The Tufts Daily - Thursday, December 10th, 2020

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Thursday, December 10, 2020

Cummings Center construction delayed by pandemic, October 2021 to be new completion date

AARON APOSTADERO / THE TUFTS DAILY

The Joyce Cummings Center construction is pictured on Dec. 2.

by Chloe Courtney Bohl Staff Writer

Construction of the Joyce Cummings Center has been delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic and is now expected to be completed in October 2021.

Under the new timeline, the building will be fully occupied

and functioning in time for the spring 2022 semester.

The Cummings Center is located on College Avenue near the future Medford/Tufts Green Line station. Upon completion, it will house the mathematics, computer science and economics departments, the Data Intensive Studies Center, the Tufts Gordon Institute

and the Fletcher Global Master of Arts program.

Based on the original timeline, these departments were scheduled to move into the Cummings Center in the summer of 2021. However, due to COVID-19-related restrictions, there have been delays in its construction.

“The Cummings Center was delayed because in the spring the state and local governments in responding to the pandemic put in restrictions on the number of workers allowed to work on a construction site and then stopped construction all together in response to the pandemic,” Ruth Bennet, director of strate-

gic capital programs, wrote in an email to the Daily.

There have been some added costs as a result of the delay, according to Bennet.

“There has been some cost due to the delay of the project as the construction will see CENTER, page 2

Tufts Office of the Provost hosts virtual program on anti-Asian racism, COVID-19 impact

by Peri Barest Staff Writer

The Tufts Office of the Provost hosted a webinar titled “Voices from Chinatown: Resilience in the time of COVID-19 and Anti-Asian Racism” on Friday, Dec. 4. The program, which over 200 people attended, consisted of presentations from

multiple community members about the impact of COVID-19 on anti-Asian racism.

The webinar was co-sponsored by the International Center, the Asian American Center, the Tufts Asian and Asian American Affinity Group, the Jonathan M. Tisch College of Civic Life, Tufts University School of Medicine, the Office of Government

and Community Relations and Addressing Disparities in Asian Populations Through Translational Research, or ADAPT. Maren Greathouse, associate director of diversity and inclusion education for the Medford/ Somerville and School of the Museum of Fine Arts campuses, wrote in an email to the Daily that

a planning committee composed of faculty and staff from across the university brought together three speakers: Jeenah Hah from the Asian Community Development Corporation (ACDC), Chu Huang from the Chinatown Resident Association and Yoyo Yau from the Boston Chinatown Neighborhood Center (BCNC).

WEEKENDER / page 5

FEATURES / page 3

EDITORIAL / back

Best shows to watch this holiday season

As COVID-19 cases spike, students report difficulty adhering to guidelines

Community opinions must become priority for Fletcher School

Adriana Black, associate director for diversity and inclusion education for Tufts’ health sciences campuses, opened the program by acknowledging the efforts of the planning committee and discussed the university’s creation of five workstreams that guide Tufts’ anti-racist work. see VIRTUAL, page 2 NEWS

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FEATURES

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ARTS & POP CULTURE

5

FUN & GAMES

7

OPINION

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SPORTS

BACK

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THE TUFTS DAILY | News | Thursday, December 10, 2020

THE TUFTS DAILY Alex Viveros Editor in Chief

EDITORIAL

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Guest speakers discuss importance of Tufts' partnerships with Chinatown organizations VIRTUAL

Rebecca Barker Hannah Harris

continued from page 1

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“It was important for our team to begin this event with a land acknowledgment that centers on both the genocide and resilience that Indigenous communities have faced since the inception of the colonial project,” Black said. “We also want to acknowledge that many recent university-wide efforts that have taken place over the last six months occurred due to the persistent anti-Black sentiment and the brutal murder of Black American man, George Floyd.”

Carolyn Rubin, assistant professor of public health and community medicine at theSchool of Medicine, moderated the event.

She began with a history of Chinatown, discussing the impact that urban renewal projects had on the area.

“Chinatowns began as safe havens for these early settlers and have become vital to the development of the nation,” Rubin said. “Starting in the 1950s, Chinatown was part of a series of urban renewal projects that would result in the neighborhood, literally being cut in half for the construction of the central artery and the Massachusetts Turnpike, because the priority was to bring the white working middle class back into the city.”

According to Rubin, anti-Asian rhetoric has increased substantially during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“There have been over 2,000 documented instances of antiAsian discrimination and we are a community that under reports,” she said.

Hah then presented about the history of Hudson Street and her work with the ACDC to rebuild it.

“Hudson Street was like the front stoop of Chinatown,” Hah

SEOHYUN SHIM / THE TUFTS DAILY ARCHIVES

The Asian American Center is pictured on Nov. 20, 2017. said. “After almost 10 years of organizing, ACDC and community organizations really fought to win back the land and build close to 150 affordable homes, called One Greenway.”

The ACDC worked with community members to create a new, inclusive vision for the area, Hah said.

“We asked our residents: What would it look like for you to belong?

For you to not just live here and have a home, but really heal the social amnesia that actually happens in the public space, as all this displacement has been traumatizing this community,” she said.

Yau later spoke about the support services BCNC has provided in Chinatown in recent months.

“A typical Chinatown family we serve at BCNC, they have limited English, [are] immigrants, low income, working-class, a household that usually lives in a two-bedroom unit that includes six to eight members,” Yau said. “I want to highlight

some positive characteristics. They demonstrate very strong resiliency.”

Huang’s presentation about university and community relations discussed how the Josiah Quincy Elementary School serves as an example of a space that is being used to benefit the community. She encouraged the Tufts community to consider how it can create more partnerships with Chinatown constituents.

“I really want to push you and encourage you to be brave and think about what are some privileges that you have and how can you make sure that neighbors in the community of Chinatown can also gain that kind of access,” she said. “What are some equitable services that you can offer and provide to the community?”

In a later email to the Daily, Shirley Mark, director of community partnerships at the Jonathan M. Tisch College of Civic Life,

expanded on the purpose of the event and wrote that she believes Tufts has a responsibility to its partners in Chinatown, especially given the location of the health sciences campuses.

“Chinatown is home to the Health Sciences campus — schools of medicine, nutrition, dental medicine, and more,” she said. “The university has extensive relationships and many partnerships with Chinatown organizations and businesses.”

Greathouse echoed the importance of centering Asian American voices.

“It is critical that the issues facing Asian and Asian American residents of the Boston Metro area be discussed within the Tufts community. We interact with these community partners every day and have a responsibility to center the lived experiences of Asian and Asian American voices,” she said.

Faculty, departments share mixed feelings at delay of Cummings Center CENTER

continued from page 1 take a longer amount of time,” Bennet said.

In March, the Daily reported that residents in the surrounding neighborhood expressed concern that the six-story building would cast a shadow on their street, lowering property values. Two residents filed an appeal challenging the approval of structural permits for the building, but later dropped the appeal.

Tufts Director of Government and Community Relations Rocco DiRico explained that the university has not recently obtained extensive feedback from residents.

“We have not received much feedback from nearby residents regarding the slight delay in the construction schedule. I think that our neighbors understand that the schedule was impacted by forces beyond our control,” he wrote in an email to the Daily.

DiRico explained the various resources that will be available to the community upon the completion of the Cummings Center.

“Neighbors will have a brand new pedestrian walkway known as the Burget Path that will connect them to College Avenue and eventually to the new Green Line Station, Medford/Tufts, on Boston Avenue.

The new building will also feature a brand new public plaza on College Avenue,” DiRico said. “The neighbors will enjoy a brand new café that will be located on the first floor of the Joyce Cummings Center.”

DiRico also emphasized that the delay is important to preventing the spread of COVID-19.

Kathleen Fisher, chair of the Department of Computer Science, said faculty are relatively unphased by the delay.

“Honestly, the delay was not unexpected and the impact is minor compared to all the other issues caused by the pandemic.

We’re pleased that the delay was not more significant!” Fisher wrote in an email to the Daily.

Similarly, Kim Ruane, chair of the Department of Mathematics, noted that the delay has not disrupted her department’s moving plan.

“I would say that [the moving plan] has not been altered that much because we had not done too much,” Ruane wrote in an email to the Daily.

In February 2020, the Daily reported that faculty in the departments that are relocating to the Cummings Center had mixed feelings about the move, ranging from excitement about the opportunities offered by a new space to concern that they were not consulted enough during the planning stages.

Ruane said that faculty members in the mathematics department are unsure about the move. “[Department] faculty are nervous about the move because we have not seen the building - so maybe the delay is just putting off the inevitable and people are relieved by that,” Ruane said. “By the time we move, most of us will not have been in our current offices for over a year so thinking about life in a new building seems abstract and “not real” right now. The delay is actually probably a good thing.”

Fisher shared that the computer

science department is looking forward to moving to a new space.

“It will allow the entire department to be housed in the same space for the first time in more than a decade. And the Cummings Center will have classroom space and computing labs large enough to accommodate computer science classes within the building, which will also be a really nice change from the current situation,” Fisher said.

The Cummings Center is not the only construction project facing delays due to the pandemic, according to Bennet.

“Two projects in addition to the Cummings Center were in active stages of construction when municipalities asked us to stop construction in response to the pandemic during the spring – the renovation of Michael Laboratory, and the Dental building’s new fifth elevator. Similar to the Cummings Center, they have resumed construction and the Dental building project is complete, and the Michael Laboratory project very nearly so,” Bennet said.

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Features

3 Thursday, December 10, 2020

Students report noncompliance with university guidelines amid COVID-19 surge

by Madeleine Aitken and Ethan Steinberg

Deputy News Editor and Executive Copy Editor

Disclaimer: Phoebe Wong is a staff writer at The Tufts Daily.

Phoebe was not involved in the writing or editing of this article.

Although Tufts has done well with controlling the virus through frequent testing, social distancing guidelines and a hybrid learning model, the past several weeks have shown a spike in cases on the Medford/Somerville campus, as well as an increased number of students in quarantine as a result of contact.

The rising cases prompted responses from the administration in the form of canceling athletic practices, increasing testing frequency, enforcing Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker’s 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. curfew and tightening guidelines.

A Nov. 16 email signed

by Dean James Glaser of the School of Arts and Sciences, Dean Jianmin Qu of the School of Engineering, Dean Nancy Bauer of the School of the Museum of Fine Arts and Michael Jordan, university infection control health director, restated that students are not to leave their residence hall or apartment to attend any kind of social event, gathering or party.

“We are seeing an increase in the number of COVID positive cases on the Medford/ Somerville campus and an increase in the number of close contacts for each positive case,” the email said.

Some students have not been following the university’s guidelines. “Jamie,” a sophomore who requested to be anonymous, disagreed with some of the restrictions in place.

“I felt that they should have been a bit more relaxed in the guidelines that you have to follow with your specific cohort,” Jamie said. “If they're trying to make cohorts a group where you can be a little bit less strict with [those people], you might as well just go all the way.”

Prior to the university’s tightening of restrictions, students were permitted to relax certain physical distancing measures with members of their cohort. However, they were still required to wear face coverings except when in their bedroom with only their roommate, eating or “grooming,” according to Tufts’ Fall 2020 Campus Guide.

Until recently, Jamie had neglected to abide by any physical distancing guidelines, including the university’s mask-wearing mandate,

EMMA BOERSMA / THE TUFTS DAILY

Two students are pictured on the Residential Quad on Oct. 18. with members of their cohort.

They had relaxed physical distancing behavior with members outside their cohort as well, most often during weekend gatherings reminiscent of pre-pandemic times.

“Typically for fun, it's just the usual Friday or Saturday night party,” they said. “I have been playing drinking games and doing typical college party night things, but we have been doing them with coronavirus in mind, like playing with water cups, or playing with masks on, limiting the people to 10 [and] limiting the people who come to people in the dorms.”

Jamie described an incident in which a resident assistant arrived in response to a noise complaint. They and the others in attendance concealed any visible alcohol, put on their masks and hid.

“Breaking the six foot rule or partying and drinking — that was just for fun. I think we still played it pretty safe and breaking those guidelines didn't feel like an absolute violation of general people's safety,” Jamie said. “If we were ever a few more than 10 people, people would go hide in the room if someone knocked on the door.”

Jamie added that no gathering they attended led to an outbreak of COVID-19, and they have not been quarantined or isolated yet this semester. Since the uptick in cases on campus, they have also begun to comply more

closely with the university’s guidelines.

Phoebe Wong, a first-year, described the extent to which members of her class have complied with university protocols.

“You do see and hear about parties and other things of that sort, it definitely is happening,” Wong said.

She said it’s nearly impossible to follow the rules all the time, a sentiment that has been echoed by students in all classes.

She also said that even when RAs are aware of social gatherings in the dorms, they don’t always act on what they see.

“I think there’s probably also a problem with the RAs not having a ton of power to enforce things … I heard an RA the other night talking to my RA [and] to their friends just saying, ‘I kind of feel powerless,’” Wong said.

While RAs have been instructed not to “police” their residents, some feel an obligation to address negligent behavior while on duty, according to Arlyss Herzig, an RA in Houston Hall.

Herzig, a sophomore, reported that improper mask-wearing has been the most common violation she has observed, along with large-group gatherings in residence halls and off-campus apartments.

“If you see something, say something if you're on duty,” Herzig said of her role in enforcing public health-related restrictions. “I would feel really uncomfortable having

to [break up a party], because if people are partying, those are the people that clearly don't care about coronavirus or don't care about the rules.”

Wong also said that she feels Tufts hasn’t been responding appropriately to the social events from an administrative perspective.

“It seems like Tufts should be acknowledging this a little bit more because their expectations do not completely align with what they obviously must know is happening on campus,” Wong said.

Other RAs in Houston, besides Herzig, have at times called the Tufts University Police Department to assist in enforcing restrictions and dispersing large groups. TUPD, however, has been largely unhelpful, according to Herzig. Officers have reportedly placed blame on RAs for not handling misdemeanors themselves, and some have been indifferent.

“They've just told kids that they don't care or they've told us to do our jobs better — they really haven't handled it well,” Herzig said.

Some students, despite careful adherence to university guidelines, have endured periods of quarantine due to exposure to the virus. Nick Sokol, a sophomore, is one such student.

One member of his cohort in Harleston Hall tested positive for the virus in late October.

He, his roommate and other members of his cohort were

quarantined in The Mods for a 14-day period which included Halloween and election week.

“It was pretty boring and sad,” Sokol said. “It was kind of weird because we just heard about all this stuff happening outside … and we were in isolation, not able to do anything.”

Since the recent rise in cases, many students who originally planned on staying until winter break decided to go home early.

Wong is one such case.

“I am considerably more nervous, especially just because we hear about a lot more other people getting moved to The Mods or who are deciding to go home. I actually recently decided … to switch my flight and go home right after Thanksgiving,” Wong said.

She said that many other first-years also made the decision to go home earlier than they had originally planned.

“I’ve heard a lot of people changing their minds and deciding to go home earlier.

And I think it kind of adds on, so when you hear more people going home, then more people decide that they should go home too,” Wong said.

Despite varying levels of adherence to university guidelines, many students expressed a similar desire to protect fellow members of the Tufts community. And even for those who have abided by the university’s protocols to their fullest extent, it has proven difficult to avoid contact with the virus.

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THE TUFTS DAILY | Features | Thursday, December 10, 2020

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Campus sees spike in waste due to COVID guidelines, takeout dining

by Raga Chilakamarri Staff Writer

This semester has seen an observable increase in waste on the Medford/Somerville campus, particularly as it relates to Tufts Dining’s adaptations in response to the COVID-19 guidelines.

Kristen Kaufman, the recycling and waste reduction coordinator at the Office of Sustainability, said the office defines waste in terms of total accumulated waste production, including landfill, recycling, compost and specialty recycling items.

“The main way we track data on how much recycling we produce, how much landfill waste we produce, and how much waste we produce in general — and a lot of other fun numbers and rates — is from the waste hauler. When they service the dumpsters, they have a scale on their trucks, and they weigh the waste for us,” Kaufman said.

The Office of Sustainability would also typically conduct waste audits as an internal means of collecting quantitative and qualitative data on common contaminants in the recycling and items that should be recycled but are placed in landfill — information that’s helpful for evaluating how to educate students to be better stewards of their waste, Kaufman said. However, during the pandemic the office has not been able to administer these.

In terms of waste related to personal protective equipment, Kaufman said she was under the impression that, when planning over the summer, the university could only provide disposable masks, so the Office of Sustainability has been incentivizing the use of reusables wherever possible.

“We are pushing out education and outreach to encourage reusable masks to reduce the waste from disposables. I will say though that disposable masks have not been the waste issue; the waste issue has been from Dining’s takeout service.

So that’s really the main thing,” Kaufman said.

Dining service has been primarily operating on a single-use takeout model. As per the Fall 2020 Campus Guide released before the beginning of the semester, students must set reservations before walking through Carmichael and Dewick MacPhie Dining Centers, later specified, using the Transact Mobile Ordering App. Food is served by dining workers, placed into plastic takeout containers at each station and then typically carried out in the brown paper bags offered at the beginning of the line.

The Office of Sustainability and Tufts Dining are collaborating in a “Dining Takeout Waste Education and Outreach Campaign,” in which Eco-Reps have been involved with creating informative TikToks, recycling guides and social media posts about appropriate methods to handle dining hall waste.

Kaufman said the Office of Sustainability has two main mottos regarding disposal of the plastic takeout containers. Acknowledging that students may not have ready access to a sink, the first rule is that the containers don’t need to be rinsed — though rinsing is ideal —

NICOLE GARAY / THE TUFTS DAILY

Waste receptacles are pictured in Stratton Hall on Nov. 2. but as much food residue as possible should be scraped out.

“The other tagline is, if we can tell what you had for lunch in that container, it’s still too dirty,” Kaufman said.

Kaufman said she had anticipated the plastic takeout containers would be the primary concern because they are only recyclable when they are clean and dry; however, the paper bags students use to carry out their meals have proven to be the major issue.

“The problem is that [the paper bags] are recyclable, and people are recycling them but inside they are full of nonrecyclables like napkins and leftover food waste, so that’s creating contamination in the recycling stream,” Kaufman said.

The paper bags must be empty and flattened before recycling in order to conserve room in the physical bins. Due to the overflow of trash containers in residential halls, Kaufman said that the custodial service has had to increase the frequency with which they empty out both the trash bins and dumpsters — which can be costly for the university.

Kaufman added that she’s still waiting on the most recent, full data report from the waste hauler, but that a recent conversation she had with Facilities and the waste hauler confirmed that there has been an observed overall increase in waste related to the COVID-19 policies and the dining hall takeout services.

“We put most residential dumpsters on 6x/week (as opposed to the normal 2x/week) and even added additional dumpsters to accommodate the waste,” Kaufman wrote in an email to the Daily.

Sam Markowitz, a sophomore and an Eco-Rep for Wren Hall, said he does not think the university will change its dining hall policies in response to the increase in waste, but would like to see the integration of student-brought reusable containers.

“They could maybe let students bring their own tupperware

in the dining halls and stuff like that to reduce the single-use plastics over and over again. But I think Tufts is prioritizing, for good reason, [its] COVID response. So, I think that they are not going to try and do more sustainable tasks that might, in their minds, [increase] the COVID risk on campus,” Markowitz said.

Kaufman mentioned a new development from Tufts Dining now allowing and encouraging students’ use of their own reusable bags or reusing the brown paper bags from previous meals to carry out meals. “[Tufts] Dining is a great sustainability ally to us. They would have also preferred to use reusables because it would be more economical for them,” Kaufman said. “But part of another issue that comes with COVID is just staffing and labor that’s needed to do stuff is not only more limited due to COVID but there’s a lot more that needs to be done … in terms of safety precautions and sanitization of stuff. So, it was not feasible for dining.”

The Tufts Food Rescue Collaborative is another group that partners with Tufts Dining to combat waste — specifically food waste — on campus, consisting of up to 15 student volunteers who work to redirect food that would have otherwise been discarded toward those in need.

“Food waste is a massive issue while food insecurity is also a big issue, so it’s sort of wild that those both exist in the same food system,” Ava Dimond, a junior who currently serves as a coordinator for Tufts Food Rescue and as an Eco-Rep, said.

Dimond said Tufts Food Rescue usually operates on two main branches: Van Rescue, where students transport food such as breads and produce from grocery stores to food banks, and Family Meals, which works with the outside organization Food for Free to package meals from unused food in the dining halls.

“What [Family Meals] used to do when dining halls were selfserve is pack up extra food that the students haven’t eaten — like totally untouched — and they would pack it into meals using a special machine … and those are just like actual ready-to-go meals that would go straight to people,” Dimond said.

Unfortunately, the Family Meals group has been unable to operate this semester because there is insufficient space for students to work alongside the dining workers while also adhering to social distancing guidelines. Van Rescue, however, has remained operational this semester.

Composting proposes another means to alleviate food waste.

“People don’t really realize that in addition to not contaminating the recycling, it would help with the food waste issue if they composted the leftover food. If they do grab too much and ... they just throw it in the garbage, that also contributes to CO2 emissions because food in landfills emits CO2 when it rots,” Dimond said.

While compost bins are interspersed throughout campus residence halls, Kaufman said the university does not have a campuswide composting system, largely due to contracting reasons, complex logistics, cost and the educational undertaking necessary to set up the appropriate infrastructure.

Markowitz suggested do-it-yourself methods for converting fruit cups from the dining hall into small-scale composting bins for students’ dorm rooms, which may be more convenient than walking down to the ground floor of the residence hall where the large composting bins are often situated.

Convenience, as well as sustainability literacy, are considered main roadblocks to maintaining consistent sustainable behavior according to Kaufman, but drawing connections between a person’s eco-friendly actions and the

direct impacts on others may bring the weight of their involvement into perspective. For students, the attempt to reconcile micro actions to address macro environmental issues can feel frustrating or even futile, but an individual’s sustainable choices and lifestyle can encourage a ripple effect through their peers and community. “[The Office of Sustainability likes] to use this strategy that was created by an environmental psychologist called ‘community based social marketing’ ... if you want to get someone from a specific population to adapt a specific sustainable behavior, part of how they will adapt that behavior is by thinking that they are part of a community that does that behavior,” Kaufman said.

Moreover, people may not consider the detrimental impact of improper waste and recycling habits on the workers on the other side of the equation, from the custodial staff to people at sorting facilities who must handle the waste items and contaminants, which pose both occupational hazards and an environmental justice issue.

“A very common thing in recycling is for people to say, ‘it all goes to the same place, I’ve seen that it all goes to the same place, I don’t want to recycle.’ If you know that person cares about, let’s say, social justice or racial justice, you can align incentives.

You can say, ‘when you send your stuff to the landfill, landfills are disproportionately located next to low-income communities and it has negative public health impacts for those communities,’” Kaufman said.

Markowitz echoed the same sentiment.

“When we as Tufts produce a ton of waste this semester, we are giving even more than we normally do of waste to these underprivileged areas and I think that’s super important to keep in mind as we go about our daily lives here,” Markowitz said.

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WEEKENDER

5 Thursday, December 10, 2020

Weekender: TV worth bingeing this winter break

VIA IMDB

The promotional posters of TV shows worth bingeing this winter break as selected by Arts Editor Stephanie Hoechst are pictured.

by Stephanie Hoechst Arts Editor

Content warning: This article mentions addiction and substance abuse.

With winter break right around the corner and lockdowns still very much in the picture, this winter is the perfect time to catch up on all the great TV that has come out in the last few months. Whether you’re in the mood for an uplifting, lighthearted distraction show or something to suck you right down that binging rabbit hole (only to reemerge at 2 a.m.), the Arts & Pop Culture section of the Daily has you covered. Here are some of the best shows we reviewed this semester.

‘The Mandalorian’ (Disney+) While Chris Panella reviewed only the first two episodes of the second season of “The Mandalorian” (2019–), Disney has continued to pump out fantastic chapters of this Western-inspired “Star Wars” spinoff series every Friday. More slow-paced than the bombastic, fate-of-the-galaxy-driven films, “The Mandalorian” offers a look into the smaller corners of the “Star Wars” world, from criminals to mechanics to villages in the middle of nowhere (Panella’s review, for example, focuses on the themes of parenthood introduced

by Chapter 10’s Frog Lady, a mom

just trying to get her eggs to safety).

And, of course, Baby Yoda continues to steal the show.

‘The Queen’s Gambit’ (Netflix) Everyone seems to be talking about Netflix’s “The Queen’s Gambit” (2020), and Phoebe Wong’s review tells us exactly why.

Following chess prodigy Beth Harmon (Anya Taylor-Joy), “The Queen’s Gambit” not only depicts Harmon’s rise to mastery but also confronts gender biases and issues of substance abuse and addiction, addressing how these elements can be destructive to her career. Wong, like many of the show’s critics, has also drawn attention to the show’s sumptuous costuming in her review. All of these elements, Wong notes, make for a complex look into the world of competitive chess.

‘The Crown’ (Netflix) Praised for its style and high production value, Netflix’s “The Crown” (2016–) portrays the reign of Queen Elizabeth II, starting with her marriage in 1947 and coronation in 1953. It’s able to jump years by systematically replacing its actors — Olivia Colman, for example, took over for Claire Foy in Season 3 as Queen Elizabeth. As Phoebe Yates notes in her review of Season 4, Princess Diana,in all her ’80s glory, takes center stage — Derin Savasan has even writ-

ten an article discussing some of Princess Di’s iconic looks in the show. Though it’s definitely a time commitment, “The Crown” is a great watch for all the Anglophiles out there.

‘We Are Who We Are’ (HBO) Fans of “Call Me by Your Name” (2017) will recognize Luca Guadagnino’s name on the new HBO series “We Are Who We Are” (2020), which Derin Savasan reviewed in October. Focusing on the self-discovery of a group of teenage friends on an American military base in Italy, Savasan notes that “We Are Who We Are” tackles issues not only central to adolescence but also issues of national identity and the friction — or bonds — between cultural worlds.

As evident from “Call Me by Your Name,” Italy and Guadagnino’s film style is a match made in heaven, one that makes its presence known again in this series.

‘PEN15’ (Hulu) Alongside the success of shows like “Sex Education” (2019–) and “Big Mouth” (2017–), “PEN15” (2019–) makes its mark as a female-centric dive into the world of middle school and puberty.

Dressed up as 13-year-old versions of themselves in the year 2000, and surrounded by actual teenage actors, creators Maya Erskine

and Anna Konkle star in a show about the nuance and complexity of emotion that comes with being a teenage girl. Cringe-tastic, hilarious and sometimes achingly too true, “PEN15,” which released the first half of its second season in September, is here for all your 2000s nostalgia needs.

‘Dash & Lily’ (Netflix) “Is the plot realistic? No. But it’s cute.” Annabel Xu’s statement from her review of Netflix’s “Dash & Lily” (2020) pithily sums up why it works so well this holiday season. The eight-episode “Dash & Lily” follows (you guessed it) Dash and Lily, two teenagers who fall in love through a scavenger hunt in a red notebook that Lily leaves in a bookstore. With enough storyline from the supporting characters to keep the plot feeling dynamic, and a romance between our protagonists that’s too adorable to be bothered by the cheesiness, Xu tells us that “Dash & Lily” is the perfect escapist binge for this holiday season.

‘Grand Army’ (Netflix) Blending classic coming-ofage trials with more thoughtful explorations into systemic injustice, “Grand Army” (2020) takes us into the halls of a Brooklyn high school after a nearby bombing pulls five teenagers into its emotional wake. In her

review, Phoebe Yates notes that “Grand Army” addresses many subtleties of activism that other coming-of-age stories don’t — specifically, she says, “‘Grand Army’s’ strongest asset is the shades of moral complexity it lends its teenage characters; just calling yourself ‘woke’ doesn’t mean you actually are.”

‘Ted Lasso’ (AppleTV+) While not many titles from AppleTV+ have been successful enough to really enter the cultural conversation, “Ted Lasso” (2020) is perhaps the only one worth investing some time into this winter, if only for the feelgood vibes alone. “Ted Lasso” follows our titular character (Jason Sudeikis), a Kansas college football coach who goes across the pond to coach AFC Richmond, a soccer club that’s fallen out of its former glory.

As I mentioned in my review, Sudeikis’ Lasso is a can-do, feelgood, dad-pun-making and khaki-pants-wearing protagonist who’s not going to let the fact that he doesn’t really understand soccer slow him down as he bonds with his team and the club’s owner, Rebecca. Good for some lighthearted sitcom energy, “Ted Lasso” is a great watch if you need an extra kick of good energy this winter.

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THE TUFTS DAILY | WEEKENDER | Thursday, December 10, 2020

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‘The Other History of the DC Universe’ #1 shines a new light on heroics

by Carl Svahn

Contributing Writer

VIA DC COMICS

The cover of “The Other History of the DC Universe“ (2020) is pictured.

League seem like out of touch power freaks, as are “The Seven” from “The Boys” (2019) or “The Minutemen” from “Watchmen” (2019) It’s a strange new look, but if the reader can learn to accept this new view, it’s no less engaging than a regular DC story.

The art is just as impressive and flowing. Giuseppe

Camuncoli, Alex Dos Diaz and Andrea Cucchi make each page and panel, which are often one and the same, flow with detail. The scratchy style keeps in line with the grounded tone while still looking beautiful and including numerous allusions to famous DC comics (including a clev-

er “Watchmen” reference for once, who’d have thought?).

Ridley has been unclear about how connected the stories of each issue will be (the next one will supposedly focus on the “Teen Titans’” Bumblebee and The Herald); but even if Pierce’s role in this story is over, Ridley has already succeeded in his

mission to tell an excellent Black Lightning story in the process.

Just like Superman, America created Black Lightning, and though he may never be as well known as the shining, flying boy Scout, his story is an invaluable reflection of the American experience. This one’s definitely going on the pull list.

ION OF STA IAT TE OC

TERS RES FO

NATIONAL A SS

In 1938, America created Superman.

While Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster are the ones who put the seminal hero on the page, it was America that fully formed him. The image of a red, gold and blue-clad strongman with an eagle on his arm was just what the doctor ordered for white America. But this is not the only America, and the DC superheroes known to most of us, like Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman, are not the only heroes of our world. There are far too many who, like in our own reality, were denied a place at the table due to their race, sexuality or gender.

Their experiences were forgotten, misplaced or tokenized.

“The Other History of the DC Universe” by John Ridley finally tells their stories, and the first issue of this miniseries is a triumphant debut.

This issue places its focus on Jefferson Pierce, better known by the moniker “Black Lightning,” as his story is framed around a period spanning from 1972 to 1995.

While iconic moments from DC’s 86-year history are present, real events like the 1972 Munich Olympics are also worked into the narrative.

This may initially seem a bit strange, but there’s enough of a balance between the two histories that the main story manages to feel relatable yet still fantastical in its setting.

However, this balance is less effective in terms of Ridley’s style of writing. The entire comic is written in a prose and essay style, which can at times be a bit wordy within the panel structure. However, the actual writing is superb and more than makes up for Ridley’s growing pains as a result of transitioning from screenwriting to comic book writing.

Accordingly, the story being told is incredibly engaging.

Pierce is a very un-comic book hero. His everyman look at heroics and his costume are more akin to Shaft than Batman. His personality is not laid back, but is instead demanding and hard. He knows the world puts Black people at a disadvantage, and he takes this into account as a teacher, father and vigilante. All of this is juxtaposed with the more famous DC heroes, making the Justice

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Thursday, December 10, 2020 | Fun & Games | THE TUFTS DAILY

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LATE NIGHT AT THE DAILY Rebeccca: “I felt kind of weird having a 15-year-olds face on my socks, you know?”

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Scorpio (Oct. 23–Nov. 22) Today is a 9. Personal matters take center stage with Mars (plus Mercury and Venus) in your sign. Sign contracts and negotiate deals. Money flows easier with Mercury direct.

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CROSSWORD

8 Thursday, December 10, 2020

Opinion

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EDITORIAL

In the wake of rebrand controversy, Fletcher must learn to value community opinions The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy recently announced a series of marketing changes, including renaming the school to “Fletcher, The Graduate School of Global Affairs,” adopting a new seal and tagline and creating a part-time degree. This decision, made public on Nov. 16, was understandably met with widespread anger and concern from a number of alumni and current students.

Although Fletcher reverted some of these changes last week and opened channels for community input, the university’s handling of the decision both before and after its announcement demonstrated a disregard for transparency and collaboration with community members. In its current reevaluation of the rebranding and future marketing decisions, the university must strive to conduct a collaborative, transparent decision-making process that incorporates student, alumni and faculty perspectives.

In response to the sudden rebranding changes, many students and alumni have expressed disappointment and concerns. Some felt that the new tagline, “Awakening Courage,” did not represent the goals of the student body at Fletcher and that the new Master in Global Affairs degree was a

Jack Clohisy The Weekly Rewind

30 years later, audiences still ‘Obsessed’ with Mariah Carey

M

ariah Carey’s modern Christmas classic “All I Want for Christmas is You” (1994) returned to the Top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 this week, her fourth consecutive year in the region. Because of this, Carey has made a considerable resurgence to the mainstream in recent years.

The last (and only other) Christmas song to hit No. 1 on the U.S. charts was in 1959, so Carey’s achievement is one of incredi-

step backward. Some students, including Fletcher alumna Aziza Mohammed (F’12), started petitions to demand change from the administration. After Mohammed shared her Change.org petition on LinkedIn to represent student concerns and call for the changes to be reverted, Liz Musch, a member of the Board of Advisors at Fletcher, said Mohammed was “behaving like a terrorist,” and demanded she remove the petition.

In light of community backlash, Fletcher announced that it would revert to its previous branding and solicit community feedback via an online submission form. Although Fletcher halted all further marketing changes, the school’s social media platforms continue to harbor its new name. While the current pause in the rebranding process is a step in the right direction, it does not fix the communication issues that prevented extensive community review from happening in the first place.

The core of this crisis stems from a lack of input and transparency about the decision-making process. Institutions of higher education should be encouraged to change their branding as their values and academic operations evolve. However, the uni-

versity’s one-sided approach to this issue neglected the perspectives of those who embody Fletcher’s values.

Branding should not only be about profit making; it should aim to craft an accurate representation of the core values that an organization’s members stand for. Fletcher’s failure to include all community perspectives contradicted the collaborative framework the school emphasizes.

Furthermore, the decision to embark on this rebranding project amid a pandemic demonstrated a lack of consideration of the variety of challenges presented to both current and prospective students. Especially given the precarious job market, the rebranding and the subsequent leadership crisis that has ensued could potentially harm the reputation of the school, and thus affect future job and internship opportunities for students.

But perhaps more troubling than Fletcher’s abrupt restructuring efforts were Musch’s hateful and racially charged remarks. This response from a member of the Fletcher Board of Advisors was not only an unprofessional way to respond to the well-intentioned concerns of a community member, but was also incredibly harmful and antithetical to the

school’s “global” educational philosophy. Ultimately, the rebrand divided the Tufts community rather than uniting it.

In this transitional period and beyond, Fletcher and Tufts must learn from the lessons of this crisis and reevaluate their approach to making schoolwide marketing changes.

Moving forward, it is imperative that Fletcher be entirely transparent about marketing changes and involve community members in all phases of the decision-making process. Not only should criticism be invited, but it should be listened to. Further, Fletcher must ensure, both in the hiring process and afterward, that leadership and faculty are committed to representing the school’s mission and nondiscriminatory principles at all times, including on social media platforms.

While we commend Fletcher for promptly listening to community concerns and reverting some of the changes instituted by the rebrand, there is still much work to be done. Student and alumni perspectives are vital components to successfully upholding the mission, values and reputation of any school, and Fletcher must work harder to include them more in their decision-making processes.

ble proportions. Carey has charted 19 No. 1 hits on the Hot 100, the most among solo acts, and only one away from the all-time record held by the Beatles (20).

One has to ask: Is this Carey’s opportunity to make history? Aided by her recent collaboration with pop superstar Ariana Grande and a viral dance challenge to her song “Obsessed” (2009) in 2019, Carey could accomplish the extraordinary: a second comeback.

In 2001, Carey experienced a highly publicized breakdown when her career began to stall after 11 years.

Despite the lackluster reviews for her following projects “Glitter” (2001) and “Charmbracelet” (2002), Carey once again proved her resilience by returning in 2005 more mature and just as successful as ever. Carey released her 10th studio album, “The Emancipation of Mimi,” in 2005. Her album debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, and Carey saw her first chart-topper in over seven

years. “We Belong Together,” the second single off of “The Emancipation of Mimi,” went on to become the 14th most successful song in Hot 100 history, cementing Carey’s legacy.

After “Touch My Body” went No. 1 in 2008, Carey didn’t see the summit of the Hot 100 until “All I Want for Christmas is You” topped the chart in December 2019. Though in recent years, Carey’s presence in the mainstream has been making another triumphant revival. In 2018, Carey released her 15th studio album, “Caution,” and she received her highest score on Metacritic. The following summer, Carey’s 2008 single "Obsessed" went viral on TikTok, with now over 3.3 million videos using the song. Months later, Carey saw “All I Want for Christmas is You” hit No. 1 for the first time and completed a successful hat trick within one year: critical acclaim, a viral hit and a No. 1 song.

Not only did Carey revive her career

in the mid-2000s, but she has successfully reintroduced herself to the mainstream.

Carey can keep this momentum going, and she has the potential to tie the Beatles with 20 No. 1 hits.

Without any new studio albums since “Caution,” Carey can now effectively promote her new image with her recent mainstream presence under her belt. She has endured the test of time with her Christmas classic, demonstrating her ability to stay relevant with listeners 26 years after its release.

Carey has overcome a public breakdown and still returned to pop stardom flawlessly. Her talent is evident in her track record, and if there’s anything Carey can do, it’s complete another successful comeback.

Jack Clohisy is a sophomore who has not yet declared a major. Jack can be reached at jack.clohisy@tufts.edu.

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SPORTS

9 Thursday, December 10, 2020

NFL Week 13 Recap: Giants, Washington pull off massive road upsets as battle for NFC East intensifies

by Ethan Grubelich Staff Writer

Things calmed down a bit in Week 13 after COVID19 scares across the league in Week 12. In fact, the only notable changes to the NFL’s Week 13 schedule came as a result of developments leading up to Week 12. Monday afternoon and Tuesday night games were scheduled to give the Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Ravens extended rest after a COVID-19 outbreak within the two organizations delayed their game to Wednesday afternoon last week.

On Monday night, the Buffalo Bills returned to Glendale, Arizona for the second time this season to take on the San Francisco 49ers, who are in exile from their home stadium and practice facilities in Santa Clara County for at least the next few weeks after health officials there banned contact sports due to COVID19 concerns.

In Week 13, all AFC wild card contenders won their games and the New York Giants and Washington Football Team rode their recent waves of momentum to secure massive upsets in what is turning out to be an exhilarating race for the NFC East title. Let’s take a look at some of these key matchups.

Cleveland Browns vs.

Tennessee Titans The Cleveland Browns traveled to Nashville on Sunday for a matchup with one of the other emerging teams in the AFC this season, the Tennessee Titans. Despite the Browns’ strong start to the

Aiden Herrod The Turf Monster

Signing off and looking ahead

I

think we can all agree that 2020 has been hard.

It was a year that ruined just about everything, and sports were no exception. If I tried to count the number of fiascos, scandals, controversies or near-heart attacks in sports this year, I’d be here all day.

Today, I instead wish to look forward to 2021, a year that promises to still be difficult but with a markedly greater sense of hope. So in my last piece of the semester, I intend to make some predictions for the sports world to get us all warmed up for the year we all can’t wait to get started.

season, quarterback and 2018 first overall draft pick Baker Mayfield had drawn criticism leading up to this game for lackluster performances this season relative to the rest of his team. Baker quickly silenced his doubters, however, with four passing touchdowns in the first half as the Browns jumped out to a 38–7 lead.

Quarterback Ryan Tannehill and the Titans offense turned their struggles around in the second half, but their next four touchdowns were not enough to overcome the deficit, as the Browns won, 41–35. At 9–3, the Browns have clinched their first winning season since 2007 and are poised to make their first playoff appearance since 2002, as they tighten their grip on the AFC’s top wild card spot. The Titans dropped to 8–4, and after the Colts win on Sunday, still hold the AFC South tiebreaker on the grounds of their better record within the division. As things stand, we’ll be treated to a rematch between these two teams next month in the wild card round.

New York Giants vs. Seattle Seahawks The New York Giants started the season 0–5 but traveled to Seattle with the NFC East lead on Sunday for the first of a series of crucial matchups against tough opponents.

Backup quarterback Colt McCoy and the Giants offense were held scoreless in the first half, but the Giants defense stymied Seahawks star quarterback Russell Wilson and kept it a one-score game at halftime.

Two touchdowns in the third quarter by Alfred Your Super Bowl champions: The Buffalo Bills This team is so likable, on all fronts, for countless reasons. The current AFC East leaders are well positioned to nab the third seed in the playoffs, though mathematically you can’t rule out a jump to the second or first with a pivotal matchup against a Pittsburgh Steelers team on the horizon that looks more and more winnable. In past years, the team has been a defensive monster capable of playing well enough to give the inaccurate young quarterback Josh Allen enough of a cushion to not torpedo the game. In 2020, where everything is topsy-turvy, Josh Allen is a changed man at quarterback. He’s spent the season combining newfound accuracy with the vicious gunslinger playstyle that compelled the Bills to draft him so high at pick 7 in 2018. He has had to mask the flaws of the defense for much of this season, which

ABBIE PARR / GETTY IMAGES

Russell Wilson of the Seattle Seahawks is hit by Leonard Williams of the New York Giants during the second quarter at Lumen Field in Seattle, Washington on Dec. 6.

Morris, who signed with the Giants in the middle of the season as a result of injuries to the team’s running backs, were all the Giants offense would need, as their defense stepped up again, forcing an interception and later a turnover on downs to end the game with a win, 17–12. The Giants’ momentum continued as they improved to 5–7, but the stunning upset by a resurgent Washington Football Team over the undefeated Pittsburgh Steelers means that they still only hold the NFC East lead through a head-tohead tiebreaker.

Washington Football Team vs. Pittsburgh Steelers The Washington Football Team traveled to Pittsburgh on Monday afternoon, needing to upset the 11–0 Pittsburgh Steelers in order to keep pace with the New York Giants.

After a scoreless first quarter, touchdown passes from Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger to wide receivers Diontae Johnson and James Washington gave Pittsburgh’s league-best defense a commanding 14–0 lead against one of the league’s weakest offenses in the Washington Football Team. Washington quarterback Alex Smith, who was named the starter in Week 10 after missing all of the 2019 season with a life-threatening leg injury, led the Washington offense on an 82-yard touchdown drive to begin the second half. Washington tied the game in the fourth quarter with a touchdown pass from Alex Smith to tight end Logan Thomas, then took the lead through a Dustin Hopkins 45-yard field goal.

The Pittsburgh offense was then given the ball with two min-

utes remaining, only needing a field goal to tie the game, when Washington defensive end Montez Sweat batted up into the air a pass from Ben Roethlisberger, which was intercepted by linebacker Jon Bostic. Another 45-yard field goal by Dustin Hopkins extended Washington’s lead to six points with 17 seconds remaining. This simply was not enough time for the Pittsburgh offense to score a touchdown to tie or win the game, which ended 23–17.

With the win, Washington keeps pace with the Giants and remains in second place in the NFC East. The Steelers drop to 11–1, hold a two-game lead over the Browns for the AFC North lead, and hold the tiebreaker over the Kansas City Chiefs for the top seed in the AFC through the division record tiebreaker.

seems to be missing that extra gear despite some serious talent all over the field. I believe this unit still has it in them to be dominant, and the coaching staff is very capable of stringing together some strong outings come crunch time. Between Allen’s newfound ceiling at quarterback and talent aplenty throughout the lineup, this team has the makings for a deep playoff run come January.

The NBA trade machine never stops Even with a bevy of trades in the 2020 shortened offseason, there are still countless stars rumored to be movable. And with a March 2021 trade deadline, I expect some splashy moves to put an exclamation mark on what should already be a wild NBA season. Not to mention, the coming 2021 draft is reportedly stacked with young players with insane potential, and teams that choose to go the route of rebuilding could get aggres-

sive in acquiring picks. If the Washington Wizards don’t like what they see with the new Russel Westbrook/Bradley Beal pairing, Beal could be on the move to a contender for an absolute haul in the draft.

Victor Oladipo’s relationship with the Indiana Pacers has been put under a magnifying glass in recent months, and his addition could be another splash while netting a high first rounder. But the player I expect will absolutely get traded before March is James Harden of the Houston Rockets. The perennial MVP candidate has been stirring up a media circus with some reported distaste for his situation, and has asked the team to ship him to a contender.

Houston does not need to oblige now, but I expect the addition of John Wall to be less than stellar, prompting Houston to cut their losses at midseason and ship Harden to a surging Philadelphia 76ers team.

A small market slugfest in baseball The Tampa Bay Rays put themselves on the map in a big way in 2020, making a run at the World Series on the back of a largely unsung, cost-effective roster.

They are bound to stick around, and another offseason to dream up some more savvy moves could keep their arrow firmly pointed up. The Rays are primed to make another appearance in the World Series in 2021, and I am calling my shot at their opponent coming out of the National League: San Diego.

The Padres have been building something scary down in Southern California, with a slew of young talent ready to build off of an impressive 2020 season. This team has a nasty slugging duo in Fernando Tatis Jr. and Manny Machado, and they looked primed to build up a deep roster with some big names in free agency this winter.

Aiden Herrod is a junior studying film and media studies and entrepreneurship. Aiden can be reached at aiden.herrod@tufts.edu