The Tufts Daily - Tuesday, March 9, 2021

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Tuesday, March 9, 2021

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Dr. Anthony Fauci speaks about COVID-19, differences in Trump, Biden administrations

by Alex Viveros News Editor

Dr. Anthony Fauci spoke about his journey through medicine, HIV/AIDS activism, the COVID-19 pandemic and the intersections of public health and politics in a live-streamed conversation with the Tufts community on Monday.

Fauci, who has served as the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases since 1984, was invited to speak at Tufts as a part of the Jonathan M. Tisch College of Civic Life’s Distinguished Speaker Series. Fauci has served under seven administrations and has been nationally recognized as a leading expert in infectious disease during the COVID-19 pandemic.

University President Anthony Monaco opened the event — which was held virtually to an ALEX VIVEROS / THE TUFTS DAILY

University President Anthony Monaco presents the Presidential Medal to Dr. Anthony Fauci during a Distinguished Speakers Series event.

see FAUCI, page 2

Tufts Alumni Association Global Tufts Month aims to highlight honors 2020 alumni engagement in global issues awardees

by Emily Thompson Contributing Writer

by Marianna Schantz Assistant News Editor

The Tufts Alumni Association recognized 13 alumni for their vivid engagement, career successes and contributions to the university in an awards ceremony on Feb. 27. The awards included a Young Alumni Achievement Award, a Young Alumni Service Award, Distinguished Achievement and Distinguished Service Awards, Active Citizenship and Public Service Awards, a Career Services Award and Service Citations.

“Since 1941, the Tufts University Alumni Association (TUAA) has honored accomplished individuals for service to their professions, communities, and to Tufts,” Jennifer Covell, president of the Tufts Alumni Association, wrote in an email to the Daily. “Along the way, we have added new categories in areas that we thought should be acknowledged, such as adding the Career Services Award a few years ago.The experience of attending these awards is both moving and inspiring and a great way to connect with Tufts.”

The Awards Committee for the Alumni Council is co-chaired by Peter Brodeur and Peter Bronk.

Bronk explained how nominees for the awards are chosen.

“Nominations and letters of support are received from the Tufts alumni community and from Tufts’ faculty and staff who may be acquainted with individual nominees,” Bronk wrote in an email to the Daily.

Brodeur expanded on this, explaining how honorees are chosen from the nominee pool.

“The Awards Committee members carefully read each nominee packet, submit initial top picks, and then we come together to really discuss each nominee,” Brodeur wrote in an email to the Daily. “Each year, the Committee attempts to put together a group of honorees that represent the diversity of our alumni and the incredible breadth of their accomplishments.”

Brodeur said that the awards for both achievement and service often overlap, and the Awards Committee looks for nominees who have made a significant impact locally, nationally or globally.

“We have so many truly worthy and impressive nominees each year, it is always a very long and tough process,” Brodeur said. “The Awards Committee spends days reading through nominations and see ALUMNI, page 3

Tufts is hosting its annual Global Tufts Month this March. With this year’s theme, “Welcoming All Voices: Global Perspectives on Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Justice,” the month is intended to celebrate Tufts’ global engagement, advance the school’s commitment to global learning and exchange and pro-

mote connections across schools on global issues. “[The events] range from social networking to really academic, to action-oriented, community-oriented events and arts events,” Diana Chigas, senior international officer and associate provost at Tufts and professor of the practice of international negotiation and conflict resolution at The Fletcher School, said.

Chigas emphasized the role the month plays in bringing the Tufts community together, and explained the reasoning behind this year’s theme.

“We chose the theme because of the tremendous amount of work that’s being done on anti-racism … recognizing that there’s also an international dimension to that, a see GLOBAL, page 3

AVA IANNUCCILLO/ THE TUFTS DAILY

Hannah Flamm, managing attorney of the Detained Minors Project at The Door’s Legal Services Center, talks at an event held by Tufts Amnesty International on March 1.

FEATURES / page 4

ARTS / page 5

SPORTS / back

Clubs promote accessibility, inclusivity in the community

Paris Fashion Week adapts to COVID-19

Isaac Karp talks Olympic political statements

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ARTS & POP CULTURE

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FUN & GAMES

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OPINION

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THE TUFTS DAILY | News | Tuesday, March 9, 2021

THE TUFTS DAILY Megan Szostak Editor in Chief

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Fauci emphasizes achieving health equity, stresses necessary work in Black, Latinx communities FAUCI

continued from page 1 audience of over 4,000 — by welcoming Fauci to Tufts. He outlined Fauci’s experiences combating several epidemics in the United States and praised him as a trusted medical voice during the nation’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“His leadership during this pandemic has made him a national treasure,” Monaco said.

Monaco then presented Fauci with the Tufts University Presidential Medal in recognition of his contributions to public health during the COVID19 pandemic. The Presidential Medal, which was established in 1976, is one of the highest honors given to individuals by the University.

“Thank you very much for this wonderful honor of the Tufts University Presidential Medal,” Fauci said. “I truly appreciate it and I am humbled by it.”

The event was moderated by Alan Solomont, dean of Tisch College, who began the conversation by asking Fauci about his relationship with Dr. Sheldon Wolff, a physician who mentored Fauci during his first years at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. Wolff served as the chairman of the department of medicine at the Tufts University School of Medicine from 1977 until his death in 1994.

Fauci attributed a portion of his accomplishments during his career to the mentorship of Wolff. He explained that early on, Wolff gave him unique responsibilities on projects that involved scientific research with patients.

“He launched me on my career,” Fauci said. “I think that’s the lesson of the day for younger people who are listening: Get a good mentor, and be a good mentor.”

Solomont then transitioned to asking Fauci about his role at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases during the HIV/AIDS epidemic, which began in 1981.

Fauci said that he first noticed a public health anomaly when he read a June 5, 1981 Mortality-Morbidity Weekly Report that detailed the cases of five young gay men who

COVID-19 AT TUFTS

had presented unusual cases of pneumonia. When 26 more young gay men presented with similar conditions just a month later, Fauci realized the urgency of the situation.

“I looked at that, and I actually got goosebumps,” Fauci said. “I said ‘oh my God,’ we are dealing with a brand new infection.’”

This early realization regarding the severity of the HIV/AIDS epidemic influenced Fauci to change the direction of his career. In the years that followed, he prioritized treating gay men who had contracted HIV/AIDS, whom he cited as being heavily stigmatized during the time.

Solomont also asked Fauci about the role of activism during the HIV/AIDS epidemic. During the 1980s, at the height of the epidemic, several demonstrations were held across the country protesting the Reagan administration’s response to the epidemic.

Fauci answered by saying that, unlike many public officials, he responded to the protests by listening to the concerns of HIV/ AIDS activists.

“I did something, which was probably the smartest thing I’ve ever done in my career outside of scientific things, and that is I said ‘Let me listen to these people,’” Fauci said. “They were making perfect sense.”

Fauci said that this initial dialogue with activists has carried on to influence public health spheres in the present day, citing the activist community as members of key advisory committees and councils.

The conversation then transitioned into a discussion about the COVID-19 pandemic. In the past, Fauci has had experience combating the HIV/ AIDS, SARS, H1N1, Ebola and Zika epidemics in the United States. Solomont asked Fauci what made the COVID-19 pandemic different from previous epidemics.

Fauci responded by likening COVID-19 to his worst nightmare. He said that his biggest fear was of a novel, zoonotic virus that could easily spread and had a high degree of morbidity and mortality, all of which are characteristics of COVID-19.

“It turns out that in January of 2020, my worst nightmare came true,” Fauci said. “We’ve been living in it for over a year because we have a disease that’s spectacularly effective in spreading from person to person.”

Transmission of COVID-19 through asymptomatic carriers also makes the virus particularly difficult to control, according to Fauci. He added that early last year, he could not have predicted the toll that the virus would impose on the United States and across the world.

Fauci also spoke about the U.S. government’s role in combating the virus.

“Even if the government did everything perfectly well, we still would have a really serious problem,” Fauci said. “We had a double whammy against us, because we had an outbreak in the middle of one of the most divisive times, literally, in the history of our country.”

Fauci suggested that political divisiveness may have posed a barrier in the United States’ response to the COVID-19 pandemic. In his answer, he referenced past political divisiveness.

“There were times when there were political differences, but not such great divisiveness that the different groups hated each other. That makes it very difficult to do something together,” Fauci said. “The common enemy is the virus, and when you have a common enemy, the only way you can attack that common enemy is when everybody pulls together.”

Solomont then asked Fauci about the differences between advising the Trump and Biden administrations. While Fauci said that he did not wish to speak too much about the Trump administration, he believed that he was put in a difficult situation.

“I don’t really want to rehash the Trump administration, because it speaks for itself,” Fauci said. “I did not like at all the fact that I had to, under certain circumstances, contradict the president.”

Fauci said that he found former President Donald Trump to have likable characteristics. He added, however, that tension grew between the two over the course of the pandemic.

“He has some characteristics that are quite likable when you get to know him,” Fauci said.

“But you know, when he said things that were just not scientifically correct, I didn’t take any pleasure in contradicting him, but I had to do that.”

When Solomont asked what had stopped him from stepping down from his position under the Trump administration, Fauci said that he believed his departure would leave a vacuum in which less truthful, non-evidence-based data could circulate in conversations about public health.

“I thought if I did leave, I would make matters worse,” Fauci said. “Now, we’re in a totally different situation with the Biden administration. It’s very clear that science does rule, and evidence and data really determine what we do.”

The rest of the conversation focused on Fauci’s predictions for the future of the pandemic. Fauci said he believes that high school students are likely to return to school in the fall and that increased vaccine rollout will minimize the risk of infection from the virus.

Fauci included that he believes that a lot of work needs to be done in focusing on equity of vaccine distribution in Black and Latinx communities, which have been disproportionately affected by COVID-19. He said that prioritizing equity in these communities is at the top of Biden’s agenda.

“Equity is now the whole goal of the Biden administration,” Fauci said. “He’s made it very clear that in everything we do with COVID-19, and therapeutics and vaccines, equity has to be the top front burner for us.”

The discussion concluded with Fauci taking questions from students, where he reemphasized the importance of recognizing the social determinants of health, which is a concept used by public health professionals to describe certain social aspects — including race, socioeconomic status and personal environment — that may put some individuals at higher risks for adverse outcomes of disease.

News

Tuesday, March 9, 2021 | News | THE TUFTS DAILY

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Global Tufts Month adopts new month-long format for the first time GLOBAL

continued from page 1 global dimension to that, and that many of the similar issues come up in a global context and many of our faculty and students are doing work at that level,” Chigas said.

Global Tufts Month started in 2019 as Global Tufts Week, but according to Christine Hollenhorst, program administrator of the Office of the Provost, it was difficult to contain all the events hosted by the different schools within only one week.

According to Hollenhorst, universities across the nation celebrate International Education Week, which focuses on study abroad opportunities.

Wanting to extend the week to avoid concentrating events in such a short period of time, Tufts decided to expand to a

whole month in 2020, though the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic got in the way.

“It looked really promising, this time we had about 40 events spread out over the whole month … representing all the schools.

And then we made it through about two events before COVID shut everything down on us,” Hollenhorst said. “So now we’re back, and we are ready to celebrate Global Tufts Month, hopefully with no interruptions this time.”

The Office of the Provost offered mini-grants up to $500 to members of the Tufts community who submitted event proposals. In allocating funding for 14 events this year,, the committee reviewing the applications prioritized events hosted by students and events that were a collaboration between students and faculty.

“We really get an incredible assortment [of event applications] from all over the university … people are really creative,” Hollenhorst said.

Although the COVID-19 pandemic has suspended in-person events, Hollenhorst emphasized the benefits of gathering virtually.

“If you applied for a $500 mini-grant, that really wasn’t going to be enough money to bring in a speaker from another country … they wouldn’t be able to travel to Tufts to participate in a one-hour panel,” Hollenhorst said. “I think that gives it a bit of an interesting element that we really can attract people from all over the world, maybe we couldn’t have done that before.”

Amber Asumda, a junior majoring in international relations, is hosting the inaugural

Black Womyn’s Empowerment Conference with the Tufts Africana Center as part of Global Tufts Month.

“It’s a conference that’s for both undergraduate and graduate Black women throughout the state of Massachusetts,” Asumda said. “Our goal for this conference is providing Black women with professional leadership skills necessary to succeed not only in their academic careers, but also professionally.”

She said the conference will consist of workshops in law, public policy and medicine, and feature Nontombi Naomi Tutu, activist and daughter of Nobel Laureate and South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu, as their keynote speaker.

“If it were not done virtually we probably would not have

been able to get [Tutu, who lives in South Africa],” Asumda said.

In the week leading up to the event, Asumda said she has spent over 20 hours organizing the conference.

“A conference comes with a lot of people and a lot of moving parts,” Asumda said. “We’re hoping to have a tangible network of Black Women Students around the greater Boston area.”

Although this year’s deadline to apply for mini-grants has passed, there is no deadline to host an event.

“We really want the community to host events and come up with events. So right now, the calendar has probably 20 to 25 events, but people will keep adding to that,” Hollenhorst said.

“We put [Global Tufts Month] together, but this event belongs to everybody.”

Alumni win awards for achievement, service, active citizenship, public service

SOPHIE DOLAN / THE TUFTS DAILY

A collage of screenshots taken from the Tufts Alumni Association’s 2020 awards ceremony on Feb. 27 is pictured.

ALUMNI

continued from page 1 hours in meetings discussing who to honor in a particular year.”

Bronk emphasized that making the decisions can be difficult.

“At times, it can be an apples vs. oranges decision, where the relative value of one person’s achievements vs those of another are nearly impossible to quantify,” Bronk said. “Among the attributes considered are the scope, duration, uniqueness and impact of a nominee’s contributions in his or her field.”

The recipients for the alumni awards this year were Ryan Pandya (E’13), Derrick Young Jr. (MG’17), Bill Abrams (A’75, A’11P, A’16P), Julie Salamon (J’75, A’11P, A’16P), Xanthe Scharff (F’06, F’11), Heather Sibbison (J’83, A’13P, A’16P), Bertram Gresh Lattimore (F’65, F’70, PhD’72), Alan Solomont (A’70, A’08P), Lee Gelernt (A’84), Nina Smith (J’89), Chiamaka Chima (E’14, EG’16), Cynthia Valianti Corbett (F’78) and Raphael Hui (A’06).

The Young Alumni Achievement awards were awarded to Pandya and Young.

Pandya is the chief executive officer and co-founder of Perfect Day, a food company whose mission is to create animal-free dairy products in an effort to spread delicious food while supporting the environment.

Young is the co-founder and executive director of Leadership Brainery, a non-profit that focuses on improving access to education and workforce leadership opportunities among minority communities.

Abrams, Salamon, Scharff and Sibbison received the Distinguished Achievement awards.

Abrams is the president of an international development organization called Trickle Up that helps people living in extreme poverty advance their socioeconomic statuses.

Salamon is a New York Times bestselling author, who has been a film and television critic for The Wall Street Journal and The New

York Times. She is also the daughter of Czech immigrants who were Holocaust survivors.

Scharff is the chief executive officer and co-founder of The Fuller Project, a nonprofit newsroom that reports on women with goals of increasing awareness, identifying injustice and encouraging accountability.

Sibbison is a partner at Dentons, where she serves as a chair of the firm’s Native American Law and Policy practice. She assists tribal governments, addressing a wide range of legal and policy issues that are rooted in the historical mistreatment of Indigenous peoples and lands. Previously she worked on these issues for the U.S. Department of the Interior and the U.S. Department of Justice.

Lattimore and Solomont received the Distinguished Service Awards. Lattimore graduated from The Fletcher School and served two years aboard the aircraft carrier USS CORAL SEA (CVA-43) off Vietnam and taught at the Naval Academy for a year.

Solomont is currently the dean of the Jonathan M. Tisch College of Civic Life at Tufts University, which focuses on the study and promotion of civic and political engagement of young people.

Prior to his work at Tufts, Solomont was the U.S. ambassador to Spain and Andorra and served as the chairman of the Corporation for National and Community Service.

Gelernt and Smith were awarded the Active Citizenship and Public Service Awards. Gelernt is a lawyer at the ACLU’s national office, and he is recognized as one of the country’s leading public interest lawyers.

Smith is the CEO of GoodWeave International, a global NGO working to stop child labor in global supply chains.

Chima was given the Career Services award. She is currently an analog design engineer at Intel Corporation, having previously interned at Bose Corporation and Analog Devices, Inc. The Service Citations were awarded to Hui and Corbett.

Hui is currently a corporate lawyer in Hong Kong, having majored in international relations and economics during his undergraduate career at Tufts.

Corbett was an international economist specializing in emerging markets and architected debt conversion plans for most of sub-Saharan Africa in the 1980s.

Since then, she has established an art gallery called Cynthia Corbett Gallery and the Young Masters Art Prize, a not-for-profit international art initiative that strives to highlight emerging artists and offer them global visibility.

Brodeur reflected on what being part of the process is like.

“Each year, the Committee attempts to put together a group of honorees that represent the diversity of our alumni and the incredible breadth of their accomplishments,” Brodeur said.

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Features

tuftsdaily.com

Student organizations advocate for disability awareness, inclusivity

by Kayla Butera Features Editor

Best Buddies International is an organization that works to promote inclusion and eliminate the social isolation of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDDs).

Co-Founder and co-President Christopher LaBudde has grown the Tufts chapter of Best Buddies, a subgroup of the Leonard Carmichael Society, expanding the group to incorporate 40 undergraduate members and two partnerships with local high schools. For LaBudde, starting the chapter stemmed from a personal reason.

“I was inspired to start the chapter because my younger brother, Timothy, has Down syndrome and is on the autism spectrum,” LaBudde wrote in an email to the Daily. “Growing up with a younger brother who has a disability has given me a unique perspective and it has shaped me into the person I am today.”

Along with promoting inclusion by forming friendships and relationships with people with IDDs, Best Buddies is committed to educating communities on disabilities.

“The most prevalent reason, in my opinion, for people teasing or excluding people with IDD is due to ignorance or fear of saying the wrong thing,” Samantha Raymond, Tufts Best Buddies co-founder and co-president, said in an email to the Daily. According to Raymond, the organization also creates programs to help people with IDDs find “jobs, friends, and a platform where they can be heard.”

Best Buddies has lived up to its name, with buddies fostering friendships with their volunteers through weekly communication and monthly group events. In pre-pandemic times, these events included

VIA LEONARD CARMICHAEL SOCIETY FACEBOOK

Members of Tufts’ Leonard Carmichael Society pose for a portrait at the organization’s annual Feast and Fenway event on April 15, 2017. a Thanksgiving fair, a bowling event at Flatbread Company in Davis Square and dance parties.

“My high school buddy and I are as close as ever, and she’s become a very trusted friend to me,” Raymond said in an email to the Daily. “She inspires me to be the best version of myself every day and I want others to have that type of life-changing connection.”

Now, the club has transitioned to a virtual format, which has been very successful and effective, according to Raymond.

During the pandemic, creating community environments for people with IDDs is even more important. “While you may have attended zoom cocktail parties or game nights, many people with IDD are not

being invited to those events and feeling more alone than ever before,” Raymond said.

“For many, this has been the reality before this pandemic.”

Tufts’ Best Buddies chapter was awarded Massachusetts Outstanding College Chapter in 2020.

“One message that always stands out to me from Best Buddies trainings and conferences is the fact that one of the organization’s [goals] is that it will one day no longer have to exist,” LaBudde wrote.

“Best Buddies envisions a world where inclusion of folks with IDD is a given, not something that must be fought for.”

Tufts Special Olympics, also a subgroup of Leonard Carmichael Society, is an organization on campus that shares Best Buddies’ value of inclusivity. Started by sophomores Ben Katz and Andrew D’Amico, the club has already raised $4,500 through social media channels for Special Olympics Massachusetts.

The fundraiser? A polar plunge.

According to Katz, the polar plunge is an annual event that typically involves participants gathering at a beach during the winter and running into the freezing ocean together. This year, because of COVID-19, everyone is completing the plunge on their own and uploading the video for a donation to the organization.

Katz has been volunteering with Special Olympics since sixth grade, and his passion for the group led him to found a Tufts chapter.

“The most rewarding part is honestly seeing the smiles on kids faces — seeing them have so much fun and [be able to] hang out with the other kids …

and it’s making a difference in their lives,” Katz said. “All they want is to be like any other kid.”

While some Special Olympics athletes can be as young as two years old, Katz says the Tufts chapter will most likely be working with high school-aged students. This semester, the club plans to conduct exercises and drills with athletes over Zoom. “[After the pandemic], we’re hoping to start off with basketball and volleyball at Cousens gym,” Katz said. Future plans include expanding the club to host more sports and events.

According to Katz, Special Olympics Boston University is already a large chapter, so he hopes to partner with and join them in their annual end-ofyear sports event.

When it comes to building relationships with kids with disabilities, Katz emphasized three values: flexibility, patience and kindness. “[With] the kids who don’t really talk, physical touching like a hand on their back to guide them where to go works better,” Katz said. “The kids who are more social, knowing how to separate them from the nonsocial kids so the nonsocial kids don’t feel pressed upon.”

According to Katz, there is only one prerequisite to joining Tufts Special Olympics. “All you have to do is be kind, be supportive of everybody, because it’s just a community and we just want to make everyone happy,” he said.

Looking to serve the Tufts student body specifically, sophomore Jessica Goober kick-started ABLE (Access Betters the Lives of Everyone), with the help of the StAAR Center.

“We’re a student group focused on creating opportunities for students with disabilities on campus,” Goober said. “[We fight] for visibility justice on our campus, which is part of educating and starting conversations.”

In addition to running meetings every other week, one of ABLE’s events was its “Cookies and Critiques” event last semester, during which students outlined what things were and were not working regarding accessibility on campus. This semester, the club is focusing specifically on social media accessibility and making small changes that have a big impact.

“We’re in the process of reaching out to local Tufts organizations and trying to encourage people to use closed captioning in their videos [and] use alt text image descriptions,” Goober said.

According to Goober, disabilities can be difficult to identify, and because many disabilities are invisible and stigmatized, people hesitate to self-identify.

“I’m trying to make it to a point where people are comfortable talking about these things because it does affect a good amount of our population at Tufts, more than you might realize,” Goober said.

In this day and age, when separation proves to be a great detriment to people with disabilities, these student groups hope to help make inclusivity prevail.

“Inclusivity is a powerful force of good and a little effort on each individual’s part has the potential to make a lasting impact on someone else’s life,” Raymond said.

Arts & POP ARTS Pop CULTURE Culture

tuftsdaily.com

Tuesday, March 9, 2021

Courrèges, Nicolas Di Felice steal the show at Paris Fashion Week

by Colette Smith Arts Editor

Paris Fashion Week Fall 2021 kicked off on March 1 and will run until March 10.

Even though the shows were a little different this year due to COVID-19, there were, as always, amazing collections showcased.

Thankfully, designers were able to adjust their usual shows in creative ways. There were some shows with small, socially-distanced audiences, but the majority of shows were primarily viewed in digital formats. Many designers chose rather nontraditional locations for their shows which created unique and engaging experiences.

Many were even pre-recorded. One of the best uses of this alternative showing experience was from Courrèges.

The Courrèges show took place in a white cube built at La Station — Gare des Mines in Aubervilliers, a hub for dancing and partying in Paris. This environment created an interesting comparison between a very modern background with outfits that plucked elements from multiple time periods: from the ’60s, to the ’90s, to modern-day street style. At the end of the show, the cameras panned up to show people on top of and climbing up the white box. This was a great example of a fashion show taking advantage of the COVID-19 restrictions and using them to create an incredibly dynamic show.

This show was Nicolas Di Felice’s debut with Courrèges, and despite the challenging circumstances surrounding the show, Di Felice succeeded in adding a modern twist to the fun, disco-vibe silhouettes of the iconic Space Age collection by André Courrèges. The show was titled “I Can

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Feel Your Heartbeat,” and it was an amazing first show for Di Felice that showed he could revitalize the famous Parisian fashion house. Many of the 2021 looks featured modern accessories like baseball hats but also included elements like dark sunglasses and tight, over-the-knee boots that were reminiscent of the 1960s when Courrèges’ Space Age collection was released. Other elements of the Space Age collection and André Courrèges’s designs are seen in the fashion house’s use of check patterns, cut-out designs, A-line constructions and vinyl.

The vinyl is especially emblematic of the juxtaposition of modern elements with Courrèges’ Space Age designs because, while it is a staple of the brand, it was re-designed to be more eco-friendly.

The vinyl used in the 2021 collection was made from an organic cotton base and a bio-based polyurethane.

The show began with very refined looks with structured silhouettes that walked the line between professional and chic streetwear. One particularly elegant look was Look 10, a head-to-toe red number with a boat neckline, trapeze dress and matching thigh-high boots.

This monochromatic style was a motif of the entire show with many looks featuring matching dresses and high boots. The looks at the beginning of the show were all very refined and elegant. They looked like clothes a modern Jackie Kennedy Onassis would wear, which is no surprise considering she was a fan of André Courrèges.

The show then shifted to edgier looks with lots of dark tones and leather. The best look from this portion of the show

Drew Weisberg A Fantastic Voyage

was Look 25, a coordinating black leather skirt and jacket, with black curly fur detailing on the neck and sleeve cuffs. This was set off by the knit bootleg pants that were worn under the skirt.

Other looks in this portion of the show highlighted cutout designs that were seen in the brand’s designs from the 1960s. The best look that featured this cutout design was Look 19, which featured a structured, business-like navy skirt. This was contrasted by a skimpy bodysuit that featured a large cutout in the front with only a thin clasp holding it together. For accessories, the model wore a black baseball cap, large navy wire earrings, nearly hip-high black knit boots and a small purse. This look succeeded because it combined structured, professional elements in the skirt with a very bold bodysuit.

Overall, this show was fantastic. I genuinely wish I could wear every single outfit that walked the runway. The looks seamlessly combined nostalgic elements of the ’60s — typical of the brand — with elements of the ’90s during which Di Felice grew up and modern elements that brought the looks into 2021.

In an interview with Vogue, Di Felice discussed how he wants his designs for Courrèges to be timeless.

“I see so many people in Courrèges pieces that were their mother’s or grandmother’s; you never throw them away and I think this is the best way to be eco-conscious,” he said. This goal of creating designs that do not come in and out of style depending on external trends is exemplified by this Fall 2021 collection; these outfits would have fit in during the ’60s as much as they do today.

VIA WIKIPEDIA

Paris Fashion Week took place at Gare des Mines in Paris, France.

TRASHING ONE EGG WASTES 55 GALLONS OF WATER

‘Solve Everything’ Part 1

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t always impresses me when a writer can find a novel concept in long-running series with decades of lore and a tried and true premise like “Fantastic Four” (1961–). I chuckle even harder when that novel idea is both literal and figurative. The secret behind that riddle is the subject of today’s story arc, “Solve Everything” (2009).

Picking up shortly after where the previous arc left off, the four superheroes are seen battling Bentley Wittman, alias “The Wizard,” who has seemingly gone mad and designed clone-piloted robots to attack them. After dispatching the assailants, Reed Richards goes to the newly insane Wittman and has him imprisoned. But before Reed can leave, Wittman utters the startling premonition, “We’ve both done the calculations — this world is going to tear itself apart and there’s nothing either of us can do to stop it.” In response, Reed writes his latest idea to “solve everything” and enters his lab.

Inside, he consults a familiar group of men via the multiversal viewing device he built in the “Dark Reign” (2008–09) arc, who are, as it turns out, a group of Reed Richards’ from other universes that have formed the “Interdimensional Council of Reeds.” Fans of “Rick and Morty” (2013–) will no doubt notice a similarity to the “Council of Ricks,” although here the council is formed around the same desire to “solve everything” that Reed has recently adopted, hence his admittance into the fold.

As Reed spends more and more time with the council, though, he begins to feel the strain on his personal life and his morals. Susan Richards, wife of Reed Richards, begins to question what he’s been up to, culminating in the verbal barb, “You spend all day in your lab and then act like you know every thought that’s running through my mind.” To which Reed responds, “I’m the foremost authority in countless areas of science and technology … I will not apologize for knowing the things I do.”

These quotes alone do not do the exchange justice and if possible, I’d recommend that you, the reader, see firsthand the tact and care that author Jonathan Hickman puts into each sentence. Summarily, it’s one of the most real depictions of two people who love each other being forced to confront their issues.

Reed finds that the Council’s methods are both grand and unilaterally decisive.

On the one hand, they are able to terraform dead worlds to create entire parallel Earths full of wheat fields to feed people across the multiverse. On the other, they hunt down parallel-universe versions of Reed’s greatest nemesis, Dr. Victor von Doom, and lobotomize them into harmless creatures that are only capable of uttering the word “doom.” The Council presents Reed with the ultimately successful outcome, but the question remains, “What is the ultimate price to be paid?” Sorry to disappoint everyone, but this won’t be a one-and-done issue — I realized that I had so much to say about this arc halfway through writing.

Next week, I’ll be continuing my discussion about “Solve Everything” and the choice that will forever change Reed Richards for good or ill.

Drew Weisberg is a junior studying film and media studies. Drew can be reached at mitchell.weisberg@tufts.edu.

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THE TUFTS DAILY | FUN & GAMES | Tuesday, March 9, 2021

F& G

tuftsdaily.com LATE NIGHT AT THE DAILY Jess: “We’re college students, we can handle a lot of things. Do they think we can’t handle axes?”

FUN & GAMES

SUDOKU

DIFFERENT BREED

Difficulty Level: Discretely ordering dinner during class

By Matthew Hixson

Monday’s Solutions

SEARCHING FOR HEADLINES...

CROSSWORD

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Opinion OP-ED

Dear Tufts: Misleading students is no plan to address the climate crisis SHANA GALLAGHER, LILA KOHRMAN-GLASER AND DANIEL JUBELIRER We started a fossil fuel divestment campaign at our alma mater, Tufts University, back in 2012. We’re not celebrating their recent decision to ‘divest’ from coal and tar sands companies.

Tufts University educated us well enough to know when we are being misled. In 2011, many students realized that their universities had portions of their endowments invested in the fossil fuel industry and launched the fossil fuel divestment movement to ensure that these institutions, including Tufts, did not fund, perpetuate and profit from the climate crisis. Students at Tufts have been calling for fossil fuel divestment for the past decade, and despite marketing that portrays Tufts as a beacon of environmental leadership and active citizenship, the university continues to contribute to the destruction of our planet through investments in fossil fuels.

To date, more than 1,300 institutions representing $14 trillion have divested from the fossil fuel industry, including almost 200 institutions of higher education. Ten years after the fossil fuel divestment movement started, there’s only one thing worse than remaining invested in climate destruction while preparing young people for their futures: remaining invested in fossil fuels and intentionally covering it up.

On Feb. 10, Tufts announced a decision to “prohibit direct investments in coal and tar sands companies as part of a multi-part commitment to advance sustainability and address the urgent crisis of climate change.” At no point

does the statement mention how much money will be diverted out of the fossil fuel industry as a result of this ‘decision’ — likely because the number is zero.

The reality? Tufts doesn’t have any direct investments in coal and tar sands companies, and it hasn’t for at least six years.

Instead, it has millions of dollars invested in fossil fuel corporations through mutual funds. These investments will remain unchanged by this decision.

To its credit, Tufts has committed to invest $10 million to $25 million in positive impact funds related to climate change over the next five years, but this is just a tiny fraction of its $1.9 billion endowment. Despite this small, positive step, Tufts’ investment in oil and gas companies that are wrecking the planet continues. The university’s latest statement amounts to little more than an effort to greenwash its image. Yet the press around this announcement allows Tufts to reap the optics-based rewards of pretending to care about climate change and its moral responsibility to help avert it. The statement mentions that “The university joins a small number of U.S. colleges and universities with similar-sized endowments of approximately $2 billion or more to prohibit investments in coal and tar sands companies,” implying that with this decision, Tufts is demonstrating leadership. Tufts missed the opportunity to lead 10 years ago.

Tufts’ announcement followed recommendations of a responsible investment advisory group of students, staff and trustees. The group was formed after sustained campaigning from student organizers and is at least the second working group of its kind that Tufts has agreed to since the divestment campaign began. We, the writers of this

piece, were a part of the first one in 2014.

In 2015, they told us “no” outright, even after a three-day sit-in involving more than 30 students. In 2021, it appears that the administration has simply gotten better at greenwashing.

It is overwhelmingly clear that where there’s a will, there’s a way. Institutions like the $140 billion University of California school system have fully divested and New York’s $226 billion pension fund will be fully divested in the next few years. Unfortunately, at a time when fossil fuel divestment has never been easier, Tufts is doubling down on its fossil fuel investments, putting out a disingenuous announcement that sows confusion and making it harder for student organizers to build a popular narrative about the need for divestment.

Gaslighting students and the public while continuing to profit from the climate crisis is not only disappointing; it’s dangerous. Putting short-term profit motives ahead of climate action will cost lives and continue the destruction of our planet. Tufts should not capitalize on the political benefits of divestment when, in reality, they are abdicating enormous responsibility for their students’ well-being. As alumni, we call on Tufts to pursue full divestment, meaning no investments in fossil fuel stocks, either directly or through mutual funds. Tufts has the ability to do this, and we’ll celebrate the university once its words match its actions.

Tufts alumni Shana Gallagher (LA‘17) and Lila Kohrman-Glaser (LA‘15) and former Tufts student Daniel Jubelirer are founders of the campaign to divest Tufts from fossil fuels. They can be reached at shanag888@gmail.com, lila.kohrmanglaser@gmail.com and danjube@gmail.com.

7 Tuesday, March 9, 2021

Elizabeth Buehl Building Blocks

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Tabula rasa

n the same way that looking into the past of the police system in the United States can help Americans decipher the roots of many of today’s problems with policing, digging into the history of the U.S. public education system illuminates the core of many of our present day injustices. In 1635, the first free American public school opened its doors, and over time, an increasing number of schools followed suit. The federal Department of Education was not established until 1867, and the Common Core, an effort to standardize education and a far cry from the religious curriculum that dominated the American school system centuries before, was not adopted until 2009. Today there are over 130,000 public schools nationwide that serve over 50 million children.

When thinking about my own very privileged educational history, I vividly remember my seventh grade American government teacher proclaiming to a class of eager students that, when in doubt, the answer is always John Locke. While he used this oversimplification ironically, he may have been right. In Locke’s “An Essay Concerning Human Understanding” (1689), he presented the idea that we are all born a blank slate, a tabula rasa, ready to be painted with acquired knowledge.

His philosophy laid the foundations for the secular education system that seeks to paint millions of K–12 students’ blank slates today. Yet, although President Biden’s campaign promised to “Ensure that no child’s future is determined by their zip code, parents’ income, race, or disability,” I firmly believe that not all slates are being painted with the same colors. Rather, one’s academic opportunities are largely determined by their socioeconomic status and race.

The framework for funding in the U.S. public school system draws a direct link between the taxes paid in a district and the funding a school receives. In Massachusetts alone, school districts like Berkley Town Schools spend just $12,103 per student annually, whereas districts like Truro Town Schools spend an astounding $47,592 per student. There’s one system to blame for this glaring discrepancy: property taxes.

We are now left to ask ourselves why, after countless past initiatives addressed in speeches — like former President Obama’s 2013 State of the Union address which brought about the idea of Promise Zones — we are still facing the same dilemma we have faced since the commencement of American public schooling. The answer to this question is multidimensional lines can be drawn toward ingrained racism, classism and overall inaction.

We must not dwell on past passivity, but rather wage war on the systems that are building a concrete ceiling for an undue portion of our nation’s knowledge-hungry youth. The responsibility to create lasting change rests on the shoulders of every member of our society. It is time that every American student is given the opportunity to paint their tabula rasa with vibrant hues that will propel them to a future in which they can chase their limitless dreams.

Elizabeth Buehl is a first-year who has not yet declared a major. Elizabeth can be reached at elizabeth.buehl@tufts.edu.

8 Tuesday, March 9, 2021

Isaac Karp Power to the Places

Protesting the 2022 Beijing Olympics

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his week, the World Uyghur Congress filed a complaint demanding that the International Olympic Committee cancel the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics.

The objection comes amid ongoing reports of human rights abuses by the Chinese government against Uyghur Muslims. The Chinese government denies any wrongdoing, insisting that the internment

Samuel Charlton Long Shot

Ryan Mundy and Alkeme Health

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his edition of “Long Shot,” which explores athletes’ ventures off the field, is about former NFL player Ryan Mundy. Drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2008, he

Sports

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camps to which an estimated one million Uyghurs have been confined are actually “vocational skills education centres” intended to combat poverty and crime.

The International Olympic Committee responded to the World Uyghur Congress’ demand with uncomfortable silence, essentially deflecting the decision to compete in Beijing to the countries and athletes themselves. It wouldn’t be the first time American athletes faced a momentous choice when it comes to Chinese politics.

In October 2019, during the height of the Hong Kong protests against Chinese rule, the then-general manager of the Houston Rockets Daryl Morey tweeted out the words “Fight for freedom, stand with Hong Kong.” Reaction inside and

outside of the league erupted immediately, with Morey finding himself in the middle of the ash cloud.

With little support from anyone besides the fans, it looked as though Morey would lose his job. Yet the league commissioner, Adam Silver, took a more tolerant approach in an attempt to appease every involved side.

According to Silver, the league would not limit anyone’s free speech, although he took no definite position on Morey’s statement. Meanwhile, many fans and media members pointed out hypocrisy in the league’s willingness to support domestic activism while discouraging protests directed at human rights abuses abroad. It would be hard to imagine a more perfect example of a business equivocating in the face of a moral challenge,

and clearly the NBA needs to discern its priorities.

Now the International Olympics Committee, participating countries and athletes themselves face a similar situation.

Political conflicts have been part of the Olympics from the start, but it appears doubtful that the Committee, like the NBA, will take a principled stand. Although, in 1980, under pressure from the U.S. Government, over 60 countries refused to attend the Olympics in Moscow to protest the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. In response, around 15 countries, including the Soviet Union, refused to attend the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles.

The Cold War seems an extreme case, but the precedent undoubtedly exists.

The American government has already openly accused China of human rights viola-

tions and genocide, but that does not necessarily mean they will have any objection to the upcoming winter games.

Unfortunately, the final choice may be left to the athletes themselves, who can only participate once every four years.

While the U.S. insists it will not enforce the infamous Rule 50 of the Olympic Charter, which prohibits players from protesting in any fashion, players still risk losing endorsements and deals with companies that have ties with China. It will take courage and sacrifice to make an effective statement at the Beijing games. The only question is who takes action first.

helped the team win the Super Bowl in his rookie season. During his successful eight-year NFL career, Mundy established himself as one of the best and hardest-hitting safeties in the league.

Since his retirement in 2015, Mundy’s success in the business world has been just as impressive as his work in the NFL. Mundy barely took a break after retiring, going straight into investing his funds into Bitcoin in 2016. He notably regrets pulling out of Bitcoin early, but the whole process helped him develop a love for investing.

In an attempt to better brand his investment activity, he found-

ed Techlete Ventures in 2017 and began to invest his funds through this vehicle. In 2018, Mundy took a step back from investing to found SWZLE, a company that focused on the production of reusable straws. Mundy built it into a successful brand that was sold in many major retail stores throughout the country, and the success of the brand led it to be acquired in October 2020.

After selling SWZLE, Mundy moved on to a true passion project of his, establishing a technology platform that caters to the mental health needs of the Black community. This was a cause

that hit close to home for Mundy, because he suffered from issues related to depression and anxiety towards the end of his NFL career and during the first portion of his retirement. All this resulted in the foundation of Alkeme Health in 2021, a platform currently under development that looks to address issues of mental health and wellness, particularly in the Black community.

Mundy is taking a slightly different route in building this company, as rather than bootstrapping the enterprise with his own funds, he opted for venture capital. In this method, private investors provide

funds to the business in exchange for equity. Mundy said in a Game Plan podcast that venture capital is a sort of treadmill that can be difficult to get off of, but the scale that he hopes Alkeme Health will reach and the speed at which he hopes to get there requires private investments like venture capital.

This injection of funds provided by venture capital has mainly been used to develop as effective a product as possible.

Isaac Karp is a first-year who has not yet declared a major. Isaac can be reached at isaac.karp@tufts.edu.

Samuel Charlton is a first-year who has not yet declared a major. Samuel can be reached samuel.charlton@tufts.edu.