile slowly fades in disbelief as he realizes this, and it’s clear how

pained he is in forcing it back onto his face after Ashok’s family threatens to harm his own family should he refuse.

This leads Balram to the story’s namesake. He compares the system by which masters threaten servants’ families and keep them subservient despite terrible treatment to a coop where roosters passively await being butchered because they see no other choice. In order to escape, Balram must be “a freak, a pervert of nature … a white tiger.”

The movie maintains these metaphors well with repetitive animal imagery. Like Bong Joon-ho’s “Parasite” (2019), another social satire of the relationship between domestic workers and their employers, this movie doesn’t shy away from showing how Balram’s challenge to the class hierarchy inevitably ends with much blood spilled.

“The White Tiger” film fails at translating the often dark humor of the book onto the screen. Despite covering heavy topics, the book still manages to be quite funny, enhancing its satire with instances of absurdity. “Parasite” is a great example of how a film can do the same.

But, “The White Tiger” falls short in this regard. There are some moments when Balram’s humor comes through, like at the beginning when he sarcastically ponders which foot of which god to pray toward. Overall though, this humor is much more sparse than in the book.

Additionally, the movie doesn’t criticize Western entrepreneurship as clearly as the book does, but does cast moral doubt on Balram’s entrepreneurship and shows him taking on similar characteristics as his previous masters.

“The White Tiger” also includes mentions of an international element with Balram seizing opportunities created by American outsourcing and narrating his story through emails with Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao (Aaron Wan). In fact, Balram warns, “White people are on their way out, you know. They’ll be finished within our lifetime.

It’s the century of the brown man and the yellow man, and God save everybody else.” This is as much a threat that the tables are

The cover of Aravind Adiga’s book ‘The White Tiger’ (2008) is pictured. turning as it is an accusation that Western capitalists have created Frankensteins around the world.

Balram’s relationships with his masters are a larger commentary on other countries responding to Western imperialism.

However, this double meaning may be lost on viewers who have not read the book, which explains the context left out of several scenes in the movie. For instance, the liquor bottle with which Balram takes revenge on

Ashok in the movie is Johnny Walker because Ashok’s family preferred Western alcohol in the book. In the novel, Adiga suggests that even as India overthrew British colonialism, politicians perpetuated corrupt systems that the British put into place.

The movie frequently points out corruption under the veneer of democracy but never directly connects it to colonialism as the book does. Without this context, the point of narrating through

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emails to the Chinese Premier, in which Balram observes, “the British tried to make you their servants, but you never let them,” gets lost in translation.

Consequently, this film adaptation of “The White Tiger” captures the original story’s essence without successfully explaining all of its implications. However, any adaptation faces trade-offs in deciding what to keep or discard, and this one does relatively well at minimizing the losses.

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Wednesday, February 3, 2021 | Arts & Pop Culture | THE TUFTS DAILY

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The ‘Man on the Moon’ returns

by Maeve Hagerty Assistant Arts Editor

Two massive albums dropped on the night of Dec. 11, 2020. Though many may have gone straight to Taylor Swift’s “Evermore,” “Man on the Moon III: The Chosen” was the true gem.

Thirty-seven-year-old Cleveland native Scott Ramon Seguro Mescudi, known as Kid Cudi, is simply a musical genius.

Some of his songs are soulful and introspective, and yet others are starkly the opposite. It’s very hard to characterize him as one thing.

Kid Cudi seems a figure larger than life, and yet his humanity is so contagious.

His seventh solo studio album to date is the final installation of his commercially successful, critically acclaimed “Man on the Moon” trilogy.

“Man on the Moon III: The Chosen” — MOTM3 in informal shorthand — follows a similar narrative as the previous two, twisting through the darkest corners of Cudi’s mind and vocalizing some of his most tortured demons.

The album tells the story of a familiar Kid Cudi — one who struggles with drugs, alcohol, depression and anxiety.

Ultimately, he emerges from it all with yet another successful album detailing his highs and lows, his triumphs and defeats.

But this installment is audibly different. Echoing some of the imagery from the trilogy’s second installment, “Man on the Moon II: The Legend Of Mr. Rager” (2010), MOTM3 is distinctly gritty and rough. With a heavier influence of trap music, including a clear connection to his No. 1 charting April 2020 collaboration with Travis Scott, “THE SCOTTS,” Kid Cudi has embraced much of the new styles of the hip-hop genre.

Following the short introduction that is “Beautiful Trip,” MOTM3 explodes into a dreamy but hard “Tequila Shots.”

Characterized by lyrics like “See, it seems I’ll never learn / I won’t stop ‘til I crash and burn / Tell my mom I’m sorry,” the song

The cover of Kid Cudi’s album “Man on the Moon III: The Chosen” (2020) is pictured.

explores Cudi’s struggle to reconcile what he calls on his past albums “Mr. Rager,” his darker party-minded subconscious, with his sense of responsibility for his actions and his desire to keep producing music. This narrative continues through the next track, “Another Day,” which acts almost as the aftermath of the drug-induced bender portrayed in “Tequila Shots.”

The next track “She Knows This” is just as hard and dance-worthy as “Tequila Shots,” and the beat drop in “Dive” hits every time. What starts in the usual mellow Kid Cudi style becomes an up-tempo song, indicating that this album will deviate rhythmically and sty-

COURTESY WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

listically from much of his earlier recordings. The similarly up-tempo “Damaged” and “Heaven on Earth” showcase Cudi’s raw rapping in an execution uncharacteristic of the more melodic first two installments in the Man on the Moon trilogy.

This style of rapping appears in other parts of MOTM3. In “The Pale Moonlight,” Kid Cudi drops verses in a mix of his traditional lyrical crooning with the type of forceful rapping he exhibits in “Damaged,” while “Sad People” relies mostly on the hard-handed hi-hat patterns to elevate the tempo. “Show Out” is also notable for this same style change.

Featured artists Skepta and Pop Smoke deliver their verses with the aforementioned raw edge, but Cudi manages to return the track during the bridge to his own smooth style in one of my favorite contrasts on the album.

“Sept. 16” and “4 da Kidz” are the best songs from MOTM3. A heartfelt love ballad in “Sept. 16,” and a song of devotion to his supporters, and, frankly, to himself in “4 da Kidz” help to balance some of the darker tracks and reveal the hint of hope that always manages to shine through Cudi’s music. Even when dealing with harsh topics and rhythms, Kid Cudi always manages to temper these more forceful elements back into a comforting style that his fans have come to love and cherish.

“Man on the Moon III: The Chosen” is intrinsically rooted in darkness, and yet somehow provides comfort at the same time.

Cudi confronts his monsters and offers songs of love and support at once, building an album crafted not just around his changing sound, but his changing perspective on life. Over his career, he has created a space in rap music where the weird, lonely kid caught up in daydreams and nightmares could be heard. This is what has made him not simply the voice of a generation, but a truly multi-faceted one.

In the words of Kid Cudi himself, “This is just the right vibe, turn it loud if you need to / Stars in the sky, they will light your way through.” Turn it loud, and let yourself sink into the songs of “Man on the Moon III: The Chosen.”

6

THE TUFTS DAILY | Fun & Games | Wednesday, February 3, 2021

F& G

tuftsdaily.com LATE NIGHT AT THE DAILY Ale (in a completely serious tone): “Happy Leif Erikson Day. Hinga dinga doorgon.”

Fun & Games

SUDOKU

LINDA C. BLACK ASTROLOGY

Aquarius (Jan. 20–Feb. 18) Consider professional options and opportunities. In a stalemate, don’t ask for favors. Diplomacy provides a golden key. Keep expenses low as you advance.

SEARCHING FOR HEADLINES...

Difficulty Level: Getting up for an in-person 8:05am class across campus

Monday’s Solutions

CROSSWORD

Opinion

tuftsdaily.com

7 Wednesday, February 3, 2021

VIEWPOINTS

To curb spread of coronavirus variants, students must abide by public health guidelines

by Eliza Dickson Opinion Editor

Students returned to campus at a turning point in the pandemic.

Two weeks ago, President Biden took office and vowed to take centralized, science-based action to stop the spread. Since the end of last semester, over 20 million people across the United States have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, a stunning triumph of scientific innovation in the face of a deadly virus. Cases have been steadily declining — near 30% in the past two weeks. Hopes are high, and for good reason.

However, the discovery of new, more transmissible variants has muddled the path forward. And while cases are declining at the moment, they are still at extreme highs: On Friday, Jan. 29, the seven-day average in Massachusetts

was 3,686 new cases per day. For some perspective, when classes began last fall on Sept. 8, the seven-day average was 305.

The question of whether the current decline is more than a transient lull will depend on human behavior in the coming weeks.

Initial findings show that the PfizerBioNTech and Moderna vaccines are effective against the variants first discovered in Britain and South Africa, though possibly to a lesser extent. Vaccine rollout in Massachusetts is lagging, and with additional spread comes the risk of new variants — ones that could evade vaccine-induced immunity.

As the vaccine rollout progresses, it is imperative to prevent the spread of the variants discovered in Brazil and South Africa (it is too late to contain the spread of the variant first found in Britain) and stop more variants from arising. Now

marks a critical point in combatting the pandemic: We can either leverage the potential of the vaccine in conjunction with behavioral measures to keep the curve on a downward slope, or maintain a mediocre standard of caution and fuel the catastrophic spread.

Returning to campus and having to abide by all the same restrictions as last semester is frustrating.

Fatigue is understandable — the pandemic has dictated our lives for 11 months now, taking away opportunities and making every aspect of college life more difficult.

But between the extraordinarily high case numbers and the new variants, there is no room for error.

In November, when cases in surrounding communities rose, the success of our campus was proven vulnerable due to students’ not abiding by the limit on group gatherings. Now, with even higher cases

OP-ED

It’s time to UnKoch Tufts University NATHAN FOSTER, AMANDA WESTLAKE AND JULIA SILBERMAN With Democrats re-occupying the White House, conservative billionaire Charles Koch has suddenly developed an interest in bipartisanship. Charles, along with his brother David, spent decades building a network of hardcore, right-wing academics, elected officials and political operatives to influence nearly every level of American government. This ultra-conservative network was all too successful in impeding progress on climate change, privatizing public goods and services and stripping health care and other rights from our nation’s workers.

This did not just happen in far-off states and towns. Here in Massachusetts, Suffolk University cut ties with the conservative-backed Beacon Hill Institute in 2016. Now, Tufts University has been infiltrated Koch-style with the creation of the Center for State Policy Analysis, or the cSPA. Tufts has an outstanding reputation for academic excellence and independent thought. It should follow the lead of Suffolk University and free itself from the pernicious effects of Koch influence.

What’s at stake here?

According to UnKoch My Campus, a project of the nonprofit Essential Information fighting the influence of Koch funding in academia, “the Koch network has been the largest driving force behind climate misinformation in the United States. This has stalled government action on climate change, disrupted efforts by the states to transition to renewable energies, and paved the way for the Trump administration’s privatization of public lands.”

With the current sea change in American politics, the Koch team is trying a new playbook. Charles has gone so far as to promote a newly published book in which he says he regrets his family’s contribution to recent political division. One sentence especially made headlines: “Boy, did we screw up!”

These statements should be understood primarily as an attempt to rehabilitate Charles Koch and his network, as they have become increasingly toxic to work with in mainstream institutions. The Koch network derives much of its influence from blandly named academic centers that get taken seriously because of the credibility of the institutions they attach themselves to.

For example, the George Washington University Regulatory Studies Center relies heavily on Koch-sponsored researchers and almost universally advocates against regulation. The center’s future is threatened by students organizing to push it off campus.

Charles Koch’s network continues to expand to new institutions. Tufts received its first major Koch grant in 2017 — $3 million for the creation of a new Center for Strategic Studies. The donation received relatively little backlash because it went to academics deeply skeptical of foreign intervention who made credible-sounding statements about remaining independent. This is one of a few traditionally progressive causes the Kochs have dabbled in.

The second Koch donation to Tufts happened less than a year ago, and it should set off alarm bells for everyone who cares about the future of our community.

Opened in February, Tufts’ Center for State Policy Analysis received a founding grant from

Emergent Ventures, a program of the Mercatus Center, where Charles Koch sits on the board and influences hiring decisions.

Tufts’ Center for State Policy Analysis describes itself as a nonpartisan source of information for state lawmakers modeled after the Congressional Budget Office, a government agency that reviews proposed legislation. However, its funding, structure and research interests closely resemble the ideologically driven state policy centers backed by the Kochs across the country.

While it is inherently difficult to identify specific cases of research bias, cSPA’s report on Massachusetts’ Ballot Proposition 2, which would have created a system of ranked-choice voting, questioned the constitutionality of the initiative and seems to have directly led to an opinion article in the Boston Globe against the proposition. The op-ed, written by a reviewer of the cSPA report, extensively cites the work of the report’s lead researcher and uses similar arguments and structure, with the added step of explicitly opposing ranked-choice voting.

The center is also financially supported by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts, and it intends to review options for addressing rising prescription drug costs in the state. As the state’s largest health insurance company, Blue Cross Blue Shield has a direct financial stake in the outcome of cSPA’s research.

It doesn’t stop there. The Center for State Policy Analysis recently issued a report with outcomes critical of the Transportation Climate Initiative, which would force the Kochs and other dirty-energy producers to pay for the harm their products inflict on communities, our health and the climate.

in surrounding communities, we certainly cannot afford to let down our guard.

There are many steps students can and must take to limit the spread of the virus. Following Tufts’ guidelines is of the utmost importance. These measures are put in place to protect us and the surrounding community. Remember that a negative test is just a snapshot in time and is in no way indicative of safety from spread.

Additionally, non-essential trips into the community should be limited, especially to places where virus spread is most likely, such as restaurants with indoor seating. Just because such venues are open and operating in accordance with state law does not make visiting them ethical. Members of the community with whom we interact represent more at-risk populations who are not afforded the privilege of

frequent testing. Support the local economy instead by ordering delivery, takeout and curbside pickup.

Another small step that we can take is to upgrade our masks. The disposable masks provided by Tufts may be worn under a cloth mask.

Cloth masks with insertable filters are another good option. When a good mask is worn, it can protect the wearer; a single-layered or loose-fitting mask, not so much.

Now is a good time for students to ask themselves if their behaviors demonstrate respect for fellow members of the Tufts and surrounding communities. It is impossible to be perfect, but taking small steps as individuals to reduce risk is well worth the effort.

Eliza Dickson is a junior studying psychology and Spanish. Eliza can be reached at eliza.dickson@tufts.edu

CARTOON

Protect the herd. Get your flu shot.

BY JULIA ZWEIFACH The report models the Transportation Climate Initiative, using different assumptions about baseline carbon emissions than previous models to produce far higher estimates for its effects on the cost of gasoline. Backers of the TCI dispute multiple aspects of cSPA’s methodology, saying it overestimates the cost of electric vehicles, discounts the effectiveness of emissions reduction programs and fails to fully account for a likely price cap that would prevent the kind of gas price increases the study suggests. Matthew Casale, the environment campaigns director for the U.S. Public Interest Research Group, said that while they welcome “rigorous and intellectual critique and review [of the TCI] … anytime that critique is carried out with oil industry funding, it should raise eyebrows. We shouldn’t be putting big oil interests over public health and the climate.”

The Center for State Policy Analysis is not capable of producing the kind of objective analysis that it claims to pro-

vide. Defenders of the center may point to academic freedom, but the greater threat to academic freedom is the Koch network’s well-documented history of suppressing opposing viewpoints, influencing hiring decisions and even dictating research outcomes.

Far from an objective resource, cSPA is the Koch network’s latest attempt to gain a foothold in Massachusetts politics. Koch network activities are well-known and shouldn’t be given the benefit of the doubt.

In 2016, Suffolk University cut ties with the Beacon Hill Institute. Tufts should do the same with cSPA. Nathan Foster is an alumnus of Tufts University (LA '18) and a former student trustee representative. Nathan can be reached at nsfos01@gmail.com. Amanda Westlake is a sophomore studying computer science. Amanda can be reached at amanda.westlake@tufts.edu. Julia Silberman is a sophomore studying biochemistry. Julia can be reached at julia.silberman05@tufts.edu.

8 Wednesday, February 3, 2021

Sports

tuftsdaily.com

Nate Boyer: The man behind the kneel

by Arpan Barua

Assistant Sports Editor

On Monday, Feb. 1, former Army Green Beret Nate Boyer spoke with The Fletcher School in a virtual event hosted by the Fletcher Armed Forces Club, the Fletcher International Security Studies Program and the Jonathan M. Tisch College of Civic Life. Boyer, also a former NFL practice squad long snapper, encouraged quarterback Colin Kaepernick to kneel, rather than sit on the bench, to protest racial injustices during the national anthem. In the now infamous saga that has left Kaepernick without an NFL job, Boyer shared his discussions with Kaepernick and the lessons Americans can take from this experience.

Prior to discussing Kaepernick, Boyer spoke to the Tufts community about his earlier years.

He decided not to attend college after high school, thinking about a life in show business and pondering a career on screen.

From there, he found his way to a job working as a caretaker for an autistic child and helping them with school. He went on long backpacking trips, trying to discover the world and, more importantly, himself. “I just wanted to find a sense of purpose,” he said, a sentiment shared among many on Tufts’ campus.

The events of Sept. 11, 2001 made Boyer question his purpose in life even further. This question was finally answered when he came across the cover of Time Magazine, with the Darfur genocide front and center. He knew he needed to make an impact. He told the audience, “I just wanted to help.”

Boyer’s lack of a college degree led to numerous rejections in his attempts to reach Sudan, but his calling was so deep that he decided to jump on a plane and go anyway. He talked his way into a refugee camp where he

Henry Gorelik Off the Gridiron

Matthew Stafford to the Rams

B

y trading for Matthew Stafford, the Los Angeles Rams have made a major statement to the rest of the NFL: they are in it to win it. To acquire the former No. 1 pick, the Rams sent their 2022 first-round pick, 2023 first-round pick, 2021 third round pick and starting quarterback Jared Goff to the Detroit Lions. This season revealed that the Rams have a Super Bowlcaliber defense that is held back by their offense, reinforcing the widely held belief that the Rams

told one of the United Nations High Commission for Refugee workers, “I’ll figure everything out, just employ me.” His stay was a relatively short 60 days, which he described as the most transformative experience of his life. It was during this stay that he understood the nature of oppression and the power of generosity.

During Boyer’s last week in Sudan, he heard American forces playing a Bob Marley song over the radio, which led to his desire to join the Green Berets.

The special operations force has a motto that translates to “to free the oppressed,” and that is what Boyer set out to do.

During his time in the armed forces, Boyer was stationed all over the world. He pointed to his time serving in Afghanistan as especially rewarding. He wanted to give people in Afghanistan hope, adding that “the U.S. represents that.” He spoke about learning to set aside differences and serve alongside Afghani soldiers due to their common goals of security and safety, an experience that influenced his future actions with Kaepernick.

After completing his service, Boyer pursued a degree at the University of Texas at Austin and made it onto the football team, despite being much older than his teammates (Boyer was in his 30s). Boyer had a successful collegiate career, so much so that he received a call from Pete Carroll asking him to sign with the Seattle Seahawks practice squad.

It was an opportunity he could not turn down.

Boyer recalled a time during the preseason when he heard the national anthem during a game and began to weep. He said that the emotion from his tours and all the people he lost came flooding in; his teammates Marshawn Lynch, Russel Wilson and Richard Sherman all came and hugged him, a moment he remembers vividly. It is this sentiment that is shared among many veterans win in spite of Goff — and not because of him.

Even though the Rams gave up a ton of assets, adding Stafford improves both the Rams’ floor and ceiling. The Rams can now lean on their quarterback rather than develop ways to protect him, a luxury that head coach Sean McVay did not have with Goff. Stafford’s processing speed, ability to shift in the pocket, internal clock, ability to make plays off-script, toughness, willingness to take risks downfield and arm talent make him a clear and obvious upgrade over Goff. Despite having only four winning seasons of his 12 as a starter, Stafford carries a folkloric narrative that he is an elite quarterback who is consistently bogged down by an inadequate supporting cast.

Even though Stafford’s fit with the Rams will almost certainly be more fun in our imaginations

COURTESY JAY GODWIN / WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

Nate Boyer, a former UT Austin football player, Green Beret and NFL player, is pictured. when it comes to perspectives on Kaepernick’s protest — for Boyer and others, “it means something different.”

With that in mind, it should come as no surprise that Boyer was originally opposed to Kaepernick’s protesting during the anthem. However, he began to think about what Kaepernick was trying to accomplish with his protest — Boyer realized that the way Black people are often treated in the United States. is a form of oppression, and Kaepernick’s constitutional right to peacefully protest was a right that Boyer himself had in fact fought for and defended while serving. “How is that not patri-

otic? How is that not American?”

Boyer said.

Boyer ultimately wrote these thoughts down in an open letter published in the Army Times. In the letter, he showed his duality, admitting that he would have been offended if one of his teammates sat through the national anthem at the preseason game, but knew that no part of him could understand the struggles of being Black in this country.

Boyer’s letter led to his meeting with Kaepernick. Boyer said that the meeting was very cordial. “It was just like the locker room,” he said. At one point, Kaepernick asked how he could protest without offending the

troops, and after a lot of thinking, Boyer ultimately came to the conclusion that kneeling would be the best way to continue the protest respectfully. He knew that the action could still offend some, but that kneeling is often seen as a sign of respect.

People kneel when they pray, they kneel when they propose, players kneel when someone is injured and Boyer himself said he kneels when he visits the grave of his best friend at the Arlington National Cemetery. Kaepernick heeded Boyer’s advice, and kneeling has since become a symbol of the Black Lives Matter movement and a cultural proxy for our divisions.

than it will be in reality, he makes the Rams a much better team than they were with Goff. With their star-studded defense and Stafford in the McVay offense, the Rams instantly become one of the most complete teams in the NFC if not the entire NFL. For this reason, the trade was a win for the Rams.

At the same time, the Lions won this trade from a value perspective. Despite dealing their franchise quarterback, the Lions received a serviceable transition quarterback and picks which they can use to draft their next franchise quarterback. Given the strength of this year’s quarterbacks, there is a strong possibility that the Lions use their newly acquired picks to move up from their No. 7 pick. Neither of the owners of the No. 2 and No. 3 picks, the Jets and Dolphins respectively, has immediate needs at the QB position which

could make them a natural trading partner for the Lions. A hypothetical trade would make it possible for the Lions to select star quarterback prospects Justin Fields or Zach Wilson and then let Goff start until their franchise QB is ready. Also, if they are not enamored with any of the quarterbacks in this class, having Goff gives them the luxury of waiting until they find their guy. Despite parting with the face of their franchise, dealing Stafford provided the Lions with the foundation that they needed for their rebuild.

The Stafford trade allows for an examination of the Rams’ radical team building strategy, in which they have traded seven first-round picks since 2016 to acquire star players such as Brandin Cooks, Jalen Ramsey and now Matthew Stafford.

While teams in win-now mode don’t usually stockpile draft

picks, no team has purged as many first-round picks as the Rams. In a way it makes sense; the Rams are investing in known commodities instead of unknown college players. Firstround picks are not as much of a sure thing as they seem; if they were, then Tom Brady and Patrick Mahomes would have been at the top of their draft classes. The ugly truth is that scouting is far from perfect or an exact science and the Rams are using that truth to their advantage. If this strategy leads the Rams to a Super Bowl championship, it could lead to the devaluation of first-round picks and change the entire trajectory of the league as other teams try to replicate the Rams.

Henry Gorelik is a first-year who has not yet declared a major. Henry can be reached at henry.gorelik@tufts.edu