TUFTS FIELD HOCKEY
Tufts professor discusses causes of hospital closures see FEATURES / PAGE 3
Undefeated in NESCAC, Jumbos win during away weekend
Interview: ‘Dolores’ filmmaker portrays life of legendary organizer see ARTS&LIVING / PAGE 5
SEE SPORTS / BACK PAGE
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Wednesday, October 4, 2017
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Tufts Medical Center nurses back at negotiating table by Sophie Lehrenbaum News Editor
After weeks of bargaining, the nurses of Tufts Medical Center, who have been working to reach a contract with the hospital in the months since their July 12 strike, are continuing negotiations. Last summer’s action was the first nurses’ strike in Boston in more than 30 years, fueled by demands for higher wages, more expansive retirement benefits and safe staffing levels. Since their first meeting on Aug. 31, the unionized nurses — who have been working closely with the Massachusetts Nurses Association (MNA) in their effort to redraw the contract — have met with representatives from Tufts Medical Center on two additional occasions. According to Rhonda Mann, the director of communications for Tufts Medical Center, further negotiations are scheduled for today and Thursday. “We continue to have good discussions at the bargaining table … [and] are hopeful that we will come to resolution soon. I think there has been some movement which is good… We will just keep being at those discussions listening hard and seeing what we can do to try to resolve this as quickly as possible,” Mann said. Since the strike, the hospital has responded by presenting revised contracts to the 10-member nurses’ bargaining committee, which is composed of nurses from pediatric medicine, the outpatient adult clinic, the breast health clinic, the operating room, the recovery room, the intensive care unit and the IV nurses and floor nurses, according to staff nurse and bargaining committee member Mary Havlicek Cornacchia. Rounding out the team are several associates from MNA, an MNA attorney and a representative from MNA’s public relations department. Mann explained that on the medical-center side, representatives such as Chief Nursing Officer Terry HudsonJinks, nursing leadership from various departments, the hospital’s chief general counsel and labor relations experts have worked to marry the nurses’ requests with the hospital’s capabilities. When talking about the most recent negotiations, Cornacchia said that the hospital had given ground regarding some of the nurses’ demands, but that the changes were still insufficient to meet their needs, although the offthe-record nature of the negotiations meant she could not go into great detail regarding what changes were suggested.
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“It’s a revision of the original offer … It’s been a little frustrating for our membership … People think it means backdoor dealings, which is not the case,” Cornacchia said. “A lot has been accomplished with some of the off-therecord discussions that have occurred since we’ve been back to the table.” Cornacchia did allude to the nurses gaining some ground on key points of contention; for example, she explained that the hospital has recognized the need for filling staffing gaps. Still, Cornacchia maintains that the nurses are adamant about resolving the three issues that originally drove them to strike: retirement, wages and staffing. Clinical Resource Nurse and co-chair of the bargaining unit Barbara Tiller, who is also on the nurses’ side of the negotiating table, explained that settling on a viable retirement plan that both sides are comfortable with has been a central challenge in the saga of negotiations. The nurses have been trying to reach a contract since December 2015. Tiller said that, in the most recent negotiation session, when she attempted to table the issue of retirement momentarily, talks hit a stalemate. “I said ‘Why don’t we go ahead and talk about staffing and wages?’ and [the hospital bargaining committee] wouldn’t talk about those things unless we settled on the pensions,” Tiller said. Tiller highlighted a multiemployer-defined benefit plan, a Taft-Hartley pension fund, that was designed by the MNA and Caritas Christi Health Care, which is one of the largest health care networks in Massachusetts. She explained that the nurses are advocating for this plan in lieu of a multiemployer pension plan, in which the hospital would pay a large financial conglomerate to administer the plan. The Taft-Hartley plan that the nurses are supporting would lead to better retirement benefits for the nurses, provide a guaranteed retirement benefit to every nurse at the medical center and, Tiller argues, would save the hospital a significant sum of money, as they would not have to insure their money with a larger outside conglomerate. In its fact sheet about the negotiations, Tufts Medical Center argues the nurses’ proposed plan would provide the nurses fewer benefits and cost the hospital more. Cornacchia said that staffing remained a hot-button issue among the nurses and pointed to fairly consistent understaffing, while Mann main-
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Crowds gather in front of the Tufts Medical Center to protest for improved benefits for nurses during the Nurses Strike, on July 12. tained that the hospital has been drawing in a huge pool of talent. Mann cited recent statistics as evidence. “Over the last 18 months, we’ve actually hired over 160 nurses to meet the growing needs of the hospital,” Mann said. “We have one of the lowest nursing turnover rates in the country … We have nationally produced data on that. But the MNA was out there saying that people were leaving … We don’t know where they are getting that information, we actually have incredible retention here.” Mann went on to explain that the hospital assesses and tailors staffing levels daily to meet the evolving needs of patients and conditions in the hospital. In particular, Mann pointed to the hospital’s procedure of examining the patient pool every four hours to consider factors such as acuity level and specific needs that care will entail to make informed staging decisions. Cornacchia had a different assessment of staffing levels throughout the hospital and maintained that a large volume of nurses have resigned in the time since the strike. “Some have [left for] retirement, natural attrition, but we’ve [also] had a lot of younger nurses who have come to gain experience leave because they can make more money and have a better retirement package anywhere else in the city,” she said. The hospital addressed staffing shortages during the week of the July demonstration by hiring agency nurses to fill the roles of the standard nursing staff for five days, the minimum amount of time for which they were able to get replacement nurses.
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However, Cornacchia says these agency nurses have stuck around to fill staffing gaps. “They have a lot of agency nurses … They actually brought in a lot of the strike nurses, they brought them back post-strike to fill staffing gaps … We haven’t had too many people apply,” Cornacchia said. For her part, Tiller conceded that staffing has recently been excellent, but said that she believes the hike in staffing is due to a strategic move on the part of the hospital. “They have been staffing up the floors amazingly [with] three or four patient assignments … I think they are doing it to simmer the nurses down to have them forget what they are fighting for, but they could stop the minute we agree to settle,” Tiller said. As for the figure regarding the over 160 new hires, Tiller believes this rush of hiring occurred predominately before the strike. “There are definitely people leaving in droves: we lost 20 people out of the [operating room] since January,” she said. “We are losing seven alone in the next few weeks.” She went on to posit that other medical centers, such as Massachusetts General Hospital, are cannibalizing the disillusioned Tufts nurses. “Mass General is taking advantage of the strike and are reaching out to our nurses … and they are snagging them,” she said. “The pay is better, the benefits are better, the staffing is better.”
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THE TUFTS DAILY | News | Wednesday, October 4, 2017
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Students study on the first floor of the new Science and Engineering Complex (SEC) on Sept. 27. The SEC hosts many of the labs contributing to Tufts’ high innovation score.
Tufts ranks 11th on Nature Index 2017 Innovation list by Ariel Barbieri-Aghib News Editor
Tufts University recently placed 11th on the Nature Index 2017 Innovation ranking, which is conducted by the science journal Nature and measures the quality and quantity of research by institutions and universities worldwide. Tufts placed among Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Weizmann Institute of Science, Stanford University and the National Institutes of Health (NIH), according to the Nature Index website. Jianmin Qu, dean of the School of Engineering at Tufts, explained the Nature Index’s metric for an institution’s level of “innovation.” “The Nature Index ranking measures innovation by evaluating the impact and influence academic research has on innovation by determining how many research articles from an institution are cited in third-party patents,” he told the Daily in an email. Tufts’ research was cited in more than 100,000 patent families within the pharmaceutical industries in 2017 and especially influenced the biotechnology and organic fine chemistry sectors, according to the Lens organization, which holds a database of the world’s patents and developed the metric used by the Nature Index.
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Tufts has a disproportionately large voice in innovation, with between 400 and 500 scientific publications from 2012 to 2016, according to Larry Steranka, the senior director of TTIC. In particular, he said, much of the school’s research comes from Department of Biomedical Engineering Chair David Kaplan, whose research focuses on biopolymer engineering, and Omenetto, who studies the many uses of silk in his lab. Steranka also mentioned David Walt, a former chemistry professor who pioneered many scientific developments. “This ranking sends a message to funders of research, both in the commercial and federal funding realms, that Tufts is an impactful place for research money,” Steranka said. Qu sees the ranking as a positive outcome of years of hard work. “Tufts’ strong reputation as a leader in innovation will help us continue to draw the best and brightest faculty, researchers, and students to our labs and classrooms, and continue to secure funding to provide them with the best possible resources for doing their research,” Qu said. “I’m proud to see Tufts recognized as a global leader, and I look forward to new discoveries ahead.”
Since July nurses’ strike, hospital administrators, nurses still struggle to agree on contract NURSES
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Fiorenzo Omenetto, the dean of research at the School of Engineering, explained that these patents, and not only research, contributed to Tufts’ success on the index. The first step in filing a patent is an invention disclosure. “Beyond ideas and research, researchers at Tufts have generated a large number of invention disclosures and have engaged in connecting with the business world, either by catalyzing startups or by collaborating with existing companies,” Omenetto told the Daily in an email. “This combination of faculty and institutional engagement have helped Tufts become recognized as a leader in innovation.” Qu said that Tufts earned this recognition by producing notable research in several STEM-related fields. “Our high ranking is recognition that the research being done here at Tufts is providing a framework and a trusted foundation for significant new developments in industries including healthcare, artificial intelligence and environmental infrastructure,” Qu said. “This comes as no surprise; in 2016-17 alone, the [Tufts Technology Transfer and Industry Collaboration] (TTIC) reported 50 invention disclosures from across the university, with the School of Engineering leading all Tufts schools with 32.”
Continued from page 1 Cornacchia contends that making the scaled-back versions of the staffing changes the nurses initially requested would be impactful in terms of day-today performance in the hospital. “We realize the hospital doesn’t want to comply with safer patient limits, but the couple things we are asking for … would help facilitate the daily flow,” she said. “If we could remodel the contract altogether, people would come back to Tufts.” The nurses’ contract with the hospital officially expired last year and, as of now, Cornacchia explained that the nurses do not have a deadline they are working to meet. She laughed as she said that she thinks the hospital fears the nurses will strike again,
but quickly clarified that another strike was not in the cards. Instead, she expressed her desire to resolve the situation in a timely and equitable manner. Mann similarly reaffirmed the hospital’s dedication to meeting the nurses’ needs. “We remain committed to reaching an agreement … one that allows us to recruit and retain top talented nurses and meets the needs of our current nursing staff, while entrusting the long-term vitality of our medical center remains in place,” Mann said. “Our budget is limited.” Still, while Tiller hopes that this week’s talks will yield enduring and effective terms that both parties can agree upon, she remains skeptical of the efficacy of these negotiations.
“People are really discouraged about how they were treated during the period [post-strike]. [It took the hospital] way too long to get back to the table,” she said. “There is a mourning period going on, it feels like we are dealing with a group that is only concerned with the bottom line.” In the meantime, Tiller plans on pouring her heart into her work and continuing to advocate for herself and the other nurses of Tufts Medical Center. “They just take for granted that we’ll keep [working]. I am very discouraged about my relationship with the hospital. But when I am in the patient room it doesn’t matter. I still give them that 110 percent, I still try to care that little extra bit, and that makes a huge difference,” Tiller said.
Wednesday, October 4, 2017
Features
Q&A: Alecia McGregor talks hospital closures and political determinants of health care
Community Health Professor Alicia McGregor poses for the Daily outside of her office on Oct. 3.
by Hannah Shin Staff Writer
Alecia McGregor is an assistant professor of community health. This semester, she teaches the community health course called Too Big to Fail? Hospitals and the Changing Landscape. Her recent research looks at the political determinants of hospital closures. In an interview with the Daily, McGregor talked about her research as well as her concerns regarding the U.S. hospital business' political power and its most vulnerable patients, particularly people of color. The Tufts Daily (TD): How did you get involved in hospital research? Alecia McGregor (AM): I first became extremely interested in hospitals when I was doing my postdoc at Princeton [in the school] of Global Health and Health Policy. I was learning about the health care and public policy issues in the state that I was in. I quickly realized that one of the most pressing issues facing civil rights organizations in the state was the issue of hospital closures and access to acute care for vulnerable populations — particularly populations of color. I realized that in Trenton, N.J., the capital … there are no longer any maternity wards left in the city. Now, residents have to travel out to the suburbs to give birth, to have prenatal appointments with their obstetrician, etc. Trenton is a majority-minority city, and when you think about who's most vulnerable to ... high-risk pregnancies and things like that, it's quite an injustice to not have any maternity wards left in that city. A lot of hospitals were built in the 19th century, at least on the East Coast, and after a while, the story goes, they become outdated in terms of technolo-
gy; they're taking on a disproportionate share of poor patients. There's a narrative that the hospitals are financially distressed and that some should close. The reality is, the ones that close are in neighborhoods that have higher shares of black and Latino populations and higher poverty rates. So, I decided to teach this seminar tracing the history of hospitals and pivoting to some of the policy, financial and social explanations for why we're seeing hospitals closing, [hospitals] merging and public hospitals converting to private hospitals. What's happening in the hospital sector that is broadly reflective of what's happening in our economy in general, and what are some ways that we can guarantee access to care? TD: I know you've done research in Brazil, and I was wondering if you had any cross-comparisons between the U.S. and Brazilian hospital systems. AM: That's an area that I'm hoping to do some future research in, comparing those two health systems even though there are some key differences between [the two]. In Brazil, their constitution states that access to health care is a right, and the state has a duty to provide it. Because of that, there is a system of public hospitals and clinics … that provides care free of cost to anyone in Brazil. Unfortunately, that public system is chronically underfunded. A SUS (Sistema Único de Saúde) hospital … is basically a unified health system. So, going to a SUS hospital you'll find yourself in a very long line and that's sort of what people say about public health systems in other places … But, Brazil probably wouldn't have to have those problems with quality and access if the health system wasn't so underfunded.
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Benjamin Corey Eat Your Heart Out
Peanut butter squares
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FRANK MA / THE TUFTS DAILY
So Brazil has, as a result, a mixed public and private system ... so if you're getting private insurance it's for additional care. With a private plan you have access to a number of specialists, access to private beds which are sometimes nicer. In some ways, the United States' healthcare system is a two-tiered system, too. Depending on the type of insurance you have, there are only certain types of care open to you. So there is that similarity but, as you know, we don't have a mandate that says that everyone has access to care, and we definitely don't have one that says it's the government's duty to provide it. TD: That's strange to think about. AM: It is strange, a lot of people chalk it up to American exceptionalism. Americans see ourselves as different from the rest of the world … There's a kind of belief in individually driven prosperity. Some of that is rooted in United States' classism, faith in capitalism [and] racial hierarchy. A lot of the reluctance to universalize access to care and create national health insurance in the mid-20th century came from Southern Democrats who wanted to preserve Jim Crow segregation in the South. To universalize care would mean to desegregate hospitals, right? So, sometimes you hear the language of "that's not the American way, to provide care for everyone." There's the question of, “Well, who are these undeserving poor that we don't want to provide care to?" TD: What are some of the drivers you've found in your research of hospital closures in the United States? AM: Some of the drivers I've been seeing in the data that I've been analyzing … have been things like payer mix. see COMMUNITY HEALTH, page 4
his week, I chose a recipe that doesn’t originate from my family. When my mother was in grade school, there was a woman by the name of Rose Doak who worked in the cafeteria and was beloved by the children for the baked goods that she would make. One of her recipes for peanut butter squares had specifically stuck out to my mom. When my greataunt, who had been very close to my mother, was told about the squares, she immediately tried to replicate them. Try as she might, however, she was unable to make them quite like they were made at the elementary school. It became evident that my great-aunt would not be able to duplicate the recipe on her own accord. Fortunately, everyone in my town was on a first-name basis, just as you’d see in any small town depicted on the silver screen. When asked, Mrs. Doak was happy to share her recipe with my family, and now I have the privilege of sharing its heart-stopping action with you, fellow Jumbos. In retrospect, it’s quite humorous how elusive these peanut butter squares had been for my great-aunt, as they are actually quite easy to make. In a microwave-safe bowl, melt together 2 sticks of butter and 1 1/2 cups of peanut butter. You’re going to want to do this step first because the two ingredients will need time to cool before being added to the rest of the dessert. In a separate bowl, mix together 1 cup of graham cracker crumbs, 2 cups of confectioners’ sugar, 1 cup of raisins and 1 cup of shredded coconut. Try to make sure that the raisins and coconut distribute evenly throughout the liquid ingredients. Once the butter and peanut butter combo are cooled to approximately room temperature, pour them into the bowl of dry ingredients and mix thoroughly. Now set the batter aside while we prepare the baking pan in which they will be housed. Spread additional shredded coconut across the bottom of a 9-by-13 pan, creating an even layer. You can be generous with the coconut here, as this is what gives the squares their hearty texture. With a spoon, distribute the peanut butter batter into large hills across the pan. Your goal is to spread the mixture evenly, which can be difficult because the coconut likes to move around and stick to the batter, rather than the container. I find that several smaller mounds of dough are much easier to control than one big pile. Once the mixture has been spread, sprinkle more shredded coconut on the top, creating a second layer. Press down on the squares lightly with a fork. This helps to ensure that the squares hold their shape. Now simply place the treats in a fridge to cool. They should take about two hours to harden. Once they have cooled, you’re all set to indulge! Happy baking! Benjamin Corey is a senior majoring in international relations. Benjamin can be reached at benjamin.corey@tufts.edu.
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THE TUFTS DAILY | Features | Wednesday, October 4, 2017
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CH professor: Hospitals are connected to politics, race COMMUNITY HEALTH continued from page 3 If you're a hospital and you have a higher proportion of people on Medicaid or uninsured patients who can't pay, you're facing a financial consequence because in our healthcare system, there's something that's known as price discrimination … [in which] each of the different payers will pay different amounts for the same exact procedure. That's why there are some private practices — physicians' practices and such — that won't even accept Medicaid patients because they know that they're going to get reimbursed at a lower rate. Safety net hospitals like Boston Medical Center and Cambridge Health Alliance that take a higher share of lower income patients are often facing these lower reimbursement rates. But the drivers that I'm most interested in, in my research, are the ones related to race. We know that race of the surrounding area has a significant effect on whether or not the hospital ultimately closes. So what I'm exploring in my research right now is, what are the political explanations for this? ... So I'm looking at factors like civic participation in a state legislative district and hospital contributions to campaigns. I'm finding that some political factors are predictive of where hospitals close. TD: When I think about hospitals, I don't necessarily think about the ways that politicians may have a stake in their survival. AM: Yeah, historically that used to be more visible, especially when there were more public hospitals ... A munic-
ipal hospital would often be a place where the mayor would be able to appoint whomever they pleased. It was a form of political patronage to reward supporters by saying ‘oh well you can have this senior position at the local hospital, Cambridge City Hospital or whatever it is,’ for example. That was much more commonly seen, but now it's a bit more hidden because the vast majority of hospitals are private. Many of them are technically not-for-profit 501(c)(3)s even though they're highly profitable entities. TD: Do you have any ideas for how health care can be less focused on profit and more focused on patient care? AM: I think that's a timely question, considering the health care debate we're having at the national level. I know there was a debate, where Bernie Sanders was debating the sponsors of the Graham-Cassidy Bill and Bernie Sanders ... put forth legislation in the Senate for Medicare for All. There's a total of 16 Democratic cosponsors on the bill, which is huge. For so many Democrats to be coming forth and putting their name on single-payer legislation that doesn't include the private insurance industry, it's saying that ... over a period of some years, Medicare will be expanded from being the program that covers just the elderly to covering 55 and under and then 45 and under... TD: Right, so incrementally moving it. AM: Yes, exactly. Now we're having this debate in the public discourse again, which is amazing — we haven't had that in a major way since like the '70s when Richard Nixon proposed his health care reform which some have
CENTER FOR INTERDISCIPLINARY STUDIES Dialogues Across Disciplines Series presents…
Engagements in Transdisciplinary Professional Practice: Trauma-informed strategies for working with survivors of torture Friday, October 6 12:00-1:30 PM Fung (CHAT) House 48 Professors Row Medford, MA 02155 Lunch will be provided
compared to how Obama's health care reform ultimately looked in terms of its involvement of the private sector and promoting competition amongst private insurers. We haven't had that kind of debate in a while and strangely enough, with Republicans gaining the presidency recently and with a very unusual Republican president in office, it seems like there's a bit of an opportunity for that to happen again. I mean, I think that a return to the social mission of the hospital mission versus the profit-driven business enterprise focus is one way and fundamentally shifting the character of the U.S. health care system. One way to do that would be through Medicare for All, or single-payer. It would remove so many of the intermediaries in the health care system which are known to inflate the price of care. With so many different insurers in the game, that puts upward pressure on health care costs. TD: That reminds me of driving distance — having so many intermediaries creates so much distance between getting care you need. AM: It gets in the way of the payer and the patient or the actual provider and the patient, which should be the relationship we're most focused on. We're at a point where the industry is so big. Health care insurance like Blue Cross Blue Shield didn't come about until, like, the '30s, but since then, [it's] grown immensely. Then, we have so many other insurers in this private space that when you think about going from 1930 to now, to the huge chunk of the economy that they make up in terms of jobs... Politically, they're very difficult to contend with.
TD: Do you have any predictions about the future of the hospital business? AM: Well, I can tell you that the trend of hospitals turning more to outpatient care and other non-hospital entities, like ambulatory surgical centers … is a big change that we've seen. In the short term, we're going to see more hospital closures, particularly in rural areas, particularly in some underserved urban areas... I think, unfortunately for the very marginalized populations in the U.S., we're going to continue to see a kind of erosion of access to hospital care. I think we're going to see the continued construction and renovation of hospitals that serve wealthier populations. We're going to see mergers and consolidations even though they've been shown to be associated with higher costs. Oh, I don't want to fail to mention that there was a hospital that closed in North Adams, about three years ago… Hospitals are supposed to be given a 90 days’ notice before they close, but they did not get that. They got about three days. So the majority [of employees] were left unemployed and they've been advocating to reopen that hospital. North Adams is sort of an old industrial town in western Massachusetts. It doesn't really have its thriving industry presence anymore… And now the nearest hospital that people can go to is in Pittsfield, so that's another fight that's happening right here in Massachusetts. Editor’s Note: This interview has been edited for clarity and length.
Sophomores:
Study with Tufts Programs Abroad in 2018-19! Learn More @ Our Upcoming Pizza Parties:
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Tuesday, October 17th at 6:00pm Dowling Hall, Room 745B What role does an anthropologist have in a clinical setting? How do you leverage epidemiology in professional spiritual practices? Is it possible to integrate theories across disciplines to inform practice in durable ways to alleviate suffering in communities? Fernando Ona will share his experiences integrating trauma-informed transdisciplinary approaches to his professional work with refugees and asylum seekers who are survivors of torture. He will discuss how he has leveraged his training in public health, social science, social work and divinity to inform his professional practice.
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Thursday, October 19th at 6:00pm Dowling Hall, Milmore Room Fernando Ona provides trauma-informed therapy to survivors of torture at the Boston Center for Health and Human Rights at Boston Medical Center. In addition to his role at BCRHHR, Fernando is full-time faculty at Tufts University School of Medicine’s Department of Public Health and Community Medicine and is affiliated with the Center for Interdisciplinary Studies and the Departments of Community Health and Anthropology.
Tufts in Oxford: Thurs., 10/19 @ 7pm in Dowling, Milmore Room Tufts in Tübingen: Tues., 10/24 @ 6pm in Dowling, Room 745B Tufts in Madrid: Wed., 10/25 @ 6pm in Dowling, Milmore Room Tufts in Ghana: Mon., 10/30 @ 6pm in Africana Center (Capen House) Tufts in Chile: Wed., 11/1 @ 6pm in Dowling, Milmore Room Tufts in Beijing: Tues., 11/14 @ 6pm in Olin, Laminan Lounge
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COURTESY GEORGE BALLIS / THE IMAGE WORKS
United Farm Workers leader Dolores Huerta organizes marchers on the second day of March Coachella in 1969.
Q&A
‘Dolores’ director Peter Bratt talks storytelling, community activism by Issay Matsumoto Contributing Writer
The subject of the upcoming documentary film “Dolores” (2017), 87-yearold labor-rights activist and legend Dolores Huerta, remains “the most vocal activist you’ve never heard of.” As cofounder of the United Farm Workers labor union with Cesar Chavez, Huerta spearheaded the Delano grape strike in 1965 and played a key role in negotiating fair contracts for migrant workers in the United States. A living legend in her own right, Huerta continues her advocacy with the Dolores Huerta Foundation. Her story is one of a life dedicated to battling institutions of racism, sexism and classism. It is also one of the resilient power of individuals fighting collectively against incredible odds. Using powerful archival footage and thorough, challenging interviews, “Dolores” celebrates an exceptional life while also illuminating a chapter of U.S. history with grace and urgency. The Daily had the opportunity to discuss the upcoming release of “Dolores” over the phone with the film’s director and a close friend of Huerta’s, Peter Bratt. “Dolores” will have its wide release in theaters on Friday. The Tufts Daily (TD): What brought you initially to this project? Peter Bratt (PB): I came from a narrative film background and had never done a … feature documentary. The process began about five years ago, when I got a call from Carlos Santana, the legendary musician, who said, “We
have to make this film. Right now.” I told him I was not a documentary filmmaker, but that didn’t matter to him. Ultimately, Dolores was the one who allowed this story to be told, because she had been approached a few other times in the past and never felt it was the right time. When Carlos put in the request, she said yes and we began this process. TD: How do you even begin the process of distilling a larger-than-life woman and an entire movement into 90 minutes of film? PB: My family has a connection to Dolores’ family; my mother knew her from the movement days in the ’60s and ’70s. My mother was also a single mother who was an activist. First, I had to remove my thinking of “Dolores, the icon.” As someone who was from that particular community, I had to approach it from a point of view of pure storytelling. If we were going to do this, I wanted to be able to talk about things that she would most likely be uncomfortable with. From my relationship with her kids, I knew that they had it somewhat tough. I wanted to get into that and really capture the spirit of who she is. I knew that we would just be skimming the surface of the work that she’s done over seven decades. She’s worked on almost every issue you can think of in the last 75 years. TD: During the five years you spent making the film, what were the some things you learned about film and Dolores? Where did those lessons come from? PB: In terms of filmmaking, I learned that whether you’re making a docu-
mentary or a feature narrative, at the end of the day you’re telling a story. A lot of this generation, they’re hearing about Dolores Huerta for the first time in their life. You can’t just jump in and start telling the story with all the intricacies about labor history in California, because you’re going to lose your audience. You have to figure out how to keep your audience engaged with the material. That way, you’re using the same skills as you would in a narrative film; you’re telling a story and you have to make it interesting [and] entertaining. I also realized that with doc-filmmaking, you’re almost walking on a tightwire. You count on discovering a great deal of the narrative and the themes in the process of discovery in your research. You’re hoping to discover the themes you’re going to build the narrative around in the process. And sometimes it takes a long time to emerge, as they did in this film. In terms of Dolores, what I took away from this process is that she is the consumate and relentless organizer. She does not stop. When you have your subject for 12 or 16 hours a day, usually the subject lets her hair down, so to speak. But with Dolores, what you see is what you get. Even when the camera lights come off, she’s always focused on the job of organizing, of furthering her cause. That blew me away, to realize that there’s somebody who moves and acts at that level, all the time… She wore out my crew. Even now, during the tour of the film, I had to go home and take a week off between all the promotion. She’s been going nonstop. And
she’s 87. Her children joke that she’s an alien from another planet. TD: Along those lines, to what extent would you connect your work with Dolores’? To what extent do you feel that your job as a filmmaker and artist is activism? PB: If you’re an independent filmmaker, you’re used to the long haul. Developing a project, it takes years to raise money… And then when you’re finished, you’re not guaranteed distribution. So sometimes that may require you to go around with a project for a long period of time. So just by being an indie filmmaker you’re already prepared to be engaged in something that’s going to take a very long time. But after seeing the commitment of people like Dolores and Cesar Chavez, including those who gave their lives, and are still in the game after decades, and sometimes fighting for a cause that they know they won’t live to see achieved, that’s a really sobering thing. So as a filmmaker, it takes a long time, but it’s nothing compared to the trek of someone like Dolores Huerta. TD: Do you see yourself as an 87-year-old someday making films and telling stories? PB: Hopefully when I’m 87, I’ll have that much commitment and passion for what I’m doing, truly. I would die a happy man if I could make it that far and have that much vigor, enthusiasm and excitement. You don’t meet people like Dolores everyday. The sheer commitment, it’s overwhelming. see DOLORES, page 7
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Peter Bratt on activist Dolores Huerta: ‘She’s a relentless organizer’ DOLORES
continued from page 5 TD: From observing her for so long, what do you think is the key to her longevity? PB: She believes in what she’s doing, she really believes that people have power. For her organizing is like a magic wand, a kind of a superpower. You go into a community that feels powerless, and you help organize and develop leadership within that community, and then you see those people come together, organize and create change in their lives. Dolores also lives in the communities that she works in. She has the camaraderie, love, support and respect of those that she struggles with. That also keeps her virile [and] alive. TD: Do you feel filmmaking is your “magic wand?”
PB: Filmmaking is great, but it doesn’t replace being in the community and being civically engaged. I also work in the nonprofit world. It’s a different kind of field, but you’re still working with people and collaborating to make change in your community that sometimes doesn’t achieve equity. So it affects me, my people, my family, my community. But in terms of filmmaking, it’s a craft, an art form. You can marry the two [filmmaking and activism], but it has to be done using those tools. I don’t think you can just go out there. It has to be woven; it can’t be over the head. TD: What advice might you give to a young person right now who is inspired by the work of Dolores Huerta and your own work as a filmmaker, or people who watch your film? PB: There’s an opportunity right now in the current political climate. We need
all hands on deck. I’m a believer now in what Dolores said, that the power is in each individual. Everyone has that power. The movement worked with the most powerless class, undocumented non-English speaking farm workers. That community got empowered, and it created change. I believe in that. We need engagement right now. I advise people to find out what it is you want to work for. Go volunteer. Get involved. You can vote, you can campaign, you can run. And marching helps put pressure, but you have to vote, you have to get civically engaged. I hear people from filmmaking say, “There’s filmmaking and there’s activism, and you don’t mix them.” But I believe you can do it all. Editor’s Note: This interview has been edited for clarity and length.
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Matthew Soderberg Citizen Shame
If only something was ‘Happening’
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n 2007, Boston’s own Mark Wahlberg found a new level of success when he was nominated for an Academy Award for his work in Martin Scorsese’s “The Departed” (2006). Two years later, he demonstrated that talent is a spectrum by performing in M. Night Shyamalan’s disasterpiece “The Happening” (2008). You may know Shyamalan as the man who ruined your childhood by bringing “The Last Airbender” (2010) to the big screen, or as the guy who tricked you into thinking John McClane could be a successful psychologist. But here, Shyamalan is producing on an even higher level, as he tells the daringly apocalyptic story of “The Happening.” Wahlberg plays Elliot Moore, a high school science teacher, which might be believable if you are 7 years old or severely confused. The pretense of “The Happening” is that something is happening, but Shyamalan takes care to make sure there are no elements of excitement, basic plot or anything to distract you or make you think you know what that something is. You know those Odyssey or Medium articles that someone writes and then shares on Facebook to promote some brilliant hot take on the importance of Greek life, or the think pieces that ramble on about the keys of positivity? “The Happening” is their glorious film counterpart. After a bizarre toxin causes mass suicides and other unexplainable events around the world, Wahlberg takes his family and friend on a quest for safety. What they’re running from, where they’re running to and why this film got a production budget of nearly $50 million are all mysteries that are never really answered. What follows is some questionably wonderful science fiction speculation meshed with the road trip drama one could expect from such an auteur as Shyamalan. At its core, the film reinvents the disaster thriller genre by taking out suspense or audience interest and replacing them with Wahlberg and lots of plantbased discussion and concern. That’s where the film reaches its alltime-great status. Viewers accustomed to Shyamalan’s twisty style might expect an ending that reveals some previously unseen threat or alien force or really anything to justify the making of this movie, but Shyamalan uses a little reverse psychology and really tricks you. Instead of a twist ending, the director decides to raise both middle fingers at the audience by revealing that the entire movie is about the plants on Earth rebelling or something like that. (At this point in the film, it is hard to listen to the dialogue without assuring yourself out loud that it will be over soon, so some details might have been lost). It’s a brilliant redirection of viewer expectation, and you can actually see the moment Wahlberg questions the movie as a career choice. He famously vowed afterward to read scripts before agreeing to star in them just to ensure that they do not involve plant villains and also to make certain that something, anything, is actually happening. Matthew Soderberg is a first-year who can be reached at matthew.soderberg@tufts.edu.
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Wed Oct. 4 6:30 Erev Sukkot dinner
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Thur Oct. 5 10:30 morning services followed by lunch 6:30 Veggie Potluck dinner Fri Oct. 6 1:00 Moral Voices Lunch and Learn on American Healthcare and Reproductive Rights 6:00/7:15 Shabbat in the Sukkah
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SUKKOT AT HILLEL
Sun Oct. 8 11:00 Build a Brunch Workshop Tues Oct. 10 7:00 CAFE Interfaith Discussion: On Bad Intentions Wed Oct. 11 11:00 Sushi in the Sukkah
Join us as we celebrate Sukkot, the holiday that recalls agrarian roots and encourages one to leave the comfort of home for the vulnerability and possibility of life under the stars. It is a time of particular openness and hospitality and we welcome all folks to come and eat or hang out in our festive hut.
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Visit our facebook page or website for more details, and stay tuned as we plan for Simchat Torah.
Thur Oct. 12 10:00 Shemini atzeret services, followed by lunch Fri Oct. 13 12:00 Simchat Torah Lunch and Learn
All events, except for morning servives will take place in the sukkah outside of Carmichael Hall. Rain location Tufts Hillel
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Wednesday, October 4, 2017 | Comics | THE TUFTS DAILY
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Comics
LATE NIGHT AT THE DAILY Joe Walsh IV: “Did everyone forget that gluttony is a sin?”
Comics
SUDOKU
GARFIELD BY JIM DAVIS
NON SEQUITUR BY WILEY MILLER
Difficulty Level: Winning a boxing match against Adam Smith’s invisible hand.
LINDA C. BLACK ASTROLOGY
Monday’s Solution
Libra (Aug. 23-Sept. 22)
Today is a 7. Partnership is key, especially through tomorrow. Avoid silly arguments or bickering over who’s right. Stay patient, despite obstacles or breakdowns. Listen generously. Bend a little. FOR RELEASE OCTOBER 4, 2017
Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Lewis CROSSWORD
ACROSS 1 Fancy parties 6 [This is gonna be really bad!] 10 OutKast rapper Big __ 13 Hi in Hawaii 14 Senior golfer Aoki 15 Lends support to 16 Likely to speak out 17 *Vodka cocktail often served with a sugared rim 19 Text update from an Uber driver: Abbr. 20 Trippy ’60s drug 22 Milked for all it’s worth 23 Mai __: rum drinks 25 Post-CrossFit woes 26 With 49-Across, it keeps repeating itself ... and, based on the first and last letters, an apt description of each answer to a starred clue 28 “__-ching!” 29 Down with the flu 32 NFLer again in 2016 33 Early American furniture style 36 Casino cash source 37 Oft-injured knee part, for short 40 Bit of texting tact 41 Sine __ non 42 Interest-arousing promo 45 More accurate 47 Mud bath offerer 48 Night before 49 See 26-Across 50 Burton of “Star Trek: TNG” 52 Wild swine 53 Win out 56 Tiny drink 57 Go wrong 60 *Largely bygone penal colony 62 “Paper Moon” girl 64 Notable times 65 Mideast dignitary 66 Brownish gray 67 Susan of “L.A. Law” 68 Fix, as a feline 69 Promoted heavily
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By C.C. Burnikel
DOWN 1 Conceded, with “up” 2 Tons 3 *Store website feature 4 “I thought so!” 5 Education financing company, familiarly 6 Coat, as jewelry 7 Put in the game 8 *Shari Lewis puppet 9 Place for a break? 10 Dove or robin 11 Campfire attraction 12 Kids’ game for car trips 15 Includes 18 Maiden name intro 21 Nine-digit ID 24 Wanted poster letters 25 Duke’s conf. 26 Cry from a sheep 27 Motel postings 30 *Totally drunk 31 “Today” co-host Matt
Tuesday’s Puzzle Solved
©2017 Tribune Content Agency, LLC
34 Manipulative health care practitioner 35 Pie crust fat 38 Mountain climber’s piton spots 39 *Light source with hypnotic bubbles 43 Artillery bursts 44 Essen article 46 Electronics giant 49 Hitter’s stat
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51 Sound-detecting organ 53 Claimed in court 54 Hard to find 55 “Buy It Now” site 56 Agile 58 Like orange or red persimmons 59 Marsh plant 61 Athletes for Hope co-founder Hamm 63 Calendar square
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Opinion CARTOON
Wednesday, October 4, 2017
Paris Sanders P.S. …
The good, the bad and the bunny
BY REBECCA TANG OP-ED
The chicken salad sandwich: dangerously overrated by Joseph Caplan
The chicken salad sandwich. A Kosher Deli staple. Most commonly ordered on a bagel; however, those in the know take it on flatbread because you get one and a half scoops instead of the measly one. “Have you tried the chicken salad at KD?” your roommate asks you freshman year. “It’s sooooo good. Oh my god, I love that KD chicken salad.” You know it. You love it. You wait in lines out the door for it. Well, I’m here to tell you, the chicken salad sandwich is the worst sandwich that the deli has to offer. Did you hear that? That was the sound of you gasping in disbelief. “Heretic!” You scream as you slam your desk in the middle of class. Before you grab your pitchforks, let me explain. First, I’ll start with my credentials. I worked at the Kosher Deli the last two semesters. I spent hours upon hours scooping your salad, folding your salmon, toasting your bagels. Every
slice of bread was an empty canvas upon which I poured veggies, meats and my soul. “Traitorous bastard,” you slip under your breath, “how dare you stab the kosher deli in the back like this!” I get it. I get why you’re mad. You’ve been brainwashed into the cult of chicken salad by the peer pressure of hundreds of other Jumbos ordering that same damn sandwich every day. I get it, you’re scared. I’m here to save you, to lead you, to open your eyes. It’s time to break the shackles and leave the chicken salad cave behind, for beyond that peppery, celery-y, chickeny salad is the promised land. A land of smoked salmon on bagels, of Spicy Italians on white, a land of mushrooms, turkey and tofu. Free your buds! Let them experience life to its fullest. Let your tastebuds feel the burn of the pepper relish and the tingle of the dill mayo. “Alright calm down, buddy, it’s just a sandwich,” you think, judging me for my obsession with sandwiches. But no, gosh darn it! The chicken salad cult is an
epidemic on our campus that needs to be addressed. A chicken salad sandwich every now and then is healthy, but KD chicken salad addiction is a real thing on campus. People will wait 20 minutes in line, find out we’re out of chicken salad and just leave. “You want another type of sandwich?” I ask, hoping and praying their addiction hasn’t consumed them entirely. But, alas, my attempts to free the customer from the hive mind prove futile every damn time. “No,” the customer reports robotically, “I will wait for the chicken salad,” as my heart drops to my stomach. It’s not just a matter of taste; the chicken salad tastes good. I’m not a fan of celery, but it tastes good. It’s a matter of missed opportunity. Of lack of creativity. People march on like sheep down the road of chicken salad, when they could be pioneers exploring the paths of pastrami. Joseph Caplan is a senior majoring in philosophy and a former Pax et Lox employee. He can be reached at Joseph.Caplan@tufts.edu.
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.
Content warning: This column mentions sexual violence. Few people have had as flamboyant, controversial or divisive of a public persona as Hugh Hefner. I myself have had wavering opinions about Hefner, beginning in childhood (I grew up in Los Angeles, so in many ways Playboy was part of my community). At first, I saw Hefner as a misogynist, later, as an early proponent of sexual liberation — including reproductive rights. But can one person be each of these things? And more troublingly, what are we to do in instances such as Hefner’s, when an individual’s legacy dwarfs their personal actions? In 2015, Holly Madison, Hefner’s former girlfriend, alluded to years of financial and verbal abuse, coerced drug use and emotional manipulation whilst living in the Playboy Mansion. Madison’s account was reminiscent of reports by past playmates Chloe Goins and Carla Howe. These stories, along with Playboy’s decades of utilizing an idealized, plasticine female form as a form of merchandise, serve as the backbone for what I like to call the ‘cartoonish villain’ Hefner. By contrast, to third-wave feminists and ‘sex positivists’ de jour, though controversial, Hefner helped establish a mainstream understanding of sexual liberation and, most importantly for supporters, the notion that female sexuality should not be scorned — and he created Playgirl, so that’s equal, right! Somehow, both depictions fall short, resembling caricatures far more than an individual, a contrived narrative far more than a legacy. The cartoonish villain Hefner, face of misogynist white men everywhere, the sexual liberation ‘hero’ Hefner, far more of a ‘feminist,’ advocate of legal abortion, gay marriage and even an early champion of civil rights. Notably, in 1971, Playboy first featured a black playmate, Darine Stern, on its cover. By contrast, Vogue did not feature a black model on its cover until 1974. Playboy’s first black playmate, Jennifer Jackson, publicly denounced her relationship with Playboy upon Hefner’s death, reporting a sense of shame. With these instances in mind, it appears as if one’s opinion of Hefner depends on whether one is to value individual testimony over the effects on culture at large — or, how willing we are to accept ‘progress’ with the weight placed squarely on women’s backs. While Hefner’s Playboy published groundbreaking interviews with black men, including Malcolm X and Muhammad Ali, its ‘relationship’ with black women remained solely sexual… and therein lies the problem. As much as the desire to champion Hefner as an early advocate of sexual liberation is luring at face value it, unfortunately, dismisses the effects of political, economic and structural power dynamics behind sexuality. Until feminism has eradicated the expectations on women and femme people to be sexually consumable, to appear a certain way or to fulfill the demands of others at their individual expense, it seems difficult to exclaim that sexuality is intrinsically liberating. It seems even more difficult to exclaim that sexuality is liberating when it exists in the pages of a magazine made by, and in large part for, white heterosexual men. Right now, my eulogy to Hefner is the following — “You did more good than Larry Flynt.” I think that says enough. Paris Sanders is a senior majoring in philosophy and political science. Paris can be reached at paris.sanders@tufts.edu.
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AT FIRST I WAS EMBARRASSED. ME, A CAT, LIVING WITH A SINGLE GUY. BUT WHEN I WATCH HIM PICK SOMETHING UP WITH HIS HANDS AND EAT IT, I CAN’T HELP BUT LOVE HIM. — MARU adopted 01-10-10
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Wednesday, October 4, 2017
Yuan Jun Chee On the Spot
Why Guardiola has finally arrived
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Senior midfielder Erin Sanders andvances towards the goal in the second period of the women's field hockey home game against Babson at Ounjian Field on Sept. 12.
Field hockey remains atop NESCAC after pair of road wins by Sam Weidner Sports Editor
No. 4-ranked Tufts added two more in-conference wins over the weekend against Amherst and Hamilton to remain the only undefeated team in the NESCAC.
FIELD HOCKEY (7–2 Overall, 6–0 NESCAC) Saturday, Sept. 30 Tufts Amherst Sunday, Oct. 1 Tufts Hamilton
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Senior forward Mary Travers talked about the experience of playing multiple conference games on the road over the weekend. “They were two huge games going into the weekend. We were and still are the only undefeated team in the NESCAC. So winning those two games, they’re nationally ranked teams in the top 20 and also conference teams,” Travers said. “Going on the road is definitely a challenge, so we’re staying in a hotel room, we’re having a hotel breakfast and we’re not in the same rhythm, we don’t have our facilities. Definitely pushing through that and the super long bus ride and putting all that aside to just step out on the field and focus on what we need to do was huge.” On Sunday, Tufts played on the road against Hamilton. The Jumbos fell behind early in this game, giving up a goal after just 13 minutes. This forced them to play from behind for most of the game. However, over the next 16 minutes Tufts didn’t allow a single shot on goal and managed to put four shots on goal themselves. Finally, on their fifth attempt, Tufts was able to find the back
of the net when sophomore midfielder Marguerite Salamone scored on a shot assisted by junior forward Hanaa Malik — Salamone’s first goal of the season. Just under three minutes later, senior midfielder Erin Sanders scored her first goal of the season as well, assisted by Salamone. Neither team scored in the second half of the game and the Jumbos managed to win their second game of the weekend. The Jumbos led in shots on goal, had nine more shots than the Continentals and earned two more penalty corners. On Saturday, five minutes into Tufts’ game against Amherst, Travers scored on just her second shot of the game to give Tufts a 1–0 lead. The game then went almost 25 minutes without any scoring until first-year midfielder Beth Krikorian made a successful shot, earning the Jumbos a 2–0 lead. Tufts coasted on that lead for the rest of the game to a 2–0 victory as, once again, no goals were scored in the second half. Tufts had seven more shots on goal than Amherst in the game and managed to prevent them from capitalizing on any of their three attempts. Travers stressed the importance for the team of setting a fast pace early in the game against Amherst. “We always talk about the first five minutes of the game as a time when the tone is set, so our goal as a team is to come out and get a shot, corner or goal in the first five minutes,” Travers said. “Against Amherst, that is exactly what we did, and I think that we got them on their heels a little bit.” In both games over the weekend, Tufts underclassmen delivered, with a goal and an assist from Salamone in the Hamilton game and a goal from Krikorian against Amherst. Despite being an upperclassmen-heavy team, the contributions from the younger players are important to demonstrate the base the Jumbos have in place for next year.
“I always say to the [first-years] that there is a point in the season where everything starts to click for them,” coach Tina Mattera said. “They know their routine and they know what’s going on, and I think that really happened last week. We only have four [first-years] but I pulled them aside after practice and told them that they all look great. They’ve always been playing really well.” Travers and junior forward Gigi Tutoni are currently the leading scorers for the Jumbos, with five and three goals respectively for the season. Despite their large number of shots on goal, the Jumbos are largely struggling to convert their chances. Mattera spoke to the Jumbos’ need to finish their opportunities on goal. “I think that we are getting shots, but [we need to work on] how we get quality shots and how we get them in the cage,” Mattera said. “Our conversion rate is terrible. I said to the girls last week that we were ranked number one in shots in the NESCAC and we were fifth in scoring, and then I just didn’t say anything.” Up next, Tufts will face off against Middlebury (6–2, 4–1 NESCAC), which is currently ranked No. 6 in the country and No. 2 in the NESCAC, both slightly behind Tufts. It will be a key matchup to decide who has hold of the NESCAC this season, after Tufts defeated Middlebury last year in the NESCAC championship game. Travers described the team’s current preparation for the game, placing an emphasis on how they are adapting their style of play specifically to counter Middlebury. “They are a super skilled and very technical team. Almost because of how technical they are they are fun to study so we are watching a lot of film and doing a lot of scouting,” Travers said. “We are designing our presses and our forward and our first line of defense to really mimic what they are doing, which has been really successful in the past.”
n Saturday, Pep Guardiola delivered his strongest performance yet as Manchester City manager with a 1–0 victory at Stamford Bridge against defending champions Chelsea. While many will point to the statistics of the previous three games — beating Watford 6–0, Crystal Palace 5–0 and 10-man Liverpool 5–0 — as evidence that Guardiola’s brand of attractive, attacking soccer is finally making its mark on English shores, I would think it was this weekend that revealed his true brilliance. Let’s rewind our clocks, however, to City’s 3–1 defeat at home to Chelsea last year. It was Guardiola that offered the first hint at how to stifle Chelsea’s 3–4–3 system. Guardiola opted for a back-three, abandoning his favored back-four approach specifically for this game. Guardiola went man-to-man and adopted a unique high-press on Chelsea’s backline, allowing his own creative players to dominate the game. Unfortunately for Guardiola, it wasn’t sustained throughout the game defensively, allowing Chelsea to make a game-defining switch when Willian Borges da Silva came on which gave Chelsea some much needed pace on the counterattack. But this year was different. Sure, many may point to the fact that Guardiola has had so much money to spend, as he spent close to $200 million on defenders this post-season. That makes it easy for him to achieve success, right? But it’s one thing having the financial resources to build and another to get exactly the right defenders he needed to strengthen his side. Manchester City was almost dominant from start to finish at Stamford Bridge on Saturday. Admittedly, Chelsea manager Antonio Conte made a huge tactical mistake when club-record signing Alvaro Morata went off injured. Instead of bringing on a target man such as reserve striker Michy Batshuayi for his defenders to play the ball out to, Conte opted to bring on Willian instead. This left Chelsea less effective on the break, as the team had to drop even deeper. From there on in it was City all the way. This came on the back of losing Sergio Aguero to a silly accident, Vincent Kompany to yet another injury and Benjamin Mendy to a knee problem. The genius of Guardiola came in how he utilized his remaining players. Fabian Delph was deployed as a mix of left-wing back and left-central midfield — an inverted wingback almost deployed in midfield. And with Aguero out, Guardiola expertly deployed his speedsters Raheem Sterling and Leroy Sané to pin Chelsea’s back-three much deeper than Conte would have liked. City’s man-marking meant Chelsea’s counterattacking players often found no joy. But the key to their success was this: Delph’s presence in a hybrid role ensured that City would almost always control the midfield battle. Chelsea’s two defensive midfielders, N’Golo Kanté and Tiémoué Bakayoko, would always be overwhelmed by the creative juices of Kevin De Bruyne and David Silva, often without help from the backline. This was a tactical masterclass by Guardiola. It demonstrated that, despite key absences across the pitch, Guardiola maximized the potential of his squad players to devastating effect. In successfully adjusting his game plan, Guardiola leaves us in no question that this year, it is City that will be the team to catch. Yuan Jun Chee is a sports editor at the Tufts Daily. He is a junior majoring in history and international relations. He can be reached at yuan.chee@tufts.edu.