Thursday, March 2, 2017

MEN’S RUGBY

Crowdfunding helps groups reach fundraising goals see FEATURES/ PAGE 3

Jumbos get ready to join Div. I AA

Full Sound brings a cappella scene to new heights see ARTS&LIVING / PAGE 5

SEE SPORTS / BACK PAGE

THE

INDEPENDENT

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N E W S PA P E R

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UNIVERSITY

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T HE T UFTS DAILY

VOLUME LXXIII, NUMBER 23

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Thursday, March 2, 2017

MEDFORD/SOMERVILLE, MASS.

LGBT Center names new director

by Joe Walsh

Executive News Editor

Tufts has appointed Hope Denese Freeman the new director of the LGBT Center. Freeman will begin her role as director on March 13, according to an announcement to the Tufts community.

“I am looking forward to learning from everyone on how I can be a strong resource in the LGBT Center,” Freeman said in the announcement.

“I also look forward to continuing the ground work of fostering an inclusive and supportive culture for students, faculty and staff here on The Hill.”

Freeman is an alumna of Smith College, as well as Simmons College’s School of Management. She has worked in aiding LGBTQ youth of color, HIV counseling and LGBTQ advocacy, particularly in cultural competency training, according to the announcement.

“Hope has an extensive array of experience ensuring youth are not only able to access quality and necessary care, but are equipped with the tools needed to thrive, strive and succeed,” the release read.

Dean of Student Affairs Mary Pat McMahon said in the announce-

ment that Freeman was hired from a competitive pool of applicants, assembled after a nationwide search.

“We are delighted that she will be joining the Tufts community and adding her experience and enthusiasm to our continued work on diversity, pluralism and inclusion,” she wrote.

Freeman’s hiring comes after previous LGBT Center Director Nino Testa (G’13) left Tufts last semester in order to move to Texas, according to a November 2016 Daily article. Testa, the article notes, worked to make the LGBT Center a space that supports COURTESY GREGORY VICTORY students’ needs, and his Hope Denese Freeman is the new director of the LGBT Center. advocacy efforts extendto the LGBT Center, and I want it to be a ed to the larger Tufts community.

“People come to the center with all of place that’s mindful of all the intersec[these] different needs and experiences; tional identities at Tufts,” Testa said in a there isn’t just one reason you want to go 2014 Daily article.

Decorative plaster damage in Eaton Hall causes temporary room closures

by Aneurin Canham-Clyne Assistant News Editor

A piece of decorative plaster molding above the suspended ceilings in Eaton Hall fell through the ceiling onto the floor over the weekend before Valentine’s Day, according to Senior Facilities Director Steve Nasson. As a result, four classrooms in Eaton Hall with the decorative molding were closed for repairs, according to Nasson, but they have now been reopened.

“Above the suspended ceilings are the older, plaster ceilings. There is also decorative plaster molding that wraps the perimeter of the plaster ceilings,” Nasson told the Daily in an email. “A piece of this plaster molding broke away and came through the ceiling tiles.”

Nasson emphasized that this is not a structural issue with the building, and that the roof and structure of Eaton Hall are still sound, contrary to some rumors.

Facilities Services chose to remove the decorative molding that remained after a piece fell away. Once the remaining molding had been removed, a process

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which took several days, the classrooms were reopened, according to Nasson.

Fortunately, Nasson noted, nobody was present in the affected rooms when the molding broke through the suspended ceiling.

“The room was unoccupied at the time and the decision was made to close the classrooms until we could get a look at the remaining molding,” Classrooms blocked off Nasson said.

Jo Ann Jack, the reg- Feb. 27. istrar of Arts, Sciences and Engineering, explained that classes in the affected rooms had been moved to different locations until the molding could be removed.

According to Christine Fitzgerald, the manager of service marketing and communications for Tufts Technology Services, these issues did not impact the computer lab, technology services or any other technical operations in Eaton Hall.

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

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on the second floor of Eaton Hall remain due to damage from recent snow storms on “The main computer lab was not affected by this at all,” Fitzgerald told the Daily in an email.

Construction of Eaton Hall was first completed in 1908, and the building has undergone numerous renovations since then, according to a 2013 Daily article.

“I would say that this issue was related to the age of the building as well as the original installation and consistency of the plaster,” Nasson said.

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

Ten Tufts students awarded Fulbright scholarships

by Emily Burke

Assistant News Editor

The Fulbright Program, an international exchange program for college graduates run by the federal government, has awarded scholarships to 10 Tufts students in the past year, according to Tufts Program Specialist for Scholar Development Anne Moore.

Out of the 60 total Tufts applicants, there were 22 finalists for the scholarship, and 15 students were offered Fulbright grants, but some had to decline or had their programs canceled, according to Moore. This year, Tufts was included in an annual list of top Fulbright-producing schools published by the Chronicle of Higher Education.

“The percentage of students who win is usually somewhere between 15 and 20 percent the of students who apply,” Moore said.

“Normally we have about 50 and last year we had 60 applicants, so that was a pretty big uptick.”

Moore emphasized that Tufts makes an effort to ensure that students applying for the Fulbright scholarship have access to a support system to help them craft their applications. In particular, at several points throughout the process, Moore and other staff members give feedback on applicants’ essays.

Moore said that the number of Fulbright applicants from Tufts each year has remained relatively stable, but that for this upcoming year, Tufts produced 28 national finalists out of a pool of 52 applicants. According to Moore, Tufts’ success in producing Fulbright award recipients is due in part to the applicant support system, in combination with the university’s academic offerings.

“I think the strong language requirements that we have as part of the overall prerequisites, the strength of the [International Relations] department, the strength of our study abroad programs, all of those things add to the opportunities that students have to do independent research, or to the public service commitments of Tufts,” Moore said.

Moore added that Tufts has a varied record with other scholarships, such as the Rhodes and Marshall Scholarships, and that the fluctuation in student success rates in these scholarship contests are not always within the university’s control.

NEWS............................................1 FEATURES.................................3 ARTS & LIVING.......................5

see FULBRIGHT, page 2

COMICS....................................... 7 OPINION.....................................8 SPORTS............................ BACK

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THE TUFTS DAILY | News | Thursday, March 2, 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 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 Scott Fitchen Staff Photographers Lilia Kang Max Lalanne Rachael Meyer Zachary Sebek Alexis Serino Seohyun Shim Angelie Xiong Ezgi Yazici Executive Video Editor Olivia Ireland Executive Video Admin.

Ana Sophia Acosta Staff Videographer

PRODUCTION Sebastian Torrente Production Director Connor Dale Executive Layout Editors Ezgi Yazici Morgan Berman Layout Editors Jewel Castle Julie Doten Ricci Ji Peter Lam Nasrin Lin Brianna Mignano Ellah Nzikoba Emily Sharp Astrid Weng David Westby Sharmitha Yerneni Alice Yoon Peter Lam Executive Graphics Editor Gil Jacobson Zachary Hertz Jack Ronan Arthur Beckel Caroline Bollinger Reena Karasin Bibi Lichauco Katie Martensen Netai Schwartz Nihaal Shah Liora Silkes Dan Strauss Mary Carroll Madhulika Gupta Anna Hirshman Tess Jacobson David Levitsky Ali Mintz Alexis Serino Anahita Sethi Seohyun Shim Hannah Wells Jiayu Xu Vanessa Zighelboim

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Nitesh Gupta Online Editor Seohyun Shim Social Media Editor

BUSINESS Josh Morris

Executive Business Director

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Tufts alumni discuss experiences with Fulbright scholarships FULBRIGHT

continued from page 1 “Our numbers go up and down, and a lot of that depends on factors that we totally can’t control: what’s the job market like, what is the general political climate like,” Moore said. “Some of those students might feel like the needs at home to actually go to law school … might be more pressing in the larger political climate.”

Moore emphasized that although the number of students receiving scholarship awards is one indicator of success, a more important metric is what students get out of the application process.

“If the only way I measured the success of this office was by who won, I think I would be doing our students a disservice,” Moore said. “What I can say for sure is that every student who applies for a nationally competitive award comes out of the experience with a clearer sense of the impact they want to make on the world.”

Fulbright scholarship recipient Will Freeman (LA’ 16) is based in Hungary, and explained the ways in which Tufts supported him throughout the application process.

He said that Moore’s office gave him feedback on his application, and before he graduated, he was able to gain experience teaching abroad through the Anne E. Borghesani Memorial Prize.

Freeman also emphasized the flexible nature of Hungary’s Fulbright program. He is currently studying political theory, and he also teaches academic writing to non-native English speakers.

“While my official grant title is ‘English Teaching Assistant,’ I neither teach English nor am I an assistant!” Freeman told the Daily in an email.

According to Freeman, the most rewarding part of the experience so far has been forming relationships with professors and students with unique political perspectives. “[I have had] the chance to study with professors who participated in the Hungarian transition to democracy and peers from countries with very different political systems than ours,” Freeman said.

Likewise, Fulbright scholarship recipient Joscelyn García (LA ’16) provided additional insight into the application process, along with her experience so far as an English teaching assistant in Zhiben, a village in Taitung County, Taiwan. García teaches students at an elementary school that incorporates a range of backgrounds and cultures.

“Most of my students are part of the Beinan Tribe, but I also have students who are Hakka, Taiwanese, have a foreign mother, are part of another tribe or are a mix of the previously listed,” García told the Daily in an email. “Even though Taitung County is the least resourced in Taiwan, I couldn’t be happier with my placement.”

García said that the most rewarding part of her experience so far has been forming personal connections with not only her students, but also other people from the village.

“It amazes me how people go out of their way to help you or don’t hesitate to invite you into their homes,” García told the

Daily in an email. “I love my students! … ity and creativity.

“I got really lucky because I got placed Some come from difficult backgrounds, but their positive nature keeps them going and in Berlin, which is a pretty cool city. Once warmhearted. I’m proud to say I know all of you’re an English teaching assistant, you’re my kids’ names and have a good relation- not really a part of a university or anything,” she said. “It’s a very different experience, ship with many of them.”

García also discussed her experience but I think it’s definitely worth doing for with the application process leading up to anybody that doesn’t know what they want her Fulbright grant. After deciding to apply to do after college.”

Alex Goodhouse (LA ’14), anothat the end of her junior year, García at first considered a position in Ecuador, but even- er Fulbright scholarship recipient, is also an English teaching assistant tually applied for a position in Taiwan.

García said that she appreciates the sup- based in Campobasso in Southern Italy. port she received from Tufts throughout Goodhouse teaches a total of 200 students in the application process, and explained that two high schools, and is the only American along with the rest of the support system, in the town, where most people do not speak she received essay advice from Dean of English. According to Goodhouse, there are Student Affairs Mary Pat McMahon and a several differences between the American education systems he has been a part of and graduate writing tutor.

“Anne Moore was an integral part of my the school system in Campobasso, which application process … Dean McMahon and has posed some challenges for him.

“My previous teaching experience is in the writing tutor also gave me great advice,” García said. “Because of them, I turned in an a Montessori school and at art museums in Boston. In both of those environments, application that I was extremely proud of.”

García emphasized the value of her learning is self-directed and hands-on,” Fulbright experience in Taiwan, and said Goodhouse told the Daily in an email. “The that being abroad has given her freedom system here is very different, and I have been trying to bring some of those ideas into and new opportunities.

“Before, I would stress about whether or the classroom.”

However, despite the challenges of not to go straight to graduate school, but I’m so happy that I did not and instead I am grow- adjusting to a new environment and eduing and learning more about myself and the cational system, Goodhouse emphasized world outside of the elite academic bubble — the benefits of his experience as a Fulbright teaching assistant.

I’m taking advantage of my life,” García said.

“Getting to know the students has been Clare Ladd (LA ’16), a Fulbright English teaching assistant in Berlin, Germany, incredible and is by far the most rewarding explained that the program has given her a part of my experience,” Goodhouse wrote. unique opportunity to work internationally. “One of the goals of the Fulbright program “You bring the native speaker perspective, is to build relationships across cultures and, because a lot of times the teachers aren’t at least for me, that is where it has been the native speakers. It’s a cool international most successful.” experience. You get to see what it’s like to work in a school, and you get to work with Germans,” Ladd said.

Ladd also gave details on her application process, and the ways in which she found Tufts to be helpful. “[Tufts] provided support with writing the essays, because it’s a pretty demanding application,” she said. “Tufts was really helpful. They really want you to get the Fulbright, and they really want to get as many Fulbrighters as possible.”

Ladd said that her experience has been especially rewarding because of her location in Berlin and because COURTESY WILL FREEMAN the role of English Will Freeman, a recipient of the Fulbright scholarship who is now teaching assistant working in Hungary, pictured here by the Danube River on Aug 6, allows for flexibil- 2016.

Thursday, March 2, 2017

Rebecca Redelmeier Tufts By Numbers

Meme Count

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s of Wednesday evening, the Tufts Memes for Quirky Queens Facebook group had 4,756 members – a shocking number, considering that there are only 5,438 Tufts undergrad students. Also shocking is that this number increased by 100 people within the previous twenty-four hours. This means that if every member of the Tufts Memes for Quirky Queens group is a Tufts undergrad, about 87 people in a 100-person lecture today are sneakily scrolling through memes during class. These memes are everywhere.

Created on Feb. 10 at 10:57 p.m., Tufts Memes now has over 1,000 more members than the Tufts Class of 2020 page. The amount of daily posts, likes and comments rivals that of a new class page during the days after acceptance decisions come out, and it is only increasing. On top of that, the TuftsMemes Instagram account, another popular Tufts medium for memes, had 1,770 followers as of March 1, less than 200 followers away from the number that The Tufts Daily Instagram has – and we’ve been around for decades! The membership, posts and number of reactions themselves prove that the meme phenomenon has certainty swooped in, landed and made a mark at Tufts.

Interestingly, this phenomenon has not only been researched but has an entire history to it. The term “meme” was first used by British evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins in 1976, who defined a meme as something that can reproduce, mutate and spread. On campus, the thousands of meme-sharers, likers, commenters and lurkers point out the obvious: the ubiquitous use of the internet allows memes to follow this trend of reproduction and mutation like wildfire.

According to a report published in Nature in 2012, memes about different topics diffuse differently, branching off to different users in various patterns and fashions. The report also notes that the vast majority of memes die quickly, so the memes that most people see are only a small fraction of memes in existence.

Another study modeled memes as genes, finding that memes evolve like genes evolve.

You can even take a course on memes at the University of California at Santa Barbara in the Linguistics Department. Meme science, anyone? The influence of memes is growing and the numbers in the Tufts Memes for Quirky Queens proves it.

In our Tufts meme microcosm, we see meme frenzy in action. In the week’s since the inception of Tufts Memes for Quirky Queens, the meme momentum has only swelled.

Memes posted today can generate hundreds of likes in just a few hours.

The formula for the perfect meme still remains unknown, but both meme research and our own first-hand experiences with Tufts Memes for Quirky Queens demonstrates that the most viral meme is one that can reproduce and adapt to its surroundings.

At Tufts, this means the hottest memes pair frequently shared images with content that has already gone viral. In a way, the Tufts Memes for Quirky Queens group is a mosaic of every debate, complaint and struggle of Tufts students. Issues that Tufts students have retweeted, posted and conversed about in the past are now catalogued in meme form, with their likes, comments and reactions perhaps a numerical indicator of their remaining relevance on our campus.

Rebecca Redelmeier is a sophomore majoring in English. Rebecca can be reached at rebecca.redelmeier@tufts.edu.

Features

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Tufts Crowdfunding supports its first round of fundraising projects

COURTESY TESSA BUCKLEY VIA AMY LIPSITZ

Tufts Crowdfunding, a new initiative of the Tufts University Advancement Division, helps Tufts affiliates recieve donations from outside parties.

by Ana Sofia Amieva-Wang Contributing Writer

This past January, the Tufts University Advancement Division launched Tufts Crowdfunding, a new fundraising initiative for Tufts programs and organizations. Tufts Crowdfunding helps projects from the Tufts community raise money through the basic format of most crowdfunding platforms, with all donations going directly to the specific projects, according to Tessa Buckley, the assistant director of Digital Fundraising and Direct Marketing.

“We want this to be a dynamic tool for students, faculty and alumni to fund transformational projects and experiences that they’re passionate about,” Buckley told the Daily in an email.

Potential projects are pitched through an online application found on the Tufts Crowdfunding website and can be undertaken by any member of the Tufts community.

“Tufts Crowdfunding puts forth specific student, faculty and alumni campaigns that have an immediate need and direct impact in the Tufts community and beyond,” Buckley wrote.

Project proposals are selected by the University Advancement Division, the Office of Campus Life, the Office of Students Affairs and staff from different university schools, according to Buckley.

For the projects that have already launched, potential donors can choose from a variety of tiered giving options that often correspond to a certain tangible aspect of each project’s goal.

For instance, the Tufts Wilderness Orientation ( TWO) fundraiser, currently featured on the Tufts Crowdfunding website, accepts a low-end donation of $10, which goes to supporting the meals of a student participating in the orientation program, while the high-end donation of $3,200 covers the entire cost of an orientation trip for eight students.

“Successful crowdfunding projects have a compelling story to interest donors, and a motivated project team that will create great content and share the campaign with their personal net-

work of friends, family and other potential donors, ” Buckley wrote.

While all of the current pilot projects have already received at least some donations, the TWO fundraiser received 183 percent of its $7,500 goal in just two weeks. The different options for donation amounts were designed

by Christa Ricker, the assistant director for Campus Life, and two undergraduate students to reflect the needs of the program and its participants. “[The fundraiser] is focused on multiple ways in which we can increase accessibility [for student participants],” Ricker said. “We just tried to make them reasonable and accessible.”

After sending out extensive emails to past TWO staff members, participants and families of participants, the TWO fundraiser has so far received 174 donations. While most were in the $15 to $25 giving range, the fundraiser also received a few $400 donations, according to Ricker.

Ricker added that Tufts Crowdfunding has received some donations from unexpected sources.

“In a really cool surprise, we had a good number of donors who are just friends, not connected to Wilderness in any way,” she said. “Not a parent, not a staff, not a participant, just people who believe in it.”

While the TWO fundraiser has almost doubled its fundraising goal, the other three projects featured in the first round of Tufts Crowdfunding are still raising money toward their initial targets.

RecycleHealth, a research initiative headed by Dr. Lisa Gualtieri of the Tufts University School of Medicine, recycles and redistributes fitness tracking devices to individuals interested in improving their physical fitness, with a special focus on the needs of populations who are less likely to own these devices. The group is still hoping to raise $6,300 toward their goal as of yesterday.

Gualtieri noted that this campaign is a little more obscure than the others listed on the site.

“Looking at the other campaigns that are on the Tufts site, they are much

more connected with Tufts, while RecycleHealth is part of Tufts but it probably doesn’t have quite the same appeal to Tufts students and alumni,” Gualtieri said.

According to Buckley, one of the keys to crowdfunding success is conducting extensive networking and reaching out to a large donor base for support.

Once proposals to launch new projects are accepted by Tufts Crowdfunding, Buckley and Tufts Crowdfunding provide additional information to the project owners in order to make their campaigns more successful.

“We work closely with project teams to hone their pitch for support, set realistic goals and establish a solid outreach plan to donors,” Buckley wrote.

While Tufts Crowdfunding provides guiding information for individual organizations and prospective donors, the content and promotional work of each campaign is managed and carried out by the managers of each project, according to Buckley.

Tufts Crowdfunding is accepting applications for a new round of projects to be launched in April and is looking for proposals from across the university’s schools. In addition to accepting applications from large student organizations and smaller programs, Gualtieri said that Tufts Crowdfunding also serves as a potential alternative source of funding for researchers.

“I think that a lot of my colleagues in the Medical School are perhaps hopeful,” she said. “In this day when funding can be harder to get, you can apply for a lot of grants before you get funded. I think a lot of my colleagues would like to see us be wildly successful because it is a model that they would be able to use as well.”

Though organizations that work with Tufts Crowdfunding can only raise money through their own commitment, the initiative nonetheless provides a platform for these organizations and highlights the work of members of the Tufts community.

“I think there are a lot of creative people with ideas that, with a little bit of funding, they would peruse,” Gualtieri said.

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THE TUFTS DAILY | ADVERTISEMENT | Thursday, March 2, 2017

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I’VE NEVER UNDERSTOOD WHY MY HUMAN WON’T LEAVE THE HOUSE WITHOUT HER LEASH. I THINK SHE’S AFRAlD OF GETTING LOST. BUT IT’S OK, I KIND OF LIKE SHOWING HER AROUND. — HARPER adopted 08-18-09

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Thursday, March 2, 2017

ARTS&LIVING

New a cappella group Full Sound brings Chinese-language sound to the stage

On art and accessibility

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by Shirley Wang Staff Writer

ALEXIS SERINO / THE TUFTS DAILY

First-year members of Full Sound Jay Yang, Anna Chang and Qiaosha (Jocelyn) Ding pose for a portrait in Granoff Music Center on Feb. 27. wwtook place last weekend.

For some of the members, Full Sound is the first time they’ve ever participated in anything musical.

“I had no experience in singing,” first-year Jay Yang said. “In an orchestra? No. In a choir? No.” According to You, vocal percussions are something they’ve had to teach themselves over time. Many of their arrangements don’t require a lot of background beatboxing. Instead, when they’re singing upbeat pop songs like “Lost in Paradise” by Joanna Wang, they rely on cymbal-like stylings that have the effect of a high hat.

During their performance at the CSA New Year Gala, the words ‘Full Sound’ were projected above their heads in both Chinese characters and English. The microphones weren’t set up and so they amplified their singing themselves, pausing between songs to readjust the positioning of the baritone, bass, soprano and alto voices on stage.

The Chinese name, You explained, is “Fu Sheng,” fu being the mandarin word for traditional music and sheng meaning sound or voice.

While there are nine other a capsee FULL SOUND, page 6

VIDEO GAME REVIEW

Two games to play before ‘Mass Effect: Andromeda’

BIOWARE

Bioware will release 'Mass Effect: Andromeda' on March 21.

by John J. Gallagher Arts Editor

Bioware’s “Mass Effect: Andromeda” is due to come out on March 21 (just in time for Spring Break!) and the game is one of the year’s most anticipated releases. The latest installment of the “Mass Effect” video game series, “Mass Effect: Andromeda,” as the name suggests, moves the action from our own Milky Way Galaxy to our galaxy-next-door, Andromeda. The dramatic change of setting should offer players another sprawling space opera set in a uni-

verse with a rich backstory and impeccable visual presentation, but free of the baggage of the previous three games. For those who are counting down the days to March 21 and who are unburdened by midterms, here’s the Daily’s take on two other Bioware games to play in the interim.

“Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic” (2003) Bioware’s first science-fiction RPG was a smash hit when it was released in 2003 and laid the foundations of “Mass Effect.” Set in the “Star Wars” universe, but thousands of years before the events of “A New Hope”

tuftsdaily.com

Polykhroma Polykhromatic

INTERVIEW

Does Tufts need another a capella group?

For the members of the newly-created a cappella group Full Sound, the answer is a resounding and harmonious “yes.”

Full Sound singers specialize in covers of Chinese-language pop songs like “Under a Vast Sky” by Beyond, a rock band based in Hong Kong, and Taiwanese boy band F4’s “Meteor Shower,” often switching from Mandarin Chinese to English — all the while mixing in the traditional “doo-doo’s” and “bop-bop’s” characteristic to a cappella arrangements.

After his stint in the Oxcar Singers at the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom, a group that performs an “Asian repertoire,” senior Wei You decided to form a similar organization on the Tufts campus.

He talked to students who had expressed an interest in Chinese pop music at parties and other events. None of them played instruments, citing cost and inconvenience, but loved to sing, and so they thought, “why don’t we just form an a cappella group?”

Today, Full Sound has nine singers, comprising of multiple first-years, a junior and a senior. They began practicing in the fall of 2016, and have since performed at the Tufts Chinese Student and Scholar Association Spring Gala and at the Tufts Chinese Student Association (CSA) New Year Gala that

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(1977), “Knights of the Old Republic” managed to be original enough to stand apart from the steaming pile that is most of the Star Wars Extended Universe. Combat was based on the third edition of the table-top roleplaying game “Dungeons and Dragons” (1974), which meant that gameplay was tremendously numerical under the surface. Fortunately, on lower difficulties, players could ignore the math and focus instead on using cool-looking force powers while soaking in the story. While not especially thought-provoking by today’s standards, “Knights of the Old Republic” broke new ground for “Star Wars,” daring to tackle issues such as slavery and class.

The game also features a memorable and genuinely unexpected twist ending. Just avoid talking to noted whiner Carth Onasi, he’s a real downer.

“Mass Effect 2” (2010) The late 2000s and early 2010s were a good time for powerful video game storytelling. In 2009, Naughty Dog managed a mature story in “Uncharted 2” by virtue of excellent writing and voice acting, and in 2010, “Mass Effect 2” emerged as a collection of fabulous character studies. “Mass Effect 2” is the under-discussed middle child of the original trilogy. The first “Mass Effect” (2007) inaugurated a fabulously intricate universe, but it was also a little rough around the edges. The game see BIOWARE GAMES, page 6

oston’s close proximity to our campus places renowned works of art at an arm’s distance away. Wandering the halls of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (MFA), expect to stumble upon a room encircled by Monet landscapes or centered on the stunning work of Kehinde Wiley.

Much of this art is impressive, but when judging the value of other pieces of art, a viewer can be subconsciously swayed to align with a conventional opinion perpetuated by concepts of prestige. A painting you may initially think of as requiring little talent or time to produce may transform into something treasured purely based on how the museum, the art world and society at large appraise it. This manipulation of opinion can be frustrating.

What if there was a place where you could view art that requires little talent to complete, and where this valuation of the art is unanimously agreed upon?

As it turns out, there is. It’s close by, and it’s worth checking out.

The Museum of Bad Art (MOBA) is nestled away in a corner of the Somerville Theatre basement in Davis Square. There are no security guards monitoring the entryway, and there are no ropes or alarms protecting the paintings that hang, sometimes lopsided, along the walls of the confined gallery.

MOBA’s slogan, “Art too bad to be ignored,” fits perfectly with the current collection on display. The exhibition succeeds in its main goals: making art light, fun and accessible, and offering significant entertainment value.

Accessibility has long been a problem for the art world. Some art is inaccessible because entrance fees to museums are expensive, or because schools do not offer a robust enough curriculum surrounding the arts. Other art is inaccessible, however, on the premise that the subject matter does not resonate with the masses, and instead applies to an elite perspective. MOBA displays work that relates to pop culture and that is communicable to a wide audience.

One of my favorite pieces currently on display at MOBA is “Joan Crawford.” It features a very loose visual interpretation of the film legend. Lacking in realistic proportion, the portrait captures a flat, grey face with a too-wide tight-lipped smile. The accompanying wall text ends by stating, “The artist achieves, intentionally or otherwise, a wonderful synthesis of two of the Silver Screen’s most cherished icons: Ms. Crawford and Andre the Giant.” Each piece in the museum features similar commentary that allows guests to enjoy subpar art through comedy.

Those without an art history degree may feel disconnected from the dialogue in the art world. However, the MOBA, which is dedicated to “the collection, preservation, exhibition and celebration of bad art in all its forms,” makes anyone who enters the museum feel qualified to form an opinion on the artwork presented.

In addition, MOBA makes art accessible by urging guests to revel in a space where all art, regardless of aesthetic appeal, is understood beyond the typical standards set by conventional art society. If you have a few minutes to spare while in Davis Square, be sure to give this tucked-away gallery a visit.

– Sarah Kotis, Polykhroma Polykhroma is an independent curating collective founded by eight students excited to encourage active engagement among our community with the arts.

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THE TUFTS DAILY | Arts & Living | Thursday, March 2, 2017

tuftsdaily.com

Full Sound hopes to recruit members FULL SOUND

continued from page 5 pella groups on campus, including the Disney-themed Enchanted, Tufts’ co-ed Christian a cappella group Anchord and African diasporic music groups S-Factor and the Ladies of Essence, You feels there is room to add to Tufts’ cache of instrument-less singers by focusing specifically on Chinese pop music.

“There are many very wonderful groups of Chinese culture on campus, like the WuZee Chinese dance group and there are many student-organized associations who have put on events to introduce traditional Chinese music,” You said. “We just want to add a little bit more contemporary stuff to the repertoire.”

According to Yang, the group may add English-language songs as well in order to cater to the audience who has little knowledge of Chinese culture.

You hopes that Full Sound’s first concert on Sunday evening will help them recruit members for the next semester.

Though he plans on graduating in the spring, he wants the group to continue growing and possibly create original pieces in the future.

After the New Year Gala, Yang looks forward to their ensemble debut.

However, he still feels a bit nervous.

“I’m not that kind of stage person.

I sweat all the time, like just now,” he said. “I wish I could practice on stage by performing. Then I can be more confident.”

Before, ‘Mass Effect: Andromeda,’ revisit these oldies BIOWARE GAMES

continued from page 5 performed poorly on the Xbox 360, with the frame rate chugging noticeably during action sequences.

The gameplay itself was also lackluster.

Combat was unpolished and the game’s equipment system tended toward number crunching and trade-off analysis — do I replace my current gun with a new, high-powered rifle that tends to overheat?

The horrendous vehicle sections have also been widely mocked.

For all its polish, 2012’s “Mass Effect 3” was famously mired in controversy for offering players a set of endings that betrayed the central promise of the series: that every decision you made throughout the series would affect its conclusion.

“Mass Effect 2,” on the other hand, featured polished gameplay and was unburdened

by its ending. The overarching goal of the game is to recruit a diverse team of specialists who can help save the galaxy from an existential threat.

The trust of each one of these specialists can be earned by completing a “loyalty mission,” an errand that provides a look into the rich backstory of each character. From destroying the shadowy facility where an arch-psychic suffered unspeakable childhood abuse to helping a tank-grown, genetically-perfect alien warrior find his place among his people, each one of these missions is well-written and acted.

“Mass Effect 2” also features Martin Sheen in one of the few good celebrity appearances in video games. If you have ever asked yourself, “What if Jed Bartlet was an enigmatic space-racist?” this is the game for you.

FEBRUARY 27th– March 3rd Friday, March 3rd Mechanical Engineering: Tufts ASME welcomes you to come by to learn more about Mechanical Engineering and hear seniors talk about their experiences in the major . Anderson Hall, Room 206 12pm-1pm Biology: A chance for prospective biology majors to meet biology faculty. Barnum Lobby 3pm– 4pm Coming up Next Week March 6th History: History Open House Pizza and drinks will be served. East Hall Lounge 113A 12-1:15pm

Comics

LATE NIGHT AT THE DAILY Bibi: “That is the smallest water bottle I have ever seen . . . holy hell . . . is that even practical to carry around?”

Comics

SUDOKU

GARFIELD

Difficulty Level: Forgetting the Jumble.

NON SEQUITUR

BY JIM DAVIS

BY WILEY MILLER

Wednesday’s Solution

FOR RELEASE MARCH 2, 2017

FOR RELEASE MARCH 4, 2017

Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Lewis CROSSWORD

Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Lewis BONUS CROSSWORD

ACROSS 1 Bleach container 4 Shed door attachments 9 Like iceberg lettuce 14 Freudian topic 15 Marginally ahead 16 Relative of bongos 17 Queen’s domain 19 Cause of a skid, perhaps 20 Tom Jones’ “__ a Lady” 21 Payroll service co.

23 __-à-porter: ready-to-wear 24 Keep from happening 26 Queen’s domain 28 Corporate big shots 29 With false modesty 31 Bubbly opener?

32 Hide from a hunter 33 Coppertone’s 30, e.g.

34 Bit of IM mirth 36 Queen’s domain 40 Versailles monarch 41 West __: highend furniture retailer 42 Related 45 Actress Arthur 48 Slyly disparaging 50 Back of a single 51 Queen’s domain 53 Picked up 54 De Matteo of “Sons of Anarchy” 55 One in favor 57 Baseball analyst Hershiser 58 Odyssey on the road 60 Queen’s domain 64 Of yesteryear 65 Keep down 66 Writer who inspired the Raven Award 67 Pineal or pituitary 68 Chef’s creation 69 Soufflé need

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Thursday, March 2, 2017 | Comics | THE TUFTS DAILY

tuftsdaily.com

By Kevin Christian

DOWN 1 39th pres.

2 “Bummer” 3 Runs amok 4 Uncouth types, in Canadian slang 5 Severe anxiety 6 Yellow __ 7 Adidas rival 8 Left in the dust 9 Nos. that are beside the point 10 Actor Fiennes 11 It’s across the Pyrenees from France 12 Tailor’s measure 13 Auction spiel 18 Destroy 22 New York suburb bordering New Rochelle 24 Recipe amt.

25 Tinge 27 Once-over giver 29 USCG rank 30 Took out 33 Gossip 35 Santa portrayer in “Elf” 37 Alguna __: something, in Spain

3/2/17

Wednesday’s Solution Wednesday’s Puzzle Solved

©2017 Tribune Content Agency, LLC

38 Cavs, on a scoreboard 39 White way 43 Chem class suffix 44 “Game of Thrones” patriarch Stark 45 Covers stealer 46 Join the club 47 Guide for a chair

3/2/17

49 High standards 50 Scold 52 Weighted down 53 __ boom 56 Met delivery 59 “Then what happened?”

61 Critter on the Australian 50-cent coin 62 Machine part 63 Beer source

ACROSS 1 Picture with a surprise ending?

10 Cheaply, with “for” 15 Land across the Baltic from Sweden 16 Organ __ 17 Burden to bear 18 Lead-in for here or nowhere 19 Much data: Abbr.

20 River of Tuscany 21 Oliver Twist, for one 22 Architectural molding 23 Cut twice, perhaps 24 Clear of snow 27 The King’s middle name 28 McBride of “Draft Day” 29 Metz meal 30 __ vote 31 Wi-Fi relative 32 Eisner’s successor at Disney 33 Org. formed in Manila in 1954 34 Pulitzer poet Van Duyn 35 With 22-Down, immortal 20thcentury racer 36 British county 37 Spherical bacteria 38 Racing Unsers 39 Make sound 40 Quenched 41 Downwind current 43 Improvisational style 44 Aspects 45 Sainted pope called “the Great” 46 Masterpiece 49 Heron relative 50 Product announced but never produced or canceled 52 Coeur d’__ 53 Crash and burn 54 Treat again, as leather 55 Relax

3/4/17

By Pawel Fludzinski

DOWN 1 Work on one’s vacation, say 2 Hawaii’s __ Bay 3 Places with indoor windows, briefly 4 Rap article 5 Storm problems 6 Kept out 7 Two __: fastbreak advantage 8 Protein-rich paste 9 Humanities degs.

10 Like most grandparents 11 Stock options?

12 Facing a deadline 13 “In your dreams!”

14 Federal subsidy 21 College town about 100 miles NE of Portland 22 See 35-Across 23 Hackneyed 24 1993 William Diehl thriller on which a 1996 film was based 25 Formidable court figure 26 Nevada’s Area 51, notably 27 Agatha or Edgar 30 The Pont Neuf spans it

Friday’s Puzzle Solved

©2017 Tribune Content Agency, LLC

33 Molts 34 Defense that may be all wet 36 Gaga 37 “Does she ... or doesn’t she?” brand 40 Part of a fictional dog name inspired by Sinatra’s “Strangers in the Night”

3/4/17

42 R&B singer __ Marie 43 Dividing walls 45 Café supply 46 León relative 47 Piccadilly Circus statue 48 Hand raiser’s attention-getter 50 Beta rival 51 Org. that complements the IMF

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Anna Tolette The Elephant in the Room

A Thank You Letter to my Friends

T

o the important individuals in my life: People keep saying that “social life is dead at Tufts,” which may be true for the moment in regards to big sweaty basement parties, but personally, I don’t believe that it’s true for the whole Tufts community. Correct me if I’m wrong here, but we go to big parties where we don’t really know most people and drink questionable liquids that aren’t super tasty and we get sweaty and more often than not, spilled on. I always leave a party feeling vaguely disappointed, soggy and hungry. While technically there are fewer parties on campus, I’ve actually found myself growing closer to my friends.

I appreciate more than anything the endless love and understanding that have been provided to me in the form of earnestly good people in my life. My parents always say that I know how to pick the best friends, the ones who are generous, supportive, fun, fiercely loyal, energetic, adventurous and more important to me than anything. In having stayin game nights with a couple of close friends, I felt us grow closer through every ridiculous drawing that we did to guess some obscene Cards Against Humanity topic. Every Tuesday night, I sit on my common room couch with my suitemates and watch “The Bachelor,” which causes another ruckus because of our groans when Nick makes yet another incorrect decision in his love life. With every rose given out or fantasy team sunk into oblivion, we go through the trials and tribulations of finding true love together. One of my good friends hosted a real, proper dinner party at her house and filled the room with good penne a la vodka and good company. I could genuinely feel the friendship enveloping me.

These seemingly every day moments are ones that I will remember and cherish when all is said and done, not another Natty Light in a plastic cup.

I have found immense value in the deepening of my relationships to others.

Maybe this is lame, but I prefer smaller things where I know and actually like everyone to big, impersonal parties.

There is something to be said for being happy with who you have surrounding you. Take a moment to think about your friends or your significant other or your roommate and practice the art of being grateful. Instead of focusing on what I want, I instead try to think about what I do have and remind myself that despite anything that might be happening, I have an incredible team supporting me from behind, and the sides and the front.

I owe it to the people around me for the fact that I am functioning to the extent that I am today. Things can’t be too bad if people who are positive forces in your life surround you. Thanks for that, buddies.

Love, Anna Anna Tolette is a sophomore majoring in film and media studies. Anna can be reached at anna.tolette@tufts.edu.

Opinion

Thursday, March 2, 2017

EDITORIAL

Protest the issues, not the presence Last week, Governor Charlie Baker was invited to speak at Tufts as part of the Jonathan M. Tisch College of Civic Life’s Distinguished Speaker Series. The purpose of the event was to discuss public policy and civic engagement in an informative, conversation-style event. However, the event did not go as planned: around 60 students organized in three successive groups interrupted the event by walking out in protest of Baker and his policies.

Protest is a crucial form of civic engagement and a powerful tool for enacting change. Furthermore, the issues raised by the protests against Baker — immigration policy, police militarization and lack of funds for public schools — deserve the attention these protesters wanted to give them. The coordinated efforts required of the students who participated in the protests are impressive, and the visible and disruptive nature of the protests was more than effective at getting Baker’s attention, as well as other members of the Tufts community and Tufts administrators.

However, for some of the protesters, the

protests were not only about the issues, but about Baker’s very presence at Tufts.

After the protests, the Daily interviewed some of those who participated and some of those who supported the protests. One student said they did not want to “give a platform” to Baker and they wanted to “present Tufts as unified against Baker.”

Another student said they felt as if “seeing [Baker] on campus and giving him a voice is saying that Tufts students are okay with the kinds of policies that a Republican administration is putting forward.”

There seems to be an opinion among those who supported the protests that having Baker speak on campus meant the Tufts administration endorses Baker and his policies. This ignores the very basis of debate and discussion in politics. Inviting someone to speak does not automatically mean that the two parties agree.

In some cases, it might be reasonable to protest someone’s presence at a public event, such as if the person promotes hate speech or encourages discrimination. But Baker does not fit that description. In fact, on several social issues, Baker is signifi-

cantly more left-leaning than the majority of his Republican colleagues. He has repeatedly stated that he is pro-choice and supports women’s reproductive rights. During his electoral campaign to become governor of Massachusetts, Baker also became one of the only Republicans to support and protect LGBTQ rights and marriage equality.

It is true that his conservative policies, particularly in regards to undocumented immigrants and refugees, are worth criticizing, and Tufts students’ efforts to draw attention to these issues are commendable. But while direct action and disruptive protests can be effective ways to inspire change and influence politicians, there is also an important argument to be made for inviting speakers to campus with which the majority of the student body disagrees as a way to expose students to alternative perspectives. To protest as a means of pushing politicians and policymakers to take a stand on tough issues is one thing. But to protest the rights of these politicians to speak publicly at Tufts is a different story.

CHICKENING OUT

NOAH KULAK 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.

ADVERTISING All advertising copy is subject to the approval of the Editor-in-Chief, Executive Board and Executive Business Director.

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ROBIN COSTE LEWIS Poets Series

Photo courtesy of Amanda Schwengel and Hampshire College

Co-Sponsored by the Center for the Humanities at Tufts, the Toupin-Bolwell fund, the Deans of Arts and Sciences, the Diversity Fund, departments of English, Drama and Dance, and Education, the programs in Race, Colonialism, and Diaspora, Women’s Gender and Sexuality Studies, and the Africana Center.

Monday, March 6, 2017 6 - 8 pm Alumnae Lounge, Aidekman Arts Center

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Thursday, March 2, 2017 | Sports | THE TUFTS DAILY

S p o rts

Jumbos seeking sustained success in D'Annolfo's rookie season MEN'S LACROSSE

continued from back to run with them. They’re really bought in, working hard and trying to understand how things work. They’re hungry.”

Notably, the program has a new head coach, Casey D’Annolfo (LA ’06), who was hired this fall. The previous head coach, Mike Daly, served in the role for 17 years before leaving Medford in July to take the head coaching position at Brown University, a Div. I program. D’Annolfo, who played under Daly during his Tufts career, is unlikely to introduce significant changes to the way the program is run.

“The expectations haven’t changed,” D’Annolfo said. “We are still working hard every day and paying attention to details and fundamentals. If we get a little better each day, we will have the potential to achieve what we hope for. The biggest difference between this year and last year is that this year’s team, overall, lacks in-game

experience — but that will come with time.”

The Jumbos travel to Hoboken, N.J. this Saturday to play the Stevens Institute of Technology Ducks (3-0). The annual match-up has become tradition for the Jumbos, and it partially functions as a sort of alumni event for all the of New York-based program alums to return to watch the first game of each new season.

“We talked as a team about how we know we have opponent number one on Saturday, but we aren’t even worried about that until Friday,” Olney said. “We’re just focused on ourselves because at the end of the day that’s all we should worry about.”

Last year, the Jumbos overcame the Ducks 14-13, with Austin Carbone scoring three times. During the matchup, the Jumbos won 20 of 28 face-offs thanks to Helfrich, who was widely regarded as one of the leading face-off experts in Div. III and in all of collegiate lacrosse. Now with him on the sidelines, the Jumbos will have

Vinny Donofrio Vinny's Variety Pack

to work hard to fill Helfrich’s large shoes.

“As a team we have a mentality that everyone is ready to do their job,” Olney said. “Everyone sees [Helfrich], but they don’t see people at practice every day working really hard at all these different positions. There’s a mentality that if the starter leaves or someone gets injured, and there’s a spot open, people are ready to fill those roles.”

Mathers, who would occasionally replace Helfrich at the face-off position, went 48-of-87 during the season. However, since he is a long-stick man, the team may not necessarily want him taking all of the face-offs.

The Jumbos’ reputation proceeds them, but with at least eight starting lineup positions that need to be filled, they have their work cut out for them. However, given its successes in the past, the team is on track to do just as well as they have for the past seven seasons.

Jumbo rugby preparing for big step up to Div. I AA

COURTESY GRIFFIN ANDERSEN

Jed McKinney watches Sam Weaver fight past defenders on Nov. 20, 2016.

MEN'S RUGBY

continued from back these really massive guys, like over 220 pounds. You look at Tufts and we’re kind of on the small side.”

McKinney noted that the players’ smaller sizes had a huge role in defining its game plan.

“We played this really fun, smart adaptation of how teams play in New Zealand and Australia, thanks to our coach, Thomas Clark,” McKinney said. “It focuses on the whole team constantly moving, constantly working together and constantly trying to work through the cracks of the other team’s defense. It was a really fluid, advantageous way to play the game that just totally surprised these big teams because none of them had ever worked against it before.”

As the season went on, several players started to suffer from injuries, and many first-years had to step into some starting positions. The most notable out of

these first-years were hooker Andrew Kim and flanker Nat Ung. “Nat really played the whole season for us,” McKinney said. “He came in really knowing the game already and made one of the biggest differences in our team out of the freshmen. Andrew Kim came in without really any rugby experience, but he’s kind of crazy in a good way. He picked up on where he needed to hit people, how we needed him to play defense and he always wanted the ball. That type of spirit really made a huge difference on the field.”

The Jumbos have come a long way over the span of just a few years. After finding success at the Div. III level and amassing a 20-6 record from 2009-2011, the team was invited to move up to Div. II. Competing against bigger schools like the University of Rhode Island, the University of New Hampshire and the Coast Guard Academy, Tufts struggled to a 2-4 finish in the 2012 season and went 1-5 in 2013.

Moving back down to Div. III in 2014, the Jumbos began to dominate again. As of May 10, 2016, NSCRO ranks Tufts men’s rugby 37th in the nation, a ranking which will only go up after the team’s successful 2016-2017 season.

“The team has definitely grown a lot in terms of competition as well as focus,” senior prop and club President Nick Nasser said. “Much of the focus of college rugby was on the social aspect and now I can definitely say most of our focus is on being a very competitive team and winning games.”

Even though the team has made it to the national championship, it will still have to come up with its own money to pay for transportation and hotels at nationals. Usually, the rugby team can pay for their regular season with money allocated to them from Tufts Community Union Senate and money the team raises from fundraising, but the postseason presents a unique challenge this year.

For nationals, according to Nasser, the team will have to raise money through the Tufts Crowdfunding platform, a new fundraising tool started by the University Advancement Division in January. All the money raised from the campaign will go toward the expenses of the trip to nationals.

Regardless of their performance at the national championship in Glendale, the Jumbos have been invited to join a Div. I AA rugby league for next year. The shift represents a big step up in competition, as the team will be moving from their Div. III league to play the likes of Northeastern and Boston College.

“It’s going to be great,” Nasser said.

“Our head coach is definitely looking for opportunities for our team to grow and be able to compete at higher levels. It’s a great move and I think we’re totally prepared for it.”

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11

Free agency part 2

T

he franchise tag deadline for the NFL has passed, so forgive me if new information comes out before this is published. Already this week, some big names have been franchise tagged, so instead of projecting where those free agents will go, we will instead analyze how good of a move the tag was.

This week I’m going to be talking about as many of the best defensive free agents as I can and, of course, Adrian Peterson.

Adrian Peterson, RB, Vikings Possible Teams: Raiders, Packers Raiders: While AP never mentioned playing for the Raiders, it wouldn’t come as a surprise. Latavius Murray is headed for FA and the Davis family has a history of signing future HOF players after their prime: Eric Dickerson anyone?

Packers: The rival Packers might have the best chance to swoop on AP. He would complement Ty Montgomery beautifully and would fill a need in the depth chart.

Jason Pierre-Paul, DE, Giants Franchise Tagged I hate this move. Yes, JPP is one of the best DEs in football and he very much deserves to get paid, BUT THE GIANTS CANNOT AFFORD HIM. We have so many needs to fill and so little cap space. We now have $17 million less to spend and too many needs to fill. UGH. Eric Berry, S, Chiefs Got re-signed as soon as I typed this.

Six years and $78 million dollars with the Chiefs. GET PAID YOUNG MAN. There is no one in the NFL more deserving of this contract than Eric Berry. If you don’t know his story, please take the time out of your day to read it because it is inspiring.

Dontari Poe, DT, Chiefs Possible Teams: Chiefs I had to rewrite this part of the column after Berry got signed. I bet you any amount of money that Poe will be franchised tagged by the Chiefs now that Eric Berry is locked up. Solid offseason for the Chiefs already.

Chandler Jones, DE/LB, Cardinals Franchise Tagged This came as no surprise as HC Bruce Arians all but guaranteed Jones getting tagged. All the same, what a spectacular move for Arizona. They need someone to build their front seven around and Chandler Jones is that man.

Kawann Short, DT, Panthers Franchise Tagged Another great tag. Short is the best player on the defense not named Luke Kuechly and is one of the premier defensive tackles in the NFL. This fills a need for the Panthers and gives them someone to build around.

Okay, so AP took up most of my room. I have one more week until free agency opens. We will talk about: Desean Jackson, Terrelle Pryor, Alshon Jeffery, Martellus Bennett, Dont’a Hightower, Andrew Whitworth, T.J. Lang and a few others if there is room.

OH S–T, KIRK COUSINS JUST GOT FRANCHISE TAGGED AND JAMAAL CHARLES GOT RELEASED. I LOVE THE OFFSEASON. Vinny Donofrio is a senior majoring in clinical psychology. Vinny can be reached at vincent.donofrio@tufts.edu.

9/3/15 9:52 PM

12 tuftsdaily.com

Sports

Thursday, March 2, 2017

MEN'S RUGBY

Club rugby on the road to national championship for the first time in program history

by Liam Finnegan

Assistant Sports Editor

The Tufts men’s club rugby team has had a successful season this year, and it hasn’t stopped yet. The team made a historic run in the regular season, and is looking forward to even more success in the Men’s Champions Cup, the Div. III national club rugby tournament run by the National Small College Rugby Organization (NSCRO).

Led by senior co-captain and scrumhalf Jed McKinney and junior co-captain and eight-man Jake Garrell, the men’s rugby team finished first overall in the New England Rugby Football Union (NERFU) South Champions Cup with a 5-1 record, only losing to Eastern Connecticut State University, then ranked fourth in the nation by NSCRO. The team also secured an invitation to the Men’s Champions Cup in Glendale, Colo. for the first time in the club’s history, following an exciting run of victories to qualify for the Champions Cup. Tufts beat Ithaca College 60-22 in the Northeast Qualifier, edged out SUNY Plattsburgh 38-32 in the Region 1 Championship and secured a 22-7 comeback against University of Maine-Orono in the Region 1 Championship — after being down 7-0 at halftime — to qualify for the Champions Cup National Championship.

The National Championship will be held April 28-29 and functions in the typical college Final Four format, with the semifinals on Saturday and the finals on Sunday. The only team to qualify so far

COURTESY GRIFFIN ANDERSEN

The team celebrates after a comeback win over UMaine Orono in the regional final on Nov. 20, 2016. other than Tufts is Xavier University, the nation’s top-ranked team. The bracket will be filled out after the Western and Southern regions hold their playoffs later this spring. The Jumbos will come into the national championship ranked second in

Div. III. McKinney attributes the team’s success to its members’ intelligent style of play.

“If you stacked us up against the other teams in the division, most people watching our games would be a bit worried for

us, because we’re way, way smaller than the other teams,” McKinney said. “We’re playing teams like Eastern Connecticut State University, which have a bunch of see MEN'S RUGBY, page 11

Jumbos gear up for an eighth consecutive NESCAC title

by Maddie Payne

four tournament victories, each with margins of victory greater than 10 points.

These victories granted those with less Last May, Tufts graduated 15 seniors prior playing time more opportunities to who made up one of the most successful make their mark on the team. classes on the lacrosse team in history.

Conor Helfrich (LA ’16) and John Although they lost 14-13 to the Salisbury Uppgren (LA ’16) were last year’s most Sea Gulls in the final seconds of the NCAA notable graduates, having both been the Championship, losing out on the chance first Tufts players in history to be picked to be the first team in history to win three in the draft for Major League Lacrosse. consecutive national titles, they set the Other players such as Jake Gillespie (LA standards of the program higher than they ’16) emerged as stars in their own right. had ever been before.

Gillespie, who had never started a game On May 29, 2016, in Philadelphia, Pa., before his senior year, went on to become the second-highest scorer in the entire conference with 61 goals, trailing only Uppgren (who scored 73 goals of his own).

Tufts also reaped the benefits of having one of the top goalies in the NESCAC, Alex Salazar (LA’16), who led the conference in saves.

Uppgren and classmate Jon Sax (LA ’16) have EVAN SAYLES / THE TUFTS DAILY Victorious Tufts players clear the field after the NCAA Div. III men’s lacrosse semifinal against the Saint Lawrence Univ. both gone on to Saints on May 22, 2016. be assistant gradSports Editor

the Jumbos went eight goals down in the third quarter against the Sea Gulls.

Despite the fact that Tufts scored seven unanswered goals to cut the deficit 12-11 in the final quarter, each team went on to score two apiece, with Salisbury eventually outlasting Tufts.

Last season, the Jumbos went 9-1 in conference match-ups. They subsequently retained their NESCAC crown for the seventh year in a row by defeating the Middlebury Panthers in the championship game, 20-14. The heartbreak in the NCAA championship was preceded by

uate coaches for the team, and have the option of continuing to take classes at Tufts. Helfrich, meanwhile, is a volunteer assistant coach for the team.

This year’s team enters the season with high expectations, as pre-season prognosticators have anointed Tufts as the No. 3 team in the country. The Jumbos’ 10-man senior class is led by co-captains defensemen Tucker Mathers and Tyler Olney, both of whom were regular starters last season.

The group also includes the NESCAC’s third highest scorer attackman Zach Richman (with 58 goals during the season), who set the record for most goals in a game in the NESCAC with eight last year against the Williams Ephs. Senior attackman Austin Carbone equaled the record against Ithaca in the NCAA tournament.

“It’s our role on the team now to step up and fill the leadership role,” Mathers said. “Our senior class is really united so it’s always a group decision and we are not on a pedestal above everyone else. The senior class are the leaders of the team.”

The program welcomes 13 first-years who will no doubt make an impact on the highly-competitive team.

“The freshman are great, it’s so awesome to see them come in with full energy,” Mathers said. “They are relearning lacrosse because they have to relearn Tufts lacrosse culture. We’re lucky that in the fall we had the chance to go from walk, jog, see MEN'S LACROSSE, page 11