The Tufts Daily - Tuesday, October 1, 2019 by The Tufts Daily

Broadway Bridge closure impacts community, businesses in Ball Square see FEATURES / PAGE 5

MEN’S TENNIS

Sorkin crowned winner of ITA New England Singles Championship

No. 24 volleyball stays undefeated, improves to 12–0 see SPORTS / PAGE 11

SEE SPORTS / PAGE 11

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VOLUME LXXVIII, ISSUE 18

Tuesday, October 1, 2019

MEDFORD/SOMERVILLE, MASS.

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Baker bans all vaping products in Massachusetts drawing praise, criticism

by Connor Dale

flavored and non-flavored vaping products in both retail and online stores. The Commonwealth’s Public Health Council imposed the ban the same day. The restrictions apply to all vaping products and devices, including tobacco and marijuana. Baker said that the temporary ban, which has brought Massachusetts beyond where any state has gone to address the growth of vaping related-illnesses, would allow public health officials enough time to get a grip on the situation. “We as a Commonwealth need to pause sales in order for our medical experts to collect more information about what is driving these life-threatening, vaping-related illnesses,” Baker said at a press conference last Tuesday.

News Editor

Responding to the recent spike in vaping-related lung diseases, Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker declared a public health emergency on Sept. 24, banning the sale of electronic cigarettes and vaping products. The ban will last through Jan. 25, 2020. The declaration comes on the heels of a spate of mysterious vaping-related illnesses popping up across the country. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has linked the use of e-cigarettes to more than 800 cases of lung disease in 46 states and the U.S. Virgin Islands over the past five months, a dozen of which have ended in death. In addition to the public health emergency, Baker also called for a temporary four-month statewide ban on the sale of

VIA WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

see VAPING, page 2

A man vapes with a cloud of vapor from his electronic cigarette.

Intersex activist Tatenda Ngwaru Tufts implements new first-year shares her story at Civic Life Lunch Hall Council program by Madeleine Aitken Contributing Writer

MENGQI IRINA WANG / THE TUFTS DAILY

Tatenda Ngwaru, founder of the first intersex organization in Zimbabwe, ‘True Identity,’ suggests what Tufts could do to raise awareness for intersex community in the Rabb room, Lincoln Filene Center on Sept. 30. by Elie Levine News Editor

Tatenda Ngwaru, a Zimbabwean intersex activist and asylum seeker, spoke about her life and work yesterday at a Civic Life Lunch hosted by the Jonathan M. Tisch

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College of Civic Life. In 2013, Ngwaru founded True Identity, Zimbabwe’s first organization for intersex people. At the lunch, Ngwaru was accompanied see NGWARU, page 2 For breaking news, our content archive and exclusive content, visit tuftsdaily.com @tuftsdaily

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The Office of Residential Life and Learning (ORLL) announced online that it would be implementing a new system of Hall Councils in all first-year dorms, with positions to be filled by elected first-years with an overall goal of planning events and building community both within and across first-year dorms. Joshua Hartman, director of ORLL, is pioneering this new network of organizations. “The idea is to allow residents of a specific residential space to have ownership, insight, and agency in planning events and community building initiatives in their building,” Hartman said in an email to the Daily. Hartman hopes this program will be helpful to First Year Advisors (FYAs), whose jobs include building community in first-year dorms. Hartman is looking forward to seeing strong relationships between Hall Councils and FYAs, and expects “a more vibrant and engaged community” to come from this change. Although the Hall Councils will work independently, each one is structured the same way, according to the ORLL website.

The executive board will consist of elected positions — president, vice president for membership, vice president for residential advocacy, vice president for programming and vice president for administration. Each Hall Council also has a general assembly, which will be comprised of students throughout the residential community that will participate on a volunteer basis, according to Hartman. Elections closed on Sept. 25, with over 45 candidates running for positions in their Hall Councils, according to Hartman. There were some vacant positions, but these will be filled in the next few weeks by the individual Hall Councils, according to Hartman. Hartman reported that more than 500 students voted in the elections, representing about a third of the firstyear class. “We’re happy with the turnout, especially since this is the first year of implementation,” Hartman told the Daily. Ben Silver, president of Carmichael Hall Council, was inspired to run for the position because he noticed a lack of community in his dorm. “There isn’t a sense of connection within the dorm … I want to foster some social

NEWS............................................1 FEATURES.................................5 ARTS & LIVING....................... 7

see HALL COUNCILS, page 3

FUN & GAMES.........................9 OPINION...................................10 SPORTS............................ BACK

THE TUFTS DAILY | News | Tuesday, October 1, 2019

THE TUFTS DAILY Jessica Blough Editor in Chief

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Health officials, store owners question Baker’s vaping ban VAPING

continued from page 1 However, to small business owners and public health officials alike, the move came as a surprise. According to Azad Bhi, the owner of Tufts Convenience on Boston Avenue, Baker’s decision left him scrambling to purge his shelves of any e-cigarette and vaping products. “It happened overnight,” Bhi said. “We weren’t given any notice whatsoever.” In addition to his rush to adhere to the ban, Bhi said that he was not made aware of how it would be enforced and what penalties he would face if he did not comply with it. According to WBUR, municipal boards of health are responsible for enacting the ban and ensuring retailers’ compliance; citations can result in fines up to $1,000 for every item sold. Bhi also said that businesses should have been given more time to prepare for the ban. “Just because the ban was immediate doesn’t mean the products just disappear,” Bhi said. “Now I’m sitting on a bunch of inventory that currently counts as a loss, which wouldn’t be the case if we knew this thing was coming.” Beyond Vape, a store in Davis Square that exclusively sells e-cigarettes and vaping products, is similarly reconciling with the implications of the ban for its business. Employees at Beyond Vape referred the Daily to its corporate office for an official comment, which did not respond by press time. Other businesses in the state have also expressed concerns about what the ban means for their bottom lines. According to NPR, a vape store owner filed a lawsuit against the Massachusetts Department of Public Health calling on the state to end the ban. Ian Wong, director of the Tufts Department of Health Promotion and Prevention and chairman of the Natick Board of Health, said that he and other medical experts were also caught off guard by Baker’s ban. In his role as chair of the Natick Board of Health, Wong is responsible for making sure that local businesses comply with the ban. Yet he too was offered little direction on how to accomplish that. “After seeing the ban in the news, I called the director of the Natick Health

Department to ask him what’s up and what’s the guidance on this,” Wong said. “He said that there is no guidance — just that we have to get these products off the shelves.” While Wong praised Baker’s decision as an opportunity for medical experts to collect more information about what is driving these life-threatening, vaping-related illnesses, he worried that the unequivocal ban on all e-cigarette and vaping products could cause users — especially students — to experience nicotine withdrawals that ultimately lead to even worse health outcomes. “Right now, our concern is that if users can’t get their hands on these products, then they’re going to turn to either combustible cigarettes or to the black market to get their nicotine fix, two things we really don’t want students to do,” Wong said. To this end, Wong framed the ban as an opportunity for students to stop smoking entirely. He encouraged students to visit the Department of Health Promotion and Prevention within the Tufts health services building for cessation resources, including nicotine patches and training sessions, among other forms of support. “If you’re thinking about quitting, what a great time to stop,” Wong said. “And we’re here to help and give you support.” Other public officials also expressed their concerns about the possibility that the ban could worsen health outcomes and force consumers into a black market, especially for purchasing cannabis products. Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commissioner Shaleen Title condemned the decision entirely. “This is a terrible decision,” Title said on Twitter. “Purposely pushing people into the illicit market — precisely where the dangerous products are — goes against every principle of public health and harm reduction. It is dangerous, short-sighted, and undermines the benefits of legal regulation.” The Cannabis Control Commission (CCC) recommended that consumers buy cannabis products from licensed stores. In wake of the ban, the CCC also advised medical marijuana users who vaporize THC to find an alternative or contact their doctor. Twelve days before Baker issued his ban, the CCC voted to require that all marijuana and vaporizer products sold in

Massachusetts report more detail on the chemicals and ingredients inside. Commissioner Jennifer Flanagan of the CCC noted that while the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) did not specify whether THC, nicotine or the act of vaping itself can be tied to the recent spike in vaping-related illnesses or death, she is not shocked by the increase in illnesses. “The industry has said this was safer than smoking, [but] no one ever said that this was safe. So I’m not sure why people are really shocked at the fact that we are now seeing individuals becoming sick, [and that] some people have died from a substance that really has no research to it,” she said. A spokesperson for New England Treatment Access (NETA), a cannabis dispensary that sold products affected by the ban in Northampton and Brookline, told the Daily in an email that they are finding ways to ensure their patients and consumers have access to safe products while protecting them from the contaminated ones most commonly found on the illicit market. “We are complying with the Governor’s order, and we understand his concern for public safety. We believe this issue underscores the importance of a legal and licensed cannabis market, where products must pass rigorous testing procedures to help ensure safety and consistency,” Amanda Rositano, president of NETA, said in a statement. “As a result of this decision, our teams will work with patients and customers who use vaping products as their preferred options to find the best alternative products to meet their needs during the review period.” For Dustin Yoon, a junior who smoked regular cigarettes before switching to Juul, e-cigarettes represent a healthier substitute to the combustible product. With the ban, he worries about that supposedly healthier option disappearing. “For people who used to smoke like me, who then switched over to [e-cigarettes] because they’re supposedly healthier, I feel like that choice is being taken away,” Yoon said. “Now that I can’t buy them, I’m kind of worried that I might go back to cigarettes.” Rebecca Barker and Elie Levine contributed reporting to this article.

Ngwaru discusses intersectional identity at Civic Life Lunch NGWARU

continued from page 1 by journalist Robert Tokanel, one of the co-directors of “She’s Not a Boy” (2019), a short documentary that traces Ngwaru’s journey as an intersex woman and activist. Hope Freeman, the director of the LGBT Center and the interim director of the Women’s Center, moderated the conversation. The lunch began with a screening of “She’s Not a Boy.” The film described the hardships Ngwaru faced as an intersex person in Zimbabwe, which lacks protections for queer people and where sex between men is prohibited. It also questioned the place of intersex individuals in the LGBTQI community in the United States. When asked if she feels connected to the Pride movement in the film, Ngwaru says she does not feel entirely comfortable within the LGBTQI umbrella. “Although I do acknowledge what happened here and the history, I was never part of it,” Ngwaru said in the film. After the screening, Freeman asked Ngwaru about the concerns and demands

of intersex people. Ngwaru said invisibility is a major concern of the intersex community, and that its members demand a platform for sharing their stories. Ngwaru also emphasized her marginalization as a black intersex woman, underscoring that intersectional intersex individuals are most in need of a platform. True Identity, Ngwaru explained, grew out of a need for intersex visibility. The organization includes transgender people because before Ngwaru realized she was intersex, she conceived of herself as a transgender woman. Currently, no one is running the organization because intersex and queer life is so heavily policed in Zimbabwe. “I feel like I deserted [True Identity] in a way because I wanted to be alive,” Ngwaru said. “No one is strong enough at the moment to carry it through.” Ngwaru said she has not seen her parents, with whom she is very close, since she left for the U.S. in August 2016. Still, she explained that her work energizes her despite being so far from home. She joked

that religion and occasional drinking help her maintain hope. “I love Jesus, but I drink a little … I speak to my parents every single day, because it’s a reminder of where I come from and how strong that foundation is,” she said. Moments in the film revealed a more hopeful side to Ngwaru’s story. “I am a black woman, I am an immigrant and I’m an intersex woman,” she said. “That is something that is just built automatically to destroy me, but from that, I rise.” She echoed this sentiment in her talk at Tufts. “When I made the decision to tell my story and be an open book, it’s a responsibility that I took, that I want to see myself following through with, and I don’t want to ever leave it,” she said. “That is the reason why I was born the woman that I am, [to] tell stories, so that I can be a topic in people’s living rooms, and so that … I can change people’s minds for the better.”

News

Tuesday, October 1, 2019 | News | THE TUFTS DAILY

First-year Hall Council leaders discuss aspirations HALL COUNCILS

continued from page 1 programming — little things that get people that wouldn’t have otherwise sought each other to build connections,” he said. Silver, a first-year, is also looking forward to building community within his council. “I think it’s going to be important that we all listen to each other’s ideas, but also not be afraid to voice our own opinions,” Silver said. “I expect differences in opinion, and I think that actually is really good for a council, having people that are coming from such different perspectives.” Carmichael has a capacity of 256 students, unlike Carpenter House, which has 40, according to the ORLL’s website. For Hayden Virtue, president of Carpenter Hall Council, building community will not be an issue. “Bonding is definitely not going to be a problem,” he said. “I feel like we’ve already really accomplished that.” Virtue’s main goal as president is to foster the strong culture that already exists in Carpenter. “When I got here and I got Carpenter House, I thought I was missing out on something not being in a big dorm, but everyone here is so friendly, so fantastic,” Virtue said. Wilson House is another small dorm with a capacity of 55. It’s also the substance free housing option for first-years. First-year Mindy Duggan, President of Wilson Hall Council, ran because she loves being part of a community of people who want to be substance free and live healthy lifestyles. “When I realized how inclusive and

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e t m

MENGQI IRINA WANG / THE TUFTS DAILY

Benjamin Silver, president of first-year Carmichael Hall Council, poses for a portrait in Carmichael Hall common room on Sept. 30. home-y Wilson is, I wanted to help promote the community vibe,” Duggan said. Duggan plans to do this by acting as a voice of representation for the residents of Wilson. “I’m hoping that I will be able to take the opinions of the people who live in the house and make them into realities, just help everyone have a happier time in Wilson House and a happier year,” Duggan said. Myles Platt, vice president for administration in Wilson, echoed Duggan’s sentiments of wanting to represent Wilson House’s residents.

“I never really felt like I had a voice and so I’ve kind of made it a commitment to myself to seek out ways to give other people a voice,” Platt, a first-year, said. Each Hall Council will be advised by the Residence Director for its building, and in most cases, the Lead FYA in the building will serve as a secondary advisor. The development of this new program falls under the development of the Residence Hall Association (RHA), which was launched this year and will be fully functioning by next year.

“For the 2020–21 year, the RHA will have a full executive board of its own and I will work closely with them as they provide oversight and support for Hall Councils,” Hartman said. Following the recent elections, presidents and other members of Hall Councils are ready to get started. “I view this as an opportunity where I can really make a difference. And I’m also really excited to pilot a new program … it’ll be a fun opportunity to make some changes within the dorm and really build community,” Silver said.

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Features

Tuesday, October 1, 2019

Ball Square business community navigates Broadway Bridge closure

FINA SHORT / THE TUFTS DAILY

Taco Party in Ball Square puts up a ‘SUPER CONSTRUCTION ZONE’ sign in the window on Sept. 30. by Fina Short

Executive Features Editor

When the MBTA Green Line extends through Somerville to Medford in 2021, it will bring over 57,000 Medford residents closer to Boston than ever before. For now, the $2.3 billion Green Line Extension project has meant road closures and detours for local business hubs. A weekday visit to Somerville’s Ball Square reveals a neighborhood transformed by the yearlong closure of the Broadway Bridge, which typically connects traffic to Magoun Square by way of Broadway. “Open throughout the bridge closure — and whatever else life throws at us,” reads a sign in the window of Ball Square Fine Wines. “SUPER CONSTRUCTION ZONE,” says another at Taco Party. Detours caused by the closure are estimated by some to have reduced circulation through Ball Square by 20%, a change felt perhaps most deeply by local business owners. “There’s not much traffic anymore. If you look in this square, it’s dead,” Sound Bites owner Yasser Mirza said, gesturing to the street outside. “Everybody’s afraid to come here.” While Mirza said that Sound Bites has experienced financial difficulties as a result of the closure, he also described witnessing other businesses shuttering completely.

“We are losing some money right now because we cannot let employees go,” Mirza said. “Unfortunately there’s a couple of businesses in the square that closed already, they could not make it — the gift shop across the street, she didn’t make it.” Olivia Holmes, a Tufts senior who works as a barista at True Grounds Bakery and Coffee House, said that she has observed the construction project heavily impacting the cafe’s workweek customer base. “It’s just really inconvenient because a lot of True Grounds’ business, especially on the weekdays, is commuters, so they don’t go through there anymore,” Holmes said. “The weekends are still fairly busy but business overall has definitely decreased.” She said that the café’s business has been sustained in part by loyal customers who do not rely on vehicular transportation to get there. “True Grounds relies a lot on regulars, and there are a lot of regulars who walk there and go in and sit … but you don’t see a lot of the same busy people who are there in the mornings there on weekdays,” Holmes said. Ball Square Fine Wines Wine Director Dan Lech said that his workplace has adapted some aspects of its business model to deal with the construction. “We always have delivery service but we’ve changed the rules a little bit on delivery,” Lech said. “We’ve made it easier for people

to get smaller deliveries, so that if people live close by and find it tough to get here we can deliver to them.” Lech said that Fine Wines has also partnered with the city of Somerville to take part in local initiatives that help bolster business amidst the bridge closure, including last weekend’s Ball Square Festival. “We’re running a few more special events,” Lech said. “The city of Somerville has helped out with some — the thing we did last Sunday, the Ball Square Festival … we had tasting inside with wine, beer and spirits, and we had a table outside with a raffle.” Taco Party night manager Stephanie Clifford mentioned an initiative taken by the city of Somerville that provides a shuttle allowing pedestrians in the region to bypass the detour. “Our summer was less busy than it was last year,” Clifford said. “But the good thing is we do have that Bridge Hopper tram that the city of Somerville provided … it’s a bus that takes pedestrians over to the other side of the bridge.” Clifford expressed that her business has not been hit as hard as she might have expected, as the taco restaurant already has a food truck and delivery service partnership through Doordash that have allowed its model to expand beyond reliance on foot traffic. “We had a ton of information about it beforehand, so we were kind of ready, expect-

ing the worst,” Clifford said. “But it hasn’t been as terrible as we thought it might have been. Hopefully we’ll be done before March.” Lech acknowledged that he sees the construction as a necessary step to an expansion that may result in revenue increases for all establishments in the area. “When that’s done and the T station is completed, which should be another year or two after that, then we hope to have the opposite where we have new energy and more business as a result,” Lech said, referencing the new Green Line T station. “So this is the pain before the benefit.” Mirza echoed Lech’s sentiments, expressing hope that the expansion would be completed on time so that business can recover. “We are happy about getting the Green Line to this community,” he said. “It helps everybody … I hope everything will be OK, we don’t get a lot of snow, emergencies. I hope everything will go back to normal. And in a couple years — 2021, 2022 — the Green Line will be ready too.” Mirza said that he hoped Tufts students would remain loyal to Sound Bites throughout the closure, as the path from Tufts to his restaurant has not been impacted by the Green Line construction. “Same business, we do specials weekly — tell your friends, just come in, we’re open,” Mirza said. “There is parking. Just make sure you feed the meter!”

THE TUFTS DAILY | Features | Tuesday, October 1, 2019

Alice Yoon and Madeleine Schwartz Bite-Sized Stories

Celine’s Little Meat

s Celine Chan was going into her junior year of high school, she knew that she was going to have to cook for herself soon in college. She also knew the first dish she would ask her mom to teach her — braised pork belly. Or, as her dad called it when she was younger, little meat. She never knew it was actually known as braised pork belly until much later, but regardless, she knew that her mom made it the best. Getting straight to work, Celine began rendering out the fat from the chunks of pork belly. Disliking the mouth feel of the fat, she used to pick it off to give to her dad, but now she appreciates all the flavor it adds to the dish. As the pork began to brown, she threw in dark soy sauce, which she claimed gave the pork most of its color. She soon followed with some Chinese cooking wine to reduce the gaminess of the meat. The spice mix of star anise, bay leaf, cinnamon sticks, ginger, sugar and scallions followed. Next came dried chilis, and although Celine’s grandmother prefers throwing them in whole for less spice, Celine snapped them in half and sprinkled the seeds in for us. After all the spices were added, the last step was to simply add enough water to cover half the pork, leaving the pot lid ajar. While the stew typically simmers for an hour, Celine expedited the cooking time by boiling on a higher heat after one look at our hungry faces. As an accompaniment to the meal, Celine decided to make scallion pancakes as well. Although she was born in Hong Kong, growing up in northern China influenced her preference for starches, instead of rice. She got the dough started quickly, eyeballing the amount of flour and water until she was left with a sticky dough. After letting the dough rest for a bit, the real work began, with us watching attentively. She rolled out a third of the dough into a thin layer, which she oiled, salted and sprinkled scallions onto. She then folded the dough into thirds, like an envelope, turning before folding into thirds again. All the while, the pork belly kept stewing away, and the aroma of all those wonderful spices filled our kitchen. When there was only a bit more time left on the pork, Celine began to fry the scallion pancakes, making sure there was enough oil on the hot pan to properly let the pancakes develop a golden brown color. This left us novices to fold remaining dough into more pancakes. At last, both dishes were fully prepared, and we were ready to eat — with some sticky rice and some pickled radishes that were hiding in the back of our fridge adding some pink flair. While some chose to dip their scallion pancakes into soy sauce, if one salts their dough enough then the soy sauce is unnecessary. And now, years after her mom initially taught her the recipe, Celine makes the dish for her family back at home.

Alice Yoon is a senior studying chemistry. Alice can be reached at alice.yoon@ tufts.edu. Madeleine Schwartz is a senior studying computer science and political science. Madeleine can be reached at madeleine.schwartz@tufts.edu.

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ARTS&LIVING

Tuesday, October 1, 2019

‘The Room’ star Sestero visits Coolidge Corner Theatre by Tommy Gillespie Arts Editor

Brookline’s Coolidge Corner Theatre played host to a perplexing spectacle last Friday night: a storm of plastic spoons flew blindly in all directions above the seats of the darkened historic theater, shouts from the audience deafened the dialogue playing out onscreen and characters entering the frame were greeted with resounding demands to identify themselves and state their purpose. Such movie-going action seems more typical of hormonal, bored teenagers than seasoned cinephiles, but these chaotic scenes are the beloved hallmark of screenings of Tommy Wiseau’s modern midnight classic “The Room” (2003), which the Coolidge hosted on Friday along with a Q&A with Greg Sestero, the movie’s co-star and author of the film’s postmortem “The Disaster Artist” (2013), which was adapted into a highly successful film in its own right in 2017. A self-financed, self-produced, self-starring, self-written and self-directed project by the mysteriously-originating Wiseau, “The Room” follows a fateful love triangle involving successful San Francisco banker Johnny (Wiseau), his fiancée Lisa (Juliette Danielle), and his best friend Mark (Sestero). It likely would have faded into the dustbin of history following its short run in just two Los Angeles theaters in 2003 had it not been for the young director Michael Rousselet. As he sat in awe of what has been crowned “the ‘Citizen Kane’ of bad movies,” Rousselet began spreading the word about Wiseau’s wonderfully weird film to his friends, who began attending in droves. Soon, the film began to take on a life of its own, earning its place along with “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” (1975) and “Plan 9 From Outer Space” (1959) in

the esteemed annals of beloved midnight B-movie fame. Fans now attend screenings in costume, line up outside cinemas armed with plastic spoons in homage to a peculiar set decoration, scream “Focus!” during the film’s many blurry shots and cheer the multiple tracking shots of the Golden Gate Bridge along to the end. As the profile of “The Room” grew and gained a number of celebrity fans, the film’s cast and crew — including Wiseau himself — began appearing at screenings and laughing along with fans at the sheer incomprehensibility of the film and Wiseau’s oddly stomach-aimed lovemaking. At Friday’s screening, Sestero likened their experience and their resultant camaraderie to that of old brothers-and-sistersin-arms. “Everybody’s cool with it now,” Sestero said. “Being in ‘The Room’ is like going through Vietnam together.” The trajectory of Sestero’s involvement in “The Room” snowballed beyond his own control, as he explained at the Q&A that he never intended to be in the film at all. Sestero was a struggling actor in Los Angeles when he met Wiseau, and he had originally only agreed to assist Wiseau in the film’s production. “I read the script, said no, then told Tommy I’d help him make the movie,” Sestero recalled. When Wiseau fired the original Mark during filming, however, Sestero found himself cast in a role that would become a part of Hollywood legend. He also noted that “The Disaster Artist” overestimated the level of faith he had in the film. “Dave Franco played me a lot more optimistic than I was,” he said. “I absolutely did not want to be there.” “The Room,” however, had other plans for Sestero, and he now proudly claims

VIA IMDB

Greg Sestero, actor for the movie ‘The Room’ (2003), poses for a portrait in 2011. his role in a decidedly different chapter of Hollywood history than he intended. This unexpected transformation into cinematic legend was especially palpable in Sestero’s recollection of the filming of the movie’s infamous sex scenes. “That scene is so awkward that I’ve never sat all the way through watching it,” he said. “There was no music [when we were filming]; Tommy just said, ‘Use your imagination.’” Though his role in “The Room” turned out to be just about the furthest thing from

his dream David Fincher or Billy Wilder role, Sestero enthusiastically shared his and Wiseau’s next project. “[ Wiseau] has this idea to do a shark attack movie,” Sestero explained to the audience. Indeed, a trailer for what promises to be a glorious Wiseauvs.-shark showdown was released in February. As is often the case with Wiseau, however, all is not what it seems. Sestero confessed that all they have is the trailer; they still need to make the rest of the movie.

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THE TUFTS DAILY | Arts & Living | Tuesday, October 1, 2019

Devina Bhalla Bhallin’ with Books

Peeking into a bookshop life

have spent an insanely large proportion of my life hidden between stacks of books. A few years ago, I caught the used and rare bookstore bug and have never gone back. I love to hold a book that has had its own life while thinking of each hand that has turned this page before me. Books travel through various minds, connecting each reader together in the shared experience between its pages. This devotion has somehow led me to not just visit second-hand bookstores, but to visit one and buy a book about a used bookstore owner’s experience owning a used bookstore. “The Diary of a Bookseller” (2017) is a witty and sarcastic daily account of life owning a used bookstore in a small Scottish village by Shaun Bythell. Customers come in and out as Bythell entertainingly describes insane and confusing encounters with them. Life as a bookstore owner is not easy. Life as a used bookstore owner is even harder. Bythell shows his struggle in a changing industry and the dying love his store depends on. To my roommate’s dismay, I was audibly laughing at Bythell’s quippy nature and blunt dissatisfaction. His humor is dry in a delightfully quirky way. Obviously not holding back, Bythell is unafraid to critique and condemn his customers’ behavior. Though he remarks that some people do take offense, this actually further encourages him to share his irritation and disgruntled commentary. Last week’s “The Subterraneans” (1958) was not an easy read, as you can get lost within Kerouac’s prose. “The Diary of a Bookseller” was a welcomed contrast. The pages ran through my fingers, and my enjoyment increased as I got to know his eccentric employee Nicky and the quiet, peculiar daily life of this small Scottish town. I even found myself itching to browse his confusingly large and popular section about railways. Written in a true diary style, each day is punctuated with the number of the amount of money made. Though this is a constant reminder of the business side of a bookstore, the stories captured from the day allow you to imagine where each book went and where each dollar came from. You no longer see just a number. You see the hands the books were transferred to and the passion that seeps from both the seller and the buyer. This gives a book lover like me hope that there are still others out there who feel connected to texts and will keep these stores alive. Reflecting on “The Diary of a Bookseller” forced me to realize how much enjoyment I gain from reading for pleasure. It alleviates my mind and heart from daily stress in a way that binging a TV show will never be able to do. Books are pieces of art that are gifts to us all. They allow us to come alive in places we’ve never been and work through struggles we did not realize we had. Bythell was able to do all this important work while making me laugh. Giggling along with his wryness, I lost the purpose of reading and read simply for myself. In that way, this column has already been a gift, and I look forward to the places it takes me next.

Devina Bhalla is a sophomore studying sociology and English. Devina can be reached at devina.bhalla@tufts.edu.

I’VE NEVER UNDERSTOOD WHY MY HUMAN WON’T LEAVE THE HOUSE WITHOUT HER LEASH. I THINK SHE’S AFRAlD OF GETTING LOST. BUT IT’S OK, I KIND OF LIKE SHOWING HER AROUND. — HARPER adopted 08-18-09

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Tuesday, October 1, 2019 | FUN & GAMES | THE TUFTS DAILY

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F &G FUN & GAMES

LATE NIGHT AT THE DAILY Ryan: “Dicks out for Kik.”

SUDOKU

LINDA C. BLACK ASTROLOGY

Libra (Sept. 23–Oct. 22)

Stick to your budget to squeeze through an unexpected financial drain. It’s a good time to sell. Draw upon hidden resources. Follow a profitable trail.

Difficulty Level: Skipping class in order to study for another class.

Monday’s Solutions

CROSSWORD

10 Tuesday, October 1, 2019

Deeksha Bathini Looking for life, destroying life

Opinion

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EDITORIAL

University must increase resources for SafeRide

Dracunculiasis

racunculiasis is Latin for “affliction with little dragons.” This parasitic infection, more commonly known as Guinea-worm disease, is contracted when a human drinks water contaminated with copepods (water fleas) that contain worm larvae. Usually, the infected person remains asymptomatic for a year. Then, the adult worm begins to emerge out of the host’s skin by forming a blister. In the days before the worm’s exit, the patient can experience pain, swelling and fevers. As the worm emerges from the skin, the subject experiences a severe burning sensation and could even fall victim to a secondary infection. This process can render a person bedridden for weeks or months. Now, imagine drinking this contaminated water every single day. Think of the number of repeat infections that could occur. Consider the lifelong implications of this disease — how people are in physical pain because they cannot access clean water. In 1986, there were 3.5 million new cases of dracunculiasis reported globally. That number, now? It’s 28. Yes, you read that correctly. In 2018, the international incidence of dracunculiasis was 28 human cases. The almost-eradication of Guinea-worm disease reveals how powerful interventions can be. In fact, the 20-year campaign that is responsible for this immense success only cost about $225 million dollars. A combined effort from former President Jimmy Carter, NGOs like the World Health Organization and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and local governments ignited the global eradication effort. In order to ensure success, the leadership looked to both private and public sectors. The Carter Center created a system for internal village surveillance, which monitored incidence and prevalence of disease. Surveillance is an integral component of any public health intervention, for it reveals fluctuations in case counts and points to the success or failure of a program. Additionally, they mobilized village volunteers and educated them on how to filtrate water and remove worms from patients, which is essentially wrapping the emerging worm around a stick and taping said stick to the host’s body until the worm has completely exited the subject. There was also widespread distribution of nylon filters which could actually remove copepods from the water, thus making it more potable and safer to drink. Education on how to use these nylon filters facilitated behavior changes within communities, which is often required when trying to mitigate disease. Other interventions included financial incentives for reporting and for compliant individuals and pond monitors who controlled the usage of water from natural open sources. This program is evidence that behavior change to eradicate disease is possible. Today, America pours money into the research and development of vaccines (for Ebola, Zika, and the flu) and drugs. The almost-eradication of dracunculiasis required absolutely no vaccine or magical drug. Cost-effective global health interventions are attainable, and when done correctly, they can give low-resource communities the autonomy to control their own health. Now, we have evidence that low-income communities can slay their own dragons. And that is the magic of public health.

Deeksha Bathini is a junior studying community health. Deeksha can be reached at deeksha.bathini@tufts.edu.

CARTOON BY CARYS KONG Tufts’ SafeRide service, offered through the TapRide app, needs more institutional resources. SafeRide is intended to be a quick, reliable way for students to get a ride to their homes instead of walking alone at night. The SafeRide service is available seven days a week, from 7 p.m. to 4 a.m., within the Medford/Somerville boundary area pictured on the TUPD website. The service is discussed in campus tours and during orientation as an important safety feature on campus, but this idealized version of SafeRide is not a reality. SafeRide has historically been allocated insufficient resources by Tufts. With only two scheduled drivers for an undergraduate population of over 5,500, many of whom live off campus, the system has failed to live up to its mission. Currently, there is just one driver on call for SafeRide. Although TUPD has been tasked with filling this void, they have countless other responsibilities besides SafeRide and cannot be relied upon as a permanent solution to this problem. Tufts must take

immediate steps not only to fully staff its SafeRide service, but to expand it as more students are pushed to live off campus. While Tufts is relatively safe due to its concentrated campus, there remains plenty of worry about walking home at night. There are many reasons students may be out late, or far from home. Many Tufts classes end at 9 p.m., and participation in student organizations means regularly staying on campus late into the evening. Walking home can be frightening, especially for students who live far from campus, and especially for non-male identifying individuals. YouGov reported in March 2019 that 50% of women say they often feel frightened walking alone at night. SafeRide keeps these students safe. Further, students who have been drinking are at risk of injury as alcohol leads to sensory impairment. In fact, The National Center for Health Statistics reports that most pedestrian deaths occur on Saturday nights, when many people are out on the town. SafeRide provides an essential safety

net for these students. Without consistent and sufficient staffing, SafeRide cannot serve its purpose. Tufts needs to invest more in its SafeRide service. Other universities are doing much more than Tufts to protect student safety. Many use a unique system aimed at optimizing resources while still prioritizing safety. Northeastern University ensures access to their Safety Escort Service any time of day. Northwestern University and The University of Oregon offer SafeRide driver positions to students, allowing there to be more drivers on call at once. Employing students improves accessibility and the availability of on-campus student jobs. We urge Tufts to consider a student-driver program and set aside more funding and resources to improve the availability of TapRide overall. Ultimately, if the university cares as much about student safety as it claims to, it is vital that it gives SafeRide the attention and resources it deserves.

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 opinion@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. ADVERTISING All advertising copy is subject to the approval of the Editor-in-Chief, Executive Board and Executive Business Director.

Sports

Tuesday, October 1, 2019 | Sports | THE TUFTS DAILY

Volleyball’s 12–0 start a season-best since 2008

David Meyer Postgame Press

Turning ‘Blue’ to ‘Deep Blue’

JULIA MCDOWELL / THE TUFTS DAILY ARCHIVES

The volleyball team poses for a picture in celebration of its 3–0 win over Conn. College in the Cousens Gym on Oct. 26, 2018. by Jason Schwartz Staff Writer

Three home matches in two days didn’t stymie the No. 24 Jumbos volleyball team, which improved to 12–0 on the season after a home stretch in Cousens Gymnasium. The last time the team started a season better than 12–0 was in 2008, when the team went 15–0 in its first 15 matches and ended the season 29–4 overall and 10–0 against the NESCAC in the regular season. The team showcased exemplary individual volleyball talent, as well as a cohesive team spirit, that surged with a home crowd watching on. This synergetic energy, combined with the student fan section’s electric support, kept the Jumbos on their toes during every point throughout the three matches. The Jumbos assembled onto the Cousens Gymnasium court to play against the Johnson & Wales University Wildcats on Saturday at 5 p.m. With the Jumbos winning by four points, the first set was the tightest set of the game (25–21). After jumping out to a 4–1 lead, Tufts held on to a tight lead throughout the set. As the match continued, Johnson & Wales began to accumulate several attacking errors. The second and third sets started like the beginning of the first set, with a few ties between the two teams. The Jumbos obtained a lead later in the second set than in the first set, but after reeling in five straight points, they pulled away, eventually winning the set 25–13. The third and final set was a repeat of the second set, with the roaring Jumbos winning 25–15. The Wildcats could not recover from the errors they made during each set, as the Jumbos have two formidable weapons on their talented offense.

Senior outside/opposite hitter and co-captain Brigid Bell led the Jumbos’ attack, completing 10 kills. Her teammate, senior outside/opposite hitter and co-captain Maddie Stewart, executed eight kills. First-year libero Stephanie Lee led the Tufts defense and went above and beyond, completing an outstanding total of 20 digs. The Johnson & Wales volleyball team dropped to 11–3 for the season. Six hours before the match against Johnson & Wales, Tufts faced the Maine Maritime Academy Mariners. Bell led the offense with six kills and completed 10 dips, the most out of all competitors on the floor. Senior middle/opposite hitter Christina Nwankpa led the team in blocks with five. For the first half of the initial set, Maine Maritime and Tufts were neck and neck. The Jumbos offense quickly turned up the heat, executing four consecutive kills in the middle of the first set, putting the Jumbos up 13–9. Ultimately, the Jumbos won the first set 25–15. The second set was a 25–8 landslide victory for the Jumbos. During the third set, the Jumbos jumped in front with an early lead. Once the score reached 23–15, Maine Maritime responded with four consecutive points thanks to a kill by junior opposite hitter Jessica D’Auria and a couple of attacking errors against Tufts. Although the Mariners put up a good fight near the end, the Jumbos took the set 25–19, winning the match 3–0. The day before, the Jumbos faced a NESCAC rival, the Bowdoin Polar Bears, on Friday night at 7 p.m. The stands were packed with a reported 134 fans cheering on. The team trounced the Polar Bears 3–0 (25–21, 25–15, 25–14). The Jumbo defense was dominant throughout the game. Lee finished with 19 digs and Stewart, sopho-

more outside/opposite hitter Cate Desler, junior middle/opposite hitter and co-captain Jennifer Ryan and Nwankpa each completed two blocks. The team also only made a handful of attacking errors, which helped them gain comfortable leads early on each set. Desler led the offense with 12 kills, while Bell tailed her at 11 kills. Bowdoin dropped to 4–6 for the season and 1–2 in the NESCAC. Stewart wrote in an email to the Daily the reasons behind her team’s success this far into the season. “Our team has been focused in practice and eager to continue improving our game every day,” Stewart said. “We push ourselves to beat our best in an effort to raise our level of play.” Desler echoed Stewart’s comment regarding their team’s success in an email to the Daily. “We have been working really well as a team and have been working hard on keeping communication and energy high throughout entire matches,” Desler said. “We have also been serving and passing really well, which makes the rest of the game a lot easier to play.” The Jumbos will be back in action at Cousens Gymnasium Friday at 7:30 p.m. against NESCAC rival Hamilton. On Saturday, they face another NESCAC rival in Williams at 2 p.m. Desler explained that in order to conquer the two formidable NESCAC rivals, the team will need to replicate the energy exhibited in the last 12 games. “The games this coming weekend are going to be tough since both Hamilton and Williams are very strong programs,” Desler said. “We just have to keep the mindset that we have had in every game so far and keep playing TUVB volleyball.”

TRASHING ONE EGG WASTES 55 GALLONS OF WATER

o games come down to specific moments, or are they fluid and difficult to pin down to a few key seconds? That’s an interesting question to examine, and the answer might change your opinion on one of the hottest topics in sports: automated refereeing. I myself am guilty of saying a call blew my team a game. I know Saints fans can relate. After further review, though, it is always clear that opportunities were missed and could have been made. One moment in a game can define the game, but to say that it won a team a game? That may be oversimplifying. It further complicates this issue if the refereeing has been particularly bad for one team more than another. The losing team often finds calls that refs missed, but even some calls are so egregious that during and after the game, everyone knows it changed the game. Referees in the NFL or NBA have hundreds of calls to make or not make every game, so replacing them with robots who can be accurate to all the nuances of the game is not going to happen. That said, one sport has a much-complained-about problem that potentially can be fixed by automation. So the question is: Should the strike zone be automated in Major League Baseball? This is a tough one. I have seen my favorite team ‘strike out’ on balls that were clearly not in the zone. I also respect the argument that it is all part of the game and the best players are the ones who can adjust to an umpire (‘blue’) calling low strikes balls or vice versa. The problem with that argument is that it is a tough sell to say athletes should be adjusting to rules on a gameto-game basis. They are rules. Rules, despite what some think, are not made to be broken. Keeping this rule consistent all the time would be a boon. Last year, an average of 14 strikeball calls were missed each game. That is certainly enough to swing the odds in one team’s favor. Balls-called-strikes with two strikes has been up to 29% in a season. With a strike zone not being volatile, each team is given the same advantage. Guaranteed. Also, it allows pitchers and batters to focus more and get better fundamentally because they do not have to adjust based on whether Joe West is behind the plate or not. There has been an argument that the strike zone itself may be a problem as it has to be adjusted for players based on stance and size. This is something that must be worked out, but the initial tests of the MLB-approved automated strike zone have shown that this is not a problem. The accuracy has also been questioned. With the home plate umpire staying for calls at the plate and other human-necessitated calls but hearing through an earpiece what the robotic strike zone says is the correct strike or ball call, the Atlantic Baseball League has gotten good results. Further testing should improve it as well. Let the players play. And let them play with consistent rules.

n t r

David Meyer is a senior studying film and media studies. David can be reached at david.meyer@tufts.edu.

12 Tuesday, October 1, 2019

Sports

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Sorkin wins 2nd straight ITA New England Singles Championship

RAY BERNOFF / THE TUFTS DAILY ARCHIVES

Junior co-captain Boris Sorkin swings at the ball during a match against Middlebury in the Gantcher Center on April 8, 2018.

by Tim Chiang Sports Editor

Second-seeded junior co-captain Boris Sorkin won the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) New England Singles Championship for the second straight year Sunday, defeating No. 9–16 seed sophomore Stan Morris of Middlebury in straight sets, 6–3, 6–3. Earlier that day in the semifinals, Sorkin came back from a set down against sophomore Noah Lilienthal from Wesleyan in the semifinals, losing 6–2, then winning 7–5, 6–1. After winning the regional title, Sorkin will have the opportunity to defend his national title at the ITA Cup Div. III Singles Championship that he won last year as a sophomore. The ITA Cup is viewed as the most prestigious event of the fall preseason, with regional champions from across the country all competing. It will be held in Rome, Ga. at Berry College from Oct. 17–20. A solid serve, clean groundstrokes and quick footwork are common among many of the top players in the NESCAC, yet sophomore Isaac Gorelik revealed what puts Sorkin in a class of his own.

“He’s just a mental warrior,” Gorelik said. “He’s got this aura on the court and he’s so rock solid with whatever goes on in his head. Him winning really lifts the whole team.” Sorkin’s success also hit its groove on the doubles court as well, along with first-year teammate Josh Belandres. The Tufts duo fought hard in the doubles final to wrest the first set away from No. 1 Williams team of senior Alex Taylor and sophomore Peter Frelinghuysen, yet lost a tight three-set battle, 5–7, 6–4, 6–3. Several other Jumbos also made deep runs at the tournament. Gorelik (who played at the No. 3 singles slot most of last year) rallied hard from a set down in the round of 16 against sophomore Oscar Yang from Bowdoin, 3–6, 6–3, 6–0. Unfortunately, Gorelik lost an incredibly close quarterfinal match against Wesleyan’s junior Zach Fleischman 3–6, 7–6 (4), 7–6 (4). Gorelik later reflected back on his performance over the ITAs. “I had three really close matches,” Gorelik said. “In my first round match against Turchetta, he started playing a lot better, but I had to buckle down and

grind. I was down 3–1 in the second set and won like 11 games in a row. I just fought and the momentum later kind of carried through. [Against Zach in the quarterfinals] it started raining in the middle and [the match] went indoors. He played unbelievably well, [I] give that guy a lot of credit. It’s only the second time in life where I’ve been 7–6 in the third. I obviously wish I could’ve won, and I felt like I played better for almost the whole match, but he stepped up and played really big shots in the big moments.” Other notable runs included sophomore Paris Pentousis and the doubles duo of senior co-captain Ethan Bershtein and junior Niko Hereford, who both fell in the Round of 16 on Saturday. No. 9–16 seeded first-year Rishahb Sharda breezed past Gordon College senior Jonathan Frink, 6–0, 6–1 but lost in the second round to Middlebury first-year Aidan Harris, 3–6, 6–3, 6–4. The weekend prior, on Sept. 14–15, the Jumbos took home four titles at the Middlebury Invitational. Gorelik downed Morris, 6–1, 3–6, 10–6, in the A Singles

Flight Final. In the B Singles Flight Final, No. 2-seeded Sharda defeated No. 4-seeded Middlebury first-year Robby Ward, 6–1, 4–6, 10–6. In doubles, Sorkin and Belandres won the A Doubles Flight, 8–7 (4), while junior Owen Bartok and senior Ben Biswas beat Gorelik and sophomore Jack Moldenhauer, 8–5, in an all-Jumbo final in the B Doubles Flight. While the Jumbos are proud of a strong performance over the course of the fall preseason, Gorelik stressed the importance of continuing to work hard and not getting ahead of themselves. “We’re pumped, but we’re getting back to work,” Gorelik said. “This is just the first step. Some of the other teams were particularly tough like Wesleyan and we have a lot of time before our first dual match [of the spring season] in March. Our goal is that we want to be confident that we can beat any team in the country on any given day.” The Jumbos will compete next at the Bates Invitational next weekend. Then, they will head to the Boston Invitational at Massachusetts Institute of Technology the following week for their final tournament of the fall preseason.

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