November 30, 2015

Krysten Ritter captures Jessica Jones’ quick wit, emotional instability see ARTS AND LIVING / PAGE 7

Winget, Jinn lead Tufts to victory in season opener

Faculty, staff implement mentoring program for students of color see FEATURES / PAGE 5

see SPORTS / BACK PAGE

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T HE T UFTS DAILY

VOLUME LXX, NUMBER 52

Monday, November 30, 2015

MEDFORD/SOMERVILLE, MASS.

Congressman Moulton addresses future of politics

by Miranda Willson Assistant News Editor

Congressman Seth Moulton (D-Mass.), who represents the 6th district of Massachusetts, spoke at a roundtable discussion about the state of American politics in the Rabb Room last Monday afternoon.

The discussion was hosted by Tufts Cooperation and Innovation in Citizenship (CIVIC), Tufts Alliance Linking Leaders in Education and the Services (ALLIES) and the Jonathan M. Tisch College of Citizenship and Public Service.

Moulton spoke at the event about his background as a marine veteran, the problems of partisanship in Congress, American politicians’ opinions of the Syrian refugee crisis and the need for more people from different backgrounds to run for public office.

Moulton said he earned a bachelor’s degree from Harvard University, then signed up for the U.S. Marine Corps, to the chagrin of his liberal parents. He served four tours in the Iraq War and discovered his love for public service in the midst of a war he did not always support. Moulton said that, following his military service, he earned a master’s degree in business and public administration from Harvard.

The event was a roundtable discussion, so the congressman took several questions from students.

One student attending the event asked why Moulton ran against incumbent Democratic Representative John Tierney in the 2014 congressional elections to win the seat that he now holds, a decision that was initially met with animosity from Democratic voters.

“There are a lot of people in Washington today who clearly put their party’s interest above the country’s interest,” he said. “That’s why I ran against a Democrat, even though every establishment Democrat was against me.”

Moulton cited his campaign’s use of social media and close attention to his constituents’ opinions as factors in his 2014 victory. see MOULTON, page 2

Cloudy 40 / 31

tuftsdaily.com

Africana symposium held in Breed Memorial Hall

by Vibhav Prakasam Contributing Writer

T h e Co n s o r t i u m of Studies in Race, Colonialism, and Diaspora (RCD) held their second annual workshop, a symposium on “Social Movements and the Black Intellectual Tradition,” at Breed Memorial Hall at 51 Winthrop St. on the afternoon of Nov. 20.

The symposium, which ran from 1:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., was hosted by the Africana Studies program, in conjunction with the Center for the Study of Race and Democracy (CSRD), and was co-sponsored by the Arts, Sciences Sofie Hecht / The Tufts Daily and Engineering (AS&E) Tufts students pass out pins depicting Rubin “Hurricane” Carter and Nelson Mandela at the Africana Diversity Fund, the Symposium on Social Movements and the Black Intellectual Tradition, the second annual workshop of the Department of History, the Consortium of Studies in Race, Colonialism, and Diaspora. The event, co-sponsored by many Tufts departDepartment of Sociology, ments and the AS&E Diversity fund, occurred at Breed Memorial on Nov. 20. the Department of Political Science, the Africana Center and ni participated in a memorial walk a special tribute to late history profesthe Center for Humanities at Tufts from Capen House to Breed Memorial. sor Gerald Gill, as the trail was inspired (CHAT). The main organizers of the The walk path consisted of locations by a project Gill was working on event were professor Adriana Zavala, on campus which have been signif- before his passing in 2007, Field said. director of the RCD; professor H. Adlai icant in Black history and Black life Organizers of the event had collaboMurdoch, director of Africana Studies; at Tufts, including the site of a tree rated closely with professor of politiprofessor Kendra Field, interim director behind Ballou Hall, planted in honor of cal science and Africana studies Pearl of the CSRD; and Katrina Moore, direc- African-American students and alumni Robinson in order to carefully recreate who had attended the university as the trail based on the findings and stotor of the Africana Center.

Before the symposium began, early as 1909, according to Field.

The memorial walk also represented roughly 30 students, faculty and alumsee SYMPOSIUM, page 3

Tufts Ethics Bowl team wins Northeast Regional ethics competition

by Stephanie Ng

Contributing Writer

The Tufts Ethics Bowl team beat out 26 teams to claim the winning title at the Northeast Regional Ethics Bowl competition in Patchogue, New York on Nov. 14.

The competition, hosted by St. Joseph’s College, included teams from schools such as the U.S. Naval Academy, Salisbury University, Dartmouth College, Union College and Villanova University, according to Ethics Bowl team member Zachary Flicker.

Teams competing at the Ethics Bowl

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were expected to present and defend arguments based on 15 case studies of ethical dilemmas, Flicker, a junior, said. Facing off in pairs, teams took turns putting forward a standpoint relating to a question revealed at the start of the round and responding to criticisms from the other team. Participating teams were evaluated by 50 judges, who were mostly professors from the participating schools, as well as Ph.D. candidates, faculty and alumni from St. Joseph’s College.

“It was a long day,” Jane Acker, a junior, said. “We woke up at 6 a.m., were driven by our two teaching assis-

Contact Us P.O. Box 53018, Medford, MA 02155 617 627 3090 FAX 617 627 3910 daily@tuftsdaily.com

tants to the venue and got home just before 8 p.m.”

Preceding the regional tournament in New York, Tufts held its own Ethics Bowl for undergraduates on Oct. 24. About 45 students, divided into teams of five and six students, attended practice sessions during open block with philosophy graduate students Steven Norris and Runeko Lovell to go over the case studies in the weeks leading up to the competition.

Students participating in the Tufts competition had the option of earning 0.5 credit

News............................................1 Comics.......................................4 Features.................................5

see ETHICS , page 2

Arts & Living....................... 7 OPINION...................................10 Sports............................ Back

2

THE TUFTS DAILY | News | Monday, November 30, 2015

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T HE T UFTS D AILY Joe Palandrani Editor-in-Chief

Editorial Lancy Downs Abigail Feldman Managing Editors Sarah Zheng Executive News Editor Marianna Athanassiou News Editors Melissa Kain Reena Karasin Arin Kerstein Safiya Nanji Sophie Lehrenbaum Emma Steiner Annabelle Roberts Roy Yang Isha Fahad Assistant News Editors Miranda Willson Mengqi Sun Executive Features Editor Kendall Todd Features Editors Arin Kerstein Nicole Brooks Becca Leibowitz Nina Joung Assistant Features Editors Joshua Podolsky Executive Arts Editor Anjali Nair Arts Editors Yotam Bentov Assistant Arts Editors Merilla Michael John Gallagher Ascher Kulich Justin Krakoff Yuki Zaninovich Nick Golden Erin Sifre Katie Matejcak Hannah Hoang Ty Enos Fury Sheron Natasha Khwaja Nick Golden

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BUSINESS Kristie Le Executive Business Director Chris Chininis Ad Director Yiran Xu Receivables Manager Eva Sachar Ad Manager Evan Sayles Jahlyn Hayes Qinyue Yu Caroline Talbert Marketing Director Qinyue Yu Marketing Manager Scott Geldzahler Social Media Editor Vera Masterson

30

today

“An Evening with Temple Grandin: My Life with Animals” Details: Dr. Temple Grandin, a professor of animal science and lecturer on autism and humane animal handling, will be giving a talk about the role that animals have had on her life and work. Grandin is also an author, activist and the subject of the 2010 HBO biopic film “Temple Grandin.”

When and Where: 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., Cohen Auditorium Sponsors: Tufts Institute for HumanAnimal Interaction, Center for Animals and Public Policy (CAPP), Office of Continuing Education, Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine, Center for Animals and Public Policy “Dr. Maurice S. Segal Lecture: The Challenge of a Middle East in Flames” Details: Stephen Hadley, the former assistant of National Security Affairs to President George W. Bush, will be speaking about the Middle East for the annual Maurice S. Segal Lecture. Hadley worked for several years under the Bush administrations on national security issues, including on relations between the United States and Russia, Israel’s relationship to Gaza and the development of a strategic American relationship with India.

When and Where: 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m., ASEAN Lecture Hall, Cabot Intercultural Center

Visiting the

hill this week

Sponsors: Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University Advancement “AIDS Activism: Past, Present and Future” Details: GlobeMed is hosting a panel discussion about AIDS activism for World AIDS Day, which falls on Dec. 1. The panel will feature Executive Director of the AIDS Action Committee Carl Sciortino, Outreach Manager at Fenway Health Coco Alinsug and Policy Coordinator at the AIDS Action Committee Grainne Griffiths.

When and Where: 8 p.m. to 9 p.m., Alumnae Lounge, Aidekman Arts Center Sponsors: GlobeMed at Tufts

1

TUESDAY

“The Water, Forest, and Land Belong to Us: People, Property and Things in an Indian Forest” Details: Anand P. Vaidya, an anthropology lecturer at Harvard University, will be speaking about the destruction of a forest village in Uttar Pradesh of northern India named Ramnagar and its relation to the 2011 Forest Rights Act. Vaidya argues that there are contradictory interpretations of the Forest Rights Act, which has implications for Ramnagar and the environment as a whole.

When and Where: 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., Center for Humanities at Tufts Seminar Room, Fung House Sponsors: Center for South Asian and Indian Ocean Studies

3

THURSDAY

“Does the Rise of China Threaten the United States?”

Details: Columbia University professor of political science Andrew Nathan will give a lecture on China’s security strategy and what that means for U.S. interests. Nathan co-authored “China’s Search for Security,” and his field interests include Chinese politics and foreign policy, the comparative study of political participation and political culture and human rights.

When and Where: 5 p.m., Fung House Sponsors: Center for Humanities at Tufts “Intergenerational Trauma and the Science of Suffering” Details: Panelists from various disciplines at Tufts will have a discussion on the intergenerational effects of trauma and how their research relates to a 2014 New Republic article “The Science of Suffering.” These panelists will include assistant professor of history and Africana studies Kendra Field, professor of drama Barbara Grossman, Research Director at the Feinstein International Center Dyan Mazurana and professor of psychology Lisa Shin.

When and Where: 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m., Room 008, Barnum Hall Sponsors: Initiative on Mass Atrocities and Genocide

Moulton discusses refugee crisis, political partisanship in Rabb Room talk Moulton

continued from page 1 Another student pointed out the lack of women in attendance at the discussion and asked Moulton about his opinions on the climate for women in the Marines and in politics. Moulton responded by pointing out the lack of minorities at the discussion as well, suggesting that both groups should push themselves to become more involved in American politics.

“Political leadership is not very representative of the country as a whole, and that’s a problem,” he said.

Moulton touted his involvement with a bipartisan working group on Capitol Hill and a bill that he cosponsored with

Congressman Dave Brat (R-VA), which aims to improve the transparency and accessibility of government decisions and regulations by making them readily available online.

The congressman also addressed the Syrian refugee crisis, characterizing Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker’s announcement that the state would not accept Syrian refugees as a poor and immoral security decision.

“Kicking out refugees is going to send more of them to ISIS,” he said.

Another student at the event asked Moulton about his thoughts on the Democratic losses during last year’s senatorial election. Moulton explained

that Democrats rely much more on seniority when determining who to select for different committees and positions, suggesting that a young man such as new Speaker of the House of Representatives Paul Ryan (R-WI) would not have been able to rise in the ranks the way he has if he were not a Republican.

“Democrats have a huge recruitment problem,” he said.

Moulton closed the discussion on an optimistic note, expressing his belief that the United States has not yet reached its prime, despite congressional gridlock.

“The U.S. government is the best political system the world has ever seen,” he said.

Tufts prepares for Intercollegiate Ethics Bowl competition in Virginia ETHICS

continued from page 1 through the philosophy department for their work.

The winning team of the regional competition, which competed and won at Tufts under the name “Goon Squad,” consists of six students: Flicker, Acker, senior Margaret Ringler, senior Dylan Phelan, junior Phoebe Dinh and junior Adam Plumer.

According to Flicker, this team, which also competed in the regional competition last year, first formed three years ago after Tufts’ philosophy faculty and staff members introduced Ethics Bowl to campus. Flicker explained that he became involved with the team after Monica Link, an assistant lecturer in the philosophy department and his professor at the time, convinced him to join.

Dinh said that she began competing with the team by “accident,” when philos-

ophy professor Susan Russinoff formed a last-minute team at a Philosophy Club meeting during her first year at Tufts.

Flicker explained that Ethics Bowl participants include students from diverse educational backgrounds and are not limited to philosophy majors. Acker, for example, is a quantitive economics and dance double major, and Dinh added that she has not taken an ethics class at Tufts so far.

“It is certainly helpful to be in the ethics class at Tufts, but you don’t necessarily have to be part of it to be on the team,” Flicker said.

Flicker described a highlight from the regional Ethics Bowl competition — a round based on “Case #3: Anti-Vax Tax,” which outlines debate surrounding a proposal to implement a tax on those who fail to vaccinate their children. During the round, the Tufts team was able to identify an instance when members of

the opposing team directly contradicted themselves, which won Tufts favor with the judges, he said.

Dinh said that the Ethics Bowl is “not a strict debate competition” and that the format allows the competition to resemble a discussion.

“The Ethics Bowl is about having a nuanced approach, which is not necessarily right or wrong,” Flicker said.

“Sometimes it’s just that the logic doesn’t play out properly, and there are additional points worth considering.”

Flicker’s favorite part of Ethics Bowl is interacting with other students, he said.

“It is so rewarding to engage in philosophical ideas at a high level and have meaningful ethical discussions at a national level,” he said.

The team is currently preparing for the national Intercollegiate Ethics Bowl competition, which will be held in Reston, Va. on Feb. 21, according to Flicker.

Monday, November 30, 2015 | News | THE TUFTS DAILY

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News

3

News

Students from Tufts, area schools attend Robin Kelley’s keynote address at Africana Symposium SYMPOSIUM

continued from page 1 ries Gill had shared with Robinson.

“We see this gathering of Africandescended students, alums and faculty as an opportunity to come together as a community, to support one another across generations, and to provide perspective on the past, present and future of ‘Social Movements and the Black Intellectual Tradition,’” Field told the Daily in an email.

Following the walk, Robinson began the symposium with a live-streamed speech, sharing some of the history and stories of Black alumni that Gill had shared with her. Phillip Ellison, a senior, poured libations for Gill during Robinson’s address. Murdoch, Zavala, Field and Bernard Harleston, Tufts’ first African-American professor hired for a tenure-track position and former dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, then gave an introduction to the symposium.

The bulk of the symposium consisted of three panels made up of Tufts alumni and prominent Black scholars, activists and scholar-activists.

The first panel, “Racial Justice, Scholarship and Activism after Tufts,” featured six African-American Tufts alumni: Leslie Brown (A ’77), Christina Greer (A ’00), Zachariah Mampilly (A ’99), Seth Markle (A ’00), Zerlina Maxwell (A ’03) and Emery Wright (A ’99). Four of the alumni panelists — Brown, Greer and Mampilly — are professors at various colleges, while

Maxwell writes for Essence Magazine and Wright is a co-director of Project South: Institute for the Elimination of Poverty and Genocide.

“Revolutionary dreams erupt out of political engagement; collective social movements are incubators of new knowledge.”

The panel, moderated by Ellison, centered on the the alumni’s experiences at Tufts as minorities, as well as community action, the work that each of them does today, the importance of keeping social movements alive and the impact that Gill had on them, according to first-year Noah Harris, who attended the symposium.

The second panel was a roundtable discussion on “Social Media and Movements” with Maxwell and Ferentz Lafargue, the director of the Davis Center at Williams College. This panel was moderated by Orly Clergé, a professor of sociology and Africana studies. According to Harris, the panel discussion included topics such as using social media to not only promote social movements, but also to fact-check news media.

After a short refreshment break, three alumni joined for a panel on “Black Intellectual Traditions.” This panel, moderated by Field, focused on the historical connection between scholarship and social movements, and the significance of intellectual work in tying the two together.

The final event of the symposium was the keynote address by Robin D.G. Kelley, a professor of American history and the Gary B. Nash Endowed Chair in United States History at UCLA, who gave a speech titled “Lessons from the Damned: Punditry vs. a Philosophy of Practice.” Kelley covered several topics in his address, explaining the significance of being well-read and wellversed before participating in social movements, since they require a deep understanding of history. He also spoke about the intersection of academic work and social movements, and the importance of collaboration among people working in these areas, as well as about his relationship with Gill.

Kelley drew on themes from his 2002 novel “Freedom Dreams: The Black Radical Imagination,” which also served as inspiration for the symposium as a whole.

“The most powerful, visionary dreams of a new society don’t come from little think tanks of smart people or out of the atomized, individualistic world of consumer capitalism where raging against the status quo is simply the hip thing to do,” Kelley wrote in

his book. “Revolutionary dreams erupt out of political engagement; collective social movements are incubators of new knowledge. Social movements generate new knowledge, new theories, new questions. The most radical ideas often grow out of a concrete intellectual engagement with the problems of aggrieved populations confronting systems of oppression.”

Field said that many students and staff traveled from neighboring universities, such as Boston University, Brandeis University, Harvard University, University of Connecticut and Trinity College, to attend the keynote lecture.

She added that she felt that the symposium as a whole was effective in several ways, particularly in allowing Tufts alumni to express how Robinson and Gill, as well as Africana studies professors Jeanne Penvenne, an associate professor of history, and Modhumita Roy, an associate professor of English, had helped them throughout their time at and after Tufts.

“It was moving to hear first-hand all that they had done to support this incredibly committed group of Tufts alums, turned scholar-activists, over the years,” Field said. “We saw bits and pieces of these faculty in so much of what was said and felt on Friday. I think the gathering helped to model and develop a sense of inter-generational community and perspective on social movements and engaged intellectual work.”

Introduce new Jumbos to the Tufts Experience Applications Due 1/27/16

Innovative and Energetic Leaders Needed to Coordinate Orientation 2016!

Positions in Major Events/Co-Curricular Programs,

Training/Leadership and Communication/Social Media (3 Full-Time Paid Summer Positions…June, July, August)

more information &application at: http://studentservices.tufts.edu/orientation

THE TUFTS DAILY | Comics | Monday, November 30, 2015

tuftsdaily.com

Comics

Late Night at the Daily “Neatures gets me all hot.”

FOR RELEASEDavid: NOVEMBER 30, 2015

Comics

Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Lewis Crossword

our location

our contact

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our hours

mon - wed:

11 AM to 10 PM

thurs - sat: 11 AM to 11 PM sun:

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12 PM to 8 PM

ACROSS 1 Beatle Paul’s first wife 6 Second-string squad 11 Tummy muscles 14 Lunchbox cookies 15 Hardship 16 “Nope” 17 Started to sneeze and cough, say 19 Org. promoting hunter safety 20 Basil or rosemary 21 IV monitors 22 Honor __ thieves 24 Musical Apple 26 Exposed 28 Really worked hard 34 Critter that sleeps floating on its back 35 National Anthem starter 36 Kitten cry 37 Gen-__: postbaby boomers 38 Camera setting 40 Wait 41 Small S.A. country 42 Red Sox star Big __ 43 Panama divider 44 Paid for everyone’s dinner 48 Exhausted 49 Fit for sainthood 50 Catcher’s position 52 Holiday tree 53 Rock’s Mötley __ 57 Continent north of Afr. 58 Taken away in handcuffs ... and a hint to the starts of 17-, 28- and 44-Across 62 Aragon aunt 63 Argue the opposing viewpoint 64 Hit half of a record 65 Home of the Cardinals: Abbr.

66 Small and glittering, like eyes 67 Terminate the mission

Tuesday’s Solution Saturday’s Puzzle Solved

DOWN 1 Scot’s swimming spot 2 “Dies __”: hymn 3 Nerve: Pref.

4 Wounds from an aggressive pooch 5 Silvery gray 6 Godfather portrayer 7 Muscle twitches 8 Self-image 9 “You’ve got mail” company 10 Elizabeth Bennet’s suitor in “Pride and Prejudice” 11 In the year of the Lord, in dates 12 Farm building 13 Layered haircut 18 Walked 23 “Not so great” 25 According to 26 Kiss from Carlos 27 “Do it yesterday!” on memos 28 Pack in cartons 29 Wombs 30 Like earthquake damage 31 Inept waiter’s comeuppance 32 Foot-operated lever

©2015 Tribune Content Agency, LLC

33 “Peachy!”

38 Gradually vanish 39 Tater 40 Nursery furniture with bars 42 Bother 43 Animation frame 45 Seoul-based Soul maker 46 Minimum age for a U.S. senator 47 Jewish wedding dance

by David L. Hoyt and Jeff Knurek

JUMBLE

Unscramble these four Jumbles, one letter to each square, to form four ordinary words.

©2015 Tribune Content Agency, LLC All Rights Reserved.

WONOS SOMTED

CEBRIK

Saturday’s

Now arrange the circled letters to form the surprise answer, as suggested by the above cartoon.

(Answers tomorrow) Jumbles: SHYLY GUEST VISUAL OFFEND Answer: When he blew all his money playing slot machines, poker, etc., he was in — “LOSS” VEGAS

Tuesday’s Solution

Non Sequitur

By Wiley Miller

11/30/15

50 Tennis divisions 51 Give notice 52 Animosity spanning decades 54 Change the decor of 55 __-friendly 56 State, in France 59 Wedding page word 60 Corp. alias letters 61 Pretoria’s land: Abbr.

THAT SCRAMBLED WORD GAME

ROGMO

Difficulty Level: Observing your newly gained Thanksgiving weight.

11/30/15

By Don Rosenthal

Check out the new, free JUST JUMBLE app

4

Monday, November 30, 2015

Features

New mentorship program aims to strengthen sense of belonging among students of color

by Sophie Dasinger Staff Writer

According to a report of the Council on Diversity released in December of 2013, minority students reported experiencing a significant deficiency in faculty mentorship while at Tufts. To address this, Tufts has started a new mentorship program, aiming to improve the experience of underrepresented students by facilitating student-faculty relationships.

“Focus group data from multiple Tufts sources points to classroom-based problems with addressing or supporting diversity,” the report said. “[There is] insufficient training of faculty members to promote effective pre-major advising and overall mentoring; insufficient knowledge/appreciation of power dynamics between faculty members and students; and students feel silenced, inside and beyond the classroom, by racist/sexist comments or other forms of discriminatory behavior.”

Prior to the report, Tufts did not have any mentoring program in place for students belonging to minority groups, according to Adriana Zavala, an associate professor of Art and Art History. The only other programs in place prior to the new mentorship program included the Pre-major Advising program, as well as the four college transition advisors, who “serve as a point of contact and academic support for pre-major students from matriculation to major declaration,” according to the CTA website.

This past spring, several faculty members began discussing the new program with Dean of Student Affairs Mary Pat McMahon, Zavala said.

“We just sort of brainstormed at this meeting, ‘Wouldn’t it be great if we had some sort of mechanism in place…[for] first…and second-year students of color?’”

Zavala said.

Professor of Sociology and Department Chair Pawan Dhingra, one of the faculty mentors, explained the importance of having this mentorship program, acknowledging the difficulties faced by many students of color, especially in terms of finding mentors.

“Often times universities can be overwhelming spaces,” he said. “[Facilitating] a sense of belonging at Tufts…often involves having mentors, or people you can relate with. For students of color, that may not be as easy to find as [it is] for white students.”

This fall, the mentorship program hosted its first event: a dinner attended by interested students and faculty members.

According to Dhingra, who was present at the event, the faculty first introduced themselves and then spoke to the students in small groups.

“The faculty sat down to hear what [the students] are saying about their own experiences at Tufts…and what they were excited by or intimidated by,” Dhingra said. “And then afterwards, faculty talked to individual students.”

The mentorship program hosted a second informal event on Nov. 13, according to Zavala. These meetings have provided a starting point for faculty members to determine the program’s structure.

Petrina Chan / The Tufts Daily

“Often times universities can be overwhelming spaces,” he said. “[Facilitating] a sense of belonging at Tufts…often involves having mentors, or people you can relate with. For students of color, that may not be as easy to find as [it is] for white students.”

“I think we’re trying to…devise a structure and see what kinds of structures evolve organically,” she said of the program’s upcoming plans.

According to Zavala, unlike the way in which pre-major advising assigns students to academic deans alphabetically, there are currently no concrete assignments between faculty and students. Instead, Zavala said that those involved hope that these faculty-student relationships will develop organically based on shared experiences.

“I was able to share with [a student]… that my parents are first-generation,” she said. “I’m a first-generation immigrant, my mother went to vocational school, my father didn’t go to college.

I was able to share with the student, you’re looking at me, and I have a Ph.D., but let me tell you, when I went to college, I applied to the college in my town because I didn’t know any different … I can easily have a conversation with a student who has visions of being a college professor because their father was a college professor or their mother’s a college professor, but I also want to have the conversation with the kid from a small town in some faraway state, who’s looking around and thinking, ‘How did I get here?’”

One of the challenges faced by any faculty-student mentorship program is bridging generational gaps, while also providing an appropriate amount of time and catering effective connections for students. According to Zavala, fac-

ulty members are still figuring out how to address these challenges while also making sure they are able to commit to the program on their own schedules.

“We’re…in a learning curve where we’re trying to figure out who are the faculty who can commit the time to this,” she said. “None of us are 19, so what is it that appeals to a 19-year-old, what kind of event is conducive to a 19-year-old opening up about what they’re excited about or what they’re struggling with?”

Steph Gauchel, director of Student Affairs Pluralism Initiatives and director of the Women’s Center, has played a role in coordinating the mentorship program.

She attested to the support that the Group of Six, of which the Women’s Center is a part, could provide.

“Faculty members have not developed a formal plan for Group of Six involvement, but are exploring possibilities of hosting mentor meetings in the different centers and involving the Group of Six directors or peer leaders in mentor meeting discussions as the program progresses,” Gauchel told the Daily in an email.

Although these details are still being worked out, both Zavala and Dhingra emphasized the impact the mentorship program could come to have for students of color at Tufts.

“Helping to create an environment inside and outside of the classroom where [students] feel challenged and able to learn and able to express themselves is my goal,” Dhingra said.

5 tuftsdaily.com

Henry Jani Lexiconversation

Spic ‘n’ span

W

ord of the Day: Dyed-inthe-wool adjective \dyde-in-thuh-WOOL\ thoroughgoing, uncompromising I’ve been reflecting a lot lately. About my friends and family, how I’ve matured over the years and if all my life has actually led up to me becoming a monk in the Great Smoky Mountains and churning butter all day. Just usual things. But recently, I’ve been especially critical of some of my more fastidious tendencies.

For example, having an excessive urge to clean the carpet in my room for loose hairs with a horse brush at 2 a.m. And slowly, I’ve traced a lot of these activities to my time with an exceptionally meticulous elementary school teacher I had.

You see, looking back on it, I probably should have suspected that I would be dealing with a rather eccentric character.

She exclusively wore jeans and a denim jacket, always reminisced about her merchant family’s rise in Czechoslovakia and lived by herself with a three-legged cat named Moonshine. But most of all, she loved to instill order and structure within her students. We all were expected to take extremely thorough notes that strictly adhered to the Cornell method. An in-class detention was issued for anyone that lost track of his or her daily geography questions, and, worst of all, a chart of rotating class chores was to be adhered to by all — no exceptions.

The class chore chart probably isn’t anything new for most. But these were no typical, “stack up the booger-infested carpet squares” type of responsibilities.

Tasks ranged from oddly large amounts of classroom cleaning to being the teacher’s personal courier, buying her lunch and running documents to and fro. None of us seemed to question the absurdity of the assigned tasks considering the circumstances. We were occasionally rewarded with praise and treats, but other times we had to skip recess in order to clean more.

Nevertheless, I realized a lot of my own cleaning habits could be traced back to many of these odd classroom tasks, one of which was washing dirty transparencies in the class sink. I didn’t realize it at the time, but having an adult make me clog up a child’s sink with brown paper towels, soap up the water with that nasty pink hand wash and scrub countless transparencies several times a week was fairly suspicious. My current stance on dishes is to never give up, no matter the grime and stain levels. I unequivocally believe such behavior came from my times as a prepubescent dishwasher.

Another time, when I had been assigned to transport dishes to the cafeteria, one of the lunch ladies decided to throw everything into the industrial steamer. So, with my little hands, I carried the scalding dishes back to class. I couldn’t write for a few days. Yet, it’s clearly why I try to persevere through everything today. A bit of a stretch?

Probably. But it’s my personal form of justification/processing/outright denial.

And the list goes on. Color-coordinating my weekly agenda. Scrubbing any tile scuff I see. Trembling at the sight of overhead projectors. But still, these past experiences probably led to a lot of my cleanliness standards. And a bit of neurosis. Or a lot.

Henry Jani is a sophomore majoring in English. He can be reached at henry.jani@ tufts.edu.

Monday, November 30, 2015

ARTS&LIVING VIDEO GAME REVIEW

‘League of Explorers’ adventure breaks open dull metagame

BUSINESS WIRE

The League of Explorers is a brand-new Hearthstone Adventure that sends players on a journey to recover an artifact of great power.

by Isaac Brown Staff Writer

From clashing swords with the mighty undead hosts in the floating necropolis of Naxxramus to slaying dragons in the caves of Blackrock Mountain, Blizzard Entertainment’s expansions and adventures for the collectible card game “Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft” have been decidedly hit-or-miss since the title’s release in March 2014.

The latest, “League of Explorers,” is a departure from previous adventures

in that it mainly features characters not already present in Warcraft lore, focusing instead on a theme that allows Blizzard developers more flexibility to create an engaging single-player experience with a compelling narrative. Another new addition, the Discover mechanic, gives the player the sense that their choices matter more and rewards thinking about future turns rather than only about what’s in front of them. More importantly for those who enjoy ranked play, new legendary minion Reno Jackson shows significant promise in shaking up the ladder by mak-

ing control decks more viable.

Parodying tropes from Spielberg’s “Indiana Jones” films, one boss fight takes a player through a collapsing temple complete with traps like a giant, spherical boulder, while another involves fleeing from a swarm of enemies on a mine cart.

Past adventures have suffered from the AI’s poor decision-making and memorably frustrating fights that require perfect draws to win. The first two released wings, the Temple of Orsis and Uldaman, reward see LEAGUE OF EXPLORERS, page 8

TV REVIEW

‘Marvel’s Jessica Jones’ live-action take on comic book

by Merilla Michael Assistant Arts Editor

“Marvel’s Jessica Jones,” a Netflix original series based on the Marvel universe comic book character of the same name, released its full first season last week and made quite an impression. Jessica Jones (Krysten Ritter) is the best private investigator in New York City, despite her unorthodox methods. At first glance, she seems like just a callous drunk, but she gets the job done. The show takes off when two parents (Ian Blackman and Deborah Hedwall) from Omaha, Neb. come to Jones for help in finding their missing daughter, Hope (Erin Moriarty). This is the main storyline for the first episode, but what is most interesting about the premiere are the subtle details and unexplained background information on Jones.

While walking around the city late at night, Jones, following a lead on a case, jumps a solid 15 feet in the air to reach the fire escape on the side of a building.

Viewers may miss this quick superhuman feat if not paying close attention.

At another point in the episode, Jones is awoken by her upstairs neighbors

MYLES ARONOWITZ / NETFLIX / TNS

In “Marvel’s Jessica Jones,” Krysten Ritter’s Jessica, left, is best friends with Rachael Taylor’s Trish Walker. arguing loudly. In response, she throws a shoe at the ceiling and makes a large dent. So, is she just really strong? It is not until halfway through the episode, when she lifts up the back of a guy’s car,

that viewers are explicitly told she has superhuman capabilities. The writers do a great job of laying out a trail of bread see JESSICA JONES, page 8

7 tuftsdaily.com

Natalie Girshman Bibliofiles

Defending a happy ending

C

hick lit. Those two words instantly conjure up a whole host of associations with bright pink covers, desperately single heroines and love interests whose square jaws and rippling muscles are the most interesting things about them. I could talk for days about the problems with how this genre is characterized, but that’s a different sort of column all together. So instead, here are three funny and fun novels featuring spirited and resourceful heroines, believable romances and all the ingredients for a perfect, lighter read.

Sophie Kinsella is perhaps best known for her “Shopaholic” (2000 – 2014) series, but her stand-alone novels are equally charming if not more so. One of my favorites is “Twenties Girl” (2009), whose heroine, Lara, is visited by the ghost of her great-aunt Sadie, a former flapper who wants Lara to find a beloved necklace that’s been missing for over 75 years. Sadie and Lara make a hilarious duo, as Sadie’s over-the-top enthusiasm clashes with Lara’s more careful pragmatism.

“Twenties Girl” also features an adorably grumpy love interest, some hilarious scenes involving uncomfortable incidents with Lara’s ex and some sweet and surprisingly insightful scenes with Lara’s family. The 432 pages zip by, making for a perfect vacation or travel read, and if people give you odd looks for laughing out loud, just look right back.

If you loved “The Princess Diaries” (2000) as a teenager, “Suddenly Royal” (2013) by Nichole Chase delivers the dream of becoming royalty — minus the constant teenage whining and plus a smart, charming and considerate love interest who just happens to be a prince. Samantha Rousseau is an aspiring wildlife biologist whose world is turned upside down when she finds out that she’s actually a duchess in the small European country of Lilaria. It’s a pleasant surprise to find that she deserves every bit of her good fortune. Sam is a great main character: smart, funny and mature enough to deal with both the advantages and the disadvantages of her new position. Chase takes great care to describe the challenges of sudden fame, and there are definitely no easy outs for Sam and Alex, the love interest, as Sam struggles to decide whether she wants to be responsible for an entire country. Luckily, these two characters are more than capable of figuring it out.

Finally, if your tastes tend toward the historic, Georgette Heyer’s Regency novels feature period-accurate details, indomitable heroines and the occasional sly critique of romance tropes. The heroine of “Cotillion” (1953), Kitty Charing, stands to inherit a considerable fortune if she marries one of her guardian’s great nephews, so, when her rakish cousin Jack fails to claim her hand, she talks her cousin Freddy into a fake engagement in order to make Jack jealous. Kitty and Freddy are one of my favorite book couples, full of witty banter and the ability to solve any problem together, and their romance is all the better for how it surprises everyone around them.

Maybe it’s time to see fewer rakes and bad boys and more heroes who know the right way to tie a cravat and try their hardest to fix the problems around them, rather than creating more.

Natalie Girshman is a senior majoring in history and drama. She can be reached at natalie.girshman@tufts.edu.

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THE TUFTS DAILY | Arts & Living | Monday, November 30, 2015

tuftsdaily.com

A&L

ARTS&LIVING

Blizzard expansion evens playing field Addition to Netflix-Marvel LEAGUE OF EXPLORERS The Discover mechanic allows players partnership shows promise continued from page 7 to choose their desired card from three strategy but leave plenty of room for creativity in deck-building, even against the heroic bosses, who in previous expansions were a chore to defeat. These boss encounters, especially Temple Escape, are novel and are a welcome departure from previous expansions.

In addition to delivering a more engaging single player experience, “League of Explorers” has brought cards that show great potential to allow for more options to counter some of the most irritating decks to play against, such as Face Hunter and Aggro Paladin. Reno Jackson is a great example of a card that gives slower decks a powerful comeback mechanic against decks that rely on swarming the board with cheap, high-threat minions like Knife Juggler and Piloted Shredder, while encouraging people to experiment with a greater variety of cards.

When played, Reno can heal your hero to full health, provided there is only one card of any kind remaining in the deck, meaning players have to make compromises instead of auto-including two copies of powerful cards like Sludge Belcher. Reno has proven quite effective in Freeze Mage, Handlock and Control Warrior, but can find a home in any slow deck, provided people build around his inclusion. Brann Bronzebeard and the other legendary minions in the “League of Explorers” have a more niche appeal, but they offer players more deck-building flexibility and could possibly see serious constructed play down the line.

options that aren’t part of their deck so that players can pick the option that best suits their needs. Hearthstone’s strongest decks, historically, have relied on consistency and great card draw, luxuries that not all classes have access to. The Discover mechanic effectively allows players to choose a card from a selection of three, giving certain decks like Midrange Hunter or Zoo Warlock the extra value they need to shift tempo back in their favor.

This new mechanic seems genuinely useful compared to some released by Blizzard in the past such as the Joust mechanic in “The Grand Tournament,” while not throwing off game balance.

Blizzard has historically churned out extremely powerful minions without allowing adequate means of counterplay since the first adventure ever released in Hearthstone, “Curse of Naxxramus.”

The subsequent expansion, “Goblins vs.

Gnomes,” added fuel to the fire with similarly troublesome minions like Piloted Shredder and Shielded Minibot. Instead of thinking through turns, players needed to only throw down their most powerful minion every turn, and many matchups felt decided from the get-go. “League of Explorers” is a positive indication that Blizzard is making an effort to reverse this trend and put players back in control of the game.

The final two wings of “League of Explorers,” The Ruined City and Hall of Explorers, are expected for release on Dec. 3 and Dec. 10, respectively.

JESSICA JONES

continued from page 7 crumbs for the viewers, letting them figure out certain plot points by analyzing the details.

This method permeates the show.

Throughout the episode, Jones experiences disorienting and frightening mental episodes, where she sometimes imagines the voice or image of a man.

These episodes clearly affect her emotionally. After each one she repeats the same three street names until she is calmed down. Viewers have no idea what is going on at first, but many questions are answered at the conclusion of the first episode.

“Jessica Jones” is really a fantastic show; its strengths lie in the talent of its lead actress, the cinematography and the sharp dialogue. Ritter, as Jones, is able to capture the cold, sarcastic nature of her character as well as the emotional instability that comes with her hallucinations. She has a quick wit, uses biting dialogue and emanates the kind of charm that can only be achieved by an unconventional character such as Jones. The impressive dialogue never deviates in quality — Ritter is as sharp in her business-related interactions with Jeri Hogarth (Carrie-Anne Moss) as she is in flirtations with a local bartender, Luke Cage (Mike Colter). Ritter’s versatility is challenged, and she definitely meets the high standard.

Interestingly enough, though this

The Dr. Maurice S. Segal Lecture

A Conversation with Stephen Hadley

Former Assistant of National Security Affairs to President George W. Bush

“A Challenge of a Middle East in Flames” ASEAN Auditorium The Fletcher School, Tufts University 160 Packard Avenue Medford, MA 02155

Monday, November 30, 2015 5:30 – 7:00 p.m.

Reception to follow

show is based on a comic book and focused on superheroes, action sequences are used sparingly and intentionally. Many action movies and TV shows include action sequences half-heartedly when at a loss for what to do next, but “Jessica Jones” is much more focused — at least in its premiere — on developing its characters and setting up the rest of the season. The cinematography is surprisingly creative. During the scenes when Jones is completely disoriented, eerie music, quick camera movements and blurry backgrounds successfully make the viewer feel just as confused as Jones. Additionally, the camera crew really takes advantage of perspective to play with shape and silhouette. At one point, the camera is placed behind the bed frame of Jones’ bed so that the vertical posts take up just the left half of the screen. Jones walks in through the door, is seen through the gap in one of these posts and proceeds to fall onto her bed. These kinds of small, artistic details are scattered throughout the premiere, showing that the camera angles are fueled by intentionality rather than convenience.

If its season premiere is any indication of the rest of the season, “Jessica Jones” promises to be an exciting, show.

There appear to be many connecting plot lines — not all of which are immediately explained — which just adds to the show’s appeal. The first full season is available on Netflix streaming.

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Opinion EDITORIAL

Ban on public assembly hurts legitimacy of Paris climate talks The French police announced on Friday that it has put under house arrest at least 24 environmental activists who had openly flouted the ban on protesting put in place for the duration of this week’s COP21 climate summit in Paris, according to a Nov. 27 article in The Guardian. The warrants for the protestors’ arrests were granted under France’s state of emergency laws, which have been in effect since the Nov. 13 terror attacks that killed 130 people. Police have also raided the apartments of a number of these activists for their personal effects including computers, journals and other documents.

Security is of course a pressing concern in Paris right now, especially with so many world leaders converging on the city. One can not fault the French government for wanting to keep its capital city safe as it recovers from the horrors that occurred earlier this month. In fact, it is important to acknowledge the courage the French government has shown by continuing to host the summit. French officials could easily have postponed COP21 or even canceled it in the wake of the attacks.

Instead, they’ve chosen to go forward, an act of defiance and bravery in and of itself.

This does not mean, however, that it is necessary for civilians to surrender their civil liberties. The French people have a right to voice their concerns publicly, to congregate peacefully, to protest. The right to free assembly, to publicly gather to express dissent, is a hallmark of democracy. Indeed, denying this right weakens the legitimacy of the summit itself. “Given the stakes of the climate crisis, they are by their nature highly contested,” climate change activist and author Naomi Klein told The Guardian. “That is democracy, messy as it may be. The French government, under cover of anti-terrorism laws, seems to be trying to avoid this.” Democratic governments are coming together in Paris to find a democratic solution to a pressing global problem. How democratic can this process truly be if the voices of the public are silenced? If the French government has agreed to host this summit, it must be aware of — and willing to accommodate — the public discussion that comes with such a high-profile meeting.

Furthermore, we must remember change led by the powers that be without active pressure from the people is often incremental at best and unwilling to accommodate progress at worst.

Indeed, the voices of the public are often crucial in enacting change. The work by thousands of climate change activists, for example, was likely key to President Barack Obama’s decision earlier this month to veto the Keystone XL pipeline. Preventing protestors from gathering is not only an assault on civil liberties but also has the potential to affect the outcome of the summit itself. It is the voices of these activists themselves that can push politicians to further their commitment to preventing climate change.

Protestors, despite the ban on large gatherings, have found ways to make their presence known without demonstrating. “One group lined up thousands of pairs of shoes at Place de la République,” according to a Nov. 29 NPR article. These unconventional methods of protest are certainly admirable, but they should not be mistaken as adequate substitutes for assembly itself. Nothing can take the place of public demonstrations. The French government, reeling as it may be from the recent terror attacks, should permit protests instead of shying away from public dissent.

EDITORAL CARTOON

BY ISSY DEL PRIORE

The Tufts Daily is a nonprofit, independent newspaper, published Monday through Friday during the academic year, and distributed free to the Tufts community.

The content of letters, advertisements, signed columns, cartoons and graphics does not necessarily reflect the opinion of The Tufts Daily editorial board.

EDITORIALS 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.

OP-EDS 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 and submitted to oped@tuftsdaily.com. The editors reserve the right to edit letters for clarity, space and length. All material is subject to editorial discretion and is not guaranteed to appear in the Daily. Authors must submit their telephone numbers and day-of availability for editing questions.

ADVERTISING All advertising copy is subject to the approval of the Editor-in-Chief, Executive Board and Executive Business Director.

Monday, November 30, 2015

Aren Torikian The Arena

T

Burnin’ up

his week, world leaders will meet in Paris for the COP21 conference on climate change. The goal is some sort of binding agreement to limit emissions, particularly in emerging economies like China and India. For President Obama, addressing climate change was a campaign promise. Through policies such as increased standards on cars (by 2025, all cars must get at least 54.5 miles per gallon), coupled with a shift away from coal to natural gas, American carbon dioxide emissions have actually fallen in Obama’s presidency. With Obama taking a leading role at this week’s conference, it is worth wondering whether our next president will share this impetus.

The Democratic candidates will all continue — and likely do more — to further Obama’s efforts on climate change. Hillary Clinton has laid out an ambitious plan to almost quintuple renewable energy generation by 2027 to 33 percent; Obama had called for 20 percent. Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders cited climate change as America’s greatest threat and even linked it to growth in terrorism.

The Republican candidates form a sort of spectrum. On one end are the total deniers, namely Ted Cruz. Cruz compared climate change activists to those who claimed the Earth was flat. As a senator from Texas, and baptized in the shadow of Calgary’s oil rigs, Cruz’s stances are none too surprising.

There’s also a group of Republicans that believes climate change is occurring but that humans are not affecting it. Donald Trump sees climate as cyclical in nature. He is currently working to prevent the Scottish government from building offshore wind turbines near one of his golf courses, as they are “horrendous looking.” Florida Senator Marco Rubio would gut the Environmental Protection Agency and believes restricting American energy production would cost jobs.

Then there are Republicans like Ohio Governor John Kasich and New Jersey Gorvernor Chris Christie, who believe in human-affected climate change. Both of these candidates would most likely continue Obama’s “all of the above” energy strategy. Christie turned New Jersey into a solar powerhouse but opposes increased government interference in the energy sector. Kasich wants investments in renewables but presided over a boom in hydrocarbon production due to fracking, which he would like to expand as president.

This distribution makes sense. Registered Republicans just don’t seem to care as much about climate change as registered Democrats, according to poll numbers. Per Pew, only 14 percent of conservative Republicans, compared to over 60 percent of moderate or conservative Democrats, believe climate change to be a “very serious problem.” This number is even down from when Obama came into office. A poll out of Yale showed almost twothirds of Republicans in favor of reducing fossil fuel use but with the primary reason being reducing dependence on imports.

With recent policy moves to curb emissions like the rejection of the Keystone XL pipeline, Obama is ratcheting up momentum ahead of the COP21 talks this week. After a Bush presidency tepid (to put it nicely) on climate change, Obama’s push in the last years of his presidency is refreshing. Whether Obama’s steps taken now will prove decisive or be rolled back could depend largely on the results of next November’s elections.

Aren Torikian is a sophomore who has not yet declared a major. Aren can be reached at aren.torikian@tufts.edu.

Monday, November 30, 2015 | Opinion | THE TUFTS DAILY

tuftsdaily.com

Opinion

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Opinion

OFF THE HILL YALE UNIVERSITY

An unsafe campus

by Helen Price On November 13, the National Panhellenic Conference, a umbrella organization for sororities, finally withdrew its support for the Safe Campus Act, long after virtually every national anti-sexual violence group had condemned it. As a member of Greek life at Yale, and co-founder of Unite Against Sexual Assault Yale, the NPC’s previous support for the bill had long been a source of frustration and anger for me. The Safe Campus Act would ban universities from investigating reports of sexual assault themselves and prevent them from punishing offenders unless the victim reports the attack to the police.

It would be nothing short of disastrous for victims of sexual assault.

The representatives proposing the bill ostensibly do so on the grounds that colleges are ineffective at investigating sexual assault, and favor the accuser over the accused. While there are undoubtedly problems with college investigative processes, in truth, this legislation is based on an insidious distrust of victims, and a wildly irrational belief that false rape claims are the real problem with sexual

assault on campus. But, the Safe Campus Act would not limit universities’ abilities to investigate and punish any other crime. Someone who had been physically assaulted would still be able to report the incident to the university, utilize an internal investigative process and see the perpetrator punished by their college.

The singling out of sexual assault as the one crime for which police reporting would be mandated speaks to the suspicion often directed at victims. Those who argue that students falsely report sexual assault in order to exact some petty revenge or get attention frequently use the myth of false rape claim to derail the conversation. They maintain against all evidence that these people willingly face the threats, social ostracism and vitriol that are often directed at victims that come forward.

Making police reporting the only option open to victims would be catastrophic. The pervasiveness of victim blaming and indifference to sexual assault within the police force is well documented. According to a 2015 article in USA Today, there is a backlog of 70,000 untested rape kits in police departments across

the country — evidence that could lead to thousands of prosecutions if utilized properly. And an investigation earlier this month by The Guardian found that hundreds of police departments systematically destroy rape kits after a certain time has elapsed, removing the possibility that victims receive justice.

The police force has long been a perpetrator of violence and discrimination against women of color and individuals with non-binary gender identities, two groups that are disproportionately at risk of sexual violence and disproportionately unlikely to report it. According to the advocacy organization “Know Your IX,” many states do not recognize rape against someone of the same gender, or rape against men, as a crime at all. Additionally, given the likelihood that there are no direct witnesses, it is extremely hard to find someone guilty of rape using the “beyond reasonable doubt” standard of evidence used in courtrooms. At the college level, however, the standard used is “preponderance of the evidence,” since the most serious penalty is expulsion — not jail time.

Since the stakes are lower, victims are

more likely to come forward and see their attackers punished.

Rather than legislating the issue, we should be holding colleges accountable to improve their existing reporting processes for sexual assault and support for victims. Given the recent number of fraternity assault scandals, it is no coincidence that the North-American Interfraternity Conference had long supported the bill in spite of widespread criticism. By mandating police reporting, the government takes responsibility away from colleges, rather than pushing them to explore new ways of improving their sexual climates.

Constraining a university’s ability to help victims limits the options of survivors in how they choose to move forward.

Being sexually assaulted is one of the most disempowering experiences an individual can face. The Safe Campus Act would slash the already limited agency afforded to survivors. It is a piece of legislation designed to protect the attacker rather than the victim, and the powerful rather than the marginalized. If passed, it would send a clear message to survivors that the institutions charged with keeping them safe fail to do so.

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Sports MEN’S SWIMMING AND DIVING

Jumbos defeat conference rivals at first dual meet of season

Monday, November 30, 2015

Zach Ohara The Best Kept Secret

Early ROY outlook

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ETHAN CHAN / TUFTS DAILY ARCHIVE

The Tufts men’s swimming and diving team, shown here on Jan. 20, 2014, beat Middlebury and Conn. College in the season-opening meet this past weekend.

by Maddie Payne Staff Writer

In their first meet of the season on Nov. 21, Tufts comfortably defeated NESCAC rivals Middlebury and Conn.

College at Middlebury. Multiple victories by senior tri-captain Michael Winget and a strong showing from first-year Brandon Jinn spurred the team to victory with winning scores of 159 and 176 points versus Conn. College’s 152 and Middlebury’s 112, respectively.

The Jumbos competed in 14 different races, taking first place in eight of them. The day began with a strong win in the 200-yard medley relay by Winget, first-year Kingsley Bowen, senior tri-captain Cam Simko and sophomore Morgan Ciliv with a comfortable margin of 1.94 seconds. Although Bowen is the only first-year on the relay team, he has done well in these high-pressure situations. Bowen swam his leg of the race in 22.52 seconds, nearly a full second faster than the second-place Conn. College first-year fly swimmer Marc Klepacki.

A major highlight of the day was Winget’s pair of wins in the 100-yard backstroke and 200-yard backstroke. Bowen claimed a close second place in the 100yard backstroke and took a first prize of his own in the 100-yard freestyle. Because of his strong wins, Winget was awarded the NESCAC first male Performer of the Week award. Winget and Bowen’s times of 50.73 seconds and 51.83 seconds, respectively, bested the third-place swimmer by a large margin, with Conn. College’s Michael Fothergill, a junior, finishing with a time of 54.04.

“Winget is an amazing talent in the pool, and if I had to lose to anyone, I’d love it to be Winget, as long as I knew I made him really have to work for the win,” Bowen said. “I think we have a healthy, competitive relationship, especially because our best times in two events (the

100 fly and 100 back) are separated by a total of .07 seconds.”

As the season progresses, Bowen predicts that their relationship will only become more competitive, with the outcome of both swimmers being able to reduce their times.

Jinn won both long-distance freestyle races. The 500-yard freestyle was a very close finish, with only 63 milliseconds separating Jinn and second-place finisher, Conn. College sophomore Alan Pite.

“Winget is an amazing talent in the pool, and if I had to lose to anyone, I’d love it to be Winget, as long as I knew I made him really have to work for the win ... I think we have a healthy, competitive relationship.”

“My races were a lot closer than you usually see in distance events,” Jinn said. “Being neck and neck with someone for a race that lasts 10 minutes is intense, and I’m just glad I got my hand on the wall first and got those points for the team.”

Winget was particularly proud of Jinn, citing his exceptional performances as the highlight of the day.

The victory over the Camels was a huge boost for the Jumbos, who have come fourth to the Camels’ third the past three years at the NESCAC championship. Going into this tri-meet, the team knew that it needed to push

itself in order to take the win, and it clearly succeeded.

“The team got really fired up for our tri-meet vs. Middlebury and Conn.,” Simko said. “It was our first [head-tohead] meet of the season and the first time we really got to compete for Tufts.

Conn. has always been a rival, so I know that got us pumped to do well — this [was] clear from the very first 200 medley relay.”

In many races, the Jumbos didn’t come in first, but still finished second and third. In the 200-yard freestyle, Simko and sophomore Zachary Wallace came close behind first-place Conn.

College sophomore George Tilneac, with only 52 milliseconds separating Simko and Tilneac. Wallace was frustrated with second place against Conn. College’s Pite in the 200-yard individual medley, trailing by less than a second.

“Both Middlebury and Connecticut College are extremely talented teams,” Winget said. “The meet doesn’t really have large implications on NESCACs, but we will go into NESCACs knowing we can beat those teams, but we still have a lot of work to do between now and then.”

In the diving competition, sophomore Aaron Idelson came in second in the 1-meter competition and first in the 3-meter competition.

The Jumbos will be gearing up for the MIT Winter Invitational next weekend.

“MIT is a very interesting meet because we’ll be going up against some of the top [Div. III] teams in the nation, and it is a trials / finals meet,” Simko said. “It will be great practice for our championships. I’m less concerned about how we place at MIT but [more concerned] about what ridiculous times guys can pull out before we’re down for the semester.”

Tufts will be competing against teams such as Bowdoin, Keene State and Wheaton.

ith a quarter of the NBA season come and gone, it’s time to evaluate the production of the rookie class this season and determine who the frontrunners for the NBA Rookie of the Year award are thus far. Coming into the season, top draft picks KarlAnthony Towns, D’Angelo Russell and Jahlil Okafor were three of the top picks for Rookie of the Year.

The No. 1 overall selection in the NBA draft this year, Karl-Anthony Towns, started off hot, averaging over 20 points and 10 rebounds a game through his first couple of starts, but has since cooled off to around 14 points, nine rebounds and two blocks a game through his team’s first 17 games. If the season were to end now, he would likely win the award for Rookie of the Year. His dominant play at center for the Timberwolves has highlighted both his dominance on the offensive and defensive end of the court. He also has surprisingly shown great touch from mid range, and his free throw percentage sits at 90 percent on the season — an extraordinary rate for an NBA big.

Jahlil Okafor, the third overall selection in the NBA draft, has also started on a tear, averaging 18 points and eight rebounds a game. Coming into the draft, he was seen as the most polished NBA big with great footwork and post moves.

He has demonstrated those attributes since joining the Philadelphia 76ers, but much of his offensive production might be due to his high shot volume.

Playing on the worst team in the league, Okafor has attempted 113 more shots than the next highest shot taker on the 76ers. While he may be averaging 18 points a game, he is only shooting at 47 percent, which is below average for an NBA center. Nonetheless, he is still one of the top candidates for rookie of the year this season.

Kristaps Porzingis has been a surprise this season as a top candidate for rookie of the year. Many thought D’Angelo Russell, a skilled guard coming out of Ohio State, would be a top contender for the award, but he has had a slow start to the season, leaving room for Porzingis’ strong play to boost him into contention. Porzingis was a question mark coming into the league, as many international players are, having played at different levels of competition and national attention overseas. Porizingis was one such mystery man, but he has turned into a pleasant surprise. He has shown poor shooting numbers thus far, shooting just 41 percent from the field, but still averages about 13 points and nine rebounds a game. He has also caught the national attention with several highlight reel put-back dunks. If he is able to improve his shooting numbers, he will be a serious contender to receive the award come April.

Zach Ohara is a junior majoring in economics. He can be reached at zachary. ohara@tufts.edu.