The Tufts Daily - Thursday, October 26, 2023

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Thursday, October 26, 2023

VOLUME LXXXVI, ISSUE 8

UNIVERSITY

Students rally in solidarity with Palestine Aaron Gruen

Editor in Chief

Students across campus walked out of classes and protested yesterday in solidarity with Palestine.

The walk-out, which was organized

by Tufts Students for Justice in Palestine, began at 2:30 p.m. when more than 120 students congregated to chant and hear speeches outside Olin Center for Language and Cultural Studies.

“This turnout should signify to Tufts that a large amount of students, who prioritize this over their classes, are saying there cannot be business as usual while our institution is complicit in the genocide of the Palestinian people in Gaza,” a spokesperson for Tufts SJP told the Daily.

In addition to calling for an immediate ceasefire and an end to U.S. aid for Israel, Tufts SJP also had three specific demands for the Tufts administration.

“We demand that the university discloses its direct and indirect investments and fully divest from any companies that profit off of or fund Israeli apartheid, … that President Kumar releas-

KAITLYN WELLS / THE TUFTS DAILY

Demonstrators gathered outside Olin Center on Oct. 25. es a statement condemning the genocide in Palestine … and that the university end all programs and funded trips to the entirety of occupied Palestine,” the spokesperson said.

Patrick Collins, executive director of media relations, wrote that the “loss of life in Israel and Gaza is heartbreaking” in a statement to the Daily.

“We hold close in our hearts and thoughts all those who are suffering in the region and here at Tufts through such difficult times.

At moments such as these, it is important for Tufts to do what it does best as an institution of higher education: to teach and foster civil discussion in the spirit of learning,” Collins wrote. “The University leadership has been heartened by

UNIVERSITY

Panel discusses barriers to housing for formerly incarcerated people Samantha Eng

the facilitated conversations that have occurred at our schools over the past week, including multiple events on our campuses, and we look forward to creating more opportunities for dialogue and learning in the coming days.”

At the rally, the spokesperson for Tufts SJP criticized President Sunil Kumar’s Oct. 11 community-wide email that condemned

Mass. Attorney General Andrea Campbell reflects on her first year in office

The Petey Greene Program, Tufts University Prison Initiative of Tisch College and the City of Boston’s Office of Returning Citizens hosted a documentary screening and panel discussion on Oct. 18 titled “Overcoming Housing Barriers After Incarceration,” featuring social entrepreneur Yusuf Dahl.

When Dahl moved to Allentown, Pa. two years ago, his application to rent a house was denied because of a drug distribution sentence from 25 years prior. Frustrated that he couldn’t move to the school district he felt would best support his daughter’s education, Dahl wrote an op-ed for the Washington Post in 2022 and made a documentary with VICE Media called “Backgrounded.”

Dahl is now a co-founder of the Allentown-based Real Estate Lab and a trustee of the Petey

Still on the books today, the law has disproportionately impacted people of color.

In the documentary, Dahl describes how his housing application was denied, despite his credentials as a successful entrepreneur and Princeton graduate, because of the decades-old drug conviction from when he was a teenager.

“I spent the last 25 years working 16 hours a day to have the resources to put my family in this community,” he says.

“Yet because of that decision, it doesn’t matter.”

Some progressive cities like Berkeley and the state of New Jersey have passed “fair chance” legislation that outlaws criminal background checks for housing applicants. But Thurmond’s amendment remains in effect in Massachusetts.

Vasil acknowledged that some landlords view a formerly-incar

Features

Arts & Pop Culture

Opinion

Sports

TCU’s Freshman Faces

Acting Antoinette

McCarthy Mishap

Men’s Soccer Misses

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THE HEARD Listen to the latest episode!

see INCARCERATION, page 3

see PROTEST, page 3

UNIVERSITY

Greene Program, which connects incarcerated and formerly-incarcerated people to pre-college education opportunities. Joining him on the panel were Leslie Credle, executive director of Boston-based Justice 4 Housing, and Greg Vasil, CEO of the Greater Boston Real Estate Board.

“There’s this disproportionality when it comes to incarceration and the collateral consequences that ensue as a result,” Dahl said.

“We live in a society where if, in my case, you get caught with two ounces of marijuana, that’s a drug distribution charge and you can be legally denied housing for the rest of your life. But we don’t take that same approach to other mistakes people may make in life.”

In 1988, the segregationist Senator Strom Thurmond added an amendment to the Fair Housing Act that allowed landlords to deny housing to applications convicted of drug manufacturing or distribution.

Staff Writer

the Hamas attacks, saying he showed “complete disregard for the genocide in Palestine and for Palestinian lives.”

Following the initial demonstration at Olin, students marched to Ballou Hall, where Kumar’s office is located. Dozens entered the building and staged a sit-in, filling the first floor.

Inside Ballou, a student speaker criticized Tufts’ usage of products by companies such as HP, which manufactures computers used at Israeli checkpoints. The speaker also called on Tufts to stop selling products made by Pillsbury and Sabra; the former sold products manufactured in an East Jerusalem factory, and the latter has faced criticism for its co-owner’s support of the Israel Defense Forces’ Golani Brigade.

Collins said the university does not support boycotts, divestments or economic sanctions against Israel. “We have always been opposed to the BDS movement and our stance on divestment remains unchanged,” he wrote.

Caroline Vandis Associate Editor

Originally published Oct. 23.

Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell visited Tufts on Oct. 17 as part of Tisch College’s Solomont Speaker Series.

In a conversation with Taina McField, Tisch’s associate dean for strategy, Campbell reflected on her first year in office, discussing the office’s initiatives and the role faith and family has played in her career.

McField began the conversation by asking Campbell about her many personal and professional “firsts.” After being elected as the first female Boston City Councilor for District 4 in 2015, Campbell became the first Black woman to serve as City Council president in 2018. Campbell is also the first Black woman to hold her current office.

“There’s a real opportunity for us to lean into uncomfortable con-

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versations and to really get things done with a sense of urgency,” Campbell said. “That means taking on racial disparities, that means addressing white supremacy, that means addressing hate in all of its forms … so for me it’s an honor and a privilege.”

Campbell then talked about how her office is addressing these inequities, elaborating on the four new units that she had requested funding for back in April. The proposed fiscal year 2024 budget of almost $71 million included funding for units on reproductive justice, elder justice, gun violence prevention and police accountability.

“Everything we do is informed by the people,” Campbell said.

McField raised the question of mass incarceration, a significant issue for event co-sponsor the Tufts Petey Greene program. Campbell’s personal experience with the crim see CAMPBELL, page 3 News Features Arts & Pop Culture Fun & Games Opinion Sports

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Thursday, October 26, 2023

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T he T ufts D aily Aaron Gruen Editor in Chief

Editorial Henry Chandonnet Kaitlyn Wells Managing Editors

Julia Carpi Caroline Vandis Associate Editors Daniel Vos Elizabeth Zacks Carl Svahn Julieta Grané Arielle Weinstein Tvisha Goel Chloe Courtney Bohl

Executive News Editor Executive Features Editor Executive Arts Editor Executive Opinion Editor Executive Sports Editor Executive Science Editor Executive Investigative Editor Julia Shannon-Grillo Executive Editorial Editor

Multimedia Nina Zimmerman Chloe Nacson-Schechter Clint Chen Yena Ryoo Avril Lynch Bex Povill

Executive Audio Producer Executive Video Editor Executive Photo Editors Executive Graphics Editors

Committees Guillem Colom Intentionality & Inclusivity Chair Elizabeth Foster Education Chair Merry Jiao Marlee Stout Social Chairs Sam Berman Ty Blitstein Alumni Liasons

Production Olivia White Production Director Max Antonini Meghna Singha Executive Layout Editors Megan Amero Siya Bhanshali Executive Copy Editors Ella Dovey Mike Kourkoulakos Executive Social Media Managers Rachel Liu Executive Newsletter Editor

Business Ryan Sorbi Business Director Isabel Francis Assistant Business Director

Founded in 1980 The Tufts Daily is the entirely student-run newspaper of record at Tufts University in Medford, Mass. An editorially and financially independent organization, the Daily’s staff of more than 100 covers news, features, arts and sports on Tufts’ four campuses and in its host communities.

Land Acknowledgement The Tufts Daily office is located on the colonized land of the Massachusett people and within the territories of the Nipmuc and Wôpanâak (Wampanoag) tribes.

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UNIVERSITY

TUPD introduces new community building measures, including a comfort dog Michael Onysko

Contributing Writer

Originally published Oct. 25.

The Tufts University Police Department has introduced several initiatives in order to foster better relationships with the community, including a new comfort dog, Pepper.

Yolanda Smith, executive director of public safety, explained in an email to the Daily that Pepper will serve as a community resource, offering emotional comfort.

“Comfort dogs are an amazing mental health resource for community members who may have witnessed or experienced a traumatic situation,” Smith wrote.

Pepper is currently training off campus, but she will return to campus soon under the care of her handler, officer Rob Moschella.

According to Ariana Chiarenza, communications manager for public safety, other strategies for better connecting with the community include having new security officers on the Medford/Somerville campus and increasing communications with all four campuses.

Chiarenza said having close contact with a community “can better help us understand the needs of a community and what approaches … work,” Chiarenza wrote in an email to the Daily. “It also helps to familiarize community members with the Department and to know the [Department of Public Safety] personnel who work within the community.

It’s vital to relationship-building and fostering trust.”

First-year Vishal Romero hopes for more friendly interactions with TUPD. “I’d like to see [TUPD] work with students outside of the

COURTESY ARIANA CHIARENZA

Pepper, TUPD’s new comfort dog, is pictured. actual police work,” Romero said. “I don’t know a whole lot of people that are friendly with any of the TUPD officers. … All of my interactions with TUPD are not necessarily unfriendly, but [are] clearly like business.”

Smith additionally commented on the 2023 Annual Fire Safety and Security Report, which the DPS recently released. The report, which is made in compliance with the Crime Awareness and Campus Security Act of 1990 and the Jeanne Clery Act of 1998, includes crime statistics from the previous year.

“The intention for putting the Clery Report forward to the community is so that everyone can learn about what is happening in and around our campuses,” Smith wrote. “Many incoming students and their families rely on the report to make informed decisions regarding attendance at Tufts University. Hopefully, publishing the Clery Report annually will show our dedication to transparency within our department.”

The DPS has also recently introduced the Campus Security Officer position

to allow more versatility in addressing certain calls.

“The CSO program has already been successful on the Boston campuses for many years, so we were able to take something very well-received and make it universal,” Smith wrote. “As well, we recognize that a TUPD officer is not always the right person to respond to calls in certain circumstances, so we are able to now provide the same support to the Medford/ Somerville campus using nonsworn individuals instead.”

The department also says it is working to get to know the student community better with events such as “Coffee with TUPD,” where students can meet with officers for free coffee.

“I encourage students to attend any event we are sponsoring or participating in and around campuses,” Smith wrote.

“We also encourage our students to stop at the stations to say hello and learn more about our work. … We want to be seen as fellow community members, and we want to respectfully engage with students as much as possible.”

The department has launched a new dashboard which allows people to see progress on new DPS initiatives.

“DPS is open and committed to change and accountability. The dashboard allows the community to keep up to date with what’s happening ‘behind the scenes’ to let them know that we are committed to embracing new practices and policies,” Chiarenza added.

Chiarenza also referred students wishing to make feedback to a form on the TUPD website. Additionally, according to Chiarenza, DPS will release a community survey in November to collect feedback.

Alex Friedman, who is a firstyear, acknowledged that there could be “an element of distrust” of police on college campuses, but said the TUPD “does definitely try to do a good job.”

“To be honest, I don’t think most students get their primary emotional support from the police,” Friedman said. “I think most people’s mental health comes from other outlets. But any step towards prioritizing people’s mental health is a good idea.”

UNIVERSITY

Hodgdon Food-on-the-Run and Kindlevan Café return

Tom Jamieson

Contributing Writer

Originally published Oct. 24.

Tufts’ grab-and-go options have returned in full after Kindlevan Café’s reopening on Oct. 12. After being closed for construction since last spring, both Hodgdon Food-on-the-Run — which reopened at the start of the semester — and Kindlevan Café sport new looks and provide more options for on-campus dining.

Plans for renovations began during the COVID-19 pandemic when Tufts issued a $250 million bond to secure capital for future projects. Part of this money was set aside to improve on-campus dining.

Patti Klos, director of dining and business services, explained that Hodgdon and Kindlevan were renovated before other dining locations to use funding to

YENA RYOO / THE TUFTS DAILY

Hodgdon Food-on-the-Run is pictured on Sept. 19. support students as quickly as possible.

“How would we best spend that money?” Klos asked. “We knew that Dewick would be a more significant capital outlay and would take more than a summer to do. … We made this strategic decision to invest our dollars first in Hodgdon and Kindlevan because we thought

that would provide [the] most support for students.”

Hinting at future plans, Klos also added that renovating the Dewick-MacPhie Dining Center “will likely require us to rely more on the other outlets.” DewickMacPhie is the university’s largest dining facility.

According to Klos, Kindlevan and Hodgdon have histori-

cally struggled to meet student demand.

“Hodgdon was not designed for the volume of takeout that it enjoys,” Klos said. “Kindlevan was not designed for the volume of participation that it garnered. … When we designed that space, we anticipated 300–400 transactions a day. At our highest demand, in the fall, [it] was about 1100 people.”

While only Kindlevan was slightly expanded, Klos believes both spaces are now better utilized to efficiently serve students.

“In Hodgdon, we wanted to reduce congestion,” Klos said.

“There was a vestibule and an island, and people went around the island and it made for a very congested experience and long lines. … We were able to basically gut the serving area.”

Kindlevan’s new layout also works to combat long lines and see DINING, page 3

THE TUFTS DAILY

Thursday, October 26, 2023

NEWS

3

SJP organizes protest, sit-in at Ballou hall

PROTEST

continued from page 1 During the sit-in, students chanted, “no justice, no peace” and “hey, Tufts, you can’t hide, you’re supporting genocide.”

One speaker connected the protest to other social justice movements at Tufts.

“As a student movement, we learn and grow from movements we’ve seen in the past,” the speaker said. “From the movements at Tufts to divest from apartheid South Africa,

to the [movement] to divest from the military industrial complex to fossil fuels and beyond. That is the vital role which we must play in the liberation of Palestine.”

In the weeks following the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas, college activists have received national scrutiny; recently, members of Harvard student organizations who signed an anti-Israel letter were doxxed, and some had their faces displayed on a billboard truck driven around campus.

According to Collins, the university has received “isolated reports of potential discrimination” that are being investigated. “We ask that the entire community, no matter what their perspective, join in respectful discourse,” he wrote.

During the rally, students were encouraged to cover their faces using disposable masks or keffiyehs.

“We’re all secure as of now, [but] Tufts SJP has received

several death threats in the past few weeks,” the Tufts SJP spokesperson said.

According to Collins, the Tufts Department of Public Safety has not received reports from members of SJP of death threats; but in response to doxxing concerns, Yolanda Smith, executive director of public safety, wrote in an Oct. 20 email to the Tufts community that the university had increased its foot and cruiser patrols and would increase

security measures at high-profile events.

As the protest ended and students streamed out of Ballou, they chanted “we will be back.” A speaker at the event announced to students that there would be another protest on Monday.

“If we keep doing this, if we can keep showing up in numbers like this,” one protestor said in a speech to the crowd, “they have to respond to our demands.”

counter,” Klos said. “So the workers can do their tasks without running into each other. There’s literally just a little bit more counter space so they can be more efficient.”

Klos identified a generally positive reception to changes from workers. Caroline Lever, a student worker at Kindlevan, appreciates the renovation’s changes to their work environment.

“Last year there was only one station where someone could make a smoothie and one station where someone could make coffee,” Lever said.

“People were bumping to each other all the time. It was really chaotic, and barely enough

people could fit behind the counter. … It’s just running much more smoothly because there’s space to walk.”

Klos added that staffing adjustments are being made to help with lines and more items will be added to the mobile app for order.

“We do well with the resources we have, [but] people always want more,” Klos said. “I don’t anticipate we’re going to add more venues, but we want to make the venues that we have function better, be more convenient and provide the kind of foods that students are looking for. So I definitely think it’s a worthwhile investment.”

Grab-and-go dining locations reopen DINING

continued from page 2 overcrowding of the atrium’s gallery spaces and staircase, but is “still not great,” per Klos.

The location is a work in progress and additions to the space are still being implemented.

In the coming months, students should expect to see a fully realized pickup area for mobile app orders according to Klos.

Student reactions to the changes have been mixed. Juniors Aliyah Weiss and Nicole Alexandru appreciate the shorter wait times but are dissatisfied with the lack of change in food price and quality at Kindlevan and Hodge.

“Hodge before the renovations was super crowded and the lines took forever,” Weiss said.

“And I definitely noticed the lines were faster. But I feel like … the quality of the food and the prices are just not worth it.”

Alexandru has now worked at both Hodgdon and Kindlevan.

“The flow of customers at both places was really, really bad, which is also something I hated as a customer in the past before renovations,” Alexandru said. “So now that they’re renovated, I understand that purpose and I think it succeeded at that.

But if I’m talking about the location overall, I wouldn’t eat [at Kindlevan].”

Freshman Kent Carson expressed similar dissatisfaction with pricing but appreciates the grab-and-go options on campus.

“I use [the two locations] all the time,” Carson said. “I use Hodge constantly. … I’m always getting drinks or protein shakes and stuff from there and I get smoothies from Kindlevan a lot.”

According to Klos, renovations were “really focused on throughput, speed of service efficiency… [and] making the workspaces work better for the people who are putting your food together for you.”

“There’s more room between the service counter and the back

Campbell on faith, family and office initiatives Yusuf Dahl discusses housing CAMPBELL challenges after incarceration continued from page 1 inal justice system started with her father, who was incarcerated for eight years. Campbell tied the issue back to the police accountability unit, emphasizing the need to scrutinize racial disparities in data collection to confront racial profiling.

“There is a way in which the office can continue to show up and support law enforcement … around the reporting of disparities we see,” Campbell said. “You can do that while also pushing for transparency and accountability when things go terribly wrong.”

Campbell continued to describe how the units were influenced by her constituents, describing a grassroots operation of speaking to those most impacted by the law.

“The Gun Violence Prevention Unit first was going to be the Gun [Law] Enforcement Unit, but because we listened to people and stakeholders, we changed the name and rebranded it,” Campbell said. The gun violence prevention unit in particular was praised by State Senator Adam Gomez of Springfield,

a Massachusetts city that has seen an uptick in gun violence.

The Reproductive Justice Unit was also created to meet the demands of constituents in response to the 2022 Supreme Court decision. Campbell discussed how the broad mandate of the Massachusetts Attorney General’s office allows them to take on issues that a dysfunctional Congress and Supreme Court may not be able to.

“This is about autonomy … we want to be at the forefront of protecting those rights, and the reproductive justice unit will do that, [and] couple it with maternal health issues and the racial disparities we see there and make it more intersectional,” Campbell said.

A theme that ran through her time in the ASEAN Auditorium was Campbell’s foundation in her family and her faith. The AG lost her twin brother 11 years ago when he passed away in the custody of the Department of Corrections as a pre-trial detainee.

“My twin brother and I were very close, and when he passed … it was a two-year battle with the Department of Corrections and so many different stakeholders to try to

CAROLINE VANDIS / THE TUFTS DAILY

Andrea Campbell (left) is pictured at Tufts on Oct. 17.

get him the health care that he was entitled to,” Campbell said. “It led me in another direction of looking at public service and wanting to make a change for other families.”

Answering an audience question from senior Wanci Nana about how faith informs her everyday decisions and lifestyle, the AG explained how it originated with her aunt and uncle, who she said are her “parents by all definitions,” and how they would go to church when she was younger.

“For me, it is about love and connection,” Campbell said.

“It informs … how I lead with empathy and compassion, deep understanding and hopefully open mindedness. So anything I do, including running for office, I prayed on first.”

When asked to reflect on her first year as Attorney General, Campbell spoke about her pride in representing the state of Massachusetts.

“We have the best, most progressive laws in the country,” Campbell said. “We have the innovation, the resources, the philanthropic community, the business community, the artists, the activism, we have it all. … Let’s figure it out.”

In a personal reflection, Campbell discussed her brother, parents and grandparents, who have all passed, as well as her loved ones who are currently incarcerated.

“If I do find moments to reflect, and maybe there’s some tears that come on some of the hard days, it’s just remembering where I came from,” Campbell said. “While I have this title and role, it will not shift my being. I have to make sure that I continue to carry that humility with me wherever I go.”

INCARCERATION

continued from page 1 cerated tenant as “a risk.” Part of his organization’s advocacy work involves urging smaller landlords to “take the risk and try, because you never know — you may end up with an amazing tenant.”

Compounding that bias, Dahl said, more landlords are outsourcing the application review process to third-party screening companies whose algorithms automatically reject applicants with drug distribution convictions.

“The goal shouldn’t be to punish somebody for the rest of their life,” Vasil said, arguing that ostracizing formerly incarcerated people from normal life only increases recidivism.

Advocacy is important, Credle said, but changing the law is the only way to “get to the core issues,” otherwise “nothing is going to change.”

Justice 4 Housing not only provides home re-integration services and manages housing applications for former-

ly incarcerated citizens, but also works to enact policy for justice impacted people in Massachusetts, working towards a national model. The organization has helped house over 210 people in the last two years with a 0% recidivism rate.

Credle encouraged the audience to contact their legislators in support of a Justice 4 Housing Bill that will be brought up in the next state legislative session. House Bill H.1362/Senate Bill S.878, “An Act to Secure Housing for Returning Citizens,” would incentivize the creation of housing for formerly incarcerated people and establish a reentry program to connect people with housing resources.

According to Dahl, housing justice should also be tackled from the landlord’s side.

“We need to be forward-thinking,” he said. “How do we recruit the next generation of landlords — community builders — that actually reflects the communities that we live in?”

SAMANTHA ENG / THE TUFTS DAILY

Yusuf Dahl, Leslie Credle and Greg Vasil are pictured in Sophia Gordon Hall on Oct. 18.

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Features

Thursday, October 26, 2023

THE TUFTS DAILY

F eatures Tufts Class of 2027 senators: Their plans to make an impact at Tufts Audrey Peel

Contributing Writer

Originally published Oct. 25.

The Tufts Community Union Senate introduced seven new first-year senators voted in by the Tufts student body. After a competitive election at the start of the semester, the Class of 2027 senators were announced on Sept. 29. These first-years — Jackie Brand, Isabela Silvares Lima, Keziah Gyimah-Padmore, Jonah Feldman, Brendan French, Aaron Dickson and Mikey Glueck — are now part of the 41-seat TCU Senate body.

While these newly-elected senators represent Tufts’s freshman class, the TCU Senate also contains nine community senators representing specific communities on campus, and four non-voting trustee representatives.

The Class of 2027 senators reflect the diverse community at Tufts and express a broad array of interests and backgrounds.

While all of the senators cite past experience in student government as a motivation for joining TCU, many other factors also contributed to their decision to join. Many of the senators excitedly embrace this experience as a new opportunity to represent their community on campus.

TCU Senator Isabel Silvares Lima discussed the importance of voicing the needs of international students on her decision to run.

“I feel like I could represent a much bigger student body, especially as an international student from Brazil. International students are not really represented in a lot of areas on campus,” she said.

TCU Senator Keziah Gyimah-Padmore voiced her desire to join TCU in order to play an active role on campus.

“My main reasoning for joining TCU was to help be a facilitator of change,” GyimahPadmore said. ”[I wanted] to be receptive to the ideas and concerns of our class … and to bring that to administration.”

All of the Class of 2027 senators shared this sentiment with Gyimah-Padmore. They each stressed the importance of taking part in changing Tufts while on campus. TCU Senator Brendan French, who was involved in student government for all four years of high school, echoed Gyimah-Padmore’s statement.

“If I want something changed, I want to be part of it. I want to take action,” French said.

“Being a part of TCU, with the work that we can do with administration, would definitely be a role that would allow me to help my community because I really do care about Tufts.”

Ben Rachel A Jumbo's Journey

What Dewick will do to you in two months

I

haven’t had a normal bowel movement in two months. I know that may sound weird and disturbing, but I can guarantee that the majority of my grade, and maybe the school, shares the same sentiment.

The last seven weeks have been tumultuous and stretched. During those seven weeks, I’ve had many experiences that can be categorized as “Tufts canon.”

I’ve walked into the wrong class and

COURTESY JACKIE BRAND, ISABELA SILVARES LIMA, KEZIAH GYIMAH-PADMORE, JONAH FELDMAN, BRENDAN FRENCH, AARON DICKSON AND MIKEY GLUEK

The seven TCU Class of 2027 senators are pictured.

Now that they have been elected, the senators are excited to begin working on many different projects, from improving textbook affordability, to standardizing dorm quality, to increasing the number of trash cans and recycling bins in the outdoor spaces on campus.

After noticing a lack of trash cans around campus, TCU Senator Jackie Brand, in conjunction with the Services committee within the Senate, has suggested a project to address the issue while simultaneously decorating the area.

“I was thinking, first of all, of putting more trash cans up, but making it kind of a community project where different groups on campus can paint the actual trash bins … and put them on campus [to] showcase the different communities that we have at Tufts,” Brand said.

The senators, amid their many individual projects, are united by one project in particular — meal swipes. This project is mainly focused around establishing the ability to use multiple meal swipes within a meal period at on-campus dining facilities. According to the senators, this was by far the most common complaint voiced by first-years during the campaigning process.

TCU Senator Jonah Feldman commented on the unifying nature of this project. “[The meal swipe project] was an issue that we all discussed when campaigning, but now it’s sort of an issue [for] all of the freshman senators, regardless of committee,” Feldman said. “We’re working on it together, which is really awesome.”

Additionally, TCU Senator Aaron Dickson, another new senator, emphasized that he is guided by the suggestions and concerns of other students.

“I’m … always talking to people to see what they might want,” Dickson said.

While the Class of 2027 senators have only just started, they were already impressed by the weekly Senate meetings, which are open to the public and take place every Sunday in the Joyce Cummings Center in room 160 at 7 p.m. These meetings, usually lasting approximately two hours, have been very different from the past high school student government meetings that some of the senators have taken part in.

TCU Senator Mikey Glueck mentioned his surprise at the productivity of these sessions.

meeting, I’ve sat at the football tables and watched them give me the craziest side-eye, I’ve been accepted and rejected from a certain live music concert on Thursday nights at an undisclosed location, and I’ve waited in the long line at Pax for lunch.

My first seven weeks have been full of learning. Whether it be in or outside of the classroom, the continual absorption of knowledge has been a constant.

Let me bring back my patented list format to convey some of my Tufts expertise: Crosswalks are abysmal and optional. The Cummings intersection is just a free-for-all. Cars versus people. Back in Chicago, anyone who jaywalks is hit immediately.

Carm sucks. I’ll say it again, and I’ll continue to say it.

Many students just waffle and yap.

Speak your heart, sure, but come on.

Sometimes peace and quiet is compulsory. People who have conversations in the Tisch Library basement are bad kids.

Everyone is super friendly and chill.

Quite the loving community. Except anyone named Tim. The Sink is so funny. I’m convinced the workers have an ongoing bet to see who can get a customer to wait the longest for a coffee.

No one looks cool going down the hill.

While those are all little, whimsical tidbits, there is one thing of substance I’ve learned: College is split into two sections.

One section is composed of things that you can control and the other is things that you can not control. Here, the things that we can’t control outweigh the things we can.

The phrase “it is what it is” is a staple of college. Dewick chicken is dry?

It is what it is. You can’t watch the live

“In my high school, it felt like the student government meetings were pretty mellow, and us listening to someone older than us and just nodding our heads,” Glueck said.

“But now, we have more of an opportunity to voice our opinions and actually talk about things that need to change.”

Similarly, Lima commented on the efficient nature of these meetings.

“I think not a lot of people really understand what [the] Senate is like. It’s 40 people representing over 6,000 students. So, I think as soon as we get into that meeting … [the senators] really want to make sure that they represent who they are there to represent,” she said.

Overall this sense of shared purpose permeates every aspect of these senators’ experiences on TCU so far. They all communicated a genuine joy to take part in the community.

“I’m really glad to be a part of a group that is so student-led and just really looking to improve the school,” Gyimah-Padmore said.

Unfortunately, not all Tufts students may be aware of the role that TCU plays on campus. The senators hope to combat this by improving TCU’s social media presence and continuing to host events such as town halls to facilitate communication between students and senators. According to French, any Tufts student can write resolutions and bring them to the Senate if they would like.

The Class of 2027 senators also strongly urged Tufts students to reach out to the Senate and to use them as a resource. Some senators fondly recounted incidents where students had approached them with ideas about how to improve Tufts. These types of encounters are crucial to bridging the divide between students and administrators.

“If you have an issue or if you have a problem you can always know that you can go to someone on TCU for any help in any aspect of college,” Brand said.

Lima also appreciated the openness of administration, who she described as being very receptive to well-supported proposals thus far.

As the school year progresses, the Class of 2027 senators will begin putting their various initiatives into action. Despite their many different projects and objectives, the senators all share a devotion to their role in improving the Tufts community for all of its members.

All seven Class of 2027 senators echoed Mikey Glueck’s sentiment of joining TCU in order to “make Tufts a happier place,” and they hope to see this mission through over the next four years. band on Thursday night? It is what it is.

Someone vomited in the hallway? It is what it is.

I’ve religiously used that phrase. But there is truth behind it. Much of college is out of our control — especially as freshmen. And, for a controlling person such as myself, it’s been a rough transition.

While I’m not perfect and I’m still learning how to let go, I’ve accepted that college is not about how much effort and work you put into the things that you can control, but rather how you move forward and react to the things you cannot control.

So, whenever I leave the restroom, the first words out of my mouth are “it is what it is.” My bowel movements are out of my control. To be honest though, I should lay off the Dewick pizza.

Ben Rachel is a freshman studying economics and finance. Ben Rachel can be reached at benjamin.rachel@tufts.edu.

THE TUFTS DAILY

Thursday, October 26, 2023

Features

5

Tufts’ oldest and newest clubs foster community and friendship Trey Lawrence

Assistant Features Editor

Originally published Oct. 20.

Tufts is known for its world-renowned research programs and professional opportunities, but outside of that, there are over 300 student organizations for students to immerse themselves in.

In Tufts’ 170 years, there are clubs that have stood the test of time and have persisted as pillars of support on campus. One of those clubs is the Tufts Mountain Club.

TMC is one of the oldest and largest clubs on campus. Founded in 1939, TMC has continued to act as a valuable resource for those in the Tufts community wanting to explore the outdoors.

Junior Olivia Potier, the president of TMC, wishes for the club to be a space where the Tufts community can take advantage of the outdoors.

“Our motto is go outside. Our goal is to get as many Tufts students doing things outside, whether that be locally or up in New Hampshire, where we have a property called The Loj,” Potier said. “Our goal is to make the outdoors accessible and inclusive for anyone in the Tufts community who wants to be part of that.”

Given TMC’s history on campus as an outdoor activity hub, it also boasts a strong foundation within the Tufts community and especially with Tufts alumni.

“We have a really really strong alumni network that we lovingly refer to as ‘the sketchy alums’ who hang around, but they’re people [who] have long-lasting relationships from TMC,” Potier said. “When people come back for their alumni weekends … former TMC members always want to go up to the Loj.” The resources left behind by former club members also remain crucial for the stability of TMC, according to junior Vice President Larson Burak.

“We definitely are in a good situation where we can lean on the resources that people behind us have set up running the club,” Burak said. “People have compiled a bunch of resources that get passed down from each group of folks that decides they want to help run the club. I think that’s helped contribute to the longevity just in the sense that you’re not having to do all the work, you just kind of have to add to it.”

A Tufts club even older than TMC is Pen, Paint, and Pretzels, also known as 3Ps, founded in 1910. Senior Ryan Pratt, the president of 3Ps, explained how the club differentiates itself from other theater organizations on campus.

Max Druckman Munching with Max

Lunch at Hodge Originally published Oct. 22.

T

he historical origins of what’s known today as the sandwich are unclear.

The earliest account of a content-between-two-slices-of-bread creation was from Hillel the Elder, a rabbi in Jerusalem during the first century B.C.E. The Haggadah, which recounts the Passover story at Jewish seders, describes how Hillel put lamb and bitter herbs on matzah.

In the mid-1600s, an Englishman named John Montagu, the fourth Earl of Sandwich, traveled to Turkey where he encountered flatbreads with fillings, and brought the idea back to England.

Montagu’s title has been attached to the dish ever since.

COURTESY ARIANNA SHALHOUB

Jumbo Night Live is pictured.

“We just focus on plays, which can attract a different crowd,” Pratt said. “American playwriting has shifted towards the 90 minute play, which hits upon our exact strengths.”

Many older clubs, including 3Ps, must be flexible and adapt to new developments throughout changes in leadership to stand the test of time. The COVID-19 pandemic was a notable adjustment that required many groups on campus to rethink how they operate.

“I’m very conscious of traditions and history … [and] the COVID-19 pandemic was super hard in terms of the way that COVID policies were applied to performance groups … [The pandemic] was kind of a wake-up call for all of us that we had to make some adjustments,” Pratt said.

3Ps being a student-run organization allows them to have more freedom in their decision-making relating to their productions.

“We have a lot of flexibility as a student group to decide what is and what isn’t working for us, and kind of execute on that in a way that, say the theater department, who has to plan stuff out years in advance, is less able to do,” Pratt said.

Pratt credits the success of 3Ps and other theater groups on campus to Tufts’ students’ diverse interests both in and outside the classroom.

“You don’t have to be a theater major to participate in student theater,” Pratt said. “I think that [a quality] of Tufts students is that we will do what we want to, and it need not

be linked to our exact interests … it speaks to the breadth of intellectual pursuits of Tufts students.”

A relatively newer group on campus that highlights the many interests of Tufts students is Jumbo Night Live. JNL was founded last fall, and has quickly become a beloved student group.

Sophomore Arianna Shalhoub, the project head and founder of JNL, took inspiration from NBC’s Saturday Night Live and implemented it into Tufts through the broadcasting organization Tufts University Television.

“I got the idea for Jumbo Night Live back in high school when my film club had their own version of Saturday Night Live … I [thought] Tufts would really benefit from having sort of just a positive force on campus. I know other comedy groups do it as well, but just [having] Tufts-centered jokes and non-Tufts-centered jokes,” Shalhoub said.

However, starting a new club on campus was not easy. There were difficulties in terms of recruitment and finding a campus presence.

“I think that social media was a huge help in trying to create a platform for Jumbo Night Live and help to spread awareness about our new project,” Shalhoub said. “It was also word of mouth I think, too. I told my friends ‘Hey, I’m starting Jumbo Night Live’, and then their friends came, and so on.”

In managing JNL, Shalhoub expressed that there were unique challenges due to the club’s relatively small size and lack of

pre-existing upperclassmen support as well as alumni backing.

“I think that a lot of the comedy clubs that are existing have a framework that they build off of … they’ll look up to the upperclassmen and what their experiences were like making a show or making a performance happen,” Shalhoub said.

Finding out what methods were successful and unsuccessful in production was a key barrier to creating a consistent schedule for JNL, but trial and error alongside group efforts proved fruitful for the club.

“I think that figuring out the timing of everything and how much we can do in one semester was definitely a challenge,” Shalhoub said. “But I think we did a good job. And I think that now we have one year of experience under our belt, so we’ll know how to make Jumbo Night Live even better.”

Creating a new student organization on campus requires taking a step into uncharted territory but through consistent effort, creativity and flexibility, one can create an organization that enriches Tufts and its community.

“If you have an idea, go for it. There’s no harm in trying … it can be a difficult process starting a new club without any framework.”

Shalhoub said. “But I think definitely, looking to your friends for support, looking to people who have similar interests for support and just building it up together through friendships and through community, as cliché as that might sound, it definitely really worked for me and for the members of Jumbo Night Live.”

While my capacity as a columnist for the Tufts Daily doesn’t permit me to travel the world in search of its best sandwiches (yet?), it does allow me to eat my way through Tufts’ campus, one sandwich at a time.

This week, I ventured to Hodgdon Food-On-The-Run, Tufts’ on-the-go hub, and tested sandwiches from its lunch menu. For consistency, I ordered all my sandwiches on a multigrain sub roll.

First up was a deli classic, the BLT (bacon, lettuce, tomato) with mayonnaise.

While Hodge’s rendition was not the best BLT I’ve ever had, it was solid. The bacon was warm, but not quite crispy enough. There was plenty of lettuce and tomato, possibly too much lettuce, and the tomatoes were a little soft.

Typically, I am not a fan of mayonnaise on sandwiches. However, the mayo added an extra element of flavor and made the roll more digestible. A simple crowd-pleaser, Hodge’s BLT could use some work, but it’s far from their worst creation.

I followed up the BLT with the turkey bacon ranch. In order to evenly distribute acronyms, I will dub this sandwich

“TBR.” In the sandwich, turkey was joined by white cheddar cheese, tomatoes, red bell peppers and seemingly ranch (any Swifties/NFL fans?).

Originally, I was doubtful of the combination’s harmony, but I was delightfully surprised. The ranch and cheddar formed an interesting, tangy taste, with the familiar flavor of turkey balancing the palate. The bacon, unlike the BLT’s, was cold, but was still not crispy enough for my standards. Like in the BLT, the tomatoes were pulpy. The addition of peppers was a perfect opportunity to add new flavors, but was not capitalized upon. The bland bell peppers felt out of place, and a more flavorful replacement, such as banana peppers, was needed.

While some elements of the sandwich were disappointing, the cheddar-ranch combo was enough to make the TBR a good choice. Swift knew what she was doing.

Lastly, I went down the vegetarian route and ordered Hodge’s caprese sandwich: lettuce, tomato, cheddar and pesto.

The pesto was by far the best part of the sandwich and may be Hodge’s

best creation. Any bite without it was lacking. As always, the tomatoes were limp and the lettuce overly abundant. Cheddar was not the best cheese choice, and mozzarella was desperately missed. I was promised a balsamic glaze when I ordered on the mobile app, but, to my disappointment, it was nowhere to be found.

The caprese was the worst sandwich I ordered this week. Most bites felt like I was eating nothing. The pesto was the only saving grace.

As I did last week, I will be concluding with my “gut” reactions: BLT: A classic, it gets the job done.

TBR: Surprisingly good. The ranch, cheddar and turkey combo is tasty.

Caprese: NO. Now that we’ve completed our second week as culinary crusaders, I hope I’ve helped you navigate the sandwich seas.

Let’s make the Earl proud of our picks.

For now, keep munching!

Max Druckman is a first-year who has yet to declare a major. He can be reached at max.druckman@tufts.edu.

6

Arts & Pop Culture

THE TUFTS DAILY

Thursday, October 26, 2023

A R T S & P O P C U LT U R E

COURTESY MAX BENNETT

The cast of “Marie Antoinette” is pictured.

Tufts theatre department prepares for ‘Marie Antoinette’ Nate Hall

Deputy Arts Editor

For its fall production, the Department of Theatre, Dance, and Performance Studies is staging David Adjmi’s play, “Marie Antoinette” (2012). A contemporary take on the story of the young French queen who witnessed the country’s collapse into revolution in the late 18th century, the play reflects many of the challenges women face in the modern world.

Adjmi’s play chronicles the life of Antoinette amidst the backdrop of an extravagant French society and explores how public attitudes towards the royals changed as the French Revolution began. The play is directed by Associate Professor Noe Montez, who also serves as chair of the department. Montez explained that the department selected “Marie Antoinette” because of the play’s continued relevance in the present day.

“I think what makes the repeated tellings of Marie Antoinette interesting … is her story is really about what it means to be a woman living in a world that knows how to use, but not how to value, femininity and womanhood,” Montez said.

Adjmi’s interpretation of Antoinette’s life is not like anything you’ve read in a history class. While the play takes place in 18th century France, the script is written with modern dialogue and the set trades out the palace of Versailles for a fashion show runway.

“It is decidedly ahistorical and anachronistic, in everything from the language and the approach that we’re taking,” Montez said.

“Almost immediately, when folks walk into the theater space, they’re going to see something that is not a historical representation of Versailles. And then from there, the language, which is very much written with a modern, 21st century ear for dialogue, will help carry people through.”

Montez worked on the show with a cast of nine Tufts students, who began the rehearsal process in September. Montez emphasized his gratitude for the cast members, who each brought their own unique ideas to the play.

“It’s just been a really wonderful opportunity to collaborate with a group of actors who have thrown themselves wholeheartedly into their roles in this process,” Montez said. “I feel very fortunate to have been able to direct this show.”

While every member of the ensemble makes a valuable contribution to the story, the production would not be possible without its title character, played by senior Tess Kaplan. Kaplan, who never leaves the stage during the show, discussed the challenges of playing such a large role.

“I’ve never been in a position where the show revolves around me, and that felt really weird at first,” Kaplan said. “Despite that, it has been such a privilege to still be collaborative with everyone. … Everyone is doing their own part.”

Kaplan also discussed the challenges of playing a morally complex character like Antoinette, who was loved by some and loathed by others.

“You don’t really want people to think of her as a hero because she still did things that were wrong,” Kaplan said. “But you don’t want them to dislike her.

So it’s a weird balance, and it’s been a really interesting journey for me.”

A highlight of the play’s design is its extravagant period costumes, designed by senior Tate Olitt. Olitt, a theatre major, designed the costumes for her senior capstone project. Kaplan’s costume, complete with an enormous wig and skirt, comes with the added challenge of taking up lots of space onstage.

“It’s been such a trip to be four feet wide and over seven feet tall, because of the huge skirts and the really tall wigs with really tall heels. And it’s so interesting, because I have to be aware of how much space I take up,” Kaplan said. “We’ve been talking about how that could be a metaphor for something else. Women aren’t usually allowed to take up so much space, but Marie took up a lot of space, and then people got mad at her for doing that.”

From a design standpoint, “Marie Antoinette” is a substantial undertaking for the department. In addition to the show’s period costumes and props, “Marie” has the largest run crew of any show the department has staged during Montez’s tenure at Tufts, including two dressers

dedicated to helping Kaplan with onstage costume changes.

Montez expressed his appreciation for the large design team who helped bring the show together.

“This is a production that really gives us an opportunity to showcase the full extent of the work that students who are working in design and production can do,” Montez said. “We’re playing with lights and projections in some ways that we never have before. In addition to [it] being a chance to tell a compelling story, it’s also a chance for us as a department to stretch our arms a little bit and push ourselves in terms of our scale of design and production.”

Montez also highlighted the ways in which the story will resonate with college students who might empathize with Marie’s plight. In 18th century France, many of the financial problems that led to revolution took place before Antoinette’s reign began, but she was an easy target for those looking for someone to blame.

“Marie became a convenient scapegoat; one: because she was a foreigner; two: because she was a woman; and three: because of her unwillingness to play by the rules of French society,” Montez said. “I think all of those things resonate with me in the current moment as experiences that might not be too far from many Tufts students’ experiences of trying to navigate the world as early 20-somethings.”

Montez emphasized that while the play is a retelling of

historical events, it’s not simply a show about history. Rather than attempting to explain the events that took place during Antoinette’s reign, the show focuses on the pressures Antoinette faced as a young leader under the constant scrutiny of the public eye. Antoinette’s feelings of isolation in times of crisis are a key theme in the show, and Montez hopes that audiences will relate to her identity as an outsider in France.

“The question that I would have [for audiences] is: How do you see yourself and the ways that you have felt as an outsider in some way, whether that’s as a person not born in the United States, a queer, trans or non-binary person, a person of color or just someone who has felt like they are on the outside for some reason?”

Montez said. “How do you see yourself and the ways that you have felt unfairly perceived mirrored in the experience of Marie Antoinette in a way that maybe gives you new insights into her as a historical figure, but more importantly, yourself?”

“Marie Antoinette” begins performances tonight in Balch Arena Theatre with a $5 preview at 7:30 p.m. $10 student tickets are available for the performances on Oct. 27 and 28 and Nov. 3 and 4. The show is set to close next weekend with a pay-what-you-wish matinee performance on Nov. 5.

Tickets can be found online or at the Department of Theatre, Dance, and Performance Studies box office in the Aidekman Arts Center.

THE TUFTS DAILY

Thursday, October 26, 2023

Arts & Pop Culture

7

Odessa Gaines The Power of the Pen

Why are the actors still on strike?

NATALIE BRICKER / THE TUFTS DAILY

Łaszewo is pictured performing in Cambridge on Oct. 19.

Łaszewo gives electric performance in Cambridge Natalie Bricker Staff Writer

Three-person electronic band Łaszewo (pronounced la-zay-woah) played an incredible show on Thursday in Cambridge at Sonia.

The band’s energy was bubbly, fun and contagious, which was all the more impressive given that lead singer Keeva “Kiki” Bouley had recently fractured her ankle. Band members and producers Matt Ehrlich and Justin De La Fuente frequently hyped Bouley up, encouraging the crowd to chant “Kiki” and applauding Bouley’s ability to dance around while wearing a protective boot. Łaszewo performed at the Sonia, a small and intimate live music venue. The crowd matched the band’s energy, filling the space with loud singing and small mosh pits. The audience seemed to mostly consist of people in their mid-twenties, mainly gathered in small friend groups.

There were two larger groups of people at the very front of the crowd who sang along with every word and reached their hands out toward the band members — Bouley grasped their hands in return and smiled at the audience. Ehrlich and De La Fuente danced and mouthed the words in the background, further hyping up the crowd.

The band members’ chemistry was evident from the very start when they ran onstage smiling at each other. In between songs, there were sweet moments when one of them would share appreciation for the band or for each other. On stage, Bouley shared a story about her mental health, which received loud support from the crowd.

“I forgot who I was, basically, and I had to go home to London. … I called [Ehrlich and De La Fuente] and in my most dramatic fashion, I was like, ‘Go on without me. Find someone who can function,’” Bouley said.

“They were like, ‘No. We want you and we’re gonna wait for you.’ They put their dreams and their careers on hold to wait for me. That kind of loyalty is precious and we’re a family.”

In her introduction to the next song, Bouley mentioned that she and the other band members would sing it when they used to live together. She then launched into a heartfelt solo performance of Dido’s “White Flag” (2003), with only a keyboard onstage for her to play. A soft spotlight shone on her and the crowd sang along, swaying and holding each other. The audience got lost in the song’s beautiful melody and Bouley’s smooth soprano.

The crowd was ready to scream their hearts out again after this little break in the action. The band played all of its classic numbers, including “U Taste Like Sundays” (2022), “Up in Flames” (2018) and “Fuck Your Sunshine” (2020). The crowd went

absolutely crazy for “Colorado” (2022), a hit with a super catchy chorus. There were some pop songs mixed in the set as well, including a captivating mashup of Harry Styles’ “As It Was” (2022) with an original Łaszewo song and a rendition of Destiny Child’s “Say My Name” (1999) that had the crowd jumping and screaming.

The three band members came to the merchandise table after the show to greet fans, take pictures and sign autographs. The band was warm and inviting; they seemed to genuinely care about their fans and made a real effort to form a connection with them. There was a considerable line for the meetand-greet, yet the band took their time talking with each person individually.

As of today, Łaszewo has accumulated over 600,000 monthly listeners on Spotify and 21,000 Instagram followers. The band is still up-and-coming, so there isn’t a lot of information about them online yet. Their artist description on Spotify simply says “we don’t know how to pronounce it either.”

This phrase is also a tagline on some of their tour merch, which speaks to the band’s fun and goofy side. At the heart of Łaszewo is a trio of best friends who are bringing upbeat music and exhilarating performances with them on their tour. Don’t be surprised if you see Łaszewo gain popularity in the coming years; their music provides a soundtrack that encourages dancing, and the band members’ energy will have you falling in love with them instantly.

With the writers strike of 2023 over, the big question is: When will the actors follow suit and leave the picket lines?

Even though both the writers and actors strikes started because of similar reasons, the two unions have had different levels of success in meeting their goals with the big studios. The actors strike, in particular, has continued because of disagreement surrounding increased actor residuals and the use of AI in film and television productions.

Many union actors do not make more than $26,000 per year, meaning many do not qualify for health insurance under current contract and income rules. You may think that because you just saw Robert Downey Jr. on Architectural Digest that he has to make bank. However, most actors are not R.D.J. and do not get paychecks like R.D.J.’s.

It is important to highlight that acting is not a typical job. Jobs in acting are not year-round nor are they consistent.

Many actors hold second jobs to earn money when they are in need of extra cash and are not actively acting. As such, the paychecks that actors receive should accurately reflect their work by increasing their residuals in association with their streaming numbers.

The other highly important point of the strike relates to how artificial intelligence can change the entertainment industry.

SAG-AFTRA has demanded better regulations on the use of AI in film and TV. The use of technology, like Disney’s Medusa Performance Capture System, poses a big threat to actor job security.

This system can reconstruct actors’ faces without their consent and use them in future film and TV projects. Disney has also created a task force to explore the use of AI and how it can further production advancements. These advancements generate fear in the industry that big studios may use AI to recreate humans instead of hiring actual human actors.

Not only can AI recreate an actor without their consent, but it also has the potential to recreate an actor’s likeness even after they have passed away. This allows studios to access an actor without having to actually pay them.

While it may seem that this technology is far in the future, studios have already begun pre-production for projects that recreate actors. For example, James Dean, who died in 1955, will make a CGI appearance in an upcoming war movie. Additionally, a “vubbing” tool called Flawless was named one of the best inventions of 2021. This technology can reconstruct actors’ mouth movements and generate dubbing in other languages.

While this allows for more accessibility for viewers, it also raises concerns on how these facial scans may be used beyond “vubbing.” Even the current deepfake technology allows studios to de-age and slightly change the appearance of actors, as seen in “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny” (2023).

With the rise of AI, studios must do more in order to ensure actors’ rights and bodily anatomy are protected. Until studios and the union can come to common ground about what this looks like, the strike will continue.

Odessa Gaines is a junior studying psychology. She can be reached at kgaine01@tufts.edu.

8

F& G

THE TUFTS DAILY

Thursday, October 26, 2023

Fun & Games

Late Night At The Daily Julia C.: “I just got into Papa’s Susheria.

I accidentally paid $2 for it?”

Fun & Games

Puzzle 1 (Very hard, difficulty rating 0.76)

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Difficulty Level: Explaining to a first-year there’s no “midterms week.”

Generated by http://www.opensky.ca/sudoku on Thu Oct 26 03:12:35 2023 GMT. Enjoy!

Puzzle 1 (Very hard, difficulty rating 0.82) ACROSS 1 "___ boy!"

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63 Singer Guthrie 64 Go belly up

65 MS. enclosures 66 Many Lincolns 67 Tolkien tree creatures

LAST WEEK’S SOLUTIONS: Interested in submitting a puzzle? Reach out to production@tuftsdaily.com

Fifth-Year

The Fifth-Year Master’s Degree program allows Tufts undergraduates to continue on to a master’s degree with the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences or the School of Engineering after completing their bachelor’s degree.

Students complete all requirements for both degrees. Some graduate coursework will be integrated during the bachelor’s degree, thereby shortening time and financial commitment to the graduate degree.

The deadline to apply is December 15 for seniors (GSAS and SOE) and March 15 for juniors (GSAS only). gradadmissions@tufts.edu | 617-627-3395

Benefits of a Fifth-Year Master’s Degree • Earn your bachelor’s degree and master’s degree • GRE scores not required • Application fee and enrollment deposit are waived • Only two letters of recommendation are required • Generous scholarships are available*

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Learn More: go.tufts.edu/fifthyear

* The Graduate School of Arts and Sciences will provide a graduate tuition scholarship proportional to the undergraduate tuition award at the time of application. Learn more about School of Engineering tuition savings opportunities at go.tufts.edu/SOEfifthyear

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The Fifth-Year Master’s Degrees are offered through the following programs: Graduate School of Arts and Sciences

Master’s Degree

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32 Future ferns 34 Newsman Rather 35 Royal address 37 Suit in a Spanish deck of cards 38 Viking shipmate 41 Dangerous pool in a video game 42 Early Beatle Sutcliffe 43 Syrian ruling family

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Art Education, BFA/MAT Biology, BS/MS Chemistry, BS/MS Child Study and Human Development, BA/MA Classics, BA/MA Data Analytics, BA/MS or BS/MS Economics, BS/MS Education: Middle and High School, BA/MAT or BS/MAT Environmental Policy and Planning, BA/MS or BS/MS Mathematics, BS/MS Museum Education, BA/MA Music, BA/MA Philosophy, BA/MA Urban and Environmental Policy Generated and Planning, by http://www.opensky.ca/sudoku o BS/MA or BA/MA

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Bioengineering, MS Biomedical Engineering, BS/MS Biophotonics, MS Chemical Engineering, BS/MS Civil and Environmental Engineering, BS/MS Computer Engineering, BS/MS Computer Science, BA/MS or BS/MS Cybersecurity and Public Policy, MS Data Science, BS/MS Dual Degree Program: Innovation & Management + Engineering degree, MS Electrical Engineering, BS/MS Engineering Management, MS Human Factors Engineering, BS/MS Human-Robot Interaction, MS Innovation and Management, MS Materials Science and Engineering, MS Mechanical Engineering, BS/MS Offshore Wind Energy Engineering, MS Software Systems Development, MS Technology Management and Leadership, MS

THE TUFTS DAILY

Opinion

Thursday, October 26, 2023

9

O pinion VIEWPOINT

Biden’s hypocrisy is enabling war crimes Ben Choucroun Staff Writer

On Feb. 24, 2022, Russia launched an invasion of Ukraine.

Though the reasons for Russia’s invasion were complex, the offensive constituted an illegal attack on a sovereign nation. The U.S. government immediately and strongly condemned the invasion and began sending billions of dollars in aid to Ukraine, with President Joe Biden stating, “If we abandon the core principles of the United States to appease an aggressor, can any member state in this body feel confident that they are protected?”

However, the American government has refused to punish Azerbaijan for its ethnic cleansing in Arteksah, aided Saudi Arabia’s genocide in Yemen and unilaterally supports Israel as it engages in settler colonialism.

This hypocrisy demonstrates how American foreign policy is based on imperialism and hegemony, rather than the values of human rights and democracy.

In December 2022, in violation of a 2020 peace agreement, the nation of Azerbaijan blockaded the sole entrance to the

Justin Hong The Budget Line

That little treat you just bought doesn’t count, right?

W

Originally published Oct. 23.

ith the semester finally setting in, we’re all falling right back into our addictive relationship with coffee. I, for one, love this magical bean juice,

Republic of Artsakh, an ethnically Armenian breakaway state located in the South Caucasus.

After nine months of this blockade, leaving Armenians in Artsakh starving and without medical care, Azerbaijan launched a fullscale invasion of Armenia. In what amounted to ethnic cleansing, Azerbaijan committed horrific war crimes and forced 100,000 ethnic Armenians to flee their homes. However, the U.S. refused to even sanction Azerbaijan for its horrific violation of international law. Why? Azerbaijan is a valuable U.S. ally, and the Biden administration does not want to lose the nation as a strategic partner, despite these horrific war crimes.

Perhaps an even more disturbing representation of this dynamic can be seen in Yemen, where the U.S. is complicit in the war crimes committed by Saudi Arabia’s repressive monarchy. In 2014, a civil war between Iranian-backed rebels and the Saudi-backed government threw the country into a crisis. In 2015, Saudi Arabia intervened in the conflict directly, sending ground troops into the fray and blockading Yemen’s ports. This inter-

vention has directly helped create one of the world’s largest humanitarian crises, with Saudi Arabia being responsible for numerous attacks on children and schools during the conflict. In 2021, Saudi troops massacred hundreds of unarmed Ethiopian refugees on the Yemeni border.

The U.S. government enabled Saudi war crimes by providing Saudi Arabia with missiles and other weaponry. In 2018, one of these missiles was used to destroy a school bus full of children. In 2022, another was used to obliterate a detention center with hundreds of civilians inside. However, despite these horrific war crimes (which have been described as genocidal), the U.S. has continued to militarily support Saudi Arabia by supplying them with weapons worth billions of dollars.

Israel is another murderous recipient of American aid. For decades, the apartheid regime has quietly expanded settlements in the occupied West Bank and has loudly launched attacks against civilian targets in the Gaza Strip. The U.S., however, has ignored these human rights violations while send-

ing Israel billions of dollars in military aid and defending the country in the UN. Israel escalated its human rights violations after Hamas militants launched an offensive against Israeli settlements near the Gaza Strip last week. The Israeli government first began indiscriminately bombing the Gaza Strip, where 2.2 million Palestinians (nearly half of them children) live in the world’s largest open-air prison. The Israeli government even shut off food, water and electricity to the besieged Gaza Strip. These actions were described by Raz Segal, Israeli professor of Holocaust and genocide studies, as a “textbook case of genocide.” Despite Israel’s horrific actions, the U.S. has continued to support the country and has even sent a carrier strike group to the Eastern Mediterranean to support Israel’s merciless bombing of Palestinians.

The American government has shown a clear pattern of supporting aggressive, autocratic regimes, in contrast to its stated humanitarian values. This utter hypocrisy demonstrates that the U.S. government does not care about

human rights or democracy, it cares about its empire. Azerbaijan and Israel are both important strategic allies and the U.S. imports billions of dollars of oil from Saudi Arabia. A similar dynamic is occurring with Turkey, Egypt and the Syrian opposition, other Middle Eastern allies with a horrific track record in human rights.

To challenge our oppressive foreign policy, in order to change the fact that America is viewed worldwide as the primary threat to global peace, we will need to go beyond voting for one politician or the other come election season. Joining an antiwar group or campus solidarity group is a solid first step towards challenging American imperialism. In the 1980s, Tufts students played a notable role in protests against Ronald Reagan’s support for the “death squad democracy” of El Salvador, according to Howard Zinn’s “A People’s History of the United States” (1980), and protested the apartheid regime in South Africa. Tufts students should continue our proud tradition of anti-war activism by fighting American imperialism, wherever it appears.

and need a cup almost every day.

The only problem is that coffee can be expensive. Buying coffee every day can really add up, but fear not: Turning your dorm or apartment into a full-functioning coffee bar isn’t your only alternative. By making informed decisions, even someone who buys coffee every day can save.

For our purposes, we’ll compare prices of a medium iced coffee at four different locations: the Starbucks at the Cummings Center, Hotung Café and the two Dunkin’ locations nearby campus. While these aren’t the only places to get coffee around here, we’ll stick with these to make our analysis simpler.

We’ll also ignore rewards programs and other promotions.

Now, suppose you just got out of your econ class at the JCC.

Where do you go for coffee? If you’re going for convenience, you could go to the Starbucks in the lobby where a grande iced coffee costs $4.23. You could also go to the Dunkin’ just down Boston Ave., where a medium iced coffee would set you back $3.41. Woohoo!

By choosing Dunkin’ here, you’ve already saved 82 cents.

But wait, there’s more! If you’re willing to walk a little further, there are two more options: Hotung, where a medium iced coffee costs $4.01, and another Dunkin’ on College Ave., where a medium iced coffee costs $3.30. Think about that: By taking an 18-minute walk from one Dunkin’ to another, you can save another 30 cents! While this is not a lot, the savings on other beverages are even greater.

Craving the new Ice Spice drink?

A medium is $1.28 cheaper at the College Ave. location. But back to you, our tired econ student, for a second — by choosing to go to the Dunkin’ on College Ave. over the JCC Starbucks, you’ve already saved $1.12 on coffee.

If you needed a medium iced coffee every morning and refused to make it yourself, you should go to the Dunkin’ on College Ave. Over the semester, you would save over $95 compared to someone who went to Starbucks every day.

This, of course, assumes that you have the same drink every day from the first day of class to the last day of finals and that you go home — and therefore don’t consume coffee — over Thanksgiving. While these assumptions likely won’t hold true, they show that making an active choice to save money

daily can add up to a substantial sum over time.

Hate Dunkin’ coffee? No worries! You can still get more budget-friendly coffee every day by opting to go to Hotung — which serves Starbucks coffee — on the days that it’s open and going to a Starbucks when it’s not. Doing so would yield minimal savings of just $16.06 over the semester.

We all need some little treats from time to time, and saving money doesn’t require forgoing them entirely. Just be conscious of how you might save a few cents on something today or a dollar on something tomorrow because those savings can really add up.

Justin is a senior studying American studies. He can be reached at justin.hong@tufts.edu.

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10 Opinion

THE TUFTS DAILY

Thursday, October 26, 2023

Mariia Kudina Ukraine at War

Promoting Russian culture means supporting the genocide of Ukrainians

S

crolling through chats on WhatsApp the other evening, I saw a poster advertising a Russian tea drinking ceremony that is to be hosted on campus on Friday. The next morning, my mom texted me that she and my younger brother heard explosions caused by a Russian missile during their mid-afternoon walk with our dachshund. While Russia continues to bomb Ukrainian cities, towns and other localities daily, Tufts’ Department of International Literary and Cultural Studies sponsors an event to promote the culture of a nation that commits genocide.

Russia regularly targets civilian buildings in Ukraine — as recently as Saturday, six people were killed and 16 suffered injuries from a Russian missile that hit postal service Nova Poshta. The Kremlin kidnaps Ukrainian children, forcing them to adopt a foreign culture, which is an act of genocide. Russian attacks on crucial Ukrainian infrastructure, such as blowing up the Kakhovka Dam this summer, led to ecological catastrophes with lasting consequences for several regions in Ukraine. Russian soldiers have been repeatedly stealing irreplacable art pieces by Ukrainian artists, stripping Ukraine of pieces of its culture. Attempting to celebrate Russian traditions while being aware of the violence is supporting the demolition of democracy by a terrorist country.

Almost two years into the full-scale war, it comes as a given that every person in Ukraine is under a constant threat of becoming a victim of a Russian attack, regardless of how far from the frontline they are located. Missiles hit seemingly random locations at all times of day.

Ukrainians have a very strong will to live and try to find bright moments in our routines to remain sane, to at least some extent. That is the reason why you see people sharing pictures of their breakfasts in Kyiv and sunsets in Kherson Oblast villages on Instagram despite air raid alerts, the proximity of battlefields and heartbreaking news. For many, including myself — I occasionally post images of my art and photos of Bostonian architecture — it is a way to cope with surviving the war and a reminder that we fight to be able to peacefully live regular lives in our country. Yet that does not mean that the war is over. It is in its active phase; if you have any doubts regarding that, I would advise reaching out to your friends or acquaintances from Ukraine and asking about the situation.

In my opinion, it is reasonable to expect a degree of empathy from the Tufts community, as it is a group of incredibly intelligent people. Instead of organizing ‘Russian tea’ gatherings, we should host fundraisers to collect funds to aid Ukraine in defense and recovery.

If you wish to organize a cultural event, consider donating to Ukrainian museums to restore the works of art damaged in the aftermath of Russian attacks.

Mariia Kudina is a junior studying studio art. She can be reached at mariia.kudina@tufts.edu.

VIA WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

Kevin McCarthy is pictured.

VIEWPOINT

The tragedy of Kevin McCarthy Maxwell Shoustal

Deputy Opinion Editor

Originally published Oct. 22.

Hyper-partisan politics have become very strongly entrenched in our nation’s political system. Still, some events manage to display just how shockingly fractured party loyalties are. The most recent example is the removal of Kevin McCarthy as speaker of the House of Representatives. McCarthy was ousted as speaker by far-right members of his party after McCarthy negotiated with Democrats to avoid a government shutdown. For McCarthy, it was only a matter of time until he was removed as speaker, given that to appease the so-called “Freedom Caucus” enough to win the position in the first place, he reinstated a House rule that would require only one member to call for a vote for the speaker’s removal.

Since McCarthy’s removal, most Republicans have voted for the more extreme election-denier Jim Jordan to take up the speakership. It is unclear whether Jordan will eventually win the position of speaker, or if the duty will fall to someone else (or nobody for the time being). Having already gained the support of the chaotic far-right faction of his party, Jordan may have more job security than McCarthy if he wins the speakership. But it’s hard to imagine why any Republican would want the position at all, given the risk of an ouster at a moment’s notice.

The Republican Party has been steadily harboring an incredibly toxic relationship between MAGA Republicans and the older party establishment. When Trump first ran for president in 2016, his public comments about fellow Republican candidates were unnecessary, unprecedented and mean. Trump’s comments should

have provoked lasting moral outrage in those who he offended. Take Ted Cruz, for example. Trump suggested his wife was ugly and claimed his father might have been involved in the assassination of John F. Kennedy. In Texas, men have been shot for less. However, Cruz later endorsed Trump and was a key supporter during his presidency. The example of Cruz makes painfully clear how establishment Republicans relent and kiss the proverbial ring of the MAGA movement.

McCarthy’s story followed the same path. Members of the House Freedom Caucus, in a charge led by Matt Gaetz, made a political spectacle of McCarthy’s initial speaker election, at one point voting for Donald Trump for House speaker over McCarthy. Although McCarthy eventually won the position after a humiliating five days and 15 public rounds of voting, he did so by ceding significant power to the far-right bloc of his party, agreeing to several political agenda items such as the aforementioned rule change.

Over the course of his hard-fought speakership battle, McCarthy showed just how badly he wanted the position; but just 269 days after the battle ended, he was deposed. The moment was a significant political win for Matt Gaetz, who filed the motion to remove McCarthy.

It was no surprise that Gaetz decided to seize the power McCarthy himself relinquished; Gaetz has only ever demonstrated the desire to see McCarthy embarrassed, as demonstrated by his public attacks on McCarthy in which he called him “pathetic” and a liar. Potential explanations for Gaetz’s political feud with McCarthy mainly center on the assumption that Gaetz wants the spotlight. This explanation is reasonable, but it could ignore a darker truth that speaks to an aspect of human nature. McCarthy is essentially Gaetz’s boss as House speaker,

and he demonstrated a degree of power over Gaetz by not squashing an ethics investigation into the representative’s conduct; perhaps Gaetz could be driven by his desire to assert dominance over McCarthy. Humans are no better than the beasts among us, and politicians’ desire to get to the top of dominance hierarchies by humiliating others is a bleak, but increasingly normalized trait. Furthermore, as a voyeuristic C-SPAN viewer throughout the proceedings, I found myself rooting for Gaetz to take down McCarthy. Although I dislike Gaetz more than McCarthy, it was impossible not to see him as a Nietzschean “Übermensch” of sorts.

Unless establishment Republicans start to stand up to wars of embarrassment waged by the MAGA wing of their party, this infighting is sure to persist. For his part, McCarthy blamed Democrats for getting him removed as speaker, despite the blame obviously falling on the shoulders of his own disjointed party. McCarthy’s blind party loyalty would be somewhat admirable if it weren’t so incredibly misguided; He presumably thinks it will reflect badly on him to criticize the Republican Party. Yet establishment Republicans only make themselves appear weak when they take MAGA bullying with a smile.

It’s no surprise when a politician has a big ego, yet seeing politicians abandon their dignity ought to also make constituents feel uneasy. Humans naturally have pride, and anger is perfectly justified when someone calls your wife ugly or publicly revels in firing you. The Republican Party has devolved into a school playground, rife with bullying and spectacles of domination. Establishment Republicans must realize that they can only take back control of their party by standing up for themselves against these rowdy, new MAGA kids.

THE TUFTS DAILY

SPORTS 11

Thursday, October 26, 2023

Men’s soccer falls to Middlebury, ending unbeaten run Max Druckman Staff Writer

The Beatles. The 1990s Chicago Bulls dynasty. One Direction. All good things, all came to an end, repeatedly reinforcing the ageold cliché. The Tufts men’s soccer team experienced this harsh reality this past weekend. Their ninegame unbeaten run concluded on Saturday, as the Jumbos were defeated 3–0 at the hands of the Middlebury Panthers.

The matchup was billed as a clash of the NESCAC’s elite.

The Panthers entered the game ranked as the third-best Division III program in the nation, per the United Soccer Coaches poll, and the NESCAC’s top dog, having not lost a game all season. The Jumbos came in as the NESCAC’s No. 2 ranked team, tied with the Amherst Mammoths, who handed them their only previous loss.

Thus, in terms of postseason implications, the contest was critical to both sides’ futures.

Saturday’s conditions were less than ideal. Following the three-hour drive up to Vermont, the Jumbos played in the rain throughout the afternoon at South Street Field. Nonetheless, both sides plowed ahead, with the turf pitch smoothing out the play. Despite being the underdogs, the Jumbos made it clear from the start that they wanted to win the game. Instead of sitting back and absorbing pressure from the Panthers, the Jumbos were on the attack from kickoff.

They managed to win two corner kicks and register a shot on senior goalkeeper Ryan Grady’s net before Middlebury struck with their first goal.

“With the quality that we have, I think we go into every game expecting to get a result,” soph-

Owen Short Moments ‘til Madness

The best in the sport

A

Originally published Oct. 24.

s the countdown continues to opening day for college hoops, the speculation over the season awards only grows.

Anything can happen this year, but for now, these are my 2023–24 preseason individual awards.

National Player of the Year: Zach Edey Purdue University’s Edey is the obvious pick for winning this season’s player of the year awards. After winning handily

COURTESY TUFTS ATHLETICS

Daniel Yanez pictured against Williams on Oct. 15. omore midfielder Daniel Yanez said. “We came out a little flat leading to a few early goals. … Our mentality was there on Saturday, I think it was just a couple of moments where we felt [flat].”

Senior defender Max Clivio was dispossessed in the Jumbo box by the Panthers’ sophomore midfielder Gavin Randolph, brother of Tufts sophomore midfielder Luke Randolph. Gavin sent a pass across the box to junior midfielder Tyler Payne, who rounded Tufts’ sophomore goalkeeper Nikola Antic and unleashed a clean finish, giving the Panthers a 1–0 advantage.

The Jumbos earned two more corners and were flagged offside once before the Panthers scored their second.

In an incredible sequence of play, junior forward Kyle Nilsson

sent a silky, line-breaking pass through the Jumbos’ backline, where Gavin Randolph pounced on it and calmly slotted the ball into the back of a diving Antic’s net. The quality of the interplay was superb, and the Jumbos could only tip their caps to the Panthers. Middlebury’s quick decision-making and pinpoint passing had doubled their lead just four minutes after they had first scored.

The rest of the first half was uneventful. Despite trailing 2–0, the Jumbos never backed down nor faded out of the contest, maintaining possession in the Middlebury half for most of the remaining 30 minutes.

However, they lacked precision in the final third and could not create a chance to really trouble Grady and the Panther backline.

While the Jumbos won eight corner kicks, compared to none by the Panthers, junior midfielder Ethan Feigin registered the Jumbos’ only shot on target of the half. The Jumbos held the ball more, but the Panthers were the more threatening team.

Each time they went on a counterattack, their technical quality meant they looked poised to score again.

Just three minutes after play resumed in the second half, Payne was brought down at the top of the Jumbo box. Though contact appeared to be minimal, the referee still pointed to the spot, awarding the Panthers a penalty kick. Senior forward Jordan Saint-Louis, who had dazzled all afternoon with his skill and offensive prowess, blasted the ball into the bottom

last year, it makes sense that the returning player of the year would go back-to-back. This was the same expectation for University of Kentucky’s former big man Oscar Tshiebwe, though, who instead followed up his player-of-the-year season with a rather disappointing year, only making the AllAmerican second team. If I had to pick someone other than the overwhelming favorite in Edey, I would say Tyler Kolek has the best shot at winning the award come April. He’s coming off a great season with Marquette University, winning both the Big East regular season and tournament titles. If he can lead the Marquette University Golden Eagles to being one of the best squads in college hoops, I’d say he has a good shot at stealing the award in 2024.

Most Impactful Freshman: Stephon Castle Castle isn’t the highest-rated freshman in the 2023 class or on the projected number-one team in the country, but he joins the defending national champions at the University of Connecticut, while also being the ninth-best high school prospect, according to 247Sports. He slots in perfectly to the starting lineup, playing the small forward/combo guard role, alongside veteran guard Tristen Newton and Rutgers University transfer Cam Spencer. Guys like the University of Southern California’s Isaiah Collier and the University of Kentucky’s Justin Edwards sit atop most freshmen rankings, but I feel Castle has the advantage over all other newcomers, fitting well into Huskies’ roster and being able to learn from one of the best coaches in the sport, Dan Hurley.

Most Impactful Transfer: Hunter Dickinson Although this is not a real award, I feel it’s appropriate to include, as transfers are quickly becoming very important to the NCAA basketball landscape. With that, almost everyone involved in college hoops would tell you Dickinson is the pick to be the best transfer in college basketball. Over his three years at the University of Michigan, he put together two seasons of averaging 17 points per game, three appearances on the All-Big Ten teams and a spot on an All-American team as a freshman. While he has never had consistent tournament success, Dickinson is teaming up with one of the best coaches of all time in Bill Self, along with a stacked roster filled with experience and talent.

It would be very surprising to me if Dickinson did not flourish at the University of Kansas.

corner of Antic’s net, all but assuring a victory for the Panthers.

Undeterred by the scoreline, the Jumbos kept putting pressure on the Panthers. The Jumbos outshot their opposition 10 to three following the third goal. The best effort came from Yanez with 20 minutes remaining, though Grady easily gathered his attempt. The Jumbos also won five corner kicks in the second half, while the Panthers garnered zero. In reality, though, the Panthers never relinquished their grip on the match.

“It was tough because, especially in the NESCAC, goals are not easy to get and when you [trail] you have to chase the game a little bit,” Yanez said. “Then Middlebury, honestly, credit to them. They did a good job once they got those two goals, sitting in a block and holding it down for the rest of the game.”

Though the final whistle marked the end of the Jumbos’ unbeaten streak, their run of important games continues. They begin playoffs on Saturday and will face the Bowdoin Polar Bears.

“Regular season games are really fun, but when you get to playoff games … the atmosphere is just so energetic,” Yanez said.

So, while it is true that all good things must come to an end, it is also true that every ending is a new beginning. The Jumbos are hoping that their new beginning can propel them to a fourth NESCAC championship or fifth national crown.

“Everyone on our team would say what we want to do is win both,” Yanez said. “But I think the best thing we can do now is treat every game as if it’s our last [with a] win-orgo-home mentality. And I think that starts with today.”

Coach of the Year: Shaka Smart While many would likely say Matt Painter or Bill Self, I think Marquette has a chance at beating out both those teams for the number one overall seed in March Madness.

Losing just one player to the NBA draft, Smart is bringing back a team that dominated the Big East and finished the regular season as the sixthbest team in the country. Although it’s not guaranteed, I can’t see any reason why this team wouldn’t be even better than they were last season. A more experienced roster, along with one of the best guards in the country in Tyler Kolek, should help Smart put together his best year as a head coach and hopefully lead into a strong run in the NCAA Tournament.

Owen Short is a sophomore who is currently undecided. He can be reached at owen.short@tufts.edu.

12 SPORTS

THE TUFTS DAILY

Thursday, October 26, 2023

SPORTS Henry Blickenstaff Extra Innings

2023 World Series preview

M

COURTESY TUFTS ATHLETICS

Caroline Kelly is pictured against Williams on Oct. 15.

Women’s soccer finds equalizer against Middlebury, clinch NESCAC playoffs

Spencer Rosenbaum Deputy Sports Editor

For any Tufts team, playing away games at Middlebury is a challenge. In addition to the general quality of its teams, the three or four-hour bus ride to the western side of Vermont is quite a journey. On Saturday, when the women’s soccer team traveled north to take on Middlebury, they not only dealt with these obstacles but also the wet, rainy conditions.

Yet, despite all of this, the Jumbos walked into Dragone Field on a mission to clinch a spot in the NESCAC playoffs.

With such a result, the Jumbos simultaneously brought great disappointment to the Panthers by eliminating them from playoff contention on their senior day. The 1–1 final score did not come without some excitement. Sophomore midfielder Caroline Kelly discussed what allowed the Jumbos to achieve this feat.

“We knew … that it was going to be a wet game, but we knew we just had to put all our effort in because we knew that Middlebury was going to be fighting, too,” Kelly said. “We just played like we usually play despite the conditions because that’s how we play best, and we just went out there and gave it our all.”

The Jumbos maintained control of play for the vast majority of the match and were far more dangerous in front of the goal. Two spectacular opportunities came in the 18th and 26th minutes. First, senior forward Nicola Sommers struck one off the post, then Kelly’s shot was stumped by the Panthers’ senior goalkeeper Carolyn Kelley.

The rainy conditions would, however, eventually cause trouble for the Jumbos in the 34th minute when the Jumbos’ defense had some rough touches and slips, and then the Panthers’ first-year midfielder Gigi Day suddenly had an opportunity to slot one home to the bottom right, which she buried.

Still, even with the Panthers’ goal, the Jumbos had the best opportunity of the half in the final three minutes. Tufts’ first-year forward Waverly Sumner found herself in an unbelievable position to level the score going into the break, but a Panthers defender made a hero clearance off the line to prevent the goal.

In the second half, the Jumbos’ dominance and pressure continued, and it seemed like a goal was inevitable. In the 59th minute of the contest, the squad’s looming threats finally materialized with one of the prettiest goals you will see in Division III women’s soccer. After Kelly gained possession of the ball, she played a lovely, lofted ball up and out to the right where senior forward Erin Duncan received it, carried it farther down the flank and played a brilliantly driven ball into the box. Once the ball arrived near the six-yard line, it was met by sophomore forward Elsi Aries, who timed her run perfectly and put it away to even the score at one. Kelly described her tendency to look to play balls similar to the one she sent to Duncan.

“I like to be creative, and the forwards know that, and that’s how we work best together,” Kelly commented. “We just practice that, and we work well together when we can be creative around the defensive line.”

Throughout the rest of the match, it seemed like the Jumbos had chance after chance to take the lead, including a well-hit rocket by senior midfielder Thalia Greenberg that hit the post and bounced out.

“At that point, it was obviously a really close game, so we just brought the energy and we kept the ball really well between us,” Kelly observed. “Our passing was on point, so I think that just allowed us to keep attacking at their defense, and they were getting tired, but we seemed to be getting more energy —

and I think that’s what helped us to keep getting those chances.”

Despite the numerous chances they had, the Jumbos were unable to find the net again to claim the victory. That being said, the Jumbos held utter control of play and dominance of the statistics sheet, recording 18 shots to the Panthers’ six, eight shots on goal to the Panthers’ three, as well as seven corners to the Panthers’ two. In the end, the scoreline was enough to get the job done for the team. In a league as tough as the NESCAC, that has as much national triumph as it does, the accomplishment of clinching the playoffs should not be overlooked: It is a conference where any team can win on a given day, so guaranteeing your squad’s ability to fight for hardware goes a long way.

Following Saturday’s performance, the squad went on the road again on Tuesday to take on Bowdoin with seeding implications on the line. Depending on the result and other scores around the league, the Jumbos could finish as high as third place on the regular season table. Unfortunately, a very valiant effort that featured two goals from Sumner was not enough to prevent the team from recording its first away loss of the year as the Polar Bears won 3–2. As a result of Tuesday’s scores, the Jumbos are the No. 8 seed in the NESCAC tournament and will travel to the No. 1 seed, Amherst College — No. 6 in the nation — on Oct. 30 with kickoff at 12:30 p.m. Despite their difficult playoff draw, the Jumbos remain optimistic about the postseason.

“It’s a new season for us, we have new opportunities,” Kelly said. “We have a clean sheet … and we can just give it our all and there’s no looking back. We don’t have to think about the past, and we are looking towards the future and wanting to win so we can keep our season going.”

y preseason World Series prediction — Atlanta Braves over Houston Astros — sounded great way back in March, and with both teams having first round byes in the playoffs, it looked pretty good in October, too. But baseball isn’t that easy.

The 2023 World Series will instead feature the Texas Rangers and the Arizona Diamondbacks. It’s the first time since 1991 that two teams with losing records the year prior have met in the World Series. Here’s the tale of the tape between these two clubs, and my almost certainly inaccurate prediction for the series.

The Rangers lost 102 games in 2021 and 94 last year, but they managed to far exceed expectations this season. Corey Seager raked after a disappointing 2022 and Marcus Semien was his usual self, but Texas also got surprise breakout seasons from Adolis García and Jonah Heim at the plate. Rookies Josh Jung and Evan Carter, a September call-up, also impressed. It all added up to the third-best offense in baseball, averaging 5.44 runs per game. Offseason recruit Nathan Eovaldi was terrific on the mound, while deadline acquisitions Max Scherzer and Jordan Montgomery helped to further shore up the pitching staff.

After letting the AL West division title slip away to the Astros, the Rangers drew the 99-win Rays in the wild card round, who they would proceed to outscore 11–1 in two games in an easy sweep. They kept right on rolling through the 101-win Orioles, sweeping them and waltzing into an ALCS matchup with those very same Astros, who they would beat in seven games.

The Diamondbacks, for their part, lost 110 games in 2021 and 88 last year, so you could say they weren’t exactly among the preseason favorites for the National League pennant. Two offseason moves stand out in hindsight — trading Daulton Varsho to Toronto for Lourdes Gurriel Jr. and Gabriel Moreno and extending Corbin Carroll. While Varsho hasn’t been bad in Toronto, Gurriel and Moreno have both been solid at the plate, and Moreno is a near lock to win the NL Gold Glove at catcher. For Carroll’s part, he had just 115 big league plate appearances when Arizona offered him an eight-year, $111 million extension. With Carroll being a shoo-in for NL Rookie of the Year, that deal looks like a genius move now.

Even still, it seemed the Diamondbacks, who barely snuck into the playoffs and had a -15 run differential, were a year early. That didn’t stop them from sweeping the Brewers in the wild card round and the heavyweight Dodgers in the division series, setting up an NLCS matchup with the Phillies. After going down 3–2 in the series, they would win games six and seven on the road to punch their ticket to the World Series.

So who wins? The Rangers are the better team on paper in just about every way, and they’ll have the home field advantage. But if I’ve learned anything from these playoffs, it’s that I should ignore every instinct I have when it comes to picking baseball games.

This postseason has defied all logic, and my gut has betrayed me too many times.

Diamondbacks in seven.

Henry is a junior studying history. He can be reached at henry.blickenstaff@tufts.edu.