The Tufts Daily - Friday, January 26, 2018 by The Tufts Daily

‘The Final Year’ offers wistful look at last days of Obama foreign policy team see WEEKENDER / PAGE 4

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Jumbos rebound from Bates loss to win at Lesley

‘Black Lightning’ offers intimate new take on DC superhero see WEEKENDER / PAGE 4

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Tufts Police Chief travels to Israel for counterterrorism seminar by Liam Knox

Executive Investigative Editor

On Dec. 3, Director of Public and Environmental Safety Kevin Maguire, who oversees the Tufts University Police Department (TUPD) as well as the Department of Public and Environmental Safety (DPES), traveled to Israel for a nine-day National Counter-Terrorism Seminar (NCTS) along with a delegation of Massachusetts police officials, including: Somerville Police Chief David Fallon; officials from Boston University (BU); officials from the Plymouth County Sheriff’s office; Secret Service agents and Drug Enforcement Administration agents; and police chiefs from a number of cities, among them Worcester, Foxborough and Watertown, according to Maguire. The trip was funded by the AntiDefamation League (ADL), a non-governmental organization which, according to its website, is “dedicated to fighting anti-Semitism and hate crimes.” The ADL has been sending delegations of U.S. police officials to the seminar since 2003. According to an article about the trip in the Seattle Times, two of the officers who attended – the Watertown, MA police chief and the head of New England’s Department of Homeland Security – worked on the Boston Marathon bombing case. Tufts is one of five universities to send a police officer on this trip since its inception. All of the others are Massachusettsbased as well. Police chiefs from Suffolk University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Northeastern University attended the seminar in 2016, according to an Arlington Patch article, in addition to Boston University, which sent officials alongside Tufts in December. Tufts Executive Director of Public Relations Patrick Collins told the Daily in an email that the trip was an opportunity for TUPD to learn how to be prepared in the event of a terror attack. “The university and DPES are committed to learning how to prepare for, prevent and respond to all types of emergencies. Terror attacks in cities throughout the U.S., including Boston, and on college campuses, such as Ohio State University (OSU), have demonstrated the need for local and university police departments to prepare for potential terror attacks and to know how to prevent and respond to them,” Collins wrote, referring to a Nov. 2016 stabbing incident at OSU, for which ISIS claimed responsibility. “The ADL seminar, which was cost-free to participants,

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was a valuable source of information that will enhance the university’s readiness to address emergency situations.” Collins added that the university learned of the seminar by direct invitation from the ADL, and that university administration approved of Maguire’s attendance. In an email to the Daily, Maguire confirmed his attendance, but deferred to Collins’ statement on the issue when asked further questions about his participation. Fallon, the Somerville Chief of Police, did not respond to two requests for comment made to his office via phone call. According to the ADL’s webpage on the seminar, officials attend the NCTS “to study first hand Israel’s tactics and strategies to combat terrorism,” learning from “senior commanders in the Israel National Police, experts from Israel’s intelligence and security services, and the Israel Defense Forces.” Robert Trestan, the New England Regional Director for the ADL, explained that Israeli forces are well-equipped to teach law enforcement strategies to American law enforcement officials because of their experience with counterterrorism. “ADL is the nation’s top non-governmental law enforcement training organization,” Trestan wrote in an email to the Daily. “The strategies and tactics learned from Israel exchanges enable American law enforcement leaders to increase their ability to protect the U.S. from attack, as well as enabling them to be prepared with effective responses after an attack.” Allegations of human rights abuse against seminar speakers Trestan did not provide information about the 2017 itinerary for the seminar “for the security of [its] participants.” Maguire also told the Daily that he was not able to provide any information about his experiences during the seminar. A 2016 itinerary for the NCTS was requested from the Orlando Police Department by journalist Alex Kane for an Aug. 2016 article in Mondoweiss and is linked to in the piece. According to the itinerary, attendees meet with a number of prominent Israeli counterterrorism officials, including Alan Moss, the former head of the Israeli Security Agency, also known as Shin Bet, as well as representatives from the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). Shin Bet has been condemned by the UN Committee Against Torture for its “institutional” use of torture tactics on Palestinian detainees, including children, according to a 2010 report by the Al Mezan Center

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The Tufts University Police Department’s front entrance pictured on Jan 23. for Human Rights and an Al Jazeera article from last January. Neither the university nor Maguire responded to questions regarding the controversial nature of the seminar. Trestan insisted that the NCTS takes “civil rights” into account. He did not deny the existence of allegations of human rights abuse against Israeli government agencies. “The presentations we’ve had with these government security officials focus on dealing with the terrorist threat while also protecting civil rights of all people,” he wrote. Amira al-Subaey, a junior at Tufts and a member of Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP), said that though TUPD’s attendance at the seminar was surprising to her, it was consistent with her view of the department. Al-Subaey is one of the co-authors of the Tufts Community Union (TCU) Senate resolution that called for Tufts to divest from four companies with financial ties to Israel’s military occupation of Palestinian territory. According to a Daily article, the resolution passed last April. “I couldn’t imagine it would be so close to home and so directly affecting our day to day life,” al-Subaey said. “I think this exchange program [is about] training our law enforcement on discriminatory practices, on a lot of the things that we see

happening in Israel that should make us really concerned.” Controversy surrounds U.S.-Israel law enforcement exchange programs in general Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP), an activist group that advocates for Palestinian human rights, launched a campaign last May to end U.S.-Israel law enforcement exchanges. The campaign, called Deadly Exchange, condemns exchange programs like the NCTS, where, according to the campaign’s website, “‘worst practices’ are shared to promote and extend discriminatory and repressive policing in both countries.” “We’re very concerned that American police chiefs and high-ranking police officials are going to Israel to learn, under the banner of counterterrorism, some of the worst practices of oppressive policing that are used by the Israeli government to perpetuate its half-century occupation. And it goes both ways; we’re concerned about [what Israeli police might be learning from] places like the NYPD, which have a long history of Islamophobic surveillance and broken window policing,” Ben Lorber, campus coordinator for JVP, told the Daily. “All citizens of the world who are concerned in our day and age about the rights of marginalized communities see TUPD, page 2

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Activists question ADL-sponsored trip to Israel TUPD

continued from page 1 to be free from violent policing should be concerned about these exchanges.” Lorber also expressed concern at the ADL’s lack of transparency regarding the details of their seminars, which as Trestan told the Daily, are not made public due to concerns for the security of NCTS participants. “The first and most important call is a call for transparency. The public deserves to know what’s being learned and exchanged on these trips,” he said. In his email to the Daily, Trestan said that JVP is a “radical anti-Israel group” and called Deadly Exchange a fringe campaign that aims to undermine collaboration between U.S. and Israeli police. “ADL is tremendously proud of our longstanding partnership with the law enforcement community, including the counterterrorism training we coordinate with Israel, the resources we provide on domestic extremists and hate crimes, and the anti-bias training we deliver in communities across the country. JVP’s fringe campaign will not, in any way, stop us from continuing this important work,” Trestan wrote. According to Leila, an organizer for the Deadly Exchange campaign who only uses her first name in all professional capacities due to concerns for her safety, the very nature of the NCTS and programs like it glorify oppressive police practices. “The NCTS includes visits to checkpoints and Israeli prisons as well as other sites of Israeli oppression and violence,” she told the Daily. “These structures are completely and thoroughly rooted in racism and dehumanization; they simply cannot exist without those things. And [any] tour to these sites that doesn’t acknowledge that openly is a tour that normalizes that violence and dehumanization.” While accusations of problematic policy exchanges are difficult to prove due to the secrecy of the NCTS, there are examples of U.S.-Israeli police exchanges that have led to discriminatory policies. In 2002, the New York Police Department (NYPD) implemented a secret unit, sometimes referred to as the Demographics Unit, to conduct covert surveillance of Muslim communities in the tri-state area in an effort to gather intelligence on potential terror threats, according to a fact sheet on the unit created by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). According to an Aug. 25 article in New York Magazine, Larry Sanchez, a CIA analyst who helped devise the unit for the NYPD, admitted to having “borrowed the idea from Israeli methods of controlling the military-occupied West Bank.” In addition, Thomas Galati, who served as the NYPD’s Commanding Officer of the Intelligence Division at the time the unit was active, traveled to Israel to attend an ADL-funded exchange trip in 2010, according to a 2011 ADL press release honoring Galati. Apart from being an openly discriminatory and unconstitutional practice, Leila said these kinds of counterterrorism measures can negatively affect the communities they target. “What those kinds of policies and practices do result in is incredible trauma and distrust,” she said. “It’s a form of state violence against Muslims and Arabs that affects communities extremely deeply.” Trestan said that American police so often travel to Israel because of Israeli forces’ level of experience in counterterrorism. “The reality is that Israel National Police commanders and officers and other Israeli

law enforcement officials have prevented and responded to more terror attacks than most, if not all, of their American counterparts and have expertise on how to balance the need for security with protections accorded by the laws and values of a democratic country,” he wrote. Lorber said that the Israel forces’ global reputation as counterterrorism experts is the result of decades of oppressive policies that should not be emulated by campus police. “Israel is regarded as the world’s shopping mall for homeland security technology … over its half-century of occupation it has perfected tactics for surveilling Palestinian communities, in addition to its much harsher measures of doing night raids on Palestinian homes, the violence used to counter weekly demonstrations against the wall … I pray that we won’t see the day when any of those more intense repressive measures are used on campuses,” he said. Lorber added that he believes “counterterrorism” is often a misleading umbrella term for racist and violent Israeli policing practices meant to preserve Israel’s continuing occupation of Palestinian territory. “According to their logic, they’re protecting citizens from terror,” Lorber said. “But our view, and the view of most people, is that real safety does not come through increased surveillance and militarized policing, but real safety for communities comes from the relationships we build and the alliances we form to protect each other.” Seminar’s Zionist ideology leads to concerns over possible political repression on campus Al-Subaey shared Lorber’s sentiment and said that because the university can also claim counterterrorism as a blanket defense, she does not expect Tufts to apologize for facilitating Maguire’s trip. “We see the U.S. government do this, and I think Tufts will probably follow suit, which is that under the guise of counterterrorism and security you can get away with militarizing the police, increasing surveillance, enacting discriminatory policies, all that stuff,” she said. Al-Subaey also expressed concerns that what was taught during the seminar will exacerbate what she claimed were TUPD’s discriminatory practices, which were alleged in a Sept. 25 article published in the Tufts Observer. According to a 2015 article in the Jerusalem Post, David C. Friedman, the ADL’s Vice President for Law Enforcement, Extremism and Community Security, explicitly stated that the NCTS and other ADL-funded exchange programs often serve to ideologically sway officers that attend. “[Officers] come back and they are Zionists. They understand Israel and its security needs in ways a lot of audiences don’t,” Friedman said. Trestan did not directly answer the Daily’s question as to the ideological aspects of the NCTS, instead reiterating that “the strategies and tactics learned from Israel exchanges enable American law enforcement leaders to increase their ability to protect the U.S. from attack.” Spencer Zeff, a sophomore and the co-president of Tufts Friends of Israel (FOI), said that he felt TUPD’s attendance at the seminar would make Tufts a safer place. “Knowing that our police have been trained in Israel should make our whole community feel more safe and secure,” he wrote in an email to the Daily. “The only way I see this program having an effect on police activity at Tufts is in the event of a tragedy, where our police can use the

crucial skills they learned through this potentially life-saving program.” But for students who don’t share Zeff’s position on the Israel-Palestine conflict, TUPD’s attendance raises concerns about political repression on campus, especially around pro-Palestinian student activism. “I think by Tufts taking this stance and by being directly connected to a state that practices regularly suppressing political dissent sends a message to this campus that if you are on that side of the aisle on this issue, then our law enforcement is not trying to protect you,” al-Subaey said. Leila also questioned whose safety programs like the NCTS prioritized. “One of the most important things we want to be asking through [the Deadly Exchange] campaign is what is safety? Who is defining safety, who is that safety for and what we really think about these programs is [that] they are part of a much larger structure that indeed tries to promote safety for certain groups at the expense of other groups,” she said. Lorber echoed these concerns, cautioning Tufts activists to be aware of this possible bias. “It’s likely now the Tufts chief of police has a lot more knowledge about surveillance tactics and other repressive policing and very likely the chief has also been inculcated now with a very strongly pro-Israel viewpoint,” Lorber said. “The last thing students need are police chiefs who see them as sympathetic to terrorists or a threat to safety for doing something like putting up a mock checkpoint or an apartheid wall.” TUPD’s attendance at the NCTS has also fostered doubts about the university’s claim to political neutrality on the IsraeliPalestinian conflict. Al-Subaey told the Daily that TUPD’s participation in the seminar undermines the university’s claim that “Tufts University does not adopt institutional positions with respect to specific geo-political issues,” which was made in a statement from President Monaco last April responding to TCU’s divestment resolution. “I think [it] is really hypocritical when we have these very strong ties to the state of Israel and specifically in security, surveillance, military, those exact elements that we were trying to address in our resolution,” she said. Al-Subaey also expressed frustration at what she sees as a hypocrisy at the heart of Tufts University’s stated progressive values, which she says TUPD’s participation in the seminar betrays. “I’m especially thinking about last year when we had the rally to protect undocumented immigrants at Tufts and [University President Anthony] Monaco made a statement at that event stating his commitment and the University’s commitment as well. And when we’re training law enforcement officers on campus on border issues and immigration from a state that targets people based on their identity, based on their citizenship, their ethnicity, that seems really concerning to me,” she said. “It just adds layers to the confusion around what this university says it stands for, and what it does.” Leila added that while it’s possible police departments like Tufts’ agree to attend the NCTS simply because it’s an all-expense-paid trip, she thinks it is more likely that the idea of partnership in the “global war on terror” is a bigger reason for participation. “I think that in reality, there is an incredible amount of subscribing to this overall worldview that the U.S. and Israel are partners and need to stick together to fight global Muslim terrorism,” she said.

News

Friday, January 26, 2018 | News | THE TUFTS DAILY

Water-quality investigation finds safe levels of lead Contributing Writer

No dangerous lead quantities are present in any of the residential buildings tested for water quality, according to a message set to be sent out to the Tufts community Friday morning by Tufts Vice President for Operations Barbara Stein and Dean of Student Affairs Mary Pat McMahon. This update comes as a follow-up to the email Stein and McMahon sent out to the Tufts community Dec. 12 to notify students and faculty that a student would be testing water quality in 34 buildings on the Medford/Somerville campus, 17 of which were academic and 17 of which were residential, according to the more recent message. Caitlin Duffy, a senior studying environmental engineering, conducted the testing over winter break. Duffy said she chose to sample water from outlets most likely to provide water for human consumption. “Within the buildings, I wanted to pick outlets that would be used for consumption, so [I tested] kitchen sinks, bathroom faucets where you brush your teeth, or water fountains and bubblers,” she said. Tufts contracted a third-party laboratory approved by the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection to verify the the lead content of four faucets that at first yielded suspicious results, according to this morning’s email. The faucets were in Davies House, also known as International House (I-House), and Hillsides Apartments, the only two buildings where Duffy had initially found questionable levels of lead. Based on the laboratory’s analysis, the four sinks in question were determined to be safe for use.

When Duffy first found suspicious results, and before the sinks were ultimately found to be safe, Tufts Environmental Health and Safety (TEHS) Director Stephen Larson sent an email to residents of I-House on Jan. 12, explaining that two faucets may contain lead levels above the recommended 15 parts per billion (ppb). According to Larson’s letter, samples were collected and tested after the water had been undisturbed for 6-10 hours. The letter added that the lead concentrations of two first-flush samples were 19.7 ppb and 35.1 ppb, both above the recommended 15 parts per billion (ppb) and therefore unsafe for drinking and food preparation, though safe for other activities. According to Jason Erbach, Environmental Manager for TEHS, the “first-flush sample” refers to water collected from a faucet that has not recently been used. Erbach sent a similar letter to the residents of Hillsides Apartments on Jan. 15 which identified another two faucets that produced water samples unsafe for drinking or food preparation. According to the letter, the university responded to the initial test results by covering the sinks in question, distributing bottles of water for residents’ use and initiating a second round of independent testing to verify Duffy’s findings. Nicolas Avalle, a sophomore and resident of Hillsides, said that each apartment was given a store of water for daily use while the university conducted its third-party lab research. Avalle said that the university provided his apartment, where ten people live, with twenty water bottles for the duration of the interim period. According to Avalle, Hillsides residents received an email yesterday to notify them that staff would be entering common

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areas in the building to install water coolers. However, Tufts’ Executive Director of Public Relations Patrick Collins stated that the water coolers had been ordered before the lead levels in the building’s water were determined to be safe. Sopuruchukwu Ezenwa, a senior and the manager of I-House, verified that his residents had also received bottled water. “So far, my residents seem calm about things, especially with the detailed report [in Larson’s email] and alternative water supply provided to us,” Ezenwa told the Daily in an email. Erbach further explained that the federal Environmental Protection Agency’s Safe Drinking Water Act requires water providers to provide their customers with water of sufficient quality so that 90 percentpercent of customers receive water with less than 15 ppb of lead. In the case of Tufts University, this responsibility falls

upon the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority (MWRA). According to the 2016 MWRA Annual Test results, which are available online, the 90 percent lead level in both Medford and Somerville was below 15 ppb. Duffy stated that stories of municipal water quality in other U.S. cities inspired her research here at Tufts. “Ever since the crisis in Flint, Michigan, the problem of lead in U.S. water infrastructure has been a focus in many of my classes,” Duffy said. “I wanted to apply my learning to a real-world case, and Tufts seemed like a great place to start.” Duffy said she hopes her research will promote awareness of water quality issues on campus. “With this research happening and … a lot of people … talking about it, [water quality] has been brought to the forefront of people’s minds,” she said.

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A Hillsides resident pours herself some water in her Hillsides suite on Jan. 24.

NATIONAL A SS

by Alexander Davis

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Friday, January 26, 2018

FILM REVIEW

COURTESY PETE SOUZA

Former United States President Barack Obama and former UN Ambassador Samantha Power in ‘The Final Year’ (2017).

‘The Final Year’ effectively wraps up Obama’s foreign policy legacy Tommy Gillespie

Assistant Arts Editor

Throughout most of Greg Barker’s “The Final Year” (2017), a documentary tracking President Obama’s foreign policy team during the last twelve months of the administration, the ongoing presidential election is largely relegated to the background. President Donald Trump’s nomination at the Republican National Convention is only briefly glimpsed on a West Wing TV, while a secretary smiles and shakes her head. Deputy National Security Advisor Ben Rhodes assures a coffee shop worker on a trip to Laos that Hillary Clinton will be the next president. The Obama team depicted in “The Final Year,” which largely follows Rhodes, Secretary of State John Kerry and UN Ambassador Samantha Power, seems convinced as they work to secure their administration’s legacy that there will be a friendly face in the White House come January 2017. Though the production is certainly infused with a looming dramatic irony given what we know now, Barker’s direction also makes it clear that the day-to-day world of high-level diplomacy is one that is largely removed from partisan politics. Although their ultimate complacency is shattered, the reality of

their jobs precludes them from reacting to each twist, turn and Trump tweet back home. Up to election night, the Obama team mostly jets around the world with their heads down, securing agreements, treaties and other diplomatic work. The film details, among various other diplomatic endeavors, the Paris climate agreement, the Iran nuclear deal, the Cuban thaw, Obama’s trip to Laos and Japan (where he became the first U.S. president to visit Hiroshima), the failed September 2016 Syrian ceasefire and a humanitarian trip to Boko Haram-ravaged areas of Cameroon and Nigeria. Obama himself largely takes a backseat, although his presence and charisma loom throughout. Barker includes footage of his keynote speech at the 2004 Democratic National Convention, which both Power and Rhodes cite in their initial interviews. When he does appear, the camera, with the benefit of hindsight, lionizes him; his diplomatic speeches read like a highlight reel of measured, dignified statesmanship. Foreign leaders respect him, Vietnamese teens clamor for selfies with him and his own staff is charmed by him.

Barker’s deference is not limited to the president; the more immediate subjects of “The Final Year” also come across rather positively. We see the Irish-born Power, whom Barker characterizes as an idealist and humanitarian, giving an emotional speech at her longtime nanny’s citizenship ceremony. Kerry is a dedicated, evenkeeled sage of diplomacy, never tiring of his demanding position. The only one of whom Barker takes a semi-critical view is Rhodes, whose political zeal seems to have been somewhat infected by D.C. arrogance and gamesmanship. Early in the documentary, Rhodes must deal with the blowback after he is quoted labeling the White House press corps as “ignorant fools.” Still, the team is depicted as a group of hardworking, capable diplomats who at least pay lip service to the precariousness of their work. In one such instance, Power’s motorcade fatally strikes a boy as they pull out of a Boko Haram refugee camp, and she insists on visiting his family. In a similar instance, Rhodes admits that he tries not to think about the possibility of a Trump administration for fear that their work will be lost.

“The Final Year” ultimately comes off as a melancholic and nostalgic piece. If Barker had been planning on a more critical view, all inklings of criticism seem to have been blown out of the picture by Trump’s victory. The film makes no mention of drone warfare, arguably Obama’s most controversial foreign policy action. The image of the Obama administration depicted in “The Final Year” is not one of arrogance or complacency, but rather one formed by people whose ultimate motivator is a desire to leave the world a better place than they found it, notwithstanding the power they wield. The departing image we are given of Obama is in his final foreign trip to Greece. To the gathered crowd in Athens, as images of him and his staff meeting people across the world across the screen, Obama explains that democracy is not “somebody else’s job, it’s not somebody else’s responsibility, but it’s the citizens of our countries and citizens of the world to bend that arc of history towards justice. And that’s what democracy allows us to do. That’s why the most important office in any country is not president or prime minister. The most important title is citizen.”

A rt s & L i v i n g

Friday, January 26, 2018 | Arts & Living | THE TUFTS DAILY

With ‘Black Lightning,’ The CW enters new territory by Julian Blatt Staff Writer

Although The CW is home to a large variety of television programs, from historical drama to high school mystery, it is perhaps best known for its growing collection of superhero shows, most notably “Arrow” (2012–) and “The Flash” (2014–). Because these shows exist in the same universe (the “Arrowverse,” as fans affectionately call it), someone who mainly watches “Arrow” can watch an episode of “The Flash” without much confusion and vice versa. The existence of the Arrowverse also allows for crossover between the shows, a win-win since supporters of the two shows are brought together, promising greater numbers of live viewers and an increase in revenue for each show. It is therefore pleasantly surprising that The CW’s new superhero series, “Black Lightning” (2018–), takes place separate from the Arrowverse and in a fictional city of its own. The show is set in Freeland, a city with an unmistakably ironic name. A gang called the 100 rules the streets, punishing anyone who tries to take a stand against it. Destruction, drug trade, violence and sexual abuse have become common sights. Unfortunately, because many members of the 100 are black, the racially prejudiced police take their frustration and anger over their loss of power out on the law-abiding black citizens of Freeland, pulling them over on the road without reason and sending them to jail for protesting. It is clear why this city needs a hero. Already it is evident that “Black Lightning” is not going to shy away from making racial commentary. Showrunner Salim Akil drew on his own experiences in the development of the program, and plans to use this show as a platform to discuss racial and social justice. This starts with the introduction of the titular character, Black Lightning.

Black Lightning, real name Jefferson Pierce (Cress Williams), is a hero in his own right. The principal of a poor innercity school, Jefferson desires to empower children through education; unlike many of his peers, he does not believe that violence is the key to a brighter future. Nevertheless, when push comes to shove, Jefferson is more than ready to defend the people of his city, especially his daughters, Jennifer (China Anne McClain) and Anissa (Nafessa Williams), who are no strangers to trouble. While it’s typical for CW superheroes to value family, Jefferson’s age and maturity not only make him unique, but are also crucial to the foundation of the show. The nuances of race are not brushed to the side in the treatment of Jefferson and the other characters on the show. While the show depicts Jefferson’s anxieties surrounding law enforcement, this is complicated by the fact that Jefferson’s main opponent in law enforcement is Inspector Hendershot, who is also black. This detail highlights the complex relationships that exist between police and community, particularly when racial identity is involved. Since this is a program on The CW, there also is a budding romantic storyline. But on “Black Lightning,” the love interest is not a ‘girl next door,’ or ‘best friend since birth.’ Instead, there seems to be chemistry between Jefferson and his ex-wife Lynn (Christine Adams), even though they had divorced nine years prior, when Jefferson was injured on a crime-stopping spree. Since then, Jefferson has been incredibly reluctant to resume his vigilante alter ego, despite knowing that he is the only one who can put an end to the 100. In this way, he again distinguishes himself from other CW superheroes, who are often too eager to go into battle and hurt both themselves and those they love as a result. Though Jefferson’s mentor Gambi (James Remar) finally convinces him to become Black Lightning once more, it takes a great

VIA THE CW

A promotional poster for The CW show Black Lightning is pictured. deal of persuading. Jefferson chooses to follow his head over his heart and as a result has fewer weaknesses than the other supers, becoming a more efficient and effective hero. Lastly, unlike with most superhero series, where the supporting characters tend to be no more than archetypes, Jefferson’s daughters actually add substance to the show. While they could not be more different from one another, one can easily understand their mindsets. Jennifer hates rules and rebels against the

rigidity of her father, which can lead to dangerous situations, such as when she decides to hang out at Club 100. Anissa understands why Jefferson must be strict, but refuses to stop protesting the police. As such, she is frequently arrested. Unlike Jennifer, Anissa was witness to her father’s injury nine years ago. Although she does not know that Jefferson is Black Lightning, her discovery of her own powers at the end of the first episode suggests an important father-daughter reveal (and hopefully superhero team) in the future.

MUSIC REVIEW

After 50 years, The Shaggs’ unique sound still resonates by Issay Matsumoto Staff Writer

It’s been 50 years since 1968, the year that “shattered America.” While the Vietnam War raged on, racial tensions reached new highs with assassinations of major public figures like Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert Kennedy and Cold War anxieties loomed, music nonetheless undertook its own innovations. The Beatles went to Rishikesh, Jimi Hendrix released “Electric Ladyland.” In the midst of the dramatic upheaval of American ideals and institutions through radical and often violent action, 1968 saw other changes perhaps less immediately evident by history textbooks. Under the direction of family patriarch Austin Wiggin, rock sister-trio “The Shaggs” formed in 1968 in Fremont, N.H. Heeding the prophecy of his palm-reading mother, Wiggin pulled his daughters Dorothy, Betty and Helen out of traditional schooling and enrolled them in intensive music lessons, according to a 1999 profile in the New Yorker. To the casual listener, the latter fact might appear untrue. But for a group once described by Rolling Stone magazine as sounding “like a lobotomized Trapp Family Singers,” their untrained

but radically innovative sound is perhaps best captured on the track, “My Pal Foot Foot,” a tale of a lost pet named Foot Foot, on their first and only album, “Philosophy of the World” (1969). “My Pal Foot Foot” opens with a stutter of snare and intermittent clasp of the hi-hat. A lackadaisical ride cymbal soon follows. To the casual listener, it might seem that Helen Wiggin is just randomly hitting the drum kit with no sense of time; perhaps this is true. But through a different lens, this drum intro section is kind of genius. Its lack of a sense of concrete time signature lends itself to an irreplicable style. The complex polyrhythms capture a moment embodying innocence, chaos and rage. And then the guitar comes in. The growling department store electric guitar gnaws itself into the mix, taking the listener back. “Why don’t they tune their guitars?” the listener might ask. But why should they? The messy microtonality of the untuned guitar provides a dissonance and tension that never resolves. But the narrative conflict of “My Pal Foot Foot” is not limited to the track’s instrumentation. The simplistic but biting lyrics are a lament of loss, grief and longing. The track closes with the verse, “Foot Foot, please come to me / Foot Foot, now

that you’re here / Won’t you come home / Foot Foot, promise me this / That you will never again roam.” Just like the harmonic and rhythmic tension of the instrumentation, the lyrical ambiguity does not resolve. The listener never knows if Foot Foot ever makes it home. Past its rough exterior, “My Pal Foot Foot” speaks to the heart with bare honesty. Influential rock critic for Rolling Stone Lester Bangs would write to these merits in a 1981 “Village Voice” article titled “Better Than the Beatles (and DNA, Too)”: “How do they sound? Perfect! They can’t play a lick! But mainly they got the right attitude, which is all rock’n’roll’s ever been about from day one.” The Shaggs broke new ground in 1968, a historically unprecedented year in American politics, war, technology and culture. In 2018, The Shaggs’ honest and radical sound permeates. The group’s work has been cited by rock innovators like Kurt Cobain as his “fifth favorite album” and by Frank Zappa as “better than the Beatles.” After their debut was reissued in 1980, The Shaggs enjoyed a resurgence of popularity that would even spawn a stage musical. But beyond their influence on rock musicians and the theatre world in the latter half of the century, The Shaggs’ musical spirit lives on.

While the term “rock’n’roll” might have lost some of its original vitality since the age of Lester Bangs, artists like The Shaggs “got the right attitude”; they constantly test the boundaries of their medium. Listen to The Shaggs in 2018 and immerse yourself not in 1968, but a timeless energy that pushes against what was thought wrong or impossible. Listen to The Shaggs in 2018, and one will still struggle to find the vocabulary to describe them. As listeners leave behind what The New Yorker’s Matthew Trammell calls “Obama pop” for heavy beats and often unintelligible lyrics, popular tastes head into directions often not comprehensible to skeptical music consumers. But despite whatever criticism one may have of today’s evolving tastes, it is innovators like The Shaggs who will receive vindication through retrospection. Facing many of the perennial issues that plagued 1968, testing the country politically and musically, it is the right attitude of The Shaggs, of today’s energetic creators and do-ers, that will radically expand what is possible in 2018. With upcoming releases by stalwart innovators like Migos and David Byrne to look forward to in 2018, Foot Foot might finally come home.

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Friday, January 26, 2018 | Sports | THE TUFTS DAILY

Pace's 26 points lead Jumbos past Lynx MEN'S BASKETBALL

continued from back Pace said. “It helps when you shoot the ball well from three, which we did. Guys are working hard in the gym and getting a lot of extra shots up, so hopefully this shooting success will continue and we’ll continue to get good looks on offense.” Senior guard and co-captain Everett Dayton saw the team’s lockdown performance on the other side of the ball as the primary catalyst for its success. “The biggest difference between the first and second halves was our defensive effort and execution,” he said. “We played with a lot more energy and focus on defense in the second half. We’re a team that likes to run, so getting stops made our transition offense a lot more effective.” Dayton also praised Brady, who provided a spark with five three-pointers, along with the rest of the first-years.

“Will’s performance against Lesley was awesome,” Daylon said. “We aren’t really surprised because Will has been shooting like that all year in the preseason and in practice, but it was great to see him step up and hit some big threes when he got the chance in a game. All of our [firstyears] have been great this year — they came into the season ready to contribute in any way possible.” Saturday’s game against the Bates Bobcats (9–9, 2–3 NESCAC) provided a difficult learning experience for the Jumbos. Bates built up a lead over much of the first half, stretching it to 21–13 before Tufts began to make its run. Behind well-balanced scoring, Tufts stormed back to take a 29–28 lead with 6:55 remaining in the half. The teams went back-andforth for the rest of the half, with neither stretching a lead beyond one possession until Bates’ sophomore guard Jeff Spellman scored twice before the break for a four-point advantage, 41–37.

The Jumbos came out firing in the second half and built up a 53-47 advantage behind Pace, who finished with a game-high 24 points. Tufts held its lead until late in the game, when consecutive three-pointers by Bates’ sophomore guard Tom Coyne tied the score at 73. Tufts firstyear Luke Rogers quickly converted a layup to break the tie, but Bates roared back, as sophomore guard Nick Gilpin scored consecutive baskets, the second of which won the game with 13 seconds left. The Jumbos allowed the visitors to shoot 42.3 percent from long range, as they struggled to shake off the defensive woes that have plagued them at points this season. Despite the last-second heartbreak, the Tufts players did not allow themselves to wallow in defeat, according to Pace. “We had a good day in practice that Sunday, and then it was a quick turnaround with the game on Monday,” Pace said. “So we just didn’t linger on it and tried to move forward and get back on the right track.”

Dayton shared these sentiments, detailing the lessons that the team learned. “Our loss to Bates reinforced that there are no easy games in the NESCAC,” he said. “We have to show up with the same intensity and effort every game. I think it forced us to put extra emphasis going forward on our defensive intensity and communication. We know that when we play well on defense, our offense clicks better and we are a really tough team to beat.” The Jumbos’ defensive improvement was obvious on Monday, as was the marked effect that it can have on their offense. Tufts’ remarkable second half showed a stark contrast from Saturday’s streakier performance, and the team will look to maintain a strong defensive effort to complement its explosive scoring. The Jumbos travel to New London, Conn., where they will take on the Conn. College Camels (6–11, 0–5 NESCAC) tonight at 7 p.m.

Scroggins nets twice in losses to NESCAC's best MEN'S HOCKEY

continued from back the clock, putting the score at 2–1. The Jumbos then pulled Nugnes for the final minute in an attempt to scrounge together a last-second goal and force overtime, but the final buzzer sounded before the team could equalize. “We just couldn’t get the puck to fall our way,” Nugnes said. The game wrapped up Tufts’ two-game series with Wesleyan, the first of which ended in a 3–3 tie on Nov. 18. The win made the Cardinals 5–3–2 in NESCAC play, while the Jumbos fell to 2–7–1. One day prior, the Jumbos took on the NESCAC-leading Trinity Bantams with revenge on the table — the Jumbos fell 5–1 to Trinity earlier in the season. Though the final score of Friday’s match ended up looking similar to that from November, the two games were anything but. As opposed to earlier in the season, when Trinity dominated on both sides of the puck, Tufts held strong through the first two periods. Even though the Bantams put up more shots on goal (25–11 through two periods), Nugnes didn’t let anything past him, and Scroggins’ goal late in the second period gave Tufts an unlikely advantage going into the final 20 minutes of action. From there, things fell apart for the Jumbos. Trinity’s offense broke free in the third period, scoring four times on 11 shots, while Tufts only mustered three shots on goal. “We weren’t consistent playing in the third and we didn’t bury our scoring chances,” Tufts senior forward Brian Brown said. “I think that’s something we’re definitely working on — trying to fix that going into this weekend. We can’t hope for Nik to make every save.” Such a late offensive barrage came as a surprise considering the first two periods,

BEN KIM / THE TUFTS DAILY

Defenseman Jordan Haney brings the puck forward in the men’s ice hockey home game at Valley Forum against Wesleyan University on Jan. 20. but it was nothing new for this Trinity team. The Bantams have scored only nine goals in the first period this season, tied for second-fewest in the NESCAC. In the third period, though, they’ve scored 28, which outpaces the rest of the conference by a wide margin. The team often comes alive late, and unfortunately for the Jumbos, that narrative rang true on Friday. “With how tight the NESCAC is, you have to play a full 60 minutes each night,” Nugnes said. “I thought we put together a great two periods, but we couldn’t stop Trinity in the third.” The Jumbos are starting to come together as the season goes on, proving that they can compete with teams that have bet-

ter records than their own. Despite the two losses, Tufts competed admirably for long stretches against two of the best teams in the NESCAC. The next step is being able to close out those games. Looking ahead, the Jumbos take on the Williams Ephs (10–6–0) and the Middlebury Panthers (4–12–0) this weekend, giving them another chance to seek revenge from earlier in the season: Tufts fell 4–2 against Williams on Dec. 1, before losing 2–0 to Middlebury the following day. “On any given night, one mistake can hurt you, and [in the NESCAC], teams show up every single night,” Nugnes said. “That said, I think we’re getting better

and trying to build on the process. We felt great coming off of [those] Amherst and Hamilton win[s], and we’re gonna take that into Williamstown on Friday.” Tufts’ January performances against top teams like Amherst and Endicott prove that the team can compete at a higher level than its 3–11–2 record may indicate. As the season enters its final stretch, the Jumbos have an opportunity to further prove their talent. “We feel like we can play with anyone,” Brown said. “It really doesn’t depend on other teams — it depends on how we play. So if we come and execute our systems and play hard, we know we have a chance to win any night.”

Jumbos place second at Bowdoin Invitational, win four events at Tufts Invitational WOMEN'S TRACK & FIELD

continued from back One of the key factors behind the Jumbos’ strong start to the season and early victories was a 10-day training session held over winter break. “On most days, we had two practices — one of them focused on our main mileage, while the other included a lift, team activity, goal setting or flexibility

work,” first-year Madeleine Oliver said. “The extra time really allowed us to work on smaller things that we generally don’t have time for.” The training was also especially crucial for athletes who raced cross country in the fall to adjust from the outdoor courses to the indoor track. “On the positive side, not having wind, mud or hills takes a lot of time off, so it’s

less of a struggle during races,” Oliver said. “But at the same time, running around such a small 200-meter track puts a lot of wear and tear on different parts of your body. Several girls were feeling tight hamstrings or calves because of the tight turns you need to make, so there’s an adjustment period.” After its strong showing in the opening events of the season, Lawless hopes the

team can maintain a similar level for the challenges to come. “The important thing is to keep the momentum going,” Lawless said. “It’s certainly not going to come easy. Teams like Bates and Middlebury will give us competition, and we’ve got to put in the work.” Tufts will host the inaugural Branwen Smith-King Invitational at the Gantcher Center on Saturday.

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Sports

Friday, January 26, 2018

MEN'S BASKETBALL

Jumbos rebound from loss to Bates with win against Lesley by Nate Hartnick

Contributing Writer

EDDIE SAMUELS / THE TUFTS DAILY

Senior guard Everett Dayton dribbles past a defender in a loss to Bates on Saturday, Jan. 20.

The Tufts men’s basketball team, ranked third in the Northeast region, split its last two games, pushing its overall record to 13–5 (3–2 NESCAC). Tufts suffered a disheartening home loss to Bates on Saturday, then responded with a dominant road win over Lesley two days later. The resilience and grit which the Jumbos have displayed all season, through injuries and misfortune, now set the tempo for their final stretch of games. Tufts played an uneven first half against Lesley (10–8) on Monday. They got off to a hot start, opening the game on an 8–0 run, and quickly built the advantage to 13. However, the Lynx chipped away at the visitors’ lead, cutting it to six with 12:46 remaining in the half. Despite the hot shooting of senior guard and co-captain Vincent Pace (3-for-4 from beyond the arc

WOMEN'S TRACK & FIELD

Women’s track and field kicks off indoor season with encouraging performances by Tim Chiang Staff Writer

Over the last few weeks, the women’s track and field team has sprung strongly into the indoor season, coming in second at the Bowdoin Invitational in Brunswick, Maine. Tufts scored 127 points, while firstplace MIT earned 212. Bowdoin came in third with 102, followed by Southern Maine (78) and Merrimack (59). At the Tufts Invitational on Jan. 13, the Jumbos claimed first-place finishes in four separate events. With a promising start to the season, senior Eliza Lawless expressed her confidence in the team’s ability to establish itself among the region’s best. “I’m really excited. We’re crushing it out there,” Lawless said. “Our goal every year is to finish in the top three at New England Div. III [Championships], which is definitely attainable.” At the Bowdoin Invitational, first-place finishes in two events spearheaded the Jumbos’ success. Sophomore Julia Gake strode across the line in the 600-meter event for first with a time of 1:40.07, leading MIT sophomore Margaret Trautner (1:40.72). Gake’s success carried over in the Jumbo’s 4×400-meter relay, where she featured as the anchor leg. First-year Kristen Andersen opened the event, followed by sophomore Nehalem KunkleRead, sophomore Rhemi Toth and Gake for a first-place time of 4:15.62. Despite typically competing in long-distance events, senior co-captain Brittany Bowman registered impressive performances at a pair of shorter races, earning a pair of second-place finishes. With a time of 4:58.88, Bowman broke the five-minute mark in the mile, and she finished the 800-meter race in 2:18.69. “I don’t usually run the mile or 800, but coach [Kristen Morwick] decided to drill me to work on my speed, which is usually my weakness,” Bowman said. “The 3K and 5K are usually my main events, and I’m looking forward to getting back to long distance events.”

in the first half), Lesley continued to take over and claimed its first lead of the game, 28–26, on a three-pointer from junior forward Joey Martin. Aided by back-to-back threes from first-year guard Will Brady, Tufts regained a 39–37 lead at halftime. The Jumbos came out of the locker room with renewed focus and energy, consistently generating open looks. They opened up the floodgates with a barrage of threes, led by Pace, who put up 15 of his 26 points after halftime. In the second half, the Jumbos scored with remarkable efficiency — 62.9 percent from the field — while holding the Lynx to just a 37.1 shooting percentage. This discrepancy caused the lead to balloon, as the Tufts pulled away for a 97-74 win. The Jumbos’ 97 points was a season high. “I thought we moved the ball well, particularly by driving and kicking it out,” see MEN'S BASKETBALL, page 7

ICE HOCKEY

Despite strong start, Jumbos fall to Trinity and Wesleyan by Ryan Eggers

Assistant Sports Editor

RAY BERNOFF / THE TUFTS DAILY ARCHIVES

Senior Alice Wasserman competes in the second 4000m DMR heat at the New England Division III Indoor Championship at MIT’s Johnson Athletic Center on Feb. 18, 2017. In the long-distance events, senior Margot Rashba recorded a second-place time of 18:21.83 over 5,000 meters, while junior Sarah Perkins also came in second with a time of 10:25.96 in the 3,000meter event. Further, both upper- and underclassmen secured solid finishes in the field events. Senior co-captain Jennifer Sherwill placed third in the shot put with a throw of 11.04 meters and in the weight throw (13.09 meters), while first-year Scarlet Bliss placed fourth in the high jump, leaping 1.49 meters. A week prior, at the Tufts Invitational, the Jumbos secured first-place finishes across four different events. In the 4×800meter relay, sophomore Lauren Diaz, sophomore Nicole Kerrigan, first-year Alexandra Wolf and junior Julia Noble crossed the line first in 10:02.71. Lawless took first in the 3,000-meter run with a time of 10:38.12, while Toth won the mile

in 5:15.70. Finally, junior Sydney Ladner won the pole vault with a clearance of 3.05 meters. Aside from the four competitions that they won, the Jumbos continued to flourish, placing in second or third in several events. Junior Kylene DeSmith was the runner-up in the triple jump with a leap of 10.08 meters, and Gake finished third in the 400-meter dash with a time of 1:00.60. The Tufts Invitational was an unscored meet, which, according to Lawless, worked in the Jumbos’ favor toward individual qualifications for next month’s New England Div. III Championships. “We’re hoping to get at least half of our team to qualify individually,” Lawless said. “Since the meet was unscored, it allowed us to focus on qualifying, and around 10 of our athletes were able to do so.” see WOMEN'S TRACK & FIELD, page 7

Coming off impressive wins over Amherst and Hamilton, the Tufts men’s hockey team rode a wave of momentum into one of its toughest NESCAC back-to-backs all year. On Friday, the Jumbos faced off against the Trinity Bantams (10–3–2), before taking on the Wesleyan Cardinals (9–4–3) the following day. Despite strong showings from the Jumbos early in both games, they weren’t able to seal the victories, losing 4–1 to the Bantams and 2–1 to the Cardinals. On Saturday against Wesleyan, both teams were firing on all cylinders — Tufts put 28 shots on goal to Wesleyan’s 32. Neither team could find a breakthrough, though, and the first period sailed by scoreless. Things started to pick up in the second period when power plays for both sides led to their swapping goals, which left the contest tied 1–1 around the halfway point of the period. Sophomore forward Tyler Scroggins put the puck in the net for the Jumbos, while sophomore forward Walker Harris scored for the Cardinals. It was Scroggins’ second goal of the weekend and fourth on the year. The final period was a relatively defensive battle compared to previous action, with the Cardinals and Jumbos only getting off eight and six shots on goal, respectively. Tufts senior goalie and co-captain Nik Nugnes (30 saves) and Wesleyan sophomore goalie Tim Sestak (27 saves) both had excellent games in net. In heartbreaking fashion for the hosts, Wesleyan senior forward Cam McCusker scored the deciding goal with 1:07 left on see MEN'S HOCKEY, page 7