WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
Somerville, Medford strive to lower carbon footprints see FEATURES / PAGE 3
Jumbos rebound from Amherst loss
‘The Crown’ as Trump’s political handbook see ARTS&LIVING / PAGE 5
SEE SPORTS / BACK PAGE
THE
INDEPENDENT
STUDENT
N E W S PA P E R
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TUFTS
UNIVERSITY
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T HE T UFTS DAILY
VOLUME LXXIII, NUMBER 13
tuftsdaily.com
Wednesday, February 15, 2017
MEDFORD/SOMERVILLE, MASS.
Student political groups on campus alter approaches following election by Hannah Uebele News Editor
Since this year’s presidential inauguration, Tufts student political groups on campus have adjusted their approaches to political organizing in response to President Donald Trump’s administration. Many groups are choosing to focus on ongoing activism with regards to specific issues, according to the leaders of political groups Tufts Democrats, Tufts Republicans, Tufts Cooperation and Innovation in Citizenship (CIVIC) and the Tufts chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). Tufts Democrats and Tufts Republicans, however, will resume a larger focus on political campaigns for the 2018 midterm elections, their group leaders said. According to Ben Kaplan, president of Tufts Democrats, the group has changed its entire perspective. “Before Trump was elected, we assumed that we would spend the spring exploring different policy questions, strengthening our club membership and just kind of decompressing from the campaign. Once Trump was elected, that totally changed,” Kaplan, a senior, said. Kaplan said Tufts Democrats is still doing some policy work, but members are focusing specifically on issues that the Trump administration is attacking.
SEOHYUN SHIM / THE TUFTS DAILY
Tufts Republicans hold their weekly meeting in Campus Center Room 012 on Feb. 14. “The most important thing that we’ve decided to do now is weekly direct action. So every single week at our meetings and throughout the week, we engage in some kind of action to fight for our progressive values,” he said. Kaplan said members of Tufts Democrats used the end of a recent meeting to write postcards to all of their respec-
tive senators about issues they were concerned about. Tufts Democrats is focusing in on a few specific issues to work on, according to Kaplan. “One of the issues most important to us is fighting for immigrant justice,” Kaplan said. “We work very closely with the group United for Immigrant Justice …
and we’re also working with all the other college Democrat chapters in the state to lobby the Massachusetts state house to pass a bill which would essentially make Massachusetts a sanctuary state.” The bill, called the Safe Communities Act, would prevent law enforcement see POLITICS, page 2
Health Promotion and Prevention organizes mindfulness initiative by Haebin Ra
Contributing Writer
RACHAEL MEYER / THE TUFTS DAILY
Students practice mental mindfulness by taking a break to do yoga in Hill Hall on Feb. 7.
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Tufts Health Promotion and Prevention is starting a new mindfulness initiative to help reduce the stress in students’ lives. According to the initiative’s website, it was organized in partnership with Counseling and Mental Health Services, the University Chaplaincy, the Office of Residential Life and Learning and Cambridge Health Alliance. According to Director of Health Promotion and Prevention Ian Wong, this initiative will feature various programs such as workshops, classes and small events. As the coordinator of these programs, he is reaching out to alumni in the Boston area to strengthen the initiative.
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Preparation for the program began after the American College Health Association conducted a survey of Tufts students in 2015 that observed students’ mental health, according to Wong. He said that the survey had produced shocking results: 90 percent of students surveyed felt overwhelmed, and 83 percent were exhausted but not because of any physical activity. “That’s what this initiative is about,” Wong said. “It is directed to students stressed at Tufts. Besides focusing on how an individual perceives and reacts to a situation, we also understand the importance of the environment that causes them to feel stressed. We are not only working with students but also
NEWS............................................1 FEATURES.................................3 ARTS & LIVING.......................5
see MINDFULNESS, page 2
COMICS.......................................8 OPINION....................................11 SPORTS............................ BACK