The Tufts Daily - Monday, November 8, 2021

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VOLUME LXXXI, ISSUE 29

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Monday, November 8, 2021

MEDFORD/SOMERVILLE, MASS.

Mayor Curtatone speaks at Tisch College Civic Life Lunch webinar

by Madeline Wilson Contributing Writer

As part of its Civic Life Lunch series, Tisch College hosted a webinar with Somerville Mayor Joe Curtatone titled “Somerville on the Move: A City Transformed & Forging a New Path Forward” on Oct. 27.

The webinar was moderated

by Jeffrey Berry, John Richard Skuse Class of 1941 professor of political science, who began by asking Mayor Curtatone about his decision not to run in the 2021 mayoral election which took place on Nov. 2. “[At] the beginning of 2021 … I just asked myself two basic questions. One, would I still be standing up at the end of the calendar year? And also, would I still love the job?”

Curtatone responded. “I said …

I’ll serve the community better if I focus on getting us through COVID and all the things we need to do, especially taking on the systemic failures which were glaringly obvious during the pandemic, if they weren’t already.”

Curtatone was elected to the office in 2004 and has since spearheaded a number of initiatives that have shaped the lives of Somerville citizens.

Now that he is stepping away from public office, Curtatone has accepted the role of president of the board of the Northeast Clean Energy Council, a position he will begin in 2022.

“It is a small but impactful and influential organization,” Curtatone said of the NECEC. “It’s currently in New England states and New York State … but expanding throughout the Mid Atlantic to have the entire Northeast corridor . . . [It is] engaging and aligning all allies and stakeholders from industry, academia, to advocacy and nonprofit organizations already doing this work.”

Many of Curtatone’s policies as mayor of Somerville have focused on countering climate change.

Programs such as the Somerville Climate Forward Plan, which charts a path to carbon neutrality for the city by 2050, work to integrate environmental legislation with community development.

SOPHIE DOLAN / THE TUFTS DAILY

Tisch College invited Somerville Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone to speak as a Oct. 27.

Curtatone noted the imporCurtatone’s affordable houstance of including diverse voices ing policies include the 2,000 in the fight for climate justice.

Homes Initiative, which works to “[The NECEC is] amplifying — support Somerville residents at not just giving a seat at the table, risk of eviction. amplifying — the voices of Black, “We’re seeking to buy resibrown, poor people,” Curtatone dential units in existing neighsaid. “I’m … understanding very borhoods to preserve housing,” clearly that I am getting into an he said. “We’re doing a competindustry and an organization itive job building the new units, that is white-male dominated, but losing on our streets and and it’s an opportunity to lead our neighborhoods where peowith those values which, again, ple live.” just embody so much of what Berry also noted that some … I’ve had the pleasure to do as long-time Somerville residents mayor.” are wary of the extent that the Berry asked Mayor Curtatone city has been changing over time, about the problem of affordable and asked how Curtatone has housing and gentrification in responded to complaints that Somerville. “the old Somerville is dying.”

SCIENCE

These fluorescent polka dots may one day be used to store your data

by Aedan Brown

Contributing Writer

An estimated 14 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity were used in 2020 to store data, which is the same amount of annual energy used by 1.27 million U.S. homes.

To help reduce the amount of energy that data storage uses, a new technique that uses glowing fluorescent molecules has been developed by researchers from Harvard University and Northwestern University.

The current standard for data storage is magnetic tape, which stores data based on the orien-

tation of small magnetic regions in a metal. While magnetic tapes are prominent, they suffer from a few drawbacks. Magnetic tapes remain stable for only 10 to 30 years — after this time, the information may become inaccurate or not readable — and require huge amounts of energy. Because of these disadvantages, scientists have been looking to develop new data storage techniques.

While a few different techniques have gained momentum recently — such as storing data with DNA — a group of scientists at Harvard University and Northwestern University have

thrown their hat into the ring and developed a unique new data storage strategy. Their work revolves around fluorescent molecules that glow if you shine a light on them. When these molecules are printed onto an epoxy resin — essentially the “paper” if the fluorescent molecules are the “ink” — they can be read as data by computers, the researchers described last month in a paper in ACS Central Science.

Computers understand data as 0s and 1s. If a molecule is printed onto the epoxy resin, that see FLUORESCENCE, page 2

COURTESY GEORGE WHITESIDES

A new technology uses chemical bonds in fluorescent dots to store information.

part of its Civic Life Lunch series on “We need to be good listeners, though, and recognize and accept that opinion, that commentary, that criticism, with grace,” Curtatone responded.

“When we’ve developed, as a community, SomerVision, we try to embrace those values.”

SomerVision2040 is a comprehensive plan for development of the City of Somerville with goals of advancing equity, preventing displacement, encouraging community involvement and making citywide progress over the next 20 years.

“We need to make sure we’re leading with equity and we’re see CURTATONE, page 2

Red Dress Gala a success for PERIOD at Tufts

by Ariana Phillips Contributing Writer

PERIOD at Tufts hosted a Red Dress Gala on Oct. 15 that raised $1,020 for the Myna Mahila Foundation, a nonprofit organization that provides access to menstrual products to communities in India.

PERIOD at Tufts was founded two years ago by Yasmeen Meek, the current vice president of the club, to increase access to menstrual products for Tufts students and members of the Medford/Somerville community. PERIOD at Tufts is part of the international PERIOD organization, which has chapters in over 20 countries and over 40 U.S. states.

Like its parent organization, PERIOD at Tufts seeks to reduce the stigma surrounding menstruation through service projects, education initiatives and political advocacy.

On-campus performance groups, including Roti and Rum, BEATs and COCOA Dancers, provided entertainment at the gala.

Semolina Kitchen and Bar, Anna’s Taqueria, Picante Taqueria and Yoshi’s donated free food for the

SPORTS / back

FEATS / page 3

ARTS / page 4

Running the show: XC places 2nd, 4th at NESCACs

Tufts Garden Club blooms

Whimsy, humor, sincerity in ‘What We Do in the Shadows’ season 3

event. Guests were encouraged to wear red clothes and/or cocktail attire.

The Red Dress Gala was PERIOD at Tufts’ first event of the year. According to junior Olivia Ting, the education chair of PERIOD at Tufts, the gala was two years in the making.

“Two years ago … we wanted to have a huge, big fundraiser because our first PERIOD drive was really successful,” Ting said. “[ The Red Dress Gala] just kind of evolved over the course of two semesters two years ago, and then COVID hit and that wasn’t possible, but it was the brainchild of the entire [executive] board two years ago.”

Ting explained the executive board’s vision for the event.

“We just thought it’d be fun for people to have something to look forward to, maybe dress up for if they feel so inclined, have some really good music, some good food,” Ting said. “We thought that it would be a good opportunity to meet new people, have a good time and also support a really good cause.” see RED DRESS GALA, page 2 NEWS

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

THE TUFTS DAILY Madeleine Aitken Editor in Chief

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Curtatone discusses tenure as Somerville mayor CURTATONE

continued from page 1 not leaving those voices behind,” Curtatone said regarding the varying opinions on community progress in Somerville.

Curtatone then took questions from attendees. Rockford Weitz, director of the Fletcher Maritime Studies Program, asked how Curtatone would enhance public transportation in Somerville if given the opportunity.

“We need a plan for transportation that offers green, clean, equitable mobility options,” Curtatone said. “We should be electrifying the commuter rail … we need to lead with those progressive values.

If we want 21st-century transportation that is equitable, that is green, that sparks a 21st-century global economy, we need to build it. We need to stop planning our cities and towns for cars.”

Curtatone emphasized the importance of starting small, focusing on projects like extending the Green Line, as a means of bolstering the local Somerville community and fighting the climate crisis.

“Too much of the work is focused only at the nation[al] and some at the state [level],” he said.

“If we’re going to cultivate this tapestry of an ecosystem to [fight] the climate crisis, it involves having a carbon-free transporta-

tion system in every city-region around the country and bringing those regions to the table.”

Curtatone underscored his appreciation of the mutually beneficial relationship between Tufts and the City of Somerville.

“Tufts understands the benefit and value it has of being in a community like Somerville, and we recognize the value and benefit of having such a great academic institution and community partner,” he said.

New data invention could save energy FLUORESENCE

continued from page 1 represents a 1, while no molecule represents a 0. Because the molecules glow when a light is shone on them, their presence can be determined visually. So the molecules can be printed to “write down” the information, and then a special device for detecting the glow of the molecules can be used to “read” it.

To store complex information, different colored molecules are needed. Then, large amounts of information can be stored by printing grids of dots with multiple colors. For example, each row on a grid can be designed to encode an individual letter.

Reading the entire grid, top-tobottom, would represent a word.

One interesting feature of this technique is that the grids of individual colors do not need to be aligned next to each other. If red and blue are the colors used, then so long as all the red dots are aligned and all the blue dots are aligned,

it is not as important that the red and blue dots are together.

This feature leads to the multicolor polka dot patterns that can be seen when the molecules glow. George Whitesides, a chemist at Harvard University and one of the authors of the paper, described that this came as somewhat of a surprise.

“In retrospect, we observed it and then sort of worked out why it happened,” Whitesides said. “I had not thought about it and planned for getting it.”

Whitesides explained that the flexibility of the grid gives this technique some extra advantages. For example, different patterns could be used to give an extra layer of security.

“It’s also interesting from the point of view of cryptography,” Whitesides said. “Where you put the dots, it’s less a question of alignment, and more a question of the structure of the coding you’re using.”

Because this fluorescent-molecule technique is new, research-

ers have not yet been able to fully explore its long-term stability (how many years it will accurately hold information).

However, there are encouraging signs. The molecules are attached to the epoxy resin with an amide bond, which is a very stable chemical bond. While this bond is not the only factor at play, its stability will help the overall technique stability. Additionally, the researchers were able to read the information many times with only slight reductions in the glow of the molecules.

Whitesides also explained that this technique performs better in terms of energy, partially because the molecules are easier to store in response to adverse environmental conditions, like humidity.

“One of our motivations in the beginning was, ‘Can we store information in a way that doesn’t require as much energy,’ which this [technique] does,” Whitesides said.

With these benefits, it appears that fluorescent molecules

could be the way to go, though some researchers believe more time may be needed for exploration. Jean-François Lutz, a chemist and research director at the French National Centre for Scientific Research, offered his thoughts about this technique.

“We don’t really know if these [molecules] could be stored for maybe 5, 10, 20 years, or if they are unstable in months,” Lutz said. “This is not really clear for the moment … The system was really nicely optimized, but, like for any new technology or material, you have a lot of questions.”

While there are still questions to answer, this technique is a contender to improve data storage. It is unclear which technique will win out in the long run, but Whitesides remained optimistic.

“Technology works best when you have competing methods that are being developed at the same time and you see what turns out to be good for what,” Whitesides said.

Red Dress Gala to become annual event for PERIOD RED DRESS GALA

continued from page 1 Mira Pensa, co-treasurer of PERIOD at Tufts, reported that there was high turnout to the event. Meek shared that over 200 people RSVPed. Throughout the night, students were encouraged to donate to the Myna Mahila Foundation.

“Tickets to the gala were pay-what-you-can to make it as accessible as possible while also raising donations for a great

cause,” Meek, a senior, wrote in an email to the Daily.

Ting reflected on the success of the gala and talent of the student performers.

“It was a good time and [the groups] were so incredible,” Ting said. “It’s really stunning to think that these are just students.”

Pensa described the gala as successful and enjoyable.

“I definitely think it turned out as planned,” Pensa, a firstyear, said. “I think we raised a

bit more money than we were expecting. I think a couple of groups couldn’t come so it ended a little sooner than we expected, but I really think it was perfect.”

Now that Tufts has returned to mostly in-person programming, PERIOD at Tufts has more events planned for the semester, including a workshop and a film screening. Additionally, according to Meek, the club will host another fundraiser this year called the PERIOD Drive &

Packing Party, where the group will organize menstrual supplies into care packages and donate them to local homeless shelters.

Meek said that PERIOD at Tufts plans to continue hosting its Red Dress Gala in future years after the event’s initial success.

“We want to make this event even bigger and better in the future, and I think that will definitely be possible as COVID restrictions ease,” Meek said.

VIA PERIOD AT TUFTS

A promotional poster for the Tufts branch of PERIOD, an organization that works to end period poverty is pictured.

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Features

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Tufts Garden Club tends to plants and the community

Sophia Grekin Humans of Tufts

Katie Yang ’24

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by Juanita Asapokhai

Assistant Features Editor

There’s life on Latin Way Road.

Lying between Harleston Hall and Latin Way, the bustling movements of students traveling to and from their dormitories is interrupted by a fenced plot of plants, bright-colored vegetables and tall, leafy produce. This is Tufts University’s student-run garden, tended by the members of the Tufts Garden Club.

Since the group began in 2010, the Tufts Garden Club has been a means for students to engage in an activity that they usually have to leave behind when they come to college or gain first-time experience with something new.

“I’ve seen quite a few people who [have said] ‘It’s nice to have this garden because I miss my mother’s garden in Vermont … I’ve heard lovely stories of people who have actual farms,” Bayley Koopman, president of the Garden Club, said.

The club can also be students’ first exposure to gardening.

“There [are] plenty of people who have lived in the city and this is their first taste of gardening, and [the club] is an extremely low-stress environment to learn how to [do it],” Koopman said.

The Garden Club is self-sustaining, and student members control all operations of the garden.

“We build all of the beds ourselves, and we grow everything from seed, and we harvest everything ourselves,” Koopman said.

In response to increased interest in the club in recent semesters, the garden plot expanded its size by 500 square feet. Construction leader Aaron Apostadero, a sophomore, leads the group’s building projects; the newest additions are two plant beds and a wooden bench for students to sit on while in the garden.

The club offers students the opportunity to get their hands dirty and learn how to garden. “[Gardening] events are usually on Saturday mornings, and they can vary based on the project, but usually they involve spending time outdoors, weeding, getting into the soil, getting dirty,” Koopman said.

“Sometimes there’s construction stuff.”

The Garden Club also gives students a chance to tend to their wellbeing.

“I’ve been told by a fair amount of people that they really enjoy coming to Saturday morning events to start the weekend off right,” Lily Mikolajczak, one of the club’s two social media coordinators, said. “People like

KIANA VALLO / THE TUFTS DAILY

The Tufts Student Garden is pictured. being in the fresh air, and weeding and doing that kind of stuff can be kind of therapeutic.”

Sarah Goldstein, another social media coordinator, felt very similarly in that the garden offers an escape from the busy schedule of college.

“Especially in such a highstress environment like a college or university where people are constantly on the academic grind, I think having an outdoor space to decompress, relax and hold things and feel their power is really important on campus,” Goldstein said.

Another type of event the Garden Club offers does not include soil or shovels at all.

Members are treated to weekly tea swaps in East Hall, where they can exchange tea they dislike for new flavors. According to Mikolajczak, these events play a powerful role in fostering a sense of community and camaraderie amongst the student gardeners.

Mikolajczak also highlighted the role the Garden Club played in facilitating connections among students in the 2020–21 school year, when COVID-19 safety restrictions limited contact with others.

“I think it was really nice to have Garden Club events during COVID. Last year there was a tulip planting [event for the] Africana Center, and tea-making using the leaves in the garden — that was really nice,” Mikolajczak said. “I know some clubs had a really hard time during the pandemic last year … but I feel like Garden Club did a good job of doing what we could.”

When the garden is in season, some of the produce grown by the Garden Club is given to

Carmichael Dining Hall. Once the season changes and the garden is prepared for the winter, the club transitions into other “homestead” activities, Koopman explained, including guest speakers and sourdough starter giveaways.

The Garden Club has partnered with other groups in gardening-related efforts, including a project with biology professor Colin Orians to renew the Tisch Library rooftop greenery.

“We got a few students and Dr. Orians, and we basically revitalized the garden, planted new things and kind of [livened] it [up],” Koopman said.

The club also joined forces with the Eco Reps to build an eco-brick planter. The planter they created now serves as a pot for a white mulberry tree.

“Eco brick is basically taking a water bottle, and instead of recycling, you fill it with thin filmy plastics that normally can’t be recycled would go in the trash, and you fill it until the “brick” — the water bottle — becomes rock hard and you can use it as a brick in building structures,” Koopman said.

The e-board has several plans and projects in the works for the school year ahead.

“I was talking to some people at HCAT, the humanist group on campus, and there is a kind of an empty space near the Interfaith Center,” Mikolajczak said. “They want to make a garden [and] partner with us.”

The club also plans to coordinate with engineering students to design an on-campus compost bin. “[By keeping it on campus], students can distribute

their compost there rather than sending it off where we’ll never see what happens to it,” Koopman said. “This way we can use it as an educational tool to understand how things get composted, and we would love to use the compost in the garden to kind of come full circle in this process of sustainability.”

For Apostadero, ambitions for this year include addressing stigmas around gardening and expanding the club’s membership.

“A personal goal of mine for this club is to kind of decentralize the idea that gardening is not a male thing, it’s not a masculine thing — that’s something I grew up with personally,” Apostadero said. “I want to help destroy that by integrat[ing] more diversity among genders, among race, [and] say that gardening is fun and everybody should do it.”

According to its leaders, the Garden Club is defined by flexibility.

“The great thing about gardening is that it’s super low commitment — you take what you get from it, essentially,” Goldstein said.

Koopman again emphasized that the club is not just dominated by green thumbs.

“This is a club for people of all experiences. I’m president now … but when I started freshman year, I had no gardening experience. I learned everything from this club,” Koopman said. “We’re really open to all experience levels, and we just kind of want to foster a sense of community here. Just teach and learn as we go.”

ophia Grekin: “What is the most influential advice or motto you live by?”

Katie Yang: “I can’t remember the Latin word for it, but ‘you will always die’ — [memento mori]. Yeah, you will die, basically. In my art I want to do installations and I want to center it around that idea, that you’re gonna die someday.”

SG: “What do you take that to mean?”

KY: “I think a lot of people take it to mean seize the day but, initially — like at least in Latin — [it] means don’t drown yourself in pleasure, do something you want to before you die. I take it as, well, I want to do community service, I want to do civic engagement, I want to do something for the world before I die.”

SG: “Is that your big bucket list item?”

KY: “As of now, but you know, life changes.”

SG: “You said you do art. Do you get to express yourself these days?”

KY: “Not really, even though I’m a fine arts major, I don’t really draw that often.”

SG: “Is drawing your concentration?”

KY: “No, it’s installations. Do you know what installations are?”

SG: “No, please explain them.”

KY: “It kind of originates from sculpture, but it’s more than sculpture — it’s 3D work, but the viewer is supposed to be a part of the experience. So with sculpture, you just kind of look at it. But installation, you have to actually feel it. Installation is almost spatial; you can step into it and look around.”

SG: “What ideas do you have for installations?”

KY: “I have some ideas, nothing implemented — partly because I don’t have the time and it’s expensive. My first idea is kind of like a big screen, maybe a person tall and this wide [she gestures to her wingspan]. My plan is to film graves during the day and then put a camera in front of a grave for fifteen minutes — just record in normal time and put it on the screen. It’s [about taking] such a heavy subject, and sometimes… you have to get over it and just forget about it. But it’s always there, no matter the sunny days and rainy days, the grave is there.

People need to be more familiarized with that.”

SG: “That ties into your memento mori, right? Do you have a theme for your art?”

KY: “Yes. I want to focus on that one for now. And then maybe, caring between inter-human relationships. Maybe relationships between friends, lovers and strangers.”

Sophia Grekin is a sophomore who has not yet declared a major. Sophia can be reached at sophia.grekin@tufts.edu

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Arts & POP ARTS Pop CULTURE Culture

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Monday, November 8, 2021

‘What We Do in the Shadows’ hits new emotional depths in season 3

by Fiona Collins

Contributing Writer

A mockumentary-style sitcom focusing on the day-to-day life of four vampire roommates is bound to be rife with comedic potential, but in its most recent season, which ended on Oct. 28, “What We Do in the Shadows” (2019–) strikes an unexpected balance between nonsensical shenanigans and tender ponderings on the meaning of life.

“What We Do in the Shadows” is a spinoff of the 2014 movie of the same name, written and directed by Taika Waititi and Jemaine Clement. With both original creators involved in the show as executive producers, fans of the cult favorite will not be disappointed in this new take on the series. Immortal beings’ struggling with cohabitation and new forms of technology carry over from the film, but the departures from its source material prevent the premise from getting stale. The introduction of energy vampire Colin Robinson (Mark Proksch) brings a refreshing contrast to the eccentricity of the other vampires. Robinson does not feast on the blood of humans but rather drains them of their energy through online trolling and poorly timed “updog” jokes. The show writers don’t get tangled up in the weeds of describing the origin of this new form of vampires, or as Colin Robinson himself says, “Yeah, I’m not positive what my deal is either, so I just sort of keep on truckin’.”

The key to the show’s success is in its near-flawless casting.

Kayvan Novak shines as Nandor, a once-relentless military leader now turned disgruntled leader of only the household.

Matt Berry’s turn as Laszlo has just enough exaggerated flair to be hysterical without going overboard, and his character’s devotion to his lovely wife Nadja redeems an otherwise perverted man. Nadja (Natasia Demetriou) plays a slightly less central role this season, but is primed to serve a more prominent one in season 4.

Harvey Guillén brings entirely new energy to the screen as his character Guillermo transforms from a lowly familiar (a human who serves a vampire) to a formidable bodyguard with particularly great action sequences.

Aside from the cast, the costume design stands out for its attention to each character’s time and region of origin, and the show’s quality visual effects paired with its mockumentary-style cinematography create a fun and unique dynamic.

VIA IMDB

Season 3 of “What We Do in the Shadows” premiered on Sept. 2 and ended on Oct. 28.

Although the show was perfectly delightful in its first two seasons, it struggled to find a through line in its story. Each episode featured a new silly scenario, ensuing antics and a resolution. Conflicts surrounding the vampiric council lacked a sense of urgency and often went unmentioned until the final episodes. Season 3 brought about a welcome change in which the driving force is no longer an external organization, but rather the internal conflict of Nandor struggling to find companionship and meaning as he faces

immortality. The silly antics remain, yet the audience doesn’t lose sight of the emotional struggle; a hilarious ‘80s style montage features Nandor as he joins a cult in an attempt to become human again, but the existential crisis remains just beneath the surface.

Season 3 brings more focus to the care and love that the characters have for one another. Guillermo sums it up best in the finale, saying to the entire household, “There’s the family that you’re born into, and then there’s your chosen family. That’s what we are. We’re a chosen fam-

ily.” By pushing the characters beyond the dynamic of unenthusiastic roommates to become a dysfunctional family, the stakes of the conflict reach new heights.

The show also marks an exciting new level of queer representation in television. It goes unquestioned that vampires would have fully embraced the spectrum of sexuality, and unlabelled queerness becomes the default. Main characters casually reference having sex with men and women, yet their sexuality is never the punchline. Given this track record, there may be much

more to come from Nandor and Guillermo’s relationship in the future after the two grew much closer this season.

“What We Do in the Shadows” has maintained its whimsy, only strengthening its humor through contrasting moments of sincerity. Considering FX renewed the show for a fourth season weeks before its season 3 premiere, it is likely the writers already have a lot in mind regarding the future of these characters. Wherever they end up it is bound to be sweet, silly and highly entertaining.

A r t s & P o p C u lt u r e Odessa Gaines K-Weekly

Twice’s ‘Alcohol-Free’ will leave you drunk in love

The world of K-pop, like most other fields of music, art and life, is unfortunately dominated by male groups and artists, but the women of K-pop never fail to remind us that they earned their right to be there just as much as anyone else. They have been turning out bops since the beginning of K-pop, and every year gives us something new to jam out to. One of the biggest

and most well-known groups is Twice.

Twice is a nine-member group under JYP Entertainment whose first EP “The Story Begins” and its single “Like Ooh-Ahh” came out in 2015. The members Momo, Jeongyeon, Jihyo, Nayeon, Mina, Dahyun, Tzuyu, Chaeyoung and Sana combine their various talents of vocals, dance and rap in order to put out consistent award-winning songs and albums. Over the years, the group has shown a clear ability to pull off many genres and styles, including bubblegum pop, dance and EDM. Their 2021 mini-album “Taste of Love” is just one of many proofs of their talent. The album’s opening track, “Alcohol-Free” is the topic of today’s article.

Monday, November 8, 2021 | Arts & Pop Culture | THE TUFTS DAILY “Alcohol-Free,” released on June 9, features dance, electronic and Bossa Nova elements throughout to create a tropical summer feel. The group is well known for its summer hits such as “Dance the Night Away” (2018) and dance-pop tracks such as “TT” (2016). Both styles are mirrored in this new summer single. The girls’ vocals themselves make you want to sway back and forth and move your hips to the smooth beats.

The song speaks of being so drunk in love with your partner that you need nothing else to feel floaty or happy. Throughout the lyrics and music video, Twice makes comparisons between lovers and alcohols — wine, mojito, pina coladas. As the girls sing

about how they “fall deeper and deeper” in love, the music video showcases bright summer colors and refreshing summer drinks to highlight the warm feeling of being with their significant other.

The girls explain that they are “alcohol-free but I get drunk” in their relationship, depicting an intoxicating connection that makes them “keep smiling for no reason.”

While the music video brings in the feelings of summer and fun that we all miss after the past two years, the lyrics speak to love and relationships to create the perfect summer romance song.

As they say, their love “makes the whole world bright and sunny,” even better than a summer drink.

As always is the case, enjoying a song by simply listening is

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one thing, but Twice makes the “Alcohol-Free” experience even more amazing with its music video and choreography. The girls’ smooth, flowing dance moves give the impression that they are truly drunk in love, and their brightly colored clothes make the track a summer single. The lyrics themselves are clever in their wordplay and association, giving another level of appreciation to the production team and artists behind the music. And quite simply, the girls’ vocals are soul-ascending to listen to. So why not get drunk in love with the music of Twice?

Odessa Gaines is a first-year who has not yet declared a major. Odessa can be reached at kayla.gaines@tufts.edu.

The Office of the Provost’s 3rd Annual My Tufts Story Video Contest The My Tufts Story video contest showcases how Tufts’ students design their education based upon their unique interests and backgrounds. Which paths have you already taken and which others do you plan to pursue during your time at Tufts? We want to hear about your passions, interests, experiences, and aspirations. Details can be found on our website at: https://provost.tufts.edu/my-tufts-story/. We look forward to seeing your creations and learning about your amazing stories! Videos can be submitted until 9:00AM EST on Monday, November 15th, 2021.

TRASHING ONE EGG WASTES 55 GALLONS OF WATER

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THE TUFTS DAILY | FUN & GAMES | Monday, November 8, 2021

F& G

tuftsdaily.com LATE NIGHT AT THE DAILY Kate: “Do you want to look at my promposal?”

FUN & GAMES

SUDOKU

FALL

Difficulty Level: Getting an unexpected visit from your parents.

By Cecilia Orozco

Friday’s Solutions

SEARCHING FOR HEADLINES...

CROSSWORD

tuftsdaily.com

Opinion

7 Monday, November 8, 2021

Elizabeth Buehl The Journey

OP-ED

End the legacy supremacy

by Christoph Baker The past year has welcomed remarkable changes to Tufts. From the unfurling of its anti-racism initiative to its test-optional diverse applicant pool, the academic landscape is shifting more rapidly than students, and probably faculty, can remember. On April 14, another milestone was reached when the Tufts University School of Medicine eliminated legacy status from consideration in its 2021 application. While anti-racism commitments and surging applicant diversity have been noted at scores of institutions across the United States, the decision to drop legacy considerations from admissions distinguishes TUSM from the vast majority of medical schools.

Currently, admissions at most of the nation’s medical schools and hundreds more universities without medical programs consider legacy status, a tool that favors the admission of students with familial ties to the university. Formally established in the early 20th century, legacy admission policies were created to protect universities’ white, wealthy and Protestant student bodies from competing with recent European and Jewish immigrants. Today they function in much the same way, favoring admission of white, wealthy applicants over immigrants, people of color and individuals of lower socioeconomic status.

While TUSM has decided to scrap legacy admissions for the coming year, the continuation of the policy by the School of Arts and Sciences as well as other Tufts schools is problematic. The persistence of a policy that was founded with its basis in religious, ethnic and economic discrimination threatens to undermine Tufts’ commitment to reform its admissions

process in accordance with its anti-racist aspirations. What’s more, Tufts as an institution is aware of the damage from legacy admissions, which has come up in faculty meetings, Daily articles and emails to Tufts admissions offices. So far, the administration — with the exception of TUSM and the Fletcher School, the latter of which removed its legacy question in September — has not acted to address it. Legacy was conspicuously absent from Tufts’ anti-racism compositional diversity workstream and many admissions administrators declined or did not respond to requests for comment about the way legacy is used or its effects on the composition of the student body.

Some of the effects on the student body are easy to discern. In 2017, the median family income of a Tufts student sat at $224,800, the 8th highest compared to other elite colleges. 77% of students fell into the top fifth of incomes, with families making more than $110,000, landing Tufts in 4th place compared to other elite institutions. During that year, Tufts had almost as many students from the top 1% of earners as from the bottom 80%. Statistics on the racial diversity of Tufts signal similar shortcomings. Tufts’ diversity data indicates that as of fall 2020, Tufts’ student body is 50.8% white, while only 4.6% Black/ African American and 8.4% Hispanic, making it less diverse than private institutions of similar prestige. Apart from hampering economic and racial diversity, the use of legacy admissions is also troubling because Tufts ranks 7th next to other elite colleges in terms of social mobility, measured by the chance that a poor student has to become a rich adult. The result is a significant loss in potential to improve

the social standing of underrepresented groups.

It is true that the economic and racial homogeneity of the student body is not just due to legacy admissions. It is also true that there are other ways of diversifying an institution. Making test scores optional and reevaluating application metrics (as recommended in the anti-racism compositional diversity workstream) may mitigate the effects of applicants’ differential access to resources. Nevertheless, eliminating legacy admissions is obvious, low-hanging fruit, and unsurprisingly has shown significant promise in boosting racial and socioeconomic diversity. In 2014, Johns Hopkins University eliminated legacy admissions, and a comparison of data from 2009 to 2019 found that Pell Grant eligible students increased by 10%, students on financial aid increased by 20% and racial minority representation increased by 10%. During this same time period its endowment nearly tripled, adding evidence to research demonstrating that the removal of legacy admissions need not come with a financial tradeoff, as proponents of the policy would have you believe.

Given this data and Tufts’ commitment to anti-racism, why has the Tufts administration avoided identifying legacy admissions as a problem and failed to address it? While the reasons remain elusive, this lapse spurred students — including myself — to organize in the fall of 2020 (Bounce ‘Bos Legacy on Facebook and Instagram) and push for admissions reform. For seven months the organization campaigned to remove the policy at the medical school and today maintain open communication with programs that still ask about and/or consider legacy on their application, including Undergraduate Admissions,

the DVM program of Cummings Veterinary School, and the School of Dental Medicine, though the latter did not respond to outreach and therefore their legacy policy is unknown.

However, it is time for more than just a small student organization to recognize the harm legacy admissions have caused to the integrity of our admissions process and the composition of our community. The Tufts’ administration must acknowledge the racism, socioeconomic discrimination and xenophobia that legacy admissions were founded on and continue to propagate today.

There is no moral framework to justify the continuation of a policy which favors the nation’s wealthiest and most connected.

For Tufts to truly transition into an anti-racist institution, legacy admissions can no longer continue unaddressed. This fall, let’s move to end this inequitable policy of racial and socioeconomic supremacy through collective action (sign our petition at the QR code below) and individual engagement (contact your admissions office to respectfully urge reform). Reaching this milestone will help cement Tufts’ true legacy of anti-racism and equality, and count Tufts as only the fourth elite private university to eliminate legacy admissions.

Together, let’s end this prejudiced admissions practice and cultivate a brighter, more egalitarian educational landscape, filled with the ethos our university and community deserve.

Christoph Baker is a dual-degree student at Tufts University School of Medicine and the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy. He is the founder and co-director of Bounce 'Bos Legacy, a student group committed to ending legacy preferences at Tufts. He can be reached at christoph.baker@tufts.edu.

COURTESY CHRISTOPH BAKER

Scan this QR code to access the petition organized by Bounce ‘Bos Legacy.

Fraternal

G

rowing up as a twin, often the first question my brother, Matt, and I would be asked is, “Are you fraternal or identical?”

Logically, as biologically boy-girl twins, the answer is fraternal.

Nonetheless, as we matured, we learned to answer this question with more understanding, recognizing that not everyone could relate to the experience of being born just six minutes apart.

Although Matt and I don’t quite have twin telepathy, our sibling relationship transcends conventional brother-sister dynamics.

We were in the same school and grade throughout elementary, middle and high school, and we often shared friends. On a deeper level, we picked up speed together: learning to walk, ride a bike and drive side by side. Ultimately, while we have certainly had our fair share of divisive moments, the complexity of having countless shared memories and experiences unifies us in a way many couldn’t conceptualize.

When it came time for the college selection process, our differences led our college searches to different regions of the country. Now, as we have each established ourselves at our respective universities, I have found myself in pensive reflection of my new identity. My friends, professors and classmates know me as Liz, regularly unaware of the brother that walked alongside me throughout my upbringing.

The very nature of differentiating myself has made it evermore apparent that identity is a dynamic concept. While I’ll always be a twin and cherish the relationship that I have with my brother, the influence that different aspects of my identity have on a daily basis change during different stages in my life.

While the concept of redefining yourself as a twin on opposite ends of the East Coast is not universal, the truth is that we are all constantly evolving and redefining ourselves; identities are dynamic. Although it isn’t always obvious at the moment, each life experience we undergo and each subtle moment of growth we experience help shape who we are as people. While core moral values and identifying attributes may endure the test of time, some seemingly more minute facets of our identities often manifest themselves and become powerful forces.

As life continues to pick up speed in the wake of the ongoing pandemic, it is more salient now than ever to embrace the transformative nature of identity. The beauty of change helps illuminate the vibrancy of life.

Elizabeth Buehl is a sophomore studying psychology.

Elizabeth can be reached at elizabeth.buehl@tufts.edu.

8 Monday, November 8, 2021

SPORTS

tuftsdaily.com

Page, Wagude lead Tufts cross country to impressive showing at NESCAC Championship

by Arnav Sacheti

Assistant Sports Editor

Tufts cross country spooked its competitors at the NESCAC Championship at Wickham Park in Manchester, Conn., with the women’s team finishing second and the men’s team finishing fourth on Halloween weekend.

The women, who competed in a 6K race, maintained their position from their last NESCAC Championship in 2019, while the men, who ran an 8K race, massively improved from their 2019 eighth-place finish.

The Jumbos were headlined by senior co-captain Danielle Page, who dominated the women’s race, finishing first overall with a time of 22:29.40, which was 30 seconds faster than any other competitor in the race.

Two other Jumbos, senior Anna Slager and junior Meghan Davis, finished in the top five, with times of 23:18.50 and 23:30.60, respectively.

Sophomore Walter Wagude led the men, finishing fifth overall with a time of 25:17.60, representing a personal best in the race. Juniors Sam Gatti and Collin O’Sullivan followed close behind, both finishing in the top 25, with times of 25:51.40 and 26:13.30, respectively.

“I felt like everything was finally coming together — for both me and the team,” Wagude said. “I was really happy, and I just feel like working together as a team paid off.”

Page and Wagude both made Jumbo history with their races.

Page is only the third Jumbo woman to win a NESCAC Championship and Wagude had the best performance for a Jumbo male at the NESCAC Championship since 2016. Both Page and Wagude, along with Slager and Davis, made the NESCAC All-Conference First Team, which consists of the seven fastest male and female runners in the NESCAC region. Page also received the NESCAC Most Outstanding Performer award for the 2021 season, becoming the first Jumbo to receive this honor since 2006.

This was one of the tougher courses for the men to run as they

COURTESY TUFTS CROSS COUNTRY AND TRACK & FIELD

The women’s cross country team is pictured at the NESCAC Championship. needed to cross a large hill twice in order to finish the 8K race. This was coupled with unfavorable muddy course conditions from rain the night before. However, the Jumbos are not ones to back down and proved this with their finishes.

“I feel like everyone was ready to go out there and have fun,” Wagude said. “I didn’t hear anyone complaining about the conditions or being like, ‘I don’t think I’m going to do my best.’ We have no control over the conditions and every other team is going to go through the same conditions

— but, we are more prepared and are ready to have fun whatever they are.”

The team camaraderie that the Jumbos have built throughout this season particularly shined at this meet — not only for the men, but for the women as well. This race proved to be a cumulation of all the hard work the runners have put in this year.

“It was a really hard course out there,” Page said. “It’s probably the hardest course I’ve ever run on since I was 12 years old. It was a really muddy and chilly day and the team was just really gritty

about it. We had a lot of people finish really well — three in the top five, and we were only 10 points behind the winning team, which is the closest that we’ve been to them in a really long time.

We like races where we can get in there and get a little messy.”

At the race, many spectators wore pink for breast cancer awareness while cheering on the Jumbos.

Being able to run for a bigger cause made the race more meaningful, and contributed in part to the grit that the Jumbos showed.

“Breast cancer has always been a big cause on our team,”

Page said. “We decided that in support of breast cancer awareness, we would all wear our pink shirts. It’s always fun to be able to run for something bigger than yourself. We all have other reasons why we run and it’s nice when the entire team can come together for that.”

The Jumbos’ focus is now set on the NCAA Regional Championship at Franklin Park in Boston, Mass. this upcoming weekend. Their competitive juices are flowing in an attempt to beat neighboring rival MIT, according to Page.