‘Con Todo El Mundo’ a strong sophomore album from Khurangbin see ARTS&LIVING / PAGE 3
TUFTS WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
Jumbos avenge loss to Mammoths
Hockey eventually falls in weekend battle with Conn. College see SPORTS / PAGE 7
SEE SPORTS / BACK PAGE
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Tuesday, February 6, 2018
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Fletcher hosts climate change strategists, innovators for annual Energy Conference by Juliana Furgala, Natasha Mayor and Anar Kansara News Editors
Tufts hosted the 2018 Tufts Energy Conference (TEC) on Friday, Feb. 2 and Saturday, Feb. 3 at The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy. A team of graduate and undergraduate students organized the conference with support from the Tufts Department of Urban and Environmental Policy and Planning (UEP) and the Tufts Institute of the Environment (TIE). The conference featured a variety of panels hosted by speakers from various local and global organizations and included an Energy and Employer Showcase, Electric Vehicle Test Driving session and the Hitachi Center Energy Innovation Competition. According to Ankit Grover, the director of the conference’s marketing and public relations team, the energy conference was hosted in the context of the United States’ June 2017 withdrawal from the Paris climate agreement. The conference focused on what clean energy policy implementation will look like not only for the United States, but also other major countries like Germany, France and China in the next 10 to 30 years, he said.
Grover said the goal of the conference was to examine the impact of carbon emissions on technology and the development of electric vehicles. “The focus is on how new energy technologies are coming into [the] picture to transform outlooks into realities,” he said. Opening remarks Professor of Energy and Environmental Policy Kelly Sims Gallagher gave the opening remarks on Friday afternoon. She said that using the past to predict the future is a poor tactic when it comes to the rapidly-changing realm of energy, pointing to recent changes in Chinese energy consumption. “China’s growth rates were historically unprecedented by any country at any time in history,” she said. Gallagher said that to eliminate energy poverty and meet the goals of the 2016 Paris climate agreement by 2030, trillions of dollars of investment would be necessary. She also emphasized the United States’ reluctance to contribute to international efforts. “Everyone in the whole world is taking climate change seriously except the United States — as a matter of policy for national governments,” Gallagher said.
SEOHYUN SHIM FOR TUFTS ENERGY CONFERENCE
Mark Vasu, executive vice president at Greentown Labs and a panelist at the conference, is pictured here during the 2018 Tufts Energy Conference on Feb. 3. Gallagher also stressed further experimentation and the implementation of smart policy. She was optimistic about the possibilities of transitioning to clean energy in a variety of sectors, but also said that this would not happen without intentional efforts to do so. “We should recognize that this transition is not likely to happen automatically or natu-
rally,” she said. “There will be fierce resistance from some companies and workers. This says to me that the transition has to be planned really well and thoughtfully, with empathy.” Panelists discuss carbon pricing In the panel titled “How Can Carbon Pricing Deflate the Carbon Bubble?” on Friday aftersee ENERGY CONFERENCE, page 2
John Barker, dean of International Education and Extended Programming, leaves Tufts by Jenna Fleischer
Assistant News Editor
John Barker, dean of International Education and Extended Programming (IEEP), left Tufts at the end of the fall semester, according to Dean of the School of Arts and Sciences, James Glaser. Baker plans to relocate to Rochester, N.Y. where he will pursue a career in the private sector focused on educational consulting.
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John Barker, former dean of Undergraduate and Graduate Students, is pictured here on Sept. 21, 2015.
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Prior to joining the Tufts administration, Barker served as the assistant provost for undergraduate education at the University of Miami. Barker arrived at Tufts in 2012 and first served as the Dean of Undergraduate and Graduate Students. “As Dean of Graduate and Undergraduate Students, Barker’s proudest accomplishment was the foundation of the BLAST [Bridge to Liberal Arts Success at Tufts] program, which has been a true success here,” Glaser told the Daily in an email. According to its website, BLAST is a “residential six-week program in the summer prior to the first year at Tufts that works to support, develop and retain students who may be first in their family to attend a four-year college, and/or have attended an under resourced high school and/or have been affiliated with a college access agency.” A year and a half ago, Barker turned his attentions fully to international and expanded education initiatives. After serving as Dean of Graduate and Undergraduate Students, Barker transitioned to his new position as the dean of the IEEP in November 2016.
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“As the University sought new opportunities for international programming, Dean Barker was involved in strategizing about and implementing many of those plans,” Glaser said. “Given his domain, he was on the road a lot, particularly in Asia, and he did a fine job developing relationships there.” While Barker was dean of the IEEP, he worked with Joseph Auner, dean of Academic Affairs for Arts and Sciences on these projects. “I mainly interacted with Dean Barker after I started in the dean’s office two years ago, primarily in the area of expanding and upgrading the Summer Session at Tufts,” Auner told the Daily in an email. As a result of the expansion and upgrade of the summer session, Tufts will offer two new faculty-led study-abroad programs this summer in Costa Rica and Spain, in addition to the existing program in Talloires, France. “Dean Barker played an important role in the launch of our new summer study abroad courses, two of which are launching this coming summer,” Auner said. In addition to his work with Tufts Summer Session, Barker had responsi-
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bility for strengthening and enhancing study abroad programs, the International Center, international partnerships, conferences and event services and the Confucius Institute. Glaser said there is currently no plan to replace Barker and his responsibilities will be divided amongst several people. Beyond his roles as dean of Undergraduate and Graduate Students and dean of the IEEP, Barker worked with individually with students who were working to improve life at Tufts. Olive Baerde, a sophomore, worked with Barker on their start-up project, Ammi. According to Baerde, Ammi aims to connect Tufts students through matching them up for study groups, dining hall partners and other various activities of their choice around campus, neighboring communities and Boston. “I reached out to him because I saw he was working on Tufts life and he cared about the importance of interpersonal connections,” Baerde told the Daily in an electronic message. “He did a great job connecting me with other people at Tufts and serving as mentor, I’m really sad to see him go.”
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THE TUFTS DAILY | News | Tuesday, February 6, 2018
THE TUFTS DAILY Catherine Perloff Editor-in-Chief
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At Energy Conference, panelists look toward a renewable future ENERGY CONFERENCE
continued from page 1 noon, speakers discussed the implications of the growing trend of using carbon pricing as a way to reduce carbon release by implementing a tax on carbon dioxide emissions. The speakers were Boston Common Asset Management Portfolio Manager Steven Heim, BP Trading Manager Teresa Lopez, 2C Energy Founder and CEO Mark Boling and Patrick Schena, an adjunct assistant professor of international business relations at The Fletcher School. The talk was moderated by Funlola Otukoya, Investor Lead at CDP. Lopez said it was highly inefficient to determine carbon pricing at the state level. She advocated instead for designating a global standard carbon price, a move that she said would be beneficial for the international market. Boling spoke about the need to plan for the future, adding that businesses should consider the total societal cost of production. “When customers make purchasing decisions, they look at the private cost,” he said. “If there is a huge difference between what the private cost is and [social cost] … then there is a truly a market failure and a socially inefficient outcome.” Schena advocated for a systematic approach to risk. He gave the example of New Zealand, a country that has significantly reduced its carbon footprint in a manner that is undisruptive to other parts of its economy. Heim acknowledged that investing in clean energy is a risk for banks and investors. When assessing the riskiness of a given investment, a company’s current carbon footprint and the ease with which it can transition to clean energy are key factors to consider, he said. The session ended with panelists fielding questions about oil in the Arctic, carbon pricing in private markets, and the potential impacts of technology. On Saturday afternoon, the winners of the Hitachi Center Energy Innovation Competition, for which applicants had submitted ideas before Jan. 15, were announced. The winning idea was Offbeet Compost, a composting and food scrap collection program based in the Greater Lowell area. Looking towards the future of energy development The next panel, entitled “Energy in 2100: The Shape of Things,” focused on energy development predictions. Moderated by Barbara Kates-Garnick, a professor of practice at The Fletcher School, the panel featured Judy Chang, energy economist and director of The Brattle Group; Jennie C. Stephens, professor of sustainability science and policy at Northeastern University; and Jeff Goodell, a journalist focusing on climate change, as speakers. Garnick renamed the panel “The Shape of Water,” stating that water would be a major force in the future should the rate of climate change continue unabated.
Goodell explained his experience growing up in Silicon Valley and working at Apple, which was then a small startup. He noted the importance of not only trying to predict the future, but also reacting to what that future will bring, a skill he saw in Steve Jobs. According to Goodell, the coal industry has no potential for innovation. “As a Silicon Valley kid, it did not make sense to me. Why were we still burning rocks for power?” Goodell said. He described how the world of the future will be dramatically different from the world of today, as rising sea levels pose a threat to coastal cities. “In a world of rising seas … Miami as we know it today has no future,” Goodell said. Goodell stressed the importance of adaptability. “The need for adaptation, flexibility, resiliency is [key] for the future,” Goodell said. Chang said she believes the future can be 100 percent renewable, but acknowledged that many people might consider that laughable. She noted that local and international collaboration are necessary. According to Chang, the transition to 100 percent renewable energy will be dangerous because society is so dependent on energy. “You can’t imagine how quickly society will fall apart when we have a major blackout,” she said. Stephens focused on the social and political aspects of climate change. She drew parallels between energy justice and social justice. Stephens also contrasted the concept of energy democracy with that of energy dominance, a policy the U.S. government is currently endorsing. “[Energy democracy] is a vision of the future that will be 100 percent renewable energy [with] … community-controlled energy [and] appropriate mixes of renewable energy [on a by-area basis]. Energy dominance is about having power and control and using our energy system to oppress people,” Stephens said. The panelists also spoke about the forces currently driving energy development. Goodell described the influence of the nonprofit organization Citizens United in preventing energy development, letting “dark money” into government and transforming climate change into a “political litmus test.” Chang explained that both politics and economics drive energy development. She cautioned against the U.S. government supporting coal at a time when renewable energy is more affordable than ever. Goodell noted that there are non-monetary benefits to renewable energy and costs to traditional coal energy that many overlook. All three panelists discussed their belief in a “decentralized system” for energy in the future, where energy is renewable, not limited like fossil fuels, and where individuals control the energy, not corporations. Goodell said the current rate of carbon dioxide emissions can be reduced through
geoengineering technology, which would help buy scientists time for implementing clean-energy solutions later on. “Geoengineering technology is largescale human manipulation of the earth’s atmosphere, [like] making artificial trees to absorb carbon dioxide, … putting particles in the air [like volcanoes do] to reflect sunlight,” Goodell said. The conference was concluded with a keynote speech by Tom Dinwoodie, the lead independent trustee for the Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI). Dinwoodie said that large-scale changes will be required to lower carbon dioxide emissions. He presented a thesis for a project he was working on with the goal of pulling carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere. “You can’t solve climate [change] without disrupting current practices in energy and land use,” Dinwoodie said. Dinwoodie proceeded to outline the goal of removing carbon from the atmosphere to create a “carbon-managed world.” He reported statistics of the rapid growth of wind and solar energy. Dinwoodie also discussed the ways in which market disruption was occurring, citing attempts to eliminate the retail of gas-powered cars in the Netherlands and other countries. Dinwoodie envisioned a world in which carbon dioxide emissions could be managed in coming decades and in which solar energy will continue to thrive. Outcomes of the TEC Aleksander Gerard-Ursin, a sophomore on the marketing team for the TEC, said he hopes that the conference encouraged people to think more concretely about the future of energy development. “I hope people walk away with an appreciation of at least thinking of what is to come … and how to deal with this transition from fossil fuels to clean forms of energy but [also] trying to think in a more long-term sense. I genuinely hope people are able to think of these topics in less abstract ways,” Gerard-Ursin said. Stefan Koester, a co-chair of the conference and a first-year MALD student at The Fletcher School, expressed that the conference was put together with the goal of reaching many people. “We worked hard to make it as … interesting to as many people as possible,” Koester said. Both Koester and fellow co-chair Elizabeth Minchew, a fourth-year MALD student, said the conference was successful in this regard. Minchew emphasized the importance of looking beyond current challenges and policies. “One of our big goals … was to encourage people to think beyond the challenges and the policies and the atmosphere we are surrounded with today,” Minchew said. “I think we achieved that. By the end we’re thinking [about] what’s a viable technology for us to invest in now considering that in 100 years people hopefully won’t have to deal with [the problem of climate change].”
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Urine for it On Jan. 30 at 9:30 p.m., Tufts University Police Department (TUPD) received a report of an incident that had taken place early on the morning of Jan. 28 in Haskell Hall where two males were observed urinating on a TV in a student’s suite common area. The two males involved were later identified and referred to the Office of the Dean of Student Affairs. They also purchased a new TV for the student. Baltimourning a loss On Feb. 2 at 11:34 a.m, a Tufts employee reported to TUPD that their univer-
sity-issued laptop had been lost or stolen while in Baltimore. The employee made several attempts to retrace their steps, but failed to locate the laptop. Tufts Technology Services (TTS) was notified in order to wipe any information stored on the laptop. Gone with the wind On Feb. 3 at 2:05 a.m., TUPD received notification of fire alarm tampering in a Wren Hall dorm room. When TUPD arrived and entered the room, they found a plastic bag over the smoke detector and a fan blowing toward an open window. Eau de cannabis On Feb. 4 at 1:23 a.m., TUPD responded to a fire alarm activation at ATO of
Massachusetts (ATO). TUPD reported the room in which the smoke detector had been set off had a strong odor of burnt marijuana. The Somerville Fire Department also arrived and reset the fire alarm. Stairy night Later that morning at 1:48 a.m., TUPD, Tufts Emergency Medical Services ( TEMS), and the Somerville Police Department were called to Mayer Campus Center, where an unresponsive male who had vomited was found on a stairwell. The student was evaluated by TEMS and the Somerville Police Department and then sent to the hospital for treatment.
Tuesday, February 6, 2018
ARTS&LIVING
MFA’s ‘Monuments to Us’ exhibit raises crucial questions, but falls short
3 tuftsdaily.com
Nikki Margaretos Is this thing on?
The Grammys aftermath
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COURTESY WIKIMEDIA COMMONS
The Museum of Fine Arts is pictured. by Setenay Mufti Arts Editor
In recent years, followers of the art world have seen increasing initiative to include artists and subjects of marginalized communities. Yet, we are
still more inclined to see inclusive art as fringe or intentionally diverse. By labeling these pieces as “monuments,” the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston (MFA) is attempting to change that perception. “Monuments to Us” runs from Jan. 27 to April 8 and is large-
ly made up of the MFA’s permanent collection. It is an amalgamation of pieces by people traditionally underrepresented in the arts. The central question, according to the exhibit, is, see MONUMENTS TO US, page 4
Khruangbin delivers contemplative surf-rock with ‘Con Todo El Mundo’ by Issay Matsumoto Staff Writer
Texas surf-funk-soul indie rock threepiece Khruangbin doesn’t need a lead singer to make music that breathes. After captivating listeners with 2015’s “The Universe Smiles Upon You,” the Thai-funk-inspired trio whose name in Thai translates to “engine fly,” soars to new heights, deliver-
ing 2018’s most dynamic and accessible instrumental album yet. The band’s new sophomore album, “Con Todo El Mundo,” neither aggravates listeners into progressive jazz-rock fueled frustration sessions nor defaults to listeners’ evening study music playlists. In “Con Todo El Mundo,” Khruangbin orchestrates lush rock numbers that shroud listeners in reverb and contemplation. A
tight rhythm section bolstered by lively James Jamerson-inspired sound from bassist Laura Lee locks listeners into drummer Donald Johnson’s understated but vital groove. Guitarist Mark Speer’s nimble playing gives life back to the classic 50s and 60s Fender-style surf sound for eager indie listeners and washed-up baby boomers alike. Khruangbin thrives while channeling its predecessors. The album opens with the delightfully misanthropic “Cómo Me Quieres,” a song that builds desolation with an intensity that would make Ennio Morricone smile. “Lady and Man” sees the group switch gears from Eastern modal surf-rock to funky, broken-down, shouty choruses with ease. “Maria También” showcases Speer’s athletic guitar-playing, bringing a modern indie sensibility to Dick Dale-styled riffs that roil and snap at listeners ears like a lightning-struck ocean wave. Vocals are a rare find on a Khruangbin track; when they are used, they complement the song’s narrative and are even a good deal of fun. On “Maria También,” band members wince in pain as if Speer’s riffs are too hot to touch – and they are. While Khruangbin’s deference to old sounds lends itself to a fresh departure from tired indie tropes, the album falters on the sixth and seventh cuts, “Shades of Man” and “Evan Finds the Third Room.” The former track is clumsy filler at best, while the latter may be the most terrible CHIC tribute
COURTESY RAPH_PH, FLICKR
Laura Lee from Khruangbin performs at the Glastonbury Festival in June 2017.
see KHRUANGBIN, page 4
ello! Is this thing on? Welcome to this column’s final installment: the good, bad and ugly of pop music culture. Starting the year off on an odd note, the 2018 Grammy Awards left many viewers feeling a little lackluster. Here are some of the facts: the most-nominated male and female artists, Jay-Z and SZA, were shut out of the awards. Among all Album Of The Year nominees, lone female Lorde was the only one not offered a solo performance on stage. Amidst the Time’s Up campaign, just one major award went to a woman: Best New Artist to Alessia Cara. When asked about the male-dominated awards, Recording Academy President Neil Portnow told Variety, “[Women] need to step up.” Nice! In the end, we were left with Bruno Mars as the apparent hero of the night. But for an artist who racked up six trophies, Mars keeps a relatively low celebrity profile. Contrary to the life of luxury depicted throughout his discography, he doesn’t make too much of a splash in the news. Yet, perhaps this works to his advantage, forging his image as an untouchable one-man show. After first catching our attention as the chorus on B.o.B.’s 2009 hit, “Nothin’ On You,” Mars has seldom since settled for the rank of featured artist. The undeniable trump card of Bruno Mars is his mass appeal. His smooth tenor and retro musical style are teasingly sexy, but not racy enough to turn away some audiences. Mars flirts with more risqué lyrics on his album “24K Magic” (2016), but his charm keeps him in check for both kids and parents alike. Yet I find myself somewhere in between, seeking something a little less vanilla. He’s the prom king; he’s the crowd-pleaser we want at our Super Bowl halftime show. However, in order to shake up the industry, Mars will need to start taking more risks. After you win six Grammys in one year, where do you go next? His collaboration with Cardi B on “Finesse (Remix)” (2018) is perhaps exactly what he needs to spice things up. The morning after the awards, Twitter was peppered with half-hearted disappointment. Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon shared his dismay, tweeting that SZA and Kendrick Lamar should “move on from this s— show.” During the airing, Apple chimed in with two ads for the wildly useful (by that, I mean not at all) “animojis” for iPhone X. One displayed an alien crooning Childish Gambino’s “Redbone” (2016), and the other fittingly pairs a trio of animals with Migos’ “Stir Fry” (2017). Yes, Apple is using a song about cooking crack cocaine as its highly coveted commercial music. It’s sneaky on Migos’ part, as the trio distracts us from the trap agenda with the interspersed dog “wroofing.” In fact, I think this would be the perfect theme song for “Martha & Snoop’s Potluck Dinner Party” (2016–). And just like that, I’ve already forgotten about Bruno Mars. As always, if any of this strikes a chord with you, email me your thoughts, comments and suggestions! Nikki Margaretos is a senior majoring in economics. Nikki can be reached at nikoletta.margaretos@tufts.edu.
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THE TUFTS DAILY | Arts & Living | Tuesday, February 6, 2018
Alexa Weinstein The 617
Why local politics matter
I
n the era of Trump-driven news cycles, everything else can seem to get swept under the rug. Local news stations constantly discuss Mueller’s Russia investigation or controversial tweets from President Trump. But there’s more to politics and news than the gossipy headlines from Washington, D.C. While the Russia investigation or tweets from the President may affect the average person, the actual legislation and news that matters comes right from your local town hall: Funding for public schools, changes in public transportation, laws surrounding police or efforts to stop the opioid crisis. These aren’t laws that come from the Capitol, they come from your local city council. You’re right. Talking about real estate tax allocation in Medford, Mass. is nowhere near as fun as gossiping about proposed bills in D.C. But the reality is that the majority of legislation passed in D.C. won’t affect your day-to-day life. A bill on increasing the defense budget might be headline-breaking and interesting to discuss, but it won’t change much in your community. Most Tufts students probably didn’t pay attention to the contentious debate between the Medford Zoning Board and Tufts administration over expanding housing for Tufts students. A member of the Medford School Committee said they wanted the area to remain a “Hillside neighborhood, not a Tufts neighborhood.” These interactions between Tufts and the Medford/Somerville area are arguably more important than what happens in Trump’s White House. These are the decisions that affect students’ lives today and tomorrow. Even outside of the Medford/Somerville area, what happens in the surrounding Boston metropolitan area is important to pay attention to. Hundreds of workers at Boston’s Logan Airport are planning to go on strike to fight for higher wages. Ballot initiatives for November are already raising millions of dollars, with the most popular ballot question regarding nurse-to-patient ratios in Massachusetts hospitals. The Boston City Council President is looking into allowing non-citizens to vote in elections for councilors and mayor. Getting politically active doesn’t mean following President Trump on Twitter and watching CNN sometimes. Political activism is attending city council meetings and learning the name of your local representative, not only in the U.S. House of Representatives but in your state-level House and Senate too. Voting in races for local positions matters more than races for federal-level positions, but voting turnout for local races is dismal at best. In a time when people seem to want change and to make a difference in legislation, people need to start paying attention to local politics. Michelle Obama recently said, “Real change doesn’t happen from the top down here in Washington. Real change happens from the bottom up in communities across the country.” Read the Boston Herald or the Medford Transcript. Follow our U.S. House of Representatives member Katherine Clark on Twitter to see how she’s helping our district. Get involved in the upcoming 2018 gubernatorial race. It’s time to pay attention to the legislation that affects our community and the legislators that represent us on a local and state level. Alexa Weinstein is a sophomore who has not yet declared a major. Alexa can be reached at alexa.weinstein@tufts.edu.
tuftsdaily.com
'Monuments of Us' highlights great variety but feels unfinished MONUMENTS TO US
continued from page 3 “Whose stories are memorialized, and whose are erased?” Most of the works are portraits of some sort, ranging from plaster casts to paintings to photographs. The variety of faces, as well as some interesting backstories, make this exhibit seem distinctly personal. The first eye-catching piece is “Enocio” (2003-06), a portrait by Sedrick Huckaby. Huckaby is an AfricanAmerican painter who captures the nuances of his cousin with impasto paint layered so thick in places that Enocio, Huckaby’s cousin, is rendered literally three-dimensional. Huckaby, a Texas native, comes from a family of quilters, and this legacy of storytelling through art influences his painting. But don’t mistake his art or subjects as humble. The artist has said that his subjects, made up of friends and family from his own community, “[are] important enough to make a monument out of them.” The personal influence behind the art in “Monuments” continues on through other mediums as well. For example, the exhibit also includes a part of photographer Catherine Opie’s “Portrait Series” (1993-96). The photo depicts Opie’s friend Christopher Lee, a self-described “butch dyke,” dressed in a military uniform and carrying a sword. This photography project was Opie’s way of giving dignity to her friends “who are often denied it
because of the way they express their gender and sexuality.” Sexuality is another major theme of the exhibit. One of the most moving pieces is sculptor John Ahearn’s acrylic paint on plaster piece depicting two brothers, “Raymond and Freddy” (1992). Two things are clear at first glance: the battered, emaciated figure of Freddy, who was suffering from AIDS, and the open love between the two brothers. Throughout the exhibit, as in this piece, warmth is the bottom line of struggle. The variety of mediums is one of the biggest strengths of “Monuments to Us.” There are paintings, sketches, photographs and interactive sculptures, which make the whole experience seem universal and far-reaching. The exhibit’s location is also effective. Instead of being confined to a gallery or room, it is spread over a small corner of the museum between the photography galleries, the contemporary art wing and a café. People who haven’t intentionally gone to see the exhibit are constantly walking in and out, inevitably stopping to look around. It seems as if the curators wanted to put the exhibit in a crowded, unexpected area to illustrate how the flow of people and all their different backgrounds mirror the different demographics represented. And yet, something about the exhibit feels unfinished. The communities represented are given their due diligence, mainly people of color and queer peo-
ple. Others focus on women, low-income communities and people with disabilities, but these make up a smaller portion of the exhibit. In the entirety of the MFA’s permanent collection, there’s certainly art representing more identities: transgender people, people from the Middle East and Asia, people with mental disabilities. This is not to say that the exhibit has handled its subject badly; rather, it could have been taken further. It would’ve been interesting if “Monuments” had stretched into other corners of the museum in one continuous, flowing exhibit. That would give the exhibit more literal exposure and allow the museum more space to add more pieces. The curators of the exhibit wrote that they were inspired by the recent controversy over statues of Confederate leaders in the South. While those all over the country have questioned who is and isn’t deserving of a memorial, the MFA has decided to answer that question in the context of representation in art. All of the pieces in the exhibit are unique and moving monuments to different paths of life. However, for a proposed answer to such a broad question, the exhibit was rather tucked away and scant. It is clear that all of the featured artists wanted to create their own monuments of dignity and even grandeur; in both placement and scale, however, the MFA has given an underwhelming platform. The exhibit is undeniably moving, but it leaves its viewers wanting more.
'Con Todo El Mundo' forays into mediocre, but excels with ballads KHRUANGBIN
continued from page 3 ever to make it to press, offering listeners nothing but anemic phaser-laden guitar and cringe-inducing, borderline satirical ad-libs. Though tracks like “Rules” and “August 10” find “the pocket,” the elusive capital G-Groove that bassists and drummers of all calibers spend years refining, the tracks struggle to hook listeners, largely falling to forgettable and lackluster melody. When listened to side by side, “Rules” proves a mediocre version of “Lady and Man.” Meanwhile, neither the reverb soaked “oohs” nor the tasteful lap steel whines can save “August 10” from simply being forgotten. On a 42-minute, 10-track album, four forgettable tracks is a tragedy. As listeners, we don’t want to forget Khruangbin. Despite its foray into the forgettable and unforgettably mediocre, the trio hits its stride on the album’s slower ballads. On tracks like “Como Te Quiero,” “A Hymn” and “Friday Morning,” the Houston-based songsters trade frenetic surf-rock for gorgeous, atmospheric soundscapes. Embellished with Lesliespeaker processed vocals, “Como Te Quiero” sighs like a late night at a kitchen counter, while “A Hymn” mourns for a world marked by sparse percussion and gently weeping guitar. On the closer, “Friday Morning,” the group channels the Isley Brothers for an intimate, sparkly seven minutes. Aptly titled “Con Todo El Mundo,” the album comes alive by bringing listeners on a journey across genre, continent and time period. Blending psychedelic rock, heavy surf riffs, soul, gospel and yes, even disco, Khruangbin is everywhere at once – it’s even in your neck muscles, bobbing your head to its delicious grooves. On “Con Todo El Mundo,” the group never loses sensitivity to tasteful rhythm, accessible melody and gorgeous production. At its best, Khruangbin deliver songs that breathe, inviting listeners to breathe with it.
Join Us For
A Conversation with Hank Azaria and Joe Schrank Join the Dean of Student Affairs Office and Health and Wellness at Tufts for a conversation with Emmy-winning actor and Tufts alum Hank Azaria and Joe Schrank, founder of thefix.com! Don’t miss this chance to hear from one of Tufts’ most notable alums, and to have a conversation with a nationally recognized writer, speaker, and media commentator on the subject of addiction, recovery, and mental health.
• When: Wednesday, February 7, 4 – 5:15 p.m. • Where: Nelson Auditorium • Admission is FREE! Get your ticket now on TuftsTickets.com, or visit the Campus Center Information Booth
Tuesday, February 6, 2018 | Comics | THE TUFTS DAILY
tuftsdaily.com
Comics
LATE NIGHT AT THE DAILY Alison: “I don’t care, I need to go numb.”
Comics
SUDOKU
GARFIELD BY JIM DAVIS
NON SEQUITUR BY WILEY MILLER
Difficulty Level: Trying to understand what exactly the difference is between etherium and bitcoin
Monday’s Solution
CROSSWORD
Monday’s Solution
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Opinion
6 tuftsdaily.com
Tuesday, February 6, 2018
Letter from the managing board: Support fund For a fourth semester, the Daily is once again proud to offer its support fund, a stipend program aimed at supporting members of the Daily with an interest in journalism and demonstrated financial need. Often, involvement in an on-campus organization can be difficult for those facing financial barriers, and the support fund is one of our initiatives to make the Daily more accessible to those who may not otherwise be able to pursue student journalism. Two $250 stipends will be available to those who have just begun their work with
the Daily or who are interested in becoming involved. Members of all sections are eligible, including layout and copy editors, writers, videographers, graphic designers, staff photographers and members of the social media and online teams. We encourage all those who have recently joined the Daily or who are interested in joining apply for this stipend regardless of prior experience. One $500 stipend is open to current masthead members who contribute a significant number of hours to the Daily each week. Applicants for this award may be editors,
assistant editors, editorialists, or members of the visual content and production sections. All awards will be disbursed in two increments during the semester. The support fund does not solve issues of exclusivity and inaccessibility at our organization. The more our staff meetings, newsroom and masthead reflect the many identities on campus, the better the Daily will be. We hope that the support fund can help us further our larger goal of building a more intentional and inclusive newspaper that can continue to be an important resource to our community.
To apply, please visit this link and submit your application by noon on Feb. 16. Please contact daily@tuftsdaily.com or any of the members of the managing board with questions or concerns about the support fund. We look forward to reading your applications. Sincerely, Catherine Perloff, Editor-in-Chief Mary Carroll, Managing Editor Zachary Hertz, Managing Editor Ellah Nzikoba, Production Director Arman Smigielski, Associate Editor
OP-ED
Op-Ed: Being the bigger person: Bias in the media
by Zachary Intrater
There is a set of procedural political issues that most people are guilty of being hypocritical about. Boring stuff: states rights, government shutdowns, executive authority … Etcetera. We mold our opinions to the week’s issue or scandal. The 2013 shutdown was treasonous, but last week it was principled. Obama just had to deal with an obstructionist Congress, but Trump is abusing democracy with executive actions. States have the right to legalize marijuana but not concealed carry. We come up with meaningless distinctions to justify completely flipping our opinion. There is one place where the stakes are too high to continue this cycle of hypocrisy, where we have to put aside political goals for the collective common good, where we have to be the bigger person, and that is in the news. We cannot continue to take political potshots at this pillar of America. The free exchange of ideas and an informed electorate are critical to the health of democracy. It’s easy to blame one party, one man, one particular twitter account for this, but to some extent, we are all responsible for the degradation of our media. Luckily, there are things we can do in our daily lives to strengthen and protect these institutions. I know when I read a negative headline about Trump I am likely to believe it instinctively. Did Trump have an affair with Stormy Daniels? Did he call African nations shitholes? Does the ‘peepee’ tape exist? I was convinced from the headlines. The problem is sometimes the headlines I want to believe are false. Take the widely circularized statement that
the new tax plan would raise taxes on most people. It was a talking point said by many Democratic members of Congress, and it was completely false. I am against that bill, but the Washington Post tracked down and debunked that myth. However, if a story portrays Trump and his administration in a positive light, I am immediately skeptical. It can’t be that Trump actually has been beneficial for the economy, it’s really Obama or Janet Yellen who deserve credit for the economic growth over the past year. It can’t be that Trump actually sympathized with the grieving families he brought to the State of the Union, it must have just been a sly political move. My initial response to any article has nothing to do with how much evidence there is behind it, or even how reputable the people publishing it are. I believe the stuff I want to believe. And you probably do too. The first step to solving this is for readers to be critical and to recognize their bias. It’s easy just to read the news that confirms our worldview. We read something and go “I knew it!, I always suspected that Trump _____.” What is harder is to engage with the facts that don’t support your story. To recognize if you want what you are reading to be true and to work against your bias. To read Fox News, the Weekly Standard or even Ben Shapiro’s Daily Wire. Not everything you disagree with is fake news. I know I have become more secure in my opinions and a better advocate by engaging with the best possible arguments against them. The second step is for the media. We need a greater distinction between news and edito-
rial. This would be more impactful with Fox News and MSNBC, but we should start in our backyard with the Daily. The Tufts Daily is biased. Just last week we had an article with 16 quotes from members of anti-Israel activist groups and one quote from Friends of Israel. The article on Trump’s State of the Union was actually a second article about what the Democrats were doing. Every single investigative report has had a liberal bend. The Daily is unequivocally biased to the left. Bias can sell papers, but this is an opportunity for the Daily to be the bigger person. To put aside using the news to convince people of an opinion and to try and be objective. I am aware this is a futile task; it is impossible to fully divorce our opinions from something we write. However, that isn’t an excuse to give up. Just because it’s unlikely to end poverty entirely doesn’t mean we don’t donate to charity. To the Daily’s credit, the first step is allowing critical op-eds like this one. But more must be done. The news should challenge the community to deal with factual realities, not just confirm our biases and lock us in an echo chamber. A lot of the great work the Daily has done should be relabeled as opinion pieces. The same logic applies to free speech in general. We could choose to silence those we disagree with in the name of laudable shortterm goals. To deny funding or organize a heckler’s veto. But in the end, the real loser is democracy. The reason I am so passionate about free speech is that most of the opinions and values that I hold dear were once on the periphery. Believing in gender, marriage and racial equality used to be the positions that
were being silenced. If we want society to continue to evolve, to continue to become a more moral place, we have to let unrestricted free speech exist. As President Obama once said, “We need to go forward, but progress isn’t always a straight line or a smooth path.” It’s not as simple is whatever is on the left is correct. Progressives once advocated for Prohibition, prominent organizations like the League of Women Voters lobbied for policies that we would find repugnant today. Republicans were the anti-slavery party. The world is too complicated for the simple answers that partisan politics provide us. In short, listen to and challenge everything. Especially the stuff you want to believe. P.S. If it seems like I’m only being critical of Democrats and the left here, that’s because statistically, you are the majority of people reading this. But the same advice is just as true for Republicans; reading the Huffington Post won’t kill you. P.P.S. Shameless plug for CIVIC, where every Monday at eight we talk with people we disagree with and broaden our world views. On March 3, CIVIC is hosting an allday policy challenge in conjunction with the Tisch College for Civic Life about campus free speech. We will be working on some case studies and presenting a draft of community standards and rules to the general counsel of Tufts. Look out for more information. Zachary Intrater is a first-year majoring in quantitative economics and political science. Zachary can be reached at zintrater@yahoo.com.
CARTOON
BY REBECCA TANG The Tufts Daily is a nonprofit, independent newspaper, published Monday through Friday during the academic year, and distributed free to the Tufts community. The content of letters, advertisements, signed columns, cartoons and graphics does not necessarily reflect the opinion of The Tufts Daily editorial board. EDITORIALS Editorials represent the position of The Tufts Daily. Individual editors are not necessarily responsible for, or in agreement with, the policies and editorials of The Tufts Daily. OP-EDS The Op-Ed section of The Tufts Daily, an open forum for campus editorial commentary, is printed Monday through Thursday. The Daily welcomes submissions from all members of the Tufts community; the opinions expressed in the Op-Ed section do not necessarily represent the opinions of the Daily itself. Opinion articles on campus, national and international issues should be 600 to 1,200 words in length and submitted to opinion@tuftsdaily.com. The editors reserve the right to edit letters for clarity, space and length. All material is subject to editorial discretion and is not guaranteed to appear in the Daily. Authors must submit their telephone numbers and day-of availability for editing questions. ADVERTISING All advertising copy is subject to the approval of the Editor-in-Chief, Executive Board and Executive Business Director.
Sports
Tuesday, February 6, 2018 | Sports | THE TUFTS DAILY
ICE HOCKEY
Jumbos battle Conn. College to overtime on successive nights by Julia Atkins Staff Writer
The Tufts ice hockey team competed in a home-and-home doubleheader against Conn. College over the weekend, with both games advancing into overtime. Friday night’s community awareness home game celebrated the Jumbos’ continued partnership with the East Coast Jumbos, a hockey team for children with developmental disabilities. On the ice, the matchup finished scoreless — a first for the Tufts hockey program since its reinstatement in 1986. The following night, the Jumbos traveled to New London, Conn., as the two teams battled it out in overtime again, ending in a 4–3 win for the Camels. The Jumbos entered Saturday night’s game undefeated in their last three matches. Having just played Conn. College the previous night, the team had a good sense of the competition that it was up against. “We knew the Camels were a good team going into the weekend,” sophomore defenseman Cooper Stahl said. “They definitely brought tough competition and challenged us on the ice.” After a scoreless first period on Saturday — which, combined with Friday’s result, made for over 91 minutes of scoreless hockey between the teams — Tufts exploded in the second period, as its shots began to find the back of the net. With 8:28 remaining in the second, senior forward Brian Brown scored the first goal of the weekend on an assist from firstyear forward Charley Borek. Just 17 seconds later, first-year forward Edward Hannon scored his first collegiate goal to give Tufts a 2–0 lead going into the third period. First-year defenseman Michael Gordon’s slap shot ricocheted off the pads of Conn. College sophomore goalie Connor Rodericks, and Hannon fired the loose puck into the net. The Camels dominated the third period, halving their 2–0 deficit with a goal at 2:51 from sophomore forward Ryan Petti. Tufts fired back with a goal from sophomore forward Anthony Farinacci at 8:01 to regain their twogoal lead, as Conn. College quickly put in a new goalie, sophomore Avery Gobbo. From that point on, the Camels went on a scoring spree, coming back from a 3–1 deficit to win the game in overtime. The Camels scored two more goals in the third period, one from senior forward Ryan Glantz at 8:10 and another from sophomore defenseman Brenden Russ at 11:51 to tie the game. After a tie the previous night, both teams were hungry to break the 3–3 deadlock in overtime. Only 55 seconds into the extra period, Conn.
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Sam Weidner Weidner's Words
Subconscious racial biases in sports journalism
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BEN KIM / THE TUFTS DAILY
Sophomore forward Ross Delabruere brings the puck forward in the men’s ice hockey home game at Valley Forum against Wesleyan University on Jan. 20. College junior forward William White scored the game-winner. The previous night, Tufts played hosts to Conn. College in their annual community awareness game for the East Coast Jumbos. “The East Coast Jumbos love the game of hockey and benefit from learning lessons on and off the ice,” coach Pat Norton said. “Several members of their team, as well as their coach, Ray LeBlanc, were on hand Friday night. In lieu of raising money, our team is contributing to the cost of new jerseys for the East Coast Jumbos team.” Senior goalie and co-captain Nik Nugnes posted his second shutout of the season, and the fourth of his career, with 24 saves against the Camels. “Nik Nugnes played amazing in net,” sophomore defenseman Cory Gottfried said. “He didn’t give up any goals on Friday, and he saved the game more than once.” There were many scoring opportunities throughout the game, but
the two teams’ defenses and goalies played exceptionally well, shutting down the opposing attack. Although Tufts held a 25–24 edge in shots on goal — including a 10–8 advantage in the third period — neither team was able to score. The Camels outshot the Jumbos 3–1 in the extra period, but Nugnes again stood tall to turn away Russ and first-year forwards Greg Pezza and Bryan Ackil. The back-to-back draws keep Tufts (4–12–4, 3–8–3 NESCAC) in eighth place in the conference standings, while Conn. College (9–9–2, 8–4–2 NESCAC) remains in second. “It is unfortunate how the weekend panned out,” first-year forward Mason Babbidge said. “We battled hard but didn’t close [out] the Camels when we had the 3–1 lead [on Saturday].” Tufts will hit the road to face a pair of NESCAC opponents in fourth-place Amherst (9–7–4, 6–4–4 NESCAC) and fifth-place Hamilton (13–6–1, 7–6–1 NESCAC) for the penultimate weekend of play in the 2017-18 season.
Jumbos never trail in rout of Continentals continued from back to tie did not fall, and Amherst hit its free throws to take a 50–43 win. Baptista finished with a team-leading 18 points and 13 rebounds in 38 minutes. Tufts was missing sophomore guard/forward Erica DeCandido to an ankle injury, which shortened the forwards’ rotation, resulting in an uptick of minutes for Baptista and Briggs, especially.
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“The past few games, I’ve been having to play a lot … especially because Erica DeCandido is injured, so myself and a bunch of other post players just have to play some more,” Baptista said. “It’s also been a little more difficult on my body because I’m also posting up more and defending the post, I’m always trying to be big and strong. But also when you’re in a game, you’re just trying to win and do as much as you can. You always want to play.”
Tufts travels to take on Trinity (14–8) on Sunday in its last regular season contest before the NESCAC tournament begins on Feb. 17. “Trinity is always a really scrappy aggressive team, and I just think we need to come out with a lot of energy, and I think this week [of practice] is going to be huge for us,” Harrington said. “We’re just going to look to demonstrate that defense that we really pride ourselves on.”
n January 2015, the Comedy Central sketch comedy series “Key and Peele” (20122015) ran a segment titled “Predicting the Biggest on the Field Battles.” The segment poked fun at the trope of the blindly racist sports commentator. Fake commentator “Harry Peters” describes white and black athletes from the New England Patriots and Seattle Seahawks, characterizing the white football players as “intelligent,” “analytical” and “industrious,” while describing the black football players as a “specimen,” “freak of nature” or “physically-gifted.” While the sketch probably takes the issue to a satirical extreme, it calls into question how much our racial biases inform our opinions of athletes and the commentary about them. Racially coded language has long been a part of the scouting reports on athletes. Black basketball and football players in particular are most often praised in ways pertaining solely to their athleticism, while white players are lauded for their hard work and sports IQ. In the famous Celtics and Lakers rivalry of the 80s, the Lakers, a team headlined by three black players — Magic Johnson, Kareem-Abdul Jabbar and James Worthy — were considered flashy and branded as “Showtime.” The Celtics, a team led by white stars Larry Bird and Kevin McHale, were applauded as a team that played “the right way,” with intelligence and fundamentals. Changing the channel to most college or pro sports broadcasts, these stereotypes can be heard. In one study conducted in 2001, Susan Eastman of Indiana University and Andrew Billings of Clemson University analyzed over 60 men’s and women’s college basketball games and almost 1,200 descriptors used for black and white athletes. Almost 100 percent of the commentary fell into the stereotyped categories previously mentioned. However, perhaps the more damaging commentary comes when athletes underperform. Black athletes have been found to be criticized much more for a lack of intelligence, hard work or character. A 2005 study done by James Rada of Ithaca College studied almost 500 statements made by commentators during men’s basketball and football games. Black athletes were recipients of over 90 percent of the negative comments, including 100 percent of the negative comments that pertained to off-the-field matters, such as general intelligence, character or personal interest stories. Cam Newton, the quarterback of the Carolina Panthers and one of the few black quarterbacks in the league, was chastised continuously during his 2015 MVP season, as sports pundits referred to him as arrogant and immature. Simple and innocent actions like touchdown celebrations were spun into growing levels of negative public opinion, to which white quarterbacks are rarely subjected. When Newton left the field after Super Bowl 50 without shaking hands with any opponents, he was criticized for being a sour loser and a “thug,” but when Tom Brady didn’t congratulate Nick Foles on Sunday night, those criticisms were not there. These negative public opinions often get generalized across an entire race. The commentary can sometimes perpetuate a narrative not just of poor character among black athletes, but black Americans as a whole. As millions continue to tune into each broadcast, sports commentators need to watch their language.
Sam Weidner is a sophomore who has not yet declared a major. Sam can be reached at samuel.weidner@tufts.edu.
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Sports
Tuesday, February 6, 2018
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Tufts falls to Amherst in national championship rematch, defeats Hamilton
ALLISON CULBERT / THE TUFTS DAILY
Senior guard Lauren Dillon prepares to shoot a free-throw in the game against Babson on Jan. 29. by Phillip Goldberg Sports Editor
In a rematch of last year’s Div. III championship game, No. 9 Tufts (20–3) traveled to No. 1 Amherst (22–0) on Friday with hopes of avenging that loss and overthrowing the hosts as the top team in the NESCAC standings just weeks before the conference tournament. Despite a second half rally, the Jumbos fell to their Mammoth rivals, 50–43. Tufts resumed its winning ways the next day at Hamilton, never trailing en route to a 69–53 rout. Tufts is now 20–3 overall and 7–2 in NESCAC play with just one game remaining in the regular season. With a night to reflect on the defeat at Amherst, Tufts came out firing against Hamilton on Saturday. First-year guard/forward Emily Briggs’s layup at the 8:20 mark of the first quarter was the first score, and Tufts never trailed for the remainder of the game. Taking a slight 11–9 lead into the second quarter, the Jumbos applied defensive pressure, holding the Continentals to just seven points in the period. Just over a minute into the second quarter, senior forward Melissa Baptista rejected Hamilton junior guard/forward and co-captain Halie Serbent’s attempted layup and finished the play on the other end with a jump-shot. Briggs contributed eight points in as many minutes, while Tufts limited Hamilton to 3-of-16 shooting in the period to open up a 24–16 lead at halftime. Tufts started fast after the break, as Baptista and the team’s co-captains — senior guard Lauren Dillon and senior guard Jennie Mucciarone
— dropped in two unanswered layups and a three-pointer. With Tufts nearly doubling Hamilton’s score at 31–16, the game appeared all but decided early in the third period. However, Hamilton coach Michelle Collins called a 30-second timeout to revive her team. Hamilton immediately scorched Tufts on a 15–3 run and cut the deficit to just three points at 34–31. The red-hot Continentals appeared ready to take their first lead before the Jumbos applied the brakes with three minutes to go in the third. A jump shot from junior forward Katie Martensen, followed by buckets from Dillon and Baptista, poured ice water all over Hamilton. Junior guard Jac Knapp closed the period with a jumper, and Tufts’ lead was once again intact at 44–32. The teams traded blows in the fourth quarter, but Tufts again outscored Hamilton and finished on top, 69–53. Though the Jumbos came away with the win, Baptista felt there was room for improvement going forward. “One of our goals is [keeping] teams down to 45 points, 42 points, which I think we’ve done in the past,” Baptista said. “Something that coach [Carla Berube] and … the Tufts program really reiterate is defense being the number-one priority.” Briggs contributed a career-high 20 points to go with five rebounds and two steals. Dillon, the shortest player on the team, paced Tufts with nine rebounds and added 15 points, including a trio of treys. Baptista scored 17 points on 6-of-12 shooting with two blocks and three assists. “[Briggs] always looks very calm, and I know that I admire that from a
[first-year],” sophomore guard Cailin Harrington said. “I remember last year, at times, I definitely felt frantic or nervous. She definitely does a very good job of staying composed, and I think sometimes she gets into a little bit of foul trouble, but on Saturday she did a really good job of not letting that happen.” Since the Jumbos claimed a NESCAC Championship in the 2014-15 season, they have fallen to the Mammoths twice in the NESCAC title game and once in the Div. III national championship. In the last two years, Amherst has been a national semifinalist and the national champion, while Tufts has twice been the runner-up. Even their mascots, an elephant and a woolly mammoth, seem small when these two behemoths of women’s basketball meet. It is with this history in mind that the two NESCAC powerhouses faced off on Friday, a few weeks before the NESCAC tournament. “I think Amherst is always a game that we look forward to,” Harrington said. “We do a generally good job of just taking it game-by-game and not looking too far into the future, but I do think that Amherst is kind of a name that is always in the back of our heads. Especially this season, when we fell to Bowdoin and then when we saw that Bowdoin fell to Amherst, we were kind of like, ‘If we get this win, then we’re all up there.'” Baptista started off the game with a layup, and Amherst sophomore guard Madeline Eck answered right back with a layup of her own. It was a defensive contest from the start, as the teams traded stops. The Jumbos could not find their offense, though, and the
Mammoths jumped out to an early 12–4 lead. The period ended with Tufts trailing 16–10, and the scoring battle between Baptista and Eck had begun, as each posted six in the quarter. Eck struck first in the second period with an early layup, but Tufts leaned on Martensen to keep the game close, as the Simsbury, Conn. native answered with a jump shot and a free throw. Martensen went to the bench not long after, however, and Tufts went cold from the field. The Mammoths marched to a 30–13 lead before Berube called a timeout. Martensen checked back in and quickly scored a layup while being fouled; she converted the free throw for a critical and-1 play. Mucciarone’s three-pointer with 1:22 left was the last score of the period and the Jumbos entered halftime down 32–19. Tufts started fast in the third quarter with a layup from Knapp and a three-pointer from Dillon. The Mammoths seemed to be reeling, committing multiple turnovers and missing two sets of free throws. With just under four minutes to go, a layup from Baptista narrowed the gap to 34–29. With 13 points, it was Tufts’ highest scoring quarter, while it was also the hosts’ lowest with just seven. Baptista caught fire in the fourth quarter, as she went for nine of her team’s 11 points in the period. On the other side, senior guard/forward and co-captain Hannah Hackley tossed in four, and Amherst played Tufts to a draw with 11 points of its own. With under a minute to play, Tufts drew within three points, 46–43, but Baptista’s late three see WOMEN'S BASKETBALL , page 7