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THE TUFTS DAILY
TUFTSDAILY.COM
Wednesday, October 8, 2014
VOLUME LXVIII, NUMBER 21
Where You Read It First Est. 1980
Tufts to host conference on affordable housing today by Patrick McGrath Daily Editorial Board
Caroline Ambros / The Tufts Daily
Professor David Dapice led a discussion on Myanmar's economic development in Goddard Chapel on Oct. 6.
Myanmar talk kicks off crash course lecture series by Audrey Michael Daily Editorial Board
David Dapice, associate professor of economics and chief economist at the Harvard Kennedy School’s Myanmar Program, presented a lecture on economic development in Myanmar last night at 6:00 p.m. in Goddard Hall. The lecture, titled “Against the Odds:
Economic Development in Myanmar,” was part of the International Relations Program’s Director’s Leadership Council (DLC) crash course series. Senior Yufei Du, one of the DLC board members, opened the discussion, explaining how the crash course series aims to educate students on see MYANMAR, page 2
DeBoer discusses economic relations between OECD and China by Patrick McGrath Daily Editorial Board
Kathleen DeBoer, deputy head of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s (OECD) Washington Center, hosted a discussion on economic relations between the OECD and China last night at 8 p.m. in Cabot Intercultural Center. The lecture, titled “Economic Cooperation Between the US and China,” was hosted by the new Sino-US Relations Group Engagement. DeBoer, who has worked with the OECD for eight and a half years, started off the lecture by speaking about her personal relationship with China and her desire to visit the country when she was young. “I feel like I had something inside of me, some destiny, to go to China,” she said. DeBoer explained that she first traveled to China in 1993, before returning to teach English in Nanjing in 1994. She noted that the relationship between the OECD and China was quite different at that period. “When I came back from teaching in China, I found this job at the OECD, and in those days, in 2006, OECD engagement with China was … not as deep as it is today,” she said. DeBoer explained that as a grounding principle, the OECD
is committed to open, transparent market democracies. “If it’s really an autocratic type of country with no kind of representative democracy function, it’s not going to be a member of the OECD,” she said. China does not necessarily meet these qualifications, however, according to DeBoer. “It’s basically they select, they don’t elect,” she said. “That’s not to say they don’t often select good people.” DeBoer added that as of yet, there has not been a very serious push for a democratic transition in China. “There is not a groundswell of enthusiasm on the mainland for democratic elections,” she explained. “It seems to be pretty low on peoples’ list of priorities, if it’s even on their list of priorities.” Given the size of China’s economy, however, it is necessary for the OECD to incorporate Chinese data into their work, according to DeBoer. She noted that around the time that the OECD was founded, member countries accounted for about 96 percent of the world economy; now the organization represents closer to 64 percent of the world economy, given the rise in countries such as China, Russia and Brazil. DeBoer added that the OECD has a program of Enhanced see OECD, page 2
The Four Planning Schools (4P) and Massachusetts American Planning Association (MassAPA) Annual Conference will take place today at 4:30 p.m. in Cabot ASEAN Auditorium. This year’s conference, titled “Securing Affordable Housing in Hot Market Areas,” will feature the research of Rachel Bratt, former professor of urban and environmental policy and planning (UEP), who retired this August after joining Tufts in 1976. The conference has been hosted on an alternating basis by the 4P schools — Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT ), Harvard University, Tufts and the University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMass Amherst) — for the last six years. This year’s conference was delegated to Tufts. Bratt explained that the subject of this year’s conference is very relevant in today’s housing market, especially in the Boston and the Medford/ Somerville areas. “I don’t think the students in the area have to be given very much background about what it means to live in an area where rents are so high, and all of that contributes to
what we call a hot housing market: high rents, low inventory, really high prices, whether it’s for a single room, a studio, a shared apartment, whatever … it is an expensive market, and it’s a market that is pricing a lot of people out of being able to live here,” she said. Bratt, who has focused her research on U.S. housing policy, said that she and UEP Associate Professor Justin Hollander, who helped organize the event, decided to focus on the subject of affordable housing for the conference this year. Hollander explained that the conference will help recognize Bratt’s contributions to the field, and he underscored how important the issue of affordable housing is today, noting the possible effects of the potential Green Line expansion. “One of the things that we are looking at is how are we as a campus going to think about the impact that the Green Line’s going to have on the ability for students to afford to live anywhere near campus,” he said. Bratt added that the issue of finding affordable housing pertains to both Tufts community members and local families. “This is a huge problem, not just for the local community, students, see UEP, page 2
Athletics department honors Team IMPACT by Daniel Gottfried Daily Editorial Board
Team IMPACT (Inspire, Motivate, and Play Against Challenges Together), a nonprofit organization that invites
students with life-threatening illnesses to play with college athletics teams, received the 2014 Distinguished Achievement Award from the Tufts Athletic Department at their awards night on Sept. 26.
Team IMPACT was cofounded by Tufts alumni Jay Calnan (E ’87), Kris Herman (LA ’86, G ’90), Dan Kraft (LA ’87), Robert Tishman (LA ’86) see IMPACT, page 2
Nicholas Pfosi / The Tufts Daily
Jacob Beranger, an eight-year-old cancer survivor and Team IMPACT participant, was drafted onto the Tufts men's lacrosse team last November.
Inside this issue
Today’s sections
Tufts ski team looks forward to a run for National Championships.
Construction on new science facilities at 574 Boston Ave. uproots artisans.
see SPORTS, back
see FEATURES, page 3
News 1 Features 3 Arts & Living 5 Editorial | Op-Ed 8
Op-Ed 9 Comics 11 Classifieds 11 Sports Back
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News
Team IMPACT receives award at athletics annual awards ceremony
IMPACT
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and Dan Walsh (LA ’87), according to Director of Athletics William Gehling. He said that the Distinguished Achievement Award honors a Tufts-connected individual or organization that has made a difference in sports. “We chose Team IMPACT because five of the seven founding board members are Tufts alumni,” he said. “The vast majority of people that brought it to life and help it function today are Tufts alumni.” Seven athletics teams at Tufts currently participate in Team IMPACT: women’s soccer, men’s soccer, women’s basketball, men’s basketball, men’s lacrosse, football and sailing. “They come to practices, games, and often the teams will do other kinds of activities with them,” Gehling said. “It has a huge beneficial effect on the kid, the kid’s family and on the team and the coach, as well.” Gehling explained that spending time with Team IMPACT participants provides Tufts athletes with a new perspective. “It is helpful to see others who are struggling with things that are really significant to just give a little balance to your own view, about how important what is going on in your own life is,” he said. “It is hard to get upset about going zero for four if you are a baseball player [when] you have a little kid that is fighting for their life.” Through the program, men’s lacrosse player Michael Mattson, a sophomore, developed a friendship with Team
IMPACT participant Jacob Beranger, an eight-year-old cancer survivor from Woburn, Mass. “He is just another guy and another player,” Mattson said. “We treat him as such, and it is a blast to have him. It was really awesome to see him open up throughout the season — and the progression. It was the same way any teammate develops with their teammates — group cohesion. He was part of that.” The men’s lacrosse team has spent time with Beranger both on and off the field, Mattson noted. “We are doing pizza with Jacob, video games, homework in the film room with Jacob, wiffle ball on Tuesdays with Jacob in the cage and Chuck E. Cheese’s,” he said. “His involvement transcends the lacrosse side of things.” Women’s basketball player Emma Roberson, a junior, said she believes Team IMPACT participant Shannon Curley has dramatically changed the team atmosphere. Curley, who was diagnosed with leukemia in 2012, is an eighth grade student from Billerica, Mass. “Her optimism and positivity is admirable, and she always has us laughing with her witty humor,” Roberson told the Daily in an email. “Last March, our team went to Wisconsin for the Final Four, and we were lucky enough to have Shannon travel with us. She was the loudest person on our bench, cheering and clapping for everyone. She even yelled at the [referees] when she didn’t agree with them. It was awesome she was so enthusiastic and passionate. She
Professor speaks about economic conditions in Myanmar MYANMAR
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hot topics around the world. He then introduced Dapice, who has studied Myanmar’s economic development since his first visit to the nation in 1973 and has advised Myanmar’s government in various capacities in the last few decades. Dapice began the lecture by discussing Myanmar’s history with colonialism, explaining how Britain sought to acquire Myanmar — then called Burma — as a buffer state between India and French colonial holdings in Southeast Asia. The British often used ethnic minority populations, which make up approximately one third of Myanmar’s population, to enforce British rule upon the Burmese people, according to Dapice. While installing a colonial government where a monarchy used to exist, Britian also incorporated Burma into Indian colonial boundaries and brought Indian civil servants into the government, which angered the local population. “They changed a set of rules based on a monarch to a more commercial set of rules,” Dapice said. “The Burmese pretty much got the short end of the stick.” After gaining independence from Britain after World War II, successive Burmese governments worked to remove British and Indian influences from the country’s political and economic systems, but this left little infrastructure on which to build a stable system, Dapice explained. Severe postwar government weakness also prevented economic development even before the military seized power. During one of his visits, Dapice noted that “there were no places that sold things, except for at night on blankets,” referring to goods brought in from underground economic markets. The military government imbued Myanmar with a “neo-feudal” mentality based on obligations to the government, which continues to hinder economic development, according to Dapice. “Every person in Myanmar owed [the military government] a fealty — if they wanted rice, they should give them rice; if they wanted labor, they should give them labor,” Dapice said.
Dapice then showed a series of graphs, which demonstrated that Myanmar has among the lowest gross domestic products (GDP) per capita in Asia, with a gross national income per capita currently lower than that of North Korea. Electricity consumption in kilowatt hours lags behind that of Bangladesh and Indonesia, and its electricity production has remained fairly constant since 1995. In 2012, in a World Bank 600-point ranking of six dimensions of effective governance, Myanmar scored less than 50 points — less than North Korea. Dapice said some of this can be attributed to a “resource curse,” wherein developing countries with high levels of natural resources see greatly increased conflict over control of those resources. On his visits to Myanmar, Dapice said he observed severe shortages of credit and poor agricultural conditions, which contrasted with the production figures the government cited. “The farmers had been decapitalized by the intense demands for cheap rice and labor,” Dapice said, adding that the effects of Cyclone Nargis in 2008 also hindered economic development. Dapice explained how the military’s predominance in Myanmar’s government permeates everyday life in the country. “If you drive through a lot of these states, you see miles upon miles of military outposts,” he said. He added that the government often takes land from farmers and then makes them pay rent to use that land. “You see how necessary it is to step back from this neo-feudal situation,” Dapice said. Dapice used Myanmar’s jade industry as an example of how a major industry largely conducts itself outside the government’s purview. When he traveled to Myanmar to evaluate the size of the jade industry, he found that it was much larger than the government had reported because many traders of jade do not report their activity to the government in order to avoid taxation. Dapice concluded the discussion by inviting the audience to discuss possible outcomes for Myanmar’s political future. He added Myanmar is currently at a critical juncture, where it needs to make a choice about its next political steps.
fits right in as a member of the team.” Roberson said Curley’s presence has had a positive impact on the team. “Because of Shannon and her story, we’ve learned to put things in perspective,” she said. “I think my team would agree that daily stressors become a lot more manageable and you feel like you can tackle anything knowing what Shannon has overcome.” Team IMPACT will continue to grow in the future, Gehling said. “Team IMPACT has expanded a lot in three years, but their goal is to expand it dramatically,” he said. “They want it to be present in all 50 states. Right now they are at the stage where they are looking to get corporate funding so that they can scale it up to a truly national organization. There are kids like this in every single state and every single city, near every single college.” The organization could also include college extracurriculars other than sports, according to Gehling. “Not everyone is interested in sports,” he said. “It could be that a kid is really interested in music. So maybe they could partner them with a college a cappella group or college band.” Gehling added that he thinks it has been helpful for Tufts athletes to see Tufts alumni run a program that has had an impact on the community. “I think it was nice for them to see that Tufts alumni didn’t just go off and make tons of money,” he said. “They made money and they tried to make the lives of other people better.”
DeBoer speaks on OECD’s cooperation with partners OECD
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Engagement with key partners such as China that help facilitate their relationships, and she noted that Chinese government officials often want to participate in such programs. “At the OECD, China does not have any voting rights, but it can have observer status on some committees and also it can feed us data into our work,” she explained. The OECD, for instance, has been able to provide research and data for tax information in China, according to DeBoer. She noted that the OECD has helped demonstrate the prevalence of cheating on income taxes in China. “Income tax is probably not the best way for them to collect revenues,” she concluded. DeBoer said that some information has been more readily available to the OECD from China, such as data on trade, foreign direct investment and exchange rates, but data about factors such as public expenditure on healthcare or unemployment have been more spotty. DeBoer explained that the OECD works with member countries on a wide variety of things, except, notably, defense, human rights and national security. “Our mission is really to do things that enhance economic growth,” she said. “We’re very much a measuring and comparing organization, and then we bring that data to the policy debate.” DeBoer also noted the importance the OECD has recognized for education and healthcare in countries surveyed, underscoring in particular the power of education for women and allowing women to own property. “Countries that invest in education and health have better economic growth,” she said. The OECD, which was founded in 1961, is an international organization of 34 member countries that promotes economic development and world trade. The OECD evolved out of the Organisation for European Economic Co-operation, which was founded in 1948 to manage foreign aid through the Marshall Plan for reconstruction in Europe following World War II.
Wednesday, October 8, 2014
Conference unites Mass. planning UEP
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but for families who are really trying to maintain themselves and who are finding it more and more impossible to sustain housing at the cost,” she explained. The annual conference has become an institutionalized event for the 4P schools to which the programs’ students and faculty can look forward to. By holding the conference, 4P schools are able to take advantage of the fact that Massachusetts is one of the few states that has four accredited planning programs, according to Bratt. “We really highly value the fact that we have four planning programs, and they’re all excellent, high-quality programs, and we are delighted to have a chance to interact with each other in this formal way and then informally with the reception,” she said. “These kinds of contacts and networking always provide great opportunities for students and faculty and professionals in the community to learn what everybody’s doing and to hear news from respective campuses.” Hollander said he hopes the discussion in this year’s conference will serve as a resource on campus. “Hopefully the insights that are gleaned from this discussion will be able to be applied to the planning that we do right here on campus,” he said. Margaret Wiryaman, a research assistant at UEP who helped organize the event with Hollander, explained that she began discussing the planning for the event over the summer. “We reached out to the Planning Schools … so we were able to get a lot of people to register through those schools and their networks, as well as MassAPA … and so we were reaching out to them also,” she said. Wiryaman noted that 177 people have currently registered for the conference. The annual conference was first held when Tufts became accredited as a planning program by the APA, according to Bratt. “We then became the third accredited planning program in the Boston area, joining Harvard and MIT,” she said. “I was chair of UEP at that time, and the chairs of the Harvard planning program and the MIT program and I got together and said, ‘Well, gee, it’s really time for us to begin to launch an annual symposium on some topic of interest in planning that would bring all of the students and faculty together in the Boston area.'” She added that as the school with the newest program, Tufts was selected to host the first symposium. UMass Amherst later joined the schools with its own accredited planning program. Hollander underscored Bratt’s role in developing the conference. “One of the things that she did that was really important was she reached out to the other planning schools in Massachusetts … She reached out to others that did planning and she brought them together, and it is what has since become an annual event,” he said. The event will feature an introduction by speakers from the 4P schools as well as a representative from MassAPA. Bratt will then deliver the keynote address, which will be followed by a panel and a question and answer session open to the audience. A reception will be held afterwards.
Features
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Lauren Samuel | Wanderers in Space
In defense of the movie theatre
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Nicholas Pfosi / The Tufts Daily
A Commodore Builders employee cuts metal to size at the construction site at 574 Boston Ave.
Redevelopment of 574 Boston Ave. displaces long artisan legacy by Arin Kerstein Contributing Writer
Less than two years ago, a university building on the outskirts of campus served as an ideal work space for dozens of artisans. Now, the space is one of Tufts’ biggest featured redevelopment projects. 574 Boston Ave is being re-purposed into a science and engineering building to meet the demand for new classrooms, teaching labs, research labs and office and study space. According to Tufts Vice President for Operations Linda Snyder, the space was purchased in 1988 for $2.85 million by Walnut Hill Properties, a Tufts affiliate that manages all university real estate and non-Tufts property leases. “For 25 years, until 2013, Tufts provided space at low cost to the artists, craftspeople and tradespeople,” a statement released by Snyder said. “That community could not have flourished without Tufts’ support. When Tufts needed the building for its mission they were treated with respect and given assistance in relocation.” According to former tenant Dave Golber, it was an artist’s dream space. When he stumbled upon it, he felt he had “died and gone to heaven,” he said. Built as an industrial warehouse, the space boasted open spacing and lighting, creating an atmosphere artists could thrive in, Golber said. Two freight elevators were easily accessible and helpful for artisans with heavy supplies and machinery.
According to Golber, many of the craftspeople had been based at the location for over twenty years. A few of the artists were nationally-acclaimed, and many artisans formed larger groups together during their time at the warehouse. Former tenant Paula Garbarino, a furniture maker, said she found a great collaborative environment at 574 Boston Ave. “There were so many different workers and so many times where you relied on others’ expertise, actually did work with them, got a referral from someone, or paid referral … that [the community] became very tight and very supportive,” she said. Golber said Walnut Hill had been a good landlord and that the rent was extremely reasonable. According to Golber, for 500 square feet, rent would come to about $600 per month including utilities. “It was kind of charity on Tufts’ part,” he said. “They were just trying to break even.” According to Garbarino, Walnut Hill always prioritized meeting the needs of the tenants. She said that Bruce Ketchen, former Walnut Hill general manager, would frequently stop by and invite new artisans to come in. The tenants received six months notice before their move out date at the end of May, in order for Tufts to begin its renovations, Golber said. In this time, many groups that had formed at the warehouse space split up because they could not find big enough spaces that were also conve-
Nicholas Pfosi / The Tufts Daily
Patrick Quinlan works on the redevelopment of the site over the summer.
nient and reasonably priced. While being forced to move out caused financial distress for many of the tenants, Golber said that he, among others, did not place blame on the university. “[They did] what they needed to do,” he said. After the artists had been given six months notice, however, senior Rayn Riel, co-founder of Tufts Urban Policy, Planning and Prosperity (UP3), explored 574 Boston Ave to meet the artisans. He said UP3 was outraged at Tufts for not making an effort to integrate its students into such a powerful art scene. “It was such a community for twenty years that no one knew about,” Riel said. “The art students didn’t know about it. They could have gone here to work with them. I’m sure they could have had apprenticeships … This was never mentioned, this was never shown, and it’s a block away.” Since then, Riel has continued to push Tufts administrators and project coordinators to highlight the history of the space. He said that he does support the redevelopment of the space, but that the former tenants should have a place in the building through their artwork. “What we’re doing is trying to get Tufts to recognize these artisans,” Riel said. “Tufts is actually trying to incorporate artwork into the interior design of 574 Boston Avenue … I think it would be interesting and very important for Tufts to look into buying their artwork.” Though Garbarino supports the idea of Tufts purchasing the work, she said she would have liked Tufts to offer additional help when the tenants were displaced. “It’s a nice idea, it’s just that we were displaced, and some people have a lot of financial struggles because of this,” Garbarino said. “It would have been so nice if Tufts had said from early on that, ‘Hey, we have this connection with a museum school, we understand that people need studio space and shop space and we’d like to support that.’ But they had other pressures and they went elsewhere and they needed to develop their property. From the receiving end, it just feels harsh.” According to Riel, for a school that places such an emphasis on civic engagement, Tufts acted hypocritically not to acknowledge the former tenants in the redevelopment plan. “I think [buying their artwork] would also show that at Tufts, they practice what they preach in terms of planning efforts,” he said.
ast Saturday, I embarked on a journey to Kendall Square Cinema. After maneuvering the rain, underground traffic and a hike in Uber fares, I found myself rather comfortable with my jacket slung over the back of my reclining chair and a greasy brown bag of popcorn teetering on my lap. As my eyes were glued to the colossal screen, quite the acclimation process from my measly laptop, I actually began to get quite flustered. “Love Is Strange” (2014), an expose of an elderly gay couple struggling to find a home after a loss of income, certainly attracted an older crowd that liked to gasp, gab and chew rather loudly. The woman directly behind me impressed me with her ability to project her whispers in such a way that somehow I could hear every comment she was making, but her husband kept having to ask her to repeat herself. Again and again and again. I knew I was being a brat but the movie was so intimate and captivating that these breaks in my attention were a real bummer. Yet strangely, it was in my peak frustration that I found inspiration for this week’s column. It only takes half an hour in any Tufts film class to realize that the point of cinema is subject to hot debate and varies depending on who is creating the film. Yet the one ironic overlap between Hollywood blockbusters and cinematic, revolutionary calls to action is that they are both created for the collective. Film may be the only terrain where its interpersonal consumption is just as integral as its intrapersonal experience. In the theatre, we process films in two layers: as the individual and as the microcosm of society that found itself in the same theatre at the same moment in time. We are fed and influenced, no matter how lightly, by the laughs and gasps and tears of those around us. While I may have been aggravated by that woman’s comments, it was in my aggravation that I smiled, shrugged my shoulders and realized this is just part of the joint experience, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. I wish I could say that I am not trying to romanticize the theatre, but I am, because the theatre is astoundingly romantic. Sure, there is a guilty pleasure in wrapping your sweatpantclad self in layers and layers of covers, cuddled upright on the corner of the Tufts bed in your dorm room, using your crappy Apple headphones to hear the script that someone spent months creating, the carefully selected soundtrack and the tediously perfected inflection of the actors. I am not trying to instill guilt, just to enhance appreciation. With movies, just like with anything in life, you get out only as much as you put in, and if there was any time to drop a mom-like cliche bomb it was probably then. When you make this entertainment — the most enhanced visual storytelling of our modern age — into an event, then you find yourself with people who are also committed to the collective experience well beyond the bare bones of the film. You find yourself not only more invested, but more connected. You find yourself a little bit more part of a whole and your experience much less individual, although that part is never lost. I guess my defense for the cinema is not really about the cinema at all; it’s about community. A community that extends beyond the people you know and instead is rooted in this company of strangers, strangers who miraculously become considerably less strange as the final scene cuts, the screen goes black and the credits begin to roll.
Lauren Samuel is a sophomore majoring in Peace & Justice Studies. She can be reached at Lauren.Samuel@tufts.edu.
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Wednesday, October 8, 2014
National Coming Out Day 2014 We are students, professors, administrators, faculty, and staff, and we are just a few of the queer, gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, pansexual, asexual, omnisexual, aromantic, intersex, queercrip, genderqueer, QPOC, gender fluid, gender non-conforming, and otherwise queerly identified individuals who are part of the Tufts community. Today, in honor of National Coming Out Day, we celebrate our complicated, diverse, and evolving identities.
C. Daniel Redmond, Ph.D. candidate, Department of English + Caleb Davis, Administrator, Department of Philosophy, Co-Chair Faculty & Staff LGBT Caucus + Emily Mears, Program Administrator, Experimental College + Steph Gauchel, Director of the Women’s Center and Student Affairs Pluralism Initiatives + James Mulder- gay, hapa, happy about it + Alexandra (Al) Ellison, pansexual and proud! + Laurence Senelick, Fletcher Professor of Drama and Oratory + Anne Moore, Program Specialist in Scholar Development, G12, English + Jill Zellmer, Director of the Office of Equal Opportunity and Title IX Coordinator, bisexual + Candace Smith, Lesbian Sophomore and Excellent Knitter + Suzanne Hillman, second year psychology cognitive science grad student who plays with robots and gestures. Bi, poly, female, and wishes that LGBT meetings were slightly earlier in the day! + Kailah Carden + Robert Mack, Associate Dean + Lenny Goldstein, Tufts Hillel + Heather Montana, Office of the Provost + Fernando F. Ona, Faculty + Jonathan Moore, Black/Chicano Queer Undergrad + Nolan Nicaise, gay man, friend, brother, Kentuckian, and Tufts staffperson + Lisa Bourazak, Veterinary Anesthesia Resident + Veronica K. Arnao, DPA (Boston) + Christin Mujica, C/O 2017, Bisexual Latina! + Ben Hescott, Computer Science Faculty + Mary Davis, Associate Professor in the Department of Urban and Environmental Policy and Planning + The Reverend Greg McGonigle, University Chaplain + Michael A. Baenen, Chief of Staff, President's Office + Julia C. Keller, Communications Director, School of Engineering + Susan Fuller-DeAmato, Assistant Director, Community Relations + Sabina Vaught, Associate Professor, Education + Sheryl Barnes, Associate Director, Educational & Scholarly Technology Services (ESTS) + Michael Rogan, Head of the Lilly Music Library + Gary McDowell, Postdoctoral Scholar in the Department of Biology and President of Tufts Postdoctoral Association + David Aurelio, Part-time Lecturer in Engineering Psychology Program + Nino Testa, Director of the LGBT Center + John Kelly, Class of 2015, definitely queer, still figuring the rest out + Jaquelyn Hyde, Gender-f*ck first-year, pan lover and resident goat for Team Q + Zoey Turek, class of 2015 + Cecilia Petit, Sophomore + Mary Lipscomb + Pat Cordeiro, Athletic Trainer, Tufts Athletics + Elyse Cherry, LGVMA rep for Cummings School of Vet Med + Sarah Bray- student, teacher, coach, and of course, a dummit and footeballer + Maddi Steele, the bi femme chick + Timothy Biggs, Animal Anesthetist, Grafton Campus + Justin Robbins, student + Mareike Stanitzke, Lecturer, English Department + Eliza Schreibman + Joshua LaPalme, gay sophomore + Maddie, queer art history nerd + Phuong J. Ta, first-gen/QPOC/junior learning to be unapologetically myself abroad + Sara Allred, Tisch Scholars Program Administrator+ Claire Walter, Not Straight + Michael McLaughlin, Music Department + Renee' Vallejo, gender non-conforming brown boi. Leader, Educator, & Speaker for all QTPOC + Kris Manjapra, Associate Professor of History, member of the queer of color community + Ben Baum, Undergraduate Admissions + Daniel McCusker + Christina Sharpe, Associate Professor, English + Daniel Markbreiter, Gay/Asexual + Matthew Hast, Interim Associate Dean of Student Affairs/Registrar, Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy + Matthew Nelson, Ph.D. Candidate, Tufts University English Department + Nina Lutz, pansexual sophomore + Milica Radovanovic, V16
Tufts National Coming Out Day Rally Wednesday, October 8th, 12-1:15, Lower Campus Center Patio Join QSA and the LGBT Center as we celebrate National Coming Out Day (observed nationally on Oct. 11) All members of the Tufts community are encouraged to attend. For more information contact the LGBT Center at x73770 or check out our website: http://ase.tufts.edu/lgbt/
Arts & Living
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Offbeat
Eva Batalla-Mann | How to Make a Mixtape
Garlic World and Graceland
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Gaelen Hadlett via Wikimedia Commons
Actor and author B.J. Novak published his first children's book last month.
B.J. Novak publishes children's book by Charlotte Gilliland Daily Editorial Board
For many, B.J. Novak is “that guy from ‘The Office’” (2005-2013). But apart from being “Ryan the Temp” with whom Michael Scott (Steve Carell) and Kelly Kapoor (Mindy Kaling) are infatuated, Novak is beginning to make every “Office” lover wonder, “Is there anything he can’t do?” According to Novak, he’s just “a writer who wants to hand-deliver.” This mission has led him to try his hand at almost every aspect of drama: screenwriting, directing, acting, stand-up comedy and beyond. In February of this year, Novak published his debut book, a collection of alternately dark and humorous short stories called “One More Thing: Stories
and Other Stories.” This month, he’s back on everyone’s radar as an author, except now he’s writing for a slightly different audience: kids. On Sept. 30, Novak released “The Book with No Pictures,” a children’s book charting new territory because, believe it or not, it actually has no pictures. Not even a picture of the author on the back cover. The book is filled with text in a variety of fonts and bright colors, forcing the reader to utter ridiculous things like “boo boo butt,” “blueberry pizza” and a few other crazy sounds in between. Novak performed a heartwarming reading of his new book at the Brattle Theatre in Harvard Square last Thursday, an event sponsored by the Harvard Bookstore (Novak’s favorite, he admitted on stage). While the crowd was filled
largely by surrounding college students and Harvard Bookstore-frequenters, Novak made sure that each child in the audience received his utmost attention. After all, while his latest work may lack illustration, it’s still very much geared towards making kids (and adults for that matter) giggle as much as possible when read aloud. And after hearing Novak read just a few lines, not even the grumpiest adult in the audience could keep a straight face. Novak, dressed casually in a grey striped sweater and jeans, invited each child in the audience to join him on stage. Naturally, most of the kids were a bit too shy, but a few brave souls took the spotlight and lined up right next to him. see NOVAK, page 6
TV Review
MTV serves up another trite teen drama with 'Happyland' by Greta Jochem
Amid dramas about fake lesbians, reality shows following virtual love and teenage wolf thrillers, new drama Contributing Writer
Happyland
Starring Bianca A. Santos, Camille Guaty, Shane Harper, Katherine NcNamara
Airs Tuesday at 11 p.m. on MTV “Happyland” (2014-present) seems refreshingly normal for MTV standards. “Happyland,” which premiered on MTV last week, follows Lucy Velez (Bianca A. Santos) and her teenage friends as they work at Happyland, a Disney-like theme park. Based on this premise, “Happyland” is reminiscent of quirky, indie hit “Adventureland” (2009) and could give MTV a fresh face, but viewers may not feel as happy as the title indicates. The show starts out with control freak Lucy directing people backstage in a hectic show production when she meets new employee, heartthrob and slacker Ian Chandler (Shane Harper). The two get into a classic “bad-boy flirts with girl, then uptight girl doesn’t give him the time of day but secretly thinks he’s cute” banter that’s largely ripped off of just about every romantic comedy movie ever. Later, Ian is
revealed to be the son of Happyland’s CEO in a “Gossip Girl” (2007 — 2012) worthy twist. A bad boy with a secret — revolutionary! After work, our heroine goes home to her single mom and we discover that Lucy does most of the work around the house, paying bills, buying food and cleaning while her mom is irresponsible — a standard parent-child role reversal found in a strangely disproportionate number of television shows and movies. Born to a teen mom who is also a long-time Happyland employee, Lucy yearns to escape. An interview for a summer job at a community service group seems to be the answer, but she miserably fails the interview, and the viewer feels embarrassed for her. Viewers should be rooting for her, but when she somehow gets an unrealistic second chance by cornering her interviewer in the parking lot to beg, spewing a sob story about her life stuck working at a theme park, Lucy becomes less and less relatable. Despite Lucy’s initial cold attitude toward Ian, the two end up kissing — because apparently, the big kids weren’t lying when they told you in the third grade that when someone likes you, they’re just mean to you. Thanks for the relationship advice, MTV. The show concludes when Lucy’s mom explains that she called Ian’s dad … who is also apparently Lucy’s dad as well.
Incest might make for an interesting plot twist in some shows. It could even be a valid social topic to explore — yet, this concept is so disconnected from the sugary, cookie cutter show about teens in a theme park that it seems out of place and the viewer can’t take it seriously. Audiences will find themsee HAPPYLAND, page 6
Toglenn via Wikimedia Commons
Camille Guaty plays Elena, Lucy’s single mother.
range is not only the new black, but, more importantly, it was Frank Sinatra’s favorite color. I remember an intense feeling of melancholy overcoming my little five-year-old body when I found out he had died. I spent my youth watching “High Society” (1956) on sick days home from school and had once spent a very long two hours watching a questionable stage production about The Rat Pack on a family trip to London. The fake martinis were flowing that night. As I grew up I learned what a complex and famously seedy character Sinatra was — something I’m especially reminded of every time I watch “Ronan Farrow Daily” (2014-present). Sinatra was the bad boy of the swing era (as if there was only one … who are we kidding). Think Pitbull in saddle shoes and very high-waisted pants. There are certain figures that endure throughout all musical eras. The bad boy (or girl) image will keep rearing its head in the music world, attracting gawkers and those people who think that in its heyday, the Chelsea Hotel would have “just been so real.” Among the various players, there is a rare breed of working musicians, a group to which my mother belongs. Of course, to most people, it’s not as romantic to hear about well-adjusted musicians touring with their families, making sure to allot ample time for stops at Garlic World and Graceland — two of my fondest touring memories. Instead of all night booze and drug-fueled recording sessions, I headed to the studio after school, writing school reports on endangered species and watching Mary-Kate and Ashley movies in between takes. Occasionally I’d take a study break for a drum solo on the studio’s electronic drum kit. When granted the opportunity to look behind the smoke and mirrors, you can occasionally catch a glimpse of the simplicity of what inspires so many to pursue music, free from mystique and glorified calamity. You can start to see the disparity between the person and the persona. Even at an early age, sitting on Leonard Cohen’s couch, I understood this dichotomy as I was poured a generous glass of sherry and then offered a grape popsicle (in order to make it age appropriate). One summer I joined my mom on a tour through Spain with an extremely talented ensemble of musicians, some of which had reputations that preceded them. As pinkhaired John Cale enthusiastically ate paella with the band and Jackson Browne burst out singing “Happy Birthday” at the dinner table at midnight on the eve before I turned 14, I got the overwhelming sensation that what really mattered, in the face of prestige and social stature, was the human condition. Oftentimes there is a postulation that in order to create profound work, there has to be pain or hardship behind it, contributing to an identity as an artist. While it is true that some of the most brilliant minds have endured torment in some capacity or another, it is not the basis on which art is created and it is definitely not a necessary ingredient. At a recent book reading author B.J. Novak stated that he never believed pain was necessary in order to create art. However, as he inevitably experienced pain, he found that he was able to use it in order to create different “colors” in his writing. Even though many people have personas that polarize them in the eyes of the public at large, we all have palettes of the different colors that we have procured through our experiences both good and bad. It’s an important opportunity when we get to share those with the people who surround us, either through music, art or good conversation. It will no doubt leave a mark.
Eva Batalla-Mann is a junior majoring in Peace and Justice Studies. She can be reached at eva.batalla_mann@tufts.edu.
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Novak introduces new book at Brattle Theatre
NOVAK
continued from page 5
After a few pages, both kids and adults had to struggle to keep from laughing. Each new word or noise uttered by Novak forced everyone into a fit of hysterics; they ate it right up. After Novak’s reading, he turned his attention to his younger audience members for questions. “Are there any books without pictures in town?” a child attendee identified as Josh, age six, innocently asked. Novak responded by elaborating on just how many other books without pictures there are in town — scary ones, exciting ones, interesting ones and boring ones. But, he pointed out, many of these are best suited to readers a few years older than Josh. As cute as Josh’s interest in “books without pictures” was, it hit on a much larger point of Novak’s book as a whole. While one may initially think a pictureless children’s book sounds like a horribly boring idea, in fact it’s just the opposite. Novak explained that “The Book with No Pictures” was inspired by a realization he had a while back: Children’s books are just like dramatic scripts for adults. A child — daughter, son, niece or nephew — holds up a book to an adult for the fifteenth time, and well, it’s time to read it once again. And say every single word. There’s no other option, right? So, Novak wondered, why not help kids realize that they have the power to force adults to say every single word on the page, no matter what the book may say? By allowing kids to realize that they can make adults say crazy, ridiculous things, they might just realize something a bit more important as well: Words are power. And once children discover this power, they might just start hoping that, eventually, others might utter their words, ideas and thoughts as well.
The Tufts Daily
Arts & Living
Wednesday, October 8, 2014
'Happyland' relies on shock value, superfluous emotion HAPPYLAND
continued from page 5
selves laughing out loud at what was supposed to be a serious ending to the pilot — never a promising sign for a successful new TV series. Lately, MTV seems to be conjuring up strange hooks — see above for fake lesbian best friends and surprise incest — masking a trite concept with a new-looking package. The ploy may draw people in only to (re)discover the same old MTV scripted drama. In just twenty minutes the pilot explores a wide array of concepts: budding love, love triangles, motherdaughter tension, uncovered secrets,
selfless sacrifice and a girl’s quest to achieve a better life. Viewers find themselves quickly switching from scene to scene without a lot of focus. However, this scattered presentation may prove simply to be the necessary evil of a pilot episode, which must set up the conflicts to be unraveled later in the season. On the redeeming side, “Happyland” hints at a messy love triangle when Lucy’s best friend Harper (Katherine McNamera) drunkenly admits that she’s attracted to Ian. However, Harper is already dating Will (Cameron Moulène) who seems to have a secret interest in Lucy. For those who crave
juicy, tangled dramas, this plot line appears promising. Laughably strange and poorly executed, “Happyland” is not original. The acting is sub par, everyone is conventionally attractive, the plot lines are recycled and the incest subplot does not fit. Yet these flaws aren’t unique either. The same can be said for many shows, especially MTV teen dramas, and many still watch them despite that fact. But viewers looking for something more sustaining will end up feeling like a child finding out their favorite theme park character is actually a sweaty middle-aged man wearing a costume: disappointed.
MingleMedia TV via Wikimedia Commons
Harper (Katherine McNamara) is Lucy's best friend and partner in crime.
Wednesday, October 8, 2014
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What Does Pay Equity Mean to Us?
Justice, Fairness and Respect By Peggy Hutaff and Elizabeth Lemons, Religion Department
Institutions of higher education, across the commonwealth, as well as across the country, are being asked more pointedly than ever to examine their longstanding employment practices regarding part-time lecturers. At Tufts there are around 200 part-time faculty and together, we teach approximately 600 courses or one-third of the curriculum. Part-time lecturers at Tufts have come a long way since we decided to form a union last fall. We are no longer invisible, and have made real progress in contract negotiations with our administration regarding employment stability and security. Now we have come to the critical issue of compensation for part-time faculty. For us, pay equity is of critical importance, an imperative both for our university and for the wider academic community. We each have worked more than 15 years at Tufts in the Religion Department. As hardworking teachers, we are dedicated to the success of our students in our fields of study and beyond. Like all faculty, we support our students’ endeavors in and outside our classrooms with feedback on their work, advice concerning internships, study abroad, graduate school and/or job opportunities, and letters of recommendation. The university treats our work as equal when it calculates credits assigned for courses, or tuition assessed to students. Our courses are evaluated the same way, and we receive similar expressions of appreciation from our students. Most of all, we want to be treated with respect as colleagues—fellow workers and fellow scholars—and that respect begins with fair and equitable compensation for our work. We find it especially compelling to ask our university, so well-known for its collective commitment to good citizenship and ethical transparency and practices, to work toward fair and equal pay for its entire faculty.
It’s a Matter of Respect. Equal Pay for Equal Work. 21082ml10.3.14
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THE TUFTS DAILY Alexander J. Schroeder Editor-in-Chief
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Wednesday, October 8, 2014
EDITORIAL | OP-ED
Editorial
Affordable housing conference underscores growing need for action
With each new year, and each new search for off-campus housing, there seems to be a hike in rent costs for locations in Medford and Somerville. Many students have at least one story of sticker shock, the moment when a realtor unveils the glaring flaw of the otherwise all-too-perfect apartment. This afternoon, the Four Planning Schools and the Massachusetts American Planning Association Annual Conference will be held in the Cabot ASEAN Auditorium. The conference, on the subject of “Securing Affordable Housing in Hot Market Areas,” is timely. With the completion of the Green Line extension expected in 2017, and amid the increase in rent rates in cities nationwide including Boston, rents around Tufts can only increase. Addressing this problem now is crucial. Fixing the problem will require seri-
ous effort. There are plenty of obstacles that are readily apparent when glancing around the campus, in particular the challenge of finding space for more housing. There is very little space that has yet to be taken up by new projects, whether for athletics or class space. While there are a few buildings that might be able to be repurposed — the new science building on 574 Boston Avenue could open up space inside Barnum Hall to possibly be converted into living space — this seems an unlikely proposition at best. At the same time, the university is not the only organization attempting to fight rising rents for its constituencies. Both the cities of Medford and Somerville will have constituencies concerned with how to tackle the problem of rising rents, which may inspire competition for space in the greater Medford and Somerville
area. Families, too, will be squeezed out of the community as more young professionals move into the area to take advantage of the preponderance of opportunities located in Boston, now conveniently close via the Green Line. The conference is an example of the cooperation that will be needed to combat increasing rents. Tufts, Medford and Somerville have an interest in solving this problem, and the actions of one community will affect the situations of the others. The administration must continue focusing on this issue in its strategic plans, especially if they want to keep expanding Tufts and reaching the heights they desire for the university. Heading off housing problems is a must, and the university should be well aware of the challenges that lay ahead.
Keran Chen
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Incoming freshmen desperately plan for senior year. Off the Hill | Wake Forest University
The safety of students must be a priority on campus by Katie O'Reilly Old Gold and Black
Headlines about tragic accidents that have occurred on college campuses in the past few weeks have made the entire country question if college institutions and universities across this country are in fact safe. Are universities taking effective action to protect students, or are these tragedies unintentional injuries that could happen anywhere? Unfortunately, the reality is that both are true. The university culture promotes risky activity, yet some of these terrible events are things that could happen anytime, anywhere. Heartbreaking events at both Rutgers University in New Jersey and at Clemson University in South Carolina bring Greek life on college campuses into question yet again. Caitlyn Kovacs, a sophomore at Rutgers University, died after passing out at a Delta Kappa Epsilon Fraternity house. The on-going investigation has shown that the death may be alcohol related. Greek life at almost every school highlights alcohol use and, in some cases, abuse. Claims about networking and philanthropy do not outweigh the fact that Greek organizations, more specifi-
The Tufts Daily is a nonprofit, independent newspaper, published Monday through Friday during the academic year, and distributed free to the Tufts community. EDITORIAL POLICY Editorials represent the position of The Tufts Daily. Individual editors are not necessarily responsible for, or in agreement with, the policies and editorials of The Tufts Daily. The content of letters, advertisements, signed columns, cartoons and graphics does not necessarily reflect the opinion of The Tufts Daily editorial board.
cally fraternities, are organizations that make you pay so you can party. Thus, alcohol oriented fraternities in turn have created a university culture that promotes risky behavior. Consequently, tragedies can occur, and have occurred, and will continue to occur if the universities across this country do not take the effective action to protect students and prevent alcohol abuse. In actuality, it is impossible for universities to prevent underage alcohol consumption in general. Drinking is almost a fundamental part of the college experience, yet it does not have to be in a way where people end up dying. Something needs to be done about this, because it is not the first time it has happened and it certainly will not be the last. Moreover, at Clemson University, Tucker Hipps, a 19-year-old Sigma Phi Epsilon pledge, was found floating in a lake after an early morning group activity run. The university has henceforth suspended all fraternity activities during the investigation of the mysterious death of this student. For Clemson, less than forty days of the school year had elapsed when Hipp's death marked the 15th serious accident to occur related to fraternities just in that semester.
The investigation is ongoing, and some have speculated that this could have been prevented if it was not for the hazing rituals that are so evidently prominent across the country's fraternity chapters. At the University of Virginia, freshman student Hannah Graham vanished on her way to a party in the early morning of Sept. 13. With an ongoing police investigation, many have wondered if this situation could have happened anywhere. Is the university really to blame? Not necessarily. The police force and the university are continuing to take the operative action to try to bring Hannah home. The event of missing persons is an unfortunate reality of the cruel world and society where we currently live. We need to remember that accidents can happen and that unfortunate situations can happen anytime, anywhere. Yet, it is evident that these events across our country are tragedies, but we cannot, I repeat, we cannot let these tragedies cloud our judgment. We the student body must exercise our own reasonable precautions as we experience college, because in some cases the universities are simply not taking the effective actions to protect the students.
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Op-Ed
OP-ED
Language, identity and National Coming Out Day by Nino Testa
Each year, the LGBT Center purchases an ad in the Tufts Daily in celebration of National Coming Out Day (NCOD). You will see this year’s ad on page four. This is my first year as director of the LGBT Center, but it is not my first time signing the NCOD ad. I signed it most years when I was a graduate student at Tufts. While the language of the ad changes from year to year, a few things remain consistent: There is no consensus on how the ad should be worded, which identities should be included and what the goals of the ad are. I have never known the wording of the ad to not cause some level of discomfort, confusion or political disagreement. This year has been no exception. Instead of letting the ad appear without comment, as if it represents the sentiments of a unified queer community, I thought I would highlight some of the problems that people have with the ad as it is worded and point to some of the structural difficulties of this project. I do this to encourage a more nuanced conversation about gender and sexuality than can be had in two sentences of paid advertisement. I also want to acknowledge those who chose not to sign this ad. These folks are, in their refusal to sign, an important and potentially invisible, part of the project. In years past, the ad explicitly called for allies to be listed among the LGBTQ* folks who were coming out. A few years ago, allies were asked not to sign because many people in the community felt that this space should be reserved for those who belong to marginalized sexual or gender identities. Some felt that this exclusion was both a denial of the fluidity of identity and an erasure of important resources that queer and questioning students might seek out on campus. For my part, I decided this year not to mention allies in the laundry list of identities represented (I also didn’t mention heteroflexible biromantics, but more on that later). However, I also did not ban allies from participating, as had been done in the past. I didn’t check anyone’s queer card when they signed on to this list. No proof of one’s gender or sexual identity was required, and I would never ask someone to disclose that information to me if they did not offer it. Part of being an ally is consistently asking the question: “How and when should I be using my privileged identity to lessen the impacts of a dehumanizing system?” I left it to allies to determine whether and how to participate in this project of “coming out”
with a large group of LGBTQ* people. One problem that I personally had with the ad in years past is that the use of only a few commonly used identity markers (mostly the ones that make up the letters of the LGBT Center’s name) seemed to erase the diverse and vital experiences and identities of many queer folks on campus. I added more terms to the list this year with the hope that more people would see their identities and experiences reflected in the language of the ad, and therefore, in the mission of the LGBT Center. But, of course, in expanding the list I only highlighted all of the identities that weren’t included (including the aforementioned heteroflexible biromantics), underscoring the Sisyphean task of creating an inclusive list of identities. Lists, language and labels are, by their nature, exclusive. So even by gesturing toward a more inclusive community, I may have inadvertently made someone feel left out. Ending the long list of identities with “and otherwise queerly identified” hardly suffices for someone who feels their identity is too easily erased or made invisible. Next year, I will try to craft a statement that demonstrates a better awareness of the difficulties of such a project, but I can by no means promise a totally inclusive list. We really don’t have a good word to refer to all the people who fall under the LGBTQIA umbrella. Importantly, not everyone who we might try to pull under that umbrella would want to accept our invitation or would feel good about the word we used to describe our presumed connection to them. For instance, while the term “queer” has become commonplace in some academic settings, in other spaces it might make people uncomfortable, recalling scenes of violence and insult. One person’s identity category could be another person’s history of trauma. No one has mentioned discomfort with the word “queer” this year (a sign of the times), but another word on the list, “queercrip,” triggered some immediate and emotional responses. For those who are unfamiliar, the term “queercrip” was used initially by some disability scholars, activists and artists to name their unique position as queer people with physical disabilities or bodies that are often perceived as being out of the norm. Because of its connection to the typically pejorative word “cripple,” some people at Tufts felt uncomfortable with or offended by the inclusion of “queercrip” on a list that was meant to feel positive and affirming. I understand this discomfort.
However, there are a growing number of self-identified queercrips and I wanted to ensure that those who use that label on our campus (and there are some) felt validated and as though they were an integral part of the work we are doing at the LGBT Center — because they are. Someone’s discomfort with the words we use to describe ourselves does not determine our right to use those words. And this, to me, is a central value I bring to both this imperfect NCOD ad and my work at the LGBT Center: I want to listen to the words that people use to describe their own identities and experiences, and reflect that language back to them. Finally, it is worth noting that even with the best intentions, projects that “celebrate” outness — like the Tufts Daily ad and the rally we are holding today — can sometimes have negative impacts on folks who might consider themselves “closeted,” questioning, uncertain of their identity or afraid or unwilling to discuss these parts of themselves in public. I hope that no one sees these projects as some kind of imperative to be “out.” Whether and how to discuss one’s own sexual or gender identity, sexual activity and sexual desires is not a simple decision or a decision we make only once in our lives. I hope that our focus on “outness” does not provide a new norm against which people feel the need to measure themselves, and yet this may be an unintended outcome of the ad. If this list is so problematic, why even have it? That’s a great question, and I ask it genuinely. I will probably ask it every year before National Coming Out Day. I’ll ask it to ensure that we are always being critical of traditions and mindful of the exclusions we will necessarily produce in our work. Sometimes it is sufficient to ask these difficult questions about our work, even if we can’t come up with good answers. How could any of us be expected to solve the language problem? Not having the answers does not stop us from working toward a more just community. At the LGBT Center, my goal is to create an intentional space dedicated to the complex emotions, realities and experiences people have related to gender and sexuality. If you have a question about some of the identities listed in the NCOD ad or you’d like to further discuss any other issue related to gender or sexuality, I hope you’ll come to an LGBT Center event this semester. Nino Testa is Director of the LGBT Center. He can be reached at nino.testa@tufts.edu.
Caroline AMbros / The Tufts Daily
Rebecca Solomon AND Pooja Sivaraman | New York Style Delhi
Lust in the time of mononucleosis So, in the past couple of weeks we have
received — from quite a few people — the question of whether New York Style Delhi is a sex column. Our answer to that is, not exactly. I, Pooja, an apparent sex columnist, much prefer the title of “Advice Aunty.” However, I must note that sexual advice has been passed on from generation to generation of women in my family. In fact, on the eve of my twentieth birthday I received a call from my grandmother, giving me the golden token of sexual advice. She told me, “Pooja, never get an apartment.” My mother further explained to me that a member of my grandmother’s friend group had a daughter, who had another daughter, who rented an apartment, who was then impregnated with another daughter. Although I have been teaching pregnancy prevention to teenagers for the past year, I was unaware of the one MAIN causes of teen pregnancies, and that is of course, renting an apartment. So dear readers, here is a piece of advice for the commencement of our sexual advice column: The best form of contraception is to never sign a lease. Dear NYSD, How can I get my milkshake to bring all the boys to my yard? Rebecca: I live my life according to Woody Allen musings. When people ask me how I feel about hiking, I tell them, like Woody Allen, “I love nature, I just don’t want to get any of it on me.” Again, Woody’s wisdom comes in handy when sometimes your milkshake just is not doing it. If the boys are not coming to your milkshake, perhaps, you have to bring your milkshake to them. As Woody says, “80 percent of life is showing up.” While one can sulk and wonder why her J.P. Licks store does not have a line, its better to be proactive. I am not saying accept any invite you get, but I am saying that you should go out even if it is raining and you are worried your hair will get wet. Who’s to say that you won’t find your yellow umbrella in the storm? Dear NYSD, I liked your bios and all but you didn’t tell us if you were single? Rebecca: Cher and I have been together since 1998, when I first heard “Believe” (1998) at a bat mitzvah. However, as the years progress, our relationship is becoming more and more tumultuous. Cher and I were supposed to see each other for the first time Sept. 26, but then she canceled and we decided on Oct. 9. Then she cancelled again. Currently, we’re supposed to see each other at TD in January but part of me worries that her viral infection is a hoax and I’m being catfished. Pooja: I am in a long-term relationship with Childish Gambino in my mind. Dondon and I have been together for a while now — but hit me up in the year 3005 if you’re still interested. Dear NYSD, How do I (a female) get out of the friend zone (of a male)? Pooja: A good friend of ours, Estelle Tcha, once told us about Korean TV personality Jung Eun Kwak. She is not a frontpage vogue model, but has men pining for her from every which way. Her secret is that she looks at all men as if they are brownies. That is, she looks at men as if they were some Nutella, marshmallow, dark-chocolate square of glory that she craves and could not possibly live without having. Pretend this friend-zoner is a Boggart — a shape-shifting non-being that takes on the form of your favorite dessert — and maybe, like Jung Eun Kwak, you’ll get what you want. That’s all we have for this week — keep submitting your questions to our Google Doc! P.S. To the person who asked us which armrest in the movie theater is yours — we say take both. Let the people next to you know they’re on your turf. Rebecca Solomon and Pooja Sivaraman are both juniors majoring in economics. Rebecca can be reached at rebecca.solomon@tufts.edu, and Pooja can be reached at pooja.sivaraman@tufts.edu.
Op-ed Policy The Op-Ed section of The Tufts Daily, an open forum for campus editorial commentary, is printed Monday through Thursday. The Daily welcomes submissions from all members of the Tufts community; the opinions expressed in the Op-Ed section do not necessarily represent the opinions of the Daily itself. Opinion articles on campus, national and international issues should be 600 to 1,200 words in length. Op-Ed cartoons are also welcomed for the Campus Canvas feature. All material is subject to editorial discretion and is not guaranteed to appear in the Daily. All material should be submitted to oped@tuftsdaily.com no later than noon on the day prior to the desired day of publication; authors must submit their telephone numbers and day-of availability for editing questions. Submissions may not be published elsewhere prior to their appearance in the Daily, including but not limited to other on- and off-campus newspapers, magazines, blogs and online news websites, as well as Facebook. Republishing of the same piece in a different source is permissible as long as the Daily is credited with originally running the article.
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Wednesday, October 8, 2014
Tufts Hillel presents…
TABLE Shabbat
to
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 10 interfaith harvest program: 5pm shabbat services: 6pm locally-sourced dinner! 7:15pm
register online at tuftshillel.org
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Crossword
Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle
ACROSS 1 Subject of a historic 1919 sports deal, with “The” 5 Type of large TV 11 Pre-LCD screen 14 Enthusiastic 15 Virgil epic 16 Informal greeting 17 Rooftop energy generators 19 Hieroglyphics snake 20 Standard deviation symbol 21 Picked-up pickup, perhaps 22 On the level 23 Keats’ “__ to a Nightingale” 24 Hopper 26 Markets 27 Removable denture 31 Marseille menu 33 College Football Playoff gp. 34 Image on a 42Down, briefly 35 TV hillbilly __ May Clampett 36 Looks toward 38 Opening night nightmares 39 Lovey-dovey murmur 40 Surrounding glow 41 Peter or Paul 43 Apollo 11 achievement 46 Latin clarifier 47 Fearful squeal 48 Dr.’s group 51 Medium rare 52 Farrier’s file 55 Restrict 57 Witness 58 Eidetic memory 60 Kin of -trix 61 Geometric figure with equal angles 62 Sicilian rumbler 63 AL and MO 64 Tropical fruit 65 Peters out DOWN 1 Opera villain, often
SUDOKU
Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Lewis
Level: Picking a weather-appropriate sweater.
10/8/14
By Jeff Stillman
2 Skirt 3 Poppycock 4 Dutch export 5 Mushy food 6 Absorbed, as lessons 7 Ill-fated Boleyn 8 Ooze 9 “Bloom County” reporter 10 They often adorn city buses 11 Fraud 12 Consequential 13 Prepares for printing 18 Morocco’s capital 22 __ Aviv 25 Filled with rage 26 Relaxing getaway 27 Get too personal 28 Peruvian of yore 29 Big shot in the sky 30 Glasgow gal 31 Least fair, in a way 32 State of seclusion 35 17-, 27-, 43- and 58-Across begin with types of them
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37 Constellation near Scorpius 38 Oinker 40 Museum filler 42 Common 34Across site 44 Query 45 Position strategically 48 Cremona craftsman 49 “Now We Are Six” author
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50 Geography volume 52 Santa __: Sonoma County seat 53 At the apex of 54 The “Star Wars” films, e.g. 56 Like most cupcakes 58 Helpful hint 59 Messenger __
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Tufts narrowly misses qualifying for Nationals CLUB TENNIS
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level of competition this year, and Tufts Club Tennis looks forward to playing in next year’s tournament.” In last season’s Section Championships, the Jumbos made it all the way to the quarterfinals, narrowly losing to Harvard. The year before, Tufts was able to come out as one of the top five and qualify for the National Championships. Once there, the team came in third within its pool. “While we play our strongest lineup at Sectionals once a year, we pride
ourselves on facilitating competitive yet fun tennis on the Tufts campus,” senior Reid Spagna said in an email to the Daily. “Not only does our club allow long-time players to keep playing the sport that they love, but it also provides a venue to foster new friendships between students with a common interest. We’ve found this to be particularly true with the underclassmen, especially the Class of 2018. We are very proud of our new players’ enthusiasm and energy, and look forward to competing with them for the rest of the season.”
One of the team’s goals is to field a competitive team in order to keep the level high within the team as well as when playing other squads. The more relaxed atmosphere of club tennis is something that many find appealing. “It’s a totally unique way to play tennis and a great way to continue to enjoy the sport in college,” junior varsity men’s tennis player Rob Jacobson said. “I also think the format is really cool, as it puts a lot of pressure on each individual point, and allows for players to substitute in and out during matches.”
Ski team looks forward to first snow of the year
SKI TEAM
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also, just trying to put a little more emphasis on conditioning in the offseason so that when we actually get on the snow we’re stronger and can spend more time working on our technique and less [time] trying to get in shape for the races.” Every year the team’s goal is to make Nationals. But individual athletes have goals for themselves, too. “Personally, I want to win the league,” Bozovic said. “The whole team is training hard this year, we have a lot of drylands going on, but personally I really want to push myself and try to win the league.” The team will go away for a week of training in January to work on gates
and introduce many of the concepts of downhill alpine racing to newcomers. Consistently one of the largest teams in the league, the team will most likely be composed of between 50 and 60 members this season, which is actually fewer than usual. While the size of the team could potentially dilute the amount of time each coach gets to spend with each member compared to the other teams the Jumbos compete against, Hambleton believes the team’s size is actually an advantage. “I think one thing that is different about us is that … we always have a really good support system up at the top of the mountain during races,” Hambleton said. “People are always cheering for people in the gates getting ready to start the race. I
think that’s something that’s really unique in terms of the chemistry of the team.” The team hopes its emphasis on chemistry and bonding this year, as well as an early start to preseason training, will help in continuing to compete at a high level. Like most teams, there is intrasquad competition, but Hambleton said that it is always friendly. She believes that having students run the team allows them to create the sort of environment that they want. “I know that Wilderness claims to be the most tightly knit group on campus, but ski team would definitely give them a run for their money,” Bozovic said. “I know when I joined the team my freshman year, they pretty much became my family. It’s a really
Moving forward, the Tufts club tennis team will look to have fun and enjoy their time on the court. “Our goal for every season is to have fun, whether playing tennis or not,” Thienel said. “We provide our members with the opportunity to challenge themselves on the court and build friendships off the court. We obviously want to contend for the sectional title and obtain a bid to the national tournament, but the Sectionals team had a great time spending the weekend together, as we always do.”
good community to build a foundation at Tufts. People [on the team] are so crazy and so quirky and so weird and bizarre that people have said when they come to hang out with us they don’t know what to expect next because we are just a wild group of people.” Hambleton echoed Bozovic’s sentiment. “Ski team is the best decision I made at Tufts by far,” she said. “On a Tuesday night you’re sitting on a chairlift and you’re just like, ‘wow I could be studying and doing homework right now, but I’m skiing, so life is awesome.’” Both captains are waiting excitedly for the first snow, a change in the weather that many Tufts students might lament, but that members of the ski team live for.
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Ski Team
Ski team hopes to maintain consistency through transition phase by Phillip Goldberg Contributing Writer
The Tufts ski team is a perennial contender for a bid to the United States College Ski Association’s (USCSA) National Championships. Capable of racing competitively, even against varsity ski teams, this student-run club has had no shortage of success, but also is not without difficulties to overcome. Coach Martin Wilson left the team after last season, and the women’s team graduated top racers Sara Hanneman (LA ’14) and captain Chelsea Stevens (LA ’14) last spring. Junior co-captain Dan Bozovic is proud of the way the team has competed in the past. He feels that its success can be perpetuated in the future through an infusion of new talent, and he believes the returning athletes from last year are ready to step up. “At regionals competition we face varsity teams and we are competitive amongst them as well,” senior co-captain K.C. Hambleton said. “That kind of shows our level of talent and how much work we put in during the season to be able to compete with these teams with a lot more money and a lot more hill space than we have, but being a club team I think we make the most of our resources and are pretty competitive at the end of the day.” In downhill alpine racing, the three fastest runs for each team are added together and compared, and whichever team is faster wins. Tufts ski team competes in slalom and giant slalom racing, and the men’s and women’s teams compete separately. But, according to Hambleton, this
Courtesy Chelsea Stevens
The Tufts ski team aims to qualify for Nationals this season. doesn’t mean that the teams are separate in any other way. “We are one team with men and women,” Hambleton said. “We practice together, we train together, do all that stuff all together.” The ski team is a tightly knit community. The team does dryland workouts that consist of push ups, core work, sprints and cardio for newer members, as well as multiple weight lifting sessions per week for those who are willing and able to handle it. The emphasis is naturally on lower body strength. The team is also planning
a bonding trip to the Loj to get to know the new freshmen and become closer as a team. Hambleton said that she met a lot of people early on in the season by going to the fall dryland workouts, which the team is just now starting. “We are trying to do a little more commitment earlier in the fall so we get to know each other as a team,” Hambleton said. “More bonding activities, so that when we get to our training week in January, we know everybody. And then see SKI TEAM, page 11
Club Tennis
Jumbos finish eighth in sectional championships by Jorge Monroy-Palacio Daily Editorial Board Every year, matriculation sees the arrival of dozens of new Tufts students with tennis experience. Whether it was 10-and-under tennis lessons at a local park, or more intense training at internationally acclaimed American academies like the Nick Bollettieri IMG Tennis Academy, Jumbos tend to have some kind of experience with a racquet. As a result, it is no surprise that the Tufts club tennis team is one of the most popular club sports teams on the Hill. After a period of time where it took most players who tried out, the team has recently been forced to hold tryouts with cuts to field a final roster. The squad has evolved into one where students are both committed to playing and performing at a high level. “Well I tried out for the team last year [and it was] very competitive,” sophomore Daniel Baigel said. “Only 10-12 guys made it out of the 80-100 that tried out. It was equally competitive for girls. Club tennis attracts all the kids that played tennis in high school that didn’t want to have the commitment of playing on the varsity team so the overall skill level is very high.” This year was no different, as the team had to make major cuts once again. “This year was one of the most competitive years for tryouts that we have ever had,” senior captain Christian Thienel said. “We had about 65 students participate and it was truly a shame that any of them had to be cut, as they were all good enough to play on a college club team.” Both male and female students try out for the same team due to the unique competitive format that most club tennis teams across the nation
have adopted. Alongside husband Larry King, tennis legend and women’s rights pioneer Billie Jean King created and helped form modern Jr. Team Tennis, the competitive league-like format now used by all United States Tennis Association (USTA) registered club teams in the nation. The format, which requires that each team be comprised of both men and women, focuses on singles and doubles play and is used at the most important club tennis event during the fall season. The United States Tennis On Campus Section Championships, held this past weekend, determined the five teams from the Northeast that will compete in the 2015 National Championships held in Cary, N.C. in April. Had Tufts finished in the top spot, the team would have been eligible to receive a $1,000 travel stipend from USTA New England to attend the Championships. But the team finished eighth, falling three spots short of qualifying. Due to the depth of the New England sections, the Jumbos competed against some of the strongest club tennis teams in the nation. The tournament followed the World Team Tennis format, each match consisting of five no-ad sets, including men’s and women’s doubles, men’s and women’s singles and mixed doubles. The scoring of each match isn’t compiled in the way varsity tennis teams are accustomed to. Instead, every match is scored based on the total number of games won per match. “Team tennis format takes a little getting used to and makes the games more stressful because a single point could determine a match,” Baigel said. Each school is only allowed to send one team to compete, where a minimum of three women and three men must participate. Most teams bring up
to the maximum, which is ten, with no more than five players of each gender. The tournament format was fixed with eight pool groups of three teams each. This was followed up by bracket play, where the top eight teams were placed in the Gold Bracket. Teams in this bracket competed against each other in hopes of coming out in the top fives teams overall. Some players are skeptical of the unique tournament structure and scoring. “Personally, I don’t like it very much, however, it creates some exciting situations,” Thienel said. “Entire matches can come down to a single point and it is always possible to come back and win the match in mixed doubles. It’s also nice that you only have to play one set of singles, doubles and mixed because it would be pretty hard to have someone play two or more full matches in a day.” To start the tournament, the Jumbos took down both Holy Cross and University of Vermont to get to the gold bracket. Once there, the Jumbos lost by a two-game margin to Northeastern University. With the loss they also let go of any chance of reaching the National Championships. The team finished eighth out of 25 teams overall, making Tufts the highest-placed team whose varsity counterpart plays in Div. III in the Northeast. “While a couple of line calls went against us in the Northeastern match, it was a competitive, high-energy matchup,” junior Danny Feld said. “Regardless of the result, Sectionals gave our team a great opportunity to bond over a weekend chock full of tennis. There was definitely a highsee CLUB TENNIS, page 11
Tyler Maher | Beantown Beat
Patriots not dead yet
W
hen I started writing this column on Sunday afternoon, it was going to be overwhelmingly negative, as only a Patriots postmortem authored by a native New Englander can be. It was supposed to be about the sudden death of a football dynasty that extends back to when most Tufts students were in elementary school. I was going to address how and why the Patriots’ season was dissolving amidst a toxic mix of underperformance on the field and internal tension off the field. And I was definitely going to lament that though the Patriots have dominated the National Football League for so long, all good things must come to an end and that when they do, it’s rarely pretty (trust me: I’m a Celtics fan). Now, in the wake of New England’s biggest win of the season, I don’t have to gripe about any of that. Instead I can celebrate the Pats’ 43-17 throttling of the Cincinnati Bengals — the last undefeated team in the NFL before Sunday night. And man, let me tell you, it felt good. Winning always feels good, but I’d be lying if I said some wins don’t feel better than others. Postseason wins matter a lot more, obviously, but even in the regular season not all wins are created equal. Beating the Yankees, Lakers and whomever Peyton Manning plays for always feels amazing. Not quite as good as winning it all, of course, but close. And while the Bengals don’t approximate anything resembling a traditional rival, watching the Patriots obliterate them was still spectacular. It was a game that New England absolutely had to win coming off an embarrassing, nationally televised 41-14 dress-down by the Kansas City Chiefs. New England’s worst defeat since 2005 sent the national media into a frenzy. “The Patriots are a mess,” the headlines shouted. “Bill Belichick doesn’t know what he’s doing,” columnists cried. “Trade Brady,” sports radio dared. It was a week unlike any other of the Brady/ Belichick era, rife with controversy, rumors and speculation. A frustrated Brady, fedup with the lack of star talent around him and mediocre results to date, hinted that he was open to finishing his career elsewhere. Naturally, the press jumped all over that. What? Tom Brady … leave? New England’s situation was not just grim, but dire. So on the eve of its Sunday night matchup with Cincinnati, another nationally televised game (gulp), New England’s season appeared to be unraveling. There was a sense of urgency normally reserved for playoff games or those aforementioned showdowns with Manning. The Patriots needed to make a statement, but above all else, they needed to get back in the win column. The Pats went out and did just that, delivering a thoroughly convincing victory in front of their amped-up home crowd. New England’s offense went bananas, scoring on eight of their first 11 drives. The onslaught can be attributed to the offensive line finally getting its act together, protecting Brady in the pocket and creating space for New England’s rushing attack, which pounded Cincy’s porous run defense for 220 yards on the ground. Brady deserves credit too, for he responded with a vintage performance in which he completed 23 of his 35 pass attempts for 292 yards and two touchdowns, both season highs. Brady proved that, given adequate time to look downfield, he can still pick apart a defense. It’s official: The Patriots are back. One win wiped away four weeks of underperformance, rendering talk of their demise premature (for now). Brady’s not going anywhere anytime soon. With the critics momentarily silenced, Patriots fans can breathe a sigh of relief. Their team doesn’t appear to be going to hell in a handbasket after all. Last week the Patriots were dead. This week they are very much alive. Sunday they square off with the Bills, the other first place team in the AFC East. I can’t wait. Tyler Maher is a senior majoring in quantitative economics. He is also a Sports Editor at the Tufts Daily. He can be reached at tyler.maher@tufts.edu