The Tufts Daily - Thursday, December 2, 2021

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VOLUME LXXXI, ISSUE 39

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Thursday, December 2, 2021

Downhill on-campus residents report sporadic hot water outages

by Liz Shelbred News Editor

Residents in downhill dorms experienced sporadic bouts without hot water in showers throughout September and October, resulting in confusion about the cause of the hot water shortage and uncertainty regarding when the issue would be fixed. While Tufts Facilities Services concluded that issues regarding access to hot water have since been resolved, some residents have noticed a recent lack of consistent access to hot water.

Sophomore Anna Li, a resident of Harleston Hall, was one such student that experienced an occasional lack of hot water in her hall.

“I used to somehow shower really, really late, like 2 a.m. or 3 a.m., and there was no hot water at all,” Li said. “[In September and October], I had to at least take three cold showers per week.”

Abby Donaghue, a resident assistant in Lewis Hall, experienced a similar pattern.

“For most of September, and I think some of October, [there would not be hot water] about

three times a week, maybe,” Donaghue, a junior, said. “Late at night, the hot water would just randomly stop working. You’d go to take a shower and the water would be ice cold.”

Distinct from the occasional lack of hot water limited to one shower — a situation that most students can relate to experiencing at some point while living in dorms — consistently insufficient hot water downhill seemed to represent a larger, more widespread issue.

“It was not just a one-shower issue,” Donaghue said. “I had a lot of reports from my residents and all the other bathrooms, it was a problem on the other floors, I had friends in Latin Way who were having the same issue.

So, [it was] a pretty universal downhill dorm problem.”

Cold showers have presented inconveniences to residents and upended their daily routines.

“It was so frustrating for me when it first happened, because sometimes when I go back to my room, I’m so tired,” Li said. “I had a long day, and all I want to do is just to have a nice shower.”

Donaghue echoed this sentiment.

AIDAN CHANG / THE TUFTS DAILY ARCHIVES

The exterior of Lewis Hall is pictured on Feb. 26, 2020.

“It was really inconvenient for me to also be back at the dorm at night after a long, busy day and then not have access to basic amenities for hygiene and comfort.” Donaghue said.

“It’s kind of really frustrating, and the uncertainty of it all was not good.”

Donaghue and Ray Rogers, another RA in Lewis Hall, often received complaints from their residents about the lack of hot water in Lewis Hall.

“I literally get emails all the time from residents saying, ‘Hey Ray, there’s no hot water — can you do something about it?’”

Rogers, a senior, said.

In addition to reading concerns circulating in her hall’s group chat, Donaghue also recalled hearing complaints just outside of her dorm room door.

“I would be … doing homework in my dorm, and I would hear from the hallway one of the boys in my wing [yell], ‘The hot water is broken again!’” she said.

Residents’ frustration about unreliable hot water in Lewis Hall was often directed toward RAs, adding more responsibilities and stress to their roles.

“Not only did I just want to take a shower and go to bed … now [responding to complaints about cold water] is

another task that I have to do,” Donaghue said.

Rogers found it difficult to efficiently address these concerns.

“I obviously can’t do anything about it,” he said. “I file a work order, which will take a month to actually be processed.”

While Tufts Facilities stated that it received no complaints or work requests from students living in Lewis Hall or Harleston Hall in this time period, they did point to the seasonal servicing of boilers that service these locations in September and October. This servicing, see FACILITIES, page 2

Tufts Dining commits to 30% locally sourced food by 2030

by Elizabeth Foster Staff Writer

Tufts University is working toward having 30% of its food be locally sourced by 2030, after meeting its previous goal of 20% locally sourced food by 2020, which was inspired by the Real Food Challenge. On Oct. 28, Tufts Dining hosted a Harvest Dinner featuring produce sourced from New Entry Sustainable Farming Project to advertise that Tufts Dining had reached this goal with 23% of food across on-campus locations being locally sourced in 2020. Tufts is also a part of the New England Food Vision, whose goal is to have New England produce 50% of its own food by 2060.

According to Patti Klos, director of Tufts Dining and Business Services, food must be from within New England, or within a certain radius of Tufts’ campus, in order to be considered locally sourced.

“Twenty-three percent of the things we were purchasing were either produced or further processed in New England, or within about 250 miles of campus,” Klos said.

Products from some New England farms, however, such as milk, are sold via an international conglomerate and are thus not considered locally sourced food.

Conversely, a Connecticut com-

significant effort to locally source food, it needs to make sure this remains a priority in the future.

“It’s a huge deal and says a lot about how mindful Tufts

MICHELLE LI / TUFTS DAILY

The entrance of Dewick-MacPhie Dining Center is pictured. pany that works with coffee and tea producers in other countries but roasts and flavors the products themselves is considered a part of the local economy.

EcoRep Violet Kopp said that while Tufts is making a

Dining is that 23% of their produce is locally sourced. … But you know, don’t stop there. It should be closer to 80%,” Kopp, a sophomore, said. “The worst thing we can do, I think, for such an urgent issue like the cli-

mate crisis is to be unrealistic.

When we’re thinking of solutions, we need to be pragmatic.

We need to be tangible.”

Kopp said that she hopes Tufts will continue to prioritize locally sourcing food, along with producing culturally sensitive meals and ensuring there are non-meat options in the dining halls.

In addition to its goals of increasing locally sourced food, Tufts Dining also is working toward implementing more sustainable dining options.

“We’re shifting away from animal proteins [to] plantbased foods, and students seem really interested in broadening their palates or their food consumption right along with us,” Klos said.

Produce for the Harvest Dinner was purchased from New Entry Sustainable Farming Project, and on Oct. 2, students had the opportunity to help cook harvest food for the Harvest Dinner.

New Entry was founded 23 years ago through the Tufts Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy as a project to educate immigrants and refugees with farming experience outside of the New England cli-

FEATURES / page 3

ARTS / page 4

SPORTS / back

Massachusetts’ sewage system: What’s in our water?

Pop punk and emo rock come together for a perfect night at The Palladium

Star forward out and men’s basketball is faltering

mate. Since then, New Entry has grown to coach anyone interested in farming.

New Entry also aids in the distribution of produce. According to Sara Davis, food hub program manager at New Entry, the farm coordinates a community-supported agriculture program to build connections within the Greater Boston area. They currently provide food for Salem and Tewkesbury public schools.

“I think looking for really steady exits for all this great produce to go to is part of [the New Entry project], and really making sure that this produce is getting to people who need it and maybe don’t have access to great produce,” Davis said. “We definitely have the capacity to provide more locally sourced food to Tufts, and it would be a big support to the farmers here who are always looking for markets.”

Jennifer Hashley, director of the New Entry Sustainable Farming Project, discussed New Entry’s relationship with Tufts Dining.

“The real thing that I see as a limiting factor is the price point. … We’re trying to help provide see LOCAL FOOD, page 2 NEWS

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FEATURES

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ARTS & POP CULTURE

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FUN & GAMES

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OPINION

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SPORTS

BACK

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THE TUFTS DAILY | News | Thursday, December 2, 2021

THE TUFTS DAILY Madeleine Aitken Editor in Chief

— EDITORIAL — MARIEL PRIVEN KATE SEKLIR Managing Editors

PRIYA PADHYE ETHAN STEINBERG Associate Editors Alexander Janoff Executive News Editor Jillian Collins Executive Features Editor Phoebe Wong Executive Arts Editor Paloma Delgado Executive Opinion Editor Colton Wolk Editorial Editor Makenna Law Brendan Hartnett Editorialists Ananda Kao Executive Sports Editor Alex Viveros Investigative Editor Hannah Harris Executive Audio Producer Sophie Dolan Michelle Li Executive Photo Editors Ty Blitstein Executive Video Editor Asli Kocak Executive Graphics Editor

— PRODUCTION — CAMPBELL DEVLIN Production Director Mac Callahan Maddy Noah Lucy Kaskel Executive Layout Editors Julian Perry Sarah Sandlow Executive Copy Editors Kendall Roberts Elise Fong Executive Social Media Editors

— BUSINESS — EVELYN MCCLURE Business Director Rebecca Barker Jilly Rolnick Outreach Coordinators Jackson Parsells Web Manager Contact Us P.O. Box 53018, Medford, MA 02155 daily@tuftsdaily.com thetuftsdaily tuftsdaily tuftsdaily

Please rec ycle this newspaper!

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.

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Facilities addresses hot water outage in Hillsides, issues remain FACILITIES

continued from page 1 which is done in preparation for the winter heating season, was completed in early October, according to Senior Facilities Director Cory Pouliot.

“All systems have been on-line and operational since [early October],” Pouliot wrote to the Daily in an email.

However, Tufts Facilities did receive water complaints from residents in the Hillsides Apartments in late October. In the 20s and 30s tower, students reported that water would not properly heat up. Upon further investigation, in-house plumbers detected a malfunctioning valve, which was replaced on Nov. 4.

“Our in-house plumbers were able to successfully complete the job and hot water was restored to all of Hillsides Apartments,” Pouliot said.

While students report that the issue has gotten better in recent weeks, some issues linger.

According to Rogers, the showers in Lewis Hall still occasionally run out of hot water.

“Once, maybe every two weeks … we’ll get an hour or two where there’s just cold water, or maybe a full night of no hot water,” he said.

Li said she is concerned about the issue as temperatures begin to drop.

“I’m worried about … not having hot water in the winter when it’s a lot colder,” she said.

Harvest dinner showcased locally sourced food LOCAL FOOD

continued from page 1 farmers with a stable livelihood and decent prices,” Hashley said.

“The dining hall has a budget to make, and so sometimes those price points don’t align perfectly.”

Klos said she sees season and scale as prohibiting factors, noting that campus is most quiet during the summer.

“When they have the most abundant crops available, we have the least demand, but we would look forward to partnering with [New Entry] more,” Klos said.

Outside of providing food strictly to dining halls, Klos spoke about expanding grocery options on campus, such as at the Commons Marketplace or Hodgdon Foodon-the-Run, for students who

are not on a meal plan. Klos also mentioned bringing back a CSApickup option that was accessible to students prior to the pandemic.

According to Hashley, New Entry used to host a farmers market on the Tufts campus beginning in 2010, but the community organization that ran the market stopped coordinating it after a few years. Tufts Dining has not

been able to pursue projects like these in recent years due to COVID-19 restrictions.

“We’re super glad that [the Harvest Dinner] happened.

I’d like to see that momentum continue and do more,” Hashley said. “We are a Tufts program. We should have a really strong relationship with Tufts Dining.”

SCIENCE

This Week in Science: Omicron variant, Alzheimer’s medication, Lyme vaccine, universal boosters New COVID-19 variant found across globe, raises questions about transmissibility A new COVID-19 variant labeled omicron has recently emerged in several countries, including South Africa, Botswana and Hong Kong, and contains dozens of mutations from the original alpha variant, leading many scientists to discuss its implications for

One-third of Aduhelm patients may experience brain swelling, study finds Just four stops away from Tufts Univesity on the Red Line, Kendall Square-based company Biogen is facing continued challenges with its recently Food and Drug Administrationapproved Alzheimer’s Disease medication, Aduhelm. A new study conducted by the compa-

Early Lyme disease vaccine trial successful in guinea pigs An innovative vaccine for Lyme disease has been successful in an early-stage trial on guinea pigs. The shot uses mRNA technology pioneered by the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines and is unique because — unlike every other currently approved human vaccine — it doesn’t target a spe-

CDC emphasizes recommendation for COVID-19 boosters The Center for Disease Control and Prevention strengthened its previous recommendation for COVID-19 booster shots, suggesting that all adults over

COVID-19’s future. Although the moment when omicron first started to infect people is not exactly known, infectious disease researcher Kristian Andersen hypothesizes that the variant could have emerged in September or October, indicating that it was initially slow to spread. However, this does not mean that it is less contagious than previous variants; in fact, researchers predict that the mutations associated with omicron may likely

increase the virus’s resistance to the vaccine and its rate of infection, according to evolutionary biologist Jesse Bloom.

Because of this, researchers are suggesting that people receive a booster shot to strengthen their protection against omicron.

Interestingly, because there are so many mutations, the S gene that is used to detect if a person has been infected with COVID-19 during a PCR test was nearly unrecogniz-

able, which may explain why the variant was only recently discovered. There are at least 30 mutations in the spike protein of the omicron variant, including three amino acid deletions and one insertion, in addition to replacing other amino acids with new ones.

Researchers still need time to figure out how exactly, if at all, these mutations will make omicron’s infection rate different from previous variants.

— Maiah Islam

ny found that 35% of patients may have experienced brain swelling due to the drug.

Aduhelm was approved by the FDA in June, and its approval has been controversial as the findings from two clinical trials were contradictory as to whether the drug actually slowed AD-related cognitive decline.

One of the first formal publications of data from the company’s clinical trials found that out of 1,029 patients who received Aduhelm, 362 devel-

oped swelling of the brain, visualized through brain images of clinical trial participants. Of those 362, 94 were symptomatic and experienced headaches, confusion and dizziness. Out of the entire trial population, 19% of patients developed brain bleeds and 41% experienced either brain swelling, bleeding or both, with 14 of those cases being deemed serious or requiring hospitalization.

The side effects experienced by patients from the trials are

known as amyloid-related imaging abnormalities (ARIA), and they are being studied by scientists to understand their effects since the drug is now available to the general population.

Although efficacy data has not been published yet, concerns are rising after the death of a patient, who was hospitalized due to a seizure and was diagnosed with brain swelling, both of which are consistent with ARIA symptoms.

— Maddie Yost

cific pathogen. Instead, the vaccine trains the immune system to respond to the saliva in a tick bite and develop a rash before the tick can transmit the bacteria that causes Lyme disease.

Lyme disease is the most common vector-borne disease in the United States. It is typically transmitted to humans through the bite of black-legged ticks infected with Borrelia burgdorferi bacteria. Symptoms include fever, headache and a skin rash; left

untreated, it can lead to joint pain, swelling and neurological problems.

In the trial, ticks were removed from guinea pigs once they had developed inflammation or redness from the bite. Vaccinated guinea pigs developed a rash after 18 hours, while unvaccinated guinea pigs had much slower immune responses. Ticks that were not manually removed would also fall off the vaccinated guinea pigs on their own within

48 hours, whereas 80% of ticks on unvaccinated guinea pigs stayed on for over 96 hours. This dramatic decrease in time for the tick to latch on limits the ability for the bacterium to be transmitted; typically, it takes 36 hours for Lyme disease to be transmitted to humans after the first bite.

None of the vaccinated guinea pigs contracted Lyme disease, while around half of the unvaccinated guinea pigs did.

— Cindy Zhang

the age of 18 receive a booster dose. With the recent emergence of the omicron variant and COVID-19 infection rates once again increasing across various regions, scientists are pushing all those who are not yet immunized to get vaccinated as soon as possible.

Though researchers are unsure how much harm omicron will pose, concerns over COVID-19 remain on the forefront of public health experts’ minds. As people transition into winter — with increased time indoors and outbreaks of flu, strep and other seasonal

colds — the CDC emphasized the importance of the booster.

Still, the ultimate goal remains the same: mitigate the effects of COVID-19, protect those who are most vulnerable and practice vigilant safety protocols.

— Sophie Wax

tuftsdaily.com

Features

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After the storm: Environmental injustices in Massachusetts’ sewage system

by Jillian Collins

Executive Features Editor

After a storm, sewage systems can get overwhelmed with water. Instead of pouring excess sewage into basements, the system is designed to discharge sewage into nearby rivers — the same bodies of water that are used for drinking and recreational purposes. The contaminated water has been linked to an increase of various diseases. Due to redlining and systematic racism, these contaminated waters are more likely to run through low-income populations and communities of color.

As a public health issue that is expensive to fix and one that disproportionately affects marginalized groups, solutions are not prioritized by legislators and engineers. Yet, despite these barriers, there are currently people educating communities about water quality and cleaning up polluted waters.

Nathan Sanders, a data scientist and a volunteer member of the Mystic River Water Association (MyRWA) policy committee, has done extensive research on the Massachusetts sewage system, using an environmental justice lens.

“The way our sewer systems are designed in Massachusetts and in many other older communities is to intentionally dump sewage into the river when it rains,” Sanders said. “That is a little bit appalling and essentially illegal under federal law, but there are very understandable reasons why the system is designed that way.”

To begin, the system was created for a much smaller population and not for the scale it is today.

“Three hundred years ago, I think that made perfect sense. We had these bodies of water that weren’t necessarily used by a lot of people … and the volume of sewage was relatively low at that time,” Sanders said. “Adding a trickle of sewage to a big flowing river maybe didn’t seem like a big problem. But now, as … the volume of the sewage discharge has grown, and we have more people using the river actively, it’s created a real public health concern.”

Rachel Wagner, a senior studying environmental studies, interned at the MyRWA, where she focused on water testing and environmental justice work.

She explained that levels of nitrogen and phosphorus increase in the water after a storm due to runoff and sewage discharge.

“There are a lot of problems with this pollution of phosphorus and nitrogen, because they come from excess fertilizers on people’s lawns [and from] people who don’t pick up their dogs’ waste that has nitrogen and phosphorus,” Wagner said. “That runoff that goes into storm drains, which goes directly into our water sources. [It] is basically an over-stimulant in the environment, and it causes intense reactions of growth and then death.”

These chemicals are also in the sewage that is discharged in the river, causing bacteria to grow.

“Phosphorus and nitrogen are both limiting nutrients, which means that they basically are the predictors of growth and they are required for the growth of algae,” Wagner said. “You’ll see [algae] blooms … so you see a lot of dead fish in the rivers after huge storm events.”

VIA WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

The Deer Island Wastewater Treatment Plant in the Boston Harbor is pictured.

When it storms, there is an increase of various diseases due to sewage overflow and runoff polluting the water.

Massachusetts State Sen. Pat Jehlen, who has been combating sewage overflow for over a decade, explained that after a storm, there is an increased number of hospitalizations. Even COVID-19 may spread through sewage in the Mystic River after a storm.

Similarly, Sanders noted there is an increase in gastrointestinal illnesses being reported after rainstorms.

“The main concern for the Mystic River is recreational contact,” Sanders said.

“People who are boating or swimming in the river, who may incidentally touch the river while they’re walking along it, or if they fall out of the boat. That has also led to illnesses.”

The areas where these sewage discharges are located are commonly found in marginalized communities, making wastewater pollution an environmental justice issue, according to Wagner.

“You see all of [the pollution] downstream, and the communities that are downstream tend to be those at high risk, like communities of color [or] low-income populations that are put at a heightened risk for no reason,” Wagner said.

As with many problems in the United States, sewage overflow is connected to systemic racism.

“There’s systemic racism that has caused those communities that are on less desirable lands to be the ones that are affordable,” Sanders said. “I think the underlying connection here is the history of industrialization and urban development in our state which has caused certain communities to develop with these combined sewer systems.”

Higher-income communities have had the privilege of being able to deal with water pollution. In 1985, the Boston Harbor Case, under the interpretation of the Clean Air Act, decided that

Massachusetts had to clean up the wastewater pollution.

“The judge determined that Massachusetts has to clean them up, we have to fix the sewage discharges,” Sanders said. “The court also recognized that it’s too expensive … and that just wasn’t going to happen. So the court allowed for what is called a long-term control planning process.”

The long-term control planning process allowed for the state agency to complete an analysis on how it could most efficiently spend its money to deal with the pollution. This resulted in wealthier areas being prioritized for cleanup. For example, the City of Cambridge spent a portion of the $1 billion on cleaning the Charles River, according to Sanders.

The reporting of water quality has been the most controversial barrier in dealing with sewage overflow, due to the expensive cleanup cost. The operators of sewage treatment plans do not want to report water quality because they don’t want to be held responsible, according to Jehlen.

Alongside others, Jehlen proposed a bill for public notification of sewage discharge.

“For years, we couldn’t pass this bill because certain operators said, ‘We don’t want to report when we release partially treated sewage,’” Jehlen said.

In January, Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker signed the bill; however, regulators have played with terminology to get around reporting water quality.

“We said [the bill] includes partially treated [sewage], so the new [regulators] have a new term which exempts blended sewage, which is the same as partially treated [sewage],” Jehlen said.

The fight for public notifications is ongoing, but there are other ways to educate communities about their water quality.

In areas of the Mystic River, individuals will fish for food without knowing the water is contaminated. Wagner worked

with a team at MyRWA to put up fish advisories that explain the dangers of fishing in polluted water.

“A lot of environmental justice communities get their food, especially fish, from the Mystic, which is really problematic,” Wagner said. “[We’re] putting up signs in different languages, especially in Spanish, in areas like East Boston, Chelsea [and] Revere.”

There are also ways to change infrastructure to prevent water pollution during a storm.

“You got infiltration trenches, which are a super helpful way to prevent that phosphorus and nitrogen pollution that you’re seeing from those intense storms,” Wagner said. “Rain gardens [are] also a really good way to hold on to the water.”

Jehlen explained how legislation can also be used to encourage more resilient infrastructures.

“It has to do with your building codes and your zoning so that you don’t allow the building of impervious [structures, like] giant parking lots, which cause runoff,” Jehlen said. “They don’t cause it, but they don’t have any filtration.”

While select groups are putting in the work to combat wastewater pollution, the issue is not yet universally prioritized. “[What] my colleagues and I had done for sewage discharges, I believe that is the first and still only [environmental justice] analysis of this type of pollution that’s been done in the country, at least that I’m aware of,” Sanders said.

As climate change only continues to progress, there will be more storms leading to more water contamination. Wagner encourages students to use their privilege to get involved with water cleanup.

“It’s so easy to get sucked into a ‘Well, we have clean water, we have accessible food that is not polluted,’” Wagner said.

“As such privileged people at Tufts … we have an opportunity to make our voices heard, to be part of organizations that are helping like MyRWA and try to do some work.”

Arts & POP ARTS Pop CULTURE Culture

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tuftsdaily.com

Thursday, December 2, 2021

Mom Jeans, Origami Angel and friends put on a night of pop punk splendor

by Geoff Tobia Jr.

Assistant Arts Editor

On Nov. 19, four bands got together to perform a wonderful display of pop punk and emo rock at The Palladium in Worcester, Mass. Mom Jeans served as the headlining band for the tour, with the support of Origami Angel, Save Face and Pool Kids. The venue was jam-packed from the start, with the bottom-level General Admission filling up completely before the opening acts began, and with merch lines nearly out the door.

The show began with Pool Kids, and it shouldn’t have begun any other way. The four-piece band brought an incredible energy to the crowd with entertaining songs and a great stage presence. Out of all the bands to perform, Pool Kids engaged with the audience the most, explaining their personal stories and getting everyone hyped for the rest of the show. The band members emphasized a message to any fan that wants to perform and tour just like them: just get it started. Guitarist and lead vocalist Christine Goodwyne told the audience that the band started learning how to play instruments through YouTube tutorials, and that’s all it takes to start a band.

The band’s set was incredible. Goodwyne described her band’s music with her personal favorite motto: “Good girls go to heaven, bad girls go to Pool Kids shows,” which was met with an eruption of cheers from all tiers of the venue.

Sadie Leite Dreaming of Sandman

Barbie has a nightmare

B

arbie sees a talking dog, Martin Tenbones, from her dreams get shot in the streets of New York City and she’s horrified, naturally.

The twisted fifth volume “The Sandman: A Game of You” (1991–92) begins: Gaiman’s imagination is beautiful and perverted­­–– a perspective just as important as fairytale happy endings.

A gang of women, Hazel, Thessaly and Foxglove, walk on the moon road to save Barbie from the dream in which the notorious evil boss Cuckoo has trapped her, a dream which Tenbones fled from, into reality to warn Barbie.

Following Pool Kids was Save Face, a four-piece band with two supporting members, that immediately caught the eyes of concert-goers with their matching red jumpsuits. The song “Sharpen Your Teeth” was the first song that opened up mosh pits in the bottom-level GA area.

The energy in that part of the venue was mirrored on stage, with lead singer Tyler Povanda wielding his 6-foot-tall mic stand as a sword, swinging it around the stage.

During his set, Povanda described that the band’s new album, “Another Kill For The Highlight Reel,” is all about “reclaiming power you lost” and “being unapologetic to yourself.” Save Face’s sound is nothing unfamiliar to the typical emo sound that’s been around for decades, but the band’s on-stage performance had lots of character unique to its six performers.

Origami Angel has grown some sort of a cult following over the past few years due to the underground success of its 2019 record, “Somewhere City.” The DC-based duo consists of guitarist and vocalist Ryland Heagy and drummer Pat Doherty. Their fan base continues to grow because of their unique sound, which takes the palette of emo rock and adds elements of pop, metal and even hip-hop into their soundscape. Their newest album release “Gami Gang” capitalizes even more on this notion, which throws in elements of folk, trap and some bossa nova for good measure.

The band kicked off its set by playing the first four songs of “Gami Gang,” which immediately started the mosh pits and

head banging once again. This is also when an influx of crowd surfing began and throughout the entire set, there was at least one person being hoisted up by other members in the bottom-level audience.

One amusing part of the set was watching hard-working venue members collect crowd-surfers before they made their way to the stage, and watching them run off along the side of the venue with a giant grin on their face as they made their way back into the mosh pits. Origami Angel then performed “Escape Rope” and “The Title Track,” both songs from “Somewhere City” (2019). After that was “Neutrogena Spektor,” and during the song’s metal outro, the largest mosh pit of the night formed as Ryland screamed the lyrics “It doesn’t matter to me/ No, it doesn’t matter to me.” Another special moment came during “Caught in the Moment,” where a sea of phone flashlights began waving back and forth, still somehow supporting those who wanted to crowd surf.

Before Mom Jeans began, the crowd had another moment of collective excitement as the entire crowd sang three songs together that came through the venue’s speakers: “Chop Suey” (2001) by System of a Down, “Mr. Brightside” (2003) by The Killers and “In the End” (2001) by Linkin Park. Then Mom Jeans came on, with the lead Eric Butler and rhythm guitarist Bart Thompson clad in dark short shorts and colored tees. The crowd began to sing along during “*Sobs Quietly*” (2016) as Eric Butler sang, “Baby I’m sorry/ Things

On the borders between dream and reality, the characters are unaware of who they are: They are playing the game of you. Sense of identity shifts daily — and more in hazy dreaming. Gaiman maintains that dreams reveal parts of ourselves we are reluctant to acknowledge in waking.

Barbie must embark on a classic fairytale adventure in the dream she’s sucked into. Imagine “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland” (1865) or “The Hobbit” (1937), but much darker. Barbie sees her cute monkey and rat companions killed, Hazel dreams of baby cannibalism and Foxglove dreams of an abusive ex-lover with holes for eyes.

Reflecting on the morbid darkness which often surfaces in dreams, Hazel says, “You know the really scary thing about bad dreams? … It’s that something’s going on inside your head, and you can’t control it. I mean, it’s like there’s these bad worlds inside you.”

Gaiman uncomfortably confronts our nightmarish guilt over dreaming things which we would never wish for in waking daylight. Are we responsible for the things we dream? Monkey hangings and baby cannibalism only come from our imagination.

At the end of her adventure, the Cuckoo’s minions take Barbie to the Cuckoo Citadel, which turns out to be her old Florida home. The Cuckoo is revealed to be her younger self, and Barbie’s old stuffed animals look exactly like her journey’s companions. Parts of real life often surface strangely in dreams. Sometimes it’s because we’ve been thinking about these thoughts, or our mind is pushing forward forgotten details because they’re critical for a coming challenge.

The subconscious is tricky, and Gaiman knows this.

If I dream that my family is stuffed in tea tins, which I then serve to my

COURTESY GEOFF TOBIA

The stage at the Mom Jeans show is pictured. didn’t work out the way that I planned.”

The band also tried out a new song “Crybaby (On the Phone),” which was released eight days before the concert, and the song’s tempo change raised everyone’s energy tenfold. With yet another sea of mosh pits and crowd surfers, the band played classics like “Edward 40hands” (2016) and “Pickle Bart”(2016). Before the band’s most famous song, “Death Cup” (2016), Eric suggested to the crowd, “Get your phones out now, I promise you’ll thank me later.” A roar of approval and thanks came as soon as the guys played the opening riff.

To represent the sentiment of concert-goers that night, an eager fan toward the end of the show said it well: “Do it again, do it all again, the whole thing!” professors as a holiday gift, that still doesn’t necessarily say anything about me as a person. Gaiman wrote about baby cannibalism and even outlandish gore, but he is still a widely respected author — in part because of his bizarre vision.

Horror is a medium used to confront ourselves (as Barbie literally does). A terrible warning against our darkest urges, horror is the egregious violence that reminds us of the good we have.

The next time one of your dreams takes you down the yellow brick road with your talking childhood stuffed animal, headed for a witch’s fortress, I’d suggest not to take it too hard.

But still, if you think about your dreams for a moment, you might learn something about yourself.

Sadie Leite is a sophomore studying English. Sadie can be reached at sadie.leite@tufts.edu.

Thursday, December 2, 2021 | FUN & GAMES | THE TUFTS DAILY

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F& G

LATE NIGHT AT THE DAILY Brendan: “I’m immunocompromised #blessed.”

FUN & GAMES

SUDOKU

ALIEN DISCOVERS FLAMBÉ

Difficulty Level: Finding time to sleep in the next three weeks.

By Maddie Pero

Wednesday’s Solutions

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CROSSWORD

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6 Thursday, December 2, 2021

Eli Striker The Strike Zone

Urban China and the hukou system

D

uring the last four decades, China has undergone a radical change, metamorphosing from a predominantly agrarian nation to a city-centric, economic powerhouse. The Chinese Communist Party has actively facilitated this trend of mass urbanization.

Since the early 1980s, more than 260 million rural workers have migrated to urban areas, and by 2030, one billion people are projected to live in Chinese cities. The CCP’s household registration — or “hukou” — system serves as the government’s primary mechanism for regulating its urban population.

Opinion Under this policy, Chinese residents need an urban hukou to purchase a home, obtain social services and procure goods and products in cities. Urban hukou passes are highly coveted by migrant workers and serve as a status symbol separating urban and rural China.

The hukou system is a relic of the Mao era, invented to prevent rural residents from taking refuge in cities during the famine of the Great Leap Forward, in which millions of impoverished peasants starved to death. Today, millions of rural peasants aspire to move to cities to improve their socioeconomic standing, but the restrictive hukou pass inhibits many migrants from achieving upward social mobility.

A scarcity in available urban hukou passes has diminished the quality of life of China’s sizable migrant population. As of 2012, 27% of city dwellers were registered as farmers under the hukou system, and there is little reason

to believe this percentage has since diminished.

Without a hukou pass in their city of residence, these workers — dubbed China’s “floating population” — lack access to permanent housing, welfare or public services. These workers are generally employed in undesirable sectors; men often work as builders or construction workers while women often work as domestic workers, maids or sweatshop workers.

Members of China’s floating population live highly unstable lives and are frequently confined to the margins of urban society. Despite the difficult lifestyle experienced by those with inconsistent household registration, urban life remains attractive to many rural citizens, who dream for a brighter future for themselves and their children.

Still, further policy tweaks will be necessary for most migrant workers to achieve economic prosperity. China is still

tuftsdaily.com one of the most economically unequal countries in the world, as many migrant workers work for meager wages and lack the social safety nets exclusive to urban hukou holders.

In order to help develop a higher quality of life for migrant workers, the CCP should abolish the hukou system and allow rural workers to legally reside in cities. Access to permanent housing and social services would be transformative for the millions of migrant workers.

Although the hukou has long been a political cudgel that helped the CCP control its population, its abolition would allow the nation to better realize its goal of urbanization, and improve the lives of hundreds of millions of migrants.

Eli Striker is a junior studying international relations. Eli can be reached at eli.striker@tufts.edu.

S Timothy Valk Roster Rundown

Fantasy football preview Week 13

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n Nov. 21, the NFL encountered its 1,070th instance of Scorigami. What’s that, you say? Created by Jon Bois from SB Nation, Scorigami is the concept of experiencing a final score unique to NFL history. So when Indianapolis finished its beatdown of Buffalo on that Week 11 Sunday, the 41–15 result was added to the Scorigami record books.

The truth is that Scorigami is hard to achieve — very hard. Throughout the entire 2019 season, only three games ended in the mystical phenomenon, and the feat naturally becomes more rare with every passing occurrence.

Certain numbers are more difficult to obtain, such as four, five, eight and one (which, yes, is possible depend-

Thursday, December 2, 2021 | SPORTS | THE TUFTS DAILY ing on the permutation. Look it up!).

Defying the odds, Seahawks coach Pete Carroll is known as the “Scorigami Wizard,” with at least one instance during his first five seasons with the team from 2010 to 2014, including the famous 43–8 Super Bowl victory over the Broncos.

Keep an eye out for those never-before-seen scores as we enter the climax of the season. Let’s see who’s hot and cold for Week 13.

HOT QB: Aaron Rodgers, GB It’s back-to-back seasons where Rodgers has heated up just as the Lambeau Field turf freezes over. His elite QB status was once again cemented last week, with a septet of total touchdowns against the Vikings and Rams combined.

RB: Joe Mixon, CIN Lost in the shuffle of flashier ball carriers, Mixon is on a splendid stretch, posting over 20 PPR points in five of his last six games.

This is despite recording negative receiving yards over the past two games, illuminating the fifth-year pro’s workhorse nature.

WR: Hunter Renfrow, LV The Black Hole organization has had a black cat running around it this year, but Renfrow has been a bright spot through it all. The former Clemson Tiger is proving to be an undrafted steal in most leagues, and his high-floor target count makes him an intriguing wildcard for 2022.

TE: Mark Andrews, BAL Andrews responded to his Week 10 Cold List inclusion with a trio of 60-plusyard games. Baltimore’s offense hasn’t exactly been firing on all cylinders, but Andrews’ enormous target share makes him a lineup lock.

COLD QB: Lamar Jackson, BAL It’s not time to panic, but it is time to reset for the 2019 MVP. Jackson’s multitude of interceptions should’ve cost his team Sunday night’s slugfest of a game, but Cleveland’s inept offense saved the Ravens and their current playoff seeding. We know Lamar can be sensational, but how much can fantasy owners trust him?

RB: David Montgomery, CHI Montgomery is a talented tailback who

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suffers from Chicago’s red zone inefficiency. The shifty runner is quite touchdown dependent — shown by his hot streak at the end of 2020 — and a trade to a better offense would nourish his fantasy production.

WR: DK Metcalf, SEA Tallying just eight catches in three games, Metcalf is undergoing the toughest stretch of his career. The ironic and concerning part is that it’s come not when understudy Geno Smith was called into action, but when Super Bowl winner Russell Wilson retook the reins.

Frustration is mounting for Metcalf and the entire Seattle locker room.

TE: Dallas Goedert, PHI A plethora of names could be used here, but Goedert’s unimpressive recent history is distinct. After the Eagles traded away fellow tight end Zach Ertz, Goedert was supposed to be “the Guy” in Philly; however, that plan has yet to come to fruition.

Enjoy Week 13!

Timothy Valk is a sophomore who has not yet declared a major. Timothy can be reached at timothy.valk@tufts.edu

8 Thursday, December 2, 2021

Sports

tuftsdaily.com

Men’s basketball 1–5 on season after weekend with one win and one loss

by Isaac Karp Sports Editor

In a close bout between Emerson and Tufts on Nov. 28, the Lions just squeaked by the Jumbos 75–72 to hand Tufts its fifth loss of the season. The 2019 NESCAC champions continue to struggle without senior co-captain Luke Rodgers, who exited the first game of the season with a knee injury. Without Rodgers, junior guard and co-captain Tyler Aronson and junior guard Carson Cohen have taken the helm on the offensive end, but the lack of a major post presence has hurt the Jumbos during most of their efforts this season.

The first half consisted of a dominating performance from Emerson sophomore center Jarred Houston, who took advantage of Rodgers’ absence and finished the game with 21 points, nine rebounds and four blocks. Cohen jump-started the Tufts offense by scoring 12 points in the first half, but the Jumbos entered the break down 40–36. Moreover, 3-point shooting continued to be an issue as the Jumbos successfully made only 17.6% of their shots from behind the arc and had to score most of their points in the paint instead.

The game was mostly back and forth throughout the first half, as the largest lead the Lions mustered was seven points.

While the Jumbos improved on the defensive end, holding the Lions to around 50% from the field, they could never really find their offensive rhythm and struggled to take advantage of Emerson’s 10 turnovers.

In the second half, Tufts head coach Brandon Linton gave first-year forward Bobby Stewart minutes to play, but Stewart also had no answer for Houston, who went for nine points and 4 blocks in the second half. In the final 20 minutes, the Tufts starters also went a combined 0–10 from beyond the arc while no Jumbo broke double-digit scoring. Emerson improved to a 3–3 win-loss record for the year while Tufts holds a 1–5 record.

On a positive note, the Jumbos secured their first victory of the season over Lesley University in a blowout 99–76 win the day before the Emerson loss. Junior guard Dylan Thoerner and graduate student guard Brennan Morris took charge on offense by combining their efforts to score 34 points, which allowed Aronson and Cohen to take a facilitating role, racking up 13 assists.

Stewart was another bright spot in this game as he played 17 minutes and scored 10 points while grabbing four rebounds.

The Jumbos dominated the boards, grabbing 14 more rebounds than Lesley and shooting 40% from the 3-point line.

Although the first half featured a close game where the Tufts went into halftime down 45–44, the Jumbos took control in the second half and crushed Lesley, building a lead as big as 23 points.

Although the win against Lesley points to signs of improvement for the Jumbos, they have disappointed so far this season, as they were ranked 11th in the country

COURTESY JARED MARSHALL

Tufts basketball players are pictured in their season opener on Nov. 16. They lost 92–71 to the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth. before the season started. They have a great deal of work to get done if they hope to win the NESCAC Championship

and make a playoff push. The team is still adjusting to playing without Rodgers and Linton is still tweaking the lineups to

find the right mix. NESCAC play starts on Dec. 7, when the Jumbos face off against Wesleyan.