tuftsdaily03.12.2015

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THE TUFTS DAILY

TUFTSDAILY.COM

thursday, march 12, 2015

VOLUME LXVIV, NUMBER 35

Where You Read It First Est. 1980

Tufts for Hillary discusses women in politics

by Gabriella Zoia Assistant News Editor

On Wednesday, March 11, Tufts for Hillary hosted a panel discussion entitled “Breaking the Glass Ceiling: An Analysis of Women in American Politics.”

Speakers included Deborah Schildkraut, a professor of political science; Virginia Drachman, a professor of history; and Ronna Johnson, lecturer in English. The discussion took place from 12:00 to 1:00 p.m. in the Terrace Room of Paige Hall.

Co-director and Co-founder of Tufts for Hillary Peter Estes, a senior, explained that the event gave attendees the chance to participate in a conversation about women’s political involvement.

“This event is going to be an opportunity for students to hear the perspectives of three outstanding Tufts professors on the current and historical trends of women’s involvement in politics, and to discuss this topic with the professors and each other,” he said.

Estes further explained that Tufts for Hillary aimed to increase campus discussion about gender and politics.

“This discussion of the role of gender in politics should be applicable and engaging across the ideological spectrum,” he told the Daily in an email.

Although the group is focused on raising awareness and support for Clinton, Estes noted that the group also focuses on the wider issue of women in politics.

“Secretary Clinton’s status as the front runner represents a significant moment for women’s involvement in politics, but when women represent less than 20 percent of our Congress — and even if we were at 50 percent that would hardly imply gender equality — there is clearly much work to be done,” he said.

Co-director and Co-founder of Tufts for Hillary Caroline Kimball-Katz took the lead in creating the panel, working closely with the professors to see CLINTON, page 2

kelvin ma / tufts university

Dean Alan Solomont greets Scott Brown, Tufts alumni and former U.S. senator, for discussion yesterday in the Alumnae lounge.

Former senator Brown talks bipartisanship, diversity

by Patrick McGrath News Editor

Former U.S. Senator Scott Brown (R-MA) took part in a discussion with Alan Solomont (LA ’70), the Pierre and Pamela Omidyar dean of the Jonathan

New group JumBodies promotes healthy self-image

by Nina Goldman News Editor

Two Tufts sophomores seeking a space to discuss body positivity have founded a new group, JumBodies, this semester.

Co-Presidents Emma Coltoff and Nikhil Nandagopal met during their first year on the Hill and spent much of last summer discussing body image issues on campus.

“We spent hours just discussing our own insecurities,” Nandagopal said.

A mechanical engineer and prospective cognitive and brain science major, respectively, Coltoff and Nandagopal described their commitment to body positivity as more personal than academic.

“It started more out of a personal interest,” Coltoff said. “I’ve struggled with body image.”

While Nandagopal said he had immense support as he struggled with body image issues, not everyone does.

“I was extremely vocal with my insecurities,” he said.

Nandagopal had attended meetings held by Tufts’ Counseling and Mental Health Services for those struggling with body issues and wanted to bring the sense of community he felt there to more people through JumBodies.

“I had found that it was really, really comforting,” he said. “We really want to harness that support.”

Coltoff explained that they see JumBodies as unique on campus, with its complete focus on body image set-

ting it apart from related groups such as Tufts Burlesque Troupe and Balance Your Life. Coltoff said she sees loving oneself as fundamental to anyone’s well-being.

“It’s really the most important thing you’re going to do in your whole life,” she said.

Furthermore, an unhealthy selfimage can create a host of other problems, according to Coltoff.

“It affects your social life … it affects your academic performance,” she said.

“If you don’t feel good in your own body, how are you supposed to focus on a problem set?”

Coltoff said the discussion group will go over ways people can see themselves positively.

“What do you love about yourself?

How do you practice self-love?” she said. “There are a million different ways that you can love yourself.”

Coltoff envisions the group creating an empowering photo-shoot under the hashtag #ReclaimTheMirror2015.

Nandagopal also sees the group hosting events such as pajama and boardgame nights to get people feeling at ease with themselves and each other.

“We want to make their own bodies a comfortable space for them,” he said.

The group also plans to host events critiquing how “beautiful people” are depicted in the media, according to Coltoff.

“They look great, but it’s not really them,” she said. “There isn’t a universal standard of beauty.” see JUMBODIES, page 2

Inside this issue

M. Tisch College of Citizenship and Public Service, yesterday afternoon in the Alumnae Lounge. The event was the sixth installment of the Tisch College Distinguished Speaker Series.

Solomont introduced Brown (LA ‘81), noting his time as a

student at Tufts and his “bipartisan approach” during his career in public service. He began the discussion by asking Brown what Tufts was like while he was a student and how see BROWN, page 2

Tufts researchers study new method of arthritis diagnosis Members of the Li Zeng Lab at the Tufts University School of Medicine (TUSM) and the Sackler School of Graduate Biomedical Sciences, in collaboration with Umar Mahmood’s lab at Massachusetts General Hospital, have been researching a new method of arthritis diagnosis for the past two years.

According to Li Zeng, associate professor in the department of integrative physiology and pathobiology at TUSM, this research primarily focuses on cartilage and its role in arthritis.

“The Zeng laboratory studies the mechanisms of cartilage tissue formation and degeneration,” Zeng told the Daily in an email.

Zeng explained that this research has led to a proposed new method of arthritis detection using newly developed imaging processes in an effort to detect osteoarthritis before the disease has a chance to progress to its more serious latter stage. She noted that 27 million Americans currently suffer from osteoarthritis and that earlier detection of the malady would be of significant benefit.

“Earlier diagnosis could lead to earlier treatment, reducing the physical, psychological and financial burden of the disease,” Zeng said.

Averi Leahy, an MD/PhD student at TUSM and the Sackler School, added that the imaging process will utilize a fluorescent imaging probe that will minimize the invasiveness of the treatment.

Zeng explained that the research carried out by her lab has been innovative especially in its exploration of the properties of the type of florescent imaging used: near-infrared fluorescence.

“The study is the first to demonstrate that near-infrared fluorescence — a spe-

cific type of light invisible to the human eye but possible to see with optical imaging — can be used to detect osteoarthritis changes over time,” she said.

Leahy explained that this infrared fluorescent probe was tested successfully on male mice; it was used to detect the progression of osteoarthritis in the animals.

“In this case, the ‘probe’ was a harmless fluorescent molecule that detected enzymatic activity leading to cartilage loss in the joint, a key characteristic of osteoarthritis,” Leahy told the Daily in an email.

As for possible future medical applications of this research, Leahy explained that the research is still only in its early stages. She said that although the diagnosis method has been successfully used on mice, it is still uncertain whether the method would be useful for human diagnosis.

“We hope that the work contributes to earlier diagnosis of osteoarthritis,” she said. “The study findings, when developed, might also contribute to analyzing the effectiveness of osteoarthritis treatments.”

According to Zeng, future research will include attempting to use the fluorescent probe for later, more advanced stages of osteoarthritis. Zeng hopes that the probe can be used as part of the treatment process as well as for diagnosis.

“Down the road, we hope to use the probe to screen for possible treatment options for osteoarthritis, or even help develop treatments for humans and animals (some dogs are prone to osteoarthritis),” she said.

—by Daniel Bottino

Today’s sections

TUTV prepares “Wave Jacked,” its newest webseries about a college radio show and a ragtag group of radio vigilantes.

Over spring break, Tufts will send a swimmer and diver to Texas to compete at the NCAA Championships.

see WEEKENDER, page 5

see SPORTS, back

News 1 Features 3 Weekender 5 Editorial | Op-Ed 8

Op-Ed 9 Comics 10 Sports Back

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The Tufts Daily

Thursday, March 12, 2015

News

Panel explores wide range of subjects related to women, politics CLINTON

continued from page 1

establish the best format for the event. By hosting a panel discussion that easily lends itself to a question-and-answer session, Kimball-Katz, a senior, hoped to address three different perspectives from the three panelists. “[ These] three professors … study the position of women in America from three different perspectives: the political, the feminist and the historical,” she told the Daily in an e-mail.

Before the event, KimballKatz noted that the panel discussion would cover a wide range of subjects related to women in politics.

“The discussion on this topic will be generated by women from different fields of study [that] will make for an interesting and extraordinary discussion for many students who may have approached this topic from one viewpoint,” she said. “This discussion will expose students to feminist theories, the history of the women’s movement, the

political research on the success of female political candidates and much more.”

Furthermore, Estes hoped that the panel would create an opportunity to discuss the challenges faced by Clinton and other female politicians.

According to senior and Tufts for Hillary member Sarah Perlman, Tufts for Hillary is seeking to engage with more students on campus by sharing knowledge, raising awareness and initiating dialogue.

“A bipartisan, interdisciplinary panel seems like the logical way to accomplish that,” she said.

Tufts for Hillary is also planning on hosting more events in the future, with a goal of creating a core of committed members, Estes said. “[Our] principle goal is to establish a strong base of involved members that will be ready to engage if and when a Hillary Clinton campaign goes live,” he said. “In doing that, we also feel that it’s important to engage the wider campus in dialogue about elections and politics in general.”

Jon Garcia / The Tufts daily

Tufts for Hillary holds a discussion with three faculty members focusing on women in politics on Wednesday, March 11.

JumBodies provides open space for honest discussion JUMBODIES

continued from page 1

JumBodies will be open to anyone who wants to discuss how they feel.

“Our mission is to be all-inclusive,” Nandagopal said. “This is a space for absolutely everyone.”

This includes men, who Nandagopal characterized as less likely to seek help

when struggling with healthy body image.

“It’s definitely something that does affect all genders,” he said.

While only 10 people attended JumBodies’ first general interest meeting last month, Nandagopal said that their Facebook posts reach as many as 800 users. He and Coltoff have received enough positive comments and sub-

missions that they plan to apply for official recognition through the TCU Judiciary in the fall.

“That kind of confidence comes from the kind of feedback we’ve received,” Nandagopal said.

While the unrecognized group cannot currently request funding or space for meetings, it has already started

minor initiatives on campus, including a poster in the Campus Center encouraging students to anonymously write down what they love about their body.

“We hope to encourage of climate of healthy body image and self-acceptance,” Nandagopal said. “This is a part of a healthy lifestyle.”

Brown reflects on work in Congress, goals for Republican party BROWN

continued from page 1

his time on the Hill impacted him.

Brown, who served in the U.S. Senate from 2010 to 2013, discussed the domestic problems he faced growing up and his decision to go to Tufts to live close to his family. He explained that he appreciated the markedly more diverse environment that Tufts provided, seen in his experience playing for a diverse Tufts basketball team.

“Through our diversity, that gave us this unique strength,” he said.

His experiences at Tufts and working in a diverse environment allowed him to think outside of his comfort zone and get involved in different extracurricular activities, Brown said. He added that he was able to connect with different

groups of people to better understand and appreciate the challenges they faced in their own lives, emphasizing the importance for students to be who they want to be.

“My suggestion to all of you is don’t be pigeon-holed,” he said.

Solomont asked Brown why his difficult upbringing did not encourage him to pursue a career with more material benefits and security, rather than public service.

“I didn’t choose public service,” Brown explained, noting that he went to law school after Tufts.

He noted that a negative experience with a selectman in Wrentham, Mass. encouraged him to run for office, and he was elected to Wrentham’s Board of Selectmen in 1995.

Kelvin ma / tufts university

Brown addressed questions from Solomont as well as audience members, discussing his time as a Tufts student and a U.S. senator.

Brown noted that this experience also helped him to develop his belief in the importance of time limits for public servants.

“Time limits are very, very important,” he said.

Solomont asked Brown about his experience as a Republican in Massachusetts — a traditionally Democratic state.

Despite his mother being on welfare and his tough upbringing, Brown said he supported the doctrine of former President Ronald Reagan in believing that those who work hard can have opportunities, start a business and grow.

“So I voted Republican at that point in time, 1980,” he said.

Brown noted that he also enjoys the competition of being part of the minority political party and considers himself a “fiscal conservative,” but said he has an “open mind” on social issues.

“I like being the underdog, quite honestly,” he said. “I don’t want to be like everyone else.”

Solomont also asked Brown about working across the aisle during his time in public service.

Brown explained that one key to his collaboration was just reading up on the legislation.

“I read the bills,” he said. “You got to read everything — every word counts …

If it makes sense, you do it.”

Brown cited the number of bills passed during his time in the Senate over a three year period compared to bills passed by Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), despite his being in the minority at the time. He added that in order to cooperate, first and foremost one must look at the person, avoiding judgment, and find a common ground.

Next, Solomont asked Brown about the translation of rivalries during his time playing basketball at Tufts to political rivalries.

“Some people believe politics is a blood sport, and it is,” Brown said, citing the amount of money spent on political elections. “I don’t look at my colleagues as rivals — I look at them as fellow senators from different parts of

the country that have different beliefs and strengths.”

Brown added that he looks to connect with his colleagues across the aisle, while many other politicians simply do not like one another and do not want to talk with one another.

Solomont asked Brown how Congress became so divided.

“I think it really started when they went home on weekends,” Brown said, noting that this decision “destroyed the fabric of the Senate.”

He added that Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Kent.) has sought to get the Senate back to regular order by letting Senate committees to do their jobs and allowing for more hearings, witnesses and possibilities for amendments.

Solomont’s next question was on what it would take for a Republican to win the presidential election in 2016.

Brown responded that such a candidate must take time to try to appreciate, respect and reach out to all factions and speak with voters from lower and middle classes to find answers that go beyond increased government control.

“I think that we as individuals can do it better,” he said, noting that the federal government is not a good steward of taxpayer money. “Individuals and businesses can do it better than the federal government.”

Solomont’s final question concerned Brown’s foreign policy views.

Brown said that the United States’ weakened status in foreign affairs began in Syria, when President Barack Obama drew a red line on humanitarian intervention and failed to follow through.

“Our foes don’t fear or respect us,” he said. “We always seems to be reactionary, not proactive. There are just so many instances.”

Brown emphasized the number of conflicts across the world now, including the conflict in Ukraine, the rise of Boko Haram and increased aggression from China.

“It’s very disheartening right now, and I’m really concerned about where we’re going in that regard,” he said.

Brown then answered pre-submitted questions from audience members.

Features

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tuftsdaily.com

Q&A: Robert Joseph, Adam Kochman on 2016 TCU budget

by Jake Taber

Executive Features Editor

This January, TCU senate announced that it was removing funding for off-campus travel from next year’s budget. The treasury said that a gradual depletion of its surplus fund, which, in addition to money from the student activities fee, has been supplying clubs with supplementary (i.e. not budgeted for) funding, made budgeting for national travel — and possibly regional travel — unsustainable.

The Daily sat down with TCU treasurer Adam Kochman and TCU President Robert Joseph to discuss the mechanics and recent history of TCU’s budget, the origins of its surplus and the reasons for its depletion.

The following is an abridged version of the interview.

Tufts Daily: To the extent that you can, talk about how the surplus came to be, and why it’s running out.

Robert Joseph: Around 2007, 2008 there was an embezzlement of the student activities fund. Essentially, a school administrator embezzled hundreds of thousands of dollars from the student activities fund, and several hundred thousand dollars of that were recovered, and the treasury had a large surplus of well over half a million dollars beginning around 2008, 2009, and around that time there was so much extra money that there was a survey put out to find out what to do with it. $230,000 [were] spent on a trips cabin at the Loj, and $100,000 [were] spent for renovations at the Rez, and those were big ticket items, but there were still several hundred thousand dollars left … that essentially led into 2009, 2010, 2011 when spending habits started to change.

Around that time we started to spend more money, because we saw, and students saw, there was a lot of money in this pot that was being left there and not being used for student activities … We started funding travel to places that were further away than we had in the past … airfare travel really began around 2011, and essentially we’ve been funding it ever since, but since then the amount of money we’ve had in the surplus has been gradually spent down.

TD: How close are we to being completely spent right now?

Adam Kochman: So the surplus, in around 2011 … was over $600,000. It’s currently under $250,000 … We’ve spent it down, and rightfully so, because there’s no need to have a surplus that massive.

Students at Tufts should be able to spend the surplus money that we have, but now it’s gotten to the point where we’ve spent too much and what we want to do is just kind of reassess once the new fiscal year resets, and that starts July 1 … Then, depending on how much money comes back in from the existing budgets currently for this fiscal year, we can have a much better judgement as to how much more money we have to spend.

TD: But the main source of money for the budget is the student activities fee: what is this, and why does it matter?

AK: The money that initially gets budgeted is all from the student activities fee. The student activities fee is built into your tuition … this year it’s $315 … 315 times however many students there are… is the money that goes towards all of that activity.

Within that is… the supplementary fund, that I budgeted for $100,000 at the start of this fiscal year from the student activities fee. This supplementary fund, when you see groups applying for money and getting money throughout the year… half of that came from the student activities fee, and the other half came from the surplus.

TD: Has the student activities fee increased with groups’ increased spending?

AK: [The student activities fee was] $288, in fiscal year ’11. In fiscal year 12, which was when the surplus was over $600,000 [and] neither of us were here… the climate was, on campus, “tuition fees are rising rapidly, really really high,” and the treasurer wanted to find a way to kind of help out with tuition costs.

So the treasurer at that time … just lowered the student activities fee. So it went from $296

Millions of dollars

Budgeted Expenses compared to Student Activity Fee Income by Fiscal Year (FY)

$1.811

$1.606 $1.575 $1.49 $1.44 $1.34

$1.109

Budgeted Expense Student Activity Fee Income

FY ’10

FY ’11

FY ’12

back down to $288, so over a two year period the increase was zero percent.

Now the university wants the fee to increase at the same rate as tuition, which is increasing at four percent … What I wanted to do for next fiscal year was to do a one-time fix [by increasing the fee by a higher percentage], and then continuously after fiscal year ’16, a 4 percent [annual increase], just like the university wants.

TD: If the student activities fee were to go up, you’d be able to fund travel.

AK: Regional. National travel is just unsustainable … National-related travel — that includes registration, and lodging and airfare — [and] $65,000 of [this year’s] $200,000 funding just went exclusively to that … If the student activities fee were to get increased to where I wanted it to be — [which would have been the] the one time fix — and then continuously going 4 percent, I’d have to crunch more numbers, but I don’t think this change would have happened like this.

TD: So when we’re talking about who makes those decisions and who vetoes those decisions, is that the administration?

AK: [The change] hasn’t been voted on yet, ultimately, at the very top, the board of trustees have to approve tuition … it has not been voted on, but it doesn’t look good for us to get this one-time increase.

RJ: We don’t have an answer to how much the student activities fee will be, when we’re budgeting for next year, right now. We realized that we were running out of funding to do this kind of stuff in December, and we let groups know at the end of January, pretty much a week or so after we came back to school, as soon as we possibly could — so that they can adjust for this budgeting season — and [to] ultimately give them seven months’ advance notice until the budget’s going into effect for next fiscal year.

AK: As soon as I started to see that the student activities fee dialogue was not going well, I immediately — we met as an executive board and this was what we came up with. Like Robert said, this is all about waiting and seeing how much money rolls back into the surplus on July 1.

TD: Why do you suspect that previous years’ senates didn’t see national travel as unsustainable from the start?

RJ: I think a large portion of that is due to the fact that we really started doing this in 2011, and back then most groups did not realize that you could come in for this kind of funding … I think this year we’ve seen more groups coming in for funding for national travel than we’ve seen in any other year prior to this, so I think it’s sort of the information that’s spread…

There were a number of other expenses that kind of added up very quickly … Two years ago, because Winter Bash had to get remodified into Winter Ball, and we had to do Fall Gala instead of Fall Ball, those events are much more expensive now than they were in the past because they have to be a little more

FY ’13

FY ’14

FY ’15

Data: Courtesy Adam Kochman, TCU Treasury Graphic: Shirley Wang / The Tufts Daily

upscale … in the attempt of stemming drinking culture.

AK: Major events like this got a major bump in the amount of money they cost, and student activities fee did not go up with them at the same rate.

TD: So in terms of the spending requests you got this semester, would you say that quite a few more groups requested funding from the supplementary fund than you expected?

AK: It got to the point where the majority of supplementary funding requests we heard every Wednesday night was for someone to travel off campus. That was not the case my freshman year, two years ago, that was not the case last year, my first year as treasurer …

[Supplementary funding request] meetings used to be from 8 to 9:30, at least when I was a freshman, [and] they now go from 8 to 11:30. So there’s just been an increase in requests in general, and travel, specifically national travel, has gone through the roof.

TD: So you’d say with greater student awareness of this large supplementary fund and the surplus that’s available, more clubs have said “Hey, we need to capitalize on this.”

AK: Exactly, so clubs start seeing … a group got $5,000 to fly to Seattle — “oh, we can do that,” or “oh we can do this for something else, not related to travel.”And so it was just sort of like a ripple effect, like a can of worms … everyone wants it.

And everyone has a right to [it] in the current format. The way we’ve been going, people should have been able to do this because we had the money to do it. If we always have the money to do this, I would love to be able to financially support people to fly across the country to a competition, that’s awesome, but it’s not something that is sustainable and it’s not something that we’ve always done, it’s something that we did because we had the means to do so.

RJ: It’s really easy to say yes to groups when we have the money, but it’s really, really hard to say, we can’t do this anymore.

TD: Were there discussions among the senate or members [of] the allocations board about curbing these requests? If so, when did that start working itself into the conversation?

RJ: So this was really something that we noticed in December, and one of the things that we discussed was that we can’t change the rules for this year in the middle of the year, we have to keep the rules consistent and keep them fair for all the groups that are coming in this year.

So in order to affect the rules for next year, we started it before the budgeting process, so we started it before budgets happened and that’s what we did in January, when we told all the groups, “we’re not going to be putting travel in budgets for now and that will get figured out down the road,” and so that way next year’s rules are consistent for everyone. People coming in at the end of this year still have the same opportunity to get funding as people coming in at the beginning of this year.

Lex Erath | Sugar & Spice

Incentives

L

ast week I took my first economics exam, and in the true model of an exemplary student, I dropped all else to cram for it for the preceding 48 hours. (This is of course the best way to succeed in life — nothing like a time crunch to get those brain juices flowing!) While this approach hopefully secured me a decent score, it also had the unfortunate side effect of causing me to walk around injecting nonsense into conversations like “Well I really don’t think you’re maximizing your utility that way…” Scout’s honor, I actually said that.

And got made fun of mercilessly.

Now, I know we’re not all econ majors and that most of you will never spout such rubbish, but if there’s one thing I can credit to my major, it’s my firm understanding of incentives. You see, the vast majority of people are entirely predictable and, thus, entirely controllable.

It’s all a matter of properly incentivizing them, and I’m here to show you the way.

One of the basic principles of economics is that people will try to maximize their “utility,” which basically means they’ll act in their own best interests, come what may. Of course, this is common sense; we all know what it’s like to try and find housing — every man for himself. But if you use this to your advantage, you’ll be able to out-utilize everyone else, and twist their incentives until your and their best interests line up.

Let me give you an example. We all know what it’s like to work in a group project, AKA the closest thing to hell that you’ll ever find spelled out in a syllabus.

The second your professor utters those dreaded words “and now let’s partner up…” you know you’re a goner. Group projects always end one of two ways: either your group consists entirely of slackers and you get a crappy grade, or else you’re the one Hermione in a crowd of Nevilles and end up burning the midnight oil to pull together a halfway decent attempt at the 11th hour.

But the trick to winning a group project is twofold. First, you must make it abundantly clear from day one that you have no intention of contributing in the slightest to the group’s success. This will differentiate you from the slackers who make some vague suggestions at the first meeting and then conveniently ghost out as the deadline approaches. But equally important is you making clear that the project is actually worth doing, and simply doesn’t affect you particularly. This can be accomplished with a few choice comments like “Failing a class is still on my bucket list, and this one’s a frontrunner!” or “Don’t you guys think it would be a cool social experiment to do everything wrong on purpose?”

Throw in a comment or two about your trust fund and voila! Group members will immediately label you as the one they should hide in the corner during the presentation, and you’re completely off the hook. What’s more, with slacker No. 1 position already claimed early on, everyone else will know they have to step up their game, and you might even walk away with a decent grade. All because you have now aligned your incentive (doing no work and getting a good grade) with theirs (having you do no work and getting a good grade).

Now, you may be thinking that this all sounds rather manipulative, and if you’re a softie it probably does. But hey, you say manipulation, I say persuasion. And if that doesn’t convince you that the dismal science is the way to go, just remember — economists do it with models.

Lex Erath is a junior majoring in economics and biopsychology. She can be reached at alexandra.erath@tufts.edu.

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Thursday, March 12, 2015

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Weekender

Christopher Todd Courtesy Imogen Browder

While the cast and crew were shooting “Wave Jacked” they made use of the high-quality equipment available through TUTV and the ExCollege.

TUTV to release new webseries 'Wave Jacked'

by Josh Podolsky Assistant Arts Editor

Broadcast television has, for a long time, staunchly held out against the internet revolution, instead choosing to keep its wares off the web for technical and legal reasons. The Average Joe found workarounds to these two hurdles long ago, and thus, in an absurdly simplified manner, the age of internet television was born. Lately, however, the holdouts have begun caving in, with even HBO announcing a standalone online service just this past Monday. Arguably more important than the transition of television to the internet is the creation of television for the internet; Amazon, Hulu, Netflix and RocketJump are just a handful of the better-known names of production companies developing content specifically for the internet. Among these players in the “internet television” genre is Tufts’ own Tufts University Television (TUTV), whose new show “Wave Jacked” premieres March 23.

“Wave Jacked” is the story of a motley crew brought together by a mission to restore justice to the airwaves by creating art. Jamie Dawson, played by senior Christina Moore, has always wanted her own college radio show. But just when the show is about to begin, it is stolen from her by the station manager’s girlfriend, played by junior Shannon Ludeman. It would be reasonable to assume that this is the end of the road for Dawson, but lucky for her, her housemate, Jack, is an engineer — an engineer who can build a better radio than the one at the station. Dawson and an unusual cast of writers, actors and, according to Edward Rosini, a mysterious “shroud,” proceed to put on a 1940s-style radio play every week. “Hijinks ensue,” co-director and co-writer Edward Rosini, a junior, said to summarize the result. “‘Wave Jacked’ is the touching story of creation, not only of

art,” said sophomore Orlando Economos, director of photography, “but also of friendships and relationships between an ensemble cast that comes together to create something truly great on the radio.”

The show has been a long time in the making. Rosini and co-writer junior Imogen Browder first conceptualized “Wave Jacked” while filming their first webseries, “Jules and Monty” (2014), which premiered last spring. The two creators left for winter break with a vision for their new series and returned to the Hill with the first draft of their script. While TUTV was putting the finishing touches on “Jules and Monty” before uploading it to YouTube, Browder and Rosini were polishing their script with Bare Bodkin, a collective on campus that promotes the development of original student-created theater works. “They provided super good feedback,” said Rosini. “The show changed a lot — for the better,” according to Rosini, during the time when he and Browder were workshopping with Bare Bodkin.

It was at the first reading of the “Wave Jacked” script that Bare Bodkin President Kira Patterson, a senior, first encountered the character she now plays in the finished production: Shiloh Roswell, the radio show’s hyper-introverted writer.

“She makes friends, something that she’s not really familiar with for the most part,” Patterson said of her character. Shiloh has an imaginary friend, “her only friend,” about whom both Patterson and Rosini were conspicuously vague — so look for this character named Alec, played by senior Drew Page, to add a special role of intrigue to the arc of the story. “There’s a love interest, and just friendship and things she hasn’t experienced,” Patterson says of her character’s plot line.

“It’s a comedy in the same way that Edgar Wright films are, where they falter between genres just because there’s so

Christopher Todd Courtesy Imogen Browder

much going on, but, at the end of the day, nobody dies, there’s not a funeral and there would be a wedding if this was 400 years ago,” Rosini said in defining the project. In short, “It’s a comedy.” Patterson added, “I have a scene with sock puppets.”

For many of those onboard the project, “Wave Jacked” was their first experience working on a webseries, let alone a recorded television show. Many of the actors have histories performing on Tufts’ various stages. For Rosini, directing the series and scaling his actors’ performances to the audience’s screens was a welcome challenge. “The way that stage acting works is that it’s big,” he remarked, “so you just have to scale it back for film a little bit, which is so much easier than doing the opposite and scaling a film actor up to a stage. Some of these characters are very very very big, but Kira and Christina did a wonderful job of portraying these very realistic characters, and it was wonderful to watch.” From Rosini’s perspective, the actors all put on Emmy-worthy performances. For Patterson, the more naturalistic style required by the show “was easier to grasp than the big ‘I am acting’ thing” that she often has to do on stage.

Radio, while aurally dynamic, is a visually static medium, and for Orlando Economos, the person behind the cameras, this stillness created additional challenges. “It’s a story of audio told visually, so how do you get that to come to life on the screen?” he posited. TUTV’s director, sophomore Ben Taylor, first approached Economos about taking the lead on shooting “Wave Jacked” over the summer. “He told me about the story, and I said ‘I’m in!’ without really knowing what I was getting myself into,” Economos said.

“In terms of bringing it to life on the screen, I had to be really conscious of the structure of the shots, how the camera was moving and if the shots were keeping the story interesting,” Economos said.

Economos and Rosini often collaborated on designing the show’s visual aesthetic.

“There was not a lot of direction [in the script] for what camera moves there should be, so I would come up with that.

Every once in a while Ed would have a specific idea about what he wanted, so I’d work with him to see how we could make that come to life.” Economos, minoring in film studies, broke new ground for himself during the filming. “I thought I knew about 75 percent, turns out I knew maybe 30 percent going in, so there was a decent amount of experimentation on the screen. ‘Wave Jacked’ has been the highest production value project I have ever worked on,” he said. “It’s one of the things I’m proudest of.”

It would be remiss to omit the role played by WMFO, Tufts’ own radio sta-

tion, in the creation of “Wave Jacked.”

For one, junior Ben Stern, who is deeply involved with WMFO, plays the engineer housemate, named Jack, who builds the radio that makes Dawson’s wave-jacking show possible. Stern also helped arrange for multiple scenes to be shot in WMFO itself. “There was a lot, a lot of collaboration with WMFO,” said Rosini. “As a part of this project, we are putting out a podcast that we recorded in Studio B, the sandbox recording studio at WMFO, and which will be released through the Tufts Podcast Network.”

The army of creative minds that converged to create “Wave Jacked” is a product of the Tufts community; the show is emblematic of what is possible when student organizations and even administrative services collaborate. “We have a lot of really amazing equipment at Tufts that is totally available to students if you know where to look,” Economos said. “The equipment we have is quite nice for the level of stuff that goes on here. A lot of it is available at TUTV and the ExCollege.”

As for TUTV, work has already begun on its next project, “High Spirits,” which will be released in fall of the coming school year. The plan going forward, according to Rosini, is for TUTV to have at least two shows per academic year, with a shorter series debuting in the fall and a flagship show premiering in the spring.

Episodes of this season’s premiere, “Wave Jacked,” are billed to span 10 minutes apiece, with a new episode arriving on YouTube twice weekly, part one on Mondays and part two on Wednesdays, eschewing Netflix’s strategy of uploading the entire season of a show at once. TUTV’s viewership has spanned beyond the Tufts campus for some of TUTV’s past productions, with over 14,000 views alone for the first episode of “Jules and Monty.” The trailer for “Wave Jacked” has already garnered close to 2,000 views with a publicity campaign that is almost entirely within Tufts social media circles. That said, “Wave Jacked” is written for a broad audience — although, according to Rosini, those within the Tufts community will enjoy a few Easter eggs.

The college cycle makes it challenging to produce shows across academic years, as senior students graduate and new students arrive, so “Wave Jacked” will be a single season affair. “I think it ends at a perfect spot, and people will be both satisfied and questioning, and I think that’s exactly where you want to leave it,” says Patterson. The changeover from year to year means that there is a constant need for new material — and, Rosini says, “Imogen Browder and I are already thinking of something else.”

“Wave Jacked” will premiere on March 23, the first day after spring break.

Thursday, March 12, 2015

The Tufts Daily

6

Weekender

Restaurant Review

Highland Kitchen serves American comfort food with a twist

by Dana Guth Arts Editor

Tucked away in the heart of Somerville, the entrance to Highland Kitchen is nondescript, denoted only by a sign that

Highland Kitchen 150 Highland Ave, Somerville, MA 02143

(617) 625-1131 $$ looks far older than the restaurant it marks. The doors to Highland Kitchen opened less than 10 years ago, but the joint’s American comfort food has become a staple and, indeed, a highlight in the Somerville restaurant menagerie.

Chef Mark Romano’s menu is eccentric but easy to navigate, as the majority of items are easily recognizable plates like a pan-roasted half chicken or a pulled pork sandwich. Recognizable shouldn’t be mistaken for commonplace, though; Highland Kitchen reinvents favorite meals in bold fashion. Jambalaya here includes the traditional shrimp, Andouille sausage and Tasso ham, but also adds duck confit to the mix. The vegetable pot pie isn’t just for plain ol’ turnips, parsnips and carrots – it’s also for golden beets and butternut squash.

Oh yeah, and it’s served in free form.

None of that “traditional pie presentation” to be found here.

At Highland Kitchen, a healthy number of dishes are changed out nightly. For all its creativity and fluidity, though, a handful of success stories have held a place on the menu for most of the restaurant’s existence. Buffalo fried Brussels sprouts are every bit as

Jacki Mo via justaddcheese.wordpress.com

Highland Kitchen twists American classic cuisine in exciting ways and features live music performed by a bluegrass band on Sundays. rich as they sound, especially when either drizzled or dunked in blue cheese dressing (I’m going to make a strong push for the dunked option). Even more outstanding is the restaurant’s bestknown dish: spicy coconut curried goat

stew. If the notion of a hearty stew at all appeals to you, you’re in luck, because it only gets better from there.

The dish is a healthy balance of the coconut curry sauce, jasmine rice, fried plantains and surprisingly tender goat

meat. Like any good stew, hearty is an easily applied adjective, and the kick in the sauce is fun but not overwhelming.

For those with stomachs big enough to see HIGHLAND, page 7

Artsy Nugget

Mumford and Sons explore fresh musical territory with new single 'Believe'

by Jennifer Straitz Assistant Arts Editor

While students everywhere in Boston rejoiced for the inkling of spring weather on March 9, fans of Mumford and Sons had something extra to be excited about: the release of the band’s single, “Believe.” The London band’s first new music since the release of its second studio album “Babel” (2012), “Believe” signifies a significant departure from the folksy feel of both “Babel” and its first album, “Sigh No More” (2009).

Set in London, the music video for “Believe” takes the viewer on a harrowing drive through the twists and turns of downtown roads as the car slips in and out of tunnels and around pedestrians. The disorienting ride mirrors the confusion in the lyrics; lead vocalist Marcus Mumford

sings, “I don’t even know if I believe / Everything you’re trying to say to me.”

The video reaches its climax right at the entry of an electric guitar solo halfway through the song, as the car races through a tunnel and out into a kaleidoscope of color during an instrumental interlude. The tension of the angst-ridden song is partially relieved at the end, when the camera finally comes to rest on the image of a bench overlooking the city.

While the instrumentation is clearly different than in the past — no banjo to be heard here — the lyrics of “Believe” also seem to strike a simpler, even less innovative, chord. Luckily, fans will be able to decide for sure how they like the new sound of Mumford and Sons with the scheduled release of its new album, “Wilder Mind” on May 4.

Andrea Sartorari via Flickr Creative Commons

Mumford and Sons explores new, synth sounds as it abandons folk instruments on its new single, “Believe.”

Top 10 things to NOT do over spring break Well, folks, spring break is upon us. One whole glorious week of relaxation and warm weather (unless you’re going somewhere cold. In which case, I’m so sorry).

Assuming you’re going on vacation, or at least seeing the sun, there are lots of things I’m sure you’re looking forward to. You probably won’t be lacking in things to do.

However, there are some things that you should definitely not do. If you’re going to one of those warm places that’s, well, not exactly known for its safety, you might want to heed my warnings. Here are the top ten things to definitely NOT DO over spring break.

if you’re offered to sell said sketchy drug, that might not be worth it. I mean, have you seen “Blow” (2001)? Or “Archer” (2009-2015) season five?

1. Get abducted in a foreign country It’s true that spring break locales are probably not as dangerous as the media makes them out to be. But maybe don’t stray too far from the city by yourself, mmk?

4. Forget sunscreen I know you want to get tan, but I can tell you right now you don’t want to come back looking like a tomato. Just saying.

2. Join a drug cartel Same disclaimer as before: You’re probably not going to be in that bad of an area.

But like, if you’re offered a sketchy drug it might not be a good idea to try it. And

3. Butcher your Spanish/French/other foreign language when speaking to the locals Wherever you go, it might be fun to try speaking the local language. It’s good practice and might even help you pass your Spanish 003 class! But communication is really the goal, and if they can’t understand you then maybe you’re better off just speaking English… or not speaking at all!

5. Get an awkward tan by falling asleep with your headphones in Let’s say you don’t forget your sunscreen — you should still try not to look ridiculous. Common bad tan patterns include: book, headphones, sunglasses (if you’re

not skiing out west, it’s best to avoid goggle tan) and watch. Be mindful of what is blocking the sun from your skin, and if you forget then don’t come to me complaining about it.

6. Miss your flight All around bad things happen here. You should check in online before reaching the airport if possible, and definitely leave yourself extra time for possible problems in traffic, security, customs and the Dunkin’ Donuts line. Oh, and definitely don’t leave your passport at home because, speaking from experience, it’s not a pleasant feeling.

7. Get sick from sketchy food I know that street vendor’s food might smell soooo good — and it’s so cheap!

— but you’re on vacation, and vacations suck when you spend the whole time being sick. This is probably more common than you think, so be careful! If you’re really smart, you’ll bring a Brita to filter all the water you drink too.

8. Watch Netflix the whole time If you’re staying at home, binge watching your favorite show (who has time for “House of Cards” (2013-present) season three during midterms??) is understandable, but for goodness sake, if it’s nice out, at least go for a walk. Unless it starts snowing again (dear God, please no), you don’t have much of an excuse.

9. Get arrested in a foreign country Remember when I told you not to become a drug dealer, and then you went ahead and did it anyway? This is why we can’t have nice things.

10. Homework Yeah, I know, I have a thesis to write too but it’s called spring BREAK for a reason (not, I don’t know, spring reading period).

Get it all done on the plane, or don’t do it at all, but gosh darn it you need this break more than ever before. Look at all the cold and snow you had to go through! You deserve it, champ. Go be freeeee!

—by Jessica Mow

Thursday, March 12, 2015

The Tufts Daily

7

weekender Nikki Blank | A SWUG's Life

What's up this weekend Looking to make your weekend artsy?

Check out these events!

Kaleidoscope: An Open-Genre Battle of the Bands featuring The Rare Occasions at Berklee Performance Center: Come see Tufts alumni band The Rare Occasions compete in a Battle of the Bands at Berklee Performance Center. The band is competing against Kyle Thornton & The Company, Arreanna Jaye, Full Effect, Zaid Tabani and Sound Struggles.

First, second and third place prize packages are awarded, and all prize packages include a headlining show at the Red Room @ Cafe 939, promotions from the BIRN, recording time at the Record Company and a mix session from Notable Productions. (Tonight at 8 p.m. at Berklee Performance Center, 136 Mass. Avenue, Boston, Mass. 02115. Tickets are $8 in advance and $12 on the day of the show.

Tickets are on sale online.)

Improv Asylum: Main Stage Show: Improv Asylum performs its signature Friday night show that combines improv segments and sketches for a night of comedy. Some of Boston’s best comedians will be performing work that comments on modern family life, social media and gender roles. (Tonight at 7:30 p.m. and 10 p.m. at Improv Asylum at 216 Hanover St., Boston, Mass. 02113.

Tickets range from $20-27 and can be purchased online.)

Tufts University Art Gallery Create Date: Adobe Creative Suite Workshop: Come learn useful tools to create beautiful works using Adobe Creative Suite. The workshop will feature demos in programs like PhotoShop and other programs from the Adobe Creative Cloud. (Tonight at 6 p.m. in the Tufts University Art Gallery. Admission is free.

No tickets required.)

Taste of Iceland in Boston: Come to the five-day festival to celebrate the food, music, art and culture of Iceland.

The event features diverse activities like an authentic Icelandic meal at Tavern Road (343 Congress Street, Boston, Mass. 02210), prepared by Icelandic chef Viktor Örn Andrésson Friday March 13 – Monday March 16; Reykjavik Calling Concert at The Middle East Restaurant and Nightclub (472-480 Mass. Ave, Cambridge, Mass. 02139) on March 14 and an Icelandic film festival on March 14 at Kendall Square Cinema. (Prices and times for various events at the festival vary. See the event Facebook page and website for details.

Starts Thursday, March 12, continues through Monday, March 16.)

—by Nika Korchok

Spotlight

Market Basket delivers fan-favorite covers with infectious spirit

by Nika Korchok Executive Arts Editor

Market Basket is pure, unfiltered fun.

The five-person Tufts band — made up of senior Leif Inouye on rhythm guitar, junior Anna Kaplan on bass, sophomore Tucker Sjoblad on drums, sophomore Josh Berl on lead guitar and junior Mike Manzi on vocals — formed at the beginning of this year, and it doesn’t show signs of slowing down any time soon. During its interview with the Daily, the group proved lively. Feeding off of each others’ energy like puppies at an over-cramped PetSmart adoption event, they take turns answering questions in sequential letters of the alphabet. At the letter G, Inouye described the group’s influences.

“Guaranteed, ScatterShot, from the Burren, another cover band we kind of idolize,” he said.

They also mentioned Creed and Joan Jett among their myriad influences. Their initial hopes for the band influence their style now.

“We [Sjoblad and Berl] have always had this dream of playing Creed songs in Zeta [Psi Fraternity],” said Berl.

“We always try to play the hit songs of the time,” Inouye added.

A cover band who caters to their audience, Inouye explained that his “personal goal is to play in every single frat.” Musing on the energy of the party scene, the group said one of its favorite parts of performing is being able to see a live band transform a party into an experience rather than an event.

“On both sides, it’s really different to listen to live music,” Sjoblad said. “Everyone in the band loves going to concerts, and I definitely would say there’s something euphoric about being on the other side of it and getting to play and see all of your friends go nuts when ‘Stacy’s Mom’ [2003] comes on. That’s the coolest feeling. I couldn’t describe anything else like that.”

continued from page 6

make it through an appetizer and an entrée, the dessert menu is highlighted by a warm banana bread pudding. And for those rare 21+ Daily readers, the drinks menu is excellent, with particular depth in both the cocktail and beer lists. This turns out to be a necessary feature, as many guests finds themselves holed up at the bar while waiting for a table.

Though Highland Kitchen used to take reservations, in recent years they’ve eschewed that practice in favor of a first-come first-served approach, and it appears to have been successful.

Only 15 minutes after opening on a Saturday (at the relatively early hour of 5 p.m.), the restaurant was nearly full.

D

ear SWUG, I’m so pumped to get off of this snowy campus and leave on a jet plane to someplace warm. Can you give me some tips on how to have a v SWUGGY spring break?

– Spring Break Foreverrrrr

Dear Spring Break Foreverrrrr, It’s finally here! A break from the madness! If you’re anything like me — and I’m guessing you are since the majority of Tufts hails from both the tribe and the tri-state area — you’ve booked a trip to a warm place, far away from these frozen fractals all around. But even if you’re staying nearby or just going home, spring break provides a lovely respite from this “spring?” snowmester. Here are some of my tips on how to have the safest and SWUGgiest spring break ever: 1. We’re getting older, and you know what that means? WRINKLES! Wear sunscreen. All over your body. Re-apply it as often as possible. Wear a hat. Buy a linen onesie. Sources tell me that rash guards are in right now. You can always get a spray tan when you’re back in Boston, but you can’t always get rid of sun damage.

2. The buddy system is crucial. Find a thunder buddy! Make sure you know where the other is at all times, especially at night.

If you’re in a place without cell service, invest in some walkie-talkies or a vuvuzela.

Make sure you and your buddy avoid any man that resembles James Franco from the movie “Spring Breakers” (2012).

3. Make sure you figure out the money situation at your SWUG break destination ahead of time. Will they take U.S. dollars?

Bitcoin? Your Hanukkah check? “Broke in Paradise” does not sound like a sexy beach read.

Sophia Carkonen courtesy Leif Inouye

Market Basket performs covers of hit songs from a wide range of decades, listing Creed and Fountains of Wayne as some of its influences.

While fun and whimsical, the group has humble roots, remaining appreciative for the start they received. They gave a “huge shout-out to Ben Silver,” for giving them a chance to play at not one, but two JumBonnaroo events (the group played at ATO in the fall for the event and Delta Upsilon Fraternity this past weekend for Jumbonnaroo’s spring 2015 festival).

Market Basket envisions its success as the beginning of a long-standing college tradition.

“I’m excited to have been one of the founding members, but I think, 60 years down the line, looking at how Market

Basket has evolved…” Inouye said, and was then cut off by his bandmate.

The ultimate goal, Berl continued, is “to be 80 years old, watching our children performing as Market Basket in DU.” To all interested Tufts students, Josh Berl enthusiastically says, “We’ll play at your party.” The group shared their dream to one day play at every Tufts frat, leaving behind a legacy of “Stacy’s Mom”covers and wild crowd-surfing.

Their fans — dubbed “Basketheads”– will likely be the driving force behind this legacy.

Catch Market Basket at a Tufts party on campus, somewhere, sometime soon.

Highland Kitchen transforms classic American cuisine with spunky changes HIGHLAND

SWUGs go on spring break

This is where an older restaurant with a more experienced management team like Highland Kitchen has the edge over newer eateries; though fast table turnovers are sorely needed, service never feels rushed. Dining feels casual due both to pleasant service and the restaurant’s warm interior. The atmosphere makes for an excellent third date spot – neither too loud to cut off conversation, nor too intimate that the awkward silences are painful. The evening is also very manageable on the wallet, with entrees under $20 a plate and sandwiches around $10. Portions are generous, so those with smaller stomachs might pass on appetizers — which are on the pricier side anyway — and focus on their main course. When all is said and done, Tufts diners can

wander out of the restaurant and onto the 88 bus, which will deposit them at Davis or Teele Square, or they can walk three minutes north and catch the 80 and ride all the way to the Memorial Steps or Boston Ave. For those unwilling to take the bus, you can tell your Lyft or Uber driver to deposit you at 150 Highland Ave. in Somerville, and make sure they know not to wait up — you’ve got a date with a stew.

Highland Kitchen is located at 150 Highland Ave., Somerville, Mass.

02143. Dinner is served every night from 5 p.m. to 11 p.m. The bar is open every night from opening until 1 a.m.

Brunch is served on Sundays from 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. For more information about the restaurant, diners can call (617) 625-1131 or visit the website.

4. If you’re planning on having a rowdy spring break, refer back to tip #2!

I’ve watched enough “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation” (2000-Present) to know that it’s better to be sober than sorry. Do not let random people buy you drinks. Do not leave your drink sitting out and about.

There have been enough spring break horror stories that your parents have the right to be concerned.

5. If you are traveling abroad, bring a fanny pack to keep your money strapped to your muffin top at all times. And remember to keep your passport either in the safe in your hotel room or strapped tightly to your fupa.

6. Have you ever thought about how romantic it would be to meet an attractive foreign lover while on a vacation? Well, think again eager beaver! This random person could be a serial killer or a never-nude.

You’re not on a college campus anymore, and stranger danger is a very real thing.

7. Do you have an assignment due on the Monday after break? Try to do it before you leave school or at least during the beginning of break. Chances are you’ll be wiped from a week of partying and the last thing you’ll want to do is write that Chaucer paper. Think ahead, and then, in the words of Donna Meagle, treat yo self after.

8. Going somewhere warm for break?

We’ve been living in the Arctic for the past few months and our bodies are not adjusted to the sun. Bring lots of deodorant and drinks lots of water. Nothing says hot like passing out in the ocean.

9. Keep in touch with your parents. They are probably freaking out about you going on one of these shady trips, and that they will have no way to contact you. Appease them. Especially if they are funding said trip.

Be safe. Be sunscreened. Be SWUG. XOXO, SWUG Nikki Blank is a senior majoring in English.

She can be reached at nicole.blank@tufts.edu

8

The Tufts Daily

THE TUFTS DAILY Drew Z. Robertson Editor-in-Chief

Editorial

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Executive Sports Editor Sports Editors

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Executive Photo Editor Assistant Photo Editor Picture Tufts Editor Section Liaison

Student Bill of Rights is right bill for students

As students, we are constantly told that college is an invaluable investment in our futures. Current societal expectations tell us to sacrifice whatever we can to attend college because it will be worth it in the long run; but this isn’t always correct. The college experience is often laden with chains and asterisks brought on by a storm of worry over loan payments.

College, which is supposed to be a time of freedom, exploration and self-discovery instead becomes riddled with guilt and anxiety over money and debt.

This is why the new Student Aid Bill of Rights proposed by the Obama administration on Tuesday is not only important, but necessary. The current economic climate has become so divisive that many white-collar careers are nearly impossible to achieve without some sort of higher education, which is unattainable to many students because of the current ruthless and predatory system of student loans. This new bill provides comprehensive reforms and attacks the issue of debt in such a way that the government is on the side of the students, rather than on the side of the banks. This includes everything

from creating a feedback system for borrowers to filing complaints about lenders in a direct and timely manner, helping students plan monthly payments that they can afford and simplifying the federal loan application processes.

In recent years, the U.S. government has been increasingly painted as the enemy of the people rather than their ally. This bill, however, shows a long-awaited change from an administration responding to a pressing demand its people have made and working to effectively implement it in policy. In other words, the government seems to be back on our side. Perhaps it has come to the realization that many came to years ago: that releasing a sea of debt-laden students into the world will lead to years spent paying off debt and little economic progress.

What is most crucial in the new bill is the “Bill of Rights for Student Aid” itself, which will serve as the foundation for future legislation. A “Bill of Rights” like this empowers all students to strive for higher education and opens up entire futures for them because it gives them a concrete basis for fighting off predatory

student loans. It will make youth feel that if they want a college education, they are entitled to it — an extremely important step forward for the nation as a whole. No high school student in the U.S. should who feel defeated or unworthy of higher education because they cannot afford it.

Although this bill is certainly good news and will hopefully serve as the basis for real change, there is still a lot more that needs to be done. Higher education costs must be tackled on a much larger scale, and legislation must make efforts to include students of all backgrounds.

As tuitions rise, more and more families are feeling the pinch. While this bill will certainly help many in need, every family and every student is different, and filling out numbers on a few forms cannot accurately assess their ability to afford higher education. This is something that needs to be addressed in future legislation. It is nevertheless refreshing to see that students are being given the respect and encouragement we deserve from our government. We can only hope that this trend continues.

Jennifer Lien

Executive Op-Ed Editor

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OFF THe Hill | Louisiana State university

Police training in United States makes officers paranoid, fearful

by Markus Hüfner The Daily Reveille

About a week ago, a video showing five LAPD officers tasering and shooting a homeless man leaked. Once again, I looked to European news and couldn’t find anything similar.

The day after the video leaked, The Guardian reported that American police officers have killed an average of 928 people every year for the past eight years.

As an international student, I can’t help but compare that number to the one in my home country.

According to Norway’s police department website, two people have been killed and 18 have been injured by the police from 2002 to 2013. Obviously the United States is way bigger than Norway, but it’s easy to see that we have a problem in this country.

There is no way that 7,424 people deserved to be killed by police since 2007.

The most significant difference between the police here in the United States and those in Norway is the way they are trained and use lethal weapons. American police are among the best trained in the world, but what they are trained to do is part of the problem.

According to an article in The Atlantic

by Seth Stoughton, a former police officer and current scholar who researches policing, the police academy emphasizes their own safety more than anything else.

Those future police officers are constantly told they should be afraid because every individual is a potential threat.

They have to watch painful videos of other officers being shot after a moment of inattention or hesitation. Tactics like these increase the general level of paranoia and fear among future officers.

If we look back at the video footage from the shooting of 12-year-old Tamir Rice in Cleveland, Ohio, it’s clear how the training is impacting some officers’ actions. The officer who killed Rice did not see a 12-year-old playing with a BB gun. He saw a potential threat irresponsibly playing with a deadly weapon. He saw what he was taught to see and did what he was taught to do.

If American officers really view people as potential threats, they have to distinguish that thought process from real threats and think about the consequences of pulling the trigger when it’s not necessary.

Because the culture is different, things would have gone differently in

Norway. Guns are illegal everywhere in Europe except Switzerland. Because guns are only associated with violence and death, they are terrifying to many Europeans. This is one of the main reasons officers in Norway wear handguns around their waists: to show authority and frighten criminals. They rarely pull the trigger. In most cases, other non-lethal weapons like tasers or batons are enough.

Norweigan police also do not treat citizens like potential threats. In my experience, they love to talk to anyone as long as their job is not interfered with.

They have even given me a ride home a couple of times on Saturday nights when it was raining or I had been drinking a little too much.

When an underage male gets to ride in a police car from Tigerland, it’s usually not because of weather conditions.

This being said, it is important not to generalize American police too much. Some officers are not as impacted by training as others and know when to pull the trigger. The problem is that there are too many that are, and the result is too many unnecessary shots fired and too many innocent lives taken.

Corrections In yesterday’s version of the article entitled “You call it safety, I call it classim,” the word “gentrification” was removed from the piece during the editing process. The Tufts Daily would like to apologize to the author for altering his editorial voice, and the word has since been replaced.

The Tufts Daily is a nonprofit, independent newspaper, published Monday through Friday during the academic year, and distributed free to the Tufts community. EDITORIAL POLICY 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. 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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Thursday, March 12, 2015 Op-Ed

The Tufts Daily

For Israelis, a special St. Patrick’s Day

by Zach Shapiro Op-Ed Contributor

St. Patrick’s Day 2015 is a special day not only to the Irish, but also to Israelis.

I say so because come March 17, Israelis will go to the polls to select their new government.

Though I generally wish the Israeli right wing wielded less power, Israeli elections are pretty fun on the whole.

The advertisements are witty, if not comically awkward. This year, Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu, otherwise known as Bibi, stars in an ad as the “Bibi-sitter.”

He claims that only he can protect Israeli children from terror and overly conciliatory peace deals.

Before I break down the 2015 elections, allow me to first overview the Israeli electoral system. Israel has a particularly unique model of proportional representation. When you vote in Israel, you vote for a party, not an individual. The parties receive a number of seats in the 120-member Knesset — or parliament — directly proportional to the number of votes they receive. At present, the electoral threshold remains at 3.25 percent.

The party that receives the most votes is given 28 days to create a coalition of at least 61 seats, which is done by offering cabinet positions and political deals to competing parties to obtain their support. Party members internally determine which individuals will occupy the seats by voting on a party list.

Now let’s get to the situation at hand.

Bibi Netanyahu has held his premiership for six years, and is now the secondlongest ruling person in Israel’s history, to none other than the visionary David BenGurion. But perception of Netanyahu is mixed at best. While seen by many as strong on security and uncompromising in negotiations with Palestinians, he is widely criticized for his diplomatic miscues, as well as for his support of settlement construction over the 1948 Green Line. In the face of the rising cost of living in Israel, he faces considerable backlash over his economic policies.

This election cycle, Bibi’s Likud Party faces competition from a union of two Leftist parties, Labor and Tzipi Livni’s Party, led by Isaac “Buji” Herzog and Tzipi Livni, respectively. These two leaders have agreed to run on a joint list called “The Zionist Union,” meaning that if they win, the two leaders will serve rotating two-year terms as Prime

Minister. Both, however, are widely accused of lacking political acumen and charisma.

This cycle will also bear witness to a floundering, somewhat weakened center, namely the centrist populist party Yesh Atid, led by journalistturned politician Yair Lapid. Estimated to win about 14 seats next week, this party appears to be on the decline since its meteoric rise only a few years ago. Some say it has not kept sweeping, populist promises made to Israel’s struggling young middle class.

Additionally, as in virtually every election after the strings of suicide bombings during the Second Palestinian Intifada, the right-wing remains strong. For better or worse, its leading parties remain key elements of Israel’s political future. Two particularly integral players are Moshe Kahlon, leader of the new Kulanu Party, which focuses on a reformist social agenda, as well as staunchly pro-settlement hawk Naftali Bennett, leader of the Bayit Yehudi “Jewish Home” party.

What make’s Israel’s political system so interesting and frustrating at the same time is its coalition-centric foundation.

Essentially, this model often makes the smallest, most radical parties the would-

be king-makers, as it is often a matter of five or six Knesset seats that determines whether a 61-seat majority coalition can be assembled.

The coalition challenge in particular is the main reason for my overwhelming pessimism about the turnouts. Recent Times of Israel polls have the Zionist Union and Likud neck and neck at a little over 20 seats each. However, were the Leftist union to get the chance to form a coalition, it is unlikely that it would succeed. It lacks sufficient support on left and right.

This, compounded with the fact that each terror attack means more votes for right-wingers like Knesset Member Naftali Bennett, leads me to believe that Bibi Netanyahu will become the longestserving Prime Minister. This possibility is less than thrilling, to say the least. As far as I’m concerned, more Bibi means more settlements, more diplomatic missteps, more international isolation and dramatically decreased chances of a peace deal of any kind.

If my prediction holds, you’ll find me lamenting election results over an ice cold pint of Guinness. I sincerely hope I’m proven wrong. If that is the case, I’ll be drinking a lot more than a beer.

United States Department of Defense via Wikimedia Commons

Off The HilL | Middlebury College

You already know what’s in your file

by Sarah Sicular

The Middlebury Campus

Around a month ago, I was scrolling through BuzzFeed (my procrastination website of choice) and noticed the headline ‘Here’s How to See What College Admissions Officers Wrote About You.’ The article went on to describe that Stanford University students had uncovered a little-known clause in the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) that allows students to view, as the headline indicates, the comments on their admissions file at the school to which they matriculate.

I had always been curious about how applicants at Middlebury are evaluated, and I also kind of wanted to know what my file said about me, so I emailed the Admissions Office to request access to my files.

Last Wednesday, I was the first student this year to view my admissions file.

Dean of Admissions Greg Buckles was very patient with me and answered all my questions related to the terminology.

I was able to see my readers’ quantitative evaluations of my academic ability, extracurriculars and personal qualities. I also read the comments my readers made on my overall file, as well as what my interviewer said about our interview.

In the spirit of full disclosure, I had a twofold motivation for going in to see my file. First and foremost, I was curious to know what the admissions officers thought about my application, especially about my common app essay, of which I was most proud. I applied early decision because Middlebury was my dream school and far and away my first choice, but going in, my college counselor had warned me that many ED applicants have some kind of hook — be it the support of a coach or geographic diversity or legacy status, among myriad other factors. The other reason I went in to see my file was to see what about my application allowed me to overcome my lack of hook, so to speak, and gain early admission.

My main takeaway and word to you, readers, is that your file likely does not contain much you don’t know already.

The reader comments mostly enumerated my grades and scores and spoke about my extracurriculars, and my interview comments basically detailed our conversation and my answers to his questions. I did not really figure out why I had gotten in or how I had overcome my total lack of diversity. (The only reasons I can think of are that I had expressed my passion for Middlebury and that my readers felt magnanimous that day.) I also learned my readers’

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Op-Ed

reservations about me and what they perceived to be my weaknesses.

I caution anyone going into the admissions office to steel yourself, because there aren’t many positive things they can say that you don’t already know. (You know if your standardized testing was good, and you probably have a decent sense of how your interview went.)

Admissions officers are so good at their job that they will likely be able to foresee struggles you will have in college based on your high school experience, and they may describe those in your file. I, of course, don’t know you and have no idea what your file says. I assume that you are a strong student and excel in many areas (or else you wouldn’t be here), but that doesn’t mean that your file is all rainbows and sunshine. And I can tell you from my experience that I didn’t learn anything about myself (and a tiny part of me was hoping for an insight that would shape my entire future so I could stop worrying about it).

So while you are absolutely entitled to view your file under FERPA, maybe think twice about whether it is worth your time and the Admissions office’s time as well, because our admissions counselors are absolutely swamped with requests right now, on top of having to read thousands of applications for the Class of 2019.

Pooja Sivaraman and Rebecca Solomon | New York Style Delhi

Pooja likes puppy chow

L

ast semester at Tisch, Pooja and I ran in to one of the editors of the Daily, Nick Golden. He asked us what our article was going to be about and we said it was called “Over*Cher*ing.” He replied, “Over sharing, isn’t that what you do every week?”

Pooja and I realize that we share quite a bit of information about our lives. For instance, Pooja’s inflexibility or her lack of fortitude when it comes to the gym are some of my favorite things to divulge about her, but I would never reveal her deep secrets. On the other hand, Pooja makes no bones about revealing my character flaws.

At times, I can be quick to judge. Pooja writes down the quips and insults that I say in these moments and uses them in her creative writing pieces. So, Pooja and I have no boundaries — especially when it comes to each other. This willingness to over share is the reason that our column is the best Thursday advice column. We ask that you follow our lead and share some of your questions. Asking questions should be less intimidating for you than answering them is for us. Our Google Doc is anonymous, so Pooja and I are the only one’s whose future job prospects will be hurt when we’re Googled and the first thing that comes up is “Is this a sex column?” With another plea for questions under my belt, let’s answer some of our remaining ones.

Dear NYSD, What are your favorite baked goods? I would like to drop some off at your houses.

Rebecca: When we were freshman, Pooja had two obsessions: Nutella and Hodgon brownies. I would like to say that with age, her palette has matured, but it has not.

Anything with Nutella in it is a sure way to Pooja’s heart. If one is feeling particularly ambitious, one will trick-turn her 10 brownies, Pooja’s favorite thing to do with her leftover meals. Freshman year, you could tell where she went by following the trail of half-eaten brownies. I don’t have a favorite baked good; I love all of them. Asking me to make that decision is, as a genius once said, like “asking me if I want to cut off my right arm or my left arm.” I would give you our addresses but Pooja and I are aware that our new fame has made us quite hot commodities, so ask our editor for that information.

Dear NYSD, My friend is in love with my other friend’s girlfriend and whenever they come to my apartment he gets way too drunk because he’s sad and passes out and such or makes an ass out of himself. I don’t want all of them to come over at once but it’s hard to choose one over the other, and they all come over anyway.

Pooja: Dear reader, Rebecca and I realize that while we do get a lot of these more serious types of questions, we very deliberately avoid them. It’s not that we don’t acknowledge the severity of your queries — some of them are downright terrifying. The reason we very strategically glance over and skip to the humorous ones is because we are at a complete loss on how to give constructive advice. However, 2015 is the year of bold moves, so here goes nothing. I suggest it’s time you find a distraction, preferably a comical one. The best way to change your life from a soap opera to a dysfunctional comedy is to change the channel. No one said “How I Met Your Mother” (20052014) was the perfect example of healthy relationships, but at least their interventions were comical. You’re not a part of this heartbreak triangle, so try not to dwell in it.

Have a great break and we expect a lot more spring break-related questions from you next week!

Pooja Sivaraman is a junior majoring in economics. She can be reached at pooja.sivaraman@tufts.edu. Rebecca Solomon is a junior majoring in economics. She can be reached at rebecca.solomon@tufts.edu.

Op-ed Policy 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. Op-Ed cartoons are also welcomed for the Campus Canvas feature. All material is subject to editorial discretion and is not guaranteed to appear in the Daily. All material should be submitted to oped@tuftsdaily.com no later than noon on the day prior to the desired day of publication; authors must submit their telephone numbers and day-of availability for editing questions. Submissions may not be published elsewhere prior to their appearance in the Daily, including but not limited to other on- and off-campus newspapers, magazines, blogs and online news websites, as well as Facebook. Republishing of the same piece in a different source is permissible as long as the Daily is credited with originally running the article.

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The Tufts Daily

FOR RELEASE MARCH 12, 2015

Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle Crossword

On the Hill

Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Lewis

ACROSS 1 Atkins no-no 5 “__ bad idea” 9 Brothers Grimm creature 14 Old apple spray 15 Pinnacle 16 Painful turning point?

17 Elizabeth of “Lone Star” 18 Nothing 19 Experimental blast 20 Russian composer and piano virtuoso 23 Related compounds 24 Gap 28 Italian roads 29 Café breakfast order 31 Birdbrain 33 Arrived just in time for 34 Reservoir creator 37 TV fantasy about three magical sisters 40 Delivery person?

41 Some Persians 43 Absolute ruler 45 Den piece 48 Arrival announcement 52 Deduce 53 Manned the helm 54 Annual sports event that begins with Selection Sunday on 3/15 ... or, cryptically, a hint to the scrambled word found at the starts of 20-, 29-, 37and 45-Across 57 Provide a spread for 60 Script “Q” feature 61 In the past 62 Scenic route, perhaps 63 Curvature 64 Stax Records genre 65 Sleep soundly?

66 Milk sources for some Tibetan cheese 67 Milk sources for some Greek cheese DOWN 1 Crop pants 2 Orioles’ div.

Comics

Thursday, March 12, 2015

by Ty Enos and Vincent Carbone

3/12/15

By Alex Miller

wednesday’s Solution Wednesday’s Puzzle Solved

3 Venom 4 Hindu priest 5 Childhood home of Jesus 6 Makes the first move 7 Actress Hatcher 8 Nerve cell transmitter 9 Story you might find on MuggleNet.com, briefly 10 Myrmecologist’s subject 11 ’50s political nickname 12 Jekyll creator’s monogram 13 However 21 Doc 22 Resistance unit 25 Lions, Tigers or Bears 26 Fancy coif 27 Come off as 29 Personnel employee 30 Dough dispensers, for short 32 Dry riverbed 34 Pull with effort 35 Special something

©2015 Tribune Content Agency, LLC

36 Co. runners 38 Dorothy Parker’s “Excuse my dust” and others 39 Like the Taj Mahal 42 Bagel topping 44 Precisely, after “on” 46 Town crier’s cry 47 JFK info 49 Prior to today, poetically

3/12/15

50 Save 51 Fords that never got going 53 Usually stained work garb 55 French Open surface 56 Bat mitzvah dance 57 “The Big Bang Theory” network 58 Author Rand 59 Seesaw need

THAT SCRAMBLED WORD GAME

by David L. Hoyt and Jeff Knurek

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

©2015 Tribune Content Agency, LLC All Rights Reserved.

VEIRR SEGNIN

VACIDE

Yesterday’s

SUDOKU

Check out the new, free JUST JUMBLE app

GADEA

Level: Doing laundry before you leave for break.

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

(Answers tomorrow) Jumbles: ADMIT VENUE ARGYLE BEHOLD Answer: The zombie couple worried that their son was becoming a — DEADBEAT

Late Night at the Daily

Wednesday’s Solution

Ross: “I ask everyone every night, do you wanna stick your hand up my butt?”

Please recycle this Daily.

Thursday, March 12, 2015

The Tufts Daily

11

Sports

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Rohrer, Winget ready to test themselves at NCAA MEN’S SWIMMING continued from back

swam in the 200-meter backstroke and 100-meter butterfly at that meet, and although he did not make the finals in either event, the experience he gained from those highly competitive races can only help him this year.

“I think [my experience] will really help me a lot,” Winget said. “NCAAs is a big, exciting meet and having experience is a big advantage. For example, it can be easy to get overwhelmed by the awe of the meet, but since I’ve already been, I can just focus on my swimming — and Matt [on his] diving — rather than try and take everything in.”

With the championships under a week away, Winget and Rohrer have only a brief period during which to

fine-tune and perfect their strokes and dives, respectively. Winget noted that he will be working predominantly on the finer points of racing rather than on the stroke itself, in order to shave the fractions of seconds that can prove so decisive in the end.

“After NESCACs, coach Hoyt and I sat down and discussed my training plan for NCAAs,” Winget said. “We’ve mostly been focusing on the minutia of my races, i.e. turns, breakouts, starts, etc. That being said, we are still putting an emphasis on pace work for my races at NCAAs.” Rohrer, meanwhile, told the Daily last week that he was trying to add one or two more dives with higher degrees of difficulty to his list, which would have allowed him to score more points if

landed well. Shortly thereafter, however, he fell ill and missed a practice, so he will be unable to incorporate any new dives. He is now just trying to convalesce and solidify the repertoire of dives on which he’s depended all season long so that he can wring as many points out of them as possible.

Rohrer and Winget have already proven that they’re capable of performing at the highest levels. If they can simply sustain the quality of their swimming and diving, which they have done expertly throughout this season, they will score big points for the Jumbos. It all comes down to whether they can keep their focus before each event. If they can, they will ensure Tufts’ place on the national stage.

Young squad prepared to face top competition WOMEN’S TENNIS continued from back

ning sprints daily and recording our respective sprint times to hold each other accountable. We want to be more fit than any other team, especially as we head to California and will be playing in 90 degree heat against some of the best Division III teams in the country.”

Over the spring break trip in California, Tufts will square off against No. 5 Claremont Mudd Scripps, No. 17 La Verne, No. 28 Denison and No. 22 Redlands. These matches against top West Coast competition will be invaluable as the first-year players get ready for their first collegiate season. The trip also gives the team an opportunity to share more experiences with each other and meet each other’s families.

After all, four of the eight players are from the Golden State.

“Since so many of our team members are from California, it will be nice to meet their families and stay at some of their houses,” Meltzer, who is from New York, said. “I think this will bring our team closer as we get to learn about their home lives. In addition, I definitely believe that our matches will bring us closer just as they did in the fall season.”

Coach Kate Bayard leads the Jumbos into a new season for the tenth time and looks for her third NESCAC Coach of the Year award.

Assisting her is Alex Howard, who is currently atop the rankings in the 35 and over division in New England, and Gann (A’14).

When the team gets back from California, it will face No. 25 Brandeis before beginning the grueling April that is the NESCAC schedule.

Caroline Geiling / The Tufts Daily

Sophomore Jacqueline Baum is a veteran leader on a young Tufts team.

Jumbos have talent to compete against best in NESCAC MEN’S TENNIS

continued from back

They are all vying for a starting spot, and right now I anticipate two freshmen starting, but that’s just going into the season.”

As far as conference play goes, the NESCAC is largely recognized as the most competitive conference in the country. Five NESCAC teams reside in the preseason top 25 including No. 2 Amherst, No. 4 Middlebury, No. 12 Williams, No. 18 Bowdoin and No. 24 Trinity. Last season, Amherst won the National Championship, and in 2013 Williams claimed the title. Tufts finished 4-6 in the NESCAC last year and, despite its improved state, will need

to put together a great season in order to beat that record. The Jumbos, however, are confident.

“I am excited to see how we do against teams we’ve lost to in the past,” Cary said. “Whether we do better against them or actually win, I think we’re ready for them.”

Jacobson is excited for what the season holds as well.

“The team is in the best shape that we’ve been in during the three seasons that I’ve played, both physically and mentally,” Jacobson said. “We have some outstanding freshman players who came in this season and pushed the older guys to improve, which has been a huge benefit for us. It has been

really fun in my first season as captain to watch the team come together and become so close through daily hard work — I think that this year we will have the best results that Tufts as seen, and I am incredibly excited to be a part of it.”

Coach Gregor echoed Jacobson’s optimism.

“The trajectory over the last five seasons, for the most part, has only been up,” said Gregor, “I would say on paper that this is the most talented team that Tufts has had in over a decade, and the key is can we translate that talent into results. I think that we’re going to have one of our best seasons in recent history.”

Steven Hefter | The Association

Look on the bright side, Hassan

O

n Feb. 4, 2012, the Knicks beat the Nets 99-92. The teams had both started the shortened season under .500. The Knicks were 9-15 after the win, but had lost 11 of its last 13 games.

The game seemingly meant nothing — besides crosstown bragging rights — in the grand scheme of the NBA, especially after the lockout had postponed the opening tip to Christmas Day. There was, however, one statistic that meant something. An unknown player who had bounced from the NBA to the D-League repeatedly scored 25 points, dished out seven assists and corralled five rebounds. Jeremy Lin had finally arrived, and after going on an incredible tear that brought the Knicks back to relevance. In the Harvard product’s twelve starts before the All-Star Break, he averaged 22.5 points and 8.7 assists as Linsanity swept across the nation.

He later suffered a knee injury and became a restricted free agent, at which point he returned to the Houston Rockets.

He was later traded after two years of his three-year contract to the Los Angeles Lakers. Although his career has taken a dip, his story was one of opportunity and hard work. So who is this year’s Linsanity?

Look on the bright side, it’s Hassan Whiteside. Whiteside only played one season in college — at Marshall University — but definitely made it count, amassing 182 blocked shots, making him the country’s leader for the year. It also set a national record for most blocked shots in a year by a first-year, besting the 177 swats by Brigham Young University’s Shawn Bradley in 1990-91.

After just his first season, Whiteside declared for the NBA Draft and was selected with the third pick of the second round by the Sacramento Kings. He only appeared in 19 games in two seasons as a King before being waived in July of 2012. He then bounced around the D-League and played overseas in Lebanon and in China, where he won a championship and was named Finals MVP of the National Basketball League in China.

After a brief stint with the Memphis Grizzlies and then more time in the D-League, Whiteside signed with the Miami Heat on Nov. 24, 2014. Then on Jan. 4, he posted a double-double against the Nets, of all teams.

It took him only three weeks to have his first triple-double, posting 14 points, 13 rebounds and a franchise-record 12 blocks against the Chicago Bulls. It makes him just the fourth player in the last 25 years to have twelve or more points, rebounds and blocks in a game.

Although Whiteside’s emergence has not been as widely followed in the media as Lin’s, his is just as impressive and is a story of perseverance throughout the basketball world. Whiteside, however, has had some disciplinary issues on the court. He was ejected for the second half of the Heat’s win over the Phoenix Suns on March 2 for literally fighting Suns’ center Alex Len. A second instance came on Monday, when he was ejected for shoving his forearm into the back of Celtics’ center Kelly Olynyk’s neck. He was subsequently suspended for last night’s game against the Nets. With Chris Bosh and Josh McRoberts out for the rest of the season, the Heat needs Whiteside to be a productive and smart player. Longtime guard Dwyane Wade has expressed his distaste for Whiteside’s recent actions and has pushed him to become a more responsible player.

Whiteside and Lin have had similar journeys to short-lived outbursts and stardom, but both find themselves struggling at the moment. Bringing out the magic might help. But both of them know it takes much more work than that.

Steven Hefter is a junior majoring in economics. He can be reached at steven.hefter@tufts.edu.

Sports

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tuftsdaily.com

Swimming and Diving

Tennis

Tufts to begin season Winget, Rohrer to represent in California Jumbos at NCAAs

by Steven Hefter Sports Editor

The women’s tennis team has begun training for the upcoming season, and on the heels of the nasty weather that has swept through Boston, the team will travel to California over spring break to compete with some of the top Div. III teams in the country.

After three team seniors graduated last spring, including number one singles player Samantha Gann (LA ’14), the team will compete with only first-years and sophomores on the roster this season. Despite the apparent age disadvantage, the team had a complete fall season and off-season to practice against each other and learn each other’s tendencies.

“I think one major challenge that we experienced a bit in the fall season was not having a distinct team captain/leader,” sophomore Alexa Meltzer, a team member and Daily staff writer, said. “Although all the sophomores have been leading the team and working really well together, I think it was often challenging for the younger players, as they look to us as role models, but we really only have one more year of experience then they do.”

During the fall season, the team gained invaluable match experience that it will need to contend in the NESCAC, which owns eight of the top 40 teams in the ITA NCAA Div. III rankings, which were released on March 3.

Tufts sits tied at No. 17 with Depauw and La Verne, while reigning NESCAC champion and national runner-up Amherst enters the season ranked fourth. NESCAC runner-up and national semi-

finalist Williams is ranked third, and fellow NESCAC teams No. 6 Bowdoin, No. 12 Middlebury, No. 21 Trinity, No. 34 Wesleyan and No. 38 Bates are also ranked.

In the fall season, Tufts competed in a number of events with top quality teams, including the ITA Re g i o n a l Championships in September. First-year Aandrita Deb entered the 64-person singles bracket outside of the top eight seeds but won four matches in a row to make it to the semifinals. It was her first collegiate tournament, and she clearly has what it takes to compete with the top players in the region.

Tufts also split two regulation matches during the fall season, losing to MIT and beating Babson. A highlight included winning five of six singles at Babson en route to a 6-3 win. First-year Lauren Louks won her doubles match and then clinched the match with her win in the number three singles spot over firstyear Jenny Quenard.

The last event of the fall season was the Bowdoin Invitational, where there were no brackets or team matches.

Tufts played matches against Bates, Wellesley and Bowdoin and won 17 out of 24 singles matches and nine out of 12 doubles matches. This success gave the team confidence going into the winter and spring, and it also allowed the team to solidify doubles teams that worked and had good chemistry.

“The start of our training has been going really well so far,” Meltzer said. “We are focused on getting in tip-top shape and have been runsee WOMEN’S TENNIS, page 11

by Maclyn Senear Sports Editor

At long last, the 2015 NCAA Men’s Swimming & Diving National Championships have arrived.

Junior tri-captain Michael Winget and sophomore diver Matt Rohrer — both NCAA veterans — will be representing the Jumbos at the Championships, to be held at the Conroe ISD Natatorium in Shenandoah, Texas, next Wednesday through Saturday.

Both Winget and Rohrer will be competing in the same events in which they competed a year ago. For Winget, it was not until the NESCAC Championships on Feb. 20-22 that he earned a second consecutive bid to NCAAs. At NESCACs, Winget swam the backstroke leg of Tufts’ stellar fifth place 400-meter medley relay, which set a school record and was more than a second under the NCAA B time, and which currently ranks as the 10th-fastest time in the country. He broke yet another school record at NESCACs, in the 200-meter backstroke, placing him for 13th nationally with a time of 1:48.37.

In addition to the backstroke events, Winget will also be competing in the 100 butterfly, where his seed time is 52.76.

“My goal is always to swim best times when I go to big meets like NCAAs,” Winget said. “It can be hard to set other goals because you don’t know how fast or slow other people will swim at the meet. Keeping that in mind, I believe if I swim my best I will make it back in multiple events, [and] I want to make it back in as many events as possible.”

tufts daily archives

Junior tri-captain Michael Winget (middle) will compete in his second consecutive NCAA Championship next week.

Rohrer, not to be outdone, capped off a stellar sophomore campaign with multiple diving titles. At NESCACs, he was the champion in the onemeter event and the runnerup in the three-meter. A week later, he qualified once again for the national championships by winning the threemeter at the NCAA Zone Qualifying meet — which automatically qualified him for NCAAs in both diving events — before placing third in the one-meter.

The Jumbos are also sending two fewer athletes to the championships than last year, meaning it will be more difficult for them to score points and thus match last year’s 19th place finish. But in Winget and Rohrer, the team is certainly sending a pair of experienced NCAA pointscorers.

At last year’s meet, Rohrer was 10th off of both boards in his NCAA debut, contributing 14 of Tufts’ 50 total points and earning a pair of honorable mention All-American awards.

He tallied a 467.30 score in the

one-meter and a 467.40 in the three-meter. At NCAA Zones two weeks ago, he scored a 585.20 in his three-meter, title-winning performance and a 509.35 in the one-meter.

Scores can vary with different judges, but clearly Rohrer can improve upon his finishes from last year.

“Definitely intimidating,” Rohrer said of the stiff competition he will undoubtedly face. “Seeing all of the best divers in the country and knowing that you’re trying to beat them is very scary and definitely can throw you off. I think that since I went last year, and I know some more of the guys that I’ll be competing against, I’ll be less intimidated than last year, but my nerves will definitely be at a season high.”

Winget also picked up an honorable mention AllAmerican award, in addition to a lone point, for the team last year when he placed 16th in the 100-meter backstroke with a time of 50.40. He also see MEN’S SWIMMING, page 11

Tennis

Tufts poised to have best season in recent memory

by Ray Paul Biron

Assistant Sports Editor

On Monday, March 16, the men’s tennis team begins its regular season play against Denison in Claremont, Calif. This will jumpstart its official three-game trip on the West Coast over spring break, in which Tufts will also play against No. 15 Pomona-Pitzer and No. 25 Cal Lutheran.

Tufts finished last year with a 9-9 record, its lowest win total since 2010, and suffered a 5-0 loss to Williams in the opening round of the NESCAC championships. The Jumbos also suffered internal turmoil, as the process of changing head coaches dragged on throughout the season.

This year, however, marks a brand new start for both the players and coaching staff. Karl Gregor, who has been an assistant coach for the Jumbos for the past three years, is in his first season as the head coach, a shift that both he and the players are excited about.

“Coach Gregor is probably one of the best, if not the best, coach in all of [Div. III] tennis,” junior co-captain Rob Jacobson said. “This season he has taken a collection of tennis players and turned us into a team. He’s instilled in the team the value of hard work, and

Caroline Geiling / The Tufts Daily

Junior co-captain Rob Jacobson fires a shot against Conn. College on April 10, 2014.

Jacobson will be a leader both on and off the court for the Jumbos this coming season. we strive every day to be the hardest working team in the country, constantly pushing the envelope on how far we can continue to improve.”

Junior Nick Cary is also excited to play under his new coach, referencing

the immediate benefits that his promotion has produced. “[Now] he’s fully able to communicate what he wants with no obstruction,” Cary said. “It is much more clear where he wants us to be at in terms

of practicing, training and getting to know each other.”

“It’s always been a goal of mine to be a head coach,” said Gregor, “For me, it’s exciting being able to put my philosophy and coaching style to work and see how it yields results for good and bad. It’s a real learning experience. So far I think I have gotten some good, positive feedback, but the real test is still upon us.”

The Jumbos enter this season with eight first-year players, the most since their 2010 season. This first-year class has been especially praised for its outstanding play, especially in invitationals this past fall. In the B flight of Boston Men’s Tennis invitational, Cary and first-year Rohan Gupte finished as runners-up. First-years Griffin Brockman and Danny Coran also placed at the invitational.

“All of them can contribute and compete in the starting lineup,” said Coach Gregor. “They really have been able to push everyone in the lineup.

That’s something we haven’t had in the past, we’ve always had a little disparity between … the starting lineup [and the developing players,] where the other guys … couldn’t legitimately push the top six, but that’s not the case this year. see MEN’S TENNIS, page 11