Points of connection: Group of Six students work to foster inter-center collaboration see FEATURES / PAGE 3
TUFTS SAILING
Sailing makes waves at fall regattas
New entertainment is not in the Kards: ‘Keeping Up’ hiatus ends but fails to bring fresh excitement to plot line see ARTS & LIVING / PAGE 5
SEE SPORTS / BACK PAGE
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T HE T UFTS DAILY
VOLUME LXXII, NUMBER 33
tuftsdaily.com
Wednesday, October 26, 2016
MEDFORD/SOMERVILLE, MASS.
Fletcher School hosts Ideas Exchange bridging policy, academic research by Joe Walsh News Editor
The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy hosted the Fletcher Ideas Exchange last night in the ASEAN Auditorium. It featured a variety of academics, policy practitioners and students who gave brief speeches in a TED-style format in front of an audience of approximately 200 people. The event, themed “Bridging the Academic-Policy Gap,” opened with brief remarks from Communications Lecturer Mihir Mankad and Professor of Practice of International Conflict Management Eileen Babbitt, who both helped to organize the event. Dean of the Fletcher School James Stavridis spoke first about his transition from the military to academia. He said that as the Supreme Allied Commander of North Atlantic Treaty Organization, he had consulted the academic world on a number of occasions. He warned that the world of policy and the world of academia are frequentsee IDEAS, page 2
by Simran Lala
Contributing Writer
they do some very important things, we can talk about that, but when you talk about neoimperialism, neocolonialism … the institutions perpetuate a certain paradigm, a certain model of development that may not actually be in the interests of poorer nations,” he said. Simon also suggested that the United States is not truly a developed country like some may think. “If we were a true developed country, we wouldn’t have poverty,” he said. Simon went on to explain that the reasons poverty exists globally is an important component of the discussion. “The issues that you’ve raised about what makes an object community-driven, in fact what is sustainable development, are key issues also because we know that a lot of developing fails, a lot of development is not effective development, a lot of development is very top-down … rather than really participatory development,” he said. He then asked the audience members whether poverty exists in India and if
In 2014, the Learning Spaces Planning Committee conducted a study that concluded that Tufts needed to upgrade nearly 200 of its classrooms over the following five years, according to Director of Campus Planning Lois Stanley. This plan, known as the five-year classroom renovation project, includes refurbishing and improving out-of-date teaching labs, auditoria, flat-floor lecture-style rooms and computer labs on campus, Stanley said. According to Stanley, 30 learning spaces have been updated thus far. “We focus on all classrooms in one building at a time, which increases efficiency and is more cost-effective,” she added. Stanley explained that some of the goals of the plan include maximizing writing surfaces, such as black, white and SMART boards, as well as improving physical control over classroom environment conditions through well-functioning window treatments and lights. According to Campus Planner and Project Manager Colin Simmons, the planning committee wanted to increase the functionality of classroom spaces for the benefit of both professors and students, as well as make the technology more user-friendly. “There is a communication process between the [Learning Spaces Planning Committee] and the faculty, so that the improvements and installations in specific classrooms is a reflection of the needs of the professors,” Simmons said. Simmons also mentioned that although no priority is given to any specific building on campus, in the future, the committee plans to target bigger and more frequently-used classrooms so more of the student population and faculty can reap the benefits of these changes sooner. Stanley further explained that the group was not applying the same upgrades to all spaces. “Instead, we are tailoring upgrades to the rooms based on teaching faculty
see BUILD, page 2
see RENOVATIONS, page 2
MAX LALANNE / THE TUFTS DAILY
Mariya Ilyas, a MALD candidate at the Fletcher School, speaks on “The Power of Blogs” at the Fletcher Ideas Exchange event in ASEAN Auditorium on Oct. 15.
BUILD hosts Laurence Simon for discussion on development, social justice by Gil Jacobson
Sustainability at Brandeis University, to talk about how international development focuses on ethics and morality last night in Building Understanding through Eaton Hall. International Learning and Development Simon began by providing an overview (BUILD): Latin America and BUILD: India of the center and the fields on which its welcomed Laurence Simon, director of research focuses. These include climate the Center for Global Development and change in East and West Africa, innovative technology in Bangladesh and Sri Lanka and international social exclusion. Simon praised the work that BUILD organizations do but also a c k n ow l e d g e d that unbuilding also needs to happen. “A lot of structures like the World Bank ALEXIS SERINO / THE TUFTS DAILY Laurence Simon, director of the Center for Global Development and and the [InterSustainability at Brandeis University, leads a discussion on international national Mondevelopment in Eaton Hall. etary Fund] … News Editor
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Five-year classroom renovation project advances
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NEWS............................................1 FEATURES.................................3 ARTS & LIVING.......................5
COMICS....................................... 7 OPINION.....................................9 SPORTS............................ BACK