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T HE T UFTS DAILY
VOLUME LXXXIII, ISSUE 35
MEDFORD/SOMERVILLE, MASS.
tuftsdaily.com
Tuesday, March 29, 2022
Somerville landlord sues students over Tufts Daily coverage by The Tufts Daily Mouhab Rizkallah, a Somerville landlord and orthodontist, filed a lawsuit in the
Massachusetts Superior Court against Alexander Janoff, the Daily’s editor in chief, and Emily Thompson, one of the Daily’s deputy news editors,
on March 9. The suit claims $50,000 for “emotional distress damages” in response to an article by Thompson that the Daily published on Feb. 11.
The entire case docket and other relevant information can be found online by searching the Middlesex County division of the
Ma s s a c h u s e t t s Su p e r i o r Court on masscourts.org. The case number is 2281CV01487. The full, unaltered text of the complaint is embedded below.
SPORTS / back
ARTS/ page 5
OPINION / page 7
Women’s lacrosse attains five-game win streak
Oak + Fort Refined promotes fashion sustainability in Boston
Margo Muyres: Waste is a worldwide problem
NEWS
1
FEATURES
4
ARTS & POP CULTURE
5
FUN & GAMES
6
OPINION
7
SPORTS
BACK
2
THE TUFTS DAILY | News | Tuesday, March 29, 2022
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Ballantyne, Lungo-Koehn and Wu convene for Solomont Speaker Series discussion by Amelia Colafati Staff Writer
Mayors Katjana Ballantyne of Somerville, Breanna LungoKoehn of Medford and Michelle Wu of Boston came together for a virtual discussion on March 22 in the latest installment of the Jonathan M. Tisch College of Civic Lifes Solomont Speaker Series. They discussed the challenges they face as women in politics as well as their plans to transform their communities. Mary Jeka, senior vice president and general counsel at Tufts, and Rocco Dirico, executive director of government and community relations at Tufts, moderated the discussion. In his opening remarks, University President Anthony Monaco spoke about the history that Ballantyne, LungoKoehn and Wu are making as female mayors. “For the first time in history, all of Tufts University’s host cities … are led by women mayors,” Monaco said. “What better way
to celebrate Women’s History Month than a conversation with three women making history?” Jeka asked the panelists about the Equal Rights Amendment and why it was historically contentious. In her response, Ballantyne mentioned the weight of gender and societal norms. “Over time the traditions, rules and norms had different expectations for women,” Ballantyne said. “I can certainly say that the expectation coming from my family and even my parents — there were definite gender norms.” Wu also spoke about gender norms and the value of changing public perceptions of what is possible. “I truly believe that the biggest barrier in the Boston area … is our sometimes misinformed belief that we can’t do more,” Wu said. “We’re not only thinking about how we change things in this moment but how we are adjusting our frames of what we expect leadership to look like.”
The mayors were then asked about how they have worked to implement diversity-conscious policies. Lungo-Koehn pointed to statistics to discuss the diversity of new hires for Medford city government. “25% of our workforce has been from diverse populations, and we’ve had a number of people that speak a second language,” Lungo-Koehn said. “That is our goal: to make the city representative of the community we serve.” Wu was asked about the challenges of balancing public and private life. Recently, protesters have set up outside her private residence to harass her in the early morning and throughout the day. “As we continue to see the increased polarization and politicization of issues like public health and democracy and voting rights nationally, it does seep into the interactions we have locally as well,” Wu said. “I hope that, as Boston and
our sister cities model what it means to not just deliver bold policy but create an inclusive empowering politics, we can have an impact in reshaping what the political dynamic is in a broader sense too.” Jeka asked the mayors about their vision for the future of transportation in their cities. “The primary focus … is [to] invest in people,” Ballantyne said. “[This] needs to be a people-centric world. [We must] make sure our most vulnerable communities have connection and access to transit … [and] restore Somerville back to a place where residents and their families can live with social, economic, environment and transit justice.” Ballantyne also mentioned that there is much to still achieve when it comes to public transportation equity in the region. “We should celebrate our shared achievements, absolutely, but we also need to keep worksee MAYORS, page 3
News
Tuesday, March 29, 2022 | News | THE TUFTS DAILY
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Women mayors discuss increasing gender diversity in politics, future of their communities MAYORS
continued from page 2 ing for transportation equity,” Ballantyne added. The mayors also discussed the need for more affordable housing in their communities. “We need a variety of different levels [of affordable development] to make sure everyone has the ability to afford housing,” Lungo-Koehn said. “People just
need to be educated. … We do need development here, we need affordable housing, there’s a crisis in the commonwealth.” Wu echoed Lungo-Koehn’s sentiments. “We are looking at every possible angle where the city at the local level can make a difference in this issue while recognizing that this is very much impacted by state and feder-
al investments and policies as well,” Wu said. Ballantyne expressed support for new zoning laws and mandating that portions of new housing be designated as affordable to counteract the affordability crisis. In response to an audience question on the use of research to inform public policy, the three mayors explained how academic research has influenced
their decisions during the pandemic. Lungo-Koehn specifically acknowledged the value Tufts’ research had on guiding Medford’s COVID-19 response. The mayors discussed the women in their lives that inspired them to go into politics. “It’s my mom and the culture that she fed,” Ballantyne said. “I didn’t know it would lead to politics.”
Wu named Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren as her inspiration. “I would not be in politics without Senator Elizabeth Warren,” Wu said. “[She] really gave me the ability to see and think that maybe someone like me, who had never been exposed to politics growing up, might be able to stay the same, true, real person, as well, in this business.”
KIANA VALLO / THE TUFTS DAILY
Clockwise from top left: Medford Mayor Breanna Lungo-Koehn, Boston Mayor Michelle Wu, Somerville Mayor Katjana Ballantyne and Tufts Senior Vice President Mary Jeka are pictured during a Solomont Speaker Series event on March 22.
This Week in COVID-19: Cases decline during spring break, Tufts plans to lift mask mandate by Flora Meng and Alex Viveros
Deputy News Editor and Science Editor
COVID-19 cases declined drastically at Tufts as students left the Medford/Somerville campus for spring break. The university reported seven new cases on Friday and 21 in the week before. The average
number of COVID-19 cases on the Medford/Somerville campus has gone down around 72% over the past week with an average of three students testing positive per day. There were 49 individuals in isolation on Friday. This data may be skewed by the significantly decreased
campus population over the past week. While Medford cases have been on the decline, Somerville, Middlesex County and Massachusetts are seeing a slight rise in COVID-19 numbers. The average number of positive tests in a week went up by around 6% in Somerville,
40% in Middlesex County and 18% in Massachusetts on Friday. Tufts recently announced plans to lift several COVID-19 restrictions gradually throughout several weeks in April. Most significantly, surveillance testing will be replaced with symptomatic testing and indoor masking will be option-
al by the third week of April. Despite plans to loosen restrictions, Tufts will maintain its ‘testing-out’ policy, requiring students to receive a negative COVID-19 test to leave isolation. The university also noted that restrictions will only be lifted if the rate of cases remains low following spring break.
4 Tuesday, March 29, 2022
Ulee Wintle Maker’s Space
There’s no such thing as a creative type
T
he other day, I was watching a furniture-making video that was thematically centered around creativity, specifically upon the distinction between creative and uncreative ‘types.’ In the video, the creator argued that though he himself did not feel like a creative type, he could still experiment and explore within his craft and eventually make
Features something artistic and beautiful. Later, while on break (hallelujah!), I heard a family member lament the fact that she was not — and had never been — creative. I, for one, think that’s ridiculous. I don’t believe there’s such a thing as a creative type. We are all creative; it is what makes humans so resourceful, after all. People tend to look at creativity as a skill, and in some ways, I get that. For instance, it must be worked at and honed. If you aren’t given the chance to express yourself freely, especially at a young age, you may end up uncomfortable within that realm. Even still, many people exercise creativity without even realizing it. While it’s
often connected to the arts, creativity is not limited by tangible products. You can think creatively, love creatively, live creatively. Creativity brought us computers, solves mathematical equations, and creates new tastes and new sights. Even creative personal hygiene practices have the capacity to make many new and interesting smells — I know, I live with five male roommates. The late psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, who wrote “Creativity: The Psychology of Discovery and Invention,” defines creativity as more than just a type of person or a skill to learn. Here’s his well-known quote: “Creativity is a central source of meaning in our lives.
… Most of the things that are interesting, important, and human are the results of creativity … [and] when we are involved in it, we feel that we are living more fully than during the rest of life.” Thus, creativity is less a skill and more a way of thinking and of experiencing life within the cosmos. Maybe you don’t make furniture or music or art like I do, but that doesn’t mean you aren’t creative. Cooking is creative if you depart from the recipe. Movement (dance, athletics, etc.) is creative. Innovation is creative in whatever field it is used. Sure, not everyone has the desire or the talent to make a beautiful painting, but every human does have
tuftsdaily.com the ability to be creative and exercise that ability often. And that’s a good thing! We tend to create problems just about as fast as we can solve them. Creativity helped us to survive natural predators, climate and disease, and it’s necessary for our increasingly uncertain future. If you’re one of those people lamenting your lack of a creative spirit, stop. It would be a more worthwhile endeavor to figure out what makes you excited, angry, passionate and fired up. Your creative outlet is probably in there somewhere, just waiting to be fostered. Ulee Wintle is a junior studying political science. Ulee can be reached at ulysses.wintle@tufts.edu.
ARTS & POP CULTURE
tuftsdaily.com
Tuesday, March 29, 2022
Oak + Fort Refined: Sustainable clothing in Boston by RaiAnn Bu
Assistant Arts Editor
Oak Refined by Oak + Fort opened on March 25 in the Prudential Center in Boston, demonstrating sustainable fashion holistically through the decor of the store, clothing materials and company transparency. The Oak Refined pop-up in Boston is one of a kind, its clothing made with sustainability in mind with the backdrop of the store created through recycled and locally sourced materials, reflective of the brand’s emphasis on sustainability. Inside, the store is lined with a minimalist plywood backdrop and columns of recycled pressed juice bottles, subverting the environment in which we shop to include what we previously recognized as trash. Intertwining the decor with the store’s identity, key furnishings like its tables feature recycled cotton from returns and old merchandise. In the center stands their symbolic greenhouse, a small-plant-enthusiast-sized structure, which asks customers what they do for sustainability. The store maintains a museum exhibition feel with placards lining the greenhouse of the company’s values and practices. The design is distinctly ‘millenial’ with minimalist clean creams and neutral stylings. This is all to lure in its clear target audience of women in their 20s who prefer Alo Yoga over Lululemon. Conveniently, the pop-up store is located just neighboring Aritzia, a sister-like brand with a similar target demographic, inviting browsing women before or after their Aritzia splurge. To dive deeper into the brand itself, Oak + Fort is a women-founded Canadian brand carrying men’s’ and women’s clothing. Prices of pieces range around $40 to $200. It is integral to note that most of its items are not made sustainably and use materials such as polyester and nylon (both notorious materials for their environmental impact). There is a clear distinction with production between their main line of clothing and Refined, its newest environmentally conscious release. This separation is not clearly made within their website sustainability transparency, citing their practices and accolades for the Refined line with no mention of the complete col-
5
lection. Whether intentional or not, one should view Oak Refined as markedly different from their main products in terms of sustainability and intention. As for the merchandise, similar to the design, Oak Refined is an on-the-pulse capsule of recent trends. The line features sought after pieces of the working millennial girl uniform such as ballerina-like bodysuits, biker shorts and pastel loungewear. Each piece is consciously trendy, yet neutral. The ephemerality of the pieces does call into question the true sustainability of the store’s mission, teetering on the line of consumption versus conservation. However, it can be argued that the store features many basic clothing elements with timeless qualities to be worn again and again. What the store lacks is size and variety. As one of the smaller stores located in the Prudential Center, Oak Refined is limited in its collection, displaying more of basic pieces such as tees and leggings in a variety of different colors. Pieces are more simple and common to find in stores catering to similar age groups, such as Abercrombie & Fitch and Aritzia. But the popularity of these items demonstrates their high demand, and Oak + Fort offers itself as a sustainable alternative. In terms of sizing, the store in person and online carries only ‘straight sizes’ (XS to XL), lacking in inclusive sizing. Though the items tend to fit larger, the store is in no way fitted to cater to all sizes, lacking plus-sized options and featuring primarily straight-sized models. Lack of inclusive sizing among sustainable brands has more connotations than lack of sizing within fast fashion brands. Exclusive sizing limits the sustainability movement to only a certain population, negating its ideals. It makes shopping sustainably much more difficult for larger individuals, monitoring who can and cannot participate in environmentally friendly lifestyles. Visit Oak Refined in search of comfortable yet appropriate sweatpants and modern classics. The store offers a competitive alternative for current fashion trends, with reasonable prices marking comparatively lower than that of other sustainable brands without sacrificing quality. Alternatively, visit just to browse the different approaches to conscious shopping.
Henry Chandonnet A Compendium of Actors
Ana de Armas: The actress and the image
T
COURTESY WIKIMEDIA COMMONS
The Prudential Tower in Boston is pictured.
he 2020–21 season was gearing up to be the breakout of Ana de Armas. After gaining critical acclaim for her leading performance in “Knives Out” (2019), de Armas hit a career jackpot: a Marilyn Monroe biopic, an erotic thriller with Ben Affleck and even a starring role as the newest Bond girl. This is, of course, until almost all of those films were delayed in release with the pandemic or even off-loaded to streaming services. So what happened to Ana de Armas? Is she the burgeoning star of acting that we all thought, or has she just created a strong media narrative for herself? It would be foolish to argue that some of de Armas’ star-power doesn’t come simply from the paparazzi story that she creates. If not from “Knives Out,” you likely know de Armas from her turn as star of tabloids and gossip blogs, which reported on her relationship with Ben Affleck. Affleck and de Armas met on the set of “Deep Water” (2022) and soon became a media hit. They were spotted getting coffee from Dunkin’ and sporting their matching heart necklaces. Out of this media frenzy even came off-shoots, like “Ana de Armas Updates” (@armasupdates), a de Armas fan account on Twitter that would mock her and Affleck’s inability to wear masks and was ultimately blocked by de Armas. Thus, to say that the Ana de Armas spotlight comes entirely from her acting prowess would be false: She’s created a gossip circus around her, one that elevates her star. In the acting department, de Armas holds strong — though maybe not a straight-and-narrow path to leading stardom, de Armas makes the most of all her projects. “Knives Out” is exemplary of this; de Armas puts great work into the film, presenting as an innocent, shy onlooker who must roll with the punches. Still, “Knives Out” was an ensemble-based movie, so an audience member may not leave thinking of a singular performance. Though de Armas certainly created a strong character in the film, it would be a stretch to call the film her star-making turn. In a more singularly leading role, de Armas shines opposite Affleck in the long-awaited “Deep Water.” This performance shows a different side of de Armas, filled with thrill and sexuality. This performance, however, is hindered by the ultimate failure of the film’s narrative. Thus, “Deep Water” may not be de Armas’ turn to hardcore actor either, merely because it won’t get enough engaged viewership. So what made Ana de Armas’ celebrity status — her acting or her image? Likely a bit of both. It would be gauche to say it was all in the media coverage, as she’s put out good performances. Still, her role in the public eye cannot be ignored. It will be interesting to see whether de Armas can get her star turn, moving from celebrity to full-blown actor, or if she will be forever stuck within this swinging pendulum of half-successes. Henry Chandonnet is a first-year studying political science. Henry can be reached at henry.chandonnet@tufts.edu.
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THE TUFTS DAILY | Fun & Games | Tuesday, March 29, 2022
F& G
tuftsdaily.com LATE NIGHT AT THE DAILY Sam: “No gift is worth 6 hours at the Daily.”
F u n & G am e s
SUDOKU
LINDA C. BLACK ASTROLOGY
Aries (Mar. 21–Apr. 19) Fortune favors a well-considered plan. Articulate a dream. Share the vision and possibility of it. Look for lucky opportunities and find them. Imagine perfection.
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Monday’s Solutions
CROSSWORD
a hairbrush.
Recycle me.
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Opinion OP-ED
We need to change the way we manage waste by Margo Muyres This year, the Education for Public Inquiry and International Citizenship class run by the Institute of Global Leadership at Tufts has been guided by the theme “Problems without Passports.” As an environmental studies and international relations major, the relevance and urgency of this framework is evident. Environmental scholars increasingly cite the interconnectedness of the global ecosystem, which calls for understanding an ‘instance’ of environmental degradation on a wider spatial and temporal scale. Just as the effects of climate change are dispersed over time and space to be felt unevenly by those who have had little hand in causing it, pollution and toxicity created in one place will not be neatly contained out of sight and out of body. Many experts and academics are calling for the recognition of a new geological age, the Anthropocene, characterized by the ways some humans have fundamentally transformed Earth systems. This new epoch of human-produced alterations highlights our global interconnectivity, whether that be through inescapable remains of nuclear radiation, global warming, ubiquitous microplastic pollution, changing nitrogen and phosphorus cycles through fertilizer use, or inducing the sixth mass extinction. Thus, former U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan’s call for broadening our lens of international issues to address “problems without passports” is strikingly relevant in global environmental justice movements. While there have been many cases of environmental injustice within the U.S., the perception of our country as a leader in environmental protection is misleading and narrow. Using a wider lens to examine practices within the U.S. elucidates the role that our country plays in allocating environmental harm to other states in our international system. A blatant case of this
can be seen in the way the U.S. has traditionally exported waste to less wealthy countries. This pay-to-pollute system inequitably reallocates the most immediate burden of environmental harm onto others based on class, which is tied to historic and ongoing colonial configurations and social constructions of race. The way in which the economic gains of this waste production are realized by the U.S. while the costs are placed on others and rendered invisible and ‘external’ show a clear case of global environmental injustice. In the past five years, China and other Southeast Asian countries banned the import of many solid wastes from foreign countries and have even sent contaminated plastic wastes and exported trash back to their countries of origin in Canada, the United Kingdom, the U.S. and Australia. While domestic legislation on waste management in the U.S., such as the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, already seeks — though imperfectly — to address waste disposal, inclusive international agreements still prove illusive. Though 187 countries signed onto the Basel Convention of 1989, which sought to govern international waste trade, it has fallen short in practice; the United States failed to ratify the treaty, though it eventually reached a similar agreement with other OECD member countries. The lack of binding international agreements that seek to curb not just waste trade but also waste production has allowed developed countries to continue exporting toxicity. Marine plastic waste further highlights this issue, as oceans largely unclaimed by states face an epidemic of pollution with no formal voice in global governance. The full life cycle of plastic, from fossil fuel extraction, transportation and reallocation to its permanency on Earth, necessitates a multiscalar lens and transnational cooperation. So while environmental standards
seem to be improving within the continental United States, a more global perspective shows that people in developing countries now shoulder the burden of the wastes which the Global North has demanded to be produced. This broader understanding of environmental harms in our globalized world gives a more accurate depiction of the problems we must collectively address. International waste redistribution can act as a more tangible example of interconnectivity and global environmental injustice, helping us to conceptualize and address the existential threat of global climate change. This issue is similarly driven by developed countries to the detriment of others. The technology necessary to move away from fossil fuels exists affordably, though we still must consider where the materials are coming from and where our electronics will end up. Understanding our world as interconnected, with an environmental harm in one location still impacting the lives of those in another place and even another time, allows us to plan for and envision a more equitable future — one that ideally limits the severity of the Anthropocene. These complex issues that transcend constructed state borders through globalized supply chains and an inherently global ecosystem demand close and collaborative examination. The 2022 Norris and Margery Bendetson EPIIC International Symposium seeks to create space for this deliberation and problem solving by bringing together experts and university students from across the globe. It will take place on March 31 through April 2 and will feature speakers who will address these environmental and international concerns along with many other “Problems without Passports.” Margo Muyres is a senior studying international relations. Margo can be reached at margo.muyre@tufts.edu.
7 Tuesday, March 29, 2022
Stephany Sestini The Biggest Misconceptions About College Life
Where you’ll meet ‘the one’
D
uring my moving day as a freshman, I remember walking up the stairs and catching a glimpse of who I know today as my husband. As soon as our eyes met, I knew he was the person I was going to spend the rest of my life with,” my cousin said. Almost everyone has heard a passionate and cheesy story about someone who met the love of their life in college. Whether it described the fascinating, first eye contact they made with their future significant other across the foyer or the accidental cliché bump into their soulmate while grabbing food at the dining hall, the notion of meeting ‘the one’ in college has been around for years. Throughout my first day of my freshman year, I recall a particular instance that was heavily influenced by this idea of meeting ‘the one.’ When bringing four heavy boxes to the entrance of my residential building, I remember facing the grand challenge of keeping the boxes from falling to the ground while attempting to tap my key card to unlock the door. Witnessing my obvious struggle, another male college student approached me and helped me with my boxes, carrying them for me until we reached my dorm room. Not only did his chivalrous act and charming smile impress me, but more so did the thought that maybe this was the beginning of the story of how I met ‘the one.’ Flashing forward to the present, I never saw or encountered that boy again. While some people might indeed meet the person who they will spend the rest of their life with in college, that idea doesn’t apply to the vast majority; in fact, many people will meet their future partner years after they graduate from college. This misconception often encourages students to deprive themselves, as has happened frequently with me, from creating relationships with new people they meet on a daily basis. Disposing of unrealistic college-related stereotypes and popular misconceptions is key to truly allowing yourself to enjoy every second of the experience prompted by your four years of higher education. ‘Living in the moment’ is one of the only cheesy mottos that actually provides achievable and adequate advice for undergraduate students. While it seems almost impossible to live every day without being affected by romanticized societal ideals, recognizing their existence is the first step to making more self-informed choices. Meeting ‘the one,’ your soulmate, the love of your life or whatever label you choose to utilize is a goal for many. Whether you will meet them during the course of your undergraduate career or at another moment of your life, they will find a way to cross your path. The college experience, however, is about so much more than finding one person; rather, it’s about the connections you create with the new people you meet and the challenges and rewarding moments you face throughout the college journey that help you become the person you desire to be. Stephany Sestini is a first-year who has not yet to declare a major. Stephany can be reached at stephany_sestini_hickey@ tufts.edu.
Sports
8 Tuesday, March 29, 2022
Sam Dieringer The Step Back
A SuperSonic Revival
A
s the walls of the old KeyArena in Seattle crumbled in 2006, then-majority owner of the Seattle SuperSonics and former chairman of Starbucks Howard Schultz had a decision to make. To avoid the massive undertaking of renovating the team’s arena, Schultz sold the Seattle SuperSonics to a separate investment group with the intention of keeping the Sonics in Seattle. However, Schultz quickly realized that his business partners did not have the same intentions. In a stunning move, the new owners relocated to Oklahoma City and renamed the franchise to the Thunder in 2008. This development rocked Schultz, the NBA and most of all, the city of Seattle. As one of the largest basketball markets in the country with teams in each of the three other major sports, fans have never truly gotten over the dramatic vanishing of their Seattle SuperSonics — until now. In recent years, rumblings permeate throughout the league about a potential return of the franchise that once vanished 14 years prior. As a result of revenue loss from the COVID-19 pandemic, rumors have grown regarding the first NBA expansion since 2004. As NBA Commissioner Adam Silver keeps expansion on the table as a possibility, Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell affirmed a push by the Seattle municipality for a SuperSonics return stating that he feels good about the potential return of an NBA team to Seattle. With momentum building for an ultimate return to the NBA stage, what could the SuperSonics reentry mean for the NBA? Seattle’s place in NBA history is large and overbearing. The SuperSonics joined the NBA in 1967 and immediately began to foster the brightest NBA talent, including the likes of Lenny Wilkens, Spencer Haywood and then-young head coach Bill Russell. In 1979, the Sonics also won their first and only NBA title. However, what the SuperSonics may be most known for in their history is their 1990s run with All-Star tandem Gary Payton and Shawn Kemp and their battles against Western Conference powerhouses like the Lakers and Suns in the ‘90s. As the team had just drafted rookie Kevin Durant in 2007, they clearly were set to make a massive impact in the next decade. One can only imagine the impact a revived SuperSonics culture would have on this era of the NBA. From a more practical perspective, expanding the league to bring back the SuperSonics and other new franchises would require reshuffling to balance out the conferences. This could look like moving fringe Western Conference franchises like the Memphis Grizzlies and New Orleans Pelicans to the Eastern Conference. With growing markets across the country, a need to make up for lost revenue and a more globalized game overall, expansion is a logical next step for the NBA. As more doors open to this possibility, there is no doubt that a SuperSonics revival is overwhelmingly a huge plus for the league and its future. As the league ponders its next move, fans around the world and an eager Seattle fanbase anxiously await the long overdue return of their beloved franchise, the Seattle SuperSonics. Sam Dieringer is a first-year who has not yet declared a major. Sam can be reached at samuel.dieringer@tufts.edu.
tuftsdaily.com
Women’s lacrosse wins 5 straight games, returns to NESCAC play by Isaac Karp
Executive Sports Editor
Since losing their home opener to Colby College to start off their 2022 campaign, Tufts women’s lacrosse won five games in a row. While most of their spring vacation consisted of traveling on buses for hours, lacrosse practices and games, the Brown and Blue held onto their top 10 national ranking and won each game by at least a four-goal differential. In their most recent game against No. 18 ranked Trinity College (Conn.), the Jumbos displayed their dominance on both sides of the ball, holding the Bantams to five goals while netting 13, securing the victory. The first period was all credited to senior midfielder Anna Clarke, who went ballistic by scoring an unassisted hat trick in the span of 15 minutes. The Bantams bottomed two goals of their own throughout the period keeping the score a close 3–2 in favor of the Jumbos. Clarke, a Division III Preseason firstteam All-American, noted the holes she saw in Trinity’s defense. “Their defense wasn’t necessarily making the adjustments that could have been made to stop our motion. And so, I just
found myself in the driving position on those first three goals,” Clarke said. Tufts broke away in the second half as they hunkered down defensively and increased their offensive output by scoring five unanswered goals. Freshman midfielder Caroline Conaghan led the charge with a free position shot to put the Jumbos up by 2. Sophomore midfielder Madeline Delaney, freshman attacker Margie Carden and senior attacker Mae Briody all got in on the action while Conaghan went for another goal to bring the total score to 8–2 by the end of the second. Clarke described this change of momentum in favor of Tufts. “I think we were trusting each other, trusting our one versus one defense, sending the slides when we needed to and executed our game plan pretty perfectly, which was exciting to see,” Clarke said. The third period looked like the first 15 minutes of the game as the Jumbos scored three times while the Bantams netted two goals. Carden and midfielders Sami Rothstein and Grace Frerichs, a junior and sophomore, respectively, all combined for the three goals, giving Tufts an 11–4 lead. The Tufts team contained players across all four class years that got playing
Tufts senior midfielder Kathryn Delaney rushes past three Williams players in a game on March 6.
time. This effort to involve such a large roster and the ability of the younger players to contribute heavily has been a major strength for this team. Clarke believes that everyone on the team has been given the confidence to play well. “I think whether you’re a senior or whether you’re a freshman and you’re on the field, we all have each other’s backs,” Clarke said. The final period featured the least action as Tufts scored two times and Trinity managed to net one goal. The Jumbos outscored their opponents in every period of this game, and two players, Carden and Clarke, scored hat tricks. Carden’s third goal came in the last second of the game off an assist from sophomore attacker Lucy Hodge. Carden continues to build on her incredible freshman season as the Jumbos keep winning. Clarke likes the direction her team is moving in, but she still needs to see more as the season progresses if they are to make a deep playoff run. “I think, as a team, we haven’t played our best game of lacrosse yet, which I think is an exciting thing,” Clarke said. The Jumbos next play on Wednesday, March 30 against MIT, as they look to maintain their win streak.
MAC CALLAHAN / THE TUFTS DAILY
