Kendrick Lamar’s ‘untitled, unmastered’ impresses hot off the heels of ‘To Pimp a Butterfly’ see ARTS AND LIVING / PAGE 6
SPORTS FEATURE
Two senior lacrosse players drafted into Major League Lacrosse
Gordon Institute establishes new Master’s of Science in Innovation and Management program see FEATURE / PAGE 4
SEE SPORTS / BACK PAGE THE
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T HE T UFTS DAILY
VOLUME LXXI, NUMBER 30
tuftsdaily.com
Tuesday, March 8, 2016
MEDFORD/SOMERVILLE, MASS.
Tufts Labor Coalition protests non-union hiring at Tufts Talks event by Emma Steiner News Editor
As Tufts faculty, alumni and parents arrived at the Four Seasons Hotel on Boylston St. for a Tufts Talks event yesterday evening, they were greeted by approximately 40 Tufts Labor Coalition (TLC) members protesting Tufts’ use of nonunion contractors. TLC and the Boston Building Trades Council (BTC) have each worked to ask the Tufts administration to sign a formal Project Labor Agreement (PLA), which would guarantee the hiring of union-only building trades workers for large-scale construction projects on Tufts’ campus. TLC was joined by several members of the Boston BTC, who held banners and handed out flyers to passersby. The Boston BTC has been protesting and attempting to negotiate with Tufts administration since the beginning of
the summer, and the group claims that the administration has continuously resisted signing a PLA. The protestors occupied the sidewalk in front of the entrance to the hotel for about an hour and a half while the Tufts Talks event took place, chanting phrases such as “What’s disgusting? Union busting! What’s outrageous? Sweatshop wages!” and “Hey hey, ho ho. Unsafe construction’s got to go.” During the event, following a welcome speech by University President Anthony Monaco, there were various faculty speakers, including Assistant Professor of Molecular Biology and Microbiology Bree Aldridge, Associate Dean for Research at Tisch College Peter Levine and Professor of Psychology Aniruddh Patel. According to the event page, Tufts Talks intended to host “an evening of ideas, conversation and connection.”
“We thought that Tufts Talks, an event intended to foster dialogue within the Tufts community, was a prime opportunity to amplify workers’ voices in that dialogue,” TLC member Anna Gaebler said. “Given that President Monaco and distinguished alumni were in attendance, we thought it was a great chance to raise awareness about this issue.” Outside the Four Seasons, Brian Doherty, the head of Boston BTC, and Chelsea Feuchs, the hospital and higher education campaign coordinator for the Boston BTC, both gave speeches at the rally. Doherty said that this issue is not just restricted to building trades workers. Tufts’ willingness to hire union workers, pay reasonable wages and provide important benefits effects everyone from students to dining hall workers and janitors. “How can we provide a space where students can learn in a safe environment
and at the same time protect the workers who work in construction, in the dining halls, and the dorms?” Doherty said. Doherty explained that the Boston BTC has made many attempts to negotiate with the Tufts administration, to ask them to sign a PLA and to partner with them in developing a safe working environment at Tufts. “We have time and again gone to Tufts to say that we can partner with them and time and again they say no,” Doherty said. “We will be here every step of the way, we demand better…Please support the workers who support you everyday.” The protest came hours after members of TLC met with Executive Vice President Patricia Campbell and Vice President for Operations Linda Snyder earlier yesterday, according to see PROTEST, page 3
Tufts Muslim Student Association hosts ‘Spring into Islam’ event series by Hannah Uebele
Assistant News Editor
The Muslim Student Association (MSA) has been presenting its annual “Spring into Islam” event series throughout the
past month, with its last public event, a cultural calligraphy night, occurring this Wednesday evening. The series has included workshops, discussions, interfaith programming, prayer services and cultural events to present various high-
lighted aspects of the religion to the larger Tufts community, according to MSA President Obaid Farooqui. Tufts’ Muslim chaplain Celene Ibrahim explained the topics which the “Spring into Islam” events have covered so far.
ALEX KNAPP / THE TUFTS DAILY
“We’ve held events on the intersections of racism and Islamophobia, on domestic relief efforts spearheaded by Muslims in the United States, on American-Islamic relations at the grassroots levels and on the struggles and triumphs of minorities running for public office,” Ibrahim said in an email to the Daily. Beyond the community programming, she also noted that a forum will be held this Thursday for interested faculty and staff to discuss how to support their Muslim students and colleagues on campus. Farooqui, a senior, noted that he is pleased with the audience that the MSA has reached through this programming. “We’ve definitely gotten some really inquisitive people which has been good,” he said. “I feel that people have felt that they can come to our events because we’ve seen people that we’ve never met before.” Farooqui said he hopes that through “Spring into Islam,” the Tufts community will ultimately learn more about the the Muslim community and be open to further interaction with the MSA. “The overall goal…is for Tufts students to have a chance to interact with their fellow Jumbos who are Muslims, to form an impression of Islam and Muslims from their interactions with us, rather than from something that they might get somewhere
On Feb. 24 the Tufts Muslim Student Association hosted Islam 101 as part of the Spring into Islam series. Muslim Chaplain Celene Ibrahim discusses common misconceptions about Islam and its main tenets.
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NEWS............................................1 FEATURES.................................4 ARTS & LIVING.......................6
see SPRING INTO ISLAM , page 2
OPINION.....................................8 COMICS.....................................10 SPORTS............................ BACK