Monday, March 13, 2017

FEATURES

‘Melancholy Play’ deals with sadness creatively, humorously see ARTS&LIVING / PAGE 7

Muslim students on media representation, faith, community post-election

Women’s basketball on the road to fourth straight final see SPORTS / BACK PAGE

SEE FEATURES / PAGE 5

THE

INDEPENDENT

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T HE T UFTS DAILY

VOLUME LXXIII, NUMBER 30

tuftsdaily.com

Monday, March 13, 2017

MEDFORD/SOMERVILLE, MASS.

TCU Senate votes down second Students Advocating for Students resolution

by Vibhav Prakasam Senate Correspondent

Content warning: This article discusses sexual misconduct.

Tufts Community Union (TCU) Senate decisively voted down a resolution from members of Students Advocating for Students (SAS) pushing for changes to Tufts’ handling of Title IX policies during its meeting last night in the Sophia Gordon Multipurpose Room.

After an update from TCU Judiciary, TCU Senate Parliamentarian Adam Rapfogel took the floor for SAS’s resolution, which was brought forth by SAS President Jake Goldberg and Treasurer Edmund Tamas Takata, both sophomores.

Yesterday’s proposal was the second resolution that Goldberg has brought to TCU Senate. The first resolution, which called for changes and clarifications to Tufts’ Sexual Misconduct

Policy, was voted down by Senate at a meeting on Nov. 20.

This resolution’s main objective, which was listed in the document and described

by Goldberg, is to encourage the Office of Equal Opportunity (OEO) to reform Title IX procedures. In particular, Goldberg suggested that the principal investigator should not have as much power, that the parties involved in the investigation should be neither former perpetrators nor survivors of sexual misconduct and that investigations should be conducted more quickly.

Additionally, the resolution called for OEO’s training materials to be presented to an external legal team to determine how well they comply with Tufts’ Title IX requirements.

Goldberg and Takata took a few minutes to discuss the resolution, after which the body was able to ask questions about it. There was roughly a 25-minute quessee SENATE, page 2

SEOHYUN SHIM / THE TUFTS DAILY

Jake Goldberg (right), president of Students Advocating for Students, speaks in front of TCU Senate about his second resolution this year, alleging Tufts’ Title IX investigations are unfair.

RAs in returning student dorms Boston/College Avenue to be compensated at lower rate intersection to be redesigned for pedestrian safety next year

by Emma Steiner News Editor

First Year Advisors (FYA) and Community Development Advisors (CDA), the two new student positions replacing the Resident Assistant (RA) role, will be compensated at a different rate from RAs in the past, according to Director of Residential Life and Learning (ResLife) Yolanda King.

The compensation changes are part of ResLife’s overhaul of campus housing, including the expansion of firstyear-only dorms and the corresponding redefinition of the RA roles.

Next year’s FYAs, who will work in first-year-occupied dorms, will receive the same compensation as this year’s RAs, which includes full coverage of housing costs and a partial meal plan, King said. However, CDAs, who will work in upperclassman dorms, will receive a $1,500 stipend for the academic year, no coverage of housing costs and a partial meal plan each semester, according to King. According to an email to the Tufts community last Friday, the cost of on-campus housing in the 2017– 2018 academic year will be $7,658.

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The compensation plan for CDAs, who will live in buildings such as Carmichael Hall designated for returning students, is worth less than that for FYAs because the two roles carry different responsibilities, King explained.

“Compensation is different because they are going to be doing different things,” King said.

St u d e n t Se r v i c e s Pro j e c t Administrator Brittney Washington and Area Residence Director Donisha Thaxton said FYAs will act as mentors to first-years, introducing them to various campus resources and helping integrate them into the Tufts community through programming. CDAs, on the other hand, will focus on non-firstyear students.

“Community Development Advisors (CDAs) are a resource for continuing students. They live in residence halls with their peers and are responsible for building communities and programming events that are tailored to the experiences of upperclassmen,” Washington and Thaxton told the Daily in an email. see RESLIFE, page 3

For breaking news, our content archive and exclusive content, visit tuftsdaily.com @tuftsdaily

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by Emily Burke

Assistant News Editor

The intersection of Boston Avenue and College Avenue will be redesigned and rebuilt over the summer to make it safer for drivers, cyclists and pedestrians.

The intersection has long been seen as a problem point for the Tufts community, according to Director of Campus Planning Lois Stanley. Stanley said that in 2012, graduate students in Tufts’ urban and environmental policy and planning master’s program surveyed Tufts students, faculty and staff to find out which campus intersection was perceived as the most dangerous.

“The Boston/College [Avenue] intersection came up at the absolute top of the list,” Stanley said.

According to Senior Capital Project Manager Su-san Lancoon, who has managed the redesign project since 2015, the redesigns will seek to improve the intersection for pedestrian traffic but will also improve its overall safety.

“This intersection has always been very awkward for both pedestrians and cars and bicycles, so we wanted to study to see how we can make improve-

Contact Us P.O. Box 53018, Medford, MA 02155 617 627 3090 FAX 617 627 3910 daily@tuftsdaily.com

ments to make it safer,” Lancoon said.

“That’s really the primary focus: safety improvements for pedestrians first and then vehicles, bicycles.”

Lancoon said that the intersection’s current problems stem from its inexact layout, which almost seems to combine two intersections in one. This creates complicated traffic cycles for both cars and pedestrians and makes it difficult for pedestrians to cross the street in time using the crosswalks, according to Lancoon. The redesign project will seek to address that issue.

“To shorten the distance, the curb … is going to be extended onto the street at two points. Those two points will add two more pedestrian crosswalks … that will help shorten the distance so that it doesn’t take as long to cross the street,” Lancoon said. “[Right now,] unless you start pretty much when you’re allowed to start, you sometimes have a hard time getting across.”

Lancoon added that the redesign will widen sidewalks in order to make them wheelchair accessible and that improvements will be made to traffic signals to make traffic cycles easier for

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

see INTERSECTION, page 3

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

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THE TUFTS DAILY | News | Monday, March 13, 2017

T HE T UFTS D AILY Kathleen Schmidt Editor-in-Chief

EDITORIAL

Jei-Jei Tan Miranda Willson Managing Editors Joe Walsh Executive News Editor Zachary Hertz News Editors Gil Jacobson Robert Katz Liam Knox Daniel Nelson Catherine Perloff Emma Steiner Hannah Uebele Ariel Barbeiri-Aghib Assistant News Editors Charles Bunnell Emily Burke Daniel Caron Aneurin Canham-Clyne Juliana Furgala Elie Levine Natasha Mayor Jesse Najarro Minna Trinh Costa Angelakis Executive Features Editor Becca Leibowitz Features Editors Jake Taber Emma Rosenthal Emma Damokosh Assistant Features Editors Zach Essig Elie Levine Jessie Newman Sean Ong Hermes Suen Grace Yuh Eran Sabaner Executive Arts Editor John Gallagher Arts Editors Cassidy Olsen John Fedak Assistant Arts Editors Libby Langsner Setenay Mufti Paige Spangenthal Anita Ramaswamy Executive Op-Ed Editor Stephen Dennison Cartoonists Shannon Geary Noah Kulak Lydia Ra Miranda Chavez Editorialists Julia Faxon Hannah Kahn Lena Novins-Montague Lanie Preston Madeleine Schwartz Daniel Weinstein Eddie Samuels Executive Sports Editor Yuan Jun Chee Sports Editors Maddie Payne Maclyn Senear Liam Finnegan Assistant Sports Editors Savannah Mastrangelo Brad Schussel Sam Weidner Sam Weitzman Ray Bernoff Executive Photo Editor Margot Day Staff Photographers Scott Fitchen Lilia Kang Max Lalanne Rachael Meyer Vintus Okwonko Zachary Sebek Alexis Serino Seohyun Shim Angelie Xiong Ezgi Yazici Sitong Zhang Ezgi Yazici Executive Video Editor Olivia Ireland Executive Video Admin.

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Senators criticize SAS resolution, vote it down SENATE

continued from page 1 tion-and-answer period, during which several senators and a few audience members voiced doubts and confusion.

Many of the questions centered on what exactly Goldberg was trying to reform and what the drive was to create this resolution specifically at this time.

In response, Goldberg said that the resolution is meant to push Title IX procedures to be more impartial and more prompt. He argued that results of investigations should be released within a shorter time frame, and that individuals who have had direct experience with sexual misconduct should not be allowed to participate in investigations or adjudications. Goldberg alleged that those personal experiences could render them biased.

Goldberg also repeatedly said that SAS has heard more people come forward saying investigations were taking too long and that, when the administration was asked for a reason why, there was no clear answer. However, Goldberg could not reveal whether these individuals were perpetrators or survivors.

Senators also asked if SAS took any other avenues before writing this resolution, if any other institutions had similar Title IX procedures, what the vetting process would look like and what sort of legal team would review OEO’s training content.

Goldberg said that he had tried to reach out to some pertinent student groups and was in contact with some of the relevant administrators. In terms of vetting, he said that some of the questions asked would revolve around whether the individual had any personal experience in sexual misconduct. This would prevent not only perpetrators, but also survivors, from being involved in investigative decisions.

In response to the question about legal review, Goldberg said that there is a large list of groups that could inspect the materials.

He specifically referenced Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) as an example of a potential group.

In response to one of the final questions, Goldberg said that he has not talked to any survivors on the Tufts campus about the resolution.

There was then a motion to move the resolution, which was objected to, after which the body moved into a relatively short debate.

Some senators raised concerns that no survivors at Tufts were consulted in the writ-

ing of this resolution and that the resolution seemed to protect perpetrators. The reasoning behind this stemmed from the suggestion that the investigators’ authority would be reduced in favor of a hearing process agreed upon by both parties.

According to a member of the Consent Culture Network, this proposal would, in some respects, revert Tufts’ Title IX proceedings back to the state they were in when Tufts was found to be in violation of Title IX. Some senators also felt that survivors should not be barred from investigations and adjudications.

During the debate, there was call to vote on whether to vote on the resolution, which passed, so senators held a roll call vote. The resolution failed in a vote of zero for, 25 against and one abstention.

In response to the outcome, both Goldberg and Takata were upset.

“I think that this is a perfect example of why we need an impartial procedure, because this was not impartial. I think people need to take things with an even playing field,” Takata said.

Regarding SAS’ next plans, Goldberg added, “We’re currently working on a project out [in] California, as well as up at Colby.

We’re discussing things with students, so we as an organization have many things to busy ourselves with and we look forward to continuing to do so.”

TCU Senate President Gauri Seth expressed frustration that the resolution was proposed without consulting survivors.

“It’s egregious to bring a resolution forward regarding Tufts’ sexual misconduct policy that claims to protect both parties, when the authors of the resolution stated multiple times that they had not spoken to survivors on this campus,” Seth told the Daily.

Likewise, Asian American Community Senator Jacqueline Chen found it telling that survivors of sexual assault were not consulted.

“I think that the authors need to think long and hard about who they’re really advocating for when they bring forth these resolutions, because it’s clear that they don’t have much support from anyone in the student body,” Chen told the Daily in an electronic message.

However, Goldberg later told the Daily in an electronic message that he reached out to several campus organizations to solicit feedback on the resolution, but he said they declined.

Allocations Board and Committee Updates Following the resolution and a short break, TCU Senate Treasurer Chris Leaverton took the floor to discuss supplementary funding requests.

Tufts Ballroom Dance Team wanted to rent venues for a show and a social. The Allocations Board (ALBO) matched the request, and it passed by acclamation. The Vietnamese Students Club needed funding for a empowerment show, and ALBO’s recommendation factored in personal contributions. It passed by acclamation.

The third and last request came from Jumbo Jugglers for WOMBAT, its annual spinning and juggling festival. ALBO reduced the funding for printing and its recommendation passed by acclamation.

TCU Senate Vice President Shai Slotky then took the floor to ask for committee updates.

Chen, who is chair of the Student Outreach Committee, said that they will work on a catalog of senators’ projects and an event where people can provide feedback about Senate. Culture, Ethnicity, Community Affairs committee members talked about the new LGBT Center Director, getting meals for students in the period between pre-orientation and orientation week and a petition urging Tufts to support the Safe Communities Act in the Massachusetts Legislature.

The Education Committee is conducting interviews for the six finalists for Professor of the Year, and the results are being gathered from a survey sent out about French and Spanish minors, according to senators. The Services Committee is working on expanding the number of locations which accept JumboCash, and so far Oath Craft Pizza has accepted.

Seth said that she and senator Malachy Donovan met with Tufts Technology Services to discuss the possibility of a new online platform for voting in TCU Senate elections.

She also met with the outgoing bursar of the Medford/Somerville campus to make financial aid refunds be disbursed before the first few days of classes so that students can pay for expenses earlier.

Leaverton then noted that the current director of club sports, Branwen SmithKing is leaving. Leaverton said that he and Seth are looking into the model for club sports funding.

The meeting then adjourned.

Events on the Hill: Week of March 13 MONDAY “Making the Colombian California” Details: Political anthropologist Winifred Tate from Colby College will give a talk about settler colonialism in Colombia, based on her fieldwork in the nation.

Where and When: Fung House (48 Professors Row); 12 p.m.

Sponsors: Consortium of Studies in Race, Colonialism and Diaspora; Department of Anthropology; Latin American Studies Program and Peace and Justice Studies Program TUESDAY “John R. Galvin Lecture” Details: Admiral Dennis Blair, who is a former naval officer and director of national intelligence under President Barack Obama, will give the inaugural Galvin Lecture at The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy.

Where and When: Chase Center (89 Curtis Street); 5:30 p.m.

Sponsor: Fletcher School “How to Run for Office in Your 20s” Details: Several young politicians and

candidates for political office, including State Rep. Juana Matias, will discuss running a campaign and getting involved in the political process.

Where and When: Terrace Room; 7 p.m.

Sponsors: Tufts Progressive Alliance and Cooperation and InnoVation In Citizenship (CIVIC) WEDNESDAY “UEP Colloquium: Zoning for the PostIndustrial City” Details: University of Connecticut Professor and First Lady of Hartford Sara Bronin will give a talk on the City of Hartford’s sustainable zoning system, as part of the Urban and Environmental Policy and Planning (UEP) Department’s Colloquium Series.

Where and When: Alumnae Lounge; 12 p.m.

Sponsor: UEP Department “From One Drop to One Percent: The Impact of DNA Tests on the Worldview of White Supremacists” Details: Joan Donovan, a professor at the University of California, Los Angeles, will speak about her research on the bur-

geoning field of DNA ancestry tests and whether they influence the views of white supremacists.

Where and When: Alumnae Lounge; 4:30 p.m.

Sponsors: Science, Technology and Society Program; Department of Anthropology; Center for the Study of Race and Democracy and the Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies Program THURSDAY “Genetically Modified Organisms: Uncertain Choices in the Face of Uncertain Harms” Details: A discussion will be held on the ethical and legal implications of genetically-modified organisms (GMOs) and the impact that they might have on society in the future, featuring UEP Professor Sheldon Krimsky. The event is part of the Jonathan M. Tisch College of Civic Life’s series of Civic Science Roundtables.

Where and When: Dewick-MacPhie Dining Center Conference Room; 6 p.m.

Sponsor: Tisch College — Joe Walsh

Monday, March 13, 2017 | News | THE TUFTS DAILY

News

3

Difference in responsibilities to result in new compensation rates for RAs next year RESLIFE

continued from page 1 Vera Guttenberger, a sophomore and current Hodgdon Hall RA, said the change in compensation was logical based on the differences in responsibilities of each role. In particular, she noted that FYAs may have more work than CDAs, given that FYAs will be expected to play a larger role in first-year orientation than they traditionally have.

“It makes sense to me, especially because they are making the change with the housing … and [it] makes sense to have two different roles,” she said. “[For CDAs] I don’t think they expect you to … go spend orientation time with [first-year students], which is what they are doing for FYAs.” Guttenberger said the change in earnings was a factor in her decision to apply as a FYA rather than a CDA. She said that, with the compensation provided, becoming a CDA “wasn’t worth it.”

“I think the change in compensation makes sense, but I also think that it is ridiculously low,” Guttenberger said.

She added that many other people she knows went through the same thought process.

“I think a lot of people I talked to were going to be CDAs but then they found that it was not being paid for as much, and then they applied to be FYAs,” she said. Next year, Guttenberger

ALEXIS SERINO / THE TUFTS DAILY

The main entrance to Harleston Hall is pictured on Oct. 7, 2016. will be a FYA in Metcalf Hall.

Guttenberger wondered if, given the lower compensation of the CDA role, there would not be enough people to fill the positions.

King said that there have not been drastic changes in the number of applicants.

“People applied … nothing really changed … we knew how many

people we were going to make offers to,” King said. “Some people declined, but we had an alternate list if anyone declined. Right now both positions have been filled.”

Tufts seeks to fix safety issues at Boston/College Avenue intersection INTERSECTION

continued from page 1 drivers to understand. According to Lancoon, there is often no indication for drivers on when to make left or right turns because it is not clear whether the cars in oncoming traffic have a red or green light.

“We’re adding a dedicated left hand turn signal so that cars know ‘yes I

can go now,’ and I think they have a tendency to get stuck in the middle,” Lancoon said. “We’re adding another signal so that cars coming westbound on College [Avenue] can see where they’re going once they pass their light as well.”

Furthermore, Lancoon explained that the project will attempt to make the intersection more visible to encourage drivers to proceed with caution.

“We’re going to create this kind of crosshatch pattern within the intersection just to make it more visible so if people were driving, they’ll see this crosshatch pattern and understand that it’s a special location, and they need to be more careful, and hopefully it makes pedestrians more visible,” Lancoon said.

According to Rocco DiRico, co-director of community relations at Tufts, safety measures for pedestrians will include

RAY BERNOFF / THE TUFTS DAILY

The intersection of Boston Avenue and College Avenue is pictured on March 12.

sidewalk improvements, which will increase the area’s accessibility.

“The primary purpose of this project is to make this intersection safer for pedestrians. The new crosswalks, new traffic control equipment and the new signage will all contribute to the goal,” DiRico told the Daily in an email. “The crosshatch pattern between the crosswalks will let drivers know that this is a heavily used pedestrian zone.”

DiRico explained that significant improvements are being made to allow bicyclists to share the road more safely with cars. “‘Sharrows’ will be added to the road, so that drivers will be aware that they need to share the road with bicyclists. A bike box will also be added to the westbound approach on College Avenue to give bicyclists a safe space to wait for the light to change,” DiRico said.

DiRico emphasized that the intersection project has been a collaborative effort with the City of Medford as well as local groups to make the area safer for everyone.

“With their input in mind, Tufts will be adding two pedestrian crosswalks from the Curtis Hall side of the intersection to the Hill side of the intersection,” DiRico said. “Tufts will also replace all traffic control equipment and add new signaling for the left-hand turn for Boston Avenue and add an additional signal for the westbound lane on College Avenue.”

According to Lancoon, construction on the intersection will begin in May or June and will be completed by the time students return for the fall semester.

“I think it’s exciting that we’re going to get to see some improvements, and we want to make sure that everybody stays safe,” Lancoon said.

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THE TUFTS DAILY | ADVERTISEMENT | Monday, March 13, 2017

tuftsdaily.com

Senior Baccalaureate Speaker

FINALIST AUDITIONS

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 15, 2017 • NOON, GODDARD CHAPEL EACH FINALIST WILL PRESENT A 3-5 MINUTE SPEECH THE 2017 FINALISTS ARE: Kofi Asante Jaydev Dave Isabella Kahhale Jonathan Moore Nimarta Narang Sharad Sagar, A16 Wendell Phillips Speaker 2016

Light refreshments will be served. All are welcome to attend.

THE WENDELL PHILLIPS AWARD The Wendell Phillips Award was established in 1896 to honor Boston’s great orator and advocate for abolition and women’s and Native People’s rights. The award is given annually to a senior who demonstrates both marked ability as a speaker and a high sense of public responsibility. Selected by the Committee on Student Life, the winner is the one graduating senior invited to offer a speech as part of Commencement, and the speech takes place during the Baccalaureate Service. It is intended to deliver a social justice message for our time.

for the 2017 - 2018 academic year!

Campus Center Managers Event Staff Managers Office Assistants Information Booth Attendants Event Staff

Nominate for

Student Org Award Ceremony

by March 31, 2017

Visit ocl.tufts.edu/events/awards-ceremony/ to learn about the awards and nominate Jumbo Award Mout Olympus Award Campus Connection Award Program of the Year Award New Student Org of the Year Award

Legacy Award Herald Award Imagination Award Collaboration Award Student Org of the Year Award

*work study not required

Student Org Awards Ceremony 04.27.2017 Tufts Office for Campus Life ocl@tufts.edu Office for Campus Life 617.627.3212

Monday, March 13, 2017

Features

‘Muslim at heart:’ Muslim students discuss experiences, relationships to their faith

5 tuftsdaily.com

Rainbow House 2016-2017 On Queer

On income

@

Susan Hassan looks at islamic art at Epcot Theme Park’s Morocco exhibit.

by Jake Taber

Features Editor

This is the first in a two-part series documenting four Muslim students’ experiences on and off Tufts’ campus. The full article will appear online tomorrow.

Over the past month, the Daily sat down with four practicing Muslim students and asked them to share their stories and talk openly and honestly about their faith. The discussions were open-ended and the topics the students touched on included their thoughts about God, where they locate themselves within the Muslim community on campus, the Trump administration and the mounting politicization of their religion in national discourse.

The conversations revealed stories that were personal and by no means representative of the entire Muslim student body.

Three of the students were undergraduates from different U.S. cities, while the fourth hails from India and studies at The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy.

They practice their faith with varying regularity, they’ve had different experiences with Islamophobia and their faith has evolved in different ways over time.

One issue came up in some form during every discussion: the representation of Muslims in the media or in popular discourse. All four students agreed that the media has contributed to the stereotypes that they face in their everyday lives. Two of the students talked about consistently dealing with stereotypes whenever they crop up in conversations with non-Muslims. One student acknowledged she had struggled with feeling obligated to defend her faith

whenever it was challenged before eventually accepting that that fight wasn’t necessarily her job.

Muslim students, like Jewish or Christian students, cannot be categorized. No single narrative or segment of the political spectrum can wholly encompass them. A truth that is often lost in politicization is that the only way to learn someone’s story is to listen to it.

Susan Susan Hassan is a junior and a quantitative economics major born and raised in Somerville, Mass. Islam has always been important to her. At Tufts, before a dedicated prayer room (known as a musallah) was installed in Curtis Hall in 2015, she prayed in the library between the stacks. In high school, she made time for her religion despite a packed schedule.

She wanted to fast during the month of Ramadan with the rest of her family, even when she was too young to do so.

“I used to fast [for parts of some days] when I was five because I really wanted to, and I thought it was so cool and so awesome,” Hassan said. “I love the month of Ramadan because the atmosphere is so amazing. Even to this day I love it. It was just something I’ve always loved to do, ever since I can remember.”

Hassan said her faith has not changed significantly since she got to college.

Her ability to practice it, however, has.

The new musallah has helped her miss far fewer prayers than she did during her first year at Tufts.

“In high school, there [was not] a place for you to go pray during class,” she said. “Here, I’m way more able to pray on time instead of having to make up all of my prayers at the end of the day

COURTESY SARAH HASSAN VIA SUSAN HASSAN

and miss them all … Almost every day you can find me [at the musallah].”

She can now also make time to attend midday Friday prayers (known as khutbas). When she was in high school, khutbas conflicted with class time. “[The weekly sermon] definitely brings me closer to my faith, allows me to reflect on life and just adds to my journey in life,” she said. “It’s definitely a change for me, from not going at all to going way more often and learning a lot more and feeling I guess a sense of community.”

Susan chose not to specify the sect of Islam to which she adheres.

“I think that a Muslim is a Muslim, so I just think all the sects or whatever were created to divide people, and I don’t like that idea of division, so I’d rather not say what sect I follow,” she said. “I am Muslim, and that’s all I’ll say on that.”

One of the Five Pillars of Islam is the completion of the Hajj — a pilgrimage to Mecca during the Islamic month of Dhu al-Hijjah — at some point in one’s lifetime. Hassan has not had the chance to do this yet and wants to wait until she’s ready.

“I think I would want to do that a bit later in life, once I’ve had the opportunity to study everything that it entails, so that when I go I can do it as perfectly as possible,” she said. “For me, it’s a very important step and it’s not something to take lightly, and I want to make sure I have the knowledge and [that] I’ve studied and I’ve prepared.”

Though Hassan prioritizes her faith, she is not as actively involved with the Muslim Students Association (MSA) on campus. see MUSLIM, page 6

jumbo_geese: My personal favorite Instagram (besides my own, let’s be real here).

“But anonymous Rainbow House author,” you think, “There are no geese at Tufts!” Ah, of course, except for that most elusive (or, rather, not elusive at all) breed of fowl: the Tufts Canada Goose.

That’s right, those jackets with the distinctive (wild-trapped, horrifically exemplary of animal abuse) coyote fur ruff and the decorative “Arctic Program” patches on the left arm. They have become, as President of Trendex North America Randy Harris said, “almost the uniform of the inner city among 16-to-24-year olds,” according to a Feb. 18, 2011 Toronto Star article. Not only that, but they run, at the lower end, around $500. The models commonly seen on campus? Closer to $1000.

Then there’s me: I’m usually either wearing a much-loved parka (leaking lining from the seams and a hole in the collar, which appeared following a curious incident with a pair of scissors and a stack of newspapers) or a sewn-up sweatshirt under my grandfather’s handed-down over-40-year-old heavy wool chief petty officer’s shirt. What am I supposed to say to someone whom I see wearing a jacket that would set me back several times my semesterly budget for… anything?

“Okay, fine,” I can hear you thinking. “We all know Canada Goose is a little ridiculous.

But where’s the queer part?” After all, that’s what you’re here for, right? Well, let me tell you: Being trans is expensive. In my case, being queer and trans is expensive. It’s one thing to want a new pair of shoes, a cute skirt or some new underwear. It’s another when having to pull on a pair of beaten-up jeans, boxers and a pair of men’s sneakers makes you seriously consider not leaving the house, not because you don’t look ‘good’ but because you can’t stand the thought that every person who sees you will be quietly, tacitly misgendering you.

Now let’s be clear here. I am not the poorest person I know at Tufts. Not by a long stretch. I make ends meet. Not everyone can do that much. I’m also white, relatively healthy and able-bodied. Not everyone has that going for them. I have low-income queer and trans friends who are people of color, who struggle with chronic illness and disability. They go through worse than me on a daily basis. This column is not a definitive statement on low-income queer life at Tufts, but my personal reflections on my experiences. When you find yourself choosing between food (needed to stay alive) and the basic necessities for combatting dysphoria (needed to stay externally functional in social and professional settings), the one that keeps you alive tends to win out. That algebra of necessity is a part of every poor person’s life, and it is only exacerbated by being trans.

This is not to say that middle- and high-income queer and trans students don’t have to deal with an incredible amount.

Homophobia and transphobia don’t directly care how much is in your bank account (or if you have one at all). The risks and stakes are simply higher for low-income LGBTQ+ people. If they are lucky, they will — like I have — find a community of other loving and generous LGBTQ+ people who offer emotional and, when times get tough, material support.

We are, after all, stronger together — something we need now more than ever.

This article was written by an anonymous member of the Rainbow House. They can be reached at rhousecolumn@gmail.com

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THE TUFTS DAILY | Features | Monday, March 13, 2017

tuftsdaily.com

Muslim students explore faith among increasingly polarized perceptions of Islam MUSLIM

continued from page 5 “I feel like when I was in high school [and] coming here as a freshman I thought I would be way more involved,” she said. “You, I guess, feel like you can be involved in so many clubs, kind of like you were in high school, but that’s not the reality in college … my faith is definitely a priority, but I guess club-wise, I’d rather put my time into things for my career.”

Hassan does appreciate being surrounded by a community of Muslims at Tufts, since she was one of only a few at Somerville High School.

Her faith, she said, has never made her feel singled out. Her school and community were supportive; she recalls being allowed to pray in a school office during class and a teacher giving her cookies to eat after sundown during Ramadan.

“Even until now, I’ll pray in front of [my friends]. I’ll be at their house and be like, ‘Oh, can you pause the movie, I need to pray.’ I don’t care,” Hassan said.

Her friends in Somerville came from diverse backgrounds.

“I have friends who are very conservative Christians, two of them actually that are Pentecostal. I have a lot of Buddhist friends from Nepal,” she said.

Hassan explained that she gravitates toward people who are different than her. The Boston area’s diversity is one of the reasons she has always loved living here.

“Maybe that’s also why I’m not that involved in MSA as I thought I would be, because I’m not used to people like me.

I’m used to people different than me, and I kind of like that. I like to learn from other peoples’ perspectives and listen to their stories,” she said. “I feel like it’s so enriching, and I really, really value diversity … with all the recent events that are happening, I’m definitely way prouder — even though I was already so proud — to be from Boston and Somerville.”

She said that she has not personally experienced much insensitivity or discrimination due to her faith, whether over the course of this politically-charged election cycle or before.

“I think sometimes it’s more because [people are] interested, but don’t know how to express themselves correctly, or are confused about something and kind of want to ask and they don’t necessarily mean it in a bad way,” she said. “I mean, sometimes maybe it is intentional, but I’ve never gotten an intentionally [insensitive] comment from someone I know personally.”

Hassan acknowledged, however, that her experience is not necessarily reflective of that of other American Muslims.

“I think it has a lot to do with where I grew up, because I’ve never left this area, so I’m sure in other parts of the country, peoples’ experiences are way different,” she said. “I think I’m lucky to be where I am, it’s just a very accepting place for the most part.”

Most of the insensitivity she has encountered, she said, has come from the media. “‘All Muslims are terrorists,’ that’s the biggest one … peoples’ cultural stuff is [described as] ‘terrorist dress.’ But it’s not, I think its beautiful,” she said. “Even things like the Keffiyeh, the Palestinian scarf … that’s seen as a political thing now, and I just think it looks really nice.”

She has not participated in activism or protest in response to recent events such as the Trump administration’s immigration ban, though she respects those who are doing so.

“I’m just not the activist person, although awesome job to everyone who

[is] and stands up for what they believe in,” she said. “I think everyone should have a voice, and that’s why I’m proud to be American, everyone can have a voice … but yeah, that’s not really me, I don’t know.”

Hassan hopes to continue centering Islam in her life after college. Her belief in God, she said, pervades everything she does.

“It’s definitely a beautiful thing.

Everyone has those points in life when you feel alone, but if you believe in God, you know that you’re never alone and you always have someone to talk to,” she said. “It’s a very personal, intimate thing and I’m pretty sure everyone feels differently about it, and that’s kind of what’s beautiful, that its that specific to every person.”

Ayesha Ayesha, who preferred not to provide her last name for this article, is a lawyer from India studying at The Fletcher School. After completing law school in her home country, she worked in a corporate law firm for two years, then spent another two working with the Indian government on a University of Chicago fellowship.

She’s now at Tufts studying international law and hopes to make a career in the fields of anticorruption, business and environmental law. She has lived in the United States for about six months.

Growing up in New Delhi, her father worked as a senior bureaucrat in the Indian government. Ayesha said her parents wanted to ground her in a progressive version of Islam.

“I come from a fairly religious family, but not very conservative in the sense that my mother does not wear the hijab, and all the women in our family are highly educated professionals,” she said. “It was a really good mix of religion and also making sure that the religious principles that we were taught reflected our modern values.”

Though she learned Arabic and read the Quran at home, Ayesha attended a Catholic convent school with few other Muslims. While being taught about her own faith, she also became familiar with Catholicism and Hinduism through the school.

“There were only around 20 to 25 Muslims, and so we were a minority … I think I got a really strong basis in the Christian faith,” she said. “I actually acted in the nativity play.”

Growing up, she said, all of her friends were Hindus and Christians. Their religion pushed her to learn about her own.

“I think that learning more about their faith sort of piqued my interest in my faith, and my parents got me books that taught me more about Islam,” she said.

According to Ayesha, the diverse, progressive religious education she received is not generally available to most Indians, Muslim or otherwise.

“I probably represent one or two percent of what is the actual situation in India,” she said. “The majority of the Muslims in India are poor, they don’t have the best education.”

Ayesha said that in India, divisive political rhetoric can often turn religious groups against one another, stoking fear and sometimes violence between communities. Despite this, she does not believe distrust between religions is inevitable or inherent in her country.

“I’m Indian to my core and I believe that Indians have a very good sense of fairness, they have a good sense of justice,” she said. “If I go to someone, a Hindu who

Ayesha poses for a portrait on the Academic Quad on Feb. 22. doesn’t like Muslims at all, and if I’m in trouble or pain and I asked that person to help, [they] will help me.”

In the wake of the September 11 attacks, intense and sweeping scrutiny of Islamic tenets in the media pushed Ayesha to further examine her faith.

“When September 11 happened, and I was in seventh grade I think at that time, I [said], ‘Okay, why are they saying that Islam promotes jihad or Islam promotes murder?’” she said. “If you read the media at that time, they would actually quote phrases from the Quran and say, ‘Okay, this means you can kill a nonbeliever.’”

To this day, Ayesha says she’s very aware of what she calls wrong interpretations of Islam: interpretations that advocate violence or discriminate against those of other faiths.

“I want to educate myself more to sort of say, ‘No, this is not the correct interpretation,’ because Islam could not at all allow for killing a religion which has built its foundations on peace and love for the other human being and respect,” she said. “You can’t even hurt a little insect. You can’t misconstrue it.”

At Tufts and in the United States, she has found a number of outlets for further exploring her faith and how it lines up with her own personal values. In 2014, while in New York City, she met one of the founders of a community of young American Muslims calling themselves Mipsterz, or Muslim Hipsters.

“I’d been to one of their meet-ups, as you call them … they would make pop art, and they would do these plays and storytelling, and they would discuss very hard concepts in Islam in a very easy way,” she said. “They’re trying to make sense of what they’ve been taught, which can be very traditional … but at the same time, they know there is more to religion than the version that has been given to them by their parents.”

At Tufts, Ayesha found a community through the MSA and the resources the group provides, which she said have been vital.

“I’m away from my family, I’m in a new country, living away for the first time for so long, and, in a way, it’s a difficult environment,” she said. “I have had moments when I’ve actually gone

RAY BERNOFF / THE TUFTS DAILY

and prayed in the Muslim house, and I would have gone with a heavy burden on my shoulders, and [after] just meeting a couple of the other people who are also praying — we’ll sit and talk for 15, 20 minutes afterwards — I come out and I feel so relaxed, so good.”

Along with attending events put on by the Tufts MSA and the Muslim Student Association at MIT, she is also a part of Fletcher’s Islamic Society (FIS). As for prayers, Ayesha said her schedule makes it difficult to pray five times each day, but she tries to set aside time every day to pray at least once.

“It’s not easy: I do have faith and I think … Islam is also [about] just knowing your faith in your heart and believing, and I think those shared values are universal like equality, fairness, respect,” she said. “I think I’m Muslim at heart.”

Though she has found accepting spaces for her religion in the United States, she said the current political climate still intimidates her on a day-today basis.

“I think I’m a little scared, for sure.

Being a Muslim [in the current atmosphere] is a little scary,” she said. “I feel worse for people who — I respect them and admire them — but women who wear the hijab or people [whose] symbols of faith are more outward, I think they’re very strong.”

Ayesha, who doesn’t wear the hijab, mentioned a recent hate crime at a Minnesota Applebee’s, during which a Muslim woman was attacked with a beer mug because she was speaking Swahili. The fact that the attacker was prosecuted came as a relief to her: it proved that justice would be possible if she were to be the victim of a similar attack.

She expressed an urge to change the perceptions people have about Islam by being a prominent advocate for the religion.

“I think that the people who are indulging in these activities [and] these hate crimes are mostly people who are uninformed or people who have been given the wrong information,” she said.

“That perception in their minds needs to change, and I think that can only happen when there are people who are educated and strong advocates of their religion of Islam, [who] come out and present themselves.”

Monday, March 13, 2017

ARTS&LIVING THEATRE REVIEW

Pen, Paint, and Pretzels’ ‘Melancholy Play’ has audience in stitches

by Paige Spangenthal Assistant Arts Editor

Belly laughs rang through Balch Arena Theatre on Thursday during a performance of Pen, Paint, and Pretzels’ 2017 spring major. One could consider this an unexpected response to a production titled “Melancholy Play.” Although the play, written by Sarah Ruhl, deals with heavy topics like sadness and depression, the absurdities and witticisms of the script had audience members in stitches.

The characters in “Melancholy Play” are delightfully melodramatic. Senior Justin Sullivan played Lorenzo the Unfeeling, a flamboyant psychologist who falls in love with his client, Tilly. Lorenzo’s backstory is simultaneously silly and tragic: As a child, his mother abandoned him at a sweet shop in an “unspecified European location.” Later in life, Lorenzo moved to Illinois, where the story takes place. Sullivan brought the character to life with an ambiguous, vaguely Italian accent, exaggerated facial expressions and over-thetop physical gestures.

The scenery was pleasantly simplistic.

A black couch, a therapy chaise, two door frames and floating stained-glass windows created the play’s atmosphere. Each prop and piece of furniture was used efficiently and to its maximum capacity.

The play centers around Tilly (sophomore Abby Schmidt), a bank teller suffering from acute melancholy. Tilly is a delightfully childish character who seems to derive pleasure from her own sadness, feeding off the attention it brings her. Schmidt’s interpretation of the character came across as an apt mix between an old movie star and a Disney princess.

“There’s a word in Japanese for being sad in the springtime — a whole word just for being sad about how pretty the flowers are and how soon they’re going to die — I can’t remember the word,” Tilly says in one of her

COURTESY CIEL SRIPRASERT

Lovers Frances (Phoebe Cavise) and Joan (Sophia Balsamo) vie for the affections of Tilly (Abby Schmidt). most captivating lines. Tilly has several simThe other characters, baffled by Frances’ ilar lines throughout the play. This trope of transformation, receive an anonymous note untranslatable words that are always on the explaining that melancholic citizens in Illinois tip of her tongue is effective in reminding are turning into almonds. For the remainder the audience of the frustrating limits of the of the play, as the characters attempt to turn English language.

Frances back into a human, they discover In addition to Lorenzo, three other char- other ridiculous revelations, including the fact acters fall in love with Tilly’s beautiful melan- that Frank and Frances are long-lost twins choly. Frank (sophomore Shaan Merchant) is separated at birth. an unhappy tailor who becomes Tilly’s boy “Overall, this is a play about relationships. friend. Frances (junior Phoebe Cavise) and Although the world of these characters is not Joan (first-year Sophia Balsamo) are a lesbian like ours, we have much in common with couple who compete for Tilly’s affections. them. The ways in which these people treat The plot’s turning point occurs on Tilly’s each other, love each other, know each other, birthday, when she discovers happiness and think they know each other, fight each other, her melancholy melts away. The other char- lose each other, smell each other and save acters, who love her primarily for her sadness, each other are at the core of this play,” sophare distraught by this development. In a sur- omore Ethan Whitman wrote in his Director’s prising twist, Frances becomes so lethargic Note in the play’s program. and depressed that she turns into an almond.

Whitman, the cast and the crew did Almonds are used as a motif throughout the an excellent job of showcasing the inner play as a subtle reference to the amygdala, an mechanics of this story. Producing such suralmond-shaped brain structure responsible real, bizarre material was a creative risk, and it for the experience of emotions. definitely paid off.

‘Silicon Valley’ season four predictions Arts Editor

HBO’s “Silicon Valley” (2014 – present) had to play second fiddle to “Game of Thrones” (2011–present) in 2016 when it aired at 10 p.m., immediately following “Game of Thrones.”

Fortunately, the upcoming season of Silicon Valley, which premieres on April 23, will not have to follow HBO’s fantasy behemoth as its seventh season has been delayed to July.

“Silicon Valley” doesn’t have the mass appeal of the patented ‘sex and dragons’ approach of “Game of Thrones,” but it is a whip-smart satire of the technology industry. As such, its characters are absurd, but never so much as to be unbelievable.

Characters such as a pompous coder who dumps his attractive new girlfriend for being on the wrong side of the tabs vs. spaces debate (#teamspaces) are just silly enough to be believable. If “The Big Bang Theory” (2007–present) had been about technology companies instead of physics and its writers had not catered to slack-jawed audiences who love recycled jokes, the show would have essentially been “Silicon Valley.”

HBO dropped a teaser trailer for the upcoming fourth season of “Silicon Valley” in February, and with the season’s premiere date fast approaching, here are the Daily’s predictions for what viewers can expect this season. These predictions are rooted in rigorous frame-by-frame analysis of the

tuftsdaily.com

Antonio Bertolino Art-á-Porter

Miuccia Prada, the good taste of the bad taste

I

TELEVISION PREDICTIONS

by John J. Gallagher

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teaser trailer, an encyclopedic knowledge of the show’s previous seasons and consumption of truly harrowing amounts of ‘official’ Richard and Jared slash fiction.

Commentary on sexual harassment, lack of diversity in the technology industry and the industry’s gender imbalance Although the unflattering news about Uber’s culture of sexual harassment might have come too late for the writers of “Silicon Valley” to include a barb about the ride-sharing company’s terrible, no good, very bad February, sexual harassment in the technology world is not a new issue, nor is an appalling lack of diversity or a paltry percentage of women in technical roles. Creator Mike Judge and co. have dealt out cutting satire in the past, so expect some satirical napalm on one or all of these subjects.

Erlich gets out of his own way and genuinely succeeds for once Erlich Bachman, T.J. Miller’s bearded buffoon of a character, has been a joyous caricature of a moderately successful technology entrepreneur since episode one, and his lumbering heft adds a certain scruffy ballast to the show’s proceedings. Yet for all his many misadventures, including squandering his fortune on a lavish Alcatraz Luau, Erlich’s lazy self-destruction was always combined with formidable capability. Erlich managed to outmaneuver the show’s villain in the season three finale and has also shown a savant-like

aptitude for manipulating venture capitalists by using social media and occasionally exposing his testicles. With Richard’s apparent departure from Pied Piper confirmed by the teaser trailer, Erlich may step into a leadership role and find himself succeeding despite himself.

Jared follows Richard wherever he goes Jared Dunn (Zach Woods), a profoundly traumatized but upbeat business development professional, is incredibly loyal to Pied Piper’s socially awkward founder, Richard Hendricks (Thomas Middleditch). So it stands to reason that if Richard leaves Pied Piper, Jared will follow right behind him. In the finest moments of the teaser, Richard whoops experimentally in celebration of some unrevealed achievement. Jared eventually whoops nervously in sheepish imitation of Richard before getting totally carried away and unleashing a trio of blood-curdling shrieks. We can’t predict what the pair is celebrating, but that moment certainly provides an incentive to watch season four.

The show’s rich real-world internet presence gets richer HBO has produced a raft of online content for the superfans of the show that fills out the esoteric corners of the show’s universe. From the buzzword-laden nonsense of the Bachmanity website to the ‘journalism’ of faux-technology blog coderag.com, expect more of these online gems in season four.

n his “Aesthetics of Ugliness” (1853), German philosopher Karl Rosenkranz wrote about the essentiality of repulsiveness to “keep our appetites alive” and to comprehend beauty. It truly seems that this could be the lifelong motto of Italian fashion designer Miuccia Prada. One of the few women to ever lead a major ‘maison,’ she based her accomplishments in this industry on combinations of colors, materials and styles that no other designer has ever been able to successfully emulate.

Prada’s Spring 1996 Ready-to-Wear collection is a perfect example of a show truly capturing the essence of Miuccia as a fashion designer. Up until that point, colors like tan brown, bronze or avocado green had been absent from the catwalks for a couple of decades, ever since the Mod look had gone out of fashion. For this collection, however, Miuccia Prada decided to adopt that very color palette that most people considered ugly and outdated. Models like Kate Moss and Shalom Harlow graced the catwalk wearing ochre tailleurs decorated with grid-like patterns or dresses in bronze satin. The designer even committed what might be one of the worst fashion crimes: She matched light blue with dark brown hues. What amplified this initial effect of apparent ugliness were the shoes worn by the models. Although flashy, ultra-feminine heels were very ‘en vogue’ at the time, Prada had all models wear chunky sandals, which were everything but gracious.

Miuccia Prada has become an icon in the fashion world because of her willingness to question traditional beauty standards. In little time, she managed to not only make other people appreciate her unique spin on designs but also to impose her view as what was ‘cool.’ Her challenge to traditional standards in the world of fashion in Prada’s Spring 1996 Ready-to-Wear collection could be compared to the successful attempt made by Cubist artists to rework figurative art. This is not only true because of their similarly rebellious attitude but also because of the similar color palette employed by both Prada and the Cubists.

Some of the coats worn by Prada’s models on the runway featured prints with green and brown squares that notably echo paintings from the analytic period of Cubism. It almost seems that these squares, if scattered around the garment, could reproduce Georges Braque’s “Violin and Candlestick” (1910) or Pablo Picasso’s “Ma Jolie” (1911–1912). Picasso and Braque changed painting forever, thanks to the way in which they decomposed bodies and objects into simpler shapes like squares and rectangles. Miuccia Prada, much like the Cubists, has challenged traditional modes of representation of the human body and the female body specifically.

Although she often shies away from ‘political’ statements that could be seen as controversial by some, it is hard to deny the implications of her work as she celebrates the modern, independent working woman who is not afraid to wear a bold tailleur or wooden platforms to work.

Antonio Bertolino is a sophomore who has not yet declared a major. Antonio can be reached at antonio.bertolino@tufts. edu.

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THE TUFTS DAILY | Comics | Monday, March 13, 2017

Comics

tuftsdaily.com LATE NIGHT AT THE DAILY Miranda: “What will she finish first, ‘The Bachelor’ or her Bachelor of Arts degree?”

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SUDOKU

GARFIELD

BY JIM DAVIS

NON SEQUITUR

BY WILEY MILLER

Difficulty Level: Wearing snow boots in mid-March

Friday’s Solution

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Monday, March 13, 2017

Opinion

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EDITORIAL

On resistance and privilege International Women’s Day on March 8 marked the first Day Without a Woman. This day played into a string of recent protests speaking out against the values and actions of the new presidential administration. On March 8, women were encouraged to “take the day off from paid or unpaid labor,” “avoid shopping for one day (with exceptions for small, womenand minority-owned businesses” and “wear red in solidarity with A Day Without a Woman,” according to the event’s website.

While this event had admirable intentions, it is important to acknowledge the immense amount of privilege associated with the ability to simply leave work for a day. A Day Without a Woman, while striving to positive-

ly represent the many contributions women make to society, actually served more as a reminder of the spectrum of privilege on which women exist and the difficulty in participating in peaceful protest that comes with socioeconomic insecurity.

One of the policy cornerstones of the feminist movement is the idea of paid family leave. According to the National Partnership of Women and Families, only 14 percent of workers in the United States get paid family leave through their employer. This is especially pronounced in lower-income jobs. Although protest is a vital, constitutionally-mandated right, we must acknowledge that the ability to skip work is never afforded to some women.

Additionally, the economic toll of not

working for a day can be detrimental and even unrealistic for women living paycheck to paycheck. By the same token, while the idea of women taking the day off from unpaid labor sounds great, it is ludicrous to think that single mothers can abandon their parental responsibilities when no one else can pick up the slack. Shopping at small businesses is a nice notion, but paying such stores’ typically higher prices could be difficult for women with limited incomes.

A Day Without a Woman recognizes that participating in the strike is less feasible for some women. Its website encourages everyone who cannot strike to show their support by wearing red in solidarity, and it recognizes that people in vulnerable populations —

including women of color, women with disabilities, LGBTQ individuals and Muslim women — face greater risks of employer retaliation.

“We strike for them,” the website reads, referring to single mothers and other women who were unable to participate in the strike.

A Day Without a Woman highlights a bigger problem: that the elements of intersectionality and privilege affect who is able to take action and join protests. Especially during this time, when individuals are eager to resist and engage in activism, we must critically reflect on such efforts and the ideas they perpetuate. As we move forward, we must do our best to find ways in which all groups can have their voices heard.

THE REAL SPRING BREAK

STEPHEN DENNISON The Tufts Daily is a nonprofit, independent newspaper, published Monday through Friday during the academic year, and distributed free to the Tufts community.

The content of letters, advertisements, signed columns, cartoons and graphics does not necessarily reflect the opinion of The Tufts Daily editorial board.

EDITORIALS Editorials represent the position of The Tufts Daily. Individual editors are not necessarily responsible for, or in agreement with, the policies and editorials of The Tufts Daily.

OP-EDS The Op-Ed section of The Tufts Daily, an open forum for campus editorial commentary, is printed Monday through Thursday. The Daily welcomes submissions from all members of the Tufts community; the opinions expressed in the Op-Ed section do not necessarily represent the opinions of the Daily itself. Opinion articles on campus, national and international issues should be 600 to 1,200 words in length and submitted to oped@tuftsdaily. com. The editors reserve the right to edit letters for clarity, space and length. All material is subject to editorial discretion and is not guaranteed to appear in the Daily. Authors must submit their telephone numbers and day-of availability for editing questions.

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Monday, March 13, 2017 | Sports | THE TUFTS DAILY

Sports

Tufts shoots 44 percent from beyond the arc against Scranton WOMEN'S BASKETBALL

continued from back page 2-of-13 from the field in the second, with North and junior point guard Lauren Dillon scoring the only two field goals of the quarter to carry a slim 19-18 lead into the half.

“We went into the [WashU] game confident, knowing that we have the ability to shoot well in that gym, [and] we were ready to go but our [shots] weren’t falling,” North said. “Maybe it was the pressure from [our opponents] or our shooters, but we knew we had other options to go to.”

Tufts recovered quickly after the half, scoring 22 points in the third while holding WashU to just 12. North scored nine points on a perfect 4-of-4 from the field, and junior forward Melissa Baptista added six points of her own, finishing with 14 points on the night. Baptista scored the first three-pointer of the night for the Jumbos and finished with two of her team’s three three-pointers in the game.

“I think we came out really strong in the second half,” sophomore guard Jacqueline Knapp said. “That was one of the best third quarters that we’ve had all season. We really came out on defense, and we had [WashU] pushing back on their heels. I think just playing in the NESCAC, where we do play back-to-back, we were in better shape and we were able to outlast them.”

Despite attempts by the Bears in the fouth to cut into the Jumbos’ lead, the Jumbos remained relentless on defense and calm under pressure on the offensive end.

WashU came as close as 12 points in the final quarter off a free throw by senior Jenn Dynis, but with less than two minutes in the game, Tufts closed out the victory 57-43.

“I think the difference between [WashU] and [Scranton the day before] was just the level of play,” Knapp said. “I think [WashU] had a lot of people who could score. They are very physical, very tough and just a very good program.”

The day before, Knapp recorded a careerhigh 20 points against Scranton, finishing the night with 20 points off 7-of-10 shooting, 5-of-8 from beyond the arc and six rebounds in just her second appearance at the NCAAs. “Jacqueline [Knapp] has been doing a really great job, hitting a lot of big shots,” North said. “A lot of teams try to pack it inside to deter our team from passing it inside to me and Melissa [Baptista] in the post, and so Jacqueline [Knapp] has been hitting the open shot, which definitely helps our team moving forward. I remember at the beginning she wouldn’t shoot as much, [but] she’s definitely more consistent now. We’re all confident in her shooting the ball, and I think she’s found that [confidence] within herself.”

The Jumbos shot 45.5 percent from the field and 44 percent from the three-point range. Besides Knapp’s five three-pointers, team-leading scorer Baptista added three three-pointers of her own, scoring 13 points on the night.

Led by junior tri-captain point guard Lauren Dillon’s five steals, the Jumbos

forced 17 turnovers, scoring 21 points off turnovers to the Royal’s seven.

“I think we look to Lauren Dillon for guidance because she runs the team, she runs our offense ... she has done a great job all year setting the intensity on defense,” Knapp said.

Tufts had defeated Scranton in the sectional round last year, 57-48.

“I guess going into the Scranton game, having played them last year, we knew they were going to be a tough team that could go on some runs, had physical players that were going to make it hard for us inside,” North said. “We knew if we just went into it with confidence, played great defense and got great stops, we’d come out on top, so we just went at it possession by possession, just focusing on every play.”

Tufts will play No. 2/3 St. Thomas (Minn.) in Final Four action on Friday at the Van Noord Arena in Grand Rapids, Mich. at 5 p.m. while No. 1 seed Amherst will square off against Christopher Newport during the other semifinal matchup.

“I think we’re very hungry for a title. For our seniors, this is their fourth trip back to the final four,” Knapp said. “Last year we were able to make it to the championship, but I think everyone wants to win the title for our seniors [because] they’ve done so much for the program. Obviously we’re playing for the program at Tufts, playing for ourselves, playing for each other, but I think our main goal is to play for our seniors to get them the title that they deserve.”

Savage performance not enough to buoy Jumbos

ANGELIE XIONG / THE TUFTS DAILY

Senior tri-captain guard Tarik Smith dribbles down the court during the men’s basketball game against Williams on Feb. 25.

MEN'S BASKETBALL

continued from back page line in Friday’s contest. Flannery scored 38 points while shooting 11-for-20 (55 percent) from the field and 15-of-17 (88.2 percent) from the free-throw line. The Acton, Mass. native also contributed eight rebounds, two assists and two steals.

Nelsen was Babson’s second-highest scorer, making 10-of-16 field goal attempts (good for 62.5 percent) in a 22-point and six-rebound performance. Rice chipped in 13 points, seven rebounds and two assists.

The Jumbos’ statistically strongest performance came from Savage, who scored a career-high 20 points while grabbing seven rebounds and dishing four assists in 31 minutes off the bench. Pace and Feldman each posted 14 points, with the former snagging seven rebounds and the latter grabbing five.

In his final game in Tufts colors, Palleschi

registered 13 points and five rebounds. Even after having missed nine games this year due to a dislocated kneecap, Palleschi ends his career with 1,218 points, placing him 13th on Tufts’ all-time scoring chart. He also concludes his time in Medford with 682 rebounds, good for eighth on the career rankings. Additionally, he finishes atop the school’s all-time blocks list, with 270 career rejections — an astounding 120 more than the amount registered by the next-highest player, Khari Brown (LA ‘94).

Despite only scoring four points in his final outing for the Jumbos, senior tri-captain guard Tarik Smith finished his career with 1,115 points, joining Palleschi in the record books as the 17th most prolific scorer in school history. Meanwhile, Smith’s 364 career assists rank him eighth all-time among Tufts players. His 71.1 percent mark from the stripe this season, however, lowers him from ninth

to 12th on the Jumbos’ all-time free-throw percentage rankings (with a 77.8 career clip).

The other Jumbo senior, tri-captain center Drew Madsen, grabbed a lone rebound in ten minutes off the bench. He finishes his career with 308 rebounds.

Pace expressed his affection and admiration for the graduating Palleschi, Smith and Madsen. “[I] just can’t say enough [about] how important they were to this program [and] how their leadership was just unbelievable all year,” he said. “We’re gonna miss them a lot. We love them, and it’s going to be sad that they’re not going to be there next year.”

Savage agreed that the three departing seniors will be dearly missed.

“I have so much love for Drew, Tom and Tarik,” he said. “They meant so much to the program and I really appreciate everything they’ve given to us these past four years.”

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Max Goder-Reiser Out of Left Field

I

Tim Tebow’s wild ride

don’t like Tim Tebow. I don’t like that the Mets signed him to a minor league contract over some player who actually deserves it.

Since his days with the Denver Broncos, Tebow has been a media circus and a poor player.

As some may recall, Tebow was a bad NFL quarterback. He went on a crazy late-season run in 2011, which saw the Broncos win six games in a row, many of which were comebacks, and then carried them to a walk-off playoff win against the Pittsburgh Steelers on an 80-yard touchdown pass to Demaryius Thomas. Tebow was then traded to the New York Jets and bounced around the league from the New England Patriots to the Philadelphia Eagles before calling it a career.

This past summer, Tebow announced his intention to play major league baseball. On Sept. 8, 2016, the New York Mets signed him to a minor league contract.

After seeing Tebow stand in the wrong on-deck circle before his first at-bat this spring and then proceed to strike out on four straight fastballs against reigning Cy Young winner Rick Porcello, I felt compelled to write about it. Now obviously, having your first professional at-bat be against Porcello is no easy task, but what we’ve seen from Tebow the past few months has been less than inspiring, from him running face first into the outfield wall to his at-bats in the Arizona Fall League.

There’s no denying that Tebow is an athlete. He dominated while at the University of Florida and made it to the NFL, more than most people can say. But that does not mean his athleticism will translate into him being good at baseball. Michael Jordan, Deion Sanders and Bo Jackson were all great athletes in their respective sports, but not good at baseball. So it blows my mind that after not playing since his junior year of high school, Tebow was given a contract with the Mets.

During his open tryout, one scout remarked, “It was a complete waste of time,” calling Tebow “an actor trying to portray a baseball player.” Last week, while he was warming up with Yoenis Cespedes before the Mets’ game against the Houston Astros, Mets beat writer Anthony DiComo tweeted that Tebow “airmailed [Cespedes] multiple times.” At least Tebow’s inability to throw is consistent across sports.

I’m not trying to be one of those old curmudgeonly baseball guys insistent on the game being played the right way, or whatever would come out of Jonathan Papelbon’s mouth, but signing Tebow just seems unfair to the kid who has put in years of work.

This whole thing has been one big publicity stunt, as evidenced by the Mets immediately selling Tebow’s jersey as soon as they signed him despite him not being on the 40-man roster.

I would be lying though, if I said I wouldn’t pay tens of dollars to see Tebow hit a home run and “Tebow” on home plate in front of noted ‘unwritten rules of baseball’ enforcer Brian McCann.

Max Goder-Reiser is a senior majoring in biology. He can be reached at max. goder_reiser@tufts.edu.

12 tuftsdaily.com

Sports

Monday, March 13, 2017

WOMEN'S BASKETBALL

Jumbos’ strong third quarter propels them into Final Four once again

by Alison Kuah Staff Writer

Tufts will find itself in the Final Four again this upcoming weekend for the fourth consecutive year, after defeating Washington University (WashU) in St. Louis 57-43 on Saturday. The Jumbos traveled to St. Louis, Mo. on Friday, defeating Scranton 65-48 to set up a match-up against WashU. Senior tri-captain and Tufts all-time leading scorer Michela North finished with 20 points of 9-of-12 shooting and added 15 rebounds to propel her team into the Final Four, which will be her fourth appearance in as many years.

“It was good to have a great game yesterday in such a big game with so much pressure attached to it,” North said. “Being my senior year, I definitely push myself even more, [because] every game could be my last game, along with Josie [Lee’s] and Katy [Hicks’]. Seeing seniors on other teams lose and seeing their reactions after the after the game, I know I don’t want to feel that at all.”

Both teams started the night strong, with Tufts narrowly ahead of WashU, 14-12, after the first quarter. Tufts and WashU each found itself in a shooting slump in the second, scoring just five and six points, respectively, before the half. The Jumbos shot just see WOMEN'S BASKETBALL, page 11

COURTESY WASHU ATHLETICS

Junior guard Lauren Dillon attempts a steal in the game against WashU on March 11.

MEN'S BASKETBALL

Jumbos fall to Beavers in Sweet Sixteen

by Sam Weitzman

the lead back to Babson, sophomore guard Ethan Feldman nailed a long-range buzzer-beater to give Tufts a previously inconOn Friday, the Tufts Jumbos (22-7) ceivable 41-40 lead entering the break. concluded their 2016–2017 season with a “Their starting five came out and jumped 87-80 defeat at the hands of their hosts, the on us,” Savage said. “We just needed to let Babson Beavers (29-2). The team’s Sweet the nerves settle in and get everybody on the Sixteen exit ties them with the 2005–2006 same page. There were no major changes, squad for the second-most successful NCAA but [we] just [worked on] intangible things Div. III men’s basketball tournament run in like focus and energy.” program history.

Junior guard Vincent Pace offered a sim“It was a very exciting atmosphere ilar perspective on the team’s early struggles because there were a lot of people there and eventual recovery. from both sides,” first-year guard Eric “We came out slow and they came out Savage said. “I was very pleased with the hot, like we knew they were going to,” he Tufts students that came to support us and said. “We just kind of had to withstand their I took a moment during warm up to smile run and claw our way back into the game, which we eventually did in the first half.”

Savage led all Jumbos with 14 firsthalf points, 10 of which came in the last 4:02 of the half, while Pace and senior tri-captain center Tom Palleschi chipped in eight apiece. As a team, Tufts outrebounded Babson during the first half, 19-12, and the Jumbos forced the Beavers into missing all 11 of their threepoint attempts.

“We really focused on locking down their shooting [from senior guard Joey] Flannery and [junior forward Nick] Comenale,” ANNA MILLER / TUFTS UNIVERSITY Senior tri-captain guard Tarik Smith sets up a play during the Sweet Sixteen game against Babson during the NCAA Savage said. “In the first half, that forced Tournament on March 10.

Assistant Sports Editor

and let it all sink in. I tried to enjoy it rather than let it make me nervous.”

The first few minutes in Staake Gymnasium verged on calamitous for the visiting Jumbos, as the men from Medford could not slow the Beavers’ offense. At just 3:02 into the game, Tufts coach Bob Sheldon burned a timeout after a lay-up by Babson’s senior guard Charlie Rice made the score 13-2.

The tactical move — intended to interrupt the hosts’ rhythm and momentum — achieved the desired effect, as the Jumbos resolutely fought themselves back into contention. With less than a minute left in the first half, a three-pointer by Savage tied the game up at 38. After senior forward Isaiah Nelsen responded with a jump shot to give

them to go to 0-for-11, but we then sacrificed Isaiah Nelsen who got a lot of open looks early on. It was definitely our defense that caused their poor shooting performance in the first half, but unfortunately we couldn’t build up a bigger lead going into the second half.” “[Our strategy] was just forcing the guys we wanted to take the outside shots,” Pace said. “They’re a good shooting team, so we were fortunate that they were missing in the first half.”

The lead changed hands several times during the opening minutes of the second half. Tufts’ advantage peaked at the 16:43 mark, when a shot from behind the arc by junior Ben Engvall gave the visitors a 51-45 lead. Babson scored the next 11 points, however, and Tufts would not lead again.

Assisted in part by a 22-9 free throw attempt disparity in the second half, the Beavers kept the Jumbos at arm’s length for the rest of the contest.

“You can’t concern yourself with what the refs are doing and what’s going on,” Savage said. “They have Flannery who is very good at attacking the rim, so he’s going to draw more fouls naturally.”

In winning, Babson overcame a nearly-invisible performance by their bench players with four players scoring a grand total of two points in 24 combined minutes. The firepower provided by their veteran starting line up was more than enough to make up for that disparity.

Once again, Tufts failed to prevent Flannery from scoring. Having put up 42 points the last time the two teams played in the final game of the Big Four Classic, the reigning National Association of Basketball Coaches Div. III Player of the Year put up an equally impressive stat see MEN'S BASKETBALL, page 11