NEWS

THE TUFTS DAILY

VOLUME LXXXI, ISSUE 41 MEDFORD/SOMERVILLE, MASS.

Monday, deceMber 6, 2021

tuftsdaily.com

For undergraduate teaching assistants, compensation varies among departments

by Ethan Steinberg

Associate Editor

Widespread disparities in compensation and workload exist among undergraduate teaching assistants in the Schools of Arts and Sciences and Engineering. Some undergraduate TAs are compensated through semester-hour units, while others are compensated through pay stipends and still others through hourly pay.

Miranda Feinberg, an undergraduate teaching assistant for the film and media studies program, said in an interview with the Daily that she is not paid for her work. Feinberg, a senior who TAs FMS30, a hands-on, introductory film practice course, said that she is compensated instead through semester-hour units.

She was asked as part of her teaching assistant job to sign up for FMS98, a course designed specifically for filmmaking TAs, through which she receives two credits. The course does not meet formally.

As a TA, Feinberg is responsible for attending a 2.5-hour lecture on Tuesdays and running a 2.5-hour lab along with her co-TA on Thursdays. The lecture focuses on theoretical elements of filmmaking, while the lab is practical. Feinberg said she typically spends part of the lab teaching — usually expanding on a concept introduced in the lecture — and the other part answering questions and monitoring students as they work on assignments. Feinberg also spends one to two hours each week outside the lecture and lab on preparation and, occasionally, grading.

“It is a big time commitment, and I think that if I were to be in a position where I needed to get a

see TA COMPENSATION, page 2

SCIENCE

What’s different about COVID-19 transmission rates on college campuses? Experts weigh in.

NICOLE GARAY / THE TUFTS DAILY

The Medford/Somerville campus COVID-19 testing site is pictured on Sept. 20.

by Sarah Sandlow

Executive Copy Editor

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to impact communities around the United States and the world, certain trends have emerged surrounding infection rates and their link with prevention measures including surveillance testing, masking and vaccine mandates. Experts agree that, especially on college campuses, these measures are essential in curbing the spread of COVID-19.

The number of college COVID-19 infections was at its worst in Massachusetts as college students returned to campus after winter break in early 2021, according to Mary Hopkins, an infectious disease physician at Tufts Medical Center.

“In summer 2020, we had a honeymoon period before the delta variant arrived,” Hopkins said. “We had the worst of our infections in the spring of 2020. People started to mask up, people started to socially distance and the delta variant wasn’t here. And so as students came back in [summer] 2020, yes, there was a surge of cases, but not quite as bad as when they came back from winter break, January 2021

see SCIENCE, page 3

Tufts Medical Center adjusts procedures after wrongfully assuming Black stroke victim was intoxicated

NICHOLAS PFOSI / THE TUFTS DAILY ARCHIVES Tufts Medical Center is pictured on Aug. 28, 2014.

by Skyler Goldberg

Contributing Writer

The Tufts Medical Center has implemented a number of drastic procedural changes following an incident of racial bias in 2019 that led to the mistreatment of a Black man who had suffered a stroke. The incident resurfaced in the media recently after the City of Boston reached a $1.3 million settlement with the victim, Al Copeland. Copeland was held at a Boston police station for several hours by law enforcement officials in April 2019 after he suffered a stroke that left him “barely conscious,” while driving on Massachusetts Avenue at night.

Copeland, 64, was found outside the Berklee College of Music, where he managed to park his car after experiencing the stroke while driving, and was arrested by Boston police officers who believed he was drunk. Police called an ambulance only after the victim vomited in a holding cell at the police station. The ambulance took Copeland to the Tufts Medical Center Emergency Room, where he remained for several hours before receiving treatment because the staff assumed he was intoxicated.

Tufts Medical Center is associated with Tufts University through an affiliation with the Tufts University School of Medicine. All doctors at the medical center are full-time faculty at the medical school.

Jeremy Lechan, media relations manager for Tufts Medical Center, apologized on behalf of the hospital that health care professionals had assumed Copeland was drunk. Lechan told the Daily that patient privacy laws prohibit his office from commenting on specifics of the incident involving Copeland, but said that Tufts Medical Center has made changes — some ongoing, some directly in response to this incident — to prevent similar cases in the future.

“We have developed and implemented [programs and initiatives] over the past several years to prevent this type of error from happening again,” Lechan wrote in an email to the Daily.

Tufts Medical Center has revised the intake process for patients who cannot communicate. A social worker will now speak with family, friends and other contacts to determine why the patient is unable to com-

see MEDICAL, page 2

SPORTS / back Cummings’ resilience inspires Tufts football team

FEATURES / page 4 EDITORIAL / page 13 Alumni reflect on studies, career post-graduation

NEWS

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FEATURES

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ARTS & POP CULTURE 9 FUN & GAMES 12 OPINION 13 SPORTS BACK

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TA COMPENSATION

continued from page 1 job during the semester, it would not be possible while also doing this,” Feinberg said. “I think it’s a lot of work, where it does warrant some sort of payment.”

However, despite concerns over the position’s compensatory structure, Feinberg said she has learned a great deal from her position as a TA, which has in part made up for the lack of pay.

“[The class] is helpful for the TAs as much as it is for the people actually taking the class,” she said.

Natalie Minik, one of the professors who oversees FMS98, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Other undergraduate TA positions in the Schools of Arts and Sciences and Engineering are structured differently.

Several undergraduate TAs in the computer science department reported that they are paid an hourly wage of $14.50. Brendan Amorin, a senior and one of the TAs for CS15, said he spends between five and 10 hours per week on the job, either in office hours, lab or grading assignments.

Silvia Wang, a junior who is a teaching assistant for the same class, said she typically spends between 12–15 hours per week on the job. Wang, who is in her second semester as a TA for the course, is a “lab lead,” which means she is responsible for spearheading lesson prep for the lab section that she and another TA oversee.

Wang said she enjoys her role as a TA and is happy to be a part of the community made up of the approximately 40 CS15 TAs.

While some undergraduate TAs are paid hourly, others receive a fixed pay stipend for the semester. Meghan Schroeder, a junior who is a teaching assistant for EC05, will receive a $4,000 stipend for her work as a TA this semester. She spends six to seven hours per week on the job, which is split between leading recitations, answering student questions in office hours and grading. Schroeder is one of eight TAs for the course. She does not have to log or keep track of her hourly work.

In a joint statement, Christopher Helmuth and James Sarazen, the administrative deans for the Schools of Arts and Sciences and Engineering, respectively, said the roles and support for TAs differ depending on the school, department, assignment and available funding, among other factors.

“Every school tries to provide opportunities to students that are academically engaging and provide support for the student’s academic program,” they wrote in a statement to the Daily.

MINA TERZIOGLU / THE TUFTS DAILY Tufts’ administrative deans say TA compensation depends on a department’s available funding, among other factors.

This article is part of an ongoing investigation by the Daily into disparities in TA compensation among different departments.

Disclaimer: Miranda Feinberg is an Assistant Copy Editor at The Tufts Daily. Miranda was not involved in the writing or editing of this article.

TMC establishes DEI Center to build inclusive culture

MEDICAL

continued from page 1 municate. The medical center has also improved its process for how different care teams hand off care for patients with altered mental status, Lechan said.

More generally, the Emergency Department has committed, Lechan said, to “review [its] quality dashboard to ensure that quality metrics are being met for every patient, regardless of race, ethnicity or any other demographic.”

In addition, Tufts Medical Center has established a Center for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.

“The Center [for DEI] provides expertise, education, policies, processes and solutions to build an inclusive culture to deliver unmatched care experiences for all and reduce health disparities,” he said.

As part of this initiative, Tufts has partnered with Wellforce, which Lechan said will help lead DEI training. The DEI efforts will be overseen by Rosa ColonKolacko, chief diversity, equity and inclusion officer at Wellforce.

Adler Eliacin, who has served on the executive board of the NAACP’s Boston branch, among other community organizations, will serve as program director of DEI. Isaac Tesfay, who was formerly the senior manager of DEI for the Executive Office of the Massachusetts Trial Court, will serve as system director.

Lechan described some of the projects launched by the Center for DEI. It is conducting a system-wide employee and physician engagement survey to measure perceptions of diversity and inclusivity.

“[We have also] designed workflows to integrate linguistic services, cultural needs and data elements in the Epic patient experience design,” Lechan said, referring to the patient portal used by the medical center.

Regardless of changes made for the future, this kind of mistake caused major harm to a patient. According to WBUR, the medical center determined that he had no drugs or alcohol in his system only after his wife, Valerie Copeland, discovered what had happened the next morning and interceded. Left untreated for so long, Al Copeland’s stroke caused significant harm.

“Once I arrived at the hospital, I was shocked at his appearance,” Valerie Copeland wrote on a GoFundMe page. “His face was discolored. His body contorted.”

Two years since the stroke, Al Copeland is still struggling to walk. He has undergone weeks of rehabilitation that forced him to leave his job at the MBTA. The Daily was unable to reach Al or Valerie Copeland for comment.

The grace for the Copeland family is that the City of Boston has settled a lawsuit with the family for $1.3 million. But the police officers involved have not faced disciplinary action.

Jaden Pena, diversity officer for the TCU Senate, noted how this incident affects all Tufts students, regardless of campus or affiliation. He wrote to the Daily in an email that the TCU Senate condemns the university’s role in the incident.

“It is even more upsetting that this happened at a place that is directly affiliated to Tufts University, and shares the same name as the school we attend,” Pena, a junior, said.

Pena said that the incident did not surprise him.

“Sadly, this is the story of far too many Black people across America,” he said. “Whenever I read a headline that has ‘Black man’ and ‘police’ in it, it usually means death was involved. I think this speaks volumes on the American policing system because I know the way I think is probably common amongst many other people.”

Pena condemned the fact that the police officers involved have not been disciplined.

“I am glad that the Copelands won the $1.3 million settlement, but that does not mean the officers that handled the situation should not face disciplinary action,” Pena said. “The City of Boston should discipline all officers involved for their mishandling of the situation.”

Najiba Akbar assumes leadership of Muslim Chaplaincy

by Tess Harmon

Contributing Writer

Najiba Akbar began her position as Tufts University’s Muslim chaplain on Nov. 12. She previously served as the Muslim chaplain at Wellesley College and is currently the Muslim spiritual advisor at Northeastern University. She is a trained personal development coach and was an Islamic studies instructor at the Islamic Center of Boston. Akbar also served as a program co-facilitator for Tufts’ Pathways interfaith dialogue initiative from 2007 to 2009. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in peace and justice studies from Wellesley College and a master’s degree in social work from Boston College.

Akbar hopes to help students navigate both their faith and the challenges of life while building off her work as an integral life coach, where she sees spiritual and psychological development as equally important.

“My goal is to support students and Tufts community members as they walk on their spiritual journey, whatever it may look like for them,” Akbar wrote in an email to the Daily. “I plan to offer religious programming as well as opportunities to discuss topics related to religion, spirituality, identity, and wellness.”

The search process for a new Muslim chaplain began just before the start of the fall semester. The Rev. Elyse Nelson Winger, university chaplain, Lynn Cooper, Catholic chaplain and associate director of the University Chaplaincy and two students, Mohamed Samater and Faizah Wulandana, formed the search committee.

According to an email from Winger to the Tufts community, the role of the Muslim chaplain is to “advise and support students active in the Muslim Student Association (MSA) and across Tufts’ campuses; offer programs that celebrate and explore the cultural and spiritual diversity of the Muslim community; provide pastoral care; and work alongside the University Chaplaincy team and campus partners on various interfaith, intercultural, social justice, and anti-racism initiatives.”

Winger highlighted how Akbar’s qualifications and her love for supporting students in their spiritual journeys prepared her for the role of Muslim chaplain.

“[Akbar] comes to Tufts with years of leadership and programming experience in higher education and credits her own years of spiritual formation as an undergraduate for her passion for accompanying students as they explore and claim their own spiritual identities and practic-

Akbar hopes to connect with Muslim Student Association, support students and community members

MUSLIM CHAPLAIN

continued from page 2 es,” Winger wrote in the message to the student body.

According to Wulandana, a junior, Winger and Cooper filtered resumes during the search process and then the candidates were interviewed by the committee. Wulandana said that when searching for the new chaplain, candidates were evaluated not only for their background experience but also for how they would complement Tufts’ Muslim community.

“In the initial interviews, we had standardized questions to generally get a sense of the candidate’s understanding of the chaplaincy position as a whole, like providing pastoral care,” Wulandana said. “Also, an important role for the Muslim chaplain is working with the executive board of the MSA, so getting a sense of how they see Muslim student leaders and also understanding how they see interfaith [work was important].”

The characteristics that the committee was looking for in a new chaplain aligned with the reasons Akbar was drawn to Tufts.

“I really enjoy being in the campus setting working with students,” Akbar wrote. “I was excited about working at Tufts specifically because of the wonderful interfaith chaplaincy team here. I feel that it’s a really powerful model to have chaplains from different traditions work together to serve the needs of the campus community.”

Wulandana believes that Akbar can also draw from her past experience working as a personal development coach, as well as her work at Northeastern and Wellesley, to inform her role at Tufts.

“[Akbar] also mentioned in her interview looking at things in hindsight and learning from her previous roles, which she’s had a couple [of], like chaplain at Wellesley College, which is a different environment from Tufts,” Wulandana said. “But certainly, lessons can be learned from any chaplaincy position to become a better chaplain for a new community.”

Akbar has already begun connecting with the community during the short time she has been at Tufts.

“She’s already said that she wants to meet every member of the executive board of the Muslim Student Association, which I think is a lot of dedication because [there are] quite a few of us.” Wulandana said. “I think it’s very clear that she sees her role as someone who is deeply embedded in the community but also provides … group events and opportunities.”

Akbar hopes to foster connections with Tufts students both within and outside of the Muslim community.

“I would like people to know that my role as a chaplain is not limited to [serving] any one community or identity group, and my door is always open to anyone who wants a conversation partner to navigate life’s ups and downs, twists and turns,” Akbar wrote.

COURTESY NAJIBA AKBAR The newly appointed Muslim chaplain, Najiba Akbar, is pictured.

Epidemiologists predict COVID-19 cases may increase on college campuses after holidays

SCIENCE

continued from page 1 … And I blamed that on [students having] to travel in a short period of time, see all their family members and return in a short period of time.”

Thomas Stopka, an epidemiologist at the Tufts University School of Medicine, praised Tufts’ COVID-19 prevention efforts, especially in regard to surveillance testing. Despite some fluctuations and the elevated risks presented by travel and mass transit, cases have generally been well-monitored and contained.

Yet an increase in positivity and infection rates was observed as students returned to campus this fall, which Stopka attributes to the wide variety of communities from which students travel. The same trend was apparent in January, as students returned back to campus after spending winter break in their respective communities and was consistent with the increase in cases when students returned to campus in fall 2020 as well.

According to Tufts’ COVID19 dashboard, Tufts’ Medford/ Somerville and Fenway campuses saw a spike in cases at the beginning of the fall 2021 semester. Between Sept. 12–18, 78 cases were reported in one week on campus. Regarding the current situation, Tufts reported 18 COVID-19 cases on the Medford/Somerville and Fenway campuses from Nov. 25 to Dec. 1, averaging 2.57 cases per day.

COVID-19 policies on college campuses vary elsewhere in Massachusetts. Andrew Lover, an epidemiologist at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, said that UMass Amherst does not require surveillance testing for its vaccinated students. The university has other measures in place to curb the spread of COVID19 such as a vaccine mandate, required testing for unvaccinated students and sewage sampling procedures that test samples from dorms and buildings around campus.

Lover noted that, like Tufts, UMass Amherst also saw a spike in COVID-19 cases at the very beginning of the fall 2021 semester. This trend was not surprising, and he attributed it to many people returning to campus, mixing with one another and participating in normal social activities.

“We managed to bring that back under control quite quickly with a lot of testing and good messaging to have people come in with any symptoms,” Lover said. “Since then, it’s been really very, very quiet.”

Hopkins said she believes that, in accordance with the trends from the past year, there may be an increase in COVID19 cases following the upcoming winter break. However, she noted the role that higher vaccination rates will play, now that most students are vaccinated, unlike last winter.

The idea that college campuses may be considered bubbles has been discussed, as they may seem closed off or removed from the communities that surround them. However, despite enforced, campus-wide protocols and consistent surveillance testing, students have lives that extend beyond the campus borders.

Stopka said that he would consider Tufts and other universities employing similar protocols as safe locations, but he would not say that college students live in a bubble on campus.

“Have we had better access to testing and vaccines than some of the surrounding communities early on in the pandemic? Yes, definitely,” Stopka said. “At this point in time, Tufts and other universities probably have access to better resources when it comes to surveillance, testing and vaccination. But that has begun to change considerably.”

Hopkins agreed that it is hard to classify college campuses as bubbles, especially in the case of urban or suburban campuses like Tufts. Although Tufts and other universities in the Boston area are doing very well in keeping their campuses safe, there is always an increased chance of exposure. Many college students lead very busy lives, between their different classes, their social activities and friends on campus and their exploration of the communities surrounding Tufts, including Boston.

“[In an] urban center [with] young people who are living interesting lives, I think calling it a bubble might give it too much credit,” Hopkins said.

Stopka said he thinks that a larger student body may pose greater risks of increased positivity rates due to the greater number of people traveling from a variety of different communities and locations. However, he emphasized that prevention measures are still key to stopping the spread, among undergraduate student populations both as small as Tufts’ 6,000 and as large as UMass Amherst’s 24,000.

“The public health measures that are put in place are paramount,” Stopka said. “And if Tufts versus UMass Amherst has similar vaccine policies and similar testing policies, then you should be able to achieve similar success.”

Lover said he believes that the comparison between smaller and larger universities has a lot to do with the proportion of on-campus students compared to those who live off campus. He compared Amherst College, with its small student body that lives almost entirely on campus, with larger universities like the University of Connecticut or UMass Amherst, with larger student bodies and more students that live off campus. When more students live on campus, the administration has more control over the population and is able to easily impose guidelines or structure activities.

Hopkins believes that university guidelines have fostered in students a motivation to practice taking care of others by having them wear masks and get vaccinated to protect vulnerable groups.

“There’s more and more discussion about how this [pandemic] is telling [us about] who we are,” Hopkins said. “So while college students, most of the time, if they get COVID, will be fine, by putting these measures in place for [at-risk] people … how we rally together and what we do to protect elders and to protect those [who are] vulnerable is so important.”