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Tuesday, November 30, 2021
SCIENCE
3D-printing class pushes students to frontier of modern medicine by Avery Hanna
Contributing Writer
Among the 3D printers throughout the room, Vincent Fitzpatrick, a postdoctoral biomedical researcher at Tufts University, holds up a gray unassuming piece of plastic, crisscrossed with a cage-like structure. Hidden beneath a series of support structures that have yet to be removed, he explains, lies a perfect replica of a patient’s bone — assembled from data isolated from a CT scan so that it would have a Cinderella-like fit if surgically implanted. This is just one of the many models throughout the room that students in 3D Printing the Human Body — a new course in the biomedical engineering department — have created, and it represents just one way 3D printing has revolutionized and continues to redefine modern medicine. Fitzpatrick decided to teach the class when he noticed the lack of classes available for students interested in 3D printing. “The idea of the class is to cover as wide a range as possible
WILL FLAMM / THE TUFTS DAILY, COURTESY MICHELLE MA
A working 3D printer, 3D-printed tweezers and several skeletal models are pictured. of new technologies and applications of 3D printing in the medical field,” Fitzpatrick said.
What makes the course unique is the opportunity for hands-on work with a variety of bioprinters.
Kenann McKenzie named director of GLAD Center
Self-described “3D-printer-guy” Riley Patten, a teaching assistant for the class and a member of the
Contributing Writer
COURTESY ALONSO NICHOLS
by Evelyn Altschuler Contributing Writer
On Oct. 25, the Jonathan M. Tisch College of Civic Life announced that Kenann McKenzie, educator and civic leader, will direct the newly
created Generous Listening and Dialogue (GLAD) Center. The GLAD Center was established this May and intended to “serve as a hub and educational resource for the Tufts University community to promote authentic dialogue and
generous listening across differences.” McKenzie said that immigrating to the United States exposed her to the disparities in the country’s access to education see GLAD, page 2
see 3D PRINT, page 2
Illinois Sen. Tammy Duckworth discusses memoir, race, America in lecture by Maggie Monahan
Kenann McKenzie, program director of the GLAD Center, is pictured on Nov. 16.
Kaplan Lab, where Fitzpatrick also works, said the value of the course comes primarily from the 3D printing experience. “I remember it was always very scary to look at a 3D printer or a bioprinter and be like, ‘Well I have no idea how that works; I’ll do something else,’” Patten, a senior, said. “I think the goal is getting people comfortable looking at them and using them.” Because it’s the first year the class has run, Fitzpatrick has had to adapt the course as it unfolds. Though he initially expected moderate interest that would lead to a small class of between 10–15 students, he wound up with over 30. Patten said this presented additional challenges. “3D printing is a lot of sitting down next to each other and trying to figure out why [things] didn’t work,” Patten said. “It’s tough with a lot of people. We didn’t have that experience going in, but we’re figuring it out, and each week, we have a set plan of what we want to do. Usually [it] never works, but we’re figuring it out.”
The Jonathan M. Tisch College of Civic Life hosted Illinois Sen. Tammy Duckworth on Nov. 17. She discussed the recent release of her memoir, a recent uptick in violence against Asian Americans and her experience during the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. She also brought to the discussion her story as one of the first women to fly combat missions while serving in the Iraq war, her experience co-founding the Senate’s first environmental justice caucus and her status as the first U.S. senator to give birth while in office. She began by telling the audience what motivated her to write her new book. “The book is really a letter to my daughters,” Duckworth said. “I’m just writing letters to my daughters explaining why America’s worth the sacrifice.” Duckworth lives the effects of the sacrifice everyday. She served
SPORTS / back
FEATURES / page 4
ARTS / page 6
Tufts runners beat personal records at NCAA Championships
Wondering what to do with winter? Winter term!
‘Tick, Tick... Boom!’ remembers impacts of Larson and Sondheim
23 years in the military and she lost both legs when her helicopter was struck by a rocket-propelled grenade. “I started writing little paragraphs in my notes apps on my phone trying to explain to my daughter why it was worth it to go lose my legs [in combat],” Duckworth said. “As we were sitting around waiting for something, [my chief of staff] took [my phone] from me and said, ‘This is a book.'” At the lecture, Duckworth also touched on her reflections on race, having grown up as the daughter of a Thai mother and a white American father. She also discussed the intersections of the Black Lives Matter and the Stop Asian Hate movements. In one episode, Duckworth recalled being proud yet nervous for her staffers — many of whom were young Black Americans — who wanted to be involved in the Black Lives Matter protests of last summer. see SENATOR, page 3 NEWS
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THE TUFTS DAILY | News | Tuesday, November 30, 2021
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Tufts researcher praises future of 3D printing 3D PRINT
continued from page 1 The larger class wasn’t the only surprise for Fitzpatrick. “I hadn’t realized until I was doing this class that I’ve actually developed a nice little network in the Boston area of people working in 3D printing,” Fitzpatrick said. He was able to incorporate seven guest lectures into the course material. So far, the class has heard from several CEOs, researchers and other professionals in the field. Luke Isayiw, a junior in the class who also works in the Kaplan Lab, has enjoyed the guest presentations and the hands-on elements of the class, like printing a vertebra from an MRI scan. “We’ve had a couple of guest lecturers come in and talk about how they use 3D printing in the real world,” Isayiw said. “It’s cool to see how 3D printing can actually be applied.” Senior Michelle Ma, who majors in mechanical and biomedical engineering, found that learning about the intricacies of applying 3D printing has been one of the most valuable aspects of the class. “Learning those little details on how to use this program also just gave me so many other ideas as to how I want to manipulate a project that I want to work on,” Ma said. “I think it definitely helped me grow a little bit more creative.” Ma sees lots of potential to apply 3D printing skills in areas
beyond regenerative medicine. While she has used 3D printing in the past, she said this was the first class she’s taken that was entirely dedicated to the skill. In one lab, Ma printed a scaled-down version of an anatomically correct skeletal hand. In another, students were tasked with printing medical devices, like compound tweezers and a scalpel handle. Ma and other students emphasized the importance of offering opportunities to learn 3D printing. Still, the class’s future is uncertain, since Fitzpatrick says he plans to return to France in a year or so. Patten hopes someone will step up to continue the class in future years — perhaps one of the current graduate students — and believes Tufts needs more 3D printing-based classes. “I have a feeling 3D printing is very much the future, and if anything, there might be a need for two classes,” Patten said. “I think we’re a bit behind in bioprinting classes, or we might be right on time, or a bit behind — one or the other. We’re definitely not ahead of the curve, I’ll say that.” While the class covers a wide range of 3D printing applications, Fitzpatrick’s own research focuses on tissue engineering. Specifically, his lab prints bone and bone-adjacent tissues. He and his team created a method of 3D printing a biocompatible and degradable implant to
allow bone in the jaw to regrow. 3D printing surgical implants generally works by following four steps: Researchers take a scan of the patient, compare that scan with healthy bone structure to determine the shape of the implant, print it and then later surgically implant it into the body. In his research, Fitzpatrick hopes to develop ways to use 3D printing that allow the body to regrow structures, rather than using 3D printed implants to simply replace parts. Fitzpatrick mentioned that in the long term, he hopes researchers will develop an on-site method that prints implants into the body itself. Imagine that someone’s arm was severely injured in a car crash. In a simplified sense, the idea of printing on-site means you would have to put an extremely advanced 3D printer over that arm that had the ability to detect where there was damage and what was needed to repair it. The printer would then go ahead and print those elements directly into the body. In doing so, it would repair the arm in the moment, which is preferable to waiting for an implant to print separately. In many cases, patient conditions may change over the course of their treatment; when the time comes for surgery, physicians sometimes find that previously printed implants no longer work.
Printing on-site would help save much of the healthy tissue, which is currently removed largely out of necessity. Such procedures are still far from being put into standard practice but could be one of many exciting future possibilities of 3D printing. 3D printing organs is another hot topic, since it would address the constant issue of organ shortages and could limit chances of rejection. To get there, Fitzpatrick says printing with various kinds of materials and general precision need to be improved. “With regards to 3D printing, I think one thing that we’re quite far from still is printing organs,” Fitzpatrick said. “There are a few groups that have made advances in it, but the organs they generate are still usually not to scale and usually not really functional.” Fitzpatrick said he is glad to have a class where he can share these exciting possibilities with students. “It’s been a nice class with great students,” Fitzpatrick said. “It’s been a pleasure. I hope they’re enjoying it. It’s been nice sharing this. I keep being surprised how few classes at Tufts — but it’s the same at all the universities — are actually teaching students bioprinting and 3D printing in general. Because, from where I stand from a research perspective, there’s a lot of stuff that’s going that way.”
GLAD Center to feature minor research element GLAD
continued from page 1 and cemented her interest in the education system. “I would say my own childhood experience [made me interested in education],” McKenzie said. “I immigrated from another country … when I was almost seven … And that was the first time I became aware that there were different educational systems.” According to McKenzie, her teachers suggested holding her back a year because she was from another country. However, McKenzie’s mother made the decision to put her in a private school in Brooklyn, which was an eye-opening opportunity for her. “I was really sheltered from some of the cultural shock that was going to happen around me, and so in one fell swoop, I learned the importance of having a sense of community and safety in school, but also the ways people make assumptions about newcomers,” McKenzie said. McKenzie first discerned race as a concept when she moved to a public school in sixth grade. “I didn’t understand at that time that people created a hierarchy around color and ethnic origin,” McKenzie said. “It just seemed so shocking and strange to me that people thought being smart belonged to a particular race of people that they called white.”
As a college student, McKenzie surrounded herself with people from diverse backgrounds, which allowed her to enter new conversations. “I had friends in college who were considered white, considered Jewish, who were non-Christians, who were Hindu,” McKenzie said. “I’ve grown up in primarily a Christian orientation, but I willingly went to temple with Jewish friends. I went to yoga classes. I just felt like there was so much to learn from other people.” At the GLAD Center, McKenzie hopes to create a space for students to listen and discuss different perspectives and experiences. “The idea is that we learn to value listening as a truly necessary way of being, and that dialogue also ensues from that listening,” McKenzie said. “We do not limit listening to just hearing voices and responding, but listening to our own selves, listening to the world around us.” As director of the GLAD Center, McKenzie is open to shaping the center based on the needs of the Tufts community. “I really honor and respect student voices and want to make sure that anything they are already working on or that they value isn’t in any way negated by this process,” McKenzie said. “As I embark on my own listening tour, I want to learn more about Tufts and what will be the most
helpful way that the center can engage with students.” Deborah Donahue-Keegan, associate director of the GLAD Center, is currently teaching a course centered around education for peace and justice. “I’ve done a lot of dialogue, through different avenues like talking with STEM ambassadors, visiting their courses and presenting on social [and] emotional learning and equity,” DonahueKeegan said. “I’m also on the Mindfulness and Resilience Collaborative … so I also really bring contemplative dimensions to my teaching and to my facilitation.” Donahue-Keegan emphasizes the concept of social and emotional learning and its connection with equity in the classroom. “My teaching has really all been about … fostering emotional resilience and well-being,” Donahue-Keegan said. She also connected this concept to the GLAD Center, noting how it is exploring concepts of social and emotional resilience in the context of anti-racism. “We’re doing a lot of focus around antiracism and how developing social and emotional stamina or resilience is vitally important for developing racial literacy and being anti-racist in our work at Tufts,” DonahueKeegan said. “I have been really involved in dialogue and work-
ing with [McKenzie will] be a collaborative process.” Diane Ryan, associate dean of Tisch College, will work alongside McKenzie and DonahueKeegan at the GLAD Center. “I’m pretty much responsible for all of the internal operations of Tisch College, and that includes supervising all of the programs and the centers and the administrative function of Tisch College,” Ryan said. Ryan explained that beside fostering dialogue and active listening, there will be a minor research element at the GLAD Center. “This [center] will be more focused on facilitation and helping to train facilitates in the art and practice of generous listening and dialogue,” Ryan said. “There will be a research portion, but it will not be the main function.” Ryan said she believes that the GLAD Center is critical to helping students communicate with one another during this polarizing time. “In the country and in the world, people are forgetting how to talk to each other,” Ryan said. “We have to do something to get back to where we are able to communicate [and] try to share perspectives and reach common understanding to be able to move forward, and to be able to maintain the ground we have. We don’t want to open some kind of completely polarized anarchy.”
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Tuesday, November 30, 2021 | News | THE TUFTS DAILY
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Duckworth discusses military service, Jan. 6 insurrection SENATOR
continued from page 1 “I literally told them, ‘You better write my name and my phone number on your arm in Sharpie so that if you get knocked unconscious, they know who to call,’” Duckworth said. She expanded on how the experience taught her more about being an ally to those who are marginalized. “My young staffers really taught me a lot about the pain that they were going through,” Duckworth said. Duckworth described the rise in violence against Asian Americans as “the same story all over again,” but she also delineated the ways she has been proactive about combating the new wave of antagonism against Asians in the U.S. “My mom was going to the grocery store to buy ripe fruit … and she was being hassled by grocery store clerks and people in the store for being Asian,” Duckworth said. “I did the only thing that I could, which was to speak out and push really hard with legislation … I’m really proud that we got [legislation] passed and really pushed our administration hard to have a true accounting of the instances of hate crimes against Asian Americans.” Duckworth was also outspoken about the lack of Asian Americans in President Joe Biden’s cabinet and the discourse of racial representation. “I’m so tired of anything like, ‘Oh, that’s the diversity piece. Okay, we’ll find a Black person.
SOPHIE DOLAN / THE TUFTS DAILY
Tisch College hosted Sen. Tammy Duckworth on Nov. 17. Oh, you’re Asian … now, check, we’ve got an Asian in that,’” Duckworth said. “It’s not about the diversity slice. It’s about everybody having a slice of pie.” Duckworth then turned to sharing her motivation for joining the military. “I wanted to join the foreign service,” Duckworth said. “I wanted to go work at an embassy stamping passports … [but] so many of my friends just happened to be military men and women, and they said, ‘Why don’t you go to basic training
to learn about the military? If you want to represent America, in our embassies, you should at least understand the difference between a platoon and a brigade.’” After a successful military career that ended when she lost her legs and was unable to ever fly a plane again, Duckworth turned to a new life of service and announced her candidacy for the U.S. House of Representatives. Duckworth explained that she felt motivated by having the ability to improve the quality of med-
ical care for veterans, and she received encouragement from Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin to run. “I joked that I was medicated when he asked me, because I was still in the hospital, but that’s when I decided, ‘Okay, this is my new mission,’” Duckworth said. “So I became a veterans’ advocate.” Duckworth also touched on her experience as a lawmaker during the Jan. 6 insurrection, particularly emphasizing how she felt seeing former members of the military among the insurrectionists.
“Betrayal. That’s the word that comes to mind, betrayal … I gave a first speech that night, and I was so furious that Americans would threaten our constitutional democracy and that law enforcement officers or military men and women were part of that effort,” Duckworth said. “After I gave that first speech and sat down, a text message popped up on my personal cell phone that was a threat against me and my family, and I just remember thinking, ‘Oh, I’m not quitting now. I’m not quitting.'”
4 Tuesday, November 30, 2021
Features
tuftsdaily.com
Winter term provides students with unique opportunities for learning over winter break
BY ALICE BEYALA by Sophie Wax Staff Writer
Tufts University has had a winter term in place for three years, in which students take credit classes for three weeks in January. With some international students not being able to return home for holiday break and some students wanting opportunities to continue their education, winter term has gained considerable attention. In the past, these courses have been unique to winter term and are not available to students during a normal semester. “We had the campaign school, and some workshops on DISC about machine learning, and a workshop on nutrition about surveying a healthy diet that anyone could enroll in, which is different from anything in the fall or the spring,” Karen Mulder, executive director of strategy and program development at Tufts, said.
The campaign school, which was a five-day intensive program through the Jonathan M. Tisch College of Civic Life, taught students how to be effective campaign staffers and how to engage in professional political affairs. The course brought students to all different campaign offices, where they could go and experience the presidential campaign live, Mudler explained. With its unusual format, the winter term enables students to survey different fields of interest, like political affairs, and expand their education beyond the scope of their major. “I think it provides a really unique opportunity for students to do coursework or types of courses that they might not be able to do in their normal academic schedules,” Mudler said. Offering these courses outside a normal semester allows students more time for exploration.
“There are lots of kinds of opportunities, electives and even off-campus types of education that are really difficult if not impossible to squeeze in when you have a full course load,” Mudler said. “I think the winter in its really compressed time frame allows a really quick way to access those kinds of either subject matter areas or off-campus opportunities.” Many students have already expressed interest in a more advanced winter term. “I feel like this gives me an opportunity to explore things outside of my comfort zone because I haven’t taken any political science classes but the skills in, say, a campaign management class would be applicable in other fields because its management, finance and other things,” Hannah Olson, a freshman studying economics, said. “I think that even if it’s not directly
going towards my major, it would give me the skills that are still relevant to my major.” Kate Guttilla, a junior studying environmental studies and economics, agreed with the benefits. “I have friends who have completed a winter term and all of them have had an incredible experience, and been able to take classes in areas outside their majors,” Guttilla said. “One of my friends took a cooking class that definitely inspired her. Also, a lot of my friends have used it as an opportunity to travel around to different sections within campus and also outside of campus.” Guttilla is a manager for one subdivision of Tufts Consulting Collective that has been working with the Office of Strategy and Program Development to research possibilities about how a winter term may be expanded and improved. Her team recently sent out a survey to elicit inter-
est from the student body about having a winter term. “What we found through the survey is that there is a high level of interest,” Guttilla said. “Over 90% of students are interested in a winter term.” One thing that may make winter term so desirable is that it may provide them with just enough time to complete desired coursework without the stress of having to juggle multiple classes. “I like the idea of a winter term because I want to pursue two minors and it would help me work toward those minors,” Olson said. “And I learn best when I’m focusing on one thing. So being able to focus on just one thing for three weeks will help me learn that content effectively.” Olson also noted how winter term would provide her with a see WINTER, page 5
F e at u r e s
Tuesday, November 30, 2021 | Features | THE TUFTS DAILY
Additional learning possibilities for winter break WINTER
continued from page 4 way to keep busy and motivated during an otherwise quiet time for students. A winter term could also prepare students for their spring course load. “[Some students want to] use this time as an opportunity to fulfill academic requirements or take some sort of preparatory class that could potentially prepare them for a potentially more rigorous class in the spring semester,” Guttilla said. Mulder said that unfortunately, the decision of what courses or programs can run is not always up to the administration. “The extent to which that becomes possible depends on the compatibility of individual courses,” she said. “Faculty are
really invested in how they structure their curriculum and staging readings and that sort of thing, which can be really important to them.” Currently, Tufts is working to expand its winter term to encompass more opportunities and courses that would be non-credit. “Right now we are focused on building out non-credit or very low-credit opportunities in fields that are complementary to but not the same as subjects that you would get during the regular term,” Mudler said. “I don’t think in the near term you will see any psych, chem or bio … We are starting with concepts that are one-off in a workshop or intensive format and less on replicating the fall, summer or spring.”
Fall 2021
Whether the winter term will be in person, online or hybrid still remains undetermined, but students are leaning toward a hybrid or asynchronous online learning platform. “There is a lot of interest in a hybrid model for winter term, offering classes both in person and online,” Guttilla said. As Tufts works to continue refining its vision for what a winter term will look like, Mulder hopes that students will reach out and share their own perspectives. “If anyone has ideas about what they would like to see offered [in a winter term], we would love to hear about them in University College,” Mudler said. “[I am] so happy to be an advocate for what students are looking for.”
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Kevin Zhang Tales from the T
A Silver Line hate piece
T
oday’s topic is a laughable excuse of a project, a dumping ground of wasted potential and crushed dreams, a mere shadow of what it should have been. No, not you, the Silver Line. The Silver Line was envisioned as Bus Rapid Transit (BRT), a transit mode that uses design features like off-board fare payment and dedicated bus lanes to provide subway-like service using buses. BRT has been successfully built worldwide in cities like Guangzhou, Bogota and Albuquerque. It has not been successfully built here in Boston. The Silver Line is composed of two separate parts: the Waterfront system and Washington Street system, opened in 2004 and 2002, respectively. The Waterfront system comprises the SL1, SL2 and SL3 routes. They run from South Station to the Seaport through a dedicated bus tunnel, before continuing to Logan Airport (SL1), the Design Center complex (SL2) and Chelsea (SL3). The SLW route also runs between Silver Line Way and South Station during rush hours. Construction of the Waterfront system cost over half a billion dollars. For that price, we got a single mile of bus tunnel and buses that run in mixed traffic alongside cars (i.e., regular buses) a mere most of the time. Credit where credit is due: The tunnel features modern stations, off-board payment and dedicated lanes. Here, the Silver Line is BRT. Minus the rapid part — the Waterfront lines are actually slower than the street-level lines they replaced. Part of this is a time-consuming switch buses make between electric and diesel power when entering/leaving the tunnel. You’d still think having a dedicated tunnel would mean faster speeds anyways — but the buses actually run faster above ground than underground. Speeds are capped at 15 mph underground, lest the buses crash into the tunnel walls. If only there was a way to guide the vehicles’ wheels through the tunnels using steel rails… nah, that’s too far-fetched. Then there’s the Washington Street system: the SL4 and SL5, which run from Nubian Square along Washington Street into downtown via two loops. Some background: The Orange Line used to run above Washington Street. When it was demolished and relocated to its current route in 1987, the MBTA planned replacement service along this busy corridor. At first, this would be a new Green Line branch. An excellent idea: This would restore frequent, fast rail transit. Then, electric, wire-powered trolleybuses were selected. An okay idea: This still meant clean, quiet transit. Then, regular buses were selected. An… idea (It’s worth noting that this corridor primarily serves lower-income POC communities. Make of that what you will). Again, credit where credit is due, it’s a decent bus — it’s got frequent service and some bus lanes. But it’s just a bus — it’s slow and lacks many key features that define true BRT, an insult to the corridor’s communities to which rapid transit was promised. Sure, the Waterfront routes are buses cosplaying as subway trains. But the Washington Street routes are buses cosplaying as better buses. The two systems of the Silver Line were supposed to be joined by a tunnel between Boylston and South Station, but this was scrapped in 2010 for cost reasons. The result is not one, but two profoundly mediocre pseudo-BRT systems that underdeliver to their respective communities. There is one key exception: the SL3, which has the potential to be part of a new, genuinely revolutionary transit system for Boston. But that’s a story for next time! Kevin Zhang is a junior studying civil engineering. Kevin can be reached at kevin.zhang7@tufts.edu.
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Arts & POP ARTS Pop CULTURE Culture
tuftsdaily.com
Tuesday, November 30, 2021
‘Tick, Tick… Boom!’ celebrates the legacy of theater composition by Henry Chandonnet Staff Writer
On Nov. 26, legendary musical theater composer Stephen Sondheim died. Sondheim leaves behind a changed fate for the modern musical, having reinvented the standard with classics such as “Into The Woods” (1987), “Company” (1970) and “West Side Story” (1957). Just a week before Sondheim’s passing, “Tick, Tick… Boom!” was released on Netflix. The film celebrates musical theater and composers, namely through the original writer Jonathan Larson. These two consecutive events call on us to reminisce upon the icons of composition and reinvestigate the simple joys of live theater. “Tick, Tick… Boom!” stems from the original stage musical by Jonathan Larson, famed musical theater writer and creator of “Rent” (1996). The film follows Larson himself, played by Andrew Garfield, as he attempts to write and produce his musical “Superbia.” After years of struggling to find a home for his musical, Larson finally secured a workshop with a small theater company that may lead to investments. The film chronicles the days leading up to this workshop, in which Larson destroys and (sometimes) rebuilds his friendships. Told partly in the present and partly in flashback, the film details the writing experience and exemplifies just how far the need for artistic achievement may push someone. The film honors musical theater, but even more specifically the composition process. Larson is pictured in the throes of writing, putting every dollar and ounce of himself into his musical. The broader message is clear: A musical is not some off-handed art piece but always a passion project. Writers put their whole beings into their musicals and thus take the greatest risk when they put their work up for commercial review. The process is emotionally draining and can lead many to ravage their friendships. This is particularly true of Larson; in writing “Superbia,” Larson becomes emotionally unavailable to his girlfriend Susan (Alexandra Shipp), is not
able to properly support his best friend Michael (Robin de Jesús) in crisis and even fails to pay his own power bill. Larson makes towering sacrifices for his art and must come to an emotional reckoning with just how much of himself he is willing to give up for the writing process. In the wake of Sondheim’s passing, one sequence of the film holds special significance. For the original stage version of “Tick, Tick… Boom!” Larson wrote a song titled “Sunday” about the brunch rush of the Moondance Diner for which he worked as a waiter. The song parodied the famous Act 1 finale “Sunday” from Sondheim’s “Sunday in the Park with George” (1984). For the film, director Lin-Manuel Miranda used this song as an opportunity to feature the theater community and to specifically reference modern musical theater. The song has a myriad of cameos, including Chita Rivera, Bebe Neuwirth and the original Dot in “Sunday in the Park with George,” Bernadette Peters. Further, the sequence also includes original “Rent” cast members Adam Pascal, Daphne Rubin-Vega and Wilson Jermaine Heredia. The sequence pays homage to Sondheim and his legacy, while also referencing modern theater and how far it has come. Sondheim is even a character within the film, providing a direct link to his legacy and standing within the theatrical canon. Played by Bradley Whitford, Sondheim is pictured as a mentor figure to Larson. Sondheim was the first to support Larson in a private critique of “Superbia” and is even pictured as coming to the momentous “Superbia” workshop. This portrayal of Sondheim himself is important in establishing the passeddown legacy of musical theater. Oscar Hammerstein II first mentored Sondheim, who then went on to mentor Jonathan Larson. Although Larson died before he had the opportunity to mentor any newer writers, he has clearly inspired many, including the director of the film, Lin-Manuel Miranda. Though it may sound cliche, theater is a family. The skills of composition have made
VIA IMDB
“Tick, Tick… Boom!” was released in theaters on Nov. 12 and on Netflix on Nov. 19. their way through generations, finding new hands even in the present day. Theater is a gift, and its legacy must be celebrated. In the case of “Tick, Tick… Boom!” the film is a celebration of exactly that history. The film remembers the lost greats of musical theater, both in the form of
Jonathan Larson and Stephen Sondheim, and pays deep homage to the works that they have created. For those new to theater, the film is a compelling narrative about struggle and genius within the arts. For theater lovers, the film is a deeply cathartic viewing experience. Sondheim himself recorded a
voicemail featured in the movie, commenting on Larson’s musical, “It’s first-rate work and has a future, and so do you. I’ll call you later with some thoughts, if that’s OK. Meanwhile, be proud.” The message is all too true of the film itself. It’s firstrate work and has brought deep pride to the legacy of theater.
A r t s & P o p C u lt u r e
Tuesday, November 30, 2021 | Arts & Pop Culture | THE TUFTS DAILY
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‘Dopesick’: The negligence that fueled the opioid epidemic by RaiAnn Bu
Contributing Writer
“Dopesick” is a new miniseries drama on Hulu adapted from the nonfiction book by Beth Macy and executively produced by a team including Micheal Keaton. The miniseries blends the individual stories of how OxyContin deeply affected the lives of Americans, the development and marketing of OxyContin and the government’s struggle to regulate the prescription of OxyContin. The story follows several perspectives of patients, physicians, regulators, salesmen and top executives, piecing together the cultural and social impact of the opioid epidemic. The show plays with time as well as perspective; it jumps between different stories from the 1980s to now, exemplifying the long-term and continued effects of OxyContin. Through the fluidity of the timelines, we can see the direct effects of the misleading information and corruption pervading Purdue Pharma, like how changes in marketing created negligent overprescribing. It demonstrates the ease with which irresponsible policies evaded every corner of the health care field. My favorite aspect of this miniseries is its clever, stylistic approach to portraying the opioid epidemic by specifically focusing on select personal experiences, depicting a person apart from their addiction and how their addiction greatly changed their lives. Oftentimes, we are met with big statistics and overarching themes illustrating disasters. Though these large numbers are intimidating and arguably more urgent than individual stories, it’s the personal stories that impact us the most. Through exploration of these characters’ struggles, families and goals, we can see how OxyContin derailed their lives from hopeful futures. The two most impactful stories we follow are Betsy Mallum (Kaitlyn Dever), a young woman who began using OxyContin for a back injury, and Dr. Samuel Finnix (Michael Keaton), a caring doctor who also developed addiction after his injury in a car accident. Both their transformations show how OxyContin is able to almost completely rob the spirit, stability and
Raga Chilakamarri On Demand
‘Never Have I Ever’ been the star of an American teen dramedy
M
y housemate Nyssa’s most underused fun fact is that she auditioned for the role of Devi on Mindy Kaling’s “Never Have I Ever” (2020–), a YA-esque Netflix series about a first-generation South Indian American high school sophomore intent on improving her social status. The role, though, went to Maitreyi Ramakrishnan (You’re still a queen, Nyssa). As a first-gen South Indian gal myself, I was excited about the arrival of “Never Have I Ever.” I was surprised how thrilled I was by anticipating the representation. However, after binging it over two ses-
VIA IMDB
“Dopesick” premiered on Oct. 13. hope from an individual regardless of their circumstances. It is heart wrenching to see the path of their lives from hope and growth to addiction, the slow and complete alienation of their previous lives.
Addiction is something that has touched my life, along with the lives of many other people. It is a disease for which oftentimes the blame is placed on the addict, despite the problem being infinitely more complicated. Because
sions of Netflix Party with my closest Indian friends, I emerged after the season finale with complicated sentiments of disappointment and optimism. My criticism stemmed from elements of the storytelling itself. For one, it’s odd that John McEnroe, American tennis star, voices the narrator. Although chosen for the comedic absurdity of a 62-year-old white guy with anger issues on the court reporting a high school girl’s life, it is an immediate disruption to Devi’s voice. He inevitably mispronounces Indian words like Devi’s name, which is traditionally pronounced with the soft “dh” sound. These details may seem subtle to non-Desi viewers, but this motivates the Praharshitas, Meghanas and Medhas to use their white friends’ names at Starbucks. Besides the confusing narration choice, Devi is just plain annoying. I’m not usually against unlikable main characters. Zoey Johnson (Yara Shahidi) the lead on “Grown-ish” (2018–) is often chastised by her peers for being self-centered or privileged, but she also displays an arc, a gesture of growth that makes her relatable. Devi is constantly shallow, making her hard to root for. “Grown-ish” also successfully presents a majority-POC friend group whose
conversations about dating, race and activism authentically reflect their diverse identities and college experiences. Meanwhile, Devi’s best friends seem boxed in: Fabiola Torres (Lee Rodriguez) loves robots and dresses like a Best Buy employee; Eleanor Wong (Ramona Young) loves to act and has a flair for the dramatic. And I’m sorry, but object-of-sexual-desire Paxton HallYoshida is played by 30-year-old Darren Barnet — Jake Gyllenhaal vibes? Also if Devi is from the Valley, home to a strong Indian community, where are her Indian besties? Who is she gossipping with during the Ganesha pujas? I understand that Kaling’s childhood inspired her series, and my being upset that elements of my own aren’t apparent pressures the series to represent the mosaic of Indian American experiences. I just think there’s an untapped potential within the complex relationships of tradition, assimilation and cultural perspectives that will spark compelling narratives from Indian characters, and I’m craving for those stories to burst forth. There’s plenty of crappy television focused on white American teens, such that I can criticize one without criticizing all. That privilege isn’t shared with novel
of this, representations in the media play a significant role in the future of understanding this sickness. I believe “Dopesick” was one of the most realistic portrayals of how addiction can invade one’s life and tear apart a family. At scenes, I felt like I was reliving moments in my life seeing addiction irrevocably transform a loved one to a stranger and having to pick up the pieces. The emotions of desperation, heartbreak and despair expressed by the actors is phenomenal as they convey the complexities of addiction as something tragic that we cannot blame on one person. Additionally, the series portrays the inaccessibility of effective treatment and lack of development in options for those affected by addiction. Both of these characters who face addiction struggle to find effective help, as the health care system continues to fail them. An issue that I believe to be equally as important as preventing addiction is treating it, and the harsh truth that there is currently no fully effective solution should haunt us all. Despite having a strong premise with interesting stylistic choices, the show does fall flat with some areas of the execution. With the adaption of reality to film comes issues of exaggeration and dramatizations as producers try to convey the deplorable effects of OxyContin and Purdue Pharma. At times, the scenes read similarly to a high school PSA, cartoonishly representing the Sackler family and its supporters as absurdly villainous and corrupt. Michael Stuhlbarg, portraying Richard Sackler, brings the ominous presence of a movie star villain (he stares at a world map planning his world domination with OxyContin to “cure the world of its pain”). However, through the fallacy of hindsight, we can of course see the obvious, senseless mistakes that executives, salesmen and doctors carried out. The actions seem infinitely more irresponsible with the complete picture we have today. Overall, the series does a good job at portraying the evil ways and negligence that resulted in the opioid epidemic and its effects on innocent people. However, its stereotypical and corny writing at times can be a turnoff to viewers that relies on the benefit of hindsight to emphasize wrongdoing.
shows like “Never Have I Ever.” I recognize that it’s just the start, and as one of few examples of a South Indian protagonist, it has to fulfill the expectations of an entire demographic. Representation remains an important mechanism for showcasing the possibilities of who we can be, and especially for deciding whose story is important enough for a primetime spot. So, I’m really proud that Devi exists at all. And besides, until “Never Have I Ever,” never had I ever had an almost-celebrity housemate. Raga Chilakamarri is a junior studying English and economics. Raga can be reached at raga.chilakamarri@tufts.edu.
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THE TUFTS DAILY | FUN & GAMES | Tuesday, November 30, 2021
F& G
tuftsdaily.com LATE NIGHT AT THE DAILY Campbell: “Whoever stole my coat is cursed for eternity.”
FUN & GAMES
SUDOKU
HANUKKAH
Difficulty Level: Thinking of a Secret Santa gift.
By Juju Zweifach
Monday’s Solutions
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CROSSWORD
Before anything else, we are all human. It’s time to embrace diversity. Let’s put aside labels in the name of love. Rethink your bias at lovehasnolabels.com
tuftsdaily.com
Elizabeth Buehl The Journey
If the walls could talk As Thanksgiving approaches on an annual basis, I naturally tend to find myself reflecting on everything I have to be grateful for. Last year, during my pandemic-laden freshman experience, I spent my first college Thanksgiving away from home.
Opinion Although I was with friends I had met just a few weeks before, we shared a sense of home among each other. From making cranberry sauce in a noodle pot to baking a pie in the Carmichael Hall kitchen and commiserating over the sad state of the university-issued turkey, we made the best out of a less-than-ideal situation. This year, as I headed home for the holiday, I looked forward to reuniting with my dogs, sleeping in my bed and eating homecooked meals. Yet, Thanksgiving 2021 marked a transitional time
for my family as we planned to move out of my childhood home, the place in which we have lived for the last 17 years. In preparation for the move, we went through cabinets, closets and drawers, storing memorabilia and throwing out junk. As we packed up the house, it was almost as if we bid farewell to a member of our family; each room, hallway and table marked the setting of our recent family history. This past Sunday, when it came time for me to head to the airport for my flight, I exited my bedroom for the last time
9 Tuesday, November 30, 2021
and essentially shut the door on a chapter of my life. For me, most interim points in life evoke feelings of nostalgia. Each corner of our home is filled with memories as far back as my mind can dig up. Looking out into the backyard, I can recall countless summers of long hours spent with friends in the pool. Although it no longer stands, I fondly remember the zipline from which my brother and I would zip, from one palm tree to the next, clenching the handle tightly as we sped across the yard. Yet, as I look toward the future, I
remind myself that memories are held within oneself and a home is only a home because of the people that comprise it. Amid the holiday season, I find it important to ground myself in everything I have to be grateful for. While each corner of this earth holds a separate, special place in different people’s hearts, we all carry legacies within ourselves and our loved ones. Elizabeth Buehl is a sophomore studying psychology. Elizabeth can be reached at elizabeth.buehl@tufts.edu.
10 Tuesday, November 30, 2021
Sports
tuftsdaily.com
Members of men’s and women’s cross country teams set personal bests at NCAA Championships by Arnav Sacheti
Assistant Sports Editor
On Nov. 20, the men’s and women’s cross country teams traveled to E.P. “Tom” Sawyer State Park in Louisville, Ky. to compete in the NCAA Championship race. The men and women competed in the 8K and 6K races respectively. There were 32 spots each for the men’s and women’s races, to be filled by the best cross country teams in the country. The 10 regional championship winners automatically qualified for the meet. The Tufts women’s team, having won the East region, was one of the automatic qualifiers in the women’s race. The remaining 22 team spots in each race were given to the 22 best remaining teams in the country. The Tufts men’s team qualified as one of these teams. In the biggest race of the season for both of these teams, senior co-captain Danielle Page and sophomore Walter Wagude continued in their roles to lead the Jumbos through the races. Page, in her final collegiate cross country race, finished in third place out of 292 runners with a time of 20:30.1. She was followed by senior co-captain Anna Slager, who finished 23rd with a time of 21:35.6 and junior Meghan Davis, who finished 68th with a time of 22:09.0. With seven runners that also included junior Lauren Pollak, senior Tara Lowensohn, senior Hannah Neilon and junior Kate Bidgood, the Jumbos finished with an outstanding
David Cooperman Beyond Sports
What is Aaron Rodgers doing?
O
n Nov. 24, Aaron Rodgers proclaimed on popular podcast “The Pat McAfee Show” that his post-COVID symptoms involved a case of “COVID toe.” One day later, he released a statement saying that he had no idea what COVID toes were, and that his toes were merely broken.
COURTESY D3PHOTOGRAPHY
Members of the Tufts women’s cross country team are pictured at the 2021 NCAA Div. III Cross Country Championship. ninth place overall out of the 32 teams. Wagude led the men’s team, finishing with a time of 24:39.5, which put him at 74th overall out of 289 runners. He was followed behind by senior co-captain Sam Gatti, who finished 156th with a time of 25:07.1, and senior co-captain Collin O’Sullivan who finished 210th with a time of 25:36.9. Senior Dalton Tanner, junior Oliver Printy and firstyears Enock Musyoka and Alex
Friedman were also part of the group that competed in the men’s race. While the men placed 30th out of 32 teams at the meet, all of the runners showed a massive improvement. Wagude, Gatti, O’Sullivan, Tanner and Printy all posted 8K personal bests at this meet, and Musyoka was only five seconds from his personal best. Overall, this is also one of the best team performances the Jumbos have had in recent years when
considering their overall season. This year represented only the 16th time in Tufts’ history that the men’s team has qualified for the NCAA Championships. The women’s side showed a similar story. Page will end her college cross country career with a bang. Not only did she run a personal best in the 6K, but she did it by breaking 21 minutes for the first time in a major race. Slager, Pollak, Lowensohn, Neilon and
Bidgood also all posted personal bests, and Davis finished a mere nine seconds off of her personal best. With only six out of the current 35 men’s runners and five out of the 34 women’s runners graduating, as well as the great individual and team performances that have been posted this season, Tufts’ cross country future is brighter than ever. For now, though, the focus shifts to indoor track.
I have been absolutely baffled by the behavior of Aaron Rodgers during the so-called ‘COVID era,’ as this was only one of many cases of untrue, false or just flat-out odd remarks coming from Rodgers over the last couple years. He has appeared on countless podcasts spewing ‘information’ that has media sources delivering fact check after fact check. Even my mom, over Thanksgiving break, announced how tired she was of hearing about Rodgers’ wacky behavior. My dad and I found it funny at the moment, laughing about how annoyed she was. Ultimately, the problem is that his antics are not just strange and annoying, but damaging as well.
Now, I’m not here to harp on him for his vaccination status. Everyone has heard it before, and there’s no point in replaying the same argument. What I am here to harp on him for is failing to own up to the misleading effects of his words. Sharing false information about the vaccine, and even his own condition, then acting like he never heard the words that came from his own mouth is no way for such a loved, looked-up-to public figure to behave. In particular, many kids, like I did growing up, consider athletes to be role models. It is unfortunate to think about a 12-year-old Rodgers fan hearing him disparage the vaccine and becoming
scared of it due to information that is simply untrue. My point is, his words reach millions of people, and many of those people look up to him. He will almost undoubtedly never read this column. If he did, though, I would want him to have one takeaway: Your words have meaning. Your fans listen to what you say, and even people like my mom, at the very least, seem to hear about it. Don’t continue the vicious cycle of misinformation that permeates all sources of communication in our current world. And if you do lie, purposefully or not, take ownership of it. Yes, COVID toes exist, but why say you have it and then claim a day
later to have never heard of it? It weakens that voice that I talked about earlier, that influence that Rodgers has over his fans and supporters. Credibility is so important, and Rodgers seems to damage his own more and more every day. After days of thought, I came up with what I consider to be the best solution to this crucial issue: Let’s just stop talking about Aaron Rodgers’ toes altogether. That was really the last image I wanted to see before starting my Thanksgiving meal. David Cooperman is a sophomore who has not yet declared a major. David can be reached at david.cooperman@tufts.edu
