Dual degree, dual lives: Tufts/NEC students discuss their experiences see FEATURES / PAGE 3
MEN’S SWIMMING
Jumbos close fruitful season at NCAA Championships
Torn Ticket II’s ‘Assassins’ a thoughtful portrayal of violent history see ARTS&LIVING / PAGE 5
SEE SPORTS / BACK PAGE
THE
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Ellen Kullman, former CEO of Dupont, to speak at Commencement by Emily Thompson Staff Writer
Former DuPont CEO and Tufts alumna Ellen J. Kullman (E ‘78) will return to her alma mater to deliver the commencement address to the Tufts University Class of 2018 on May 20. Kullman served as the CEO and chair of the board for DuPont, the world’s largest chemical company, for seven years. She was the first female CEO of DuPont and spent 27 years at the company altogether. During her time as CEO, Kullman focused on company growth in international markets and advocated for the power of science to innovate and transform. She also worked on helping DuPont better serve future generations and contribute knowledge to the broader STEM community. In an interview with The Tufts Daily in 2010, Kullman spoke of how her experience at Tufts prepared her to be a female CEO in a male-dominated field. “I was always the only woman or one of only one or two women in most of my classes coming through Tufts, so you learned how to deal in that world,” Kullman said. “I think that when you’re comfortable in an environment, you make other people comfortable in the environment … so I think that learning how to work in a very open and a very engaging fashion with all different kinds of people is something that I took away from my experiences here.” After Kullman stepped down from her position as CEO of DuPont, she joined the group Paradigm for Parity as co-chair. The group, made up of 28 CEOs and founders, pushes for gender equality at the top of major corporations. In an interview for Fortune Magazine
about the group, Kullman addressed the group’s goal to have an equal number of male and female CEOs of Fortune 500 companies by 2030. “If we’re not filling the pipeline [of women entering the workforce], then we’ll never get there. That’s why we talk about it at all levels of leadership. It’s not just a top of the house issue; it’s a pipeline issue,” Kullman said in the interview. “ … When I was a young woman entering the workforce, I really thought we would have more progress by now. But that happens — one step forward, half step back. You have to keep the focus on what’s going to make a difference.” Kullman, who graduated from Tufts with a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering, has been dedicated to giving back to the Tufts community. She joined the Tufts Board of Trustees in 2006, serving on numerous committees, including the Academic Affairs, Audit, Compensation and Executive Committees. Kullman now serves on the Board of Advisors for the Tufts School of Engineering and addressed engineering students at the Class of 2017 commencement. In addition to being a Tufts alumna, Kullman’s daughter, Maggie Kullman (LA ‘12), also graduated from Tufts. While Kullman will be at Tufts to give the commencement address, she will also be here to celebrate the 40th reunion of her graduating class. “Ellen Kullman serves as an inspiration for many Tufts students and alumni, and we thank her for her decades of service to Tufts,” Tufts University President Anthony P. Monaco said in a press release. “It is our great pleasure to welcome her back to campus to address the newest class of Tufts alumni, their families and friends, the university community and
COURTESY PATRICK COLLINS
2018 Commencement Speaker Ellen Kullman poses for a portrait. her fellow Jumbos from the Class of 1978, who will celebrate their 40th reunion during commencement weekend.” Several individuals, including Kullman, will receive honorary degrees at Tufts’ commencement. Ashton “Ash” Carter, the 25th Secretary of Defense under President Obama, and Farah Pandith, the first-ever special representative to Muslim Communities for the U.S. Department of State under the Obama administration, will each receive Honorary Doctorates of Laws. José Andrés, award-winning chef, humanitarian and educator, will receive an Honorary
Doctor of Public Service. Risa Lavizzo-Mourey, former president and CEO of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, will receive an Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters. Arturo O’Farrill, Grammy Award-winning composer, pianist and educator, will receive an Honorary Doctor of Music. Additionally, Akcea Therapeutics President Paula Soteropoulos (E ‘89, EG ‘90) will address graduates of the Graduate School of Engineering, and Dana Messina (E ‘83), former CEO of Steinway Musical Instruments, will deliver a lecture to graduates of the School of Engineering.
Celebrating 25-year anniversary, Latino Center donates archives to Tisch Library by Shirley Wang Staff Writer
The Latino Center will submit pieces of its history to the Tufts Digital Collections and Archives (DCA) at the Tisch Library in the coming weeks in celebration of its 25th anniversary. It has been 25 years since the Latino Center was founded in 1993, meaning that when Latino Center intern Khalil Payton walked into work last fall, he was tasked to go through 25 years’ worth of loose paper documents, photographs, news clippings and email memos. In arranging these materials, Payton, a junior, and Latino Center Director Julián Cancino said they hope to keep a
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reserve where materials can be kept in fire-proof and temperature-controlled rooms for future students to find. “It’s very easy to see no one started to keep [records] … about the Latino students until Rubén [Stern, former director of the Latino Center] came and actually kept it in the center,” Payton said. “I can’t find any information about the former Hispanic American Center and anything leading up to it; the best we have is a few articles about the Hispanic American Society, demanding they get their own center.” Under Stern, who founded the Center, visitors could discover the Center’s past by simply knocking on his office door. Cancino said that now, he wants to
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ground the Center in its history in order to see into its future. “[Stern] was able to create a lot of this history, but also preserve it,” Cancino said. “I think that a lot of the work that he did [through paper documents] are really the way that he was planning the program and … serving the Latino community in the greater Tufts community.” Among some of the items Stern saved was an issue of The Primary Source, a former student-run journal of conservative thought, with a picture of him on the first page. At the time, the establishment of what is now known as the Group of Six was opposed and seen as a barrier to “multicultural
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conversation” — much like, Cancino added, how safe spaces on campus are conceptualized today. Throughout years past, the making of the Latino Center has been told in various formats — for the Center’s 20th anniversary in 2013, the Latino Center held a gala with guest speakers, including former Dean of Students Bobbie Knable, who presided over its founding, and alumni. In addition, the Center screened Roberto Arevalo’s documentary about Latino students at Tufts called “Latinos on Campus” (2010) and displayed a gallery of the Center called “Establishing
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THE TUFTS DAILY | News | Tuesday, March 27, 2018
THE TUFTS DAILY Catherine Perloff Editor-in-Chief
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continued from page 1 Identity: the 20th Anniversary of the Tufts University Latino Center” in the Slater’s Concourse Gallery. Cancino and Payton are working with Director and Chief Curator of University Art Galleries Dina Deitsch, who wants to continue to use the gallery spaces for community engagement. “I think [the Center has] been holding a lot of extra weight from becoming gathering spaces for a lot of students’ concerns about immigration issues, about anxiety, about acceptance, about our political situation,” Deitsch said. “I think right now these places are incredibly important so anything we can do to help support and raise awareness of them would be great.” For DCA Director Daniel Santamaria, the Center’s submission is only a part of a broader project to maintain an institutional history of Tufts that includes student efforts in its narrative — not just the administration or higher-level offices. In an event on March 14, the DCA held a “Drop Off Day” that encouraged student organizations to donate any records they wanted to preserve. Currently, the DCA receives more
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COURTESY JULIÁN CANCINO
Khalil Payton, intern at Tufts Latino Center, stands next to 25 years of archival material and holds a picture of Bolles House, built in 1900 and home of Tufts’ first Chaplain, The Reverend Edwin Cortlandt Bolles. content from the 3Ps umbrella theatre organization and other drama productions than from any other student groups, according to Santamaria. “[ The lack of submitted student group documentation] is kind of a natural thing, because it’s not nec-
essarily the thing that’s forefront on students’ minds to think about how they’re documented for posterity,” Santamaria said. “But if we get [only] the record of the administration, that doesn’t tell the whole story of what’s happening at Tufts.”
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Someone’s playing with fire, but not getting burned On March 13 around 1 a.m., Tufts University Police Department (TUPD) received a report that someone had stolen all the fire extinguishers from the lower campus garage. TUPD searched the area for the missing fire extinguishers and the fire marshal was alerted. TUPD was unable to identify who had stolen them. The fire extinguishers have since been replaced. A Dewick affliction On March 15 at 8 a.m., TUPD and Tufts Emergency Medical Services (TEMS) responded to a food-related
allergic reaction at Dewick-MacPhie Dining Center. TEMS administered an EpiPen on the student, and the student was transported to the hospital for further evaluation. When one door closes, another is forced open On March 21 around 9:30 p.m., TUPD received a report of a breaking and entering in the Hillside Apartments. However, upon further investigation it was determined that a suite resident had pushed too hard on their bedroom door. Nothing appeared to be missing and there were no other signs of forced entry. You’re fired On March 24 at 1 p.m., TUPD responded to a problem with the fire panel in the Hillside Apartments. The fire panel
was out of service due to a steam leak. Students were temporarily relocated because of the lack of fire protection and the building was put on fire watch. The next day, the fire panel was repaired and students were allowed to return to their suites. Not(e) in my house On March 25 at 10:20 a.m., TUPD received a call that a note had been slipped under the door of Gifford House and an identical note had also been left on the door of Ballou Hall. The note spoke negatively of University President Anthony Monaco. TUPD investigated the matter, identified the student involved and turned the situation over to the Office of the Dean of Student Affairs.
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Correction: The March 29 article, “Anna Del Castillo wins Wendell Phillips Award, to speak at Senior Baccalaureate Service” failed to identify senior Made Bacchus as one of the baccalaureate speaker finalists. The Daily regrets this error.
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Tuesday, March 27, 2018
Features
Tufts/NEC students juggle dual college experience, rigorous academics
Academic life
H
COURTESY MOIRA LOH
Assistant Features Editor
If you ask a Tufts student about a combined degree program offered here, it is likely that they will assume you’re referring to the BFA + BA/BS program between the School of Arts and Sciences and the School of the Museum of Fine Arts (SMFA) at Tufts. But for students passionate about music, there is another program available: the highly competitive and intense five-year combined degree program between Tufts and the New England Conservatory (NEC) in Boston. Due to the nature of the Tufts/NEC combined degree program, its application process differs from those who are seeking admission to just one school. “You have to apply to Tufts and NEC separately, and then you have to apply to get into the dual degree. Usually you get accepted by individual schools and then you indicate that you’re applying for the dual degree, and then they will also tell you if you’re in,” Tufts/NEC combined degree student Moira Loh said. Loh, a junior, was originally a student solely at the NEC but chose to join the combined degree program as a sophomore. “I originally applied to NEC — I was an NEC student first, then I transferred into Tufts and into the dual degree. I did my first year at NEC and I liked it a lot, but I decided that I wanted something more, so I decided to try Tufts,” she said. Loh majors in film and media studies with a minor in drama at Tufts, and she is a classical voice major at NEC. “I knew that I definitely wanted to go into the arts, I just wasn’t sure whether I wanted to do music or more interdisciplinary stuff. For me it’s a very artsy track, but for a lot of the other students, that’s not the case,” Loh said. Sophomore Daniel Cetlin is one such Tufts/NEC combined degree student. He is majoring in computer science at Tufts and contemporary improvisation at NEC. “My major at NEC is hard to explain, but basically it has to do with developing your improvisational skills while also developing your musical vocabulary, developing new sounds, new ways to play and being able to sing your instrument through any mechanism,” Cetlin said. “I don’t know if I could do this program if I didn’t have both, to be
honest, it’s nice to escape from one with the other.” Junior Ari Brown is another one of these students. He is majoring in computer science at Tufts and is a part of the composition program at NEC. Although he lives on the Medford/Somerville campus, he feels very comfortable with both schools. “Most students in the dual degree program live at Tufts, but living at NEC is also a choice. Because I live around Tufts, it feels more like my home. However, this also depends on the groups of friends a dual student has at either school. NEC is a small community, and so you always see a lot of people you know when walking around the buildings,” Brown told the Daily in an email. According to the Office of Undergraduate Admissions, the Tufts/NEC program is described as “a difficult but rewarding program for talented students who are prepared to make a commitment to both areas of study.” It is no surprise that the course load is extremely rigorous in comparison to other programs in the School of Arts and Sciences. “I really like the rigor of the program, but it’s definitely not for anyone who is easily stressed, because it’s such a big commitment and it’s a lot of traveling, so having to go to two schools at the same time is a struggle,” Loh said. Unlike the combined degree program with the SMFA, students receive degrees from two separate institutions — a Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Science from Tufts and a Bachelor of Music from the NEC. As a result, students in the program attend two separate institutions as full-time students, with course requirements to meet at each school. This means that for Loh, an average day is packed from morning to night. “Most of us take about nine or 10 classes, so usually Monday morning I’ll start at NEC with choir at 9:30,” Loh said. “We usually have an ensemble at NEC or a lesson or music class, then we come back to Tufts. Depending on the day, if I have rehearsal at night or a concert, sometimes I have to go back again and then come back again. The traveling is kind of a struggle that can get really frustrating.” Tufts/NEC students are exposed to two different campuses, student populations and schedules on a daily basis, resulting in a course load and a college experience that is far from traditional.
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Hayato Miyajima Jumbo Exchange
Moira Loh and a fellow student perform at the Dual Degree Concert in the Granoff Music Center on Nov. 12, 2016. by Ameenah Rashid
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“To balance everything, you have to pick and choose. Sometimes I want to take more classes and do more stuff at Tufts but I just cannot commit because I have class. So you kind of have to split yourself and sacrifice a lot of social things. I wish that I could spend more time in clubs, I think the friendship most people get from clubs is where I really lose out on since I’m not in any. I have some really good friends at Tufts, but I definitely feel closer to people at NEC because I’m a singer so the singers are always together,” Loh said. Because of the severe differences in course content for many combined degree students, they spend their time on each campus doing very different things. “Rather than information-based classes, most of the classes at the conservatory are skill-based. This means that attendance is the most important thing for NEC classes, in order to develop the musical skills being taught,” Brown said. “At the conservatory, the students spend most of their time outside of class practicing (for performance majors) or writing (for composers). It is hard to balance out the amount of time that should be put into music with the classes at Tufts, but it is possible.” Although there is a significant increase in course load, Brown finds that he enjoys the experience overall. “I am more happy than stressed. Even when I am very stressed, I understand the value of the program I’m in. There is a lot of added stress, because it is like doubling the work load of any liberal arts college student — plus, practicing music never stops,” Brown said. However, Loh remarked that with a small group of only eight Tufts/NEC students, the program faces several administrative challenges. “I think, because the program is such a small program, that Tufts tends to overlook us as a program and that’s a huge thing we’ve been facing,” Loh said. “They’ve placed all their emphasis on [the SMFA] dual degree and the NEC kids are constantly neglected by the administration. It is competitive to get into, and I think a lot of people don’t want to do it because of the distance between the two schools, so they’d rather do a dual degree program where it’s like two schools in one.” see TUFTS/NEC, page 4
ow was your spring break? I hope you all had a great time and feel recharged for school! Today, I am going to talk about my impression of the academic experience at Tufts as an exchange student. Since I already wrote about classes in my earlier posts, I am going to focus more on schoolwork and assignments this time. To be frank, I think students here lead very busy lives. Compared to back home, there is much more work to do and once school starts, work never stops until the end of semester. I have heard stories about European universities from my friends who are on exchange or have studied abroad there. When compared to schools in European countries, U.S. schools like Tufts seem to require students to work harder. However, most of the students here are such hard workers and somehow handle tons of schoolwork, which I am always impressed by. When I was taking international relations and philosophy classes last semester, for the first several weeks, I simply became overwhelmed by the amount of work, and I could barely handle my readings. I am still struggling to manage so much work every once in a while, but at the same time, I feel like it keeps pushing me to try my hardest, and I have learned a lot of things through this experience since I came here. When I was struggling to catch up on classes and work I asked my friends how they handle it and how they would prepare for class. Interestingly, they shared that they would not necessarily read the entirety of their readings closely but rather, while skimming and grasping the overall point, they tried to find out interesting, important or confusing parts so that they could actively participate in class. This method is quite different from the way I used to study back home, in which I tried to perfectly understand the whole content before class. This is probably because classes back home were lecture-based classes that usually did not really expect students’ in-class participation. In this sense, I think U.S. college education provides students with more opportunities to actively learn and study in class, which I appreciate and prefer to the type of education back home that is focused more on faculty-led informative lectures. Through experiencing this active way of studying, I have changed my way of thinking about a variety of things. For example, I now pay more attention to whether or not what I am doing is an effective way to achieve the goal or purpose, and more specifically, for classes I am more careful about whether I try to grasp the whole picture of a reading and formulate my own questions and opinions to it, or I just read and passively accept what the authors are saying. Indeed, U.S. college life is hectic and sometimes gets rough, but I think it is really worth it. I sincerely appreciate my choice to come here, and I’d like to learn as much as I can until this semester and the exchange program ends. Hayato Miyajima is a Columnist at the Tufts Daily. He is an exchange student from Japan majoring in international relations. Hayato can be reached at Hayato. Miyajima@tufts.edu.
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THE TUFTS DAILY | Features | Tuesday, March 27, 2018
tuftsdaily.com
Transportation issues a sore point for NEC combined degree students TUFTS/NEC
continued from page 3 The most significant issue that Tufts/ NEC students have faced this year is transportation between the schools. Specifically, the shuttle stop at the NEC was removed last semester, according to a Sept. 29 Daily article. “We used to have the shuttle, but then they stopped stopping at NEC, so now they have given us Lyft options as a temporary solution, which was really helpful, but last semester we had to walk from the NEC, which is like a mile, just to catch the shuttle and that was very frustrating,” Loh said. The NEC stop will be reinstated after area construction is completed, while students have been granted $1,000 stipends for transportation for the 2017–18 academic year, according to an Oct. 12 Daily article. Cetlin felt that the Tufts administration’s handling of the transportation issue has shown that changes that affect the combined degree students are made without proper dialogue and communication. “There’s literally no communication with the administration, so we’re basically on our own. It gives us a lot of autonomy, but at the end of the day if we need something fixed — like we did last semester because the shuttle got stopped — then there’s really nothing we can do. We’re supposed to have really efficient transportation between the two schools and we don’t,” Cetlin said. “I think the biggest issue is administration, whenever they make changes, they don’t communicate that to us, they’re not open to a dialogue with us until much later and even then that dialogue like really doesn’t amount to much.” Associate Dean of Undergraduate Advising Robin Olinsky, who oversees advis-
ing for Tufts/NEC combined degree students, was quoted as describing the support that students receive from the administration of both schools in an Oct. 12 Daily article. She added that she had actively worked to address students’ concerns. “We realize transportation has been a challenge so far this semester,” Olinsky was quoted as saying. “We appreciate students’ patience while we have worked through these unexpected difficulties. We’re confident that the solution we are rolling out will address these concerns.” Despite the issues that the combined degree students have faced, Loh said that she is satisfied with the program overall. “I do really like everything I’ve learned, and I don’t think I’d be as happy if I just picked one,” she said. Cetlin concurred, adding that the additional effort that he has to put in has paid off thus far. “I’m happy with my experience in college, but there’s obviously ways that the program can be improved. It’s not advertised at all so most people don’t even know what NEC means, when I tell them I’m dual-degree here, they think I’m SMFA. I’ve been able to make the most of it I feel like, so I’m content with it, but you definitely have to put stuff into it to get stuff out of it,” he said. Brown also agreed that he would do the program over again if he had the chance. “I am extremely happy with the program, because of how much both sides fit my interests. It is an invaluable experience that is truly not replicated anywhere else. The expertise at both schools is phenomenal and the different ways of thinking found at the schools molds the dual students into creative problem solvers,” he said.
Tufts University
Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Program
Half the History: Screening of Short Film Series on Women in American History with Filmmaker:
JENNIFER BURTON Professor, Dept of Drama & Dance Followed by Q&A
TINYURL.COM/WTTR2018
THIS EVENT SERIES IS COLLABORATIVELY PRODUCED AND CO-SPONSORED BY: THE MIT PROGRAM IN WOMEN’S AND GENDER STUDIES; THE CONSORTIUM FOR GRADUATE STUDIES IN GENDER CULTURE WOMEN & SEXUALITY AT MIT; THE BOSTON COLLEGE WOMEN’S AND GENDER STUDIES PROGRAM; THE BOSTON UNIVERSITY WOMEN’S, GENDER, AND SEXUALITY STUDIES PROGRAM; THE BRANDEIS UNIVERSITY WOMEN’S, GENDER, AND SEXUALITY STUDIES PROGRAM; THE NORTHEASTERN UNIVERSITY WOMEN’S, GENDER, AND SEXUALITY STUDIES PROGRAM; THE SIMMONS COLLEGE GENDER AND CULTURAL STUDIES PROGRAM; THE TUFTS UNIVERSITY WOMEN’S, GENDER, AND SEXUALITY STUDIES PROGRAM; THE UMASS BOSTON WOMEN’S AND GENDER STUDIES DEPARTMENT; THE EMERSON COLLEGE DEPARTMENT OF VISUAL AND MEDIA ARTS; AND LESLEY UNIVERSITY.
FLETCHER COMMUNITY BOOK DISCUSSION – ALL WELCOME
Pamela Rotner Sakamoto
Thursday, March 29 | 5:30 PM | ASEAN Auditorium Pamela Rotner Sakamoto is the author of Midnight in Broad Daylight: A Japanese American Family Caught Between Two Worlds (Harper), an Amazon Editors’ Best of the Month Picks for January 2016 in both Nonfiction and History. The book was a Goodreads Choice Award Nominee in “Best History and Biography” and by Kirkus Review in two categories: “Best History Books” and “Best Books with Truly Inspirational Characters.” The New York Times Book Review calls it “engrossing” and “deeply reported and researched,” concluding “Midnight in Broad Daylight not only tells one family’s remarkable story but also makes an important contribution to our knowledge of the Japanese-American experience in World War II, on both sides of the ocean and the hyphen.” Sakamoto has written for USA Today, The Daily Beast, and whatitmeanstobeanamerican.org, a national conversation hosted by the Smithsonian and Zócalo Public Square. Meticulously researched and beautifully written, Midnight in Broad Daylight is the true story of a Japanese American family that found itself on opposite sides during World War II. Alternating between the American and Japanese perspectives, Midnight in Broad Daylight captures the uncertainty and intensity of those charged with the fighting as well as the deteriorating home front of Hiroshima—as never told before in English—and provides a fresh look at the dropping of the first atomic bomb. Intimate and evocative, it is an indelible portrait of a resilient family, a scathing examination of racism and xenophobia, an homage to the tremendous Japanese American contribution to the American war effort, and an invaluable addition to the historical record of this extraordinary time. Sakamoto lived in Kyoto and Tokyo for seventeen years and is fluent in Japanese. She is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Amherst College and earned her PhD in International Relations from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University. Her academic work includes the book Japanese Diplomats and Jewish Refugees: A World War II Dilemma, based on her Fletcher dissertation that was awarded a Charlotte W. Newcombe Fellowship from the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation. Sakamoto works offsite as an expert consultant on Japan-related projects for the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C. and has taught in the University of Hawaii System. She currently teaches European History and Asian History at Punahou School in Honolulu, where she lives with her family.
Fletcher Calendar
Thursday, March 29, 2018 Lunch~12:30PM—1:00PM Screening~1:00PM—2:30PM Alumnae Hall/40 Talbot Ave Medford, MA 02155 RSVP: wgss@tufts.edu
TUESDAY, MARCH 27, 2018
ARTS&LIVING
Nikki Margaretos Is This Thing On?
The Calvin Harris glo-up
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verybody’s got their something. Especially when it comes to standing out as an electronic music producer. Since every dude with a MacBook Pro has the same software, you’ve really got to find a niche in order differentiate yourself. Before I delve into the trove of EDM and its 50-odd sub-genres, I just want to say that there is possibly too much going on in this corner of music to wrap my small brain around. I only have so many words in my lexicon to describe the difference between a wub and a drop. Speaking of drops, we are fortunate to be at this more refined stage in EDM music. I shudder thinking back to our teenage dubstep phase. “This is sick!” all the 15-year-olds said, as their ears slowly deafened from the screeching sound of metal scraping together. The sign of a good DJ was if fans could identify you just from your style of button-pressing — I mean unique sound. Remember Skrillex? He patented the sound of robots dying a fiery death. Kygo has coined his signature tropical, trip-hop. ODEZSA’s got the indie chillwave on lock, and Flume has become the prince of experimental future bass. I just wildly generalized all those artists into one basket of EDM, which is probably inaccurate, but have you tried to put into words what synth sounds like? One of these producers recently experienced a sizable glo-up: Calvin Harris. Harris’ fifth album, “Funk Wav Bounces Vol. 1” (2017), is a tropical departure from his club-ready bangers. In the spirit of spring break, Harris’ new groove is a transportation to a Disney Caribbean Cruise. My favorite track, “Heatstroke,” (2017), feels like drinking a smoothie on a beach. Maybe Calvin was so pleased with “Heatstroke” that he re-released it as “Feels” (2017) but subbed in Katy Perry for Ariana Grande. Why reinvent the wheel, right? For all we know, Calvin might be a robot: “Beep beep, insert soprano female on chorus with B-list rapper hype verse.” While Harris has enjoyed quite a bit of chart success on his later albums, 18 Months (2012) and Motion (2014), he has humble beginnings. There’s a whole other Calvin Harris lurking on his debut album, aptly named “I Created Disco” (2007). It reveals his funky roots but was wholly unmemorable. 2007 was rough for everyone. Believe it or not, Harris used to sing on most of his tracks — you’ve heard him on later hits “Summer” (2014) and “Feels So Close” (2012). The Scottish DJ’s voice is smooth, but nothing to write home about. In an interview, Harris said he was “not cut out for that role,” and was going to focus on what he is better at: producing. On “Funk Wav,” Harris leaves vocals to an allstar ensemble, from newcomer Khalid to seasoned veteran Snoop Dogg and crowd favorite Frank Ocean. So here we are in 2018, with the most advanced species of Calvin Harris yet. But so many questions remain unanswered. Will there be a “Funk Wav Bounces Vol. 2?” Will Calvin ever sing again? Can he and Ellie Goulding just get married already? Stay tuned! Nikki Margaretos is a senior majoring in economics. Nikki can be reached at nikoletta.margaretos@tufts.edu.
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Torn Ticket II presents ‘Assassins,’ explores presidential assassinations, ‘American Dream’ by Stephanie Hoechst Contributing Writer
“So much of what we talk about in the play is this idea of the American Dream and what’s built up on top of the American Dream and ultimately that if the foundation is rotting, then what’s on top of it never exists,” Spearman said. “We looked at images of Gilded Age spaces that are falling apart now, and that’s where [our set designer, senior Jonathan Rooney] took a lot of his inspiration.” Spearman noted that this particular musical deals with many controversial issues, including violence against political leaders and frustration with the American political system. “My own personal political beliefs mean that I’m upset with the state of the presidency, but I’m also not a person who sees violence as the answer, and I think that we have to find this third way, and this play asks us to take that third way,” he said. “I think the lives of these assassins are ultimately ruined by the violence. And so it’s about taking this energy and these frustrations and finding a different way to channel them. And I don’t think the play gives us any answers, but it at least gets us asking the right questions.” One of the challenges of directing this production, Spearman explained, is that the musical will take place in Cohen Auditorium rather than the Balch Arena Theater. “That was actually the funniest thing about proposing the show was finding out we were going to be in this giant auditorium, as opposed to this really pretty arena theater that we have,” Spearman said. “People …
History? Murder? Disillusionment and the American Dream? All these elements will collide this weekend in Torn Ticket II’s musical one-act, “Assassins,” according to director Peter Spearman and assistant director Jessica Pearson, both second-year Ph.D. students in Theater and Performance Studies at Tufts. According to Pearson, the main characters of “Assassins” are an amalgamation of historical figures who have assassinated or attempted to assassinate a U.S. president. These figures include John Wilkes Booth, who assassinated Abraham Lincoln; Lee Harvey Oswald, who assassinated JFK; Charles Guiteau, who assassinated James Garfield; Leon Czolgosz, who assassinated William McKinley; Sara Jane Moore and Squeaky Fromme, who both separately attempted to assassinate Gerald Ford; John Hinckley Jr., who attempted to assassinate Ronald Reagan; Sam Byck, who attempted to assassinate Nixon; and Giuseppe Zangara, who attempted to assassinate FDR. Because the assassins come from different eras in history, Spearman explained that the play does not situate itself in any specific point in history. “There’s no real sense of time in the play,” he said. “People from the future come back to the past [and] vice versa. It’s not as linear as I think we’re all used to.” This ambiguous timeline, according to Spearman and Pearson, informs the set and costuming decisions. “The play is sort of set in this weird, un-world that is limbo-land,” Spearman said. Pearson explained how the design team helped to create this “un-world.” “We have a really great design team,” Pearson said. “We work together really collaboratively to create something that gives us this unreal space to play in, that’s still kind of grounded in particular moments of reality and historical references. The costumes are a gesture toward these real historical figures without being a super realistic re-creation of what they actually wore.” Spearman emphasized the balance they’ve tried to strike between the historical and the contemporary. “There are historical elements to each thing, but without totally losing the shape of today,” he said. “I think that’s so much of what carries it, is having these nods to the historical, but keeping it [along] contemporary lines.” Spearman explained that at the heart of this play is the is flawed idea of the American Dream, and this is reflected in A promotional poster for Torn Ticket II’s ‘Assassins’ is pictured. the set design.
almost made it sound like it’s a bad thing … [But] a play that’s about violence, and that has guns in it, in the wrong space can send a very different message. And I think when you have something that’s so much a theater — it’s so much performance, it’s so unreal — the space can promote that, and can help you achieve the goals you’re trying to achieve. So I’m ecstatic that we’re in Cohen. I think it’s going to be really, really fun, and we get a scale in there that we don’t get in Balch.” Senior Justin An, playing the role of the Balladeer and Oswald, explained that getting to work on “Assassins” is an exciting experience as an actor. “I think all of the actors have been afforded a lot of freedom to explore, and it’s not something that I’ve been given a lot with my previous experiences with directors — not only using what Peter and Jess have as guidance, but also being able to shape the story in my own way,” An said. “And I think experimentation has been, from the get-go, a key facet of the rehearsal process.” According to An, all of the actors besides him are first- or second-year students. Spearman added, “We’ve managed to luck out with 10 really wonderful actors … We’re really fortunate.” Assassins premieres in Cohen Auditorium on Thursday, March 29 at 8 p.m. and will also be performed on Saturday, March 31 at 1:30 p.m. and 7 p.m. Tickets can be purchased online or in the Aidekman Box Office.
COURTESY PETER SPEARMAN
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THE TUFTS DAILY | Arts & Living | Tuesday, March 27, 2018
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Tuesday, March 27, 2018 | Comics | THE TUFTS DAILY
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Comics
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LATE NIGHT AT THE DAILY Mary: “I just wanna be a divisive character honestly.”
Comics
ASK THE DAILY: DEALING WITH INSUBORDINATION
SUDOKU
Q
ANSWER BY YJ CHEE
: This year, I’ve been leading a student organization. While I initially had a great time and felt fulfilled leading peers and organizing around a subject that I am passionate about, I’ve been feeling a great deal of stress around the internal structure of the organization. This semester, a member of our board has been doing a lot of work for us, which at surface level is great, but is overstepping the bounds of his position, which has resulted in a shift in club politics. This individual has co-opted responsibilities and direction of club activities in a way which I feel is beginning to undermine my leadership. This was exacerbated by a prolonged leave I took due to illness. I now fear a total takeover of my organization by elements of our board and I’m not sure how to react and reconsolidate my authority.
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Difficulty Level: Having your execution overshadowed by some bearded guy with a bunch of friends.
Monday’s Solution
: Hi there, I am sorry you are feeling this way and I hope you are feeling better! I’m glad that you have a club that you are passionate about. I hope this has not destroyed your personal relationship with this person as well, because it is important to keep work and private life separate as much as possible. What I think makes for great and successful organization is the ability of the leadership to maintain a good working relationship. And the key to doing that is clear and effective communication. By all means, let this person know how you feel. Let the person know the positives that they have done, but also let them know that you are uncomfortable with the current situation in the club. If it has gotten to a position that is no longer tenable, holding clear-the-air talks could help reset the relationship, if that is in the best interest of the club. Letting other members voice their opinions about the leaders’ relationship could also be a good way to unearth any concerns that the members of the club might have, and it’d give you an opportunity to see how badly a scuffle among leadership might have impacted the way the club might be working. Holding clear-the-air talks may also help reveal each other’s work style, so that there are clearly demarcated red lines of what makes each party uncomfortable. To avoid future situations like this, dividing up tasks might also be effective. Again, in that way, there are clear boundaries of who is responsible for what, so no one steps on anyone else’s toes. I hope your relationship gets better soon!
CROSSWORD
Monday’s Solution
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Nesi Altaras Looking Out
Selfishness Won’t Save Us
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ast semester, I went to an event at Oxford organized by The Economist called “The Future of Work.” This title has become shorthand for nebulous concepts such as “the AI/Automation revolution” and how they might lead to a mass chronic unemployment in the near future. I have had a keen interest in this for a couple years and jumped at this free event. While the issue is not taken seriously enough by most governments yet, even though they will have to develop policies to handle this massive crisis in the next decade, it was encouraging to see that this prominent magazine was focusing on it. The event, which was supposed to feature a panel and two talks, turned out to approach the “Future of Work” from the most uninteresting angle possible: “What should I do?” The organizers thought about this event in the sense that the automation revolution is coming, so how can our attendees save their own jobs? This selfish vision produced an event that included a report presentation on innovation-inducing education, a discussion with the head of Oxford career services, and a panel of various qualified experts on the future work who were asked the boring question: “In your expert opinion, how can people in this room help themselves?” The entire discussion tackled this question for an audience of extremely privileged Oxford students and asked how they can hedge their bets in the event of an AI-takeover of management, coding, and white-collar jobs. The panelists were asked: How can these people here prepare so they can remain employed throughout this society-changing crisis? While a landmark study on the subject predicts that 47 percent of jobs will be automated, the question on the table was: “How can I be in the 53 percent?” It would be a fluke and not a major worry if this selfish attitude was unique to The Economist. Alas, many journalists thinking about the future of work seem to ask questions along this vein: How can my readers protect themselves? It shows a lack of vision and a depressing lack of concern for society at large that smart people who write for major publications believe an individual with the right education and preparation can personally avoid a culture-altering change in the labor market. If, as many experts believe, we are approaching a future where up to half of the population will be chronically unemployable, everything surrounding wealth inequality, the labor market, the structure of the economy, the culture surrounding work and identity will go through unprecedented rapid upheaval. Ignoring these critical questions in favor of selfish shortcuts on how to personally dodge the crisis is shameful. It means either that the journalists asking these questions lack vision and compassion, or worse yet, they think their readers lack these qualities. The press needs to pursue the automated future in more depth and move from “Which majors will be the safest?” to questions like “How will we tame inequality when firms use no labor and deliver massive dividends?” Nesi Altaras is a junior majoring in international relations and economics. Nesi can be reached at nesi.altaras@tufts.edu.
Opinion
Tuesday, March 27, 2018
EDITORIAL
Tufts should increase access to free menstrual products On this year’s International Women’s Day, the Tufts chapter of Strong Women, Strong Girls and Brandless, an online grocery store retailer, gave out free tampons and panty liners in the lobby of Dewick. The event was part of a national campaign, taking place from Tulane to UC Berkeley. After the events at Tufts and elsewhere, leftover products were donated to women’s shelters, a huge help considering the significant price tag on such products. In light of this event, it is important to examine access to menstrual products on Tufts’ campus. Currently, thanks to a 2016 TCU Senate initiative, there are pads and tampons for emergency usage in a handful of on-campus bathrooms. Unfortunately, there seems to be an overall shortage of such items in facilities across campus despite the enormous benefits of greater access to menstrual products for those who need them. Perhaps this issue may not pertain to residence halls because students typically have such items in their rooms, but it might be a topic to take under advisement with the renovations of Houston Hall and Miller Hall. While budgetary concerns may inhibit the expansion of the program into residence halls, in high-traffic public areas like aca-
demic buildings and the library, it would be extremely useful to students to have these products available in times of emergency. Studies have shown that a person who gets their period typically spends over $2,000 on pads and tampons alone over their lifetime. On a college budget, these items add up quickly. While these costs have fallen on Women’s Centers at other colleges, the Tufts administration should ease that financial burden and treat these products like the essentials that they are. Having the university get behind this movement would also be an important step toward the destigmatization of menstruation. Menstruation is not just a women’s issue, nor is it a shameful one. Tufts is lagging in the collegiate movement that has swept the country. In 2016, Emory University’s College Council and Campus Services launched a trial program to provide tampons free of cost in several women’s bathrooms across their campus. During an initial six-month trial period, organizers collected data on the use of the menstrual products to better understand the costs of feasibility of the program. Now in its fourth semester, the program is expanding to include more locations on campus. Although in some ways Emory’s program is not entirely inclusive,
this detailed study proves that Emory is taking the issue seriously in order to ensure the initiative’s continued existence. Swarthmore College, too, has taken initiative with their program “Free Pads for Undergrads,” which includes providing gender-neutral bathrooms with menstrual supplies. Cornell has done the same and is working to include men’s bathrooms in their efforts. The greatest success has been Brown’s entirely student-led initiative, which provides free pads and tampons to women’s, men’s and gender-neutral bathrooms all across campus. Students and the administration should work together toward encompassing all genders into this initiative, formally recognizing that the varied population that gets their period is not limited to those using the women’s room. Across the country, there has been public discourse about the tampon tax and the legislation required to abolish it. Massachusetts has broken from the vast majority of states that tax tampons as a luxury item because the state considers them medical products. Tufts should follow the state’s lead in making menstrual care accessible to all. After all, having a period is not optional, and menstrual products are not a luxury — they are a necessity.
CARTOON
Monday blues
NASRIN LIN The Tufts Daily is a nonprofit, independent newspaper, published Monday through Friday during the academic year, and distributed free to the Tufts community. The content of letters, advertisements, signed columns, cartoons and graphics does not necessarily reflect the opinion of The Tufts Daily editorial board. EDITORIALS Editorials represent the position of The Tufts Daily. Individual editors are not necessarily responsible for, or in agreement with, the policies and editorials of The Tufts Daily. OP-EDS The Op-Ed section of The Tufts Daily, an open forum for campus editorial commentary, is printed Monday through Thursday. The Daily welcomes submissions from all members of the Tufts community; the opinions expressed in the Op-Ed section do not necessarily represent the opinions of the Daily itself. Opinion articles on campus, national and international issues should be 600 to 1,200 words in length and submitted to opinion@tuftsdaily.com. The editors reserve the right to edit letters for clarity, space and length. All material is subject to editorial discretion and is not guaranteed to appear in the Daily. Authors must submit their telephone numbers and day-of availability for editing questions. ADVERTISING All advertising copy is subject to the approval of the Editor-in-Chief, Executive Board and Executive Business Director.
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Sports MEN'S SWIMMING AND DIVING
Jumbos finish seventh at Nationals behind strong individual and relay performances
Tuesday, March 27, 2018
Sam Weidner Weidner’s Words
None and Done
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Junior Kingsley Bowen swims the butterfly in a meet against MIT on Jan. 15, 2017. by Ryan Eggers Assistant Sports Editor
In a historic weekend for Tufts swimming and diving, the men’s team captured seventh place in the Div. III NCAA Championships in Indianapolis — its best finish since 1982. The team’s superb performance was buoyed by a plethora of strong individual performances, All-American honors and program records. While many athletes shined over the four-day event, the Jumbos’ particularly strong performance in the relay events can’t be overstated. Tufts finished in the top eight in all five relays: sixth in the 200-yard medley relay (1:29.13), eighth in the 200 freestyle relay (1:21.75), eighth in the 400 medley relay (3:17.53), eighth in the 400 freestyle relay (3:00.47) and seventh in the 800 freestyle relay (6:40.36). “It was great to see us come together,” junior Kingsley Bowen said. “To be one of only a few teams that finished top eight in each relay, that’s really crazy. In many ways, we learned how to win this year, from the NESCACs to everything else we accomplished.” Bowen had a hand in two of the five relays but also performed well in his individual events, notching two thirdplace finishes in both the 100 and 200 backstroke. The Pepper Pike, Ohio native edged out the fourth-place finisher in the former event by six-hundredths of a second to finish with a time of 48.54 seconds. In the 200yard backstroke, Bowen finished first in the preliminaries before grabbing third place in the championship round with a time of 1:46.36. His preliminary mark of 1:46.12 broke his own school record in the event. “I had some ups and downs,” Bowen said. “But I think it was a good weekend,
and I’m happy with how things went.” Bowen, who won All-American honors for his relay and backstroke performances, was far from the only Jumbo to receive the national recognition. Across all events, 10 of the 11 participating Jumbos walked away with All-American accolades, which are awarded to the top eight finishers in each event. Sophomore Roger Gu also nabbed All-American honors in an individual event. Gu, who swam in all five relays, placed fourth in the 50 freestyle (20.06 seconds) and second in the 100 freestyle (43.44 seconds), breaking a school record with his time in the latter event. The Ashland, Mass. native shared his reaction to earning All-American recognition in seven events. “Shock,” Gu said. “Last year, I didn’t finish top-eight [in Nationals] a single time, and this year, I was fortunate enough to finish top-eight in every race I swam.” Together, the performances of Tufts’ swimmers in the individual and relay events stacked up to a resounding total of 198 points — good enough for seventh place at the competition. All 11 Jumbos provided valuable contributions, with All-American honors going to Bowen, Gu, sophomore Matthew Manfre, senior co-captain James McElduff, senior Zach Wallace, senior Lorenzo Lau, senior Michael Brienza, junior Noah Cagley, first-year Tyler Tatro and sophomore Costantino Camerano. First-year John LaLime only competed in the 1650 freestyle, holding his own for a solid 13th-place finish with a time of 15:52.00 and earning an AllAmerican honorable mention. Three other Jumbos also garnered honorable mention accolades: Bowen, who finished 10th in the 100 butterfly in 48.88
COURTESY DAVE DECORTIN
seconds; McElduff, for his 11th-place finish in the 400-yard individual medley (3:57.68); and Wallace, who placed 16th in the 400 IM with a time of 3:59.78. The week in Indianapolis was a culmination of a season’s worth of efforts — a season that saw the Jumbos win their first-ever NESCAC championship. Along with the conference meet triumph, Tufts finished the highest of any NESCAC team at Nationals. According to Gu, the team’s positive outlook and dedication were the keys to its successful season. “I think the attitude was different [from last year],” Gu said. “From the beginning of the year, everyone started to see what was possible. If last year, someone had told me that we were gonna win the NESCAC championship, I’d be skeptical. But after training with the team this year and seeing how hard everyone worked, we definitely thought it was possible, and then we carried that [victory] to Nationals.” Looking forward, Gu and the Jumbos have both a lot to be happy about and a lot to work toward. Even though some crucial members of Tufts’ relay teams are graduating this year, there is a ton of potential among the younger swimmers on the roster. To turn a single successful year into a trend, they’ll have to step up in a big way. “The biggest roadblock to improving is yourself,” Gu said. “I didn’t think that this would’ve been possible, but after seeing the potential and what could be done, there’s no room for selfdoubt or holding yourself back.” With many of their strong performers from the NCAA Championships returning next season, the Jumbos will look to continue the pattern of success they established during the historic 201718 season.
nfernee Simons, one of the topranked high school basketball recruits, decided this week to forgo his college eligibility and declare for the NBA draft. Since Simons had taken a postgraduate year, in which he spent his fifth year of high school at the IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla., he is already 19 years old and eligible to be drafted. Simons is expected to go late in the first round, and he will be one of the rare players in today’s league who enters the NBA without any college or professional basketball experience. Simons’ choosing to avoid the route of NCAA play and enter the league straight from high school will make many people once again revisit the oft-questioned “oneand-done” rule — referring to the mandate that former league commissioner David Stern implemented in 2005, requiring players be 19 years old before declaring for the draft. The league’s current commissioner, Adam Silver, has expressed interest in adjusting the NBA’s approach to high school prospects and players entering the draft. Proposed ideas include eliminating the rule that Stern put in place, creating a more prominent NBA G-League or instituting NBA basketball academies, which already exist internationally, in the United States. All of these include players focusing on basketball and earning money to provide for themselves. Any of these options would improve upon the system they have now. Every season, there are many players who are talented and mature enough to go straight from high school to the NBA, and having them spend a layover year in college is a barrier they don’t need. The salaries and sponsorship opportunities that the NBA provides are a luxury that many prospects could use to provide for themselves and their families. When the players are there to play basketball, not for the degree, a year in college simply doesn’t make sense. From a player development standpoint, athletes like LeBron James and Kevin Garnett, who entered the NBA straight out of high school, show that potential can be developed just as well in the NBA as it can be in college. Given the large differences in the way offenses and defenses are run in the NBA, as well as the athleticism and skill gap, it is possible that the NBA could even serve as a better developmental league for top prospects. Ben Simmons, the No. 1 pick in the 2016 NBA draft, famously said, “I think I would have learned a lot more being around professional athletes. Looking at it now, I don’t really know what I learned, financially, or just being a person at LSU.” Also, the current March Madness field shows that college basketball competitiveness and popularity won’t necessarily suffer without these top prospects. Heading into the second weekend of the tournament, the teams of draft standouts such as Deandre Ayton, Michael Porter Jr., Jaren Jackson Jr., Miles Bridges and Mohamed Bamba had already been eliminated, yet the excitement of the tournament did not seem to suffer. A larger sample size of players going straight from high school to the NBA would be the only way to tell what works. However, it’s clear that the current system isn’t perfect, and these changes are worth a try. Samuel Weidner is a sophomore majoring in mathematics. Sam can be reached at samuel.weidner@tufts.edu.