Applejam brings variety of music performances to campus, makes concert spaces more intimate see FEATURES / PAGE 3
EDITORIAL
Tufts must reevaluate distribution requirements
Women’s lacrosse tops NESCAC with 3 big wins see SPORTS / PAGE 8
SEE OPINION / PAGE 7
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VOLUME LXXIX, ISSUE 31
Tuesday, March 10, 2020
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Tufts issues travel restrictions, academic precautions in response to coronavirus by Caleb Symons Staff Writer
Disclaimer: Esra Gurcay is a former executive social media editor at the Daily. Gurcay was not involved in the writing or editing of this article. Tufts administrators responded to growing concerns over the global coronavirus outbreak by implementing travel regulations and warning of potential disruptions to spring semester courses in a series of emails to faculty, staff and students last week. In an email to the Tufts community on March 5, administrators announced a host of travel restrictions aimed at preventing the spread of the coronavirus, known formally as COVID-19, to the university’s campuses. The most stringent restriction prohibits anyone traveling from a country designated by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) with a Level 3 travel warning — its highest risk level — from being on campus, even if they are symptom-free, for 14 days. Tufts also requires that such travelers self-quarantine in accordance with CDC guidance. Four countries currently have Level 3 designations: China, South Korea, Italy and Iran. It is unclear how the university plans to enforce its restrictions on travelers from these countries.
Tufts also temporarily prohibited all university-related travel to Level 3 countries and suspended several university-supported international trips scheduled for next week’s spring break. The Institute for Global Leadership (IGL) informed members of IGL-funded fact-finding missions to Colombia and Cyprus on March 5 that their trips would be suspended. Students traveling to Colombia had already scheduled interviews with sources in the country when they learned of the travel suspension, according to Sara Torres Raisbeck, president and co-founder of the Tufts Latin American Committee (LAC), which organized the trip. “It was a matter of [telling sources], ‘Oh wait, I’m so sorry, but I can’t do this anymore,'” Torres Raisbeck, a junior, said. “I’m grateful that the IGL contacted us [about the travel restrictions] beforehand. I think it was the right move, especially because it’s something that we’ve all put so much effort into.” Torres Raisbeck still hopes to conduct her research, which focuses on eco-tourism camps run by former Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) militants as part of a social reintegration effort, in Colombia over spring break, since she is doing it for credit and will graduate in May. Other members of the LAC trip may be forced to see CORONAVIRUS, page 2
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Students sit outside on the President’s Lawn and enjoy the nice weather on March 9.
Study abroad programs shuttered as coronavirus grips Italy by Madeleine Aitken Assistant News Editor
As Italy grapples with the worst outbreak of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) in Europe, some Tufts students studying abroad at pre-approved non-Tufts-affiliated programs have been forced to leave their respective programs. Nadia Sbuttoni and August Moore, both juniors, were studying abroad in Italy on such pre-approved programs, but their programs were cancelled and they were told to leave the country. Moore was on the Syracuse Florence program with Syracuse University and Sbuttoni was on Brown in Bologna with Brown University. “Tufts doesn’t have any programs in Italy, so those of us who study Italian for our language requirement mostly do pre-approved programs with other schools. In this case, I did the Syracuse program in Florence,” Moore said. The Syracuse program is popular with Tufts students studying Italian, so a number of Tufts students had the same experience as Moore. Moore explained that the Syracuse administration scheduled a question and answer session on the campus in Florence to address coronavirus questions and concerns, where they actually announced that the program was being cancelled and everyone was expected to leave by the end of that week.
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“It was a little abrupt,” Moore said. Sbuttoni experienced something similar. On Feb. 28, Sbuttoni and other students were told they had to leave by March 7. “I had to pick from a selection of flights that either had multiple lay-overs, were upwards of $1,500 for a one-way ticket, or travel to Rome on a train to get a direct flight,” Sbuttoni wrote in an email to the Daily. Despite travel woes, both Moore and Sbuttoni expressed the ease of communication with Tufts. “Initially, I didn’t hear much from them. I’m not sure if Syracuse informed them at the same time that they informed us. But a day or two later, I heard from Tufts’ abroad office, I think, saying that they had heard the program was cancelled and basically to contact my academic advising dean and other academic advisors for how to proceed,” Moore said. Sbuttoni also said the study abroad office reached out to her and asked to hear her plans. I was pleased with the communication from Tufts. They never formally asked me to leave Bologna until much after my program was cancelled which I appreciated,” Sbuttoni said. “When the CDC raised the level for Italy to a Level 3, they asked me to fill out a survey that had me answer questions about my assessment of the situation in Bologna.”
NEWS............................................1 FEATURES.................................3 ARTS & LIVING.......................4
see STUDY ABROAD, page 2
FUN & GAMES.........................6 OPINION..................................... 7 SPORTS............................ BACK
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THE TUFTS DAILY | News | Tuesday, March 10, 2020
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continued from page 1 wait until summer to visit Colombia or opt out of the trip entirely. The Middle East Research Group may also consider rescheduling its trip to Cyprus in August, according to the group’s co-president, Esra Gurcay. “I understand the position that the university is taking and understand that they feel responsible for protecting us, but obviously it’s a big disappointment,” Gurcay, a senior, said. “I wish that we could have found a way to negotiate this.” Tufts will require faculty and staff to register any university-related international travel with the Tufts Travel Registry, which students already must do. The university also discouraged community members from taking any non-essential international trips — highlighting concerns that students traveling for spring break will expose Tufts’ campuses to the virus. Tufts students studying on the university’s program in Madrid received an email Monday night announcing the temporary suspension of classes, with program-specific classes being conducted online next week. Many students on non-Tufts study abroad programs have already been sent home by their host universities. There are no Tufts students studying in China this semester, according to Senior Director of Study Abroad and Global Education Mala Ghosh. The university plans to monitor the situation in Pavia, Italy, where it conducts summer courses. In an email to the Tufts community on March 6, Executive Vice President Mike Howard announced that faculty were warned to prepare for student absences due to the impact of coronavirus on their travel and health. Howard also announced that faculty members at Tufts’ graduate and undergraduate schools were instructed to plan
for the possibility that in-person classes are suspended this semester and to prepare contingency plans for such a scenario. He noted, however, that these warnings are entirely precautionary. “We continue to hope that face-to-face classes during the spring semester are not disrupted. Any updates to academic policies, procedures, or schedules will be communicated to the Tufts community promptly,” Howard wrote in the March 6 email. The suspension of in-person classes would present a unique challenge for laboratory sciences, which rely on interactive lessons to present material. Professors of classes with lab components would need to be creative in order to complete their spring curricula, according to physics Professor David Hammer. Hammer, who teaches an 88-person introductory physics class, is optimistic that he could design assignments for outside of the classroom but acknowledged it would be more difficult to adapt a biology or chemistry experiment. “Because it’s introductory physics, the physical world is readily available,” Hammer said. “If it were a chemistry lab, I bet there are still things that one could do, depending what the topic is that you want to address, but it’s way more challenging.” Several schools on the West Coast, including the University of Washington and Stanford University, announced in recent days their decisions to temporarily conduct classes online. The list of schools suspending in-person classes includes Northeastern University’s Seattle campus, which will move to a remote option. Students on Northeastern’s Boston campus will continue to attend class as normal. Many Boston-area universities, however, have been forced to react to the coronavirus outbreak in Massachusetts, where 41 people have been positively diagnosed as of March 9.
Amherst announced on Monday the cancellation of classes beginning later this week and that all classes will be conducted remotely beginning after its spring break, beginning on March 23. Amherst students were asked to leave campus by March 16. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT ) also announced on Monday that all classes with more than 150 people will be conducted remotely. MIT previously banned all university-related events with more than 150 people and suspended school-sponsored international travel for faculty, students and staff. Harvard University similarly prohibited school-sponsored international and non-essential domestic travel and discouraged events with more than 100 attendees. Tufts attempted to ease anxiety over COVID-19 on March 2, when University President Anthony Monaco and other university officials dined with community leaders in Chinatown, where Tufts’ Health Sciences campus is located. Their lunch was an effort to show support for local residents and restaurants, which have taken a hit amid coronavirus concerns. Monaco announced in an email to the Tufts community two days later that Howard will lead the university’s coronavirus response. Howard confirmed the creation of four working groups in his March 6 email. One working group will focus on establishing operational, academic and clinical continuity, while the others will address student life, health and communications, respectively. Howard also announced that administrators will share a summary of coronavirus-related decisions and updates at least once a week with the Tufts community while continuing to send urgent communications as necessary.
Tufts study abroad programs being monitored, none cancelled
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continued from page 1 Mala Ghosh, senior director of Tufts Study Abroad and Global Education, acknowledged the difficulty in following the situation for students studying abroad, but sought to assuage concerns about the future of study abroad. “We have been in regular contact with [students], making sure they are aware of information from the U.S. Department of State and national and international public health authorities about the rapidly evolving circumstances surrounding COVID-19,” Ghosh wrote in an email to the Daily. “We are continuing to closely monitor the situation and are making judgments on a day-to-day basis in response to changing circumstances and information.” The coronavirus has forced Tufts to adapt to each student’s individual needs. “Tufts has been pretty flexible. They’ve said that even though normally they don’t accept transfer credits from online classes, that if the class had originally been approved to transfer to Tufts, then it will also do so in its online format,” Moore said. Despite Tufts’ helpfulness, Sbuttoni and Moore had a difficult time with communication on the other end. They’re still trying to figure out their next steps, as well as how this will impact their futures. Sbuttoni explained that the Brown in Bologna program involves direct enrollment in the University of Bologna. They’re currently putting out a list of courses to take online, but Sbuttoni doesn’t think they will satisfy the requirements of her Italian minor or be worth it for her.
(FLORIAN HIRZINGER / WIKIMEDIA COMMONS)
The Florence Cathedral in Florence, Italy, is pictured. “I think that I will probably withdraw from the program, get a refund from Brown and drop my Italian minor and probably get some sort of job or internship for the rest of the semester,” Sbuttoni said. Moore said he found communication from Syracuse to be confusing in the beginning. He is now planning on finishing his online classes from. “The initial Q&A was quite abrupt: It was just ‘the program is cancelled, get out of the country’,” Moore said. “Syracuse gave the option of going back to Syracuse University in upstate New York and said that they would provide room and board if we wanted to go back there, but it looks like most of us are going to go back to our home states or to Tufts.” Giuseppi Conte, Italy’s prime minister, announced nationwide restrictions yesterday on travel and public gatherings, effec-
tively placing the country of more than 60 million on lockdown in an attempt to contain the outbreak. While students studying in affected countries have experienced the most disruption, Tufts is watching the situation closely for how it may impact students on campus as well. They have been in email communication with the entire university and established a website that is frequently updated with the latest information. “The health, wellness and safety of our community is our highest priority,” Michelle Bowdler, executive director of Health and Wellness Services, wrote in an email to the Daily. “We want to make sure that students are well-informed and stay healthy, and we’ll continue to provide additional information if our circumstances change.”
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Features
Applejam Productions puts on a mix of on-campus concerts by Raga Chilakamarri Contributing Writer
On certain weekend nights, the Arts Haus living room, cluttered with the typical jumble of homework, snacks and backpacks, quickly transforms into a free concert venue outfitted for over 100 college students. These bi-monthly shows are coordinated by Applejam Productions, the self-described “DIY booking agency” run by a handful of Tufts undergraduates. At its helm are co-presidents senior Sasha von Didkovsky and sophomore Cole Wennerholm, whose room on the first floor of Arts Haus stands as the backdrop for these events. Utilizing the budget granted by Tufts Community Union, Applejam reaches out to small local artists and Tufts bands, booking both a headliner and a student opener twice per month. This past semester, they’ve already held three concerts, including a performance by Native Sun, a NYC-based punk band, a Valentine’s cover show that featured nine different Tufts musicians and its most recent show featuring Medford-famous Matt Farley. “We mostly work to email artists and figure out who we can get to play here and then we work with different people on campus to host it and set up, break down, do the whole thing,” Wennerholm said. Whereas in the past Applejam hosted more events in the larger classroom areas like the Crane Room, this semester the new leadership pushed past tradition and restructured its shows to take place in residential housing like Arts Haus and Crafts House, providing a more intimate space with a greater appeal to its casual vibe. The restructuring seems to have proven successful, improving overall attendance and allowing for an increased number of shows. “The first two shows we had this semester we also had a line outside,” Wennerholm said. “So, we had like 120 people inside, and then we had to cap it and hold people out.” Applejam has been putting on more shows than ever before. Von Didkovsky attributes these changes to a realization he’d had of their opportunity as co-presidents to implement new ideas instead of relying on past club norms. “I sort of had this moment … Cole and I are the presidents now, we can do anything we want to do,” von Didkovsky said. “We don’t have to have shows in the Crane Room, we don’t have to try to get the biggest person we can with our tiny budget. We can just put on a bunch of shows in small, cool venues where we way overpay these small bands.” Arts Haus, as of late, has provided the perfect space to host Applejam’s events. Dani Coates, who is the current house manager, describes the collaboration as an alignment of stars between the two already-intertwined groups — especially since both von Didkovsky and Wennerholm have lived in Arts Haus. “Somewhere at the end of last semester, all three of us … came together on it at the same time and were like ‘Why are we not doing this here?” Coates, a junior, said. In an email correspondence, John Wescott, associate director for campus life programming and a primary contact for Applejam, noted that Applejam’s natural leadership transitions, involvement of former presidents and the current presidents’ proactive communications with the Office for Campus Life have culminated in a smooth operation this year. “The group is pretty amateur, for a lack of better word, when it comes to talent buying
and concert production, but they have been able to get some really great shows that students get very excited for, all with a relatively low budget and minimal production,” Wescott wrote in an email to the Daily. Featuring a diverse array of genres — from punk to indie jazz to all-metal to brass — Applejam serves as a venue for discovery, aiming to reach beyond the typical college music scene and to introduce new experiences for the attendees and exposure for the talented artists. “Even if we used all our budget on one person, our budget is not big enough to hire somebody where people are like ‘Oh my god! They got, ‘fill in the blank!’ Let’s go see them!’ They are coming to Applejam: The Event … let’s just book people who we know are good, who nobody knows, but [people] are going to show up to the event and … be like ‘oh my god, who are these guys,’” Didkovsky said. The variety of bands has provided an outlet for otherwise unknown artists. For von Didkovsky, seeing the enthusiastic response from underclassmen has been particularly encouraging and reminiscent of his own thrilling discovery of heavy metal, punk and noise rock. The presidents noted that different artists bring different energies. Some people have demonstrated excitement for the Tufts openers, while the headliners attract varying degrees of interest. The group’s most recent performance, which took place on Friday, Feb. 28, featured a comedy-oriented show by Matt Farley, known for the “Medford Song.” Students described Farley’s contagious energy and good spirit, as he rallied the audience to sing along with songs they had never heard before. “Nobody had been singing along and then [Farley] goes, ‘the Egyptians couldn’t have done it, they couldn’t have planned it, they must’ve needed help from another PLANET!’ And everyone hit ‘another planet’ at the same time,” von Didkovsky said. “It was … this beautiful moment where people were realizing what the line was going to be as it was coming up. It was like this enormous improv. It was wonderful. I love[d] it.” Von Didkovsky and Wennerholm also spoke to the vision of past president Eleana Tworek, who they said inspired their drive to expand Applejam’s repertoire beyond “sad … indie” music — a community of music they felt was most dominant in the college space. “We are going to be getting queer acts, we are going to be getting women, we are going to be getting people of color, we are not just going to do indie, we are going to do weird, you know, experimental rap and, you know, whatever else,” von Didkovsky said. “[Tworek] has been really big on making sure that our lineup is not just what it could easily sink into being.” By hosting substance-free events, Applejam aims to provide a safe and fun environment centered around music and community experience. “What I really like about Applejam is that it’s not exclusive at all,” Adrian Tanner, a past performer, said. “It’s not about who you know, it’s not about how cool you are. Basically, everyone can get in, assuming the room is not packed, and I think that is really good. I like that that’s a contrast to the party spaces that already exist.” Von Didkovsky echoed Tanner’s sentiments and encouraged anyone interested in joining Applejam or booking specific bands to start early and demonstrate initiative. He
noted that students can get involved simply by connecting with himself or Wennerholm. “What I appreciate about it is the inclusivity aspect of it,” von Didkovsky said. “That the barrier to entry is so low … you just have to meet us at a party and then you can play the next show.” However, as the club continues to receive increased exposure and attendance, the structural limits of residential spaces could and already have begun to be a problem, von Didkovsky said. “They had to have a guy come and look at the structural integrity of the house because people were moshing too hard,” von Didkovsky said in regards to a previously held punk show. “They were worried that we were going to cave the floor in.” Moreover, with the recent push to maximize on-campus housing, Arts Haus is scheduled for renovations that would remove upper common areas in exchange for dorms, according to Coates. Fortunately, Coates said, the first floor event spaces will be preserved. “If we don’t have any common rooms … we can’t have any events. There’s no point having any themed housing — it might as well be Carpenter House, like it’s a dorm,” Coates said. After recently stumbling upon an old Applejam website, the co-presidents said that they gained new insights into the history of the club, which was originally founded in the 1970s. Discovering the site inspired von Didkovsky to reach out to old presidents, one of whom told him that prior performance sites included Carmichael Hall’s common room and assorted basements. “We discovered a list of bands that they had booked … from 2001–05, containing some crazy names. Arcade Fire, Yo La Tengo, Bombay Bicycle Club. Arcade Fire played here, in Hotung [Cafe], in like 2005, when they were still ‘The’ Arcade Fire,” Wennerholm said. Wennerholm is particularly excited to expand the club to include a visual arts and writing aspect through the recent creation of a magazine that he hopes will draw in greater participation to the otherwise small team of five to seven students. He said that they are especially looking to connect with SMFA students. “At the end of the day, whether it be overpaying small artists, setting up shows for people to discover new music or getting people involved with a publication, we are mostly just trying to utilize the resources given to us to get the most people involved,” Wennerholm said. Von Didkovsky, who is enrolled in the Tufts-SMFA dual degree program and pursuing English with a minor in computer science and studio art, currently illustrates the cover art for the organization’s Facebook events — which are the group’s primary means of advertisement, aside from wordof-mouth. The club also has an Instagram account titled @applejamproductions. The next Applejam show will occur on March 27, featuring a student DJ set, Tufts’ own Frog People and a punk group called Dog Date hailing from the tri-state area. “I think this semester, having more shows, we’ve really been trying to have a good diversity of sound … We want it to be very accessible to people and for people to experience the type of show that they wouldn’t go out and seek for themselves,” Wennerholm said. “We try to just have a little bit of everything and try to change it up as much as we can.”
3 Tuesday, March 10, 2020
Emma Rao Revisiting introversion and extroversion
Learning from each other, part 2
A
lright, back to my introverted brother. Last time I left off by stating that the less-than-ideal condition of our sibling relationship wasn’t just because of my brother, but also because of me. Here’s what I realized: I was trying to impose my own idea of an ideal sibling relationship on my brother, without thinking about whether or not it was a realistic goal given our own personalities. I didn’t take into consideration the fact that maybe, with a lot going on in his life in and out of school, he wasn’t in the mental space for a heart-to-heart conversation with anyone on our drives home from school. It was more about his mental space rather than him not wanting to talk to me at all. I realized that it wasn’t fair of me to get frustrated with my brother; it would be like one of my friends being frustrated with me because I didn’t want to go to a big social event after I had a long week and wanted to catch up on a show to recharge my battery. As cliché as it is, I think all this comes down to being able to put yourself in someone else’s shoes, being able to understand a person’s needs and the way that this affects any sort of relationship and its dynamics. For an introvert thinking of an extrovert, it’s about understanding that they are happy with more stimulation, and the give and take between having time to yourself to recharge and doing things with people that you care about. And for an extrovert thinking of an introvert, it’s about understanding and respecting the need for alone time and lower-stimulation activities. It can be good to help people push out of their comfort zones, but again there’s a give and take, an ability to be aware of pushing someone out of their comfort zone versus pushing someone to do something that they don’t have the mental energy for. I still sometimes find myself comparing my sibling relationship to other people’s and becoming jealous of the relationships other people have with their siblings. But then I’ll stop and remind myself that my brother and I don’t have a bad relationship. We are different people with different needs, and there is nothing wrong with that. Understanding and respecting my brother’s needs allowed me greater insight into why he sometimes did what he did, and enabled me to approach our sibling dynamic in a different way that’s more conducive to both of us as individuals. And this holds for introversion and extroversion as well as for beyond it. My brother doesn’t like talking on the phone much, so lately we’ve taken to playing Game Pigeon games together. And just like when we were kids, I know that appealing to his own interests instead of trying to engage in mundane small-talk is a better way for him to be engaged in conversation. Writing these past two columns, I couldn’t help but be reminded of a quote from Jane Austen’s “Sense and Sensibility” (1811) that seemed rather fitting: “I wish, as well as everybody else, to be perfectly happy; but like everybody else, it must be in my own way.” Emma Rao is a first-year who has not yet declared a major. Emma can be reached at emma.rao@tufts.edu.
4 Tuesday, March 10, 2020
ARTS&LIVING
Allie Morgenstern and Anna Hirshman HillSide Story
Justice for the Baroness
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his week, we follow Julie Andrews again, this time as Maria through the lush fields and mountains of Austria with seven singing children, a handsome Captain and some nuns in “The Sound of Music” (1965). No, we have not become a Julie Andrews column (not that it would be such a bad thing). Allie Morgenstern (AM): This has been one of my all-time favorite films since I was in preschool, and I used to watch it once or twice every day. How do you fit a three-hour movie into every single day, you might ask? Well, my mom used to stop the movie after Maria and the Captain’s wedding scene because she didn’t want me to see the Nazis. Yes, that’s right, I never knew that there was an extra 45 minutes or Nazis in this film until I was a little older. According to my mom, their wedding is the perfect happy ending, and you don’t need more than that! Anna Hirshman (AH): I used to skip through the beginning of the film at the convent like I skipped through the black-andwhite part of “Wizard of Oz” (1939). I wanted to go right to the children, especially Gretl. At one point 5-year-old Gretl claims she cannot sing because she has a hurt finger. And nobody calls her out on it. It is a brilliant comedic moment that is often overlooked. AM: Can I use that excuse for my homework? AH: We all should. Also, the accents in this musical are incredibly confusing. There are American actors attempting British accents, some not even trying, and then there are some actual British actors. Yet they are all supposed to be Austrian. AM: British accents always sound better, I guess. Let’s get to the iconic soundtrack of this film. I think I know the words to all the songs, which I am very proud of. AH: I cannot say the same. While there are a few songs and musical moments etched in my mind, many had not stuck with me. I did not remember the song “I Have Confidence,” but now I think it should be my new anthem. We will all be better off listening to this soundtrack every day. AM: Maria’s undying confidence, even when she’s just faking it ‘til she makes it, is something I have always admired. She is sassy, a little bit naive, but certainly not afraid to speak her mind. It’s easy to see how she swoops in and alters the Von Trapp family for the better. AH: Maria is kind of Mary Poppins 2.0. And prior to rewatching the film, I hadn’t put together how many things in life I associate with “The Sound of Music,” primarily thunderstorms and gazebos. AM: Every time I find myself in a gazebo, I’m tempted to run around and dance like Liesl and Rolfe do in “Sixteen Going on Seventeen.” Speaking of which — Liesl is supposed to be 16. Good one. AH: And that somehow makes her significantly less experienced in life than Rolfe, who is 17? If “The Sound of Music” has taught me anything, it’s that I must find someone older and wiser who tells me what to do. I love Rodgers and Hammerstein, but I would have appreciated some more uplifting messaging. Allie Morgenstern is a junior studying child study and human development. Allie can be reached at allison.morgenstern@tufts. edu. Anna Hirshman is a senior studying psychology. Anna can be reached at anna. hirshman@tufts.edu.
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‘I Am Not Okay With This’ doesn’t mix right elements in season 1 by Drew Weisberg Contributing Writer
It would not be unfair to say that Netflix miniseries “I Am Not Okay With This” (2020–) is a cultural ley line, the convergence of two different ideas at once that leads to a product drawn heavily from its component parts, but often in conflicting ways. Released on Feb. 26 with directing and producing talent from other Netflix hits like “The End of the F***ing World” (2017– 19) and “Stranger Things” (2016–), “I Am Not Okay With This” is a coming of age tale with a supernatural bend that pits protagonist Syd (Sophia Lillis) in a struggle against a gallery of threats, from high school jocks to zits on her thighs to a slowly rising supernatural force that grows inside her by the day. If that last sentence felt as though its priority wasn’t in order, then the tone of the show has been fairly articulated. “I Am Not Okay With This” is, at its core, a show about relationships and the strongest elements of the show are drawn directly from them. Syd wrestles with her romantic feelings toward high school friends, balances the caretaking of her precocious brother and all while attempting to maintain an increasingly strained relationship with her overworked mother after her father’s suicide. The show presents exposition from Syd’s counselor-mandated
VIA IMDB
A promotional poster for “I Am Not Ok with This” (2020–) is pictured. diary, which conveys both her words and thoughts highlighting the dichotomy between what she thinks and whats she says. So often narration of this sort can feel hackneyed, but Lillis delivers Syd’s lines with a perfect blend of vulnerability and gradually acquired self-confidence. Other characters are, for the most part, exceptional; the highlights being Syd’s best friend Dina (Sofia Bryant), her brother Liam (Aidan Wojtak-
Hissong) and her mother Maggie (Kathleen Rose Perkins), while other characters like her friend Stan (Wyatt Oleff ) can fall victim to cliche and overwritten dialogue. Direction by Jonathan Entwistle is another strength of the program, particularly his use of color. The dilapidated Pennslyvania hamlet is shot in 70s era pastel colors, instilling a feeling of warm anachronism. The bold colors covering the aging buildings and barren streets provide an exceptional visual metaphor for Syd’s masking of her internal turmoil. The storyline around Syd’s mysterious abilities is where the series loses its footing, though. Ideally, the two plots would work together to move the story forward to a logical conclusion, yet the supernatural elements don’t feel meaningful enough to justify their inclusion until at least the fourth of seven episodes. The audience is given clues as to the origins of the abilities, but the hints feel more like a handwave than a meaningful explanation. The relationships at play are so intriguing that it’s far more interesting to watch Syd argue with her mother than it is to watch her practice throwing bowling balls with her mind. “I Am Not Okay With This” often feels at odds with itself — on the one hand, it has created a show with realistic and heartfelt relationship drama that will keep any viewer engaged — on the other, its pseudo-superhero story feels underdeveloped and might have benefited from a more central focus.
Sherry Pie disqualified from ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race’ by Tommy Gillespie Arts Editor
On Friday morning, season 12 cast member Sherry Pie was disqualified from “RuPaul’s Drag Race” (2009–), a shock with only a single parallel in “Drag Race” history. The disqualification followed revelations that Joey Gugliemelli, aka Sherry Pie, had catfished several actors working in New York City, posing as casting agent “Allison Mossey.” A viral Facebook status from actor Ben Shimkus detailed how Sherry Pie had provided him with contact info for “Allison” beginning in 2015. Eventually, Shimkus was coerced into sending Gugliemelli dozens of videos, including footage of him reading sections of a bizarre fabricated play. As Shimkus’ status gained attention, several other actors came forward with similar accusations, including one who Gugliemelli convinced to masturbate on camera. The “Drag Race” producers, ahead of the airing of the second part of the season 12 premiere and Sherry Pie’s first “Drag Race” appearance on Friday night, reacted swiftly. They issued a statement formally disqualifying her from “Drag Race,” and banned her from the season’s still to-be-taped finale episode. A disclaimer aired at the episode’s beginning. This came despite an apology from Gugliemelli on Sherry Pie’s Facebook page, which many “Drag Race” alumni and fans derided as self-centered. Subsequently, Sherry Pie became only the second contestant to be disqualified in the history of “Drag Race” after Willam in season 4. Her fall from grace presents a very different situation from Willam’s, however, beginning with the fact that it comes after the conclusion of the show’s filming. As all the season’s queens participate in the finale, Sherry’s disqualification from the finale
is not the spoiler feared in some fans’ initial reactions to the news. It does, however, cast something of a pall over the already primed-and-edited narrative of the season, as evidenced by the groans that greeted Sherry’s screen time at Friday’s watch party at Boston’s Club Café. Additionally, Willam’s disqualification took place under vastly different circumstances, and the queen has become a consistent critic of both the show’s treatment of contestants and RuPaul himself. In reaction to the news, Willam lambasted RuPaul on Twitter for his reluctance to cast trans drag artists on the show. Other queens circled their wagons around the drag community, vilifying Sherry Pie for endangering the safe space they have found. Season 10 winner Aquaria issued one of the sternest rebukes, with season 9 and “All Stars 4” veteran Farrah Moan joining in. Other prominent queens, however, cautioned against a witch hunt. Reigning winner Yvie Oddly urged fans not to unleash a barrage of online hate on Sherry Pie, noting the havoc it could wreak on her already-fragile mental health. Phi Phi O’Hara, the season 4 and “All Stars 2” veteran who has been on the receiving end of some of “Drag Race” fans’ harshest vitriol, suggested that fans use their energy to support both the victims of catfishing and the other queens competing on season 12. Some observers have cautioned against repeating the unfortunate tale of Caroline Flack, the U.K. “Love Island” villain who committed suicide following a gauntlet of negative press coverage and fan abuse on Feb. 15. The Sherry Pie saga is the latest in a series of scandals that have plagued “Drag Race” since its early seasons. Since the show’s move to VH1 in season 9, however,
VIA IMDB
A promotional poster for “RuPaul’s Drag Race” (2009–) is pictured.
the discontent has grown louder. Fans have noted how white queens and queens of color have not been treated equally by the show’s increased success, and the show has attracted increasing charges of transphobia in casting after earlier seasons were criticized for using transphobic slurs in several of the show’s elements. In light of #MeToo, some have gone so far as to call for the cancellation of season 12. Whether that would be an overreach is, unfortunately, impossible to predict. Sherry Pie’s disqualification certainly feels like a watershed moment. Whether it heralds a renaissance or a death knell for a show whose rise uncovers fascinating contradictions in its relationship to queer representation and history remains to be seen.
Tuesday, March 10, 2020 | ADVERTISEMENT | THE TUFTS DAILY
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THE TUFTS DAILY | FUN AND GAMES | Tuesday, March 10, 2020
F &G FUN & GAMES
tuftsdaily.com LATE NIGHT AT THE DAILY
“Every single day is the ticking time bomb of temporary dementia.” -Tys
SUDOKU
LINDA C. BLACK ASTROLOGY
Pisces (Feb. 19–March 20)
Collaborate for shared profit. Words and traffic flow better with Mercury direct. Articulate your feelings privately. Review experiences and memories. Journal, draw, plan and strategize.
Difficulty Level: Having senior year end early :(
Tuesday’s Solutions
CROSSWORD
TAKE AN ONLINE SPANISH COURSE THIS SUMMER 2020 SESSION I. May 20- June 26 ▪ Elementary Spanish 1
▪ Study Spanish online from
the comfort of your own home
▪ Six weeks sessions
▪ Synchronous online
meetings on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 6:00-7:00 PM
▪ Intermediate Spanish 1
SESSION II. June 30 – August 7 ▪ Elementary Spanish 2
QUESTIONS?
▪ Marta.rosso-Olaughlin@tufts.edu ▪ Maria_isabel.castro@tufts.edu
ENROLLING NOW ON TUFTS SUMMER SESSION
▪ https://universitycollege.tufts.edu/summer2020
tuftsdaily.com
Opinion
7
Tuesday, March 10, 2020
Riya Matta Shades of Gray
EDITORIAL CARTOON
Faux-liberalism and colorblindness
I
BY VALERIA VELASQUEZ EDITORIAL
Tufts should reassess the distribution requirement to promote equal opportunity, academic freedom Tenets of academic freedom and exploration comprise the core of a Tufts education. Tufts aims to provide this education through the Arts and Sciences distribution requirements, which entail the completion of two three-semester-hour-unit courses in five areas of study: humanities, social sciences, natural sciences, mathematics and art. These requirements help students discover new passions and yield a more holistic education; however, constraints on accepted pre-matriculation credits and the overall size of the distribution requirements undermine these central objectives. Distribution requirements limit academic freedom in selecting courses and interact poorly with financial accessibility. To combat these issues, promote equal access and cultivate academic freedom, Tufts should reform its distribution requirements to allow for greater flexibility and equal opportunity within a Tufts education. Although these requirements facilitate a well-rounded education, they also hold much rigidity and do not allow students to pursue secondary interests in depth. Because students must spend much of their college careers completing these requirements along with the hefty language, world civilization and writing foundation requirements, they lose the opportunity to explore non-major areas of interest. Not only do students lack the ability to explore specific areas of interest, however, they also remain trapped in studying fields
that they have no interest in pursuing. If a student was indifferent toward mathematics, for example, during high school and still felt this sentiment after their first mathematics distribution course, they still must enroll in a second mathematics course when they could spend that time further exploring another field of interest. By going more in-depth into a secondary field of passion, inhibited by the current distribution requirements, students could discover countless connections to their major and further develop their intellectual scope for future benefit in graduate school or the workforce. This problem affects all students, but those without Advanced Placement (AP) credit and individuals with additional requirements experience these deficits to a greater degree. If a student lacked the financial means to enroll in AP or SAT II exams or their high school did not offer AP or IB courses, they cannot test out of distribution requirements. These students remain bound to spend a large portion of their college careers battling these requirements while their peers may have more autonomy over their schedules to take three or four courses in one distribution of interest or enroll in just-forfun classes. Ultimately, factors beyond control — such as financial means or previous high school credits — should not limit the academic quality of one’s college experience. The additional requirements of a pre-professional track or dual-degree
enrollment perpetuate this issue as well, for affected students must enroll in preset courses on top of distribution requirement classes. These students may lack the space in their schedules to double major, minor or simply pursue interests in greater depth, thus closing them off to experiences that yield skills and knowledge invaluable for post-graduation and professional lives. While Tufts claims to champion interdisciplinary thinking, the disproportionate impact of these requirements on pre-professional and SMFA students lies in contrast with the university’s values,challenging the benefit of a Tufts education. Tufts must reevaluate the current distribution requirements to allow greater flexibility while still promoting a well-rounded education; it should change the requirements to require the completion of two courses in three of the five disciplines but only require one course in the other two. In this form, Tufts reduces the burden of the exhaustive requirements while still providing a well-rounded education that exposes students to all areas of study. With this adjusted system, students without AP credits and those with additional requirements could have a greater chance to explore disciplines in depth. By doing so, Tufts acts in line with its liberal arts values while giving students greater depth, equity and autonomy in their educational experience, vital for the improvement and evolution of the university’s pursuits.
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.
t doesn’t matter to me whether you’re black, white, green or purple. I don’t see color — we’re all human beings!” If I were a betting person, I would bet quite a lot of money that the vast majority of students of color on campuses across the political spectrum have heard some variation of this statement at some point in their collegiate careers — likely more than once. There seems to be a number of standardized faux-woke political discussion topics that arise on college campuses — usually including almost any conversation with the ‘socially liberal but fiscally conservative’ person in your class who ‘doesn’t agree with Trump’s immigration policies’ but ‘there’s a legal way to come into this country.’ I do not venture to deem all those who claim to be color blind as racists or bigots. Oftentimes, when someone asserts their own ‘color blindness,’ at the very least they demonstrate that they believe that the ultimate goal of racial justice is a society in which color means little in comparison to a person’s character — in which people and systems are truly color blind in their dealings. While perhaps uninformed and misguided, there is no malice behind their words. Of course, this is not always the case. There are those who are not particularly concerned about discrimination against people of color in society because they simply don’t believe it exists — at least not anymore. Their color blindness is less about fighting racial discrimination and more about invalidating the experiences of people of color and denying the existence of the social, political and institutional systems in the United States that currently exist to oppress people of color. Color blindness, is, however, universally harmful regardless of whether or not the intentions of its proponents are malevolent, because the problem with color blindness is not the principle itself — rather, it is the consequences of its perpetuation. Despite what the Trump administration would have voters believe, we do not live in a post-racial society. Macroaggressions against people of color — particularly black and brown people — such as housing discrimination, police brutality, disenfranchisement and hate crimes persist in American society and are the harsh realities of their daily lives. By underscoring these realities with a color blind ideology allows these realities to go ignored and unaddressed, and thereby upholds the institution that exists in the United States — an institution the United States was essentially built upon — that oppresses black and brown people.
Riya Matta is a first-year who has not yet declared a major. Riya can be reached at Riya.Matta@tufts.edu.
8 Tuesday, March 10, 2020
Arjun Balaraman Off the Crossbar
Sports No. 2 women’s lacrosse starts season 3–0
tuftsdaily.com
Quieting the neighbors
S
ometimes, you have a noisy neighbor. You cannot do anything about that. They will always be noisy. You just have to get on with your life, put your television on and turn it up a bit louder.” Oh, how times have changed since that now infamous quote from Sir Alex Ferguson in 2009 following Sheikh Mansour’s takeover of Manchester City, which pumped millions of dollars from the United Arab Emirates into Manchester United’s crosstown rivals. In the decade since, Ferguson’s 20-plusyear reign as United’s manager ended while City took over as Manchester’s top club. City won its first Premier League trophy in 2012, and while Ferguson reclaimed the title before his retirement in 2013, the Blues would go on to win three more titles in the decade, compared to United’s zero. But, for the first time since the days of Ferguson, this season United managed to complete the league double over City after a 2–0 win at Old Trafford this past weekend. It’s been a trying few years for United fans seeing first City, and then arch-rival Liverpool, climb to the peak of the soccer world. In the time since Ferguson’s departure, even top managers like Louis van Gaal and José Mourinho have struggled to bring United back to anywhere near the heights it reached under Sir Alex. And while Ole Gunnar Solskjaer doesn’t have his team playing as well as the United sides of old, there is a vibrancy and togetherness about this squad that clearly hasn’t been there in the past. And, unlike his predecessors, Solskjaer’s United seems to have the better of Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola for whatever reason. It’s his third win in all competitions against the Spaniard this season, making Ole just the second manager to ever beat Pep three times in a year. A lot of that is down to the work Solskjaer has done in the transfer window. I touched on this last month, but he has done a great job of getting rid of the deadwood at the club while hitting on all his signings. None, perhaps, more so that Bruno Fernandes, The Portuguese midfielder, who arrived from Sporting Lisbon this past winter, has been exactly what this United side needed. Fernandes not only sees things that most United midfielders don’t, but also has the ability to act on that vision. Take United’s first goal in the derby over the weekend, where Fernandes had both the ingenuity and the ability to pick out Anthony Martial off a free-kick with a delightful chip that the Frenchman converted for the lead. He’s a workhorse, too, almost always pressing the opponent when he’s on the ball. Much like Virgil van Dijk’s arrival at Liverpool in January 2018, which propelled them to a Champions League final later that year and laid the foundation for the team’s superb past two seasons, Fernandes’ addition could be crucial to United’s hopes of reclaiming that Premier League crown from its noisy neighbors. After the win this past weekend, United showed that it may not be as far away as people think.
Arjun Balaraman is a junior studying quantitative economics. Arjun can be reached at arjun.balaraman@tufts.edu.
ALEXANDER THOMPSON / THE TUFTS DAILY
Sophomore midfielder Anna Clarke is pictured with the ball during a match against Massachussetts Institute of Technology at Bello Field on March 4. by Sruthi Kocherlakota Assistant Sports Editor
The No. 2 women’s lacrosse team dominated in its season opener against Colby and followed with a pair of victories over Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and No. 9 Amherst this past week. In just these three games, the team has scored a total of 47 goals. The Jumbos are now 3‒0 on the season, and 2‒0 in NESCAC play. “MIT played really strong, we could have played a bit better that day, but we learned a lot from that one,” coach Courtney Shute said. “I think it propelled us into a gritty win and gritty effort against Amherst this past Saturday.” Tufts traveled to Amherst on Saturday and came out on top by a margin of 9–7. Last season, the Jumbos narrowly defeated the Mammoths 14‒12. Amherst dominated much of the first half of play, with six goals scored and 17 total shots on goal. The Tufts defense was able to slow down the Amherst offense, with 11 saves made in goal from sophomore goalkeeper Molly Laliberty. At halftime, Tufts trailed 6–3. Heading into the second half of play, the Jumbos were eager to overcome their goal deficit, and scored early in the second half. The explosive play occurred only two minutes into the half, when junior attacker Kirsten Grazewski assisted senior attacker Emily Games in scoring the first second-half goal. “We picked up our intensity,” Shute said. “I think the level of effort rose, there
wasn’t anything major strategically that we changed, but there was more digging in individually and collectively as a group. We played closer to what we are capable of playing in that second half.” The second half revealed a change in pace and tone for the Jumbos. Eight minutes into the second half, Tufts tied the game at six after sophomore midfielder Anna Clarke and Games netted two more goals. The Mammoths were only able to score once during the second half, and the Jumbos emerged victorious after the final goal of the game was scored by junior attacker Catherine Lawliss with only 20 seconds left on the clock. “The game against Amherst … was gonna be a very tough game, they did very well last year,” Games said. “Usually they are a consistently very good team. We knew coming in that we needed to play really hard and they did push us. I think our second half was a lot better than our first half. We remained calm and composed and kept the momentum rolling despite the first half.” Laliberty tallied a total of 16 saves during the game, while Amherst goalkeeper, junior Talia Land, had only eight saves recorded against the Jumbos’ offense. “The entire defensive unit really stepped up yesterday in a lot of big ways,” Laliberty said. “[Senior midfielder] Lily Baldwin had a ton of really important draw controls and [senior midfielder] Maddie Norman had some ground balls. We talked a lot about matchups, and [senior defender] Margaret Chase and [junior defender] Lindsay Erickson were
huge in shutting down their girls. This was really big for executing our game plan and all these things came together to make my job a lot easier.” The Jumbos defeated the MIT Engineers 19–9 in their game last Wednesday. After the first half play, the score looked promising for Tufts, with an 11 point lead. However, during the second half of the play, MIT was able to score seven goals, while Tufts scored six. Tufts opened its season at Colby last Saturday and ultimately won 19‒5 through rough weather conditions. Despite three early goals by Colby, Tufts was able to match it and hold onto a lead for the latter part of the first half and for the entirety of the second half. Laliberty only allowed one goal during the second half, and the Jumbo defense was able to keep the ball out of its half for most of the game. “I am lucky to practice against one of the best attacks in the country every single day. Our offense is phenomenal, so going into games I feel really prepared because of what my teammates throw at me everyday,” Laliberty said. Tufts will travel to No. 6 Gettysburg College on Saturday in a much-anticipated non-conference matchup. “Being that Gettysburg is a non-NESCAC team, I think it will be very interesting to see what they play like when we scout them,” Games said. “They are a very fast team and have a very strong history winning national championships and being a tough team, so on attack we have to maintain a fast pace and make sure we are moving the ball very quickly.”
TRASHING ONE EGG WASTES 55 GALLONS OF WATER