Monday, February 1, 2016

Is it possible for Tarantino to overdo it with his trademarks? The Daily reviews ‘The Hateful Eight’ see ARTS AND LIVING / PAGE 5

Men’s track sees impressive results both home and away, sets national best time

Somerville for Bernie supporters host campaign kickoff event with speeches from local elected officials see FEATURES / PAGE 4

SEE SPORTS / BACK PAGE

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T HE T UFTS DAILY

VOLUME LXXI, NUMBER 5

Monday, February 1, 2016

MEDFORD/SOMERVILLE, MASS.

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Tufts’ financial aid refund partner collected $30 million through deceptive practices

by Ariel Barbieri-Aghib Assistant News Editor

Federal investigators found last December that Higher One, the student refund vendor that Tufts partners with, had improperly collected 30 million dollars in fees from students across the United States over the course of around a year and a half. Following the investigation, the Federal Reserve ordered the company to repay 24 million dollars to the students from whom it benefitted and to make all information regarding its fraudulent practices available on Dec. 23, 2015.

According to the Cease and Desist order issued by the Federal Reserve, Higher One had engaged in misleading marketing and omission of important information in the period between May 4, 2012 and Dec. 19, 2013.

University Controller James Walsh explained that Tufts began its partnership with Higher One in the summer of 2014, after the company had ended their deceptive practices, and “as a result, Tufts students were not subjected to those practices.”

Walsh said that moving forward, university eRefunds will no longer be managed

by Higher One, since it will be acquired by the bank holding company Customers Bancorp.

see HIGHER ONE, page 2

PETRINA CHAN / THE TUFTS DAILY

Noam Chomsky speaks at Tufts to benefit Massachusetts Peace Action

by Jake Taber

Features Editor

Last Thursday, at an event organized by Tufts University and new Somerville-based “social impact accelerator” Canopy, Dr. Noam Chomsky, professor emeritus at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and prominent political critic and social activist, did not mince words about the increasingly plausible threats of climate change and nuclear war and the role of Western leaders and nations in exacerbating those threats.

The talk, titled “The Role of Innovation in International Peace and Security,” was held

to benefit Massachusetts Peace Action.

Canopy, the organizing group, grew out of the Somerville branch of London-based company TechHub, that, according to its website, offers tech startup companies affordable offices in any of their “co-working spaces” in cities around the world, so that firms can work alongside one another and exchange ideas.

Canopy will focus on providing that affordable space to nonprofits and social impact groups that might not necessarily fit the tech mold. In a Jan. 28 BostInno article, Canopy co-founders Matt Hoey and Simon Towers said they eventually want to

SOFIE HECHT / THE TUFTS DAILY

Dr. Noam Chomsky speaks about world conflicts at the Cohen Auditorium on Jan. 28, 2016.

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bring tech firms and nonprofits together in the same space to learn from one another.

At the start of the Thursday event, Hoey introduced Somerville Mayor Joseph Curtatone, who gave opening remarks about Somerville’s commitment to social change before introducing Keynote Speaker Dr. Chomsky.

“Somerville will be the first city in North America to develop its own social progress index,” Curtatone said. “We need our stakeholders and allies in the nonprofit world especially along with the innovators to help us understand how we achieve social progress.”

Curtatone noted that social issues are often the outgrowth of complicated factors.

“If you want to have true, long lasting results, you have to address a wide range of factors in that ecosystem that contributed to a given social issue,” he said. “We, one mayor or elected official cannot do it on his or her own.”

He then introduced Chomsky, who spoke about the choices humanity will face in the coming decades.

“Like it or not, we happen to be living at the most important moment in human history, it’s a moment when the human species is going to make a critical decision, whether to live or die,” Chomsky said. “Not literally disappear, of course, but the remnants that will remain will have few prospects of decent life.”

He then remarked on the recent re-setting of the so-called “doomsday clock”, created by the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists

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in 1947 as an indicator of the probability of global catastrophe; the closer the minute hand gets to midnight, the greater the probability of an armageddon, nuclear or otherwise. On Jan. 19, the Bulletin announced that the clock’s hand currently sits at three minutes to midnight, the closest it’s been to doomsday since 1984.

Chomsky said that the Bulletin’s statement posits climate change and nuclear weapons as humanity’s main dangers and stressed that while recent climate talks in Paris have improved prospects for action on global warming, climate change will require urgent action. “[An article] in the current issue of the MIT technical journal estimates that here at our latitude, average climate change amounts to moving South 10 meters every day and increasing,” he said. “Its already a very likely factor in major disasters that are taking place.”

Chomsky also cited the Bulletin’s assertion that recent Russian and American nuclear weapons modernization programs are among major reasons for concern about nuclear war.

“American nuclear weapons modernization programs—for the United States, Obama’s program is about a trillion dollars,” Chomsky said. “Those who like arcane facts may recall that we have a legal obligation under the Non-Proliferation Treaty in taking good faith efforts to eliminate nuclear weapons, but we’re going in

NEWS............................................1 FEATURES.................................4 ARTS & LIVING.......................5

see CHOMSKY, page 2

COMICS.......................................8 OPINION.....................................9 SPORTS............................ BACK

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THE TUFTS DAILY | News | Monday, February 1, 2016

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T HE T UFTS D AILY Sarah Zheng Editor-in-Chief

EDITORIAL Nicholas Golden Mengqi Sun Managing Editors Nicholas Pfosi Associate Editor Arin Kerstein Executive News Editor Marianna Athanassiou News Editors Isha Fahad Abby Feldman Melissa Kain Sophie Lehrenbaum Safiya Nanji Emma Steiner Ariel Barbieri-Aghib Assistant News Editors Kyle Blacklock Gil Jacobson Robert Katz Liam Knox Catherine Perloff Vibhav Prakasam Hannah Uebele John “Joe” Walsh Kendall Todd Executive Features Editor Nicole Brooks Features Editors Nina Joung Jake Taber Diane Alexander Assistant Features Editors Constantinos Angelakis Emily Cheng Emma R. Rosenthal John Gallagher Executive Arts Editor Lancy Downs Arts Editors Justin Krakoff Josh Podolsky Jonah Allon Assistant Arts Editors Cassidy Olsen Eran Sabaner Hannah Hoang Dorie Campbell Emily Karl Erin Sifre Stephen Dennison Abigail Feldman Shannon Geary Allison Merola Fury Sheron Cassie Bardos Ian Clarke Miranda Chavez Jake Goldberg Emma Henderson Steven Honig Anita Ramaswamy Noah Weinflash

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Maclyn Senear Executive Sports Editor Ray-Paul Biron Sports Editors Ross Dember Phillip Goldberg Alex Schroeder Chris Warren Yuan Jun Chee Assistant Sports Editors Maddie Payne Eddie Samuels Noah Smith Sofie Hecht Executive Photo Editor Alex Knapp Caroline Ambros Picture Tufts Editor Ray Bernoff Staff Photographers Katlyn Kreie Nora Nord Nicholas Pfosi Julia Press Evan Sayles

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Production Director Astrid Weng Executive Layout Editor Jewel Castle Layout Editors Abbie Gantner Leila Li Allie Merola Brianna Mignano Mandip Pokharel Ellie Powers Annabelle Roberts Emily Sharp Andrew Stephens Sebastian Torrente Shirley Wang Creative Director Petrina Chan Executive Graphics Editor Jack Ronan Executive Copy Editors Dan Strauss Meagan Adler Copy Editors Alison Beach Arthur Beckel Lancy Downs Alison Epstein Andrew Kager Melissa Kain Sarah Kalinowski Benjamin Kaminoff Reena Karasin Sophie Lehrenbaum Rachel Salzberg Arielle Sigel Caroline Watson Maxwell Bernstein Executive Tech Manager Nitesh Gupta Online Editor Evan Sayles Social Media Editor

BUSINESS Yiran Xu Executive Business Director Qinyue Yu Receivables Manager Evan Sayles Online Advertising Eva Sachar Ad Managers Jay Hayes

Higher One refund company to repay students nationwide $24 million HIGHER ONE

continued from page 1 This acquisition is believed to become effective by July 1, according to a Dec. 15, 2015 Customers Bank press release.

Higher One Communications Director Shoba Lemoine confirmed that Tufts had not begun its partnership with Higher One until the company’s deceptive practices had ended. “[Tufts students’] experience would likely be different than what the regulators reviewed in years past,” Lemoine told the Daily in an email.

“2016 will bring some great changes to the student experience as well. A new account structure will be launched by July 1, 2016, which will include nationwide, free ATM access and no 50 cent PIN fee for certain transactions, among other great benefits.”

Junior Gauri Seth said that in her experience, while Higher One has been generally cooperative, the company’s website and refund policies are often confusing.

Seth said she believes that if the university continues to work with Higher One, the Tufts administration should provide better instructions on how to use the system in order to minimize chances of students paying to receive a refund.

While the Federal Reserve is requiring that students be reimbursed for fees, Seth expressed concern over the language the company currently uses in handling student refunds.

“It’s fairly complicated to figure out how to get your refund without opening a Higher One account,” she told the Daily in an email. “From my understanding there are fees associated with the Higher One account, so it’s import-

ant to be able to get a refund without opening one of their accounts.”

Senior Melissa Hwang said that in her experience, Higher One’s website and services are not very intuitive.

“It’s not a very user-friendly and every time you go into it, it’s always advertising [that] you should open a Higher One account,” Hwang said.

According to a Jan. 2 article in the Miami Herald, several students at Miami Dade College used debit cards provided by Higher One, and were subjected to a 50 cent transaction fee each time they withdrew money without their knowledge. Now, the new order issued by the Federal Reserve will allow these students to be reimbursed fully. According to the Miami Herald, Higher One has provided reimbursements to students at up to eight different universities in Florida.

Lemoine said that in order to avoid paying the 50 cent transaction fee, students could simply choose to use the “credit” option when withdrawing money with Higher One. However, the majority of those using Higher One’s services are college-age students, who may have minimal experience with banking.

According to the Miami Herald article, this is not the first time Higher One has been involved in a major lawsuit.

In 2014, students at a Florida school filed a class action lawsuit alleging that the company charged unusual bank fees, violating federal regulations that financial aid money be accessible and free from fees. Higher One ultimately agreed to pay $15 million to settle the class-action lawsuit.

Two years prior, Higher One settled with the Federal Deposit Insurance

Corporation (FDIC) for $11 million after it found Higher One complicit in “charging student account holders multiple non-sufficient fund [NSF] fees from a single merchant transaction; allowing these accounts to remain in overdrawn status over long periods of time, thus allowing NSF fees to continue accrue and collecting the fees from subsequent deposits to the students’ accounts, typically funds for tuition and other college expenses,” according to an FDIC press release.

Hwang said that there was a lack of transparency surrounding both Tufts’ initial transition from its previous financial services vendor Sallie Mae and Higher One’s deceptive history.

“It’s very unsettling that the administration has never released this sort of information to us,” she said. “Tufts should be protecting students, not putting them…potentially in harm’s way.

The reason that I never questioned [Higher One] was because it was system chosen by Tufts, so I trust it or did [trust it], but now I can’t help but question it.”

According to Walsh, Tufts will continue with routine evaluations of the services provided by Higher One, and the university is “open to further feedback from other students on their experience with any of our service providers.”

He said that moving forward, the university will continue to prioritize students in determining its financial services and practices.

“With respect to Higher One, our assessment prioritizes service to our students and has included consideration of other service providers and the development of in-house service capacity,” Walsh said.

Chomsky delivers analysis of climate change, nuclear policy CHOMSKY

continued from page 1 the other direction under the guidance of the Nobel Peace Laureate.”

Chomsky says that the goal of the United States’ nuclear strategy is still focused on intimidation and domination, especially considering the Clintonera emphasis on using nuclear weapons primarily for deterrence.

“Our nuclear posture remains committed to first use, even against non-nuclear states,” he said. “Strategic command, which is [being] in control of nuclear weapons [use], it says that we must, in the post-Cold War period…”retain the right of first use of nuclear weapons, even against non nuclear states; we must furthermore project a persona of irrationality and vindictiveness in order to intimidate people.'”

He analogized this strategy as a sort of nuclear “stick-up”; the United States, he notes, uses the threat of nuclear action to further policy goals.

“If I go into a store, and I have a gun and aim it at the storekeeper and demand that he give his cash, even if I don’t shoot the gun, I’m using it,” Chomsky said.

Chomsky also pointed to the Cold War’s countless “near-miss” incidents, false alarms or split-second judgements that brought the world close to nuclear war. He referred to a study on false alarms that found between 43 and 255 near-miss events per year between 1977 and 1983.

“There’s no reason to think that that’s changed,” Chomsky said. “The author of this study…writes that ‘nuclear war is the black swan we can never see, except in that brief moment when it is killing us.’”

Chomsky said that Europe’s migrant crisis has a lot to do with Western foreign policy, and that current debates about migrants expose hypocrisy.

“Where are these refugees coming from, they’re coming, to a substantial extent, as a result of actions that the West has carried out,” he said. “The U.S. invasion of Iraq, the worst crime of this century, surely, created maybe 2 million refugees, as well as destroying the country and inciting a sectarian conflict which is tearing the region apart.”

Poorer countries, Chomsky said, are being asked to shoulder a disproportionate part of this economic burden.

“Germany’s a rich country of over 80 million people, and they’re threatened by disaster because they might take in a million refugees,” he said. “Take in contrast Lebanon, a poor country, with serious crises internally, about a quarter of the population are Syrian refugees, in addition to other refugees that have fled from the establishment of Israel in 1948.”

Chomsky read a 1914 quotation from Winston Churchill in order to emphasize that we cannot remain isolated from the consequences of our past actions. “‘We have got all we want in territory,

and our plan to be left in unmolested enjoyment of vast and splendid possessions mainly acquired by violence largely maintained by force often sees less reasonable to others than to us,'” he said. “Is Churchill right? Is that who we are, today?… If that’s who we are, our grandchildren and others like them are in very deep trouble.”

Chomsky’s speech was followed by a panel discussion and a networking session.

The Daily spoke with Chomsky after the talk to get his thoughts on the 2016 election and the significance of the Bernie Sanders campaign.

“My own feeling is that you’ve got to focus on the election, it makes a difference, but that’s not what’s important,” he said. “What’s important about the Sanders campaign is if it, starting now, not in the future, if it is organizing a continuing popular movement of young people and will go on after the election… what’s needed is continuing mass popular mobilization, [to] keep pressuring, keep working, go on from one thing to another, and I think the Sanders campaign offers the possibility of that.”

He also commented on the significance of America’s “new civil rights movement”.

“There’s a lot of strands that can interact, civil rights, climate justice, nuclear weapons, poverty…they all interact, and they should be part of an ongoing effort; it could make a big difference,” he said.

Monday, February 1, 2016 | News | THE TUFTS DAILY

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News

Robyn Gittleman leaves lasting impact on Experimental College, Tufts community

SOFIE HECHT / THE TUFTS DAILY

Former Director of the Ex-College Robyn Gittleman on Jan. 26, 2016.

by Melissa Kain News Editor

After 40 years of service, Robyn Gittleman retired from her position as Director of the Experimental College (ExCollege) on December 31, 2015.

Gittleman explained that she became Director of the ExCollege and the Associate Dean of Undergraduate Education in 1975, about five years after her start as a part time employee in the college. She noted that in the program’s early years, it had minimal leadership structure in place.

“When I came, there was only a faculty head of the ExCollege board, and no set director and there were two coordinators,” Gittleman said. “One was the administrative coordinator, [who] did the books and all the administrative work, and I did the academic work.”

The ExCollege was founded in 1964 as the first-ever university community to include students in the program’s governance, according to the ExCollege website.

“People often ask how things hawve changed, and I guess my general answer is I think the model for the Tufts ExCollege is lovely and wonderful,” Gittleman explained, highlighting the ExCollege as a student-inclusive organization. “All that happens is we continue to be student-focused, and when I came, there were already students on the board and students teaching; all I did was sort of tweak things to make sure that that continued.”

Gittleman noted that in its initial years, the ExCollege served as a catalyst for change on campus, introducing majors

such as Peace and Justice Studies and Women’s Gender and Sexuality Studies to the university.

Beyond her role in the ExCollege, Gittleman was “instrumental” in the formation of these programs, along with being influential in creating the Communication and Media Studies program—now the Film and Media Studies program—the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute and the Explorations and Perspectives First-Year Advising Programs, according to a Tufts Alumni biography of Gittleman.

According to Sol Gittleman, Robyn Gittleman’s husband of 59 years and a Tufts professor of 52 years, his wife’s impact on the ExCollege, and the university as a whole, was due in part to her emotional intelligence.

“That’s what she had—the ability to get people to do what she wanted them to do without them feeling upset or manipulated or anything,” Sol Gittleman, who retired last year, said. “She was able to get people to do things; you had to have the right personality, you had to have the right temperament and the ability to work with people,” he added.

This sentiment was echoed in an April 2000 Tufts Daily Editorial titled “Robyn Gittleman Connects Tufts to the Past and Future”, which highlighted Gittleman’s ability to connect with students and promote social change.

“Not only is Gittleman the Dean of the Experimental College, a major advocate for student interests and concerns, and a knowledgeable campus personality, but she is also a fascinating woman who once

grappled with the clash between career and family during the rise of the feminist movement,” according to the Editorial.

According to Sol Gittleman, his wife has left behind a “tremendous legacy” on the ExCollege.

“There are so many generations of students out there who took their first course at the ExCollege, and took a course that changed their lives,” Sol Gittleman said. “That’s what you hear a lot from students: ‘The ExCollege course I took changed my life.’”

Howard Woolf, the current director of the Experimental College and Associate Dean of Undergraduate Education, further expressed Gittleman’s impact on the ExCollege. “[In 1979] the ExCollege became chartered as a permanent department,” Woolf said, noting that this monumental moment served as Gittleman’s signal achievement in the earlier years of the program.

“What that meant was, the ExCollege wasn’t an experiment anymore, wasn’t going to be something where it would live or die on the whims of whoever was going to be president, dean; the money was, in fact, hard budget,” Woolf said. “We get an operating budget every year, like any other department.”

According to Woolf, Gittleman was constantly focused on moving the Experimental College forward.

“She kept pushing the envelope— expanding the involvement of students and expanding the concept of participatory education; by that, I mean making sure that the classes we taught

weren’t just interesting subjects, but they were taught in a different way than traditional courses,” Woolf said.

“Classes would always be kept small, and they would be interactive; they would be discussion based, project based, and not lectures.”

Moving forward, Woolf shared that he hopes to continue to solidify the ExCollege’s position in the Boston professional community. He explained that each semester, the ExCollege receives over 120 course proposals, of which about 22 are eventually selected.

Woolf also hopes to work with Tufts’ graduate schools and create slots for advanced graduate students to teach in the ExCollege.

“In some ways I see my job as continuing to do the work that Robyn laid down but expanding it in a new era, because things are changing so dramatically, so quickly, driven in large part by technology, that I want to make sure we keep up and, in some ways, keep ahead of the crowd,” Woolf said.

Robyn Gittleman shared that she is still in touch with the ExCollege and has spent her recent retirement traveling with her husband and meeting with alumni groups.

When asked about her hopes for the future of the ExCollege, Gittleman emphasized the importance of maintaining the program’s student-centered nature.

“My hope would be that it can be as student-focused and as strong and vital as it is now,” Gittleman said. “It’s very much a part of the university, a part of the undergraduate experience.”

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Features

Monday, February 1, 2016

NICHOLAS PFOSI / THE TUFTS DAILY

A Bernie organizer addresses the crowd during a small rally for Senator Bernie Sanders in The Uniun in Union Square on Tuesday, Jan. 19, 2016. As the primaries near civil organizers are preparing for the final pushes to engage their local communities to vote for Sanders.

Somerville for Bernie hosts campaign kick-off event

by Yunan Zhang

Contributing Writer

On March 1, registered voters in Massachusetts will go to the polls to select their party’s candidate for the 2016 presidential election. With this date rapidly approaching, Somerville’s Bernie Sanders supporters, headed by a group called Somerville for Bernie, kicked off their campaign to help elect the Independent Senator from Vermont on Jan. 19 at The Uniun in Somerville.

Attendance at the meeting, which lasted nearly two hours, was estimated at over 50 people, with five elected officials taking part as guest speakers. The speakers, including State Representative Denise Provost (D), and State Senator Patricia Jehlen (D) and local officials such as Somerville Ward Five Alderman Mark Niedergang, Ward One Alderman Matt McLaughlin (LA ’13) and Ward Three School Committee Representative Lee Erica Palmer, all spoke about their reasons for supporting Sanders.

“I am here for the same reason you are.

[Bernie] is the candidate we can believe in,” Niedergang said. “It’s sad that we didn’t have many candidates like that, but we do have one now, and I’m delighted that we are all going to do what we can to get him elected.”

The event was organized by McLaughlin, who said that, as the city captain for Somerville for Bernie, his aim was to find volunteers. He explained Sanders’ stances on several issues and the campaign’s strategy for mobilizing support in Somerville. An Iraq veteran, McLaughlin hoped to use the event to find people interested in helping the with the local campaign.

“I am organizing this event with my friends and allies, and the event today is all about getting volunteers,” he said. “We need volunteers for phones and doors.”

According to McLaughlin, the core team of Somerville for Bernie consists of 10 people, with one city captain and a ward captain in each neighborhood.

“What you want to do is you knock [on] the doors and make the phone calls, finding out who’s voting for Bernie, and on the election day, you just call them over and over again and make sure they vote,” he said. “We have scripts, so the scripts tell people…a framework for what to say. I like to encourage people to give their reasons for voting for Bernie because I think it’s more personal than reading off the page.”

McLaughlin said he supports Sanders mainly because of the senator’s stances on the Iraq War and Wall Street reform. Sanders voted against the war in Iraq in 2002 and is vocal about his efforts to break up too-big-to-fail banking institutions.

For some voters, the connection with Sanders goes back further than his entry into the 2016 presidential campaign. Joyce Shortte, who has lived in Somerville for 23 years, explained that she spent the day prior to the event calling Sanders’ supporters to ask whether they’d be interested in volunteering to help secure votes.

Shortte said that before she came to Somerville, she spent some time living in Burlington, VT while Sanders was that city’s mayor.

“I feel like Bernie is saying the very same things now that he said 25 years ago,” she said. “They were important then, and they are important now; he’s for real people.”

Shortte, who said that she was working to improve childcare in the city

at the time, said that Sanders was an effective mayor.

“I was involved in community efforts in Burlington and so was my daughter, who was a teenager at the time;. [Sanders] helped the teens establish the youth center that is still going,” she said.

Michael Ruggiero, who ran for Medford City Council last year, was also in attendance and expressed a strong inclination towards Sanders’ policies as his reason for supporting him. He came to the event to find out how he could help the campaign.

“I believe in many of his proposals, from taxes all the way down to healthcare,” he said. “I think Bernie Sanders’ tax policy is much more geared to create a system that is fair to Americans. Right now, there is a huge section of wealth that is going to a smaller minority of people.”

Ruggiero contrasted Sanders with his opponent Hillary Clinton: he doesn’t like that rather than working to break up the big banks and reform the financial sector, Clinton has received big money from donors like Goldman Sachs and has many connections with Wall Street firms.

“Many of her policies are about supporting Wall Street big banks, and I find it is very off-putting,” Ruggiero said. “I think their large financial institutions are destroying America, so making sure we are regulating big banks [is very important]…I don’t see Hillary Clinton as a real actor in that.”

Besides disagreeing with Clinton’s policy on Wall Street, Ruggiero does not agree with her trade policies. He said that he is against large trade agreements like the Trans-Pacific Partnership. Ruggiero also supports Sanders’ proposed Medicare-forall healthcare system and disengagement from foreign conflicts.

“Healthcare should be much more focused as [a] single payer system in all of…

America, and we should not get involved in large-scaled wars,” he said.

Ruggiero, who used to be a teacher in Shanghai, suffered a skull fracture on the back of his head during his stay in China. He pointed to his experience there to prove that healthcare costs in the U.S. are higher than anywhere in the world.

“I needed to have an MRI, and it [costs] 150 RMB [about $22 USD],” he said.

“The whole experience cost me like 500 RMB [about $75 USD] … At least for a foreign teacher, it’s not a lot of money.”

Ruggiero explained that for the average person in Shanghai then, such an operation was far less costly than for a patient in the United States.

He said that while he appreciates some of Clinton’s policies, he doesn’t think she represents the values of the Democratic Party.

“I do have a lot of respect for Clinton, and I don’t think she’s a monster, but at the same time, I am not very excited about her campaign, since there are many of her policies that I can’t stand behind as a Democrat,” Ruggiero said. “Many people see her as a Republican-lite, you know.”

Alderman McLaughlin said that while Sanders is a lesser-known candidate nationwide, community-level movements like Somerville for Bernie will be the key to getting the word out.

“What’s great about Bernie Sanders’ campaign is a lot of people taking [it] upon themselves to volunteer and organize in the community,” he said. “Bernie has less name recognition right now, so that’s what we are trying to do, to get his name out there.”

Monday, February 1, 2016

ARTS&LIVING

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MOVIE REVIEW

Tarantino’s ‘The Hateful Eight’ suffers from its own excess

by Cassidy Olsen

Assistant Arts Editor

Indulgence is the name of the game when it comes to the films of Quentin Tarantino and the director’s latest mystery Western “The Hateful Eight” (2015) is no exception. Like many of Tarantino’s greatest hits, from “Inglourious Basterds” (2009) to “Pulp Fiction” (1994), “The Hateful Eight” is rich with dark humor, daring audiences to laugh and indulge themselves in the gross absurdity of the action onscreen.

The film demonstrates his clear penchant for long shots overwhelmed by violence, pointing to a weakness for the macabre; he lingers on raspberry-red blood splattered on floors and faces, and cries and screams that often elevate the tension and black humor. We once again find Tarantino weaving a world that is chock-full of self-referential characters with funny names and very specific professions, just as he has indulged

audiences’ fantasies with the idea that his movies exist in a parallel universe: one where Hitler was killed in a movie theater, and assassins wear yellow tracksuits.

Considering all these reoccurring details, it may seem lazy or unfair to deem “The Hateful Eight” particularly self-indulgent. What makes this picture any more “extreme” than his other films? The answer lies in its excess. Excessive length, excessive flourishes, excessive… everything. While the director’s latest fare brings out stunning performances and clever dialogue to rival his previous hits, the work as a whole pushes the limits on just how much of Tarantino’s trademarks an audience can endure.

Blending the elements of the murder mystery, Spaghetti Western and road trip comedy genres, the plot of “The Hateful Eight” is best left murky prior to viewing.

Eight strangers, including bounty huntsee HATEFUL, page 6

ARMANDO L. SANCHEZ VIA TRIBUNE NEWS SERVICE

Projectionist Reece Thornbery, 38, rewinds a 70mm reel of Quentin Tarantino’s latest movie “The Hateful Eight,” while working in the projection room at the Music Box Theatre Saturday Dec. 26, 2015, in Chicago, IL.

TV REVIEW

PBS drama ‘Downton Abbey’ bids farewell to fans

by Lancy Downs Arts Editor

At long last, it is time to say goodbye to the Crawley family. After six seasons featuring plenty of heartbreak, scandal, near-financial ruin and a good deal of snobbery, “Downton Abbey” (2011 – present in the United States) is signing off for good. The show, which wrapped up its U.K. run in December, is currently airing its sixth and final season on PBS, giving American audiences a chance to bid farewell to the beloved Crawley family and its many servants.

“Downton Abbey” creator Julian Fellowes has undertaken the unenviable task of making a viewing audience sympathetic to the often unrelatable concerns of an earl’s family in the early 20th century. “Downton” is at its best when it is able to make these affairs compelling and important, and over its six seasons, especially in its early years, the show has largely been successful on this front.

Season six, thus far, has been somewhat hit or miss—a critique that could easily be leveled at recent seasons of “Downton.”

Perhaps one of the most gratifying aspects of this season has been Fellowes’ willingness to grant some measure of happiness to the show’s most long-suffering characters, namely Lady Edith (Laura Carmichael) and the very unlucky Anna (Joanne Froggatt) and John Bates (Brendan Coyle). Lady Edith has

been happily reunited with her illegitimate daughter and is finding success running her late fiancé’s publishing company. It’s a refreshing development to see that Edith,

AL SEIB VIA MCT

Julian Fellows with his award backstage at the 69th Annual Golden Globe Awards show in Beverly Hills, California, on Jan. 15, 2012.

who began the series as whiny, rather spiteful young woman who suffered through several seasons of heartbreak, has matured into an impressively capable, confident mother and editor. Meanwhile, Anna and John, the faithful servants of the Crawleys, have been subjected to a frankly incredulous amount of misfortune since the season two wedding of Lady Mary (Michelle Dockery) and Matthew Crawley (Dan Stevens), but mercifully, it appears Fellowes has decided to allow them a bit of joy. After several miscarriages, Anna, thanks to some help from Lady Mary’s fertility specialist, is safely pregnant and the much-tormented couple can rest easy.

This season, however, has not been without its missteps. The most egregious of these has been a storyline featuring the irrelevant characters Spratt (Jeremy Swift) and Miss Denker (Sue Johnston), respectively the butler and maid to the Dowager Countess (Maggie Smith), attempting to embarrass each other in front of their boss. It is unclear why Fellowes thinks this unnecessary and irritating plot line is a compelling or interesting one. Perhaps it was added for comic relief—if so, it has failed rather miserably. Its only redeeming quality is the inclusion of the delightful Smith, who, as ever, remains easily the best part of the series; she continues to deliver her lines with charm and wit while also imbuing her character with a surprising amount of empathy and warmth.

The show has always been concerned

with the challenges that the changing social and economic landscape brings to Downton, and this season is no exception.

Indeed, the show is rather heavy-handed in conveying anxieties about the estate’s uncertain future—over and over again we are told that great families like the Crawleys and great houses like Downton no longer have a role in the modernizing world. It’s hard to begrudge “Downton Abbey” this lack of subtlety, however; melodrama has always been the show’s strong suit. After all, at its heart, “Downton” has always been a soap opera. This fact can be obscured by the haughty accents, the beautiful costumes and the exquisitely detailed sets, but often it is in its most cloyingly sentimental moments where “Downton” truly shines.

It is clear, however, that “Downton” must come to an end. It will surely be hard for the millions who tune in each week to say goodbye to beloved characters, nor will it be any easier for PBS, which loses the highest rated drama in its history when “Downton” takes its bow in March.

However sad it may be for fans to let go of these characters, it has become obvious that the stories worth telling about them have already been told. After countless scenes set around Downton’s elaborate dinner table or in the servants’ hall, it is time to bid the Crawley family—and its servants—adieu.

MOVIE REVIEW

‘The Big Short’ – not your average Wall Street movie

by John Gallagher

Executive Arts Editor

“The Big Short,” (2015) co-written and directed by Adam McKay juggles an impressive number of characters who take on the daunting task of explaining exactly what caused the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression back in 20072008. This premise could very easily make for a dry and technical movie with a ton of complicated terms that even the actors don’t actually understand, but “The Big Short” avoids that deftly by focusing on its strengths: its cast.

The story of “The Big Short” is told by the few outsiders who uncovered the impending doom facing the American housing market, the same few who decided to bet against it and as a result profited tremendously when all was said and done.

McKay chooses to bring all the mechanics of this horribly confusing time in history down to layman’s terms by using a quasi-mockumentary structure. Meaning, before the jargon that’s being thrown around can even begin to annoy the audience, the characters pause and directly talk them through it. While this stylistic choice is a little jarring at first, it quickly

becomes necessary and even proves to be one of the film’s best comedic features.

The audience is introduced to the myriad cast of characters by Ryan Gosling’s Jared Vennett, whose quick-witted and smooth-talking antics shine like never before. He narrates the film’s heavier moments by literally stopping the show to bring in celebrities to simplify the rage-inducing scams that unfold in the film. In one of these asides, Margo Robbie explains how the mortgages made by the banks became shadier over time, all while sitting in a bathtub and sipping champagne. Just when things start to get a

little too insane and morally dubious, the larger-than-life elements like these that are scattered throughout the film help by reining the audience back in to remind them, “Yes, this actually happened!”

Other characters like Christian Bale’s Michael Burry, an eccentric former neurologist turned hedge-fund manager with a glass eye, and Steve Carell’s Mark Baum, a strong-willed hedge fund manager, navigate the mess that unfolded in the housing market with aplomb. The audience can’t help but to root for them—even see SHORT, page 6

6

THE TUFTS DAILY | Arts & Living | Monday, February 1, 2016

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ARTS&LIVING

‘The Hateful Eight’ proves that it is possible to have too much of a good thing HATEFUL

continued from page 5 ers John Ruth and Major Marquis Warren (expertly played by Kurt Russell and Samuel L. Jackson), must hole up in a stagecoach stopover while seeking refuge from a blizzard in post-Civil War Wyoming. Jennifer Jason Leigh is wonderful in the role of Ruth’s devilish prisoner Daisy Domergue, providing a nuanced performance and acting as the only woman with substantial screen time in the largely male cast.

Members of the colorful ensemble fight for the attention of viewers through their violent scheming and antics, creating interesting tension and some dark laughs while contributing to the excess that weakens the film as a whole.

Captured on Ultra Panavision 70 mm film and with a runtime clocking in over three hours, the roadshow version of the movie is nothing short of a decadent experience for the film fan. This format alone points to the self-indulgence of Tarantino in pursuing the project: 70 mm film provides incredibly clear resolution and vivid colors, but it is costly and often impracti-

cal to produce and project in theaters.

At the historic Somerville Theater in Somerville, Mass. where the roadshow premiered on Christmas Day, a single print of “The Hateful Eight” weighing nearly 250 pounds is projected during daily showings, complete with closed-curtain overture and a brief intermission. With all of these elements together, the 70 mm showings provide something much grander than the average movie-going experience. Although these characteristics are most likely meant to heighten the suspense, mystery and drama of the action onscreen, the film reaches a point of length and intensity that results in exhaustion rather than excitement.

Like Tarantino’s previous “Django Unchained” (2012), “The Hateful Eight” does provide interesting fodder for discussions of race and gender, approaching the attitudes of post-Civil War Americans head-on. “The only time black folks are safe, is when white folks are disarmed,” says Samuel Jackson’s Major Warren when explaining a critical decision he has made. In this way, “The Hateful Eight” is aware of how it can contribute to the

GARY FRIEDMAN VIA MCT

Director Quentin Tarantino laughs during a director’s roundtable with four other directors at the Los Angeles Times on Jan. 16, 2010, in Los Angeles, California. Tarantino directed “The Hateful Eight,” a movie that came out this winter. modern discourse through its art.

Through its excess and indulgence, “The Hateful Eight” tries its hardest to

engage Tarantino’s audiences on all levels, but ultimately it becomes too much of a good thing.

‘The Big Short’ provides an impeccably crafted look at the financial crisis

SHORT

continued from page 5 with with the knowledge that in doing so, they’re actually rooting for the market to crash and to thus bring financial ruin to millions of people around the world.

That sobering reality fades in and out of

the film, making the character’s triumphs taste just a little bittersweet.

“The Big Short” shatters the fourth wall again and again, offering no apologies and not even a glimmer of a happy ending. Doing so would be disingenuous, as the film starts out by making its sole

task to inform the people just how they got screwed.

The film ends with a few uneasy slides that outline what happened next, which hardly need to go into great detail. Everybody knows about the aftermath of the crash because they are living

it to this day. As a result, the film provokes feelings that overwhelm the audience well after it’s over, keeping discussion of the film’s themes and its performances going for days after. A great movie knows exactly how to push the right buttons, and “The Big Short” does so impeccably.

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BY WILEY MILLER

Monday, February 1, 2016

Opinion

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Editorial

Rabid xenophobia betrays American values, the facts If you asked political pundits coming into the 2016 campaign to define what issue would be the most important in the Republican primary, you would have heard a lot about the need for a Republican Rebrand — and appeal to people of color, to religious immigrants, to a party willing to contend with two lost elections in a row. Policy-wise, you’d anticipate discussion of repealing Obamacare, or fighting regulation, or Constitutional conservatism as the headlining issue. Instead, it has been immigration and its constituent xenophobia and racism, that has become the dominating discussion of the Republican primary. Donald Trump and co. have misled their audiences with factual contortions, which not only require broader condemnation for the racist and often white-supremacist nature of their comments but also need to be rebutted in order to get the facts right–and hopefully, put some of the vitriol to rest.

For instance, it is easy to debunk the oft-repeated argument that undocumented immigrants don’t pay taxes while they benefit from federal, state or municipal services. Detailed information from the Congressional Budget Office paints a complicated reality, wherein a considerable number of working undocumented immigrants give more in payroll and assorted taxes than they take in social services.

Besides, significant studies have shown that the fear that undocumented immigrants cause greater violence and more crime is invalid.

These examples are not free from nuance. According to a research done by the Pew Hispanic Center in 2010, there was an increase in the number of employed immigrants while the deep recession caused millions of American-born workers to lose their jobs.

There are also honest concerns to be raised about the impact of earned income being transferred back to families in Mexico and Latin America.

We can look at these numbers and talk about what they mean. However, it is more ethical and useful to focus the discussion on the livelihood of real people and not statistics, on “us” and not “them” and on a system that fails to adequately provide people with the means to officially and safely integrate into our infrastructure. As a nation that has had a direct and substantive role in undermining the stability of many immigrants’ home countries in South and Central America, we owe at least that consideration.

As the Iowa caucus opens up for both parties, the Republicans should be mindful of the facts of their own party. In a 1980 Republican Primary Debate, future-presidents George Bush Sr. and Ronald Reagan referred to Mexican immigrants as “really

honorable, decent, family-loving people” and dismissed proposals for fences in favor of “Open[ing] the borders both ways”. This presents a stark juxtaposition between the conservatives’ attitudes in the past — which involved dog-whistle politics mixed with a wholesome, naive vision of America–and today’s crystallized hatred in which the candidate who proposes immigration bans of the scale not seen since the Chinese Exclusion Act is in the lead.

Nonetheless, under an even wider lens, the current anti-immigration diatribes should be read as part of a longer history of xenophobia through which Americans have struggled. Americans who descend from Europeans should be mindful of the histories of their own people before rushing to ban or arrest others. There is an intellectual inconsistency when those who are descendants of the Irish, Italians, Germans or other peoples who came to hostile shores and tread through decades of cultural shaming, apply the very same misguided and hostile notions to the next generation of newcomers.

That sort of short memory and the unwillingness to remind oneself that the same hand that wrote “Irish Need Not Apply” now writes speeches for some of the most prominent characters in our political life, constitute a moral failure. It is a betrayal of the good in our legacy.

Editorial Cartoon by fury

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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.

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THE TUFTS DAILY | Opinion | Monday, February 1, 2016

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Opinion Opinion

Op-Ed

What’s a caucus, anyways?

by Aren Torikian Today marks the first vote of the 2016 presidential campaign. Yeah, I’ve been writing about it for a few months, and the candidates have been arguing even longer, but the first step to the White House will be made today.

But people in Iowa don’t vote; rather, they caucus.

Here in Massachusetts, and in 33 other states, we vote in primaries. You know, like with the filling in ovals and going to your old elementary school. In 16 states, typically more rural ones like Idaho and Alaska, voters caucus. It’s a totally different (and kind of cool) system. Caucuses are a remnant of an older America, when debate and discussion drove elections. Instead of just voting, there’s an extra layer of civic participation.

Tonight at 7 p.m., Iowa voters will head to their local voting stations, one of more than 1,000. What happens after that depends on the party. For the Republicans, the voters hear speeches from representatives of each candidate. After that, they vote. Sounds kind of fun, depending on who is speaking. Regardless, the precinct then propor-

tionally divides its delegates to the county convention.

The overall distribution of delegates usually remains proportional at that convention to caucus results.

What’s a delegate? Long story short, America is a representative democracy. So when you vote for Bernie Sanders or Ted Cruz, you aren’t voting for them as much as you are for a delegate that will vote for them at a larger convention. It’s sort of like the Electoral College. I guess that’ll be another column. (the semester is long.)

Democrats do things differently. Each precinct is assigned a certain number of delegates to send to the county convention. When caucus-goers arrive, they divide themselves by candidate. Once doors close, there’s a free-for-all in which every candidate’s delegation tries to convince others/undecided voters to side with them. After 30 minutes of this, a head count is taken. Candidates who do not meet a certain percentage of votes, which is dependent on the size of the precinct, but 15 percent for larger ones, are deemed “unviable.”

For the next 30 minutes, these candidates’ voters have a choice to make: abstain, pick somebody viable or attract more voters. Now, there’s an even bigger free-for-all for voters. After these 30 minutes, a final headcount is

taken, and the delegates are proportionally divided.

This system is unique in that a voter’s second-preferred candidate matters. Let’s use a hypothetical. If candidate x leads with 30 percent of the vote in the first round but is universally hated by everybody else, he or she will end up potentially getting less delegates than other candidates. No longer will voters have to think game theoretically. It also prioritizes what’s called “ground game”– a candidate’s ability to attract volunteers willing to put in work for the campaign. Plus, it sounds kind of fun.

Just ask Barack Obama how important the Iowa caucuses are. His unexpected victory in Iowa in 2008 was the first step in a massive upset over Hillary Clinton. If Bernie Sanders wants to be the Democratic nominee, he needs to start with a showing reminiscent of President Obama’s. It is by no means a be-all-end-all (Ask Mike Huckabee), rather a good bellwether, as Iowa contains voters from every part of the political spectrum.

Aren Torikian is a sophomore who has not yet declared a major. Aren can be reached at Aren.Torikian@tufts.edu.

Monday, February 1, 2016 | Sports | THE TUFTS DAILY

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Sports

11

Sports

INSIDE THE NHL

Canadiens’ struggle leaves Atlantic open

by Ross Dember Sports Editor

Entering the 2015-16 NHL season, the Montreal Canadiens were clear Stanley Cup contenders, bringing back veteran rosters and a slew of All-Stars between them. Injuries and overlooked roster moves, however, have turned the Atlantic Division into a packed race heading out of the All-Star break.

There is no secret to what is currently ailing the Canadiens. They started the season off at 9-0-0, one of the three best starts in NHL history. Instead of being simply title contenders, they looked as if they could be the greatest NHL team in the post-lockout era.

Then star goalie Carey Price suffered a lower-body injury on Nov. 25, forcing him to miss 27 games. For most teams, losing a clear-cut No.1 goalie is a huge blow, but for Montreal, Price is an irreplaceable part of the team’s structure. Price, the Vezina and Hart Trophy winner, is one of seven goalies in the history of the league to take home the MVP award.

The current starter, Mike Condon, has been the replacement-level player he was expected to be, posting a .904 save percentage and 2.45 goals against average.

He has proven good enough to start for a good team, but without Price, holes in the Canadiens’ roster configuration have started to poke through. As expected, star defensemen P.K. Subban has received unfair criticism for the team’s struggles.

While Subban’s skating and playmaking lead him to play an aggressive, offensive style that can compromise his responsibilities on the other end without him the team is devoid of any offensive firepower.

Subban is currently the team’s leading scorer with 37 points, and no Hab sits in the top 30 in the league in that category—Subban is 38th in the league’s top scorers.

The Canadiens have no forwards on the team that can generate much offense, making

the holes in their roster much more apparent. Without a once-in-a-generation talent between the pipes, Montreal is simply a run-of-the-mill team that can neither blank teams nor score goals in bunches.

Currently sitting atop the division now are the Florida Panthers who have one of the more perplexing—and fun—rosters in the league. Mixing young up-and-comers with veterans whose careers started when their teammates were in elementary school, the Panthers have found the right mix of chemistry and talent after finishing sixth (out of eight) in the division last year.

Any conversation with the team starts with its first line. Jonathon Huberdeau, the third pick in the 2011 draft, and Aleksander Barkov, the second pick in the 2013 draft, have rounded into shape much earlier than the organization could have expected, forming a forward-heavy scoring attack. Both players were drafted with the hope that they would become long-term stalwarts on the first line, and they have both become focal pieces of a balanced team.

It would be impossible to talk about the Panthers, though, without mentioning fan-favorite Jaromir Jagr. At 43, he is older than the combined ages of Huberdeau and Barkov (22 and 20, respectively), yet he is sandwiched between his linemates as the team’s second overall leading scorer. This weekend, he played in his first All-Star game since 2004, and if the Panthers can keep a solid cushion in the standings—they are just five points ahead of the Tampa Bay Lightning for the top spot—they can get Jagr some much-needed rest to keep him fresh for a championship run.

In another surprise performance by an older player, 36-year-old goaltender Roberto Luongo, in his second season as the consistent No.1 at Florida, has been stellar. Top six in the league in both goals against and save percentage, Luongo

MICHAEL MILLER VIA WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

Carey Price picked up the shutout for the Montreal Canadiens against the Pittsburgh Penguins, March 12, 2011 at Consol Energy Center in Pittsburgh, PA. is having his best season since 201011, when he was the goaltender for the Western Conference champion Vancouver Canucks. Back then, Luongo was one of the highest-paid players in the league, and his playoff struggles consequently made him one of the more scrutinized players in the league as well. His rejuvenation down south carried with it little probability that he would be the backbone for another championship-contending team, yet that is exactly what happened.

Sitting in a relatively weak league, the Panthers have enough young players with team-friendly contracts that they can swing into a trade before the Feb. 29 deadline.

Perhaps they could fortify their defensemen

depth by grabbing Dustin Byfuglien from the rebuilding Winnipeg Jets.

Currently bunched behind the Panthers are the Tampa Bay Lightning, Detroit Red Wings and Boston Bruins. The Lightning’s recent surge had them looking like the Stanley Cup finalists the team was last year, but with superstar captain Steven Stamkos’ impending free agency, Lightning management is even debating trading him away in order to get some return on value in case he walks away for nothing this summer.

While the division once seemed to be in the domain of a historically great Canadiens team, it looks like its shining star will be the Czech who had one of the greatest mullets in sports history.

Jumbos stay hot at home, post strong times MEN'S TRACK AND FIELD

continued from Back manding victory was definitely a good feeling for the team. It’s always a nice feeling to get the win, especially at home,” Swett said. “I would say that it was an okay meet for me individually. I had come off a pretty successful weekend up at Bowdoin and I was able to have another strong day in the shot put.”

The Jumbos also received significant production from their first-years, including Watanabe and Josh Etkind, who has garnered praise from both head coach Joel Williams and his teammates. When Goins was asked to name one teammate who stood out this weekend, he pointed to Etkind.

“Josh has really stepped up in his freshman year, and he’s been killing it so far,” said Goins.

“He’s starting to show that he’s not just a oneweek athlete.”

Etkind finished first in the 60-meter hurdles and 15th in the long jump, putting his versatility on display. Sophomore teammate Linus Gordon was the winner in the long jump. Rounding out the list of Tufts’ event winners were senior Veer Bhalla–whose 1:20.29 was just 0.08 seconds off of the Tufts record–senior

Michael Curley, with a 12-second victory in the 3,000-meter, and Watanabe in the 800-meter.

The team will host another meet at the Gantcher Center this weekend when the Tufts Cupid Challenge kicks off on Saturday. The Jumbos look to continue their hot start to the season and hope that competing at home in front of a supportive crowd will continue to propel them.

Jumbos continue strong start to season, prepare for Tufts Cupid Challlenge WOMEN'S TRACK AND FIELD

continued from Back

one quarter inches to take fourth. The long jump was where the Jumbos dominated, as first-year Brita Dawson grabbed second in 16 ft. 4.5 in. Caruso was fourth in 15 ft. 5 in., while DeBari was fifth in 15 ft. 4.75 in.

Sophomore Toluwa Akinyemi was the fourth Jumbo in the top eight as she jumped 15 ft.

1.25 in. for seventh place.

DeSmith grabbed victory in the triple jump, bounding out to 34 ft. 2.75 in. to qualify for the Div. III New England Championships.

Sophomore Jennifer Sherwill rounded out the field events for Tufts, grabbing seventh in the shot put event with a throw of 36 ft. 2 in.

On Friday evening, a number of Jumbos traveled the six miles down the road to BU.

Senior Sydney Smith got the day started in the 800, running 2:18.58. Since the Div. III National Championships will be run on a flat track this year, Smith’s time on BU’s banked track is converted down about 1.5 seconds. She is currently in the top 20 nationally, which bodes well for the rest of the season.

Sophomore Julia Prusaczyk was next on the track, running a solid 1:21.38 in her 500meter opener. The 200, however, was the event of the day for Tufts. Allen led the way for the Jumbos in a crowded field that included a number of the top Div. I competitors in the region, running 25.91 for 62nd overall, only about half a second off of her PR and her fourth fastest time at the 200-meter distance ever. Senior quad-captain Alexis Harrison

was 82nd, running 26.10 as Caruso placed 130th in 26.95. Dawson, the fourth of the runners in this event, clocked a time of 27.19 to finish 141st. Senior Olivia Beltrani rounded out Tufts’ action on the track, running 10:32.72 for 3,000-meter.

Ladner was the sole field athlete competing for the Jumbos, taking 30th overall in the long jump in 16 ft., five in.

“BU was a really fun meet and it was pretty large, so it was really nice to have the opportunity to watch competitors that are some of the best in our division,” Ladner said. “They have a banked track, which was really cool to see and run on for the first time, although I only long jumped. But I am happy with how I am doing thus far, as I have been starting from where I left off last year.”

When asked about the potential of the first-years on the team this season, Ladner explained that they are expected to make major contributions to the team on all fronts.

“While we don’t have as much experience as other girls, I think we have potential and that we can slowly prove ourselves as assets to the team,” she said. “Distance has more freshmen than short sprints, but regardless a few of us freshmen have already qualified for [the] Div. III New England [Indoor Championships held at Middlebury this year], so I think we have the potential to earn some points for the team.”

Next weekend, the Jumbos will be back in action at home for the Cupid Invitational, with the action kicking off at 10 a.m. on Saturday.

Sports

12 tuftsdaily.com

Monday, February 1, 2016

MEN'S TRACK AND FIELD

Men’s track keeps rolling with win at home, national best time

by Bradley Schussel Staff Writer

Another week, another streak of success for the men’s track and field team. The Jumbos participated in two events across town from each other this past weekend, with a contingent at the John Thomas Invitational at Boston University and the rest at home for the Tufts Stampede meet. The few Jumbos that ran at Boston University (BU) posted impressive times, and several, including senior tri-captain Mitchell Black and sophomore Drew Dimaiti, were able to qualify for Div. III Nationals in March.

In an even more impressive whole-team performance at the Tufts Stampede, the Jumbos placed first out of 15 as a team.

The sole race at the JohnThomas Invitational on Friday was the distance medley relay. Tufts sent out a team comprised of Dimaiti, first-year Hiroto Watanabe and juniors Alex Apostolides and Luke O’Connor. The group’s time was 10:10.09 on BU’s banked track. Converted, the time is 10:18.39, which makes it the fastest Div. III time in the nation this season.

“It was pretty surprising to find out we had set that mark,” Watanabe said. “We didn’t think we had run our fastest times in terms of our ability, but is definitely a solid time, and we’re happy about it.”

The only four Jumbo runners who remained at BU on Saturday were Black, DiMaiti, O’Connor and senior James Traester. The four runners put up arguably the most impressive performances among the Div. III athletes competing and held their own against a field of Div. I runners.

Black posted a 4:09.77 in the mile to finish first in his heat and 24th out of 212

ALEX KNAPP / THE TUFTS DAILY

Tufts junior Pietro Possenti prepares to pole vault at the Tufts Stampede meet on Jan. 30. total runners in the event, already seeding him highly for Div. III nationals. Traester and O’Connor likewise put up fast times in the mile, finishing in 4:16.07 and 4:18.90, respectively. In the 400-meter, DiMaiti placed 35th out of 152 runners and first in his heat with a 49.15, also qualifying him for nationals.

Meanwhile, the rest of the Jumbos were competing at home in the Tufts Stampede on Saturday. Tufts took home its

second win of the season, propelled by a slew of impressive performances from across all class years, leaving the team undefeated in the Gantcher Center so far this year.

Senior sprinter Francis Goins was one of the standouts among the Jumbos on Saturday.

Goins placed first in the 400-meter dash and second in the 200-meter dash but still took home first-place points in that event as first-place finisher David Campbell was an independent runner.

“[My performance] has got me excited, not just for myself but for the team,” Goins said.

“Putting personal bests aside, there were a bunch of guys out there that had stellar days.”

Another big point contributor for the Jumbos was senior tri-captain Atticus Swett, who placed first in the shot put and eighth in the weight throw.

“Coming in first with such a comsee MEN'S TRACK AND FIELD, page 11

WOMEN'S TRACK AND FIELD

Jumbos stampede to second in home meet

by Chris Warren Sports Editor

Over the weekend, the women’s track and field team split up its squad to compete at two different events. On Friday evening, most of the team competed at the Stampede Invitational, hosted by Tufts at the Gantcher Center, taking second place overall. A handful of Jumbos also competed at Boston University (BU) for the annual John Thomas Terrier Invitational, a premier event that brings the best collegiate athletes across all divisions to Boston.

At the Stampede Invitational, Tufts narrowly lost to Div. II Stonehill College by five points with a final score of 168.5 points.

Senior Mary Ellen Caruso, who competed at BU the night before the invitational, returned on Saturday for the 60-meter dash.

In the 60, she made the finals, running 8.27 seconds for sixth, narrowly missing her PR of 8.25 seconds. Senior quad-captain Marilyn Allen, also returning from a 200 performance the night before at BU, took second in her event, the 60-meter hurdles, running 9.20 seconds. Sophomore Annalisa DeBari and first-year Kylene DeSmith also found themselves in the 60-meter hurdle finals, as DeBari took fourth in 10.18 seconds and DeSmith sixth in 10.46 seconds. Junior Rita Donohoe, making her open 400 debut on the season, ran 1:02.45 to take sixth place.

In the middle distances, the first and second years were particularly impressive.

First-year Julia Noble ran to a third place finish in the 600-meter, running 1:42.52 for a new collegiate best. Sophomore Prudence

Sax was fourth in the 800-meters, running 2:26.14—just off her PR of 2:25.07 set last indoors. Fellow classmate Sara Stokesbury ran a huge PR in the 1,000, dropping from 3:09.54 to 3:06.48 and taking second place in the process.

In the same race, junior Samantha Cox, running her first race of the season, recorded 3:09.15, as classmate Sophie Passacantando, who was abroad during the cross-country season, took sixth with a time of 3:18.49.

The distance squad also made its mark at Gantcher with some fast times and highplace finishes. In the mile, sophomores Eliza Lawless and Margot Rashba finished 1-2, running 5:20.66 and 5:21.89 respectively, with Rashba getting a 2.5 second PR. The Jumbos put three in the top eight in the 3,000-meter, as sophomore Brittany Bowman took second in 10:23.52 for a new PR after a huge acceleration midway through the race to qualify herself for the New England Intercollegiate Amateur Athletic Association (NEICAAA) Championships in a few weeks. Junior Kelly Fahey took sixth in the race in 10:51.95, while first-year Caitlin Porrazzo took eighth in 11:11.49.

“Just before halfway through the race I was feeling good and decided to take over the pack to push myself and the others to keep the momentum going,” Bowman said. “I think success from cross-country training has translated into indoor track training success. I reached a new level of training intensity in cross-country, and so I am able to continue that intensity now indoors.”

ALEX KNAPP / THE TUFTS DAILY

Sophomore Brittany Bowman (left) and junior Kelley Fahey (right) race in the 3000-meter on the Gantcher Center track for the Tufts Stampede meet on Jan. 30.

Although Bowman ran the 3,000 this weekend, she said that she will be focusing this season on being a 5,000-meter runner.

“Heading into the season, we decided to make the 5K my main focus,” Bowman said.

“Running the 3K for the past two weekends has helped my training for the 5K. Since the 5K is taxing on the body, I am planning on only running it once before the post season.

So, I’ll run the 5K next weekend at our home meet [the Tufts Cupid Invitational], take a week off and be ready for [the New England] Div. III [Indoor Championships] the following weekend.”

The 5,000-meter run saw the event season debut of sophomore Olivia Nicholson,

a dominant figure for the team in the same event last season. Nicholson ran 18:22.71 for second after a huge kick over her last lap, also qualifying for the NEICAAA meet.

Seniors Michele de Mars and Lily Corcoran used each other’s presence to run strong 5000 -meter races—the first of the season for both of them—as de Mars was fourth in 18:48.28 and Corcoran was not far behind in fifth in 18:57.39.

Over in the field, senior Julia Rogers and first-year Sydney Ladner led the way for the Jumbos in the pole vault, with both athletes getting over the bar at nine feet, six and see WOMEN'S TRACK AND FIELD, page 11