The Tufts Daily - Friday, March 1, 2019 by The Tufts Daily

WOMEN’S TRACK AND FIELD

Why the 91st Academy Awards were a hot mess see ARTS&LIVING / PAGE 3

Team races to 3rd place at Div. III Championships

Celebrating our journalism, this week and always see OPINION / PAGE 6

SEE SPORTS / PAGE 7

THE

INDEPENDENT

STUDENT

N E W S PA P E R

TUFTS

UNIVERSITY

E S T. 1 9 8 0

T HE T UFTS DAILY

VOLUME LXXVII, ISSUE 26

Friday, March 1, 2019

MEDFORD/SOMERVILLE, MASS.

tuftsdaily.com

Expert on US-Europe relations Karen Donfried sees rift in transatlantic ties by Joe Walsh News Editor

German Marshall Fund President Karen Donfried believes the United States’ relationship with Europe is as crucial as ever, even though America is retreating from the international order it helped build. Donfried called for a recommitment to transatlantic alliances by reforming them into a “new West” at a talk hosted by The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy’s Russia and Eurasia Program yesterday. She described these tectonic shifts in the U.S.-Europe relationship to an audience of about 30 people. She has split her last 18 years between the German Marshall Fund of the United States — a nonpartisan think tank focused on North AmericaEurope relations — and public service for former President George W. Bush’s State Department and former President Barack Obama’s National Security Council. Her organization’s work to promote transatlantic cooperation has become no easy feat in recent years, she said, with mounting skepticism of every aspect of U.S.-Europe relations. While each successive American president has brought his own perspective on the international system, Donfried explained, President Donald Trump is more disruptively skeptical of the country’s trade and security deals than his predecessors. “He wants to be clear that U.S. national security will no longer be undermined by what he sees as bad deals,” Donfried said. “For President Trump, alliances are not something enduring. They’re something transactional.” Donfried noted that Trump’s grievances with Europe span from trade and climate policy to national security and foreign policy. On trade, security-minded tariffs on European steel and aluminum have irked the country’s closest allies, and in foreign policy, Trump has withdrawn from the nuclear deal with Iran despite Europe’s continued resolve. Trump also withdrew the U.S. from the Paris Agreement, an international commitment to limit climate change. Trump’s message on security cooperation is somewhat mixed, Donfried noted. The president has criticized

Please recycle this newspaper

Clouty 37 / 29

/thetuftsdaily

some members of the North American Treaty Organization (NATO) for not contributing spending enough on national security, viewing NATO as an unequal partnership that burdens the United States. Still, Trump reaffirmed Article 5, a NATO provision stating that an attack on one member state is treated as an attack on all members. “Our actions on that front have actually been quite different from some of the things the president has said,” Donfried said. In response to an audience question, Donfried said it is reasonable to expect European nations to spend more on defense, but the situation is nuanced. She noted European NATO members recognize the need to increase their defense spending, though some countries have not hit NATO’s 2-percent-ofGDP target. Donfried argued that this skepticism of U.S.-Europe relations represents a structural change that is fundamentally different from previous policy-minded debates. Trump is a symptom of a wider rift, not a root cause, she said. The most significant global shift in recent years, Donfried said, is the rise of China, which has correlated with a relative decline in American power. Amid this transition, she noted, the U.S. under Trump’s leadership has begun abandoning the status-quo international alliance system, even though the U.S. anchors this system and most European allies support it. “The United States is the one lashing out at this rule-based order that we created,” Donfried said. “The lead nation in this system, arguably, has gone rogue.” Another fundamental shift is the increasing instability, disunity and division in Europe, Donfried says, with the United Kingdom speeding toward an exit from the European Union and authoritarian populism on the rise throughout the continent. Donfried noted that the United States has shown a disinterest in helping to mend these divisions. In fact, Trump has stated his support for Brexit. “We’ve become an agent furthering Europe’s divisions,” Donfried said. Donfried added that European states’ responses have varied. Despite these growing divisions, Donfried remains optimistic that a For breaking news, our content archive and exclusive content, visit tuftsdaily.com @tuftsdaily

tuftsdaily

JOE WALSH / THE TUFTS DAILY

Karen Donfried delivers a speech at the Cheryl A. Chase Center on Feb. 28. robust U.S.-Europe relationship is still practical. NATO remains important to U.S. security interests, she said, noting that the only time Article 5 has ever been invoked was to support the United States after the Sept. 11 attacks. Europe and North America are also closely linked economically, she said. “If you look at the facts, the fundamentals are compelling for the U.S. relationship with Europe,” she said. “Our economic health is very much intertwined with a successful Europe.” Donfried believes U.S. and Europe can reinvigorate their relationship if they commit to reforming institutions like NATO and the World Trade Organization that underpin their ties, making them nimbler and more rele-

vant to the present day. For example, she said, NATO should ensure it meets the growing threat of cyberwarfare. Beyond that, Donfried added that the U.S. is rightly concerned about overextending itself and should use its power prudently. Ultimately, Donfried argued, shifts in U.S. power have made a strong relationship with Europe more crucial than ever. She says th e United States should not address its international challenges on its own. “The U.S., in meeting the challenges out in this world, will be most effective if we can bandwagon with our allies,” she said. “The logic of working with allies makes the U.S. stronger.”

NEWS............................................1 ARTS & LIVING.......................3 FUN & GAMES.........................5

OPINION.....................................6 SPORTS............................ BACK

THE TUFTS DAILY | News | Friday, March 1, 2019

THE TUFTS DAILY Elie Levine Editor in Chief

EDITORIAL

David Levitsky Anita Ramaswamy

tuftsdaily.com

Former NFL player Wade Davis speaks about diversity, inclusion

Managing Editors Luke Allocco Jessica Blough Austin Clementi Charlie Driver Jenna Fleischer Juliana Furgala Kat Grellman Abbie Gruskin Liza Harris Zachary Hertz Gil Jacobson Rachael Meyer Cathy Perloff Seohyun Shim Hannah Uebele Joe Walsh Alejandra Carrillo Robert Kaplan Noah Richter Jilly Rolnick Alexander Thompson

Grace Yuh Costa Angelakis Jenna Fleischer Sean Ong Michael Shames Fina Short Sidharth Anand Amelia Becker Mark Choi Sarah Crawford Claire Fraise Jacob Fried Mitch Lee Ellie Murphy Ananya Pavuluri Libby Langsner John Fedak Tommy Gillespie Steph Hoechst Setenay Mufti Chris Panella Rebecca Tang Julian Blatt Stephanie Hoechst Christopher Panella Danny Klain Amanda Rose Yas Salon Aneurin Canham-Clyne Arlo Moore-Bloom Yuan Jun Chee Ryan Eggers Liam Finnegan Jeremy Goldstein Savannah Mastrangelo Maddie Payne Haley Rich Brad Schussel Josh Steinfink Sam Weidner Julia Atkins Tim Chiang Jake Freudberg Noah Stancroff Helen Thomas-McLean Alex Viveros Daniel Nelson Madeleine Oliver Christine Lee Anika Agarwal Ann Marie Burke Mike Feng Ben Kim Max Lalanne Meredith Long Julia McDowell Evan Slack Kirt Thorne Caleb Martin-Rosenthal Ann Marie Burke Annette Key

Associate Editor Executive News Editor News Editors

Assistant News Editors

Executive Features Editor Features Editors

Assistant Features Editors

Executive Arts Editor Arts Editors

Assistant Arts Editors

Executive Opinion Editor Executive Sports Editor Sports Editors

Assistant Sports Editors

VIA WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

Wade Davis is pictured. Investigative Editor Executive Photo Editors

by Alejandra Carrillo

Staff Photographers

Assistant News Editor

Executive Video Editor Video Editors

PRODUCTION Daniel Montoya

Production Director Ryan Eggers Catalina Mengyao Yang Mia Garvin Jordan Isaacs Maygen Kerner Aidan Menchaca Kiran Misner Alice Yoon Isabella Montoya Myshko Chumak Justin Yu Caroline Bollinger Mary Carroll Rachel Isralowitz Nathan Kyn Ali Mintz Nihaal Shah Liora Silkes Avni Ambalam Rebecca Barker Simone Lipkind Chloe Lyu Ethan Resek Ryan Shaffer Aadhya Shivakumar Filipa Sturm Russell Yip Abigail Zielinski Deepanshu Utkarsh Esra Gurcay Rebecca Tang Asli Akova Ercan Sen Amy Tong Mitch Navetta Amanda Covaleski Olivia Ireland Lillian Miller Chris Panella

Executive Layout Editors Layout Editors

Executive Graphics Editor Executive Copy Editors Copy Editors

Assistant Copy Editors

Executive Online Editor Executive Social Media Editors Social Media Editors

Assistant Social Media Editors Outreach Coordinator

BUSINESS Olivia Davis Executive Business Director

Tufts Office of the Provost hosted a discussion titled “Intentional Diversity and Inclusion,” with Wade Davis, former NFL player and public speaker on gender, orientation and racial equality, yesterday in the ASEAN Auditorium. The program was co-sponsored by the dean of Arts and Sciences, the Bridging Differences Initiative, the Arts, Sciences and Engineering Diversity Fund and the Athletics Department. This is not the first time Davis has spoken at Tufts. He delivered a talk about his experience as an openly gay athlete in 2013. In an interview with the Daily prior to the event, Associate Provost and Chief Diversity Officer Rob Mack said that Davis has spoken at Tufts before and that his impact in the community was great. “It would be really helpful that someone with the right message could come back and continue the conversation going,” Mack said. “I am excited that he will be a part of Tufts again this year.” Through Davis’ presentation, Mack said he hopes students have an opportunity to think about diversity and inclusion in a new way and to think about how to celebrate differences and prioritize inclusion in their lives. Mack opened the event by detailing Davis’s successful career as a public speaker and his prominent role in the #MeToo movement and Time’s Up campaign. Davis is a consultant for professional sports leagues in areas related to racism, sexism and homophobia. He leads inclusion-training sessions for

coaches and emphasizes the importance of engaging men around gender equality and equity. “He is coming to us with an amazing background and perspective,” Mack said. Davis began his speech with a discussion about intersectional ity and the significance of the term. He described intersectionality as an account of systems of power and rules of society, whether through actual or informal laws. “What’s interesting about the term of intersectionality is that we actually use it, but we don’t know who created it and its impact,” he said. “When you don’t know that a black woman created this term because another black woman was sitting at the intersection of sexism and homophobia, we become complicit in the erasure of the intellectual labor of black women.” Davis also highlighted the current state of the political climate in the U.S. and the marginalization of black women. “We live in a country also where black women are the most dismissed, the most forgotten, the most disrespected and the most marginalized group in this country … we must take action to uplift them.” He recalled moments in history where black women have not been treated equally and with respect, referencing Ida B. Wells and, in 2015, Sandra Bland, to raise the point that black women have been consistently marginalized. “We don’t know the history of not just women, we don’t know the history of black women,” Davis continued. “We live in a day and age where the erasure of women’s labor is common … We don’t learn the names of women who have helped to create this world.”

Throughout his speech, Davis also spoke about closing down the distance between ourselves and others. “There is a gap between you and that person who is different from you and that gap the only way it can be closed is by love,” he said. After he ended his discussion, he opened the floor to questions from members of the audience. Jared Smith, a student success advisor and the assistant director of the Bridge to Liberal Arts Success at Tufts program, asked about Michael Sam, the first openly gay football player to be drafted into the NFL. Regarding Sam’s career and decision to be open about his sexuality, Davis emphasized Sam’s desire to control the narrative that reporters and the NFL would create about him. “When Michael Sam invited the world in he was forced to because reporters found out that he was gay, so they were going to write a story about him … He tried to control the narrative and his own story,” Davis said. “When you go into the NFL and you don’t have people who care for you, you learn very quickly that the NFL is a business.” Davis ended the discussion with a quote by Alice Walker: “I think it pisses God off if you walk by the color purple in a field somewhere and don’t notice it.” He encouraged all to live in the present and take risks. Davis stressed the importance of students getting out of their comfort zone. “The more that you risk, the more that you learn that the world isn’t as dangerous as you thought it was, that people aren’t as different as you thought you were, that we’re actually really alike,” he told the Daily.

Friday, March 1, 2019

ARTS&LIVING

tuftsdaily.com

The 91st Academy Awards: Did you expect anything other than a hot mess? by John Fedak and Christopher Panella Arts Editors

The 91st Academy Awards last Sunday were full of memorable moments. From historic — and long overdue — wins for black women in non-acting categories to a sultry “Shallow” performance that sparked plenty of online chatter, it seems the 2019 Oscars were not a ceremony to be forgotten. Viewers agreed: the 91st ceremony saw a 12 percent increase in viewership from last year. That being said, there were some definite outrages and snubs; don’t worry, we’ll get to the “Green Book” (2018) Best Picture controversy, but there are also plenty of other things the Academy messed up this year. For one thing, “Bohemian Rhapsody” (2018) winning four Oscars, the most awards of the night, feels like a crime. The film, a perfunctory attempt at a Freddie Mercury biopic which received a great deal of criticism for its portrayal of Mercury, his life and his sexuality, was the worst-reviewed film to be nominated for Best Picture since “Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close” (2011). Sure, a fan of “Bohemian Rhapsody” could argue against its historical inaccuracies by saying that Rami Malek’s portrayal of Mercury was spot-on — he lip-synced for two hours while wearing fake teeth, so maybe not that good — but let’s not forget that the credited director has a long list of sexual assault accusations involving underage boys. Controversy aside, the movie was a nice two-hour distraction but hardly worthy of a Best Picture nomination. Thankfully, Bryan Singer, the director of “Bohemian Rhapsody,” has been notably absent throughout awards season, and he was also missing from all acceptance speeches for the film. Malek himself declined to mention Singer during his acceptance speech, but don’t worry: Malek suggested in an LA Times interview that he wasn’t ever informed about the allegations against Singer, possibly due to a “supernatural intervention” from Mercury’s ghost. We truly can’t make this stuff up, but apparently Malek can. We all know the Best Actor category was one of the worst in years, but the win should have gone to Christian Bale for “Vice” (2018). At least he actually did a good job. While it would have been nice for the Academy to pull “Bohemian Rhapsody” from consideration like the GLAAD Awards did, they didn’t. Rather, they gave it multiple wins, including Best Editing, and anyone who has seen the film knows that the editing looks like it was done at 11:59 p.m. the night before on a Red Bull-induced rampage. It seems the Academy did not do the best job considering what “Bohemian Rhapsody” winning means to the survivors of Singer’s assaults. In the time of #MeToo, this was simply disrespectful and disgusting. Of course, other wins were shocking and confusing as well.

ISABELLA MONTOYA / THE TUFTS DAILY

An Oscar award is pictured. The award for Best Live Action Short Film went to “Skin” (2018), a brutally violent and tasteless film — one that feels familiar in its approach to the racist underbelly of white America but decides to equate a Nazi father and his gang of friends beating up a black man to a group of black men tattooing that Nazi’s entire body. It’s a strange lesson on racism being taught, a weirdly crude political take on how violence is found on both sides. It feels like the Academy fell for “Skin,” thinking it was politically relevant in our day and age. Unfortunately, this is not the only thing they fell for this year.

There were some good things: Olivia Colman had perhaps the most heartwarming acceptance speech of all time, and even better, she celebrated her win by renting a party bus and driving around Los Angeles all night with five of her friends. She is a true queen. Spike Lee’s first Oscar win for Best Adapted Screenplay for “BlacKkKlansman” (2018) was long overdue and his speech was incredibly passionate, featuring an homage to black history. Production designer Hannah Beachler and costume designer Ruth Carter were the second- and third-ever black women to win

non-acting awards, and there had never been a black male or female winner before in their respective categories. Alfonso Cuarón won Best Director for his work on “Roma” (2018), which was a well-deserved win for the director and another nod towards “Roma’s” greatness. Finally, Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper delivered the steamiest performance we’ve ever seen, and honestly can they please just date already? Also, their song was great live. Now, for the tea you’ve all been waiting for. “Green Book,” another critically divisive film, won Best Picture, Best Original Screenplay and Best Supporting Actor for Mahershala Ali, the latter of which we wish were a second win for “Moonlight” (2016). “Green Book” is not only historically inaccurate, it is a flat-out fantasy of Don Shirley’s life. Shirley, a JamaicanAmerican pianist, is the subject of the film, and his family was extremely upset about the “lies” that “Green Book” tells about him. The family reported that they were not contacted by the studio until after development of the film. Like … what? Between “Green Book” and “Bohemian Rhapsody,” it seems historical inaccuracies were a winning ticket this year. Cue the eye-rolls. In this way, giving “Green Book” Best Original Screenplay almost feels right. It is original, after all, since it presents a fabricated version of Shirley’s life. “Green Book” has also had quite a terrible press tour: Remember when Viggo Mortensen used the n-word in a Q&A? We do. At the end of the day, “Roma” or “The Favourite” (2018) would have been much better picks. It’s aggravating that the Academy saw a positive story about ‘friendship’ in “Green Book” and decided to reward that. But why do they keep rewarding these out-oftouch, tasteless films? Remember “Driving Miss Daisy” (1989) and “Crash” (2004)? How can the Academy go from rewarding indie darling “Moonlight,” a story about black men that felt rich and expansive and just oh, so good, to a film like “Green Book,” which is quite literally none of those things? End rant. Overall, the 91st Academy Awards were a very mixed bag. The host-less ceremony was covered nicely by a variety of celebrities, and “Black Panther” (2018) deservedly winning three awards was so nice. Sure, there were historic wins, and it is always nice to hear Gaga’s iconic outburst in “The Shallow,” but that Best Picture win, coupled with the many other hiccups, tainted the entire ceremony. Here’s to next year, which will most likely be a battle between Quentin Tarantino’s “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” (2019), Wes Anderson’s “The French Dispatch” (2020), Martin Scorsese’s “The Irishman” (2019) and Greta Gerwig’s “Little Women” (2019). Oh, and that Popular Film category? Give it to “Star Wars: Episode IX” (2019), or else.

TV REVIEW

Netflix’s ‘The Umbrella Academy’ carves new niche in superhero television by Julian Blatt

Assistant Arts Editor

In March 2013, fans of “My Chemical Romance” were heartbroken upon receiving a tweet from frontman Gerard Way announcing the official breakup of the beloved emo rock band. Now, nearly six years later, Mr. Way has once again played a vital role in the creation of a pop-culture phenomenon, albeit not in the manner one might expect. The new Netflix show “The Umbrella Academy” (2018–), based on a series of

comic books written and illustrated by Mr. Way, can best be described as a surprising but delightful cross between “The Avengers” (2012) and “Sense8” (2015–2018). In 1989, 43 women around the world spontaneously give birth despite not having been pregnant the day before. Eccentric billionaire Sir Reginald Hargreeves (Colm Feore) adopts seven of the children and rigorously trains them to become a team of crime-fighting superheroes. Although they have long since gone their separate ways, five of the seven return to their childhood

home after learning their father has died, only to discover that the entirety of human civilization will be destroyed in eight days. Though the series certainly struggles with pacing — all of these events occur in the pilot alone — it is clearly the characters, and not the plot, that are intended to serve as the driving force of the show. We are first introduced to our protagonists in a beautiful and clever succession of scenes that appear like tableaus in how they manage to capture the essence of each character with only a few brief shots:

Luther (Tom Hopper) completing a daring mission on the moon; Allison (Emmy Raver-Lampman) posing on the red carpet at her movie premiere; Diego (David Castañeda) rescuing a hostage family; and Klaus (Robert Sheehan), leaving rehab for the nth time. However, in between each of these moments, the camera returns to Vanya (Ellen Page) performing a gorgeous violin recital in a gigantic concert hall without an audience. Thus, we immediately

see UMBRELLA ACADEMY, page 4

THE TUFTS DAILY | Arts & Living | Friday, March 1, 2019

Drew Weisberg Hidden Panels

‘Secret Wars’ (2015)

his week I thought I’d do something a little special. Since the Marvel Cinematic Universe just took home its first Oscar gold this past Sunday, I think that we ought to celebrate the Marvel universe as a whole … by watching it get destroyed. Strap in gang: We’re talking about “Secret Wars” by Jonathan Hickman (2015). “Secret Wars” is the product of a several-year-long story arc that ran between the two Avengers titles that Jonathan Hickman had been writing: “Avengers” and Vol. of “New Avengers.” The former focused on the traditional band of Captain America, Iron Man, SpiderMan — you know, all the favorites. “New Avengers” focused on characters like Black Panther, Doctor Strange, Namor and other powerful characters banding together against “incursions,” threats to earth from other dimensions. Ultimately decisions in both books came to a head with all but the main Marvel universe being destroyed. Which brings us to the intro of “Secret Wars,” with the end of the Marvel universe as we know it (cue R.E.M.). Thankfully, the book doesn’t end there, as a new world has been forged from the remains of the dead universe to form “Battleworld.” There are a few survivors who escaped the world’s end in a life raft including Mr. Fantastic, Black Panther and the Spider-men (Peter Parker and Miles Morales). Opposing them is “The Cabal,” a villainous group established earlier in Hickman’s Avengers run whose members include Thanos and a now-belligerent Namor. Other heroes and villains do exist in the world, but they’ve been scattered across the new world, which is divided by massive walls to keep each universe contained. Watching over the various kingdoms is the Thor Corps, cosmically powered cops each wielding their own version of Mjolnir. But who watches “The Watchmen?” Who created Battleworld and who’s pulling the strings? None other than Mr. Fantastic’s old nemesis, Doctor Doom, now known simply as “God-King Doom.” It’s a stranger-in-a-strange-land story where Mr. Fantastic and Black Panther may be one step ahead, but always inches away from certain demise. “Secret Wars” has what I would consider perfect pacing, and there is both a sense of great urgency while also allowing for more quiet or reflective moments. This kind of pacing perfectly sets up the climatic final battle in the book’s last chapter, and whoo boy, is it a battle. The final chapter is filled with moments that will make any Marvel fan squeal with excitement. Not to give too much away, but I think I can sum it up best in six words: Black Panther wielding the Infinity Gauntlet. As the late, great Stan Lee would say, “Nuff said.” “Secret Wars” is an epic, plain and simple. If someone came to me and asked me what Marvel’s “Lord of the Rings” look like, I’d hand them a copy and tell them to prepare themselves for an action-packed tribute to one of the greatest comic companies in history that will leave them chanting “Encore!”

Drew Weisberg is a first-year studying psychology and film and media studies. Drew can be reached at mitchell.weisberg@tufts.edu.

‘Umbrella Academy’ takes new view on superhero genre UMBRELLA ACADEMY

continued from page 3 develop an understanding of the personal identities of the characters, making the show’s focus on their interactions all the more enrapturing. The fact that the cast is both incredibly talented and diverse also helps draw viewers in, as it allows the series to be not just more enjoyable but more believable as well. One would probably not expect a series about troubled siblings tasked with saving the world to be humorous, but “The Umbrella Academy” is often quite hilarious, mostly because it manages to be self-aware without coming across as pretentious. For example, the father’s assistant and prior caretaker of the children is a monkey who speaks and dresses like an intellectual, elderly man (complete with a wooden cane). So it does not come as a surprise when we learn that their mother is a robot. However, in terms of entertaining dialogue, Robert Sheehan truly steals the show. As though being a drug addict is not already enough to create a dichotomy between Klaus and his siblings, he is also foul-mouthed and flamboyant, and apparently possesses no other objective then to provoke reactions from the others. Indeed, the dialogue in “The Umbrella Academy” is rapid and feisty, lending itself perfectly to the fastpaced nature of the show. Occasionally, however, we need to rest and recharge, and “The Umbrella Academy” knows that. One of the most charming scenes in the pilot occurs when the series puts itself on pause. Although the characters have just returned home, and tensions are high, they begin to dance to the soundtrack, gradually gaining enthusiasm, until they can no longer contain themselves. They let themselves get completely lost in the music, vanquishing the stress from their bodies. Towards the end of this performance, the camera slowly zooms out, and we see all five simultaneously, sep-

COURTESY IMDB

A promotional poster for Netflix’s ‘The Umbrella Academy’ is pictured. arate in their own rooms and yet together as one. They may be savoring the moment

a bit too much, but go easy on them. After all, they still have eight days left.

Friday, March 1, 2019 | FUN & GAMES | THE TUFTS DAILY

tuftsdaily.com

F &G FUN & GAMES

LATE NIGHT AT THE DAILY Izzi: “Happy birthday, Daniel!”

SUDOKU

LINDA C. BLACK ASTROLOGY

Pisces (Feb. 19–March 20)

Rest and recharge with peace and natural beauty this month with Venus in Aquarius. Allow yourself more quiet time to consider fantasies, dreams and plans.

Difficulty Level: Getting a call from the printing press when you’re already cozy in bed.

Thursday’s Solutions

CROSSWORD

6 tuftsdaily.com

Opinion

Friday, March 1, 2019

DAILY WEEK

Letter from the Managing Board: Looking back on Daily Week To our readers, In case you didn’t notice, the Tufts Daily has been talking a lot about itself this week. While keeping up with our usual content, we have added Tufts Daily-focused content to our paper and social media feeds in order to share more about the work we do and give our readers an inside look into the process. With the help of a dedicated Managing Board and Executive Board, we ensure that our publication aggregates the best of Tufts students’ writing, photography and graphic design into a comprehensive daily paper. We consider this week an important opportunity to share content that looks back on our history, honoring our per-

sistence as a financially independent and entirely student-run media organization that will be celebrating its 40th birthday next year. Our Daily Week content introduced you to the arts editors and the Managing Board. You have had a chance to get to know athlete-journalist Jeremy Goldstein, look at photos from last week’s Executive Board bonding and look back at the top five news stories of the semester so far. In today’s media landscape, publishing a print paper is increasingly challenging. Though we made the necessary financial decision last semester to print four (instead of five) issues each week, we are proud that we continue to produce a daily paper. We

remain the smallest college in the U.S. with a daily print paper. The staff of the Daily represent a wide variety of backgrounds. We pride ourselves on our ability to make jobs at the Daily accessible to any Tufts student who expresses interest. Each semester, we offer stipends to members of our staff who demonstrate financial need. Still, we are aware that we have miles to go in terms of inclusivity, and we have been working with the Office of Equal Opportunity and other campus organizations to ensure that our coverage is balanced, fair and representative of the Tufts community. Financial independence is critical to our operations because it protects our

editorial independence. Because we are not — like many papers — reliant on subsidies from the institution we report on, the information we provide is as unbiased as possible. We encourage you to donate to our publication so that we can keep doing what we do without financial assistance from the university. Visit tuftsdaily.com/donate to make your contribution. Sincerely, Managing Board Elie Levine, editor in chief David Levitsky, managing editor Anita Ramaswamy, managing editor Daniel Montoya, production director Luke Allocco, associate editor

Before anything else, we are all human. It’s time to embrace diversity. Let’s put aside labels in the name of love. Rethink your bias at lovehasnolabels.com The Tufts Daily is a nonprofit, independent newspaper, published Monday through Friday during the academic year, and distributed free to the Tufts community. The content of letters, advertisements, signed columns, cartoons and graphics does not necessarily reflect the opinion of The Tufts Daily editorial board. EDITORIALS Editorials represent the position of The Tufts Daily. Individual editors are not necessarily responsible for, or in agreement with, the policies and editorials of The Tufts Daily. OP-EDS The Op-Ed section of The Tufts Daily, an open forum for campus editorial commentary, is printed Monday through Thursday. The Daily welcomes submissions from all members of the Tufts community; the opinions expressed in the Op-Ed section do not necessarily represent the opinions of the Daily itself. Opinion articles on campus, national and international issues should be 600 to 1,200 words in length and submitted to opinion@tuftsdaily.com. The editors reserve the right to edit letters for clarity, space and length. All material is subject to editorial discretion and is not guaranteed to appear in the Daily. Authors must submit their telephone numbers and day-of availability for editing questions. ADVERTISING All advertising copy is subject to the approval of the Editor-in-Chief, Executive Board and Executive Business Director.

Sports

Friday, March 1, 2019 | Sports | THE TUFTS DAILY

Women’s track and field places 3rd at New England Div. III 9 Championships

ALINA STRILECKIS / THE TUFTS DAILY

Junior Julia Gake leads in the 400-meter dash at Ellis Oval on April 21, 2018. by Jake Freudberg

Assistant Sports Editor

The women’s track and field team achieved their goal of finishing in third place at the New England Div. III Championships Friday and Saturday behind two event winners: first-year Hannah Neilon and junior Rhemi Toth. Overall, the Tufts squad earned 67 points, trailing MIT in second with 87.5 points and Williams well-ahead in first with 140. The Jumbos have placed either third or fourth at the meet every winter since the 2015–2016 season. “If we had doubled and tripled and really abused our kids, it would have taken an unbelievable, spectacular performance to win,” coach Kristen Morwick said. “So, we were shooting for third, and we got third. We had some ups and downs, but overall, I think the team really rallied and had a great two days.” Neilon won the 600-meter race with a personal best and Tufts season-best time of 1:36.33. The Jumbos went 1–2–3 in the event, as first-year Luana Machado followed close behind in second with a personal record at 1:36.58 and junior Julia Gake in third at 1:36.88. According to Neilon, she worked together with Machado and Gake in the race, which contributed to their collective success. “With track, you usually think about it as being an individual sport, but we all worked

with each other to push each other to go fast,” Neilon said. “Julia Gake ended up running on the outside of the track for a little bit to make sure that no one from other teams could get around us, which was a really selfless move there. The 600 was the highlight of the day for [me], and I’m really proud of how we did as a team.” Toth, the only other event-winner for the Jumbos, won the 1k race with a time of 2:55.57, a personal record and Tufts season best. Aside from the first-place finishes, several Jumbos put up impressive individual performances. Senior co-captain Kelsey Tierney ran a personal best and season best in the 3k with a time of 9:47.48, currently the sixth-best in the nation for Div. III. “That was probably the best race I’ve had in my life,” Tierney said. “That was one of those moments that makes it all worth it. It was also a really big team moment — everyone on the team knew how important that was.” Senior co-captain Evelyn Drake also earned a personal best and Tufts season best in the weight throw at 51’10”. In the pentathlon, senior Kylene DeSmith’s 3,031 total points were a personal best and Tufts season best that put her in sixth place. Meanwhile, in the 800-meter, junior Lauren Diaz posted a time of 2:17.28, good for sixth place. Coming into the meet, Morwick had expected the relays to contribute signifi-

cantly to the team’s scoring. Despite some last-minute shuffling, the 4×800-meter team of Diaz, Toth, senior Julia Noble and sophomore Scarlet Bliss placed second with a time of 9:25.38, a Tufts season best. In the distance medley relay, however, the team of Noble, sophomores Kristen Andersen and Olivia Martin and junior Lydia Heely placed eighth with a 12:42.21 finish. “We had an injury issue that affected both the [distance medley relay] and the [4×800meter relay], so we had to pull our anchor leg out of the [distance medley relay] and just find someone,” Morwick said. “I think we could have been in the top four teams, but with that little snafu, we were just hoping to eke out a point or two. And then, we had to pull one of our pentathletes [Bliss] from finishing the pentathlon, so she could be a [4×800-meter] relay leg the next day. So, some funky stuff there, but I feel like people responded well.” In the 4×400-meter relay — one of the team’s strongest events this year — the team of Neilon, Machado, Gake and first-year Tara Lowensohn put forth a respectable effort, but did not punch their ticket to a championship spot just yet. They placed in fourth at 4:00.47, but did not improve on their season-best time, which could prove to be costly as they are on the cusp of qualifying for the NCAA Championships.

“In the [4×400-meter relay], we definitely wanted to place top three and possibly secure a spot at nationals and that didn’t happen,” Neilon said. “I think we were pretty burned out from our races earlier in the day, but overall, I think we still did well because we scored points in that race and we have another shot this Saturday to qualify for nationals.” This weekend, Tufts hosts the Last Chance Qualifier meet at the Gantcher Center, which, as the name implies, is the last chance for athletes to secure a spot in the NCAA Championships. Unlike the New England Div. III Championships, for the NCAA Championships there are no qualifying times; rather, the top 12 relay teams and the top 17 individuals in the country are selected to compete in their respective events. According to Morwick, about 20 athletes will compete this weekend. Morwick hopes to give the 4×400-meter and distance medley relays a better shot at earning a spot at the NCAA Championships, as well as DeSmith in the 60-meter hurdles, Drake in the weight throw and possibly a few distance runners in various events. This year, the NCAA Championships meet will be hosted at the nearby Reggie Lewis Center in Roxbury, Mass. March 8 and 9.

TRASHING ONE EGG WASTES 55 GALLONS OF WATER

8 tuftsdaily.com

Sports

Friday, March 1, 2019

Men’s lacrosse gears up for start of season

EVAN SAYLES / TUFTS UNIVERSITY

Senior midfielder Nick Katz weathers a check from a defender in the second round of the NCAA men’s lacrosse tournament on May 9, 2018. by Alex Viveros

Assistant Sports Editor

As piles upon piles of snow descend onto campus, the Tufts men’s lacrosse team prepares to leave Massachusetts this weekend in the hopes of kicking off its season on the right foot. On Saturday, Tufts will travel to Clinton, N.Y. to face off against NESCAC rival Hamilton. Immediately afterwards, the Jumbos will travel to Cortland to battle the Cortland Red Dragons. Although the back-to-back away games to start the season are a phenomenon the Jumbos didn’t face last season, the desire to win remains as strong as it’s been in recent years. Coach Casey D’Annolfo — who is going into his third year as Tufts’ coach after graduating from Tufts in 2006 — shared the long-term goals for his Jumbo team this season and highlighted the expectations the team needs to meet to get there. “Our goals are to win the NESCAC and compete for a national championship,” D’Annolfo stated. “Our expectations are more small-picture — we’re really just trying to attack each and every single day, really just trying to take it day by day, so that when we get into one of those big situations, it’s not really a big situation, it’s just sort of the next best step for us.” Under the confident guide of D’Annolfo, the team has gone 31–8, winning 79.5 percent of its games, which currently stands as the best record for a coach in program history. Last year, the Jumbos capped off their season with an impressive 18–2 record, finishing third in the NESCAC behind rivals Wesleyan and Amherst. The successful 2018 season ended in a heartbreaking game against Wesleyan in

the quarterfinal of the NCAA championship tournament. The Cardinals went on to win the national championship. The Jumbos were down 6–3 to the Cardinals in the first half, but then-junior attacker Ben Connelly — who led the Jumbos with three goals in the game — scored to tie the game at 10-10 with 1:44 remaining in the fourth quarter. As the Jumbos prepared for a possible overtime game, their hopes to compete for an NCAA title were crushed. With 20 seconds remaining in regulation, then-senior midfielder and co-captain Taylor Ghesquiere scored Wesleyan’s winning goal. Following the goal, Wesleyan won the face-off and, seconds later, the game by a score of 12–11. Despite the disappointing end to the 2018 season, Tufts senior defender and co-captain Arend Broekmate spoke about the expectations the team has moving forward, emphasizing the promise the team showed last year. “We want to build off the success we had last year,” Broekmate said. “Obviously, it’s a different looking group, with some new [first-years] and the departure of last year’s seniors, but I think we have a lot of experienced people and a lot of hardworking young guys.” Indeed, the current Jumbo roster going into the 2019 season is nothing short of experienced. The Jumbos graduated 13 total seniors last year — including senior attacker Andrew Seiter (LA ’18), who was second on the team in goals with 50 — and D’Annolfo stressed the impact that the departure of so many defensive players has had on the team. “From a talent standpoint, obviously we lose our top three defensive midfielders in Zac Lesko, Holden Rosen Grupp, and Cam Irwin,” D’Annolfo said. “Connor

Lansdale was one of our captains, and probably the best defensive end in the country as far as I’m concerned, even though he wasn’t a first-team AllAmerican.” Despite the departure of said players, D’Annolfo also expressed his confidence in this year’s players to fill those roles. “Guys can go see those openings and do their best to fill them,” he said. “I think we’re a little bit ahead of the curve in terms of talent to fill those holes.” The current roster still includes huge playmakers that are sure to have an impact on this year’s season. On the offensive side of the ball, the Jumbos are led by the likes of senior co-captains and attackers Connelly and Danny Murphy, who together scored 106 of the Jumbos’ 333 goals of the 2018 season. Connelly led the team in goals with 61, while Murphy came in third for goals with 45. Likewise, Murphy, who last year was a second-team All-American, led the team in assists with 45, while Connelly came in second with 21. The Jumbo defense is also headlined by elite, experienced players at the position, with Broekmate and senior midfielder Henry Hollen standing as two forces to be reckoned with by opponents. They are joined by junior midfielder Nick Shanks, who was the team’s only first-team AllAmerican last season. Their defensive efforts, accompanied by those of junior goalkeeper Mason Pollack — who has a 56.3 percent career save percentage — will prove instrumental in capitalizing on the scoring power of the Tufts offense this season. Needless to say, expectations remain high for this Tufts team. Broekmate emphasized that in order to get to where they want to be, the team must stay

grounded by taking the season one game at a time. “[We’ve been] making sure we’re focusing on the little things we do that help us be successful on every play, and with that, we can’t get ahead of ourselves,” Broekmate said. “We can’t win the national championship right now; we’re going to have to beat Hamilton on Saturday and then Cortland on Sunday, and keep it rolling. So we’re just taking it day by day and focusing on the little things, the fundamentals, making sure we lock those up, and then the big things will take care of themselves.” This weekend, the Jumbos will see if they can capitalize on their offseason preparations in two back-to-back away games against Hamilton and Cortland. Although playing back-to-back away games can prove to be a challenge, D’Annolfo spoke about what he hopes to see from his team this weekend. “We don’t talk about how we’re going to play against a particular opponent in terms of a final score, it’s all about how well we can play as a team,” D’Annolfo said. “ It doesn’t matter who we’re going to play, it doesn’t how long the games are, what the weather is like, but rather it’s can we get to a game number one against Hamilton? Can we play great, and then do we have enough mental toughness to reset, readjust and then go out and play great for 60 minutes against Cortland? I think those are some of the big questions for us going into this weekend, and I think we’ve done a good job of preparing them for that.” On Saturday, the Jumbos will begin their quest towards competing for an NCAA title by traveling to Clinton, N.Y. for a 1 p.m. game against Hamilton. On Sunday, the team travels to battle against Cortland at 1 p.m.