Monday, December 12, 2016

Page 1

Tufts: Just one battleground in national ‘sanctuary campus’ movement see FEATURES / PAGE 5

MEN’S BASKETBALL

Jumbos win one, drop a nailbiter

ABC goes to Baltimore: ‘Hairspray Live!’ is ‘ultra-clutch’ see ARTS&LIVING / PAGE 9

SEE SPORTS / BACK PAGE

THE

INDEPENDENT

STUDENT

N E W S PA P E R

OF

TUFTS

UNIVERSITY

E S T. 1 9 8 0

T HE T UFTS DAILY

VOLUME LXXII, NUMBER 61

tuftsdaily.com

Monday, December 12, 2016

MEDFORD/SOMERVILLE, MASS.

Somerville, Medford reaffirm commitment to undocumented immigrants by Jei-Jei Tan News Editor

Despite President-elect Donald Trump’s recent threats to block funding from sanctuary cities, Somerville Mayor Joseph Curtatone reiterated the city’s commitment to remaining a sanctuary city in an open letter released on Nov. 21. “Somerville will stand with you regardless of your race, creed, color, sex, nationality, legal status, religion, gender identity or sexual orientation,” the letter, which Curtatone authored along with Executive Director of The Welcome Project Ben Echevarria, reads. “We’re going to keep bringing people together, making sure we remain a sanctuary for all. We are one community. We’ve got values that work.” According to Associate Professor of Sociology Helen Marrow, sanctuary cities — a term that encompasses a variety of policy commitments — do not make extra efforts to police undocumented immigrants at the local level. They are still bound by state and federal law with regard to requesting and using immigration status information however, including in determining benefit eligibility. According to the letter, Somerville has been a sanctuary city since 1987, and its violent crime rates and unemployment rates are lower than state and national averages. “So for anyone who claims that cracking down on sanctuary cities has something to do with high crime or a stagnant economy, Somerville stands as a flashing, neon billboard for how wrong that thinking is,” the letter reads. This was reiterated at an open meeting with Curtatone held by the Somerville Democratic City Committee on Nov. 30 to

by Joe Walsh News Editor

MAX LALANNE / THE TUFTS DAILY

Mayor Joe Curtatone speaks to the audience during a Somerville Democratic City Committee meeting at the Somerville High School Auditorium on Nov. 30. discuss Somerville’s status as a sanctuary city in light of the presidential election. “We need you to keep talking about our values. We need you … to have conversations with friends and relatives,” Curtatone told the audience. “I think you need to remind people, these are our neighbors, these are our friends … They love this country as much as anyone else … probably more, and we can’t let the lie become the truth.” Statistics show that crime rates among undocumented immigrants are lower than crime rates among immigrants in general, which in turn are lower than the average among U.S.-born citizens, according to Marrow. Likewise, a 2015 report from the Immigration Policy Center, a pro-immigration reform think tank, found that immigrants are less likely to be incarcerated than U.S.-born citizens and that the same trend

would likely hold for undocumented immigrants. According to Curtatone and Echevarria’s letter, Somerville currently receives approximately $6 million in recurring federal funds per year, about three percent of the city’s annual budget. These funds go towards programs including special education, school lunch, substance abuse prevention and homeland security. In an interview with the Daily after the Nov. 30 meeting, Curtatone emphasized that Somerville would not abandon its values because of the threat of loss of federal funding. “If it happens, we have to tighten our belts … we might have to make some tougher decisions about what we don’t fund, but see SANCTUARY, page 2

Late-night study hours Tisch Library, Edward Ginn Library and Eaton Hall will each be offering extended late night study hours during reading period and finals week this semester. Tisch Library: began Dec. 11, ends Dec. 22 at 5 p.m. Sunday: general hours 10 a.m. to 1 a.m., extended study until 6 a.m. Monday-Thursday: general hours 8 a.m. to 1 a.m., extended study until 6 a.m. Friday: general hours 8 a.m. to midnight, extended study until 6 a.m. Saturday: general hours 10 a.m. to midnight, extended study until 6 a.m.

Please recycle this newspaper

Rain 46 / 30

/thetuftsdaily

Students, faculty hold post-election teach-in

Ginn Library: began Dec. 5, ends Dec. 21 at 5 p.m. Sunday: general hours 9 a.m. to 1 a.m., no extended study Monday-Thursday: general hours 8 a.m. to 1 a.m., no extended study Friday: general hours 8 a.m. to 9 p.m., extended study until 1 a.m. Saturday: general hours 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., extended study until 1 a.m.

Monday-Thursday: general hours 8 a.m. to 1 a.m., extended study until 6 a.m. Friday: general hours 8 a.m. to midnight, extended study until 6 a.m. Saturday: general hours 10 a.m. to midnight, extended study until 6 a.m. Eaton Hall Computer Lab: begins Dec. 13, ends Dec. 22 at 5 p.m. Every Day: open 24 hours

Eaton Hall: begins Dec. 13, ends Dec. 22 at 5 p.m. Sunday: general hours 10 a.m. to 1 a.m., extended study until 6 a.m.

For breaking news, our content archive and exclusive content, visit tuftsdaily.com @tuftsdaily

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—by Kathleen Schmidt

Contact Us P.O. Box 53018,  Medford, MA 02155 617 627 3090 FAX 617 627 3910 daily@tuftsdaily.com

Students, faculty and community members held panel discussions and workshops focused on activism, particularly in the wake of the election of President-elect Donald Trump, as part of a teach-in in Paige Hall over the weekend. The teach-in, which was sponsored by the Consortium of Studies in Race, Colonialism, and Diaspora, Department of Education and Program in Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, featured more than 20 individual events over the course of two days, according to the event schedule. On Saturday, the focus of the teachin was “Building Solidarity,” and many of the speakers discussed histories of racism, Islamophobia and discrimination, according to the schedule. Several student groups, including Tufts Labor Coalition, Tufts Climate Action and Tufts United for Immigrant Justice, participated. The teach-in’s theme on Sunday was “Building Knowledge, Skills and Resources,” and it featured events focused on strategies for activism, protest and resistance, according to the schedule. One panel discussion, called “What does it mean to be a Student of Color in Trump’s America,” included a group of eighth grade students from KIPP Academy in Boston, who reflected on Trump’s electoral victory and how they plan to respond to it. The discussion was moderated by Bryce Turner (LA ’15), the students’ history teacher. Turner drew parallels between the walkout held by Boston high school students on Dec. 5 and the #TheThreePercent protests at Tufts last November, which Turner had helped organize. “It’s really been important to me to not only be a student, not only be a teacher, but to also practice what you preach [and] to be committed to a lifelong journey of activism both in and out of the classroom,” Turner said. After Turner’s opening remarks, his students discussed their outlooks following Election Day. Several of them explained that, after Trump’s victory, many students at their school worried that life could become more difficult. However, they said they hope to resist, in part through education. In particular, a student named Aaliyah said she drew inspiration from Claudette

NEWS............................................1 FEATURES.................................5 ARTS & LIVING.......................9

see TEACH-IN, page 2

COMICS......................................11 OPINION...................................12 SPORTS............................ BACK


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