The Tufts Daily - Wednesday, January 24, 2018

MEN’S SWIMMING AND DIVING

The religious minority at Tufts: three students’ experiences see FEATURES / PAGE 4

Jumbos dominate Wheaton for strong semester start

Kirchoff finds the surreal in nature in new exhibit see ARTS&LIVING / PAGE 6

SEE SPORTS / BACK PAGE

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Wednesday, January 24, 2018

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Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Symposium calls community to action

By Anar Kansara News Editor

Tufts held the annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Symposium, entitled "The Fierce Urgency of Now," on the evening of Jan. 22 in Breed Memorial Hall. The event featured a variety of distinguished speakers and performers who highlighted the importance of civic engagement and decisive action in the face of injustice, inspired by the work and words of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The event was co-sponsored by the Office of the President, the Office of the Provost, the Office of the Chief Diversity Officer, the Office of the Dean of Arts and Sciences, the Office of the Dean of Student Affairs, the Toupin-Bolwell Fund, the Africana Center, the Center for the Humanities at Tufts, the Center for the Study of Race and Democracy (CSRD), the Jonathan M. Tisch College of Civic Life and the University Chaplaincy, according to the Student Life website.

According to Director of Community Partnerships at Tisch College Shirley Mark, the symposium has been occurring annually for many years. Mark said the theme of "The Fierce Urgency of Now" came from a King quotation that Katrina Moore, the director of the Africana Center, introduced to her.

The full quotation, from King's "I Have a Dream" speech, is as follows: “We have also come to his hallowed spot to remind America of the fierce urgency of now. This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism. Now is the time to make real the promises of democracy."

According to Moore, the title is fitting for today's political and social climate and reflects King's multifaceted activism.

“We picked this theme because we want to make sure that King is not looked at as this ‘I have a dream’ icon, and that in his later years he was making a lot of different changes and being a lot more vocal," she said.

Moore stressed that the event aims to bring members of the Tufts community together.

“It’s important for us to have this event on the Tufts campus to bring us together so

that we know that we are working on this together… on equality and equity,” she said.

Mark, who was involved in the event’s organization, also said she wanted the symposium to reflect a collaborative spirit.

“There has to be collective effort … for people to learn from each other, be inspired by each other and sustain each other for the long haul,” she said.

Provost and Senior Vice President David Harris, whose office co-sponsored the symposium, agreed, saying the words of King should inspire Tufts community members to think critically about what we can do as a university community to act against injustice and oppression.

“It really is about thinking about ... [what] we can do to be a more just, equitable community here,” he said. “But [there’s] also knowledge when we think about what we do as a university — about creation of knowledge, dissemination of knowledge and knowledge-based policy and action.”

The event began with a set of welcome remarks by Harris, Chief Diversity Officer Amy Freeman, and Moore. The introductory speakers reflected on the powerful words of King in the context of our current political environment.

The opening remarks were followed by a performance by members of Tufts' Black Theater Troupe. The performers recited excerpts from King's speech, bringing his words to life for the attendees.

Kerri Greenidge, co-director of the African-American Freedom Trail Project in the CSRD and professor in the department of history, took to the podium after the performance. In her speech, Greenidge provided historical context for acts of racial injustice and the intent of King's words. She spoke about how journalists in the 1960s and even now have misrepresented and diluted King's radical call to action, unduly conflating the separate ideas of equality and justice.

Greenidge’s words set the scene for an inspiring discussion by three panelists including: Chris Cato, the Green Initiative project manager at YouthBuild USA, a nonprofit organization that gives low-income young people opportunities for education and employment by teaching construction

EDDIE SAMUELS / THE TUFTS DAILY

Co-director of project South Emery Wright served as keynote speaker for ‘The Fierce Urgency of Now’ in Breed Memorial Hall on Monday, Jan. 22. skills; Cheryl Clyburn Crawford, executive director at MassVOTE; and Lydia Edwards, the Boston city councilor for District 1. Mark moderated the discussion.

The panelists spoke about their individual efforts to contribute to a communal fight for social justice. Cato stressed the importance of creating mentorships to help others learn.

“We’ve got a job to do — raising awareness, preparing, training and educating," Cato said.

Crawford agreed, demanding action from the audience.

“When I look at the current state of affairs [and] all the injustices that are happening around us … The issues have not changed [since the time of King]. There's still so much more to do,” she said. “My battle cry for 2018 is ‘And what are we gonna do about it?' It will take a collective effort to help our communities to understand fully the power of their voices. We can’t sit back.

We can’t wait."

Edwards, who was elected this past November, spoke about how her experiences as an attorney fighting for the wages of immigrant, working-class individuals allowed her to earn the votes of people who had the opposite ideology or way of

life. At the end of her speech, she directed her words towards young people, emphasizing that they should learn to work together in a time of political unrest.

“Urgency does not mean rushing to the finish line. Urgency means building a real movement,” she said. “Your generation is probably the most intelligent and most inclusive and most altruistic, honestly, that we’ve ever had. And I hope that you take that and lead.”

The symposium came to a close with a final keynote speech by Emery Wright (LA '99), co-director of Project South. According to its website, Project South that works to generate social movements in the South to address social, economic and political problems.

Wright touched upon the messages and struggles behind King's words, highlighting the importance of taking vigorous and positive action with urgency to fight against oppression using “diverse strategies and world views.”

“I believe that we’re going to face some significant challenges as a country this year...Our future will depend on the actions and sacrifices for collective good that young people like you all choose to make in the days ahead,” he said.

Women's Basketball welcomes Ashanti Sturgis, a teen fighting sickle cell anemia

by Seohyun Shim News Editor

Ashanti Sturgis, a 15-year-old teen fighting sickle cell anemia, was drafted by the Tufts Women's Basketball team,

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according to Shelby Carney, marketing and communications coordinator at Team IMPACT. Team IMPACT is a national organization that drafts chronically ill teens to local college teams, according to its website. Carney said that because Sturgis is still

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a high school student, she will not be available to attend all the games and practices, but she will attend some practices and most of the home games.

The draft took place on Jan. 3 in the Steve Tisch Sports and Fitness Center,

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according to the Tufts Athletics website. The website states that teammates, coaching staff and Sturgis' family attended the event. see TEAM IMPACT, page 2

NEWS............................................1 FEATURES.................................4 ARTS & LIVING.......................6

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THE TUFTS DAILY | News | Wednesday, January 24, 2018

THE TUFTS DAILY Catherine Perloff Editor-in-Chief

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continued from page 1 Sturgis, a sophomore at Cambridge Rindge and Latin School, described her experience as "nerve-racking" yet unforgettable. "[Signing the draft] gives you a weird feeling, like you've been waiting for it all your life. And you can really feel like you are part of something bigger than yourself," she said.

Elizabeth Higgins, the Massachusetts regional relationship manager for Team IMPACT, explained that the draft was coordinated by Tufts Women's Basketball Head Coach Carla Berube and Team IMPACT. "We knew [coach Berube], who was looking for a Team IMPACT child, and when we met Ashanti, we knew her humor, positive energy and fighting spirit would be a perfect fit for the Jumbos," Higgins told the Daily in an email.

Angela Alibrandi, a first-year who officially welcomed Sturgis to the team at the draft event, also noted that Sturgis' sense of humor is a great addition to the team and her teammates are excited to have her. "[Ashanti] has a great sense of humor. She always makes us laugh. She is another spark of life in the locker room and on the bench, cheering us on," Alibrandi said. "She brings a lot of positive energy that I think we definitely need and look forward to have as the season goes on."

Berube also applauded Sturgis' positivity.

Referring to Sturgis' experience with sickness, she said that Sturgis would be a source of inspiration for the rest of the team.

"Knowing what she's been through and what she's had to overcome and persevere

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Team IMPACT, women’s basketball team up

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Half baked On Jan. 17 at 8:30 p.m., the Tufts University Police Department ( TUPD) responded to an off-campus medical call for a bad reaction to a marijuana brownie. The student was transported to the hospital.

Pull my finger Later on Jan. 17 at 10 p.m., TUPD responded to an on-campus medical call from a student who dislocated their finger. The student had dislocated their finger at baseball practice and tried to go to Tufts University Health Services, but it was closed. TUPD transported the student to a hospital, where they were treated.

Third time's the charm TUPD received a call on Jan. 19 at 2:30 p.m. that an unwanted person was in the Science and Engineering Complex (SEC). This was the second time this person was identified as trespassing. The person was located and given a warning that they were not allowed back and would be arrested for trespassing if they came back a third time.

Not quite an open-and-shut case Students at an off-campus residence notified TUPD at 10:30 p.m. on Jan. 21 that both their front and back doors were found open. Despite the suspicious circumstances, nothing was missing and there was no sign of forced entry. TUPD would like to remind all students to lock their doors.

Invasion of the purse snatchers On Jan. 22 at 4 p.m., TUPD received a call from a Tufts employee that their purse was missing from a closet in Paige Hall. TUPD is currently investigating; it is unclear if the purse was stolen or is simply missing.

COURTESY PAUL SWEENEY

Cambridge's Ashanti Sturgis, drafted by Tufts Women's Basketball through Team IMPACT, poses for a picture with her future teammates. through, I think she's an inspiration to our team and I think we are really lucky to have her," the coach said.

Berube added that the team has gotten to know her since December and said it is enjoying her presence, citing an impromptu dance lesson that Sturgis gave her teammates during their team dinner.

"I think everybody's very excited ... It's great having another member ... as part of [the Tufts Women's Basketball] family. So everybody on the team is thrilled to have her," she said.

Sturgis, despite never having been part of a basketball team, said she is thrilled to be around her teammates and that her teammates have been a great help.

"What I am looking forward to the most is getting to know all the girls and all the individuals, their personalities, their likes and their dislikes," she said. "We do a lot of activities together, like practices, games and dinner."

She added that she hopes to provide the emotional and moral support her teammates need as the season moves forward. “[Because of] my wittiness and my sense of humor, I can be an example [for the team] whenever they feel like they want to give up.

I can tell [the teammates], ‘look, how far I’ve come since I’ve been diagnosed [with sickle cell anemia]...if I can get through all of this, you can do the same.’”

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Features

Wednesday, January 24, 2018

Students discuss their experiences as members of Tufts’ religious minority

by Ameenah Rashid

Assistant Features Editor

For students who identify as religious or spiritual, Tufts offers a wide array of options for them to practice their faith on campus.

This includes the presence of Buddhist, Catholic, Jewish, Humanist, Muslim and Protestant chaplains on campus.

However, there are some students who are members of less-populated religions on campus, referred to as “minority religions.” According to the 2017 Spiritual Interests Survey, out of 1,525 responses from first-years, seven percent identified with minority religious identities.

Erika Madrian is a junior who identifies as part of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the Mormon Church. Growing up religious her whole life, she knew that the presence of religious communities would be important when considering her college choices.

“I came into college knowing that I would actively want to practice my faith on campus,” Madrian said. “That was a really big factor just because Mormonism is not a particularly common religion.

Places where I applied [to] were places where I knew there were particularly strong Mormon communities.”

As a result, when she visited Tufts, she made sure to explore the religious aspects of campus, in addition to the more conventional tour.

“One of the typical things Mormon people do is visit on a weekend so they can go to church and see what the congregation is like,” Madrian said. “So I went to the congregation [and] I told them I was looking at Tufts and all the Tufts people came and told me where to go.”

At Tufts, Madrian joined the Latter-day Saints Students Association. However, due to the very small population of Mormon students on campus, the club has dwindled down to just two members, including her. To actively practice her faith with other college students, Madrian goes off campus.

“When I came in, there was a club for Mormon students. It’s kind of fallen aside just because we’ve had people graduate and it hasn’t really repopulated.

So there’s only two of us right now — if you were to ask TCU [Tufts Community Union], we don’t exist,” Madrian said.

“But Boston has a great congregation that brings together students from all of the areas. Tufts itself has a very small Mormon community, but Harvard, which is right down the road, has lots of people, so it’s really easy for me to go hang out with them.”

Madrian said she has never felt like a minority in terms of her religious stance. She has never received a negative response to her religious beliefs, but is often asked about certain practices of the Mormon faith, such as abstaining from alcohol consumption.

“Ideologically sometimes I feel like I’m in the minority, because Tufts can be very hyper-liberal,” Madrian said.

“It can be tricky to know where I stand because at Tufts I feel like I’m too conservative, but then at church I feel like I’m not conservative enough. It’s been an interesting exercise in challenging what I really believe rather than just blindly following what someone has been telling

me my whole life. Overall, though, people at Tufts have been very respectful of my religion.”

Ann-Marie Lee is a sophomore whose religious background is multi-faith. While she was raised as a Catholic, she has studied other religions that have led her to alter her own religious identification.

“I broadly identify as interfaith,” Lee said. “I have been raised and am culturally Roman Catholic, have spent years seriously self-studying eclectic European and Asian paganism and folk religion, am a part of a local pagan community, and have adopted Daoism and Buddhism as faith paths.”

While Lee was religious in high school and identified as Roman Catholic, Daoist and pagan, it was not a factor in her college choice. At Tufts, she continued to explore her various faiths alongside other students on campus.

“I found lots of people who shared common facets of their beliefs and faith practices with me, but no one who has exactly shared my unique, syncretic blend of religious faith,” Lee said. “I’m on the e-board of the Buddhist Mindfulness Sangha, and would consider that to be one of my cherished faith communities.

I deeply regard and love the interfaith community at Tufts.”

Lee is satisfied with the resources available for religious students on campus, and has even helped form more resources, such as the student organization Community OF Faith Exploration and Engagement (COFFEE).

“I absolutely fell in love with the chaplaincy staff and all the chaplains.

My first semester as a freshman I also teamed up with a friend to create and establish the interfaith student group at Tufts, COFFEE, after we both completed the CAFE [Conversation Action Faith and Education] pre-orientation.

So some of the resources for students of minority faiths were already in place and institutionalized, and some I helped facilitate,” Lee said.

Lee elaborated on the aims of COFFEE as an interfaith community, including for students who are not spiritual or religious. According to the 2017 Spiritual Interests Survey, the two most popular religious, spiritual and philosophical identities chosen by first-years were agnostic and atheist.

“We strive to be a group welcoming of all students, especially of minority faiths who have no formal space or organized faith community on campus, who want to engage in deeper, more meaningful discussions. We’re also explicit about inviting in atheist, secular, agnostic, non-religious and questioning students,” Lee said.

Raveena Longia is a junior who identifies as Sikh. As someone who grew up in Medford, she has been going to a local gurdwara her whole life. Because she doesn’t speak Punjabi, she has always struggled with how intertwined her religion and culture are.

“Somebody asked me once, ‘Are you culturally religious, or religiously religious?’ and my family’s definitely

culturally religious,” Longia said. “So when I came to college, that’s when I started exploring the principles of Sikhism — how do I want to identify it, what parts of it do I want to relate to and how can I apply that to my own life. I wanted to move away from ‘Just because I was born in this, therefore I should practice it or identify with it.’”

At Tufts, she found it difficult to find other students who identify as Sikh. Like Madrian, Longia found that the existing club for Sikh students, the Sikh Students Association, is so small that it does not meet regularly. However, she has discovered that there are more spaces off campus for Sikh students who are actively practicing their faith.

“I didn’t find other people who were Sikh when I first came to campus and the Sikh Students Association isn’t really running, but there’s a temple in Medford and another one in Everett. Also there’s a health initiative at Tufts called Sharewood, where you can volunteer at a gurdwara in Everett, which is really cool,” Longia said.

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ARTS&LIVING

Wednesday, January 24, 2018

MOVIE REVIEW

‘The Commuter’ ultimately a train wreck

by John Fedak Arts Editor

With the end of the Christmas blockbuster season, interested movie-goers must turn to lesser-known projects in the hopes of discovering a thrill. Of course, the trade-off is that these projects are often worse than usual; less investment and time put into a movie tend to make for a subpar experience. While there is nothing glaringly wrong with “The Commuter” (2018), its interesting premise quickly goes off the rails, and those interested should be warned that the ending is nothing short of a train wreck.

Starring Liam Neeson as leading man Michael MacCauley, the movie follows the ex-detective insurance salesman as his ordinary commute turns into anything but. One day, MacCauley loses his job. As he rides the train home to break the news to his wife, worrying about paying for his son’s college tuition, McCauley is given a strange offer by a mysterious woman. For $100,000, all he has to do is locate someone who goes by the name of “Prynne” and stick a GPS locater on their bag before they get off at a stop named Cold Spring. Of course, this apparently simple task is nowhere near as easy as it seems, and before long MacCauley is fighting for his very life as the train barrels toward its destination.

One of the biggest disappointments with the film is that none of the characters have depth. Instead, they all occupy traditional character clichés, each fulfilling a rather boring role. Neeson’s character is the overworked but pro-

tective husband and father who will do anything for his family. His wife is sweet and caring; his son is smart yet filled with doubts about college; his ex-partner is distrustful and a bit of a renegade; and the woman on the train is classically attractive and almost seductive. There is nothing new in this repertoire. This is not to say that the actors themselves do a bad job, because their portrayal of these character archetypes is solid.

However, good performances cannot make up for writing that is flawed from its foundation upward, and the movie suffers because viewers have a difficult time actually caring about any of the characters. None of them feel real enough to be worth investing emotional energy, and this lack of empathy for the characters leads to a boring 105 minutes.

The plot itself starts out on a decent note before ultimately crashing and burning — another major disappointment. On paper, the idea of being recruited by a mysterious individual to solve a task with limited time in a novel setting makes for a good movie, and the first half hour of the film is entertaining.

But after the 30-minute mark, the plot collapses on itself, and it becomes more and more challenging to take it seriously. As multiple assassins and undercover agents enter the scene, everything begins to feel contrived. Just like the characters, the plot cannot escape feeling cliché and overdone, but what’s worse is that it is nowhere near believable. This might not have been a problem if the first half of the film hadn’t tried so hard to convince viewers it was telling a story about an

VIA LIONSGATE

Liam Neeson is pictured during a scene in The Commuter. everyday man with relatable problems who just happened to be thrown into unexpected circumstances. This juxtaposition between the ordinary and the extraordinary doesn’t completely fail at first, but combined with the movie’s confusing plot, it ultimately falls apart.

Of course, not everything about “The Commuter” is bad. The cinematography is very well done, with some breathtaking shots on the train that help emphasize MacCauley’s feelings of dread and hopelessness in the face of his mysterious task. The score also gets a pass; it is no masterpiece, but the music punctuates the action at just the right amount, further enhancing the film’s overall mood. However, beyond these two cate-

gories, the film is just too unremarkable to stand out in a positive way, and its flaws are too large to be covered up by decent shots and solid music.

At the end of the day, an action movie is an action movie, and “The Commuter” does enough right that it isn’t a total waste of time. The flip side is that it does too much wrong to really recommend seeing, and to be honest, Neeson’s previous films, such as “Taken” (2008) and “Non-Stop” (2014), do what “The Commuter” does, but better. If no other movie piques your interest, “The Commuter” is a fine choice for an afternoon out, but don’t hold your breath expecting a masterpiece of thriller and suspense.

MUSEUM REVIEW

‘Sanctuary’ shows affected reality at the Griffin Museum of Photography

COURTESY MICHAEL KIRCHOFF

The photograph “Victory Trailhead” by Michael Kirchoff, featured in the Griffin Gallery.

by Setenay Mufti Arts Editor

Paradise is not usually imagined in black and white, but there is not much in the realm of the traditional in Michael Kirchoff’s “Sanctuary,” a nature photography exhibit currently on view at the Griffin Museum of Photography in Winchester, Mass. This world-within-in-our-world is stark, beautiful and devoid of human life. Extremely wide shots, high-contrast lighting and subtle, off-kilter effects create a world that looks more like an alternate version of our Earth than traditional nature photography.

The gallery has a surprisingly intimate atmosphere; it lacks the airy white walls and high ceilings common in photography exhibits in favor of wood paneling and natural light. Kirchoff’s style is marked by texture, contrast and playing with light. The homey, warm setting of the gallery helps bring the landscapes down to earth. It allows the viewer to feel more absorbed in the naturalistic aura of the exhibit.

From a distance, some of the works in “Sanctuary” seem like they could be desktop backgrounds. The real magic comes when you look closer. A distinctive motif

in “Sanctuary,” and throughout Kirchoff’s whole body of work, is the dark, textured effects on the borders of the pictures.

They almost look like the frayed edges of an old Wild West “Wanted” poster.

From up close, however, the viewer is drawn into the delicacy and intricacy of these effects. Sometimes they look like ink splotches, sometimes like torn paper and sometimes as if someone just spilled water on the edges.

For how natural and isolated the subjects of “Sanctuary” are, Kirchoff proves himself a master in carrying ordinary, though often striking landscapes into the surreal and the bizarre. Lens or sun flares might be planets. Trees are warped to look like anemones. All sense of scale is lost. But despite the grandness, the weirdness and the lack of companionship in this world, there is something comfortably human about Kirchoff’s “Sanctuary.” There are no people in sight, but if you look closely there is evidence of human life: a long picket fence or worn dirt roads in the distance. The textural effects are not spilled water but evidence of a human hand.

Consider one of the photos of the exhibit, called “Victory Trailhead” for its setting, although it might as well have been taken anywhere. A lone tree sits on a hill, and the marbling, blurring effects on the photo add the faded impression of a vine crawling above the tree into the sky. If Kirchoff were Botticelli, one would expect Adam and Eve to be standing right in the

center. But as usual, there are no people in the picture. Has humanity already been cast from this sanctuary? Or is it about to arrive? Kirchoff himself best described his own world as “a place that is as dark and mysterious as it is bright and hopeful.”

One notable feature of the “Sanctuary” series is that every picture has a literal name, like “Sunflower” or “Alabama Hills #1, Lone Pine CA.” It seems to intentionally ground the photographs in reality, even if some of them cross over to surreal. “Alabama Hills” is just as it claims to be, a series of hills and rocks across a broad depth of field in a wide landscape. Yet somehow, it doesn’t quite look like earth. The lens flares seem out of proportion with the landscape. At first glance, they look like clouds or objects in space. The picture could have been titled “1950s Space Exploration Movie Set,” but then the play with reality would have been lost. As Kirchoff explains, “Each image is a mysterious place, both real and unreal, captured from the safety of my own imagination.” Although each picture is of the natural world, open for all, viewing the exhibit feels like walking into something very private, as if the viewer is being let in on a secret.

Tucked away in the suburb of Winchester, the Griffin Museum is showcasing a vast dream world in a small room from Jan. 11 through March 4. Go to get lost, and consider, as Kirchoff asks: “If I needed to run in times of trouble or discontent, where would I go?”

A&L A rts & L iving

Wednesday, January 24, 2018 | Arts & Living | THE TUFTS DAILY

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ALBUM REVIEW

‘Blue Madonna’ sees BØRNS explore same themes with different, just as enjoyable, approach

VIA INTERSCOPE RECORDS

The album cover of “Blue Madonna”, second album by artist BØRNS is pictured.

by Christopher Panella Staff Writer

When Lana Del Rey posted about BØRNS’ new album “Blue Madonna”

on Instagram, describing it as “one of the craziest, best records I’ve heard in years,” she wasn’t wrong. One listen alone reveals “Blue Madonna”as a vivid, emotional and expansive album. Sure, it

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features the same themes BØRNS sings about on his debut album, “Dopamine” (2015). It’s about young love, young heartbreak and youth in general. Yet while “Dopamine” was an ode to those feelings, “Blue Madonna” is so much more than that. It’s a lament, full of longing and sadness, wrapped beautifully in electronic beats and dreamy pop.

BØRNS was a breakout star in 2015 with his massively successful single “Electric Love,” which topped charts and led his debut “Dopamine.” With this came tours, videos, festivals and performances galore. Like many artists before him, when the initial success died down, a haunting question hovered over him: What comes next? Sophomore albums are, simply put, tricky. Artists with successful debuts seem to find themselves in a curse. Do they create an album similar to their debut, or is that too predictable? Do they completely change their persona and ideals, or is that also too predictable? It seems there is this gray area, an area where that sophomore success can be found. Lady Gaga found it with “Born this Way” (2011), which saw her sticking to her Gaga persona but exploring darker themes, ideas and styles. It seems, thankfully, that BØRNS also found it.

“Blue Madonna” opens with the sparse and dreamlike “God Save Our Young Blood,” which features Del Rey. (Del Rey also returns later in the album on “Blue Madonna.”) The song seems to set the mood for the album: youth, love and all the problems that come

with them. Despite this, it doesn’t set the musical style. In fact, with each song, BØRNS surprises us with different sounds and vocals, exciting strings and heavy beats, his signature swooning vocals and newfound whispers.

BØRNS is more versatile on this album than ever. He’s psychedelic and hypnotic on “Sweet Dreams,” smooth and exciting on “Man,” quiet and honest on “Iceberg” and bruised on “Second Night of Summer.” Arguably the best track on the album, “Tension (Interlude),” is also the shortest and features BØRNS, surrounded by infectious beats, moaning about rejection. “Supernatural” seems to sum the album’s question up perfectly: “Is it us, or is it supernatural?” In other words, is love really there, or is it something else? BØRNS tops the album off with a longing slow jam, “Bye-bye Darling,” which features the perfect lyrics to bring the album into a fully realized piece.

The lyrics take the front seat on “Blue Madonna,” specifically to help BØRNS keep himself out of the rut of repetition.

Yes, he sticks to his comfortable themes.

This time, however, BØRNS pushes those themes into unknown territory and sound, experimenting with hearton-sleeve feelings and expressions.

This exploration is the perfect formula. After all, Lorde followed the same equation with her critically successful “Melodrama” (2017). Why shouldn’t BØRNS? In truth, “Blue Madonna” is the perfect sophomore album for BØRNS and a great way to begin 2018.

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8

THE TUFTS DAILY | Comics | Wednesday, January 24, 2018

Comics

tuftsdaily.com LATE NIGHT AT THE DAILY Cathy: “You sometimes have to kill things a bit.”

Comics

SUDOKU

GARFIELD

BY JIM DAVIS

Difficulty Level: Answering the phone without needing to drive home in just your boxers

NON SEQUITUR

BY WILEY MILLER

Monday’s Solution

CROSSWORD

Monday’s Solution

Wednesday, January 24, 2018

Opinion

9 tuftsdaily.com

OP-ED

Tragedy of the commons

by Jamie Neikrie When the internet first premiered, its upside was limitless. This was especially true in the political science community, where the internet was seen as a great equalizer and unifier. In his 1998 paper, “Can technology save democracy?”, Tracy Westen predicted that the internet would create more democratic participation by providing the platform for issue-based campaigns. According to Westen, the internet could create cross-cutting cleavages and facilitate closer links of communication between citizens and their representatives. The internet would also engender large-scale debates and allow for direct forms of political communication such as online voting and electronic polling.

Unlike previous technological advancements in communication, like print media and television, the internet would be cheap; easily accessible from any public library or computer, without any monthly bills. By providing affordable access, scholars predicted that the internet would reduce the information and knowledge gaps created by media forms that allowed the wealthy to get superior and more accessible forms of information.

These utopian prognostications only increased with the advancements of “Web 2.0,” the social media networks of Facebook and Twitter. Web 2.0 would

evolve democracy, techno-evangelists argued, giving rise to Democracy 2.0, e-Democracy and teledemocracy. At the time, these predictions were logical. After all, like democracy, social media is founded on the principles of individual identity, communal action and participatory dialogue. In a 2008 Time article entitled “The Citizen Watchdogs of Web 2.0,” Jeremy Caplan argued that social media would propel civic engagement by allowing movements to more easily gain support and form cohesive strategies. That same year, Efthymios Constantinides and Stefan Fountain found that Web 2.0 creates massive social networks that are still centered around the opinions and contents generated by the users.

More so than any other network, Facebook appeared poised to fulfill these predictions. Facebook boasts two billion monthly users, making it the world’s largest social media website. With so many users from so many different countries inhabiting the same space, Facebook became the digital commons that political scientists dreamed about. Facebook is a primary driver of news, with Pew Research Center studies showing forty-five percent of all American adults report that they get some news from Facebook. Facebook is also a facilitator of communication, serving to unite people across distances. The civic foundations are there, upon which

Facebook could become the Democracy 2.0 engine it was expected to be.

Of course, it hasn’t worked out that way. Facebook has faced severe criticism over the past year for its role in the 2016 election cycle, when the network became an incubator for false news stories. It has now been disclosed that some of these stories were generated by Russian agents in an attempt to polarize the American electorate. Facebook has long been seen as a driver of polarization, its algorithms producing news and conversations that seek to validate users’ existing opinions.

It is because of these criticisms that Facebook announced this past month that it will be enacting significant changes to its signature News Feed. Announcing these changes in a Facebook post, CEO Mark Zuckerberg wrote, “I’m changing the goal I give our product teams from focusing on helping you find relevant content to helping you have more meaningful social interactions.” This means that Facebook’s algorithm will now prioritizes posts from friends, family and groups, rather than the content from brands, publishers and the media that has come to dominate News Feeds in recent years. This includes news stories generated by reputable publications. “We feel a responsibility to make sure our services aren’t just fun to use, but also good for people’s well-being,” wrote Zuckerberg.

These changes are a recognition that Facebook may not want the pressures that come with being the digital commons.

Rather than increasing its vetting or oversight, Facebook responded to criticisms about the fake news stories circling its network by limiting the amount of news that users receive. This is because Facebook doesn’t want to be accused of bias. Of 156 false election stories identified in a 2017 analysis from Stanford University, all but 41 were overtly pro-Donald Trump or anti-Hillary Clinton. Facebook is one of the wealthiest companies in the world, generating nearly $18 billion in profit just last year. It has the capability to eliminate the majority of its fake news stories. But to do so would be to target conservative propaganda.

According to Zuckerberg, Facebook’s algorithm changes are meant to get back to the network’s mission, “help us connect with each other.” But Facebook has done nothing to help diversify the type of connections it is forming, to engage us in conversations across differences. Instead, it is moving away from news to avoid controversy, criticism and government regulation. As long as profits are at stake, the dream of Democracy 2.0 will have to wait.

Jamie is a senior majoring in political science. Jamie can be reached at benjamin. neikrie@tufts.edu.

HANDSHAKE AT THE TUFTS CAREER CENTER

BY LYDIA RA 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.

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S p o rts

Wednesday, January 24, 2018 | Sports | THE TUFTS DAILY

11

Jumbos wrap up dual-meet schedule with 5–2 record WOMEN’S SWIMMING & DIVING

continued from back onds off Wheaton senior Jenna Hayden’s winning time of 1:00.56. With Brown placing second behind Kimura in the 200-yard breaststroke and Seymour finishing behind Kimura in the 100-yard breaststroke, Tufts appears to have strong depth in both events for years to come. Evans put in a stellar performance in the tricky 1000-yard freestyle, crediting her success to the hard work achieved in between meets.

“Long-distance events require a lot of distance-specific training in practice,” she said. “[This] means [the] distance group does a lot of long, tough workouts while other swimmers do much shorter sets.

Distance swimming requires a lot of mental toughness and less technical skill.”

On Tuesday, the Jumbos received standout performances from swimmers with a variety of experience levels, despite tough competition from the Eagles. Tufts had three winners from three different classes, including Kimura

in both the 100 and 200-yard breaststrokes.

“For every swimmer, approaches to races are different,” Kimura told the Daily in an email. “Since this is my last year, I’ve been focusing on trying to enjoy every moment and race. I’ve also been tweaking my technique throughout the season, which has definitely helped.”

Doolan swam away with a top finish in the 200-yard butterfly, and Brown triumphed in the 50-yard breaststroke.

Both swimmers faced stiff competition, finishing their races with an Eagle right on their tails. Brown finished her race in 32.05 seconds, finishing just 0.66 seconds ahead of Boston College sophomore Julianna Carbone, while Doolan was a mere 0.14 seconds ahead of sophomore Victoria Lin. The first-years certainly did not go unnoticed and made their mark in the top three of numerous events. Claus flashed her versatility, finishing second in both the 200-yard freestyle and the 200 individual medley. Firstyear Lily Kurtz placed third in the 200-yard

breast behind Kimura, while Evans finished third in the 500-yard freestyle. Fong came in second in the 50-yard butterfly, and first-year Jackie Crater capped off the strong performances by placing third in the 200-yard backstroke. Additionally, Chong placed third in the three-meter diving competition.

Kimura explained that the rest of the team has taken notice of the first-years’ strong showings. “[We’ve been] very impressed,” she said. “They have all been doing really well this season despite it being their first season at the collegiate level. [They have] definitely stepped up to the challenge!”

Evans explained that the first-years have been proud to help the team step up its game this year.

“The upperclassmen say that this year, the [first-year] team has definitely put in the most work in the pool and the weight room,” Evans said.

The Jumbos will look to build on their positive momentum as they enter the championship season. The victory over

Wheaton marked the end of Tufts’ dualmeet schedule, during which they went an impressive 5–2. Thus, the start of championship season.

“For some, their championship meet is the Middlebury Invitational, and for others, it is NESCACs,” Kimura said. “We’re in the final countdown now, so we are all trying to focus as much as possible on the little details of our swimming — starts, turns, finishes, breathing patterns — while trying to be as healthy as possible.

Hopefully, we’ll see a lot of time drops at our championship meets!”

The NESCAC Championships at Williams College on Feb. 16–18 mark the end of the season for most, though the NCAA Championships are still a goal for many of the Jumbos. Doolan was one of Tufts’ two competitors at the NCAA Championships last season, along with Amanda Gottschalk (LA ’17).

First, however, the Jumbos will head to Vermont for the Middlebury Invitational on Feb. 2–3.

MEN'S TRACK AND FIELD

Jumbos compete in first two meets of the season

by Liam Finnegan

Assistant Sports Editor

On Saturday, the Tufts men’s track and field team traveled to Brunswick, Maine, where it competed at the Bowdoin Invitational. A week prior, the team hosted — and competed in — the Tufts Invitational, held at Gantcher Center, where five Jumbos took first place despite no scoring being recorded. At the Bowdoin Invitational, the team took second out of five teams. These two events were the first meets of Tufts’ season, and based on its performances, the team has set the bar for a high performance.

The Jumbos hit the ground running at the Tufts Invitational on Jan. 13, with a significant number of the runners placing high across the board. Junior Anthony Kardonsky clinched first-place in the 200-meter dash and ran a 22.59, outrunning his second-place opponent by 0.15 seconds. Kardonsky also finished well in the 60-meter dash, placing second with a time of 7.03. Not far behind Kardonsky in the 200-meter was senior co-captain Drew DiMiati, who finished third with a time of 22.91. DiMiati earned first place in the 400-meter dash, outrunning the second-place finisher by over half a second.

The top of the standings in the 1000meter dash was littered with Tufts runners. Junior Christian Swenson ran a 2:32.21 to take first place, followed by junior Hiroto Watanabe, who finished third with a time of 2:33.75. Sophomore Matt D’Anieri finished last out of the Jumbos, but still ran an outstanding time of 2:34.46 to finish fifth in a race of 24 athletes.

Junior Josh Etkind secured the final first-place victory by winning the 60-meter hurdles in 8.57 seconds, just edging out Springfield College first-year Damian Mackay-Morgan, who ran an 8.61. The Jumbos were not as successful in the field events, but still earned some good performances. First-year Michael Mecha placed first in the long jump, recording a 6.72-meter jump.

Williams said the first invitational started the team’s season on a strong foundation.

“Coming into the season everyone had very high hopes,” coach Joel Williams said. “We are typically a team that comes

together late in the season, so to see so many great early season marks has really intensified the high expectations for the championship season.”

Tufts also had a great showing at the Bowdoin Invitational on Saturday.

Kardonsky improved on his performances from the Tufts Invitational and outshone the competition. He ran a 7.01 in the 60-meter dash to earn first place, before recording a 22.50 in the 200meter dash for another first-place finish.

Kardonsky’s performances earned a huge 20 points toward the team’s total.

“Believe it or not, Anthony is one of the more raw young men in our sprint group, and we are still learning what he is capable of,” Williams said. “We have such an incredibly deep sprint group, and you never know who will take the lead. Each guy knows the better their teammates get, the better they get, and vice versa.

Over the next few weeks I fully expect Anthony, and three to four other guys, to take shots at both the 200-meter and 60-meter school records. Once we get to championship season, Tony will be more than ready to lead the charge of what should be a very deep sprint group.”

DiMiati, Watanabe and Etkind all earned first-place finishes at Bowdoin, as well. DiMiati ran a 1:21.63 in the 600meter run, nearly three seconds in front of the second-place finisher. Watanabe ran a 1:54.51 in the 800-meter run, and Etkind posted a time of 8.41 seconds in the 60-meter hurdles. These three performances pulled in ten points each, adding to the Jumbos’ already-large total.

Tufts’ team score was also boosted by a number of other good performances. Sophomore Robert Jones ran a 7.10 in the 60-meter dash, placing third and earning six points. First-year Vincent Avallone took fourth in the 600-meter run for four points, and senior co-captain Tom DePalma came in second in the 1000-meter run with a time of 2:34.00 to tally eight points.

The Jumbos’ score was further improved by dominant performances in several field events. Senior Stefan Duvivier jumped 1.98 meters in the high jump to finish second. Junior Ben Wallace vaulted 4.40 meters to finish second in the pole vault, as well. First-year Matthew Manteiga clinched first place in the long jump with a 6.77 meter jump, and sophomore Kevin

COURTESY SPORTSPIX

Senior Patrick Milne races at the Tufts Invitational on January 14, 2017.

Quisumbing finished second in the shot put with a best throw of 14.69 meters.

The Jumbos earned a team total of 132 points, only losing out to MIT, who scored 174.50 points.

“We are feeling very confident with two meets down,” DiMiati said. “We’ve seen some very good starts from upperclassmen, and we are expecting a lot more. Hiroto Watanabe had a great 800 time this weekend, putting him top in the nation in that event. Anthony Kardonsky

has come out with some very fast times in the 60 and 200. We’re also very excited about our new freshmen, especially in the jumps. Mike Mecha and Matt Manteiga have won the long jump at our last two meets. We’re feeling very good as a team going into this weekend.”

Tufts competes at the John Thomas Invitational at Boston University on Friday, before hosting the inaugural Branwen-Smith King Invitational on Saturday.

12 tuftsdaily.com

Sports

Wednesday, January 24, 2018

MEN'S SWIMMING AND DIVING

Tufts falls narrowly to Boston College, easily dispatches Wheaton

\COURTESY TUFTS SWIMMING AND DIVING

Senior Scott Simpson swims the butterfly during a meet for Swimming and Diving.

by Patrick Wang Staff Writer

While many Tufts students were still enjoying their winter breaks, the men’s swimming and diving team raced in a pair of meets, against Boston College and Wheaton College. On Jan. 16, Tufts visited Boston College, losing 191–179. However, the Jumbos were not discouraged by the loss, as they reestablished themselves by beating the Wheaton Lyons 180–112.

Against Wheaton on Jan. 20, Tufts took the winning place in 10 of the 16 events, posting 180 total points. Remarkably, the Jumbos swept the top three places in eight of those 10 wins. The 200-yard medley relay was one such event, with three Tufts teams posting times under 1:40. The quartet of senior Lorenzo Lau, sophomore Matthew Manfre, sophomore

Constantino Camerano and first-year Noah Zhang took the top place with a time of 1:37.32.

The Jumbos accomplished the same achievement in the 1000-yard freestyle, 200-yard freestyle, 100-yard backstroke, 200-yard butterfly, 50-yard freestyle, 100yard freestyle and 500-yard freestyle.

Camerano and Lau, along with junior Kingsley Bowen and senior co-captain James McElduff, all recorded two firstplace finishes in individual events. Senior Aaron Idelson maintained his momentum from the Boston College meet, finishing second in the one- and three-meter diving competitions.

Tufts locked down the win over Wheaton midway through the meet, and its swimmers did not even compete for points in the last few events.

Several days earlier, the Eagles posed a significantly larger challenge. Tufts’ last win

against Boston College came during the 2007–08 season, when it defeated its crosstown opponents by 39 points.

This year’s edition on Jan. 16 kicked off with the 200-yard medley relay, and the Jumbos welcomed a great start. The Tufts team of Bowen, Manfre, sophomore Roger Gu and senior Zach Wallace finished first in 1:34.04, earning 11 points for the visitors.

The Jumbos kept their foot on the gas, winning nine of the remaining 19 events for an even split between the two teams on top of the podium. Bowen took three individual events (the 100-yard backstroke, 50-yard backstroke and 100-yard individual medley), while Gu won two individual events (the 50-yard freestyle and 100-yard freestyle), as well as with a 200-yard freestyle relay triumph alongside McElduff, Camerano and senior Michael Brienza.

First-year John LaLime won both events for long-distance swimming — the 1,000-yard freestyle (9:52.51) and the 500-yard freestyle (4:49.90) — and firstyear Tyler Tatro won the 200-yard freestyle in 1:46.98. Coach Adam Hoyt was very happy with the performance of these two first-year athletes.

As for diving events, Idelson finished in second place in both the one- and three-meter diving competitions, each worth four points toward the Jumbos’ total.

Despite the Jumbos’ great performance, they fell by a small, 12-point margin. Instead of discouraging the Jumbos, though, the loss actually bolstered their spirits.

“The loss to BC only boosted our team confidence,” Hoyt said. “We won a lot of close races, and the score showed a dramatic improvement from last year’s performance against them. The fact that we had such a close meet against a [Div. I] team only shows how strong of a team we are, and we hope to keep that racing mentality for the rest of our season.”

Bowen won NESCAC Performer of the Week for his performance. The Pepper Pike, Ohio native won five individual events against Boston College and Wheaton, while also leading the team in several winning relays.

It is worth noticing that Tufts performed well in relays, winning all of the events they contested. Besides being worth 11 points — as opposed to the nine points gained by an individual first-place finish — relays draw the most attention and can provide an extra level of confidence to the team.

“Swim meets always start and end with relays, so opening with a winning relay sets the tone for the swim meet,” Bowen said. “In many instances, the competitiveness of the relays reflect how competitive the meet will be. They are also worth more points than any individual event, so relays are big factors regarding score and mentality.”

On Feb. 2–3, the Jumbos will attend the Middlebury Invitational in Middlebury, Vt., their last meet before the NESCAC and NCAA Championships.

WOMEN’S SWIMMING & DIVING

Tufts flashes impressive depth ahead of championship season

by Jeremy Goldstein Staff Writer

The Jumbos returned to campus with a split showing last week, falling to the Boston College Eagles on Tuesday before topping the Wheaton Thunder on Saturday.

Against Boston College, a Div. I school, Tufts lost 263–111, signaling its ability to compete with elite programs. In the match against Wheaton, that competitiveness turned into tangible success in the form of a 173–120 victory, and an impressive 10 individual wins.

Senior co-captain Anna Kimura dominated the breaststroke, winning the 200yard race by over five seconds against fellow Jumbos, sophomore Katherine Brown and senior Meghan Casey. Perhaps even more impressive was her victory by 4.30 seconds in the 100-yard breaststroke, finishing with a time of 1:08.20 over first-year Emma Seymour and Casey. Junior Colleen Doolan swam her way to a victory in the

200-yard freestyle and finished just a quarter of a second out of first in the 100-yard version. First-year Sook-Hee Evans praised the team’s upperclassmen for their leadership.

“Colleen [Doolan] and Anna [Kimura] have been great role models for the rest of the team,” Evans said. “They are consistently positive and hardworking, and the team really looks up to them as leaders.”

As they were earlier in the week against Boston College, Tufts’ first-years were again an important factor in the team’s success against Wheaton. First-year winners included Abby Claus and Amber Chong, who topped the 200-yard butterfly and one-meter diving, respectively. Not to overlook the sophomore class, Grace Goetcheus triumphed in a tight 100-yard backstroke. Claus and first-year Sasha Fong finished in a dead tie for second place in the 100-yard butterfly, both only 0.06 secCOURTESY TUFTS SWIMMING AND DIVING

see WOMEN’S SWIMMING & DIVING, page 11

Senior Lindsay Partin swims breaststroke in a meet for Swimming and Diving.