The Tufts Daily - Monday, February 8, 2021

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Monday, February 8, 2021

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Tufts announces results of investigation into Jumbo statue mask incident

by Maddie Aitken and Alexander Janoff Executive News Editor and Deputy News Editor

Tufts University announced the conclusion of a five-monthlong investigation into an incident that occurred on Sept. 1.

The Tufts University Police Department was dispatched to the Jumbo statue where a group of three women of color were hanging a mask on the statue as part of a Jonathan M. Tisch College of Civic Life initiative to promote JumboVote and Healthy@Tufts.

The announcement, which came in the form of an email sent to the entire student body, was signed by Executive Vice President Michael Howard and

Associate Provost and Chief Diversity Officer for the Medford/ Somerville and Boston SMFA campuses Rob Mack.

In the email, Howard and Mack, co-chairs of the Working Group on Campus Safety and Policing, announced that the investigation found no evidence of discrimination on the part of the responding TUPD officers.

“Using the standard that is applied in such investigations, preponderance of evidence, [the investigators] did not find there was discrimination on the part of the TUPD officers responding to the call,” the email said.

However, Howard and Mack apologized for the university’s conduct prior to the matsee INVESTIGATION, page 2

TCU Senate discusses allegations of bias against TCU Judiciary, racism on campus

by Chloe Courtney-Bohl Assistant News Editor

The Tufts Community Union Senate discussed the upcoming hearing it will hold to review a complaint filed against the Tufts Community Union Judiciary in their virtual Sunday afternoon meeting.

The complaint alleges that the Judiciary exhibited bias in its handling of the referendum put forward by Tufts Students for Justice in Palestine. The senators also discussed the racist incident that occurred on Friday involving Karl Reid.

In an email to the Daily, TCU Parliamentarian Taylor Lewis outlined the nature of the complaint against the Judiciary.

Many details of this story, including who filed the complaint and its exact content, are still developing.

“Four members of the Tufts Community have filed a complaint against last semester’s TCUJ members, alleging a lack of recusal in the SJP referendum process which led to bias and further corruption in the TCUJ,” Lewis, a senior, said. “Specifically, Article 3 Subsection D 4a is alleged to have been breached.”

Article 3 Subsection D 4a of the TCU Constitution states that

“all persons appearing before the TCUJ have the right to a fair and impartial hearing on all matters requiring a binding vote …

Members of the TCUJ will be recused from a particular hearing if any litigant can demonstrate to the Judiciary, prior to the beginning of a hearing, that a particular TCUJ member is not in a position to be objective.”

During the Senate meeting, Lewis explained that the Senate will hold a hearing against the Judiciary to review the complaint, as is mandated by the TCU Constitution. During the hearing, the senators will hear evidence from witnesses on both sides. They will also refer to the official written complaint and the Judiciary members’ formal responses.

After the hearing, senators will vote via secret ballot to determine what, if any, disciplinary action to take against the Judiciary members.

Lewis anticipates that the hearing will be held during a closed session, meaning Tufts community members cannot attend. It is tentatively scheduled for Feb. 28.

TCU Diversity Officer Matthew Peña then led a discussion about see TCU SENATE, page 3

FEATURES

ANN MARIE BURKE / THE TUFTS DAILY

Jumbo is pictured wearing a mask on Sept. 6, 2020.

CIRCLE poll finds increased youth engagement, participation in 2020 election

by Sarah Sandlow Deputy News Editor

The Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE) published a study on Jan. 12 that revealed high levels of youth leadership and engagement in the 2020 presidential election.

The poll results also detailed the issues motivating young people in the 2020 election cycle and their priorities for the Biden administration.

Peter de Guzman, research program coordinator at CIRCLE, said the data for the post-election poll was collected between Nov. 3 and Dec. 2 and surveyed a population of 18–29-year-olds. He explained that the study was conducted to better understand the perspectives of groups often overlooked by political campaigns.

“One thing that’s unique about surveying 18–29-yearolds, and especially [doing] oversamples of young people of color, these are people that are often left out of many political conversations and not contacted by campaigns and, instead, we kind of rely on assumptions about their engagement and their attitudes toward engagement,” de Guzman said.

Kristian Lundberg, a researcher at CIRCLE and a co-author of the study, said the poll results revealed many ways young people mobilized during this election cycle, through both voting and political activism. He gave credit to young people of color and young women for leading many of the efforts.

“Overall, we saw a lot of youth leadership and youth engagement in 2020 leading up to the

You Gotta Know: Alecia McGregor examines US health care through a historical perspective

by Ari Navetta

Assistant Features Editor

election, and we’re hoping to see that continue after the election where young people sort of take all of the infrastructure that they’ve built over the past four years and sort of continue to become leaders in their communities and in civic engagement,” Lundberg said.

Abby Kiesa, deputy director of CIRCLE and co-author of the study, explained how, as early as May and June 2020, overall youth engagement in the 2020 election was higher than in 2016. The study suggests that youth voter turnout in 2020 saw an increase of five to 11 percentage points above the 2016 election.

“One of the things we’ve learned … is that young people’s experiences and pathways into civic engagement can be very different,” Kiesa said. “We saw a huge number of organizations, a huge number of people really doing outreach to young people this year and that included incredible numbers of young people themselves.”

Lundberg said that young people see a variety of different issues as priorities for the Biden administration, including creating jobs, making a COVID-19 vaccine widely available and unifying Americans. Young people who voted for former President Donald Trump saw restoring law and order as a high priority, while young people who voted for President Joe Biden saw combating violence against people of color as a higher priority for the administration. “[This] just goes to show you that young people aren’t a monolith,” Lundberg said.

“Young people have a variety of

The idiosyncratic failings of the U.S. health care system have always been present in the life of Alecia McGregor, assistant professor of community health. McGregor was born in a working-class North Miami, Fla. neighborhood to Jamaican immigrants, and government support was critically important to her family’s well-being.

“I come from a big family of seven children,” McGregor said.

“My folks are working-class so all of the different programs like [the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program], food stamps, Medicaid — all the different programs that are so vital to our safety net — myself and my siblings all benefited from those.”

It was an undergraduate course, however, that McGregor took as a first-year student at Harvard University, that solidified her interest in health equity.

The course, titled, “Explaining HIV and AIDS,” taught McGregor the impact of social determinants on health and the importance of destigmatizing health issues.

According to McGregor, the risk groups for HIV were colloquially referred to as the “Four H’s” — Haitians, heroin users, hemophiliacs and homosexuals.

“It’s just horribly stigmatizing … there are so many reasons why HIV became this enormously stigmatized and racialized and … neglected disease,” McGregor said.

This experience also awakened an activist side of McGregor.

“I became involved in things like the Student Global AIDS Campaign. I was participating in protests and actions, and we formed our own political action committee as part of a Black women’s organization on cam-

see ELECTION, page 2

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Olivia Rodrigo gets driver’s license, instant stardom

Elitism on Wall Street, impact of GameStop decline

The 10 most influential moments in 2020 sports

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THE TUFTS DAILY | News | Monday, February 8, 2021

THE TUFTS DAILY Megan Szostak Editor in Chief

— EDITORIAL — ALEJANDRA CARRILLO ETHAN STEINBERG Managing Editors

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TCU President Wiener recognizes further work to be done INVESTIGATION

continued from page 1 ter. Specifically, they reported that the lack of communication between university departments and the TUPD played a role in the incident’s outcome. “[The investigators] confirmed that prior to the interaction with the police officers, departments within the university made mistakes—including not notifying TUPD—that contributed to the incident which, as the report notes, negatively impacted the project participants,” the email said. “On behalf of the entire university administration, we apologize to the students and staff members for our errors that led to this incident.”

Matt Tolbert, former student chair of JumboVote, questioned the role of TUPD on campus.

“What TUPD [did] was nothing short of harassment and is embarrassing, but sadly that is what policing in the country is designed to do: harass and intimidate,” Tolbert wrote in an electronic message to the Daily. “We have to ask ourselves as a university community whether having a full fleet of police cruisers and officers is necessary to keep us safe, as well as who actively feels less safe by their presence.”

Tolbert added that he was not surprised by the results of the investigation.

“I found the results of the investigation to be what I expected, an acknowledgement of harm done, what seems to be thorough research, and rather clerical,” Wiener wrote in an email to the Daily.

She added that she was happy to see that we have the Working Group on Campus Safety and

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Policing and that various offices on campus are offering holding spaces for students. However, she acknowledged that there is still a lot of work to be done. “​I think there is a clear need for Tufts to reimagine what campus policing and surveillance look like,” Wiener said. “If events like this cease to exist, and if particularly historically marginalized students can feel safe on-campus, I think then it will be clear the situation was handled correctly.”

According to the email signed

by Mack and Howard, the investigation looked into whether the circumstances of the incident would support the fact that there was disparate treatment. Specifically, the investigators looked at policies and practices regarding the climbing of the Jumbo statue, number of officers responding, officers carrying arms and general decision-making.

The investigation also looked deeply into the treatment of project participants in comparison to the passerby who assisted them with the art installation.

In many cases, the affected parties request an investigation from the university. In this case, it was the university itself that ordered an investigation.

According to Jill Zellmer, executive director of the Office of Equal Opportunity, Title IX coordinator and 504 officer, this is because the university determined an investigation was required even though no one had come forward to request it.

The university outsourced this investigation to Sanghavi Law Office which, according to the email, specializes in civil rights and education law. According

to Zellmer, Tufts outsourced the investigation to prevent a conflict of interest.

“In OEO, we sometimes feel as though a conflict may occur if someone internally who’s paid

by OEO investigates this type of matter,” Zellmer said. “We also wanted to be sure that we were above and beyond reproach in this matter.”

According to Zellmer, it is a frequent practice of OEO to outsource internal investigations in this way.

Mack said the university has been in contact with those involved since the incident began and has been discussing and will continue to discuss in what ways the university can make the campus feel like a safer place for everyone moving forward. “[We have discussed] what this means for them and how we can take actions moving forward to ensure healing and ensure that their time on this campus is safe for them,” Mack said. “In addition to that… [we know] that an incident like this doesn’t just impact…the two students and one staff member; it impacts the larger community.”

Wiener echoed the impact of the incident, and how she felt when the incident first happened back in September.

“I felt frustrated and unsurprised that this miscommunication [that caused officers to arrive at the Jumbo statue] re-affirmed that campus is often inhospitable for people of color,” Wiener said.

Mack said that the university was in contact with several groups on campus and has planned a town hall meeting

with the goal of providing support and healing for the entire community.

“We’ve recently had some meetings with different stakeholders on campus like the Division of Student Diversity and Inclusion,” Mack said. “We have an upcoming town hall where people have a chance to ask questions and engage in this process, and we will take feedback and work towards solutions.”

Howard also referenced the upcoming conclusion of a months-long workstream initiated last year by University President Anthony Monaco in an effort to make Tufts an anti-racist institution. This specific working group, co-chaired by Howard and Mack, was centered on campus safety and policing.

“I would say generally that the process has [had] extensive engagement with members of our community over a period of months,” Howard said. “I think they should expect to see many of the types of changes or shifts in direction from campus safety and policing on campus…clearly addressed in the findings and recommendations that are in the report.”

Howard and Mack said that it’s a priority of the university to take action that allows the Tufts community to heal and move forward.

“Ultimately, we need to take restorative actions to enable our community to heal from this incident and chart a new path forward for campus safety that serves the needs of our entire community and fully embraces anti-racist practices,” the email said.

CIRCLE reports both similarities and differences between young Biden voters, young Trump voters ELECTION

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continued from page 1 interests and issues that affect their lives, and it’s not as if one issue in particular is going to be the magic bullet to enable a certain candidate to win support from all young people.”

De Guzman added that there were not many large gaps between issues that Biden voters want addressed and those that Trump voters want addressed. Young people care about a wide range of issues that are not fully divided along partisan lines.

Another key finding, which is still an area for further inquiry and research, detailed that young people who voted for Biden are more engaged and likely to be more confident in their civic power than young people who voted for Trump.

However, Lundberg explained that this lower level of engagement was not a question of apathy but rather a result of less campaign outreach to young people.

“What we found was that the Republican Party even contacted young Republican voters at lower rates than the Democratic Party contacted young Democratic

voters,” Lundberg said. “This lack of contact also extends toward other organizations and other political actors that provide information on how to vote to young people.”

A follow-up study was published on Jan. 25, which polled young people on how they were reached during the 2020 election cycle. According to the poll results, 55% of young people found election information from at least one social media platform. The most common way young people were reached was still through family and friends.

Kiesa explained how young people worked to convince other young people to vote through a variety of different mechanisms, which was necessary to reach a more diverse population leading up to the 2020 election.

“This was such an unusual election and tons of organizations were mobilizing to make sure that people who wanted to vote had the information that they [needed],” Kiesa said. “There was so much effort to make sure that people had information tailored to them so that they could figure out how they wanted to vote and where

to do that. One of the results is that we saw potentially historic turnout amongst young people, maybe one of the highest in decades.”

Kiesa noted, however, that there is still some skepticism among young people about the legitimacy of the 2020 election, as well as concerns about the United States’ ability to hold fair and free elections in the future.

This is more the case for young Trump voters than for young people who voted for Biden.

Lundberg said young people are concerned about the state of democracy in the United States and still hold the belief that they must continue the work they began before the election.

“It’s definitely not necessarily the case that young people are declaring victory. In fact, young people, I think in our poll, are very clear that they’re going to try to continue a lot of the amazing activism they led back in the summer and in 2020,” Lundberg said.

NICOLE GARAY / THE TUFTS DAILY

The Tufts cannon is pictured on election day on Nov. 3, 2020 painted in support of Joe Biden.

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Monday, February 8, 2021 | News | THE TUFTS DAILY

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TCU senators take issue with Tufts’ addressal of racial issues TCU SENATE

continued from page 1 the racist incident that occurred Friday during Reid’s presentation on the importance of diversity and inclusion in the field of engineering.

“It was really disrespectful and disappointing because it was clear that Dr. Karl Reid … had put so much time in putting together the material, and I applaud him for keeping his composure, but it definitely rattled everybody who was in the Zoom meeting,” Class of 2024 Senator Hadiya Giwa said in the meeting.

Later, during the meeting’s open forum, multiple TCU senators expressed dissatisfaction with Tufts’ handling of incidents of racism on campus.

Latinx Community Senator Carolina Olea Lezama voiced frustration at what she feels is an insincere commitment to anti-racism from the university administration. “[You can’t] just slap a name onto yourself and create committees to brand something when you’re never going to want to change the root problems,” Olea Lezama, a junior, said. “They’re putting a bunch of things to pretend, but … I just feel like there’s no way to ever get to the root of power.”

“I just feel like we’re always put to the side; we’re always not the priority because we’re not the ones with a lot of money, we’re not the donors, we’re not the ones who are at the

table,” First Generation College Student Community Senator José Martinez, a junior, said.

“It’s always going to have to be like this, unfortunately, for Black people [and] Latinos.”

TCU President Sarah Wiener then provided updates on several of the Senate’s ongoing projects.

Wiener, a senior, announced that the Senate will work with the Tufts University Social Collective to organize Wellness Week during what would normally be spring break. In addition to organizing mental health and mindfulness programming, the Senate will encourage professors not to assign heavy workloads or exams during that week, which will run from March 22–26.

Wiener also reported that several members of the TCU Senate Executive Board have met with University Infection Control Health Director and Assistant Professor Michael Jordan and Medical Director Marie Caggiano to begin longer-term discussions about how best to communicate with the student body about the status of COVID-19 on campus.

TCU Treasurer Sharif Hamidi briefly discussed the schedule for the upcoming budgeting season, the time of year when the Senate approves the annual budgets of the 300+ TCUrecognized student organizations. The process will begin the week of Feb. 8, when Hamidi, a senior, will lead mandatory

budgeting trainings for all organizations who are requesting budgets.

Hamidi also submitted an abstract to the Senate that proposes the creation of a trust within the TCU Judiciary. The trust would designate funds to be used for on-campus, in-person programming once the public health crisis is over. Hamidi explained that the funds would go toward planning events for recent graduates and current students who have missed out on traditional celebrations because of the pandemic.

TCU Senate heard one supplementary funding request from the Robotics Club for a programming workshop it is holding for club members.

SOPHIE DOLAN / THE TUFTS DAILY

Ballou Hall is pictured on Jan. 23.

COVID-19 AT TUFTS

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McGregor describes hope for health care reform HEALTH CARE

continued from page 1 pus,” McGregor said. “I ran the action committee and it was at that time that I really decided to commit my life to this work.”

After college, McGregor moved to Washington, D.C. She first worked at the German Marshall Fund of the United States, a non-partisan think tank created to promote transatlantic cooperation and to repay the United States for the post-World War II Marshall Plan that revitalized Europe economically “We worked on something called aid effectiveness — how to improve the effectiveness of foreign aid from European countries and the U.S. to poor and middle-income countries,” McGregor said. “I also worked in HIV/AIDS policy and evaluation for a community-based organization called Metro TV in southeast Washington, D.C.” According to McGregor, the capital city was not actually the bastion of goodwill that organizations such as the German Marshall Fund and Metro TV made it seem.

“It was very sad to learn just the amount of utter neglect of Black populations that was occurring just blocks away from the White House — from the Capitol, from the halls of power in the wealthiest nation in the world,” McGregor said. “For me as a 20-something-year-old, when I got there, it was just mind-blowing. It was appalling.”

After attending graduate school, McGregor was drawn again to the world of academia.

“There’s a certain kind of idealism that [undergraduates] still have, and so we can get into many more questions about how to shape the world that we want to see, versus working with the world that we already have,” McGregor said.

McGregor then joined the community health faculty at Tufts.

“What brought me to Tufts was the community health department … it had just become a department when I started, [and] the ability to be in a place that has that clear social justice focus, and that really is student-focused,” McGregor said. “It’s at the undergrad level, which is distinct from a lot of the other public health departments across the country.”

For the past few decades, health care has been a constant subject of media attention and political debate, and McGregor’s teaching career so far has coincided with a particularly eventful era in health care policy. The Affordable Care Act was passed in 2009 –– McGregor’s first year of graduate school –– and brought about one of the most significant health care reforms in U.S. history. The Trump presidency then brought major challenges to the act. “[President Trump] passed rules for states to join, or to create Medicaid work requirements, which was a way to diminish the

number of people who could access Medicaid,” McGregor said.

“We also saw him loosen up the requirements for health insurance policies on the exchanges, so they didn’t provide the coverage … it wasn’t as comprehensive as it once was required to be, and they could deny people based on pre-existing conditions.”

The COVID-19 pandemic has also provided ample discussion material in McGregor’s classroom. Her research and teaching focus is on political determinants of health and health care inequality, which have become ever-present to the public over the past 11 months.

“Political determinants of health can also be considered a type of social determinant of health … but political determinants are specific to how relationships of power — mostly formal political power — the role of social movements, the role of mass public opinion, political parties and others, come to bear on how our health system is arranged, which is one of my big interests, and also the health of the population, and the health inequalities that we have,“ McGregor said.

McGregor outlines a broad history of health care policy in America that has developed into the fragmented mosaic we have today. The way the United States itself was created is a fundamental aspect of this process.

“This is a federalist republic … so states have a lot of jurisdiction over health policies,” McGregor said. “During COVID-19, the federal administration … left it up to the states to take the lead on responding. As a result, things like testing rates, and the vast differences that we’re seeing in vaccination rates all over, and the supply chain issues, all of that has been really hindered in a big way.”

The rise of employer-sponsored health insurance came about during World War II, a feature with disastrous effects for times of widespread job loss such as the current pandemic.

“During World War II, there were wage freezes that were enacted, so one of the ways that employers attracted new talent was to offer benefits and health insurance,” McGregor said. “Eventually, the [Internal Revenue Service] passed a law that essentially gave a tax benefit to employers for offering this.

And then over time, that kind of became entrenched in the system, and it became the dominant way that we receive health insurance: through employer-sponsored insurance.”

This fragmented system was further modified by reforms in the second half of the 20th century.

“Medicare and Medicaid come about [in the 1960s], and then we end up having the system of employer-sponsored insurance with Medicare here and Medicaid there,” McGregor

said. “And for veterans, they have the [Veterans Affairs], and then eventually, we have the Children’s Health Insurance Program that comes about in the ‘90s. It’s a very fragmented system that obviously has massive gaps … in our system, there is lots of inefficiency, lots of ways that resources are wasted and then, at the end of the day … the U.S. spends more than any other country in the world on health care, but we are lagging way behind in health outcomes.”

This system, as well as policy actions taken since 2016, has created a perfect storm for a pandemic. According to McGregor, the Trump administration’s choices to withdraw the United States from the World Health Organization and not open special health care enrollment periods have exacerbated the effects of COVID-19. A policy of denialism has allowed the disease to fester needlessly.

“In the earlier days of HIV and AIDS, a former South African president, Thabo Mbeki, was known for denying HIV and AIDS saying that it wasn’t real, and that led to an uptick in cases in South Africa,” McGregor said. “Now, in the age of COVID-19, we see the Trump administration certainly downplaying and practicing some denialism, also [President] Bolsonaro in Brazil practicing denialism … and Brazil now has the second-highest number of [COVID-19] deaths.”

According to McGregor, health care will forever be a political issue in America, but it is possible to provide it some much-needed stability.

“Health policy is considered part of what you would call distributive politics, whereby we do need to raise taxes or government revenues in some way in order to provide health care that’s at least partially paid for by the government,” McGregor said. “In our political landscape, anything that’s about taxes, and affecting people’s pocketbooks, is ultimately a very highly politicized issue.”

McGregor attributes some of Americans’ reluctance to embrace federal health care reforms to stigma surrounding receiving government assistance.

“In the U.S., we have this thing called American exceptionalism where we think we should pull ourselves up by our bootstraps,” McGregor said.

“There’s this looking down on government assistance, which is so crucial and critical … the role of the government is of fundamental importance to overall public health; there’s just no way around it, especially in a crisis like this, when so many people are out of work.”

While many Americans reject the idea of entitlements outright, those who need them most, despite accepting them, receive only a fraction of the care they need.

“Our health care system, and the vast inequities that are really embedded in it, are what set us up this way … the notions of who the undeserving poor are versus who the deserving poor are have played a big role in who has access to care,” McGregor said. “People of color — Black, Latinx, indigenous people — are being hugely impacted by the virus, especially when it comes to hospitalizations and deaths … this long-standing, what we would call structural racism, has predisposed communities of color to worse outcomes and abysmal lack of visible access to health care.”

In order to provide more consistent health care, this mindset needs to change to be more accepting of government involvement in the health care system, according to McGregor.

“In countries where the provision of health care and other social services is just taken as a given, it’s not questioned as to whether or not it’s the role of the government,” McGregor said.

“Many countries have health care as a human right written into their constitution. In the United States, we don’t have that.”

Increased government involvement in regulating health care may seem impossible in today’s political climate, but large-scale government benefits have made the transition before.

“When [Social Security] was first passed in 1935, it wasn’t necessarily a given the way that it is now, and I think over time, these massive social programs that are considered entitlements, it takes time for them to embed themselves into the culture and into a political institution,” McGregor said.

Many hope that a similar acceptance could occur with health care,, especially considering the national media attention received by Senator Bernie Sanders’ Medicare for All plan during his 2020 U.S. presidential campaign.

COVID-19 has exacerbated and made increasingly clear some deep faults in our nation’s health care system. It has affected the daily life of every American, professors and students included.

“We’re teaching with a dark cloud over us, and we’re trying to help students make sense of this cloud so we can get out from under it,” McGregor said about her work during the pandemic.

But the past 11 months have provided some critical lessons as well, ones that apply especially to students and young people.

“What I would say is to just pay close attention to what we’re seeing unfold; things are happening rapidly … as students are thinking critically about where we’re at as a country, and where we need to go moving forward, I encourage them to draw on all they’ve learned in their classes, and outside of class, especially about history, about what we’ve learned from the past,” McGregor said. “And really just be bold, and it’s obvious that people in power don’t always know what to do.

So they can have a tremendous advisory role if they make their voices heard and reach out.”

Community Health Professor Alicia McGregor poses for the Daily outside of her office.

FRANK MA / THE TUFTS DAILY ARCHIVES

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Monday, February 8, 2021

‘Drivers License’ is just the beginning for Olivia Rodrigo

by Camille Shimshak Contributing Writer

TikTok, the video-sharing social networking app that has swept the world during the pandemic, has brought new meaning to internet virality. The app has launched musicians, dancers, fashion influencers and more into overnight worldwide stardom. One of its most recent targets is Olivia Rodrigo and her emotionally saturated, painfully relatable heartbreak anthem: “Drivers License” (2021). The song is a phenomenon that has become almost impossible to avoid. In its first week, Rodrigo’s lead single debuted at No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot 100 and set Spotify’s record for most streams in one week worldwide. The music industry has its eyes on Rodrigo, as the song shatters previous notions of what a breakout single is

capable of and shows no signs of slowing down.

Rodrigo is a proud member of Taylor Swift’s school of music, as seen through her heartfelt, honest lyricism and storytelling.

“Drivers License” catalogs the experience of Rodrigo getting her driver’s license, something she and the boy who broke her heart had “always talked about.”

She describes driving alone past his house and even cathartically admits in the song’s harmonious bridge, “I still f—–g love you.”

However, producer Dan Nigro’s complex production and inventive arrangements make her stand out against other young female singer-songwriters, leading fans to dub her the lovechild of Taylor Swift and Lorde. An early contender for the 2022 Grammy’s Song of the Year award, the single reads like an intimate journal entry and plays like a cinematic masterpiece.

Olivia Rodrigo’s debut single ‘Drivers License’

The viral sensation that is “Drivers License” can be attributed to a perfect storm of factors: the quality and relatability of the song itself, support from celebrities such as TikTok star Charli D’Amelio and Taylor Swift that maximized its reach and — potentially the most powerful catapult to virality — a compelling scandal. Rodrigo, a seasoned teen TV actress, currently stars in the Disney+ series, High School Musical: The Musical: The Series.

Some believe that Rodrigo’s co-star, Joshua Bassett, is the boy in “Drivers License.” Fans combed through each line, piecing together a story of an alleged love triangle between Rodrigo, Bassett and Sabrina Carpenter, another Disney star thought to be Bassett’s new love interest and, as Rodrigo supposedly identified her in a now-famous lyric, “…that blonde girl/Who always made me doubt.” The details

CAMILLE SHIMSHAK / THE TUFTS DAILY

of the supposed love triangle sparked widespread debate and conversation, as social media detectives each contributed their research, theories and opinions to the case — predominantly over TikTok. Less than a week after the release of “Drivers License,” Bassett dropped “Lie Lie Lie” (2021), a song whose lyrics seem to match up with the speculated narrative, even though a demo was posted in 2019 and their rumored breakup is thought to have occurred sometime in 2020. “Lie Lie Lie” stirred up rumors of it all being a publicity stunt, with its fishy timing and suspiciously similar music video to that of “Drivers License.”

Then, on Jan. 22, Sabrina Carpenter made her grand appearance. She dropped a surprise single, entitled “Skin,” featuring very pointed lyrics to Rodrigo’s “Drivers License.”

Carpenter’s bubbly melody and soft tone, reminiscent of Ariana Grande, address Rodrigo directly through lines such as, “Maybe you didn’t mean it/ Maybe ‘blonde’ was the only rhyme.” Carpenter’s response tells the story of triumphing over criticism and a publicly constructed narrative that she feels strays from the truth. As fans pit the three songs against each other, choosing sides and contemplating the rights and wrongs of each actor in the love story dominating popular culture, they continue to soar in the charts.

At the core of this frenzy lies the near-universal experience

of teenage heartbreak. Rodrigo’s plea has been heard and echoed by young people nationwide, as they fit themselves into the narrative, identifying as the heartbreaker, the heartbroken or maybe even “that blonde girl.”

It has long been argued that teenage girls are the driving force of the pop music industry despite the harsh criticism that teenage fandom may elicit. According to a survey conducted by Morning Consult, young adults are twice as likely to prefer streaming music than adults. If one looks back on truly viral musical phenomena, such as Beatlemania or the Rolling Stones, they are often carried by the earnest, obsessive admiration of a predominantly young female fanbase. “Drivers License” and its responses speak directly to these young people, and are thus being carried toward infamy.

However, one is forced to wonder what the long-term impact of such a fast and drama-filled rise to fame will be on these three burgeoning stars.

Rodrigo’s own inspiration, Taylor Swift, was the victim of widespread public criticism regarding her character and dating history. Has the story of “Driver’s License” shifted too far away from the celebration of Rodrigo and her powerful and heartfelt debut, and instead toward the media trap of pitting two talented women against each other? Regardless, one thing is clear above all of the noise: Rodrigo is a pop powerhouse and this is only the beginning for her.

‘Cobra Kai’ Season 3 kicks up two gears and down one more

by Drew Weisberg Arts Editor

Disclaimer: This review contains spoilers for Season 3 of “Cobra Kai.” “Cobra Kai” (2018–), the YouTube-Red-turned-Netflix sequel series to the 1984 classic martial arts teen drama “The Karate Kid,” is far better than it has any right to be.

Presided over by the dueling performances of William Zabka and Ralph Macchio, both returning to their respective roles as martial artists Johnny Lawrence and Daniel LaRusso, the series hails the return of the rivalry between the Cobra Kai dojo and LaRusso, trained in the original film by the legendary Mr. Miyagi (Noriyuki “Pat” Morita). In addition to the franchise veterans, the show introduces a bevy of supporting students for the two teachers like Johnny’s neighbor and first student, Miguel (Xolo Maridueña), Johnny’s son, Robby (Tanner Buchanan), Daniel’s daughter, Samantha (Mary Mouser), and Miguel’s friend, Hawk (Jacob Bertrand).

The performances from the younger actors range from passable to excellent, but they all do a more than serviceable job delivering the zippy one-liners and quick quips that permeate the series’ dialogue. At its core, “Cobra Kai” is still a semi-soap opera that walks, talks and acts just like an ’80s movie, for better or worse.

Taking place in what can only be described as a parallel universe with considerably weaker assault and battery laws, the first two seasons saw fights erupt between the warring dojos in the streets, at parties and finally culminating in an all-out martial arts war in the local high school, which saw heavy physical and mental casualties on both sides. The ending felt as though the world had shattered and left the viewers with the question, “Where do you go for a third season?”

The answer is, “two steps forward and one step back.”

The third season begins with the two karate masters striking an uneasy alliance to defeat Johnny’s hyper-aggres-

sive ex-sensei and the man who stole Cobra Kai from him, Kreese.

From there, the season plays out from the first days of school to winter break, which sees the formation of a third dojo, a plot to end the annual All-Valley Karate tournament, a trip to Japan and various other side adventures and detours as the cast moves through the half year.

The size of the cast does seemingly become unwieldy in this third season, and, contrary to previous seasons, relationships being the driving force behind every action gives way to a plot-centric approach. This isn’t inherently a poor choice, as it allows for strong moments like Daniel reading some of Mr. Miyagi’s lost letters. However, it also allows for weaker plots like Robby being bullied in juvenile detention. The isolated storytelling hits more often than it misses, but it pales in comparison to the story flow of previous seasons, which felt effortless. It also feels as though the writers had run out of ideas for what to do with certain characters, as Daniel’s many detours occasion-

ally feel contrived. His arc this season is almost non-existent and the solution was to send him on various side activities that can hopefully be paid off in a more impactful way in future seasons.

The plot-centric approach also frames the show in a far more binary, “good versus bad” light. Previous seasons celebrated both sides as having valid points and heralded the rare message that there are two sides to every story and that they’re both worth hearing. In Season 3, though, attempts to give someone like Kreese more depth and draw sympathy falls flat when he regularly performs morally repugnant acts. On the other hand, a few allegiance switches occur after only a cursory line or two. In short, the consistency of character development feels weaker compared to the two previous seasons.

These are not cataclysmic issues, but they do lead to several reveals in the season finale that don’t feel as impactful as they ought to and could have been saved by better setup.

The third season of “Cobra Kai” feels like a very entertaining filler arc. The characters are either a blast to root for or fun to hate, the fights remain a strong suit (occasional choreography hiccups notwithstanding) and the ascendant, ’80s-inspired soundtrack continues to slap like there’s no tomorrow. Be that as it may, this season reveals a few cracks in the wall and one can only hope that the payoff is worth the setup.

VIA IMDB

A promotional poster for Season 3 of the Netflix series “Cobra Kai” is pictured.

6

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Opinion

7 Monday, February 8, 2021

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GameStop’s rise and fall in the not-so-free market, what it means for young investors

by Jake Blum

Contributing Writer

Between an attempt at insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, a second impeachment and the continued havoc wreaked by COVID-19, January was a chaotic dumpster fire.

In case that wasn’t already enough news to fill an entire year, we’re experiencing one of the most significant short squeezes — when a heavily shorted stock gains massive value — in recent memory.

During the week of Jan. 24, shares in GameStop — a company that many thought was approaching failure before this month — skyrocketed. At one point, the stock gained 700%, reaching a premium close to those of Tesla, Netflix and other elites. This surge was incited by a group of investors in the subreddit r/WallStreetBets, who saw untapped potential in these stocks and amassed to buy copious shares.

“Untapped potential” is the key phrase. Many major hedge funds and individual investors were selling short on GameStop and other stocks, which is why, as of Saturday, Jan. 30, short sellers were down a net $54 billion in 2021. For this reason, when investment platform Robinhood, who facilitated a significant volume of GameStop trades, opted to restrict trading of the stock on Jan. 28, many were understandably skeptical. Robinhood has relationships with at least one prominent hedge fund, which raises suspicions of collusion in favor of Wall Street. Because of the aforementioned skepticism, the House of Representatives Financial Services Committee has launched an investigation that includes a hearing for CEO Vlad Tenev on Feb. 18. Additionally,

Shares in the GameStop skyrocketed in late January after amateur traders invested heavily in the company. there have been multiple lawsuits filed against Robinhood concerning negligence and a breach of contract.

Ever since trading of GameStop resumed on Friday, Jan. 29, the stock has plummeted. As of Feb. 5, GameStop has retreated to approximately $63.77 a share, which is still upwards of three times the price before its meteoric rise. Regardless, the result seems to be trending towards what many believe Robinhood desired: the erasure of the stock’s gains.

This timeline should be worrisome to the young investor. In a

field where there is already widespread gatekeeping and elitism, to see the gains of institutions blatantly prioritized over the gains of the individual provides further evidence that the market is free for only select groups.

It is especially concerning that Robinhood, whose mission states that they seek to “make investing friendly, approachable, and understandable for newcomers and experts alike,” isn’t supporting its primary clientele.

Exclusion of the many in favor of gains for the few is not a novel concept, especially in the context

of a wealthy elite infringing on the ambitions of the common man. The legal and structural frameworks used to perpetuate power have gained greater visibility. Whether it is through tax breaks, redlining that enforces racial and class segregation or a bevy of other systems that discriminate against the lower classes, the privileged in society always seem to find a way to remain on top. Now, to the apparent benefit of Goliath, the hedge funds, David, the common man, seems to have no chance at success.

The hypocrisy and irrationality of bolstering hedge funds at the expense of individual investors become increasingly apparent when you consider that substantial portions of the general population may support more progressive economic policy, in contrast with wealthier classes that have historically favored a more free market-oriented approach. A free market is a wonderful concept for wealthier individuals when it benefits them, but the moment it becomes detrimental to their interests, the word “free” is redefined.

Interestingly enough, many investors involved with r/ WallStreetBets were rather well off and primarily in their late twenties and early thirties. The

COURTESY WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

fact that this wasn’t a clear-cut generational issue makes assertions of elitism even more valid.

These individuals’ upper-middle-class status provides further evidence of a growing stratification between the wealthy elite and everyone else. Even those considered to be fairly privileged are still held down in a market that panders to solely the powerful and established.

So what does this mean for us, the young generation? For starters, we need to ensure that investing is not reserved for solely the ultra-wealthy and entrenched financial institutions. We must hold those who partake in corruption of the market accountable by engaging in discourse, trading stocks ourselves and following hearings and lawsuits. Most importantly, we need to stand up for and trust what we know. If events like this set a viable precedent, there is no telling the extent to which investing will become even more elitist and inaccessible.

At the end of the day, the market should be free for everyone, not for just those who control it.

Jake Blum is a first-year who has not yet declared a major. Jake can be reached at jacob.blum@tufts.edu.

8 Monday, February 8, 2021

SPORTS

2020: A year in review

by Jack Adgate and Ethan Ling

Contributing Writer and Staff Writer

In a year filled with turmoil, 2020 still managed to deliver a year of sensational performances and memorable moments in sports. Despite a global pandemic that threatened to shut down the entire sporting world, athletes were able to persevere and provide fans with a much needed reprieve from the harshness of reality. However, unlike other rankings of this nature, the moments that made this list may not be the most heartwarming, but rather the most polarizing sports stories of the year. Here are our picks for the most influential sports moments of 2020: 10. Lightning win the Stanley Cup Rivaling Los Angeles for the most successful city in sports over the past year, Tampa Bay has had its share of victories across major sports leagues. Most significant were the Tampa Bay Lightning of the NHL, who won their second Stanley Cup in franchise history. It was truly a magical run for the second-seeded Lightning, as they won two playoff series on their way to the Stanley Cup final on game-winning overtime goals. Anthony Cirelli netted the overtime game winner in the Eastern Conference Finals to send the team into the Stanley Cup Final, defeating the New York Islanders 2–1. After a back-andforth series with the Dallas Stars, the Lightning emerged victorious in six games, with defenseman Victor Hedman winning the Conn Smythe Trophy as the NHL playoff most valuable player.

9. Chiefs win the Super Bowl For the first time in half a century, the Kansas City Chiefs hoisted the Lombardi trophy as they triumphantly defeated the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl LIV. Led by superstar quarterback Patrick Mahomes, the Chiefs and their high-flying offense were able to overcome multiple double-digit deficits throughout the postseason to emerge victorious from the AFC. And in the Super Bowl, trailing by 10 points heading into the fourth quarter, the Chiefs were able to rally and outscore their opposi-

Matt Goguen Keepin up with the 617

Grading Red Sox offseason

A

fter a disappointing effort in the shortened 2020 MLB season, the Boston Red Sox headed into the offseason with more than enough holes in their roster. Although the offense was still considered elite by many baseball pundits, it was not consistent enough on a nightly basis to churn out victories. Additionally, the starting rotation and bullpen were nothing short of atrocious; they ranked 28th overall in ERA, 29th in earned runs and 30th in

tion 21–0 to wipe away the deficit and clinch the victory. For his phenomenal performance, 24-year-old Mahomes was crowned Super Bowl MVP, becoming the youngest-ever quarterback to receive the honor.

8. Liverpool secures the Premier League title, its first since 1990 In a dominant performance, Liverpool F.C. won the English Premier League Title in a 2020 season highlighted by a pause in play due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Led by electric wingers Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mané, the Reds ended the season 18 points ahead of runner-up Manchester City, and just one point away from the historic century mark in points. Little could go wrong for Liverpool, as their lethal attack was supplemented by Dutch defensive anchor Virgil Van Djik, the elite fullback duo of Scotsman Andrew Robertson and Englishman Trent Alexander-Arnold, and Brazilian goalkeeper Alisson Becker. The Reds conceded the fewest goals in the Premier League and did not lose a single match at their home stadium en route to their first championship in 30 years.

7. Dodgers win their first World Series in more than 30 years Led by new signing Mookie Betts and reigning National League MVP Cody Bellinger, the Los Angeles Dodgers claimed their first World Series crown since 1988. A combination of a stacked lineup, young pitching talent and a veteran core helped the Dodgers dominate Major League Baseball in a shortened season. After coming back from a 3–1 series deficit in the previous round, Los Angeles handled the Tampa Bay Rays in six games in the Fall Classic. Shortstop Cory Seager was named World Series MVP after an explosive offensive performance. Future Hall of Famer Clayton Kershaw finally won a ring and Los Angeles cemented itself as the city of champions in 2020.

6. Kim Ng: The first female GM in MLB history In a revolutionary year for women in sports, Kim Ng became the first female general manager in the history of Major League Baseball. The Miami Marlins, despite a successful 2020 campaign

that saw them win a playoff series, parted ways with Michael Hill to bring in Ng in November, who is also the first Asian American general manager in league history. Ng has worked in Major League Baseball front offices since 1991, and her years of hard work and resilience finally paid off as she now is at the helm of a franchise. Ng’s hiring is a light in the darkness of 2020, and while professional sports have progress to make in terms of inclusivity and equality for women, she is a symbol of change.

5. Khabib Nurmagomedov retires from the UFC as the undefeated, undisputed champion In a feat never achieved before in the history of UFC, Khabib Nurmagomedov retired from fighting without losing a single bout in his professional career. By defeating American Justin Gaethje in October, Nurmagomedov defended his position as the undisputed champion of the UFC lightweight division. Hanging up the gloves with an incredible 29–0–0 record, Nurmagomedov, if he stays in retirement, will go down as the most successful fighter in the history of mixed martial arts. The Russian solidified himself as the most dominant fighter of his weight class, as he defeated Conor McGregor, Dustin Poirier and Gaethje in his final three fights. Nurmagomedov announced his retirement immediately after his victory over Gaethje, citing his father’s recent passing from COVID-19 as the reason for his exit from the sport.

4. Sarah Fuller becomes the first woman to play and score in Power Five football Sarah Fuller made history in the months of November and December, becoming the first woman to not only play but also score in a Power Five conference football game. A goalkeeper for the Vanderbilt Commodores women’s soccer team, Fuller was called up to kick for the Commodores football team after coronavirus concerns sidelined the rest of the kickers on the team. On Nov. 28, Fuller opened the second half of a game against the University of Missouri with a squib

home runs. Although key arms such as Chris Sale and Eduardo Rodriguez missed the entire season due to their respective ailments, the numbers above are completely unacceptable for a team with a solid offense.

Red Sox Chief Baseball Officer Chaim Bloom, who was praised for his work in the Tampa Bay Rays’ front office, made it clear in the offseason that the Red Sox would be aggressive buyers this hot stove season. Although the offseason has been relatively slow for the rest of Major League Baseball, Bloom was busy with various deals that could potentially vault the Red Sox into the playoff picture in 2021.

Enrique Hernandez, UTIL: Grade: AOn Jan. 22, the Red Sox signed utility man Enrique (Kiké) Hernandez to a two-year, $14

million contract. He has a career slash line of .240/.313/.738 and is a remarkable fielder, something the Red Sox desperately needed last season. Expected to fill the role of Jose Peraza at 2B, Kiké will instantly provide a spark to the lineup. He’s currently slotted to be the ninth hitter, but his career hitting numbers give him some potential to be an effective hitter at Fenway.

Additionally, as a utility man, he can be placed at any position on the field, other than catcher. A versatile player like Hernandez is someone each baseball team desperately searches for to add depth in the offseason.

Garrett Richards, SP: Grade: C+ Pitching is vital to an MLB organization’s success and is highly sought after during the offseason.

In 2020, it sometimes seemed like the Red Sox had a rag-tag group of Little Leaguers taking the hill.

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Kobe Bryant, who died tragically in January 2020, is pictured. kick, becoming the first woman to play football for a Power Five conference team. Two weeks later, in a game against the University of Tennessee, Fuller successfully completed two extra point kicks, becoming the first woman to score in a Power Five football game. After cementing her spot in college football history, Fuller has become a sports icon and role model for female athletes.

3. Lakers win the 2020 NBA Championship in the Bubble After three long, arduous months of playing in the NBA Bubble, the Los Angeles Lakers emerged victorious and secured their 17th championship. Led by the dominant duo of LeBron James and Anthony Davis, the Lakers breezed through their competition in the West before putting away the Miami Heat in six games in the finals. LeBron was named the Finals MVP for the fourth time in his illustrious career, while also becoming the first player in NBA history to win the award with three separate teams. With their victory, the Lakers clinched their first championship in a decade, while also tying the Boston Celtic’s record for the most NBA titles won by a single team.

2. Bucks and Magic cancel their game, NBA boycotts three playoff games to protest police brutality, racial injustice On Aug. 23, 2020, amid the Black Lives Matter protests, Jacob Blake, a 29-year-old Black man, was shot multiple times in the back by a police officer in Kenosha, Wis. In response, the Milwaukee Bucks refused to come out of their locker room to play their scheduled playoff game against the Orlando Magic,

citing that immediate action needed to take place with regard to the tragic shooting. The other playoff teams agreed to do the same, and the NBA boycotted three of their scheduled playoff games that day to protest police brutality and racial injustice. Several days later, players and team owners came together to discuss voting, police reform and other courses of action that needed to be taken before players were willing to resume the playoffs.

Ultimately, the NBA boycotts were a significant tipping point in the fight for social justice, empowering athletes to use their personal platforms to bring about substantial change.

1. The death of Kobe Bryant On Jan. 26, 2020, the sports world was shaken by the tragic news of Kobe Bryant’s passing. Kobe, his 13-year-old daughter Gianna and seven others were traveling to a youth basketball game when their helicopter suddenly crashed into a Calabasas hillside, killing all on board. Bryant’s death rocked the NBA world to its core, as he had profoundly influenced many current and former players throughout his historic 20-year tenure with the Los Angeles Lakers. To honor and preserve his memory, teams across the league started their games by intentionally taking on-court violations that paid homage to his renowned jersey numbers 8 and 24. NBA Commissioner Adam Silver also renamed the AllStar Game MVP Award to the NBA All-Star Game Kobe Bryant Most Valuable Player in his honor. Bryant was a global icon both on and off the court, and his name continues to be synonymous with the beautiful game of basketball.

Luckily, the management noticed the hole and signed journeyman Garrett Richards to a one-year, $10 million contract. Last season, Richards did not have eye-popping numbers off the mound: He was 2–2 with a 4.03 ERA, striking out 46 over 51 1/3 innings. He also carries injury baggage, which is worrisome for a 32-year-old pitcher. However, he’s shown flashes of All-Star potential in the past and hopefully can discover a new asset of his game. There were just too many good pitchers other than Richards on the market, so the Red Sox whiffed slightly on this signing.

Hunter Renfroe, OF: Grade: B+ A former division rival, Hunter Renfroe brings power to a juggernaut Red Sox lineup. Although in 2020 his stats did not exactly jump off the page — .156 AVG with a .645 OPS and eight homers — he showed some glimpses of consistency with

the Padres from 2017–2019. This wasn’t a terrible signing for the Red Sox, as Renfroe is yet another added bat that can drive in runs and protect leads late in games. He doesn’t give you amazing defensive statistics, but he’s able to hold his own at each outfield position.

The 2021 season will be a true test for Bloom’s front office; the Red Sox will have a full year of baseball and are bringing back Sale and Rodriguez as well as maintaining most of their lineup from last season. However, the Red Sox will face an uphill climb with the juggernaut AL East division. It’ll most likely be a growth year for the sputtering Red Sox, which might leave a sour taste in their fans’ mouths.

Matt Goguen is a sophomore who has not yet declared a major. Matt can be reached at matthew.goguen@tufts.edu.