Monday, November 21, 2016

Finding harmony on the Hill: Mindfulness meditation helps students center themselves see FEATURES / PAGE 3

MEN’S CROSS COUNTRY

Nichols shatters Tufts record, takes third at Nationals

Three years out, still Boston Strong: ‘Patriots Day’ marks the journey of survivors of the Boston bombings see ARTS & LIVING / PAGE 5

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Monday, November 21, 2016

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TCU Senate votes down resolution by Students Advocating for Students

by Joe Walsh News Editor

A resolution by Students Advocating for Students (SAS) that called for changes to Tufts University’s Sexual Misconduct Policy, along with other policies, failed to pass last night at the Tufts Community Union (TCU) Senate’s weekly meeting.

The resolution alleged that the university’s Sexual Misconduct Policy violates students’ freedom of speech by defining sexual discrimination and sexual harassment in excessively vague terms. The resolution was the subject of vigorous debate both during the Senate’s meeting and across campus in the weeks prior. Senators ultimately voted 0-26 to reject the resolution, with two abstentions.

SAS’s resolution did not propose specific changes to university policies, but rather urged Tufts to add clarifying language to its policies and guarantee protection of free speech for members of the community.

According to SAS President Jake Goldberg, the intention of the resolution was not to allow for sexual harassment or discrimination, but instead to push for the university to define violations in clearer terms. He said that victims of sexu-

al harassment and discrimination should absolutely be protected, but that it is possible to protect them while preserving other students’ right to free speech.

Goldberg, a sophomore, argued that the university’s current policies do not actually lay out what students can and cannot say because they rely on a potential victim’s definition of what is offensive. For example, the resolution took issue with the Sexual Misconduct Policy’s prohibitions on “innuendos of a sexual nature” and “inappropriate communications.”

In that sense, he said, the policies threaten students’ freedom of speech and their right to due process, which he argued runs contrary to the University President Anthony Monaco’s stated commitment to freedom of speech.

Numerous senators and members of the Tufts community spoke out against the resolution at the Senate meeting, arguing that victims of sexual harassment and discrimination could have less protection and disciplinary recourse if the policies were altered. In addition to the senators, more than 35 students and community members attended the meeting, one of whom spoke in favor of

MAX LALANNE / THE TUFTS DAILY

Sophomore Jake Goldberg introduces his resolution, which demands clarification of University policies that Goldberg believes restrict free speech, to the TCU Senate at its weekly meeting on Nov. 20. the resolution and one of whom spoke against it.

LGBTQ+ Community Senator Parker Breza said that the proposed changes could present a danger for victims, many of whom are struggling for justice under the current policies. TCU Senate President Gauri Seth

agreed, arguing that more limited policies would leave a lot of students without sufficient protection.

In an interview prior to the meeting, Goldberg told the daily that he believed see SPEECH, page 2

Students support anti-DAPL protestors at Standing Rock with donation drive

by Aneurin Canham-Clyne Staff Writer

The LGBT Center hosted a donation drive to collect materials for protesters at the Standing Rock Native American Reservation on Nov. 4, according to the Tufts Community Union (TCU) Senate LGBTQ+ Community Representative Parker Breza. Breza said the drive was part of a series of teach-ins, rallies and donation drives in support of halting the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL).

According to Elizabeth Dossett, a sophomore who helped organize the drive, the LGBT Center is recruiting more students to help transport goods to Standing Rock and to be present for ongoing protests. The Standing Rock camp is located in North Dakota, on land belonging to the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, in the path of the planned Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL).

Breza, a sophomore, organized the initial donation drive. He noted that donations were needed to prepare the Standing Rock camp for winter, and that Tufts students who are planning to go there over winter break, including himself and Dossett, will bring the community donations and other supplies.

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“The first goal is to bring supplies and any native folks who are trying to get to Standing Rock,” Breza said, referring to native people from his hometown in Minnesota who want to travel to Standing Rock and assist in the protests.

Dossett said that it would be important for those going to the camp at Standing Rock to actively participate.

“People who come should have a really good work ethic while there, and respect the culture of indigenous people,” Dossett said. “I know I probably won’t sleep a lot because I’ll be maximizing the hours of work I can provide for the camp.”

Breza noted that students who want to go to the campsite can contribute through means other than direct action and civil disobedience.

“While it’s important to have bodies there, to show presence, it is also really important that people are physically doing things, like winterizing the camp or cooking,” Breza said.

TCU Senate Diversity and Community Affairs Officer Benya Kraus said that a number of Tufts students were planning on going the week after the drive, but they had to reschedule, giving them time to organize additional solidarity efforts.

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“We’re hoping to supplement the supply drive with fundraising efforts too,” Kraus, a junior, said.

According to Kraus, student support is not limited to donation drives or traveling to the camp. One of TCU Senate’s goals for this semester is to support indigenous students and communities on and off campus, as a continuation of the work started by the movement for Indigenous People’s Day. For example, TCU Senate passed a resolution calling on Tufts to support the Standing Rock protests and to divest from companies involved in the finance and construction of the DAPL on Nov. 13.

Kraus also noted that a cause dinner hosted by Tufts United for Immigrant Justice on Nov. 15 donated funds to the North American Indian Center of Boston, which directed some of the proceeds to supporting anti-DAPL protesters at Standing Rock.

“For the rest of the semester, we are working collectively to make the supply drive stronger,” Kraus said.

She noted that the water protectors, the term that DAPL protesters use to refer to themselves, were in need of items like tents and generators that students likely would not be able to donate, but TCU Senate will sell shirts with supportive designs as a way of raising money for Standing Rock.

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“All that money will be going to the water protectors,” Kraus said.

Dossett said that indigenous narratives are traditionally silenced as part of the process of settler colonialism.

“We are destroying these people’s land and livelihood,” Dossett said. “The knowledge base that people go to when you say Native Americans is Pocahontas. You can’t really say that sort of stuff about other disciplines of study.”

The Standing Rock movement, as well as Indigenous People’s Day, has raised the profile of indigenous struggles, Kraus said.

Breza agreed with this conclusion.

“I know that the fight against the Dakota Access Pipeline was a wake-up call for white environmental organizations that had completely forgotten indigenous people,” he said.

Breza said that the DAPL fight is part of a broader movement for indigenous rights, citing the No DAPL rally on the Boston Common on Nov. 9 and the push for Tufts to create an indigenous studies minor.

“Over a thousand people showed up for that rally. I hope that the energy is channeled in the right ways. Supporting the water protectors is one of the most important things we can do,” Breza concluded.

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THE TUFTS DAILY | News | Monday, November 21, 2016

T HE T UFTS D AILY Arin Kerstein Editor-in-Chief

EDITORIAL

Sophie Lehrenbaum Jake Taber Managing Editors Evan Sayles Associate Editor Kathleen Schmidt Executive News Editor Gil Jacobson News Editors Melissa Kain Robert Katz Liam Knox Catherine Perloff Jei-Jei Tan Hannah Uebele Joe Walsh Juliana Furgala Assistant News Editors Jesse Najarro Danny Nelson

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Goldberg argues for SAS resolution, calls for free speech protection SPEECH

continued from page 1 vaguely-worded policies leave a tremendous amount of discretion to the administrators tasked with enforcing them, such as the Office of Equal Opportunity (OEO) and the Student Affairs office.

“I’m not accusing [the administrators] of having bad [intentions], but I am accusing them of writing policies that are way too vague for me to actually know what I can and cannot say,” he said.

Goldberg also said that he would prefer for the university’s policies to be based on the Supreme Court’s decision in Davis v. Monroe (1999), which, according to the decision, held that Title IX discrimination claims should consist of conduct so severe or pervasive that it undermines the victim’s educational experience.

“To me, there’s a complete difference between an offensive comment and one that actually meets the federal definition of severe, pervasive, objectively offensive so as to deny them of their educational opportunities,” Goldberg said.

According to Goldberg, members of SAS have met with university administrators such as Dean of Student Affairs Mary Pat McMahon with the intention of pushing for the proposed changes. He said

that he hoped that the resolution would give additional leverage in lobbying the administration.

As the resolution points out, Tufts’ Sexual Misconduct Policy lists innuendos, jokes and sexist statements as conduct that could potentially amount to harassment. However, the policy qualifies that list with a larger definition of sexual harassment.

The Sexual Misconduct Policy explicitly states that unwanted conduct is harassment if it interferes with an individual’s work or academic performance, or if it is a condition of employment or academic status.

Conduct rises to that level, the policy states, when it is “sufficiently serious, pervasive or persistent as to create an intimidating, hostile, humiliating, demeaning, discriminatory or sexually offensive working, academic, residential or social environment.”

Additionally, the policy states that harassment is judged both by a subjective standard, which is based on the perception of the complainant, and by an objective standard, which is based on whether any reasonable person would view the conduct as harassment.

According to OEO Executive Director Jill Zellmer, OEO is responsible for investigating reports of discrimination as a neutral fact-finder. She said that the pol-

icies in the Sexual Misconduct Policy are designed to correspond to state and federal law, and that they were recently reviewed by the university’s Sexual Misconduct Prevention Task Force.

Zellmer added that the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights has conditionally approved the university’s Sexual Misconduct Policy. Because of regulatory oversight and legal ramifications, Zellmer said that Tufts does not necessarily have legal leeway to change the language of the policies. Nonetheless, she said that OEO is open to student input about the desire for specifics.

“The Office of Equal Opportunity remains open to feedback from the Tufts community about all of its policies and procedures,” Zellmer told the Daily in an email. “We regularly review and revise our policies to meet community needs as appropriate.”

After the TCU Senate voted down SAS’s resolution, Goldberg said that he was disappointed in senators’ responses to the resolution. However, he said that he plans to continue SAS’s mission.

“We’re still going to take this cause to the public, with regards to the Tufts community as well as with the administrators,” Goldberg said. “The buck doesn’t stop here by any means.”

TCU Senate votes on resolution supporting efforts to free Tufts alum from Iranian prison

by Vibhav Prakasam Senate Correspondent

The Tufts Community Union (TCU) Senate met Sunday night in the Sophia Gordon Multipurpose Room to discuss two resolutions and committee updates.

The first task at hand was a resolution S.16-12 “A Resolution Requesting Free Speech Rights for All Members of Tufts University.” TCU Senate President Gauri Seth opened by asking everyone to refrain from attacking anyone and to be mindful that ideas were being discussed, not people.

TCU Senate Parliamentarian Adam Rapfogel brought up the resolution, written by Jake Goldberg, Edmund Tamas Takata, Samuel Swoap, Drew Stern and Tyler Klein. After TCU Senate Historian Rati Srinivasan read it aloud, Rapfogel, a sophomore, then asked for any non-substantive changes to the resolution, of which there were none.

After this, the two authors present at the meeting, Goldberg and Takata, both sophomores, had a chance to explain the resolution. Some of the items that they brought up were that it was not a resolution to condone any sort of harassment or misconduct, but a call to clarify several existing Tufts policies pertaining to free speech.

Goldberg believes that the existing policies are very subjective in how they treat violations to the policy, and that there is little accountability on administrators because of this subjectivity. He argued that administrators refer a reported violator to some sort of punishment every time they receive a report, and that there should be clearer guidelines on when such an individual should actually receive punishment instead of every time.

Several questions were raised by the senators and members of the audience attending the meeting during the question-and-answer period during which senators asked the resolution’s writers

to provide more details on changes they wanted to see in Tufts’ policies.

After this period, there was a motion to vote on the resolution, which was objected to, leading to a pro-con debate period and an eventual passing of a motion to vote.

The resolution was then voted on in a roll call fashion, meaning each senator in attendance voiced “yea,” “nay,” or abstained, one at a time. Ultimately, the resolution failed with 0 in favor, 26 opposed, and 2 abstentions.

The next order of business was a second resolution calling for TCU Senate, Tufts faculty and Tufts alumni to publicly support the release of Siamak Namazi (A’93) and Bagher Namazi from prison in Iran, written

by Senate Diversity and Community Affairs Officer Benya Kraus, Tufts Amnesty International President Emma Plankey and Amy Dunlap (A’93), close friend of Siamak’s.

Siamak was imprisoned in Tehran’s Evin prison for speaking out against U.S. sanctions because it made it hard to obtain lifesaving medicine in Iran. He is a prisoner of conscience, according to Plankey, meaning he is a person who was imprisoned for political or religious views which were not tolerated by the Iranian government. His father, Bagher, was imprisoned for unclear reasons.

The resolution calls for TCU support and a grassroots movement because then it is more likely for human rights groups, namely Amnesty International, to recognize the case and advocate more for it.

There was a motion to move the resolution, but it was objected to, so the body moved into a pro-con debate.

The main point of contention was a clause stating TCU Senate condemned the abuse of the Namazis’ rights by the Iranian government because it was unclear if the clause would be effective. Someone proposed an amendment to remove it and this was con-

sidered friendly, many Senators were more satisfied.

After the debate ended with a motion to vote on the resolution, the resolution was voted on by hand raising rather than a roll call because of the sensitivity of the issue, according to Rapfogel. The resolution passed with 24 in support, 1 against and 1 abstention.

Following this, TCU Senate Vice President Shai Slotky asked for committee updates. Jacqueline Chen, Student Outreach Committee Chair, said that there would be a One-Minute Wednesday instead of a Two-Minute Thursday so that there would be something out before Thanksgiving.

Administration and Policy Committee Chair Sylvia Ofoma, said that her committee had a work day and went through several policies regarding mental health. Kraus, who is also Culture, Ethnicity and Community Affairs (CECA) Committee Chair said CECA talked about goals for the end of the semester and looked toward next semester, some of which include raising money and supplies to send to the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation, seeing Tufts become a sanctuary campus and doubling the number of enrolled indigenous students in the next incoming class.

Finally, Education Committee Chair Nesi Altaras, emphasized that from 12 p.m.-1 p.m. on Nov. 28, there would be a forum to review distribution requirements in the Alumnae Lounge.

After these updates, the Judiciary and the Committee on Student Life (CSL) gave their weekly updates. The Judiciary recognized three groups, including Tufts Republicans, which had tried to get recognition last year but did not have the proper documentation. The CSL is trying to increase transparency by producing clearer meeting minutes. Additionally, the CSL is in contact with the Office of Student Affairs regarding existing issues surrounding Greek life.

Monday, November 21, 2016

Features

At Buddhist Mindfulness Sangha, students carve space for community healing

3 tuftsdaily.com

Rainbow House 2016 On Queer

On white picket fences

W

LILIA KANG / THE TUFTS DAILY

Students gather for weekly Mindfulness Meditation led by Buddhist in Residence Priya Sraman, on Nov. 14.

by Nina Joung Features Editor

“Focus on one breath and then the next … and then the next.”

Priya Sraman’s words filled the silence of Goddard Chapel on Monday, Nov. 14 as the Tufts Buddhist in Residence led a breathing meditation.

Eleven Tufts students sat cross-legged in a circle next to him with their eyes closed.

During the noon open block period on Mondays and Fridays, the Mindfulness Buddhist Sangha makes Goddard Chapel a peaceful escape from the rest of campus. Noah Schifrin, a junior, has been coming to the Mindfulness Sangha since he was a first-year. For him, the Sangha presents an opportunity to participate in something that’s rare at Tufts: an activity that involves not doing much of anything.

“Everything you kind of do at college, at Tufts particularly, you’re doing with some kind of goal in mind,” Schifrin said. “You’re not really allocating time into doing something unproductive, so [the Mindfulness Sangha] was really good to almost force myself [to] be like, ‘You’re not going to accomplish anything for an hour, and that’s helpful for you.’”

For Ann-Marie Lee, a first-year and one of the student leaders for the Mindfulness Sangha, meditation — particularly group meditation — is a way to promote healing on campus.

Collective campus healing is one of the Mindfulness Sangha’s main goals, in addition to being welcoming and known among all communities on campus, according to Lee. “We understand that there is a need for healing on campus, and we want to help facilitate that because the way you heal is different from the way I heal,” she said. “We all have different identities and backgrounds, and we all may be suffering maybe in different ways, or

we cope differently.”

This message of healing and self-care is even more relevant to some members of the Tufts community following the results of this year’s presidential election, according to Lee. During this difficult time for many students, she hopes the Sangha can be a space for these students to heal together.

“I think in the wake of the election, whatever kind of fear, anxiety, stress you may have … Sangha may or may not be able to help with [it],” she said.

“I think it’s reasonable to just be tired of having to fight for your rights … If you need rest more than anything else, I think that’s where the Sangha can come in.”

Increasing Student Involvement Existing under various forms of leadership since 2001, the Mindfulness Buddhist Sangha has adapted to growing interest in mindfulness on campus and to a student-driven desire to make practicing mindfulness open to all, according to University Chaplain Reverend Greg McGonigle.

Before the Buddhist in Residence staff position was created at the University Chaplaincy, the Mindfulness Sangha was supported by various volunteer faculty and staff advisors approved by the Chaplaincy, McGonigle said.

In recognition of a growing interest in and need for Buddhist and mindfulness programming at Tufts, McGonigle worked with Harvard Divinity School’s Buddhist Ministry Initiative to create the Buddhist in Residence staff position in 2015, naming the Venerable Upali Sraman — then the Tufts Buddhist Chaplaincy Intern — the first Buddhist in Residence. Sraman worked with Tufts until this past spring, according to McGonigle.

This August, Upali’s brother Priya Sraman entered the Buddhist in Residence role. Coming into the role, Sraman, a master’s student at the Harvard Divinity School, was happy to

see a growth in student leadership and student input in the Sangha.

This year’s student leaders, Palak Khanna, Juleen Wong, Rasika Sethi and Lee, worked with Sraman to restructure the Sunday night meditations that were previously led by David Arond, M.D., who was then the Sangha’s faculty advisor and an assistant professor of public health and community medicine at the Tufts University School of Medicine. The leaders are also restructuring the Monday and Friday meditations led by Sraman.

According to Wong, a senior who has been part of the Mindfulness Sangha since her sophomore year, the Sunday night meditations are now a space for students to lead meditation and have a more informal, smaller meeting with only other students. Wong also described how the Mindfulness Sangha leadership organized brainstorming sessions with other members to discuss what they wanted to get out of the meditation group this year and potential events the Mindfulness Sangha could hold.

One result from the brainstorming sessions was asking Sraman to make time during the Monday and Friday meetings for discussion, Wong said.

After that, she said that Sraman started bringing in texts for students to discuss at these meetings.

By having students work with the Buddhist in Residence, Wong believes that the new structure for the Mindfulness Sangha offers more student voice.

“It’s more student-driven with an expert as a sounding board,” Wong said. “[Sraman] hears what we have to say and offers ways to [help].”

Building a Space for the Tufts Community The way Sraman leads meditation is not strictly Buddhist. In recognition see SANGHA, page 4

hen I was little, my favorite TV show was “Leave It To Beaver” (1957-1963). The show focuses on young Theodore Cleaver (also known as “The Beaver”), his brother Wally and their parents, June and Ward. The Cleavers’ life is perfect in that white picket fence sort of way: Wally loves sports, June and Ward never fight and Beaver gets to run around their small suburban utopia. I always found it very comforting.

I know a few things about my future: I know I will always have at least one dog at home. I know I will have an NYC apartment with giant windows. I know I’ll make brunch for my friends on Sunday mornings. I know I’ll either teach or work with animals. I know I’ll buy a bright-red racing bike with a wagon-attachment on the back so I can drag my dogs, a beagle and a wheaten terrier around the loop in Central Park.

I know I’ll get married, though I don’t know to whom. I know that if my wife tries to bring a cat into our apartment, I will divorce her in 30 seconds flat. I know I’ll be a mother and I know that I’ll adopt my kids. I know I want to be a foster parent, but my mom says I don’t have the emotional strength to say goodbye to a foster child I’ve come to love. I know she’s right about that, too.

I know that I am a competent young woman, but I know that I will get fired from at least one job in my life. I know I will take it personally. I know I’ll still talk to some of my friends in 20 years, but I know I have some friends with whom I’ll lose contact after graduation. I know losing touch with them will make me sad. I know my kids will hate me sometimes and that it’ll hurt me. I know that marriage takes compromise, so I know I might have to move out of the city or, God forbid, get a cat.

I was in the ninth grade when it occurred to me that I wasn’t destined for a Beaver Cleaver cookie-cutter life.

I was at the NYC Gay Pride Parade when I realized that this was not “the plan.” I was not supposed be in the East Village. I was not supposed to be holding hands with a girl. I was not supposed to have condoms thrown at me by some guy in a choke collar and a sequined Speedo.

The realization that I am not destined for a “normal” life was a crushing and depressing one at first, but I have come to embrace it wholeheartedly. It took me quite a few years to get to this point, but I have experienced enormous growth since I got to college.

So if my picket fence is an ugly shade of beige, I know I’ll have friends and family to sit by me while I repaint it.

This column was written by an anonymous resident of the Rainbow House. They can be reached at rhouse@gmail.com.

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THE TUFTS DAILY | Features | Monday, November 21, 2016

tuftsdaily.com

Healing through meditation in Goddard Chapel SANGHA

continued from page 3 of the mostly non-Buddhist group of students at the Mindfulness Sangha, Sraman wants his mindfulness meditations to fit the needs of all the students.

“I know what [the students] really want is mindfulness,” he said.

“They may not really want to practice Buddhism, and that’s what I think I should be doing to help them and support them in their meditation practice.”

According to Sethi, a senior who joined the Sangha as a first-year, the group has shifted to calling themselves “The Mindfulness Sangha” as a way to clarify that they are not practicing a “Buddhist” way of meditation.” “[Meditation is] my search of what life is,” Sethi said. “I don’t like ascribing it to any religion.”

One of Khanna’s goals as a student leader is to make it known that the Mindfulness Sangha is a welcoming space that is open to people of all identities, experiences and faiths.

“We all deserve to be loved and cared for,”Khanna, a junior who first joined

the Mindfulness Sangha as a first-year, said. “We all deserve to have spaces where we can come and be open about ways that we suffer, stressors that we’re dealing with … not just academics but life stress, race-based trauma, sex-based trauma … [and] ways that [aspects] of our identities are oppressed.”

Sraman centers student voices and community building during the discussion portion of his Monday and Friday meditations. The students break into small groups and share their interpretations and analyses of short stories from the book Don’t Worry, Be Grumpy: Inspiring Stories for Making the Most of Each Moment, written by Buddhist monk Ajahn Brahm.

Sraman hopes these discussion groups also create an opportunity to build community with one another.

“The purpose of the discussion groups is to get to know each other,” he said. “[It’s] not just coming to the [meeting] and leaving without knowing the name of another friend or student.”

The Power of Healing While Sraman understands that students have tight schedules, he encour-

ages everyone to include mindfulness meditation as a regular part of their student life in order to reap its benefits. “[Mindfulness meditation] is not a one-time thing,” he said. “In order for someone to really benefit from mindfulness meditation … The more practice, the better it is.”

Similarly, Khanna hopes that students take whatever feeling or lesson they gain from the Mindfulness Sangha and bring it with them wherever they go outside of Goddard Chapel.

“It’s something that should become a fabric of your day-to-day life: trying to be thoughtful and compassionate… [and] trying to build conversation with others about important issues that matter to you and to others,” she said. “You are caring for yourself first and foremost, and you are caring for others.”

Wong hopes to reach out to the Tufts community at large through an upcoming campus-wide event. Between Dec. 5 and 11, the Mindfulness Sangha will create a mural about collective healing in Tisch Library for students to share how they suffer and how they heal, Khanna said.

Khanna hopes to include time to meditate, share spoken word and have a cappella performances. Lee believes the event could help normalize the healing process promoted by the group for students unfamiliar with it.

“I think we’re really hoping for this project to be a campus-wide testimony to the fact that there shouldn’t be a stigma around healing,” Lee said. “There shouldn’t be a stigma around recognizing that you’re hurt.”

While Khanna has plans to help people and effect change however she can, she said that without achieving selfcare through mindfulness, her efforts would be less effective.

“I realized that in order to support others, in order to make the kind of change, do the kind of things I want to do in this world, I need to take care of myself,” Khanna said. “I need to keep track of my breathing. I need to keep track of my eating. I need to keep track of my sleep. I need to listen to myself first. Doing meditation, being in the space with the people, has let me [do that].”

Monday, November 21, 2016

ARTS&LIVING MOVIE REVIEW

Assistant Arts Editor

While it’s been a little over three years since the terror of the Boston Marathon bombing, HBO’s “Marathon: The Patriots Day Bombing” (2016), which premieres Nov. 21 at 8 p.m., attempts to recount the events that shook the nation to its core. The emotional documentary also serves as a good reminder to everyone that, while America may have moved on, the survivors have no choice but to confront this reality every day.

When directors Ricki Stern and Annie Sundberg decided that they wanted to take on this story as the subject of their next documentary, they knew it would be no easy task.

Rather than risk sensationalizing the horrors

of that day, they instead wanted to focus on the survivors’ well-being and how they were coming to terms with the upheaval in their lives. Stern and Sundberg knew early on that in order to do that, they had to make collaborating with The Boston Globe a priority.

While many news outlets disappeared during the aftermath of the attack and subsequent manhunt, the Globe refused to abandon their community and made a conscious decision to keep checking in for as long as their support was needed.

The relationship between the Globe, the victims and Boston at large is fairly strong, making the paper the ideal stepping stone for Stern and Sundberg.

As was to be expected, the duo was met

with apprehension. The Globe was steadfast in avoiding anything exploitative in nature, so it had to assess whether or not these filmmakers’ goals aligned with its own, ultimately concluding that working on this project together was a good thing. They were soon able to tap into the relationships the Globe had established with three different groups of survivors and their families. Stern and Sundberg were in it for the long haul, and the dedication and genuine care they felt toward their subjects is palpable throughout the entire film.

The film begins as every Patriot’s Day in the city does. The excitement and anticipation vibrate through the screen. It’s 2013 see PATRIOTS DAY, page 6

CBS FILMS

Mark Wahlberg stars as Sgt. Tommy Saunders in “Patriots Day,” HBO’s new film on the Boston Marathon bombings.

GAME REVIEW

‘Killing Floor 2’ is gloriously excessive but quickly grows monotonous

by John J. Gallagher Arts Editor

If a little salt makes food taste good, a lot of salt must make food taste great, or so the flawed thinking goes. If the glorious excess of “Killing Floor 2,” which was released on Nov. 18, is any indication, the developers at Tripwire Interactive bury their lunches in salt.

“Killing Floor 2” is a first-person shooter that pits groups of players against hordes of computer controlled, humanoid monsters called Zeds. These zombie-like monsters assault the players in waves, advancing with claws and chainsaws at the ready, and the players must eliminate all the Zeds that make up a wave. Each monster slain earns the player dosh, or money. If players survive a wave, they are rewarded with a brief reprieve from a battle and a chance to spend their hard-earned blood money on more powerful weapons. This process repeats with progressively more difficult waves until a final boss emerges. A game ends when the players conquer the final boss, or when all players are defeated.

The core gameplay of “Killing Floor 2” isn’t particularly complex: shoot monsters, get paid, buy bigger guns to shoot bigger monsters, rinse and repeat. The formula is also identical to the original “Killing Floor,” which Tripwire released 2009. The trick to succeeding with a simple formula is execution, and every detail of a fundamentally simple game must be well realized to make it worth playing.

The original “Killing Floor” has been succeeded by dint of a masterfully realized aesthetic. Built on the old-evenfor-2009 Unreal 2.5 game engine, the game’s dated technology lent its character models a blocky quality and its English environments a certain flatness.

Coupled with an overwhelmingly brown color pallet and an anything-but-subtle film grain effect, the artfully low-fi game had a ragged charm and evoked Danny Boyle’s classic 2002 zombie movie “28 Days Later.” There was a sense of bowel-knotting dread about “Killing Floor,” as haggard characters fought the good fight in a ruined world, with gallows humor aplenty in between horrifying combat.

tuftsdaily.com

Nikki Margaretos Is This Thing On?

Three years later ‘Marathon: The Patriots Day Bombing’ won’t let viewers forget

by Jocelyn Contreras

5

“Killing Floor 2” takes a different aesthetic approach to its predecessor.

Built on a significantly modified version of the Unreal 3 engines, “Killing Floor 2” looks anything but dated. With the graphics settings turned all the way up, the game is capable of some serious eye-candy. A level set in Paris is particularly impressive, with wet cobbled streets and a burning Eiffel Tower looming in the distance.

The game’s graphical prowess is particularly evident in its weapon modeling. The developers at Tripwire are known for their love of guns, and that passion for firearms translates into some of the best-realized weapons in video games. From the slide flying back on a nine-millimeter pistol to the dull roar of a pump-action shotgun, every aspect of the firearms is meticulously implemented, which makes them a joy to shoot.

Tripwire also clearly invested a great deal of time in the game’s gore systems.

Slaying hordes of monsters was always going to make a mess, but Tripwire has see GAMEPLAY, page 6

Daft Punk birthday celebrations

G

reetings and happy almost Thanksgiving break! Today is my birthday, and I am choosing to write about Daft Punk.

Perhaps they are my musical incarnation: they have been active for close to the same number of years I’ve been alive (21!), they are French (I’ll be spending next semester in Paris), they like helmets (Okay, maybe I don’t always wear mine while biking) and, like me, they are close, personal friends with Kanye West (self-explanatory).

For those who don’t know, the Parisian duo produces electronic music that, at times, might be a little intense for mainstream listeners. However, you may be more familiar with the duo than you think. Take “Stronger” (2007), which is one of Kanye West’s most played tracks on Spotify. Not to undermine Mr. West, but I do believe that he owes quite a bit of his success to his brilliant choices in sampling. The sample of Daft Punk’s “Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger” (2001) charges up Kanye’s tone and aligns with the verses so well that you might not realize that it’s not part of his original work.

In its earlier years, Daft Punk’s beats were often used in this way as samples for other artists, but beginning with the smash hit “Get Lucky” (2013), we’ve seen the pair harness its own popularity. The duo may not have quite enough appeal to channel solo success (yet), but its versatility has allowed for some dangerously addicting collaborations.

When you think of Daft Punk, you might think back to songs like “One More Time,” (2000) or “Technologic,” (2005), which pervaded pop culture in both dance clubs and TV commercials.

In more recent years, Daft Punk has toned down its sound and teamed for some powerful collaborations, perhaps in an effort to strike a chord with more casual listeners. Its last album, Random Access Memories (2013), featured musical mogul Pharrell Williams, who produced significantly more melodic tracks than ones on the duo’s previous albums. I personally love the style of “Get Lucky” and “Lose Yourself to Dance” for the element of groove that Pharrell brings to said tracks. I also applaud Daft Punk for owning its use of autotune in a way that doesn’t feel abrasive — try “Instant Crush (feat. Julian Casablancas).”

Essentially, I think the duo took a bit of its electronic edge off to please a wider audience with more mellow synths. And that’s okay. While it’s certainly a change in sound, I see it as a development in the duo’s career as the electronic industry matures as a whole.

Just last week, Daft Punk released another collaboration with The Weeknd, “I Feel it Coming.” Its infectious beat is reminiscent of the Weeknd’s own “I Can’t Feel My Face” (2015); Daft Punk contributes a relaxed vibe that results in a track that you can’t help but play on repeat.

Keep your eye on this one, because it’s sure to be all over the radio this winter.

Nikki Margaretos is a junior majoring in international relations and economics. Nikki can be reached at nikoletta.margaretos@tufts.edu

6

THE TUFTS DAILY | Arts & Living | Monday, November 21, 2016

tuftsdaily.com

Directors team up with the Boston Globe to capture healing, recovery PATRIOTS DAY

continued from page 5 again. Runners and spectators alike bring out the best in each other, capturing the unwavering sense of community that was on the forefront of everyone’s mind that day. As the race begins, the film ignites an inevitable holding of the audience’s collective breath.

The screen settles on a final wide frame that faces the front of the finish line head on, just as the first racers are approaching it. It’s as if time freezes once again. No matter how prepped one is, the explosion is nonetheless violently startling.

From then on, the Globe’s presence becomes more pronounced, as the story’s untangling relies heavily on the coverage they gathered from that day forward. Some graphic and all-too-familiar stills appear on the

screen, intercut with the footage of the second bomb going off. John Tlumacki, a photographer at the Globe, comes into frame, explaining how carefully he approached his documentation of the chaos that ensued.

This was not an easy line to navigate, and Tlumacki later expresses regret in how a select few of his images veered toward being exploitative in nature in his opinion. As horrific as this sequence turned out to be, Stern and Sundberg’s choice in focusing on how the city united in the throws of the turmoil helps as the sinking devastation settles in.

The film then diverges into three unique perspectives of recovery. In one corner, newlyweds Patrick Downes and Jessica Kensky Downes deal with the disjointedness of their journey forward. Another light is cast on mother and daughter Celeste and Sydney

Corcoran, the subjects of some of Tlumacki’s most haunting images of that day. Finally, brothers J.P. and Paul Norden’s rehabilitation is captured as well. Their mother, Liz Norden, is also focused on, as she struggles to extend herself to meet both of her sons’ needs.

The effect of weaving these accounts together is rather profound, and all the while, Stern and Sundberg float in and out of the more difficult moments with the right amount of tact to avoid feeling intrusive.

Nevertheless, these are deeply personal, intimate snapshots that these families have decided to share.

In the background of Stern and Sundberg’s commitment to humanizing the aftermath, the ongoing manhunt grips the city. Their approach captures the fact that initially, those who came together were working off

little information. Yet amidst the collection of evidence, video surveillance analyses and city-wide alertness, the dots are connected.

If this time spent on the perpetrators bothers anyone, it shouldn’t. One of the most poignant moments of the film occurs when Globe writer David Filipov walks this delicate line in recounting the public backlash of his piece “The Fall of the House of Tsarnaev,” an in-depth profile of the brothers behind the attack. He makes the point that, in understanding these types of killers, there is a chance to prevent this type of terror attack in the future.

As a whole, Stern and Sundberg’s documentary serves as an ode to light in the wake of darkness, reminding viewers of both the intensity of the bombing and resilience exhibited in the face of this tragedy.

Zombie madness in Tripwire Interactive's newest release GAMEPLAY

continued from page 5 implemented all the glee of an over-excited 12-year-old with a morbid love of violence.

Weaker Zeds explode into torrents of gore and limbs when fired upon, and stronger Zeds display the punishment taken through exposed skulls or other horrific injuries. Tripwire has also made a point of keeping gore persistent, meaning that levels rapidly end up coated in blood, which should be horrifying, though it ends up feeling comically overdone.

Occasionally, as in the original “Killing Floor,” time will slow for all players in a mechanically-dubbed Zed Time. Though Zed Time serves a gameplay purpose by making lining up headshots easier, it really is just an excuse for players to witness guns firing and heads exploding in slow motion, which sounds distasteful but is very much in keeping with the game’s over-the-top, heavy metal aesthetic.

All this graphical glitz gives “Killing Floor 2” a certain cleanliness that its grungy predecessor lacked. The sequel succeeds artistically, but fans of the blocky, brown original, with its jerky animations and tinny sounds, will find the neon colors, shiny surfaces and smooth, meticulously-animated characters and weapons of the latest iteration to be a radical departure from its predecessor.

TRIPWIRE INTERACTIVE

“Killing Floor 2” was released worldwide for PC, PS4 Pro and PlayStation 4 on Nov. 18.

For all its commendable bombast, “Killing Floor 2” is hard to recommend unless you have a group of friends to play it with. Once one has tried out all the weapons and character classes, which can be accomplished in an afternoon, “Killing Floor 2” gets monotonous

quickly. The game does offer a progression system to keep players interested but the system involves obscenely long grinds to unlock what amounts to numerical bonuses. It is, after all, hard to get excited about unlocking a 5 percent movement speed bonus. A group of

friends assuages most of this monotony.

Though it may only hold your attention briefly without a group of friends, “Killing Floor 2” is a monument to excess.

If one was looking for evidence that burying fries in salt really does make them taste better, “Killing Floor 2” is it.

7

Monday, November 21, 2016 | Comics | THE TUFTS DAILY

tuftsdaily.com

Comics

LATE NIGHT AT THE DAILY Max: “Do dolphins have legs?”

Comics

SUDOKU

DOONESBURY

BY GARRY TRUDEAU

NON SEQUITUR

Difficulty Level: How big a turkey to buy?

BY WILEY MILLER

Friday’s Solution

FOR RELEASE NOVEMBER 21, 2016

Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Lewis

ACROSS 1 Correct 6 Dr.’s visit 10 “No __”: “Piece of cake” 14 Farewell that’s bid 15 Societal woes 16 Weapon in Clue 17 It’s “down at the end of Lonely Street,” in an Elvis hit 20 Horse hair 21 Online marketplace 22 City in upstate New York 23 Business baron 25 Liver secretion 27 Practice boxing 28 Oil well output, in slang 33 Hindu teacher 34 Fútbol fan’s cry 35 Fencing weapon 36 Malleable metal 37 Historic events at Gettysburg and Vicksburg 41 Sister of Zsa Zsa 42 Ye __ Shoppe 44 Spoil 45 Word with circle or tube 47 Miracle-Gro, e.g.

50 Flower usually sold by the dozen 51 Ivory source 52 Upper crust 54 NFL Hall of Famer Bart 57 Dreaded high school spots?

59 Baker’s amts.

62 Part of an Aretha Franklin refrain about fools ... and a hint to the ends of 17-, 28- and 47-Across 65 Swiss river 66 Congressional confidante 67 Florida city on the Gulf Coast 68 Waitstaff rewards 69 Post-combat affliction, briefly 70 Sharply inclined

CROSSWORD

11/21/16

By Agnes Davidson

DOWN 1 Chicago mayor Emanuel 2 Thought 3 Big bamboo muncher 4 “Peekaboo!”

5 Boy king 6 Online service for booking rooms with local hosts 7 Guilty, for one 8 Ump’s cry before the first pitch 9 “For shame!”

10 Mentored person 11 Roast, in Dijon 12 Oil cartel acronym 13 Actor Lugosi 18 Arthur of “Maude” 19 “Incredible” superhero 24 Chicago daily, familiarly 26 Frozen drink brand 27 Sty supper 29 Keno kin 30 Ali Baba’s magic words 31 “Drove my Chevy to the __”: “American Pie” lyric 32 Luv 33 “Knock it off!”

Saturday’s Solved Friday’sPuzzle Solution

©2016 Tribune Content Agency, LLC

38 Kennel cacophony 39 Suffered financially 40 iPhone’s voiceactivated app 43 Postings in ledgers 46 “Please, anything else!”

48 Right or left, while driving 49 Didn’t admit

11/21/16

53 Sportscaster Berman 54 Ella’s expertise 55 Spicy Asian cuisine 56 Boomers’ lobbying group 58 Scoundrels 60 Water carrier 61 “Just like that!” fingers sound 63 Put a limit on 64 Dol.’s 100

Opinion

8 tuftsdaily.com

Monday, November 21, 2016

OP-ED

Reproductive inequality: a history continued

by Paris Sanders Imagine: You are 16 years old and entering a doctor’s office. You are told that you’re about to be given a medication; this medication is useful, as it greatly minimizes the likelihood of pregnancy, but abstaining from using it would not lead to any immediate harm. The only catch is that using this medication could cause mild to severe changes to body weight, skin, hair and mood, even resulting in increased risks for clinical depression. In some cases, the medication could create a greater risk for blood clots, stroke or breast cancer. Your doctor tells you that because of the benefits of this medication, the likelihood of a “lesser” side effect is inconsequential and simply “comes with the territory.”

“The pill” has a nuanced and oftentimes paradoxical history, much like the reproductive rights movement itself.

Though both ideologically and materially liberating since its first commercial introduction in 1960, the contraceptive pill has had many enduring consequences related to access as well as effects. Though not available to unmarried people in all states until 1972, “the pill” was devised and tested in multiple iterations as early as 1950, beginning with a fertility study funded by Gregory Pincus and John Rock.

Unlike the subjects of today’s trials, Pincus’ and Rock’s first participants were unaware that the substance they were ingesting was intended to prevent pregnancy by way of hormonal manipulation, and many dropped out in droves due to side effects much like those still caused by oral contraceptives.

Later on, Pincus and Rock moved their trials outside of the continental United States, announcing their study of a contraceptive option to uninformed, impoverished Puerto Rican women, who first signed up to participate in droves, but often dropped out of the study due to extreme side effects. In these trials, roughly 17 percent of women experienced nausea, vomiting, stomach pain and

headaches. While the doctor in charge of the trials declared that the pill had “too many side reactions to be generally acceptable,” this did not stop G.D. Searle & Co. from releasing the first version of the pill, Enovid, in the same formulation.

Accordingly, each iteration of the contraceptive pill, as well as other hormonal options such as the contraceptive ring, patch, shot and implant, have grown less potent over time, and with very good reason. The first releases of the contraceptive pill contained more than three times the amount of progestin and estrogen than many of the pills offered today. Yet somehow, very much unlike a recently tested male contraceptive option, these products were released. Call it added caution in federal regulation or call it scientific progress; maybe, just call it sexism.

I find it hard to imagine that any other medication could last on shelves for a year — much less five decades — if a major portion of its users experience some form of negative side effect, and if of those users, some women experience more severe side effects, such as the fatal deep vein thrombosis (DVT) or increased risks for various cancers.

Worse still, more common side effects of hormonal contraceptives are frequently dismissed due to stereotypes regarding female tolerance of pain. Often cited research by Diane Hoffmann and Anita Tarzian in the Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics found that medical professionals are more likely to tell women that their symptoms are psychosomatic, whether or not emotional factors are in fact the cause of their pain. Similarly, a 2008 study published in Academic Emergency Medicine, designed to gauge gender disparities among emergency room patients, found that even after adjusting for race, class and triage assessment, women were still 13 to 25 percent less likely than men to receive high-strength opioid pain medication.

Those who did get opioid pain relievers waited an average of 16 minutes longer to receive them. Simply put, not only are women experiencing higher rates of side

effects from contraceptive medication than would be found in many other medication types, but they are also less likely to be trusted when pain emerges from any medication or condition, resulting in a horrible potential for miscommunication between patients and their doctors, as well as delayed responses to potentially hazardous conditions.

The options for male contraception currently in review are not only effective, but have been found to be more effective than traditional contraceptive pills, with a failure rate of about 7.5 percent.

By contrast, The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that male condoms have an average failure rate of 18 percent, and that in women, birth control pills, patches and rings have a failure rate of roughly nine percent. With this in mind, the products currently under review have lower failure rates than nearly all available contraceptives today, with the exception of female implants and intrauterine devices (IUDs) with a failure rate of around one percent, as well as sterilization surgeries in both men and women. Yet, despite this evident success, due to reports of side effects almost identical to those experienced every day by women, the process of releasing these products has been halted. Just 20 of the 320 men (roughly six percent) found the side effects of the injection intolerable, and as such, it was decided that more research needed to be done to try and counteract these effects.

While one could easily argue that the hesitation to release a male birth control option is largely the result of increased medical standards, it is also important to note the implications of this caution. Who is the Food and Drug Administration, or further, the medical community at large, truly concerned about? In the advent of a Trump presidency, it is without doubt that access to reproductive healthcare will be threatened. Without pushback from the federal government — which appears highly unlikely due to a Republicandominated House, Senate and executive branch — states hostile to reproductive

healthcare will slash funding to clinics like Planned Parenthood and challenge state-owned insurance programs established under the Affordable Care Act; they could also reinstate “religious freedom” exemptions, allowing employers to deny birth control access under company healthcare policy. Even more frightening, some of these “religious freedoms” could grant employers the ability to challenge employees’ access to contraception — particularly emergency contraception or IUDs — altogether.

Historically, the weight of contraceptive side effects has fallen most heavily upon society’s least powerful, which is ironic given that these communities often have the most difficult time obtaining affordable contraceptive options. Women of color, native women and the incarcerated have endured decades of forced sterilizations, while disabled women and the mentally ill have been compelled to enter medical trials. Transgender women and gender non-conforming individuals are often harassed or denied coverage at hospitals; transgender men experience similar harassment, or are denied basic prenatal care due to appearance. In Trump’s America, millions of individuals, with the exception of the cis-gender men new contraceptive options are geared towards, will have to fight diligently to protect their reproductive rights, much less access to affordable contraceptive options. As it stands, all women face the difficult choice of withstanding various side effects for the sake of reproductive health for themselves, as well as for their partners. If this is the case, it seems only reasonable that men must be expected to do the same.

Editor’s note: If you would like to send your response or make an op-ed contribution to the Opinion section, please email us at tuftsdailyoped@gmail.com. The Opinion section looks forward to hearing from you.

Paris Sanders is a junior majoring in philosophy and political science. Paris can be reached at paris.sanders@tufts.edu

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Monday, November 21, 2016 | Opinion | THE TUFTS DAILY

Opinion EDITORIAL

Establish a sanctuary campus at Tufts A petition calling upon the administration to make Tufts a sanctuary campus for undocumented members of the university community has made waves at Tufts over the past week, garnering more than 3,000 signatures. The petition calls on the university to protect the identities of all undocumented community members — including students, their families, staff and workers — to provide them access to immigration legal services and to bar U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and other immigration agencies from making raids on the university’s campuses. This petition was accompanied by a campus-wide walk-out on the afternoon of Wednesday, Nov. 16, during which hundreds of students gathered to support solidifying protections for undocumented members of the Tufts community.

These demands follow those of many students on college campuses across the country who are aiming to create protections for staff and fellow students in the wake of President-elect Donald Trump’s election.

Following the walk-out, University President Anthony Monaco expressed his support for undocumented students, stating, “Tufts is committed to con-

tinuing our support of DACA and undocumented students because we have a moral responsibility to protect the safety and well-being of all students regardless of their citizenship status or personal identities.” However, Monaco made no firm commitment to establish Tufts as a sanctuary campus, leaving many frustrated with the university’s lack of palpable solutions following the election.

It is imperative that Monaco and the administration take this key step before Trump takes office for several reasons.

Establishing Tufts as a sanctuary campus would be a concrete measure that would ensure all members of our community are protected and valued. Given that the Admissions team has decided that students are welcome “regardless of citizenship status,” making Tufts a sanctuary campus would ensure that claims the administration has already made would be substantiated.

Further, given the sheer number of students and staff members that have supported the petition, Tufts needs to consider that a significant portion of the student population wants to establish these safeguards for community members. For the university to ignore the demands of such

a significant number of students would demonstrate a flagrant disregard for the students that comprise the very foundation of this university.

Declaring Tufts a sanctuary campus would also be symbolic on a broader scale.

This is a time of anxiety and uncertainty for undocumented students throughout the United States, with many fearing harassment, discrimination and the threat of deportation under a Trump administration. Joining the nationwide sanctuary movement would demonstrate our solidarity with undocumented students nationwide and the University’s commitment to valuing and protecting all of our community members.

Given the substantial amount of student support behind the petition and its crucial importance in light of our current political situation, it is critical that Monaco and his administration take the formal step to establish our campus as a sanctuary campus. Not only would the action ensure that all members of our own community feel safe and protected, it would also send an important message of solidarity to undocumented individuals nationwide who are uncertain about their futures at this time.

TUFTS AS A SANCTUARY

BY STEPHEN DENNISON The Tufts Daily is a nonprofit, independent newspaper, published Monday through Friday during the academic year, and distributed free to the Tufts community.

The content of letters, advertisements, signed columns, cartoons and graphics does not necessarily reflect the opinion of The Tufts Daily editorial board.

EDITORIALS Editorials represent the position of The Tufts Daily. Individual editors are not necessarily responsible for, or in agreement with, the policies and editorials of The Tufts Daily.

OP-EDS The Op-Ed section of The Tufts Daily, an open forum for campus editorial commentary, is printed Monday through Thursday. The Daily welcomes submissions from all members of the Tufts community; the opinions expressed in the Op-Ed section do not necessarily represent the opinions of the Daily itself. Opinion articles on campus, national and international issues should be 600 to 1,200 words in length and submitted to oped@tuftsdaily.com. The editors reserve the right to edit letters for clarity, space and length. All material is subject to editorial discretion and is not guaranteed to appear in the Daily. Authors must submit their telephone numbers and day-of availability for editing questions.

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9

Aren Torikian The Arena

Constructing the cabinet

A

ristophanes once wrote, “under every stone lurks a politician.”

Politicians say and do whatever is necessary to win; oftentimes, these promises mean little. Usually this annoys me, but in the case of President-elect Donald Trump, I was almost rooting for him to break his promises.

In the immediate aftermath of the election two weeks ago, that is just what he did. Trump campaigned heavily on repealing and replacing Obamacare. But in an interview with the Wall Street Journal, Trump actually acknowledged keeping parts of the bill. Trump’s team also quietly removed the provision calling for a ban on Muslims traveling to the United States from his personal website. It seemed like Trump was following the same path most politicians take.

But over the last 10 days, it has become obvious that these changes were just cosmetic. In picking potential cabinet members, Trump has reverted to rewarding the initial supporters who bought into his inflammatory rhetoric. For instance, the new Attorney General (America’s top lawyer), Senator Jeff Sessions (R-AL), was Trump’s first senatorial endorsee. Sessions is one of the Senate’s most vehement opponents of immigration — illegal or (believe it or not) legal.

Trump also tapped Mike Flynn, another early supporter, for the job of National Security Advisor. Flynn, formerly an Obama Administration advisor before being forced out, once referred to Islam as a “malignant cancer,” and has called the fear of Muslims “rational.” His appointment may indicate an alignment with Russia in the Syrian Civil War, focusing on fighting ISIS instead of promoting regime change.

Oh, and Trump picked the overtly anti-Semitic former chairman of an overtly racist and misogynistic news source to be one of his top advisors. There’s that too.

Almost as worrying is the potential role Trump is carving out for friends and family. For example, Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner reportedly nudged New Jersey Governor Chris Christie out of cabinet consideration. Christie, a former government prosecutor, had put Kushner’s father in jail for criminal tax evasion, witness tampering and illegal campaign donations. Just days after the election, Trump relegated Christie from his position atop the transition team.

He then asked for security clearance for Kushner. Federal law prevents family members from being part of the Cabinet, but this would not be too far from that.

We’ll see who else Trump decides to nominate over the course of the next few weeks, but I don’t see him having trouble getting them through the Senate. For Cabinet members, Trump just needs a simple majority in the Senate. Thanks to the Democrats’ dud of a performance on Nov. 8, they probably won’t be able to organize enough bipartisan support to slow Trump down.

For once, I actually wish there were more “establishment” bureaucrats in the administration. As of now, Trump’s administration has filled up with a murderer’s row of ideologues with little experience (aside from Sessions) in political office. Trump met with former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney on Saturday, and will hopefully offer him a position. Actual politicians in the cabinet would give us, Washington and other nations some level of predictability to the president’s actions. As of now, this cabinet’s build quality is like an IKEA product put together by your favorite columnist.

Aren Torikian is a junior majoring in economics and international relations. Aren can be reached at aren.torikian@tufts.edu.

10

THE TUFTS DAILY | Sports | Monday, November 21, 2016

tuftsdaily.com

Tufts finishes with best record (27-4) since 2009 VOLLEYBALL

continued from back nine kills along with four blocks and only one hitting error. She also boasted the team’s second best hitting percentage for the game.

“No matter who has officially been on or off the court, everyone is an important component to our success,” Humann said.

“The fact that our team is so deep in each position is what allows us to maintain our competitiveness during practice and ultimately achieve success in game time.”

The fifth set saw Tufts fall behind early, as Southwestern jumped out to a 4-1 lead on a kill from junior middle hitter Piper Sisemore. Bright brought Tufts within one at 9-8, but Southwestern responded with four

straight points to extend their lead to 13-8.

With their backs against the wall, the Jumbos responded again with a 5-1 run to bring the score to 14-13. The Pirates’ lead ultimately proved too much, however, and they clinched the set and the match with a kill from Sisemore.

“We knew from scouts and film that it was going to be a defensive battle and with 234 digs combined I would say it was.” coach Cora Thompson told the Daily in an email.

“Offensively, it was a challenge for both of our teams to find wood, but I thought our setters gave our hitters great looks and our hitters really challenged the defense to make great plays over and over again. It was a classic battle and one we can walk away from knowing

that we fought and absolutely belonged there amongst the best in the country.”

Tufts played with an extremely young lineup for much of the season, and there were times during the NCAA quarterfinal match when the team had four first year players and two sophomores out on the court. The youth of the team bodes well for future seasons and displays the potential this team has under Thompson, who won her fifth NESCAC Coach of the Year award this season as well as Northeast Region Coach of the Year.

“I’m excited to have three more years with our freshman class,” first-year right side hitter Christina Nwankpa said. “I’m excited to see our drive to get back to the tournament again, because I think we can definitely get back.”

For seniors Ahrens, Humann, and outside hitter Mary Maccabee, Thursday was their last match as Jumbos. Ahrens was awarded All-American honorable mention honors along with All-Northeast Region team recognition. Humann received an AVCA AllRegion honorable mention.

“I want to give our seniors and our other five returning players a lot of credit for how well they set this program up for success,” coach Thompson told the Daily in an email. “Out of the gates in August, they welcomed our seven rookies and helped them adjust to life not only at Tufts but as a student-athletes as quickly as possible knowing that our success as a group depended on it.”

Nichols' third-place finish the best ever for Tufts MEN'S CROSS COUNTRY

continued from back North Central College was the overall winner with 60 points, followed by SUNY Geneseo and University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, with 204 and 209 points respectively. The top finisher was Ian LaMere from University of Wisconsin-Platteville at 23:40.40.

Nichols crossed just seven tenths of a second behind the second place finisher, senior Ernie Pitone of Widener University. Nichols did not let his just missing on second place take away from the experience, though.

“While I was so disappointed to be so close to second, I couldn’t be happier with the way things turned out on Saturday,” Nichols said. “I’m definitely sad about my cross country career coming to a close since it’s been part of my life for so long.

This team fostered so close a group that was really special to be a part of, especially in [my] and Luke [O’Connor’s] last year.”

This was the first time in their careers that Nichols and O’Connor were running for individual scoring rather than with the team, as the Jumbos had narrowly missed out on a team berth by finishing fifth at Regionals. However, they still felt that they were there to compete for their teammates. And their teammates were right there with them, covered in face paint, body paint and flags, cheering their loudest all throughout the course.

“We have really awesome fans. For a long time, our team has had a tradition of making a drive out to the meet no matter how far away it is, no matter what their class or academic schedule is like,” Schmidt said. “I think we had 43 men and women make the trip so [that] was just really wonderful to have. There was still the feel of a local regional meet with the support we had on the sidelines even though it was Nationals.”

Last week, the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Associations (USTFCCA) deemed Nichols the New England region’s Athlete of the Year. Nichols and O’Connor have also achieved AllNESCAC and All-Region honors this season, in recognition of their being among the best runners that Tufts and the NESCAC have ever seen.

“There are certainly shoes to fill, and the other guys are going to look at the success they had and where they came in as runners and realize that huge improvements every year are possible and that if you put the work in and you dedicate yourself, you can accomplish pretty great things,” Schmidt said. “The ethic they brought and what they and the whole senior class has done in terms of leadership and guiding the other guys and getting them to want to be a part of a successful team is huge for our culture and it doesn’t go away.”

Schmidt believes that the young team has areas that it needs to work on for next

season, especially now that the group is in search for redemption by qualifying for Nationals as a team once again.

“I think this year, especially for a really large sophomore class, was just to get their feet wet and some new racing experiences,” Schmidt said. “Hopefully next year, they’ll come in ready to get more from the outset with a little more expectation for consistent racing every single week. There’s certainly enough guys and enough talent to qualify and have a better team than we had this year, but it will take some dedication and consistency over the next couple of months and especially over the summer.”

For now, the team is preparing for the transition into indoor track season. The cross country runners won’t compete again until January, when they hope to meet lofty goals and expand on their fall success.

Schmidt said that in the meantime, their goals in the upcoming weeks are to relax and do well on finals.

Tufts University Department of Drama and Dance Check out our Spring 2017 classes!

Express yourself in film!

Evolve your passion for dance!

Film Directing: DR158-01, T Advanced Film Making: DR191-02, T Screenwriting I: DR77-01,T Screenwriting II: DR178-01, T

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Acting I: DR10, 4 sections, M/W & T/Th Physical Comedy/Clown: DR94-05, T/Th (consent) Acting II: DR12-01, T/Th Directing II: DR156-01, F Public Speaking: DR27-01 & 02, M/W Voice and Speech: DR28-01, M/W

Delve into theatre history & performance studies!

Ballet II: DNC13-01, M/W Ballet IV: DNC15-01, M/W Modern I: DNC21-01, T/Th Modern III: DNC23-01, T/Th Dance on Camera: DNC 77-01, T/Th Dance and the Hollywood Musical: DNC92-06, M/W Dance Movement & Creative Process: DNC71-01, M/W

Explore the globe!

Kathak Dance Theater: DNC47-01, T/Th Afro-Haitian Dance: DNC92-07, T/Th Tai Ji Quan: DR94-04, M/W

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Early Modern Theatre: DR3-01, T/Th Latino Theatre and Film: DR51-01, M/W Domestic Tragedy, Sexuality, Identity, Performance: DR254-01, T Foundations & Futures in Performance Studies: DR294-02, W

Lighting Design: DR18, M/W Stage Engineering: DR20, M Stage Management: DR25, M Set Design: DR125, W Makeup Design and Application: DR15, T

Spring classes are open for viewing in SIS on October 31 Registration - November 14-25

Questions about classes? Call 617-627-3524, M-F, 10-4 www.dramadance.tufts.edu

Monday, November 21, 2016 | Sports | THE TUFTS DAILY

Sports WOMEN'S BASKETBALL

Jumbos open season with two victories in N.Y. Last year’s NCAA Div III finalists started their season off with two wins on the road in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. in their season-opener.

Tufts celebrated a 60-38 victory over Keene State College on Friday night and defeated host Skidmore College 60-55 on Saturday.

Despite starting the season with two wins, junior forward Melissa Baptista believes the team still needs to shake off some of its rust and continue to build chemistry.

“I think bringing 100 percent energy on the court from minute one to minute 40 is the number one thing we all collectively need to work on,” Baptista said. “We have great athletes on our side so we should be able to run on any team. Being completely focused and disciplined on the defensive side is important as a lot of us got into foul trouble in a very close game this past Saturday. It is very early in the season and we have a lot to improve upon but our offenses and defensive chemistry will come over time.”

Tufts, currently ranked No. 1 in the nation, bested Skidmore by five points on Saturday.

The Jumbos opened with a blistering start against the Thoroughbreds. Sophomore guard Jacqueline Knapp hit a three-pointer to put Tufts on the board and senior tri-captain guard Josie Lee followed with two triples of her own. Junior tri-captain point guard Lauren Dillon netted Tufts’ fourth consecutive trey and junior forward Melissa Baptista tipped the ball in to put Tufts up 14-4 at the five minute mark. Several missed shots from the Jumbos, however, allowed the Thoroughbreds to close the gap to just six points by the end of the first quarter, as junior guard Kelly Donnelly led her team’s recovery with a lay-up and free throw.

The second quarter was an evenly matched affair. Baptista got the scoring underway with a three-point jump shot 33 seconds into the quarter. It was a back-and-forth affair as every Tufts’ score was met with a Skidmore response. Dillon made two three-pointers in the final two minutes of the half – the second of which came on a steal by first-year guard Sadie Otley – and the Jumbos entered half time with a 32-25 lead.

Skidmore’s fight back came in the third quarter, as the team outscored Tufts 18-13 to set up a dramatic final period. A series of fouls on Tufts sent Skidmore to the line four times in the last 2:30 of the third quarter. The Thoroughbreds netted seven of their eight chances and narrowed the Jumbos’ lead to just two at 45-43.

The Thoroughbreds took the lead early in the fourth quarter, as they made the first three shots of the period, scoring six unanswered points. Donnelly’s lay-up with 4:31 to play

LAURA DE ARMAS / THE TUFTS DAILY ARCHIVES

gave the hosts a 49-45 lead. Knapp’s three point shot with 2:46 left on the clock, brought the Jumbos back within striking range before Thoroughbred junior guard Veronica Moceri’s two free throws put her team up three. Baptista leveled the score on an and one, with two minutes to play.

Donnelly finished with a game-high 20 points and a team-high nine rebounds, as well as one assist.

The Jumbos outscored the Thoroughbreds 9-4 through the buzzer. Otley made two free throws with under a minute to play, before hitting a three-pointer to put the Jumbos up five. Dillon then effectively sealed the game for the Jumbos with a pair of free throws with seven seconds left on the clock.

It was an all-around team effort that led the Jumbos to victory. Dillon posted a team-high 13 points and a game-high five assists. Senior tri-captain Michela North picked up six points and a game-high 10 rebounds, while Lee scored eight points. Knapp recorded a full line of 12 points, four rebounds and three assists, and Otley led the first-year class, contributing seven points from the bench.

North said she was impressed with how the first-years have transitioned into the team.

This was all the more essential on Saturday, given that the Jumbos committed 24 fouls.

“I was really impressed and happy that they got some good minutes and definitely [helped] the team,” North said. “[Otley] hitting that three at the end of the Skidmore game was what really won us the game, so that was amazing. I think they showed some improvement from the first game to the second game too, the first game you could tell they were kind of nervous, like throughout the game, [they] didn’t want to mess up, but even in the second game you could already tell that they had more confidence in themselves.”

Tufts’ start to the season was a little more comfortable on Friday night as the team led from start to finish against Keene State. The first half demonstrated Tufts’ dominance, as the team raced to an 11-0 lead with baskets from Lee, Baptista, Dillon and Knapp. The Keene State Owls only managed to get on the board with 04:20 in the first quarter and the Jumbos led comfortably 17-2 at the end of the first. Tufts entered halftime with a 28-14 lead.

The Jumbos effectively sealed the game in the third quarter as they outscored the Owls 14-8. Seven Tufts players scored in the period. Remarkably, twelve different Tufts players scored overall, as the team played almost its entire bench. Dillon led the team with 10 points and six rebounds, while North recorded a game-high nine rebounds. North also stole the ball three times. Collectively, the bench contributed 33 points, as senior forward Katy Hicks collected five rebounds and sophomore forward Katie Martensen recorded two blocks.

Going into its next two games at home, Dillon believes the team can continue building on its performances from the weekend.

“I think just having the experience from this weekend and hopefully a little more confidence will help going into the game on Tuesday,” Dillon said. “We need to work our offenses a little more, we have some new ones and we need to be better executing them.

We’ve consistently been a defensive team, and there are things we can work on there, like not fouling as much. So I think it comes down to execution on offense and getting back to basics on defense.”

Tufts’ next game is its home-opener against Wheaton College at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, followed by another home game against Brandeis at 2 p.m. on Sunday.

Bowman takes 18th at Nationals WOMEN'S CROSS COUNTRY

continued from back “I thought we gave it all we had, despite it being a rather rough day. I think everyone gave it all we got, and while a lot of us performed well, I think we all hoped for a better finish,” Wasserman said. “It is difficult to predict how nationals shakes out, but I think we gave it a really hard effort as a team.”

Coach Morwick felt that the team is in a good place heading into next year. She noted that Tufts is returning three of its top five runners next season — Bowman, Bettez and Tierney — and that the incoming first-years will also contribute. She also thanked her graduating class and talked about how proud she was of them.

“The great leadership of our three captains; Sam Cox, Sarah Corning and Alice Wasserman, as well as our other seniors [Fahey, Atkeson, Olivia Dehm and Meredith Reynolds] made this year so much fun,” Morwick said. “They have worked exceptionally hard over the last four years and have shaped this team,

Max Goder-Reiser Out of Left Field

S Junior forward Melissa Baptista looks to pass the ball to senior forward/center Michela North in the women’s basketball game against Amherst on Feb. 28.

EVAN SAYLES / THE TUFTS DAILY ARCHIVE

Senior Kelly Fahey runs along the shore at the Connecticut College Cross Country Invitational at Harkness Memorial State Park on Oct. 15. who will have high expectations moving forward due in large part to the example these seven seniors have set for the under-

classwomen. I’m so proud of this group of young women and feel so fortunate to have coached them this year.”

11

hohei Otani is one of the most exciting prospects to hit baseball in recent memory. The 22-year old is the ace of the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters pitching staff, posting a 1.86 ERA this year and striking out 11.2 batters per nine innings. His best pitch is his fastball that tops 100 miles per hour. Otani is also one of the best batters in Japan’s Pacific League. The Fighters’ ace had 382 plate appearances this year and batted .322/.416/.588, slugging 22 home runs. Primarily a designated hitter, Otani has also played outfield on his off days.

Otani led the Fighters to their third ever Japan Series Championship this year .

Due to his tremendous two-way ability, the right-handed pitcher and left-handed batter has earned himself comparisons to Babe Ruth.

Now unfortunately Otani isn’t likely to be posted this year, in part because of MLB’s pool rules and personal financial reasons. Otani has only pitched four seasons in Japan (since he was 18!) which, if he came to America, would put him under international bonus pool restrictions, therefore limiting how much a team could pay him.

Otani would either have to already have had five years in Japan or be 23 to avoid these restrictions – both requirements he will meet following next season. Coming to America this year would significantly hamper his earning potential.

Due to the international restrictions, an MLB team wanting to sign Otani would be forced to pay exorbitant fees, including a 100 percent tax on the signing bonus given to him. Unless the new Collective Bargaining Agreement, which needs to be agreed upon by Dec. 1, changes the international signing rules, it appears likely that Otani will hold off another year before making his Major League debut.

It’s fun to look ahead though to when Otani actually comes over. The list of free agent starting pitchers after the 2017 season includes Jake Arrieta, Tyson Ross and Marco Estrada. Since some of these pitchers will receive extensions from their clubs, it’s shaping up to be just an alright free agent class, which aids Otani’s case. Teams looking to add pitching could potentially aim their sights overseas for the best free agent.

Teams that could afford the type of money Otani would require include the Red Sox, Yankees, Dodgers, Giants, Nationals and Tigers. Otani has stated that he wants to sign with a team that would let him bat or play the field on days he isn’t pitching. His affinity for hitting would seem to push him in the direction of the National League, where the pitchers bat for themselves.

This would provide a huge boost for whatever team signs him, as traditionally the pitcher’s spot in the order is almost a sure out, unless you’re Madison Bumgarner or Bartolo Colon.

I want nothing more than for Otani to continue his success from Japan as a two-way player. Baseball hasn’t really had a guy who pitches and hits at a high level since Babe Ruth. Shohei Otani represents an exciting experiment for baseball to see whether a player can do both in the modern era.

Max Goder-Reiser is a senior majoring in biology. Max can be reached at max. goder-reiser@tufts.edu.

12 tuftsdaily.com

Sports

Monday, November 21, 2016

VOLLEYBALL

Jumbos bow out in NESCAC Quarterfinal Round

by Sam Weidner Staff Writer

In just its second trip ever to the NCAA quarterfinal match on Thursday, the Tufts women’s volleyball team fell in five sets to Southwestern (Tex.). The team ends its season with a 27-4 record, its best since 2009 when the team finished 31-5 after also losing in the NCAA Quarterfinal Round.

The Jumbos’ final match was tight all the way, as no set was decided by more than four points. It was a defensive battle, with both teams tallying 116 digs on the day.

In the first set the teams were back-andforth and the score was tied for much of the period. However, leading 22-21, the Southwestern Pirates scored three straight to finish the set off with a kill from sophomore outside hitter Jamison Duck.

The second set played out similarly, and the score was knotted at 13 after co-captain senior middle hitter Elizabeth Ahrens earned a kill on an assist from sophomore setter Angela Yu. Tufts seemed to have the edge, as it jumped out to a 20-18 advantage on first-year middle hitter Heather Holz’s kill, but Southwestern responded with a 7-1 run, the last five points of which came on the serve of junior right side/opposite hitter Kate Mitchell, who sealed

the set on a serving ace. The Pirates took a 2-0 set lead in the match, but the Jumbos were not done yet.

Seemingly on the edge of defeat, the Jumbos came out strong in the third set. After a kill from first-year setter Rachel Furash, Tufts led 12-3. The Jumbos expanded their lead to a 23-11 advantage, but the Pirates again responded, this time with a 9-0 run, to trim the lead to just three at 23-20. Tufts scored MAX LALANNE / THE TUFTS DAILY ARCHIVES the next two points Sophomore outside/opposite hitter Mackenzie Bright sends the ball over the net in the NCAA Regional semifinal game and claimed the against U Mass. Boston in Cousens Gym on Nov. 12. third set on a kill from Mackenzie Bright. Tufts led 22-20 late in the dle hitter McKenzie Humann in this match.

Ahrens to begin its comeback effort. set and went on to score three of the next Despite Holz getting limited playing time for The fourth set started out close as well, four points, finishing the set off with a kill most of the season, in this match she posted before the Jumbos claimed a 12-9 lead from Holz. see VOLLEYBALL, page 10 on a kill from sophomore outside hitter Holz was playing for injured senior mid-

MEN'S CROSS COUNTRY

Nichols, O’Connor All-Americans at National Championship

by Marc Weisglass Staff Writer

The one-two punch of senior co-captains Tim Nichols and Luke O’Connor came out with something to prove on Saturday, at their last college cross country meet. The duo traveled to E.P. “Tom” Sawyer State Park in Louisville, Ky. for the Div. III NCAA Championship, representing a Jumbo squad that did not qualify for the meet as a team for the first time since 2010, missing the cut by a small margin. The captains qualified based on their top-three finishes at Regionals.

“They wanted to make sure they did the rest of the group proud,” assistant coach Mike Schmidt said.

They certainly gave their teammates something to cheer about. Nichols finished the 8-kilometer race in third place, with a time of 24:09.70, and O’Connor finished 20th at 24:42.40. Both runners earned All-American

honors. This is the first time in the program’s history that two runners have received AllAmerican honors in the same NCAA race.

The race also marked Nichols’ second year in a row as an All-American finisher at Nationals, where he placed 19th last year.

Nichols is the first Jumbo to finish in the top-five at Nationals and in doing so, he recorded the fastest Tufts time at an NCAA meet. O’Connor’s time ranked third in Tufts’ Nationals history after Matt Rand (LA ’12) who posted a 24:36 in 2011.

“Definitely a great day. We came here with just two guys and we left with two AllAmericans,” Schmidt said of the meet. “Can’t ask for much better than that. I think they both went out aggressively and put themselves in positions to run really well. Both of them capped off their careers by raising the bar for what is expected from the program.”

EVAN SAYLES / THE TUFTS DAILY ARCHIVE

see MEN'S CROSS COUNTRY, page 10

Senior Tim Nichols runs in first place at the Connecticut College Cross Country Invitational at Harkness Memorial State Park on Oct. 15.

WOMEN'S CROSS COUNTRY

Jumbos take eighth-place finish at National Championships

by Arman Smigielski Staff Writer

The women’s cross country team’s season came to a close in cold and windy Louisville, Ky. at the NCAA Div. III National Championships on Saturday. Tufts placed eighth overall, a slight decline from its seventh place finish last year. The program has improved overall, though, as the team was sixteenth in 2014, and in 2013 it placed thirteenth. The last time Tufts placed higher was in 2006 when the team took fifth.

“I think overall, our team can be extremely proud of how we performed this season.” coach Kristen Morwick said. “Despite a slow start, we had great NESCAC and New England Regional NCAA meets and we were good at NCAAs … just not great.”

Tufts finished with 320 points, just under 90 points more than regional rivals Williams and MIT. Williams placed fourth overall with

232 points, while MIT finished in fifth place with 234. The individual winner of the race was senior Amy Regan from the Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, N.J. She finished with a time of 20:16.4, almost 15 seconds faster than any other runner.

Tufts’ first finisher, junior Brittany Bowman placed 18th overall with a time of 21:05.7. She received All-American honors for her performance to go with her New England Athlete of the Year award from the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association. She vastly improved on her 82nd place finish at the NCAA National Championship last season. Bowman was narrowly able to beat out junior Jamie Lord from the Rochester Polytechnic Institute, who finished two tenths of a second behind her.

Bowman captured the top spot at the NCAA Regionals two weekends ago and raced almost ten seconds faster this weekend than she did at Regionals. However, sopho-

more Abigail Nadler from Middlebury and first-year Megan McCandless from MIT, both of whom Bowman outraced at Regionals, finished ahead of Bowman in the rematch.

Nadler ended up finishing in fifteenth overall, and McCandless ended up finishing in seventeenth. McCandless crossed less than a second ahead of Bowman, despite Bowman setting a personal best and school record.

In second place for the Jumbos was senior Kelly Fahey who finished in 76th place overall with a time of 21:46.2. Fahey ran a 22:38.6 at Nationals last season, improving by nearly a minute in her season season.

Finishing 17 seconds after Fahey and in 115th place was sophomore Natalie Bettez with a time of 22:03.2. Senior Lindsay Atkeson scored fourth for the Jumbos and was ten seconds after Bettez, finishing in 140th place with a time of 22:13.1. Rounding out the top five for the Jumbos was her classmate, senior tri-cap-

tain Sam Cox who finished with a time of 22:16.0 for 145th place.

Also competing for the Jumbos were senior tri-captain Alice Wasserman who finished 173rd and sophomore Kelsey Tierney who placed inside the top-200 at 199. Wasserman dropped in the standings from her junior season when she finished 84th at Nationals.

“For me personally, my race was rather rough. The race went out a lot harder than I expected, but I feel like I held on and had a good kick at the end. The race environment is a lot more different at nationals than at any other race, and I wish I prepared better for it mentally, but I know I left it all out on the course.”

Senior tri-captain Alice Wasserman felt that the team gave the race its all, but wished they could have done better. see WOMEN'S CROSS COUNTRY, page 11