The Tufts Daily - Thursday, February 7, 2019 by The Tufts Daily

Alum Jim Kaklamanos relives Tufts memories, discusses career see FEATURES/ PAGE 4

ZACH GROEN

From Tufts to the Super Bowl: Alum finds his niche

Tufts should build new high-capacity dorm see OPINION/ PAGE 9

SEE SPORTS / BACK PAGE

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VOLUME LXXVII, ISSUE 11

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Thursday, February 7, 2019

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404 students hand-deliver letters to President Monaco urging action on dining contract

JESSE RYAN / TDAC

Students line up to give University President Monaco letters shortly before noon on Feb. 4. by Alexander Thompson Assistant News Editor

Throughout the day on Monday, hundreds of students delivered letters to University President Anthony Monaco expressing their support for dining workers in their contract negotiations with the university. This student action, organized by Tufts Dining Action Coalition (TDAC), was done in solidarity with a similar campaign on Friday in which dining workers hand-delivered letters to Monaco, according to TDAC organizer Jesse Ryan, a sophomore.

The letters read, “I support the Tufts dining workers’ demands. I’m committed to win because …” leaving several lines for students to write their individual reasons. TDAC reported that 404 students had dropped off letters at Monaco’s office in Ballou, although Ryan said that the number of letters delivered was larger as multiple students delivered letters on behalf of friends. Patrick Collins, executive director of public relations, said in an email that the university did not count the letters which it had received but had no reason to dispute TDAC’s count. “We always appreciate student input, and we will certainly take the comments

that were provided into account as we continue with the negotiating process,” Collins told the Daily in an email. “We share the hope that we can come to an agreement soon.” The letter writing campaign comes as contract negotiations between the university and UNITE HERE Local 26, which represents the dining workers, enter their seventh month. Ryan said the letters were intended as a show of support before the talks that took place on Tuesday. “The impact will be that Monaco and the people who will be going into negotiations tomorrow morning will feel a lot of pressure from the student body, and also from the 100-plus workers who did this action on Friday,” Ryan said. Monaco, however, did not receive the letters personally. Yvette Terry, assistant to the president, collected them from students in the second-floor hallway of Ballou. Ryan accused Monaco of hiding from students. “Anthony Monaco’s been hiding from us but we know he’s in Ballou because people saw him this morning,” Ryan said. According to Collins, in the negotiations that took place on Tuesday morning, the university responded to all open proposals and presented the union with a draft final agreement. The university is waiting for the union’s response at the next session of talks which will take place later this month, Collins said. Representatives of UNITE HERE Local 26 had not responded to multiple requests for comment by press time. Christine Tringale, a night cook supervisor at Hodgdon Food-on-the-Run who participated in Friday’s worker action,

said that the workers had decided to do the letter writing campaign to voice their concerns about changes they want to see directly to Monaco. “I wrote that I need a change for my family, to lower insurance payments and raise our wage, as well as asking for respect,” she told the Daily in an electronic message. Emma Ishida, a junior, delivered her letter as part of a group of around 50 students who assembled in front of Ballou before noon on Monday and marched up the stairs to the Office of the President. “This is more confrontational than in the past,” said Ishida. “The message is that we are physically here to support the dining workers.” Ishida said that the message she had written on her letter was that she knows what it is like not to be heard, and she urged Monaco to listen and hear the dining workers. Micah Kraus, another TDAC organizer, said that students had been very willing and excited to participate in the action and that this support was not superficial. “[Students] are also curious about the details. They’re not just doing it as a surface-level action,” Kraus, a first-year, said. “They want to know why, and they know that our dining workers need affordable healthcare, job security, fair pay, all just basic human rights.” Steven Becker, a junior, delivered a letter just after noon on Monday. “It’s really important to me that there’s justice in the institutions from which I benefit, and part of that means making sure that workers have dignity and a voice in their own future,” Becker said.

Fletcher set to launch new online master’s program by Anton Shenk Staff Writer

The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy will launch an online masters degree in global business beginning in May 2019. According to its website, students will be able to complete the new online degree program in 16 months or two years, with each student able to set their own pace. Applications are open for the program’s inaugural class. The degree program, according to Dean of Global Business Bhaskar Chakravorti, is aimed at working professionals who would not be able to attend Fletcher otherwise.

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“Many people [don’t] have the luxury or the opportunity to study at a place like Tufts,” he said. “We don’t want them to be left out of the education process.” Chakravorti said that students enrolled in the program may come from a wider variety of backgrounds than those receiving their degree on campus. “We expect people who might be in a different part of the world or working and unable to take time off or have life circumstances that don’t give them an opportunity to attend class,” he said. Chakravorti also said that as the new program was being developed, it was important to both maintain what works in traditional settings

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and explore the new opportunities an online program can offer. “There are many elements of the university we want to recreate and allow the student to experience the school,” he said. “We can take students outside the classroom as well, to a situation in a very different part of the world. Technology lets us do a lot of things that might be difficult to do in a traditional setting.” Executive Associate Dean of the Fletcher School Gerard Sheehan told the Daily in an email that the program follows from several recommendations in the school’s 2015 strategic plan including expanding Fletcher’s executive education offerings, developing a more

diversified revenue stream and using technology in innovative ways. Sheehan said that the online program could benefit those taking classes in Medford. “[I’m most excited about] being able to use the latest and most advanced methods of content delivery and bring elements of that back into the residential programs at Fletcher,” Sheehan said, adding that he was excited about the opportunity to teach students who normally would be constrained from attending Fletcher. Steven Block, professor and academic dean at Fletcher, echoed the

NEWS............................................1 FEATURES.................................4 ARTS & LIVING....................... 7

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FUN & GAMES.........................8 OPINION.....................................9 SPORTS............................ BACK

THE TUFTS DAILY | News | Thursday, February 7, 2019

THE TUFTS DAILY Elie Levine Editor-in-Chief

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continued from front impacts of the program for all Fletcher students. “We’re the first ones in this online space, and I expect the program to grow rapidly and become a core strength of the Fletcher School,” he told the Daily in an email. “It’s also exciting to consider how our on-site training in Medford will benefit from the development of the new [online] curriculum.” Kristen Zecchi, senior associate director for the master of international business

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program at Fletcher, said that the program was shaped specifically with mid-career students in mind. Zecchi listed several questions central to the program. “What are students in this program going to need for day-to-day analytics? What are students in this program going to need for international policy or business theory?” Zecchi said. Zecchi noted a number of ways she and other developers shaped the program to be adaptable to its students. Her examples included providing students in the course with WeWork member-

ships to give them spaces to complete their work and meet their peers and utilizing both recorded lectures and live in-class time. Block said the program follows larger trends in higher education. “Fletcher’s new online master’s in global business administration puts Fletcher in the forefront of the coming wave of professional graduate education,” he said. “It will expand the Fletcher School’s global footprint, while also drawing greater attention to our residential programs.”

Community meeting addresses developments in Cummings building project by Robert Kaplan

Assistant News Editor

Daniel Nelson Investigative Editor

Deepanshu Utkarsh

ASHA IYER / THE TUFTS DAILY ARCHIVES

The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy is pictured on March 4, 2018.

Executive Vice President Patricia Campbell and other faculty and administrators led a community update in Alumnae Hall on Wednesday morning to discuss the academic building planned for the corner of Boston Avenue and College Avenue between Halligan Hall and the new Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) Green Line station. University President Anthony Monaco announced the plans for the new building at a press conference in June 2015, according to TuftsNow. The construction of the building was postponed last March. Ruth Bennett, director of strategic capital programs, explained the stage of planning which the new building is currently in. “We’re still in the schematic design and development stage,” Bennett said. “Last summer, we did architect selection and we worked on occupant group meetings to talk about their needs in moving to a new building.” Bennett explained the timeline for completion of the building, saying that it should be ready for use by the 2021 fall semester. “Construction is scheduled to start in June,” Bennett said. “It’s a 20 month [or so] construction schedule, so the goal is to finish in the spring of 2021.” According to Campbell, the new building is estimated to cost about $95 million, though some of the cost will be offset by a donation by Tufts alum Bill Cummings (LA ’58) through his namesake Cummings Foundation. “[The Cummings Foundation] will donate to Tufts 100,000 gross square feet of the shell and core of the building,” Campbell said. Bennett addressed the name of the building, which will not be named for Bill Cummings himself, but his wife instead. “The name isn’t definitive, yet, but the building will be named after Bill Cummings’ wife, Joyce Cummings,” Bennett said. Campbell explained that the building must be built directly adjacent to the tracks, though

prior plans for the building utilized the air rights over the MBTA station and tracks. “The MBTA changed its design, and it made it physically impossible to effectively do an air rights building,” Campbell said. “We convinced ourselves it was possible, [by building] right along the railroad tracks.” Bennett explained that Tufts has been meeting weekly with the MBTA as construction continues for both projects. Bennett then explained the general design of the Cummings building. “What we’re looking at is a building where the first two floors are the larger classrooms and the more public spaces,” Bennett said. “And above we have smaller classrooms and a lot of faculty offices.” Bennett then highlighted one of the most unique design elements of the highly visible Cummings building. “On the corner is what we’re calling ‘the lantern.’ On every floor — two, three, four, five and six — there’s a large space at the corner of [the] building that’s open for collaboration,” Bennett said. “It has a view on both the Boston [Avenue] side and the College Avenue side.” Lois Stanley, director of campus planning, then overviewed the interior design of the first two floors. “On the first level, there [are] three large classrooms on the right, with 84 seats each,” Stanley said. “As well, [there is] a more intimate collaborate area that’s actually larger than anything else we have on campus right now.” Stanley added that the division of space between the various departments, research labs and institutes occupying the building was mostly planned. “Computer science is dominant on the [third and fourth] floors,” Stanley said. “The Department of Mathematics is the dominant occupant on the fifth floor, and economics shares the fifth floor and spreads into the sixth floor as well.” Stanley emphasized the potential impact of the increased research, classroom and faculty space that the Cummings building will provide.

“Our hope … is that we can also have academic conferences, for the first time on this campus in a more significant way,” Stanley said. “This significant building, Cummings, will have significant conference and event space.” According to Campbell, administrators and faculty formed a group of interested parties in the new building. “All of our large projects have a Project Sponsor Group,” Campbell said. “We try to populate that group differently for each project, with representatives from the areas of the university that will be occupying the building.” The panel then answered questions from the audience of mostly faculty and community members regarding the various challenges of the construction project. Campbell addressed questions on the parking capacity of the new MBTA station, and the station’s effect on nearby Tufts parking. “At this point, there is no MBTA plan to add a parking garage or parking, which is one of the reasons that we have concerns about how we manage our parking, and make sure that it is reserved for Tufts use,” Campbell said. Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences James Glaser added that he wanted to see monitors similar to those in the Science and Engineering Complex (SEC) in the new building. “We should have monitors, both to provide information and to give people a sense of the exciting intellectual activity going on in the building,” Glaser said. According to Campbell, a new webpage dedicated to the project will provide the public with access to updates on construction, frequently asked questions and design graphics. Campbell concluded by announcing the plan for future community update meetings on the project. She expects to have the next meeting in the fall. “We expect to have this sort of meeting every semester until the building is complete,” she said.

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ANNUAL QUEER STUDIES LECTURE with Fawzia Mirza, actor-writer-producer-artivist

In Chicago Zaynab (Fawzia Mirza) is a thirty-something American-Pakistani lawyer who lives with and cares for her recently widowed, TV-obsessed mother (legendary Indian actress Shabana Azmi). Alma (Sari Sanchez) is a free-spirited Mexican-American bookshop owner. After meeting in a bar, the two quickly fall into bed with each other and embark on a romance…but problems aren’t far behind.

Film Screening & Lecture Friday, Feb 8, 2019 12:00 PM - 3:30 PM Olin Center/RM 011 180 Packard Ave/Medford, MA 02155 Lecture by Fawzia Mirza with Q&A Lunch provided. RSVP requested to wgss@tufts.edu

Co-sponsored by The Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Program and The LGBT Center wgss program | Tufts University|5 The Green, Eaton Hall, Medford, MA 02155 | 617-627-2955 | https://as.tufts.edu/wgss

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Features

Thursday, February 7, 2019

Alumnae Series: Jim Kaklamanos

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Tufts alum Jim Kaklamanos (E ’08, EG ’10, EG ’12) is pictured. by Grace Yuh

Executive Features Editor

The Alumnae Series aims to create a diverse collection of experiences at Tufts through highlighting notable alumnae. The Daily spoke with Jim Kaklamanos, who is a triple Jumbo, having received his bachelor’s degree, master’s degree and doctorate from the School of Engineering in 2008, 2010 and 2012, respectively. Kaklamanos is currently an associate professor at Merrimack College and is one of the American Society of Civil Engineers 2017 New Faces of Engineering. The Tufts Daily ( TD): What was your trajectory through Tufts? Jim Kaklamanos ( JK): I’m a triple Jumbo, which means I came to Tufts and decided I never wanted to leave. I started at Tufts in fall of 2004 and started in the school of liberal arts. Ultimately, I majored in civil engineering. I graduated in 2008 with my bachelors and then stayed for my

master’s in civil and environmental engineering and stayed for a Ph.D. after that. I went straight through. TD: Did you come into Tufts knowing what you wanted to study and what path you wanted to take? JK: I took a very nonlinear path to finding what really made me passionate in life and what I really wanted to do as a profession. I started in the school of liberal arts and I initially wanted to go to law school. I wanted to get my undergraduate degree, then take the LSAT. That’s kind of what I thought I was going to do. So when I came to Tufts, I didn’t really know what engineering was. One of the reasons why I picked Tufts was that I liked the integration of engineering and liberal arts that a lot of colleges didn’t have. The option was there. TD: Why did you choose to major in civil engineering? JK: What really led me to civil engineering in particular was that in my freshman year and my sophomore year, there were two major natural disasters that happened. One, in December of 2004, was the Indian Ocean earthquake

and tsunami, which devastated a huge area and killed hundreds of thousands of people. And in the fall of my sophomore year, Hurricane Katrina happened. Those two events really made me think about how can we try to prevent loss of life in extreme events. So that kind of drew me towards civil engineering because it really deals with infrastructure and the environment. Natural disasters can’t be prevented but it’s the role of engineers to design systems that can stand natural disasters and protect people. So those two events really changed my perspective. I became more interested in engineering. Though I still wasn’t totally sure for a career, I was sure for my major at least. So I switched into civil engineering my freshman year and went along with the degree. I still was keeping my options open, so I took the LSAT and prepared for law school. I was taking prep classes at Merrimack and little did I know that seven years later, I would return as a professor. But I started to get more interested in civil engineering, and in the particular the field of geotechnical engineering dealing with earth materials and how to interact with the environment. For example, the levy system that failed in Hurricane Katrina was a failure of earth materials. So senior year rolls around and I’m still not really sure what I want to do, so I decided to postpone the decision and stay for a master’s. I loved Tufts, the opportunity came up and I figured, all right, that’s what I’m going to do. When I started I never thought I’d end up going into a Ph.D. TD: What changes did you experience in the engineering department and what changes do you see today? JK: When I started at Tufts, engineering was really moving forward in a lot of ways. In particular, the undergraduate program had always been very strong, but there was a lot of growth on the graduate side. The growth in the School of Engineering in that regard, both for faculty and programs, really led to a lot more opportunities, especially to work together. One thing that I think makes Tufts different from other institutions is that the programs are close-knit. As a student getting my master’s, I got to work with faculty and other students in my group. Engineering has always been strong and I see it getting stronger every year. TD: What were some extracurriculars you were involved in at Tufts? JK: As an undergrad, I was an executive orientation leader my sophomore, junior and senior years. During fall orientation for the incoming firstyear class, I helped those student transition to their time at Tufts. I was part of a group of leaders who helped train other orientation leaders. I was also very heavily involved in Tufts’ chapter of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) — I was president my senior year. As a graduate student, I remained involved by being a graduate advisor to the Tufts ASCE chapter. TD: What is one particularly memorable experience from your time at Tufts? JK: One of the most memorable events that happened to me at Tufts

was the fall of my junior year. My group of friends were doing different pranks on each other. They would do things to people’s rooms. For one guy, they transposed his room 180 degrees, so everything that was on one side was on the other. For someone else, who lived in Hillsides, there was an empty room in their suite and they took everything from his room and put it in the empty room. At that time, I lived in a single room in Carmichael. I thought that there was no way they were going to get me. When I wasn’t there, my room was locked. They asked if that was a dare and I said they wouldn’t be able to do it but they could try. Long story short, they wound up getting into my room and filled my entire room with crumpled Tufts Daily [newspapers]. They collected newspapers for the entire fall semester and found a way to get into my room. Wall to wall, floor to ceiling. Never underestimate the power of a small number of people with a lot of time on their times. We still had fun back in the 2000s. TD: What path did you take after you received a doctorate from Tufts? JK: I got lucky right after I finished my Ph.D. as I was able to land a tenure track position at Merrimack College in North Andover, Mass. Merrimack is a predominantly undergraduate institution with a big focus on teaching, but I still do research and interact in the scholarly community. I’m a member of the Department of Civil Engineering and I’m the primary faculty member in geotechnical engineering. I teach a wide range of courses in the department and I try to engage my students in undergraduate research. TD: How did you realize that you wanted to teach as a profession? JK: During my master’s degree, I had the chance to do two really important things. One, I was a teaching assistant for the introductory engineering course that all the first year engineering students have to take, and two, I started a research project on earthquake engineering. I decided I really liked teaching and research and I realized I wanted to be a professor. TD: What is one rewarding aspect of your current work? JK: One of the most rewarding aspects of my job is when I’m able to make different concepts click in my students’ minds to help them realize their passions. When I was a student at Tufts, I was really fortunate to have had some really outstanding professors and mentors who really cared about me and offered advice. Now, as a professor myself, I have the opportunity to pay it forward. TD: What does your research in geotechnical engineering involve? JK: So the research that I do involves trying to predict the level of ground shaking during earthquakes. Earthquakes generate seismic waves that travel through the ground, causing buildings to shake. But as they travel, they undergo a lot of changes really close to the surface. The soils and rocks that are at a particular site could really change the level of shaking. So what I do is work on models that try to see ALUMNI, page 5

F e at u r e s

Thursday, February 7, 2019 | Features | THE TUFTS DAILY

Triple jumbo engineering alum thrives as professor ALUMNI

continued from page 4 the influence that near surface geological materials are going to have on earthquakes. Our goal is to develop methods that can predict hazards that are experienced. It’s a very interdisciplinary field and that’s part of why I love it. I get to work with not just engineers but also geologists, statisticians, economists, etc. There’s a lot of uncertainty in this research and that’s what makes it interesting. TD: What is one piece of advice you have for incoming first-years? JK: I would say for incoming first-years,

keep an open mind. Coming in, you might think that you know what you want to study, what you want to do for your career, but keep an open mind and you may realize that you have a passion in an area you could have never predicted. Really get to know the faculty and staff and your fellow students. The more people who are able to serve as a mentor to you, the more you’re going to realize what you’re going to want to do in life. TD: What is one piece of advice you have for graduating seniors? JK: For graduating seniors, I’d say a lot of it is the same thing. Keeping an open mind. Talk to people. Whenever I came to a juncture in my career, whether it’s

deciding the stay at Tufts for a Ph.D. or whether I started applying to academic positions, I’d seek out a handful of professors and others at Tufts and ask their perspective. The more perspectives that I would get, the more it’d help me to make a decision. In terms of grad school, life has a way of working itself out and you’ll oftentimes know the right decision because you’ll feel it in your gut. It’s good to question things and to think about all different possible paths, but oftentimes, you’ll just know. This article has been edited for length and clarity.

Douglas Berger Ripple Effect

Introduction

ow does gerrymandering hurt Nigerian yam farmers? Why does Danish foreign aid weaken Bangladeshi industry? Why don’t democracies always do what their people want? These are just a few of the questions, big and small, that I’ll explore in this column. I want to delve into contemporary political issues in a way that makes unconventional connections and questions the assumptions of traditional schools of thought in International Relations. I believe our understanding of the world would benefit from removing the mental walls we have placed between the domestic and the international. All politics may be local, but its reverberations are global. Even small changes and seemingly inconsequential decisions can have outsized impacts on the world we live in. These are ripple effects: the pervasive, continuous, and often unintended consequences of our actions. From the cotton gin’s revival of slavery to the Marshall Plan’s eventual competitive boost to America’s economic rivals, history is riddled with inflection points whose effects went far beyond the ambit of our human intentions. The world of today is no different. The policy decisions of politicians have consequences far beyond their own shores, and the ripple effects they send out shape the world as we know it. But politicians don’t act alone, they act on behalf of others — from ordinary voters to warlords to billionaires, our collective voices can have global influence. This column is inspired by the book “The Dictator’s Handbook” (2011) and owes an intellectual debt to the authors: political scientists Bruce Bueno de Mesquita and Alastair Smith as well as their research partners Randolph M. Siverson and James D. Morrow, who together developed the selectorate theory, which analyzes political decision making through the lens of political survival. The basics of the theory are pretty straightforward — nearly everyone understands the core of politics intuitively. It is the rewarding of key supporters in return for power and political survival. In a democracy this may mean healthcare funding, infrastructure development, or tax credits. In a dictatorship it might look like rewards for loyal army generals or personal benefits for key oligarchs. The number of necessary supporters and policy outcomes are vastly different, but the game is the same. After all, from Trump to Putin to Kim Jong Un, no ruler rules alone. Each week I’ll be writing an article tackling a different head-scratcher in global politics, seeking an understanding of the motives behind policy decisions and the often wide-reaching and unexpected implications of those decisions.

Before anything else, we are all human. It’s time to embrace diversity. Let’s put aside labels in the name of love. Rethink your bias at lovehasnolabels.com

Douglas is a senior studying international relations. Douglas can be reached at Douglas.Berger@tufts.edu.

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2019 Grammys predictions: probable winners, should-be winners, outcasts

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Grammy awards are pictured. by Christopher Panella Arts Editor

This Sunday, some of the most famous names in music will gather for the 61st Annual Grammy Awards. There will be plenty of performances from artists like Cardi B, Brandi Carlile, Janelle Monáe, Kacey Musgraves and Dolly Parton. It’s certainly going to be an interesting ceremony with plenty of changes after last year’s backlash — which included Lorde being the only Album of the Year nominee to not perform, Grammys president Neil Portnow telling reporters that women needed to “step up” after only one woman was given a solo Grammy and a historic loss of almost 10 million viewers. Thankfully, Portnow is stepping down after this year’s ceremony — bye! This year could hopefully be the course correction the Grammys so desperately need. The general field of categories — Record of the Year, Album of the Year, Song of the Year and Best New Artist — increased all of their nominees from five to eight. Five of the eight Album of the Year nominees are women, the fourth most nominated artist is Brandi Carlile and several women will perform solo during the ceremony. There are plenty of toss-up categories with no clear winner, such as the four general categories, Best Pop Vocal Album and Best Rap Album, which could really go to anyone; however, there are also some categories with no real contest. Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album will most likely go to Tony Bennett and Diana Krall, Best Dance/Electronic Album should belong to SOPHIE and St. Vincent should own the Best Rock Song and Best Alternative Album categories. The Carters, who were shockingly shut out of most of the major categories, will most likely nab Best Urban Contemporary Album, and hopefully Kacey Musgraves will deservedly sweep the country categories.

Taylor Swift was notably missing from the bigger categories, to the surprise of many. Her album “reputation” (2017) is nominated for Best Pop Vocal Album, but Ariana Grande’s “Sweetener” (2018) is most likely set to win. There are some other good nominees in that category, so hopefully Grande doesn’t win with the most over-hyped pop album of last year. With all of this mind, here are the probable winners, should-be winners and outcasts for some of the categories at the 61st Grammys. Record of the Year Nominees: Childish Gambino’s “This Is America” Drake’s “God’s Plan” Cardi B, Bad Bunny and J Balvin’s “I Like It” Zedd, Maren Morris and Grey’s “The Middle” Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper’s “Shallow” SZA and Kendrick Lamar’s “All the Stars” Post Malone feat. 21 Savage’s “Rockstar” Brandi Carlile’s “The Joke” Will win: Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper’s “Shallow” Should win: Cardi B, Bad Bunny and J Balvin’s “I Like It” Shouldn’t be here: Zedd, Maren Morris and Grey’s “The Middle” This category is dedicated to the performers of the song, and “Shallow” is the dramatic pop song the Grammys love — think Adele, Sam Smith, Gotye and Kings of Leon. Of course, “I Like It” was far more fun, and could have a good shot given the most recent winner was “24K Magic.” Cardi B definitely deserves the top prize here considering “I Like It” has long been on radios and the charts. This category is about earworms, and good ones at that. “The Middle” is a clear outlier in the category — it’s an earworm, but in truth, it feels like the mono of songs, spreading far too fast and far too common in sweaty frat basements.

Album of the Year Nominees: H.E.R.’s “H.E.R.” (2018) Brandi Carlile’s “By the Way, I Forgive You” (2018) Drake’s “Scorpion” (2018) “Black Panther: The Album” (2018) Kacey Musgraves’ “Golden Hour” (2018) Post Malone’s “Beerbongs & Bentleys” (2018) Cardi B’s “Invasion of Privacy” (2018) Janelle Monáe’s “Dirty Computer” (2018) Will win: Janelle Monáe’s “Dirty Computer” or Kacey Musgraves’ “Golden Hour” Should win: Janelle Monáe’s “Dirty Computer” or Kacey Musgraves’ “Golden Hour” Shouldn’t be here: Drake’s “Scorpion” Good god, give this to one of the two artists who made clearly made the most cohesive and utterly brilliant albums. If forced to pick, Musgraves probably has the advantage as pop and country voters will love her country/pop/disco phenomenon, but Monáe’s futuristic R&B masterpiece deserves plenty of attention, too. Most of the other nominees also belong here, but one stands out like a sore thumb: Drake and his ridiculously long and critically lukewarm “Scorpion” may have been commercially successful, but that doesn’t always equal Album of the Year potential. Song of the Year Nominees: Kendrick Lamar, SZA, Al Shuckburgh, Mark Spears and Anthony Tiffith’s “All the Stars” Larrance Dopson, Joelle James, Ella Mai and Dijon McFarlane’s “Boo’d Up” Aubrey Graham, Daveon Jackson, Brock Korsan, Ron LaTour, Matthew Samuels and Noah Shebib’s “God’s Plan” Shawn Mendes, Teddy Geiger, Scott Harris and Geoffrey Warburton’s “In My Blood” Brandi Carlile, Dave Cobb, Phil Hanseroth and Tim Hanseroth’s “The Joke”

Sarah Aarons, Jordan K. Johnson, Stefan Johnson, Marcus Lomax, Kyle Trewartha, Michael Trewartha and Zedd’s “The Middle” Lady Gaga, Mark Ronson, Anthony Rossomando and Andrew Wyatt’s “Shallow” Donald Glover, Ludwig Goransson and Jeffery Lamar Williams’ “This Is America” Will win: Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper’s “Shallow” Should win: Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper’s “Shallow” Shouldn’t be here: Drake’s “God’s Plan” Compared to Record of the Year, Song of the Year is about the songwriting process and the lyrics behind the music. In terms of songwriting, “Shallow” is the best pick out of all of these. It’s raw, emotional and it’s won plenty of awards in the film awards circuit — it has the most potential to win the Academy Award. Not to hate on Drake more, but “God’s Plan” just doesn’t belong here. Best New Artist Dua Lipa Luke Combs Greta Van Fleet H.E.R. Bebe Rexha Chloe x Halle Jorja Smith Margo Price Will win: Dua Lipa Should win: H.E.R. Shouldn’t be here: Bebe Rexha This is probably the most boring category at the ceremony since there’s such a clear winner here. Dua Lipa will most likely grab the award, but H.E.R. should have a chance to show her worth. H.E.R.’s debut was far better — it’s nominated for Album of the Year, after all. As for the other nominees, many don’t have the same breakout appeal as Dua Lipa. Bebe Rexha is nominated, which just seems … off. Remember that time when she, Charli XCX, Cardi B and Rita Ora collaborated? Nope. The Grammys will air this Sunday, Feb. 10 at 8 p.m. on CBS.

Thursday, February 7, 2019 | FUN & GAMES | THE TUFTS DAILY

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U N D E D 192

Thursday, February 7, 2019

Opinion OP-ED

Yemen is Raytheon’s war, Raytheon is coming to Tufts by Michael Vanelzakker After more than four years of activists speaking out and despite almost no coverage from corporate media, by now most people in the United States have at least a vague understanding that there is a brutal war happening in Yemen. This House-of-Saud-led siege war that the UN calls “the world’s worst humanitarian crisis” would not be happening without U.S. support. What you may not know is that a significant portion of the bombs and missiles used in the war destroying Yemen are made by a company headquatered in Massachusetts, and that bomb maker, Raytheon, will be on Tufts’ campus this Friday, hoping to recruit new employees. A few numbers for perspective: Official casualty estimates are hard to come by and necessarily conservative, meaning the actual numbers are likely much higher. But between January 2016 and October 2018, an estimated 56,000 people were killed in Yemen. As of December 2017, the number of cholera cases in Yemen surged past one million, making

it the largest cholera outbreak in modern history. Cholera can kill toddlers within hours. Estimates — official and conservative estimates from April 2018, not even since the bombing of Yemen began in March 2015 — are that 113,000 children have died from war-related starvation and disease. The United Nations now calls it a famine. Over 14 million Yemeni people are currently at risk of starvation. Famines can be due to natural disasters or they can be human-made. This one is human-made. About that: Saudi Arabia is using starvation and disease as weapons of war. It’s a siege war, and it’s deliberate. They use U.S.-made jets, helicopters, bombs and missiles to target water and food infrastructure — a war crime. They target family farms and fishing boats — a war crime. An October 2018 study from Martha Mundy, an emeritus professor at the London School of Economics, reported that “there is strong evidence that [the U.S.-U.K.-Saudi-U.A.E.] Coalition strategy has aimed to destroy food production and distribution.” They’ve blocked the

main port city of Hodeidah, preventing vital imports from entering. Pro-war, pro-empire propagandists on cable news try to deflect and blame Iran for somehow forcing the Saudi Kingdom to continue its siege war, but even the U.S. National Security Council disagrees with that. This is on us. U.S.-based arms dealers like Raytheon not only provide the jets, helicopters, bombs and missiles that do this, but the U.S. military has provided direct support, including refueling these U.S.-made, Saudi-piloted jets midair until November 2018. If you want this policy to stop, call your home representatives and tell them so, because bills have been proposed in both the House and Senate. If you want to make some noise about Raytheon’s invitation to Tufts, join me and some local anti-imperialism activists this Friday, Feb. 8, 12:00–2:00 p.m. in front of the Gantcher Center, 161 College Ave. Michael Vanelzakker is a lecturer at Tufts University. Vanelzakker earned a Ph.D. in Psychology from Tufts in 2015.

EDITORIAL

It is time for a new dorm Tufts should attack the housing crisis head-on by building a new dorm. Tufts is only able to house 63 percent of undergraduates and is increasing enrollment. The administration has implemented plans that include the displacement of faculty, 28.8 percent rent increases for many students and forced triples. These plans avoid or replicate the central problem with Tufts housing: There’s not enough of it. Tufts is in the middle of a push to expand enrollment by another 200 students, according to slides from a faculty meeting. The administration, in those same meetings, has said that additional beds added through bed optimization, the Community Housing project and the renovation of Miller Hall and Houston hall will compensate for increased enrollment. But these don’t solve the crisis that already exists, they might not even keep it from deepening. Somerville and Medford are in the midst of a housing crisis, with inadequate affordable housing and rapidly increasing rents. Students forced off campus contribute to this by taking up housing units and driving up rents. Landlords are able to use the quick turnover in leases to raise prices, hurting students looking

for off-campus housing and long-time working-class residents. Tufts isn’t the cause of the rent crisis, but it is a contributing factor. Tufts doesn’t provide enough housing to its current student body, with a smaller percentage of its students living on campus than at many competing schools. Even schools in New York’s notoriously cramped and expensive real estate market, like Columbia, are able to house more than 90 percent of undergraduate students. NESCAC competitors, like Bowdoin, also outstrip Tufts, providing a minimum of 88 percent of undergraduates with housing. The eventual completion of the Green Line extension may further increase rent, as a direct connection to Boston would ease the commute to Boston for workers in Medford and make this area more attractive to people moving from out of state. While a dorm would cost a lot of money in the short run, it would help Tufts be a better neighbor and maintain a higher enrollment than in the past. In the wake of Tufts Housing League (THL)’s march and tent city action last November, Tufts spokesperson Patrick Collins was quoted in the Daily as saying a new dorm was possible with more funds. But the univer-

sity should decide to do it now, before the disruption of the Green Line extension. Students and organizations should push Tufts to begin raising funds for a new dorm and prioritizing it over other projects. The Science and Engineering Complex, the Cummings building, the central energy plant and spending on deferred maintenance were all necessary to position Tufts for a modest expansion, according to senior Jonah O’Mara Schwartz, a TCU senator and organizer with Tufts Housing League (THL). But if there aren’t enough beds for students, expansion will only hurt Tufts’ relationship to surrounding communities and push students into expensive, precarious conditions off campus. Building a new high capacity dorm, something the size of Harleston Hall, should be a priority, as it could improve Tufts’ relationships with its neighbors and its ability to provide for the needs of students. If the administration is unwilling to recognize this, students should take action to change their view. Such actions could range from circulating petitions in favor of a new dorm among alumni and parents, to joining THL in demonstrations or advocating for greater democratic control and transparency in university decision making.

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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.

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Ria Mazumdar Peripheries

Nationalism, a problem for right and left

n 1899, when India was still under British rule, Bengali Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore wrote: “Keep watch, India. Let your crown be of humility, your freedom the freedom of the soul. Build God’s throne daily upon the ample bareness of your poverty. And know that was is huge is not great and pride is not everlasting.” Despite his determined opposition to British nationalism, Tagore saw danger in the Indian opposition movement. Indeed, during Independence, hundreds of clauses in the new Constitution were transplanted from colonial Parliamentary documents. Elite politicians took charge, filling the ranks of the bureaucracy and civil service that similarly were direct legacies of the colonial state. As Tufts professor Ayesha Jalal concisely notes, the seizure of power by those who claim to have the welfare of “the masses” at heart but in reality serve the interests of a privileged few has to date “kept the scales firmly tilted against India’s poor.” Unfortunately, members of both the left and right have forgotten the lessons that such postcolonial countries have to teach us about nationalism. We know about Trump and Modi, who distort facts in order to justify their exclusionary ideas. However, I am more interested in the rewriting of history on the left, which receives less attention from critics. At Tufts and other privileged spaces, there is the potential for dangerous detachment from the ground within ‘leftist’ circles. By positing the nation as the ultimate expression of postcolonial liberation, people often neglect the basic idea that oppressive structures and corruption are often replicated within governments, even those responsible for independence. Take Venezuela. Indeed, the US has had a long and dark history of intervention in Latin America. Certainly, Trump’s coercion and quips about military intervention are deeply troubling. However, conversations about this ‘U.S. coup’ have consistently ignored the plights of people on the ground. Without even getting into the messy conversation regarding Maduro’s popularity, it is simply undeniable that hyperinflation and shortages of food and medicine have left citizens hungry and desperate. Regardless of the immorality of sanctions, this intractable problem remains. It is impossible to make a solely moral argument in this case, where the complexity of power structures has made people, not leaders, the real victims. Ironically, ‘left-wing nationalism’ has strayed incredibly from Marx’s ideas. One does not have to doggedly support the Chinese government or Maduro in order to expound his philosophy. In fact, Marx warned that “a state which is not the realization of rational freedom is a bad state,” and repeatedly characterized states as instruments of the ruling class. It is on all of us to prioritize nuance over supposed ideological consistency when discussing situations involving real people and the consequences of powerlessness. No nation in history has overcome this simple contradiction: an elite few will never adequately represent the people. The perversion of leftist ideologies by leaders who enable starvation and human rights violations has shown that supporting a ‘nation’ is not so simple. Ideologues on both the left and right should heed Tagore’s words: “Build God’s throne daily upon the ample bareness of your poverty.” Ria Mazumdar is a junior studying in quantitative economics and international relations. Ria can be reached at Ria.Mazumdar@tufts.edu.

THE TUFTS DAILY | OPINION | Thursday, February 7, 2019

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Thursday, February 7, 2019 | Sports | THE TUFTS DAILY

Women’s squash to play Amherst at NESCACs, loses to Harvard to end regular season

Arjun Balaraman Off the Crossbar

3 teams, 1 champion

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Sophmore Rachel Windreich prepares to serve the ball in a game of the women’s squash game for the College Women’s Team Nationals against Hamilton at Harvard’s Murr Center on Feb. 16, 2018. by Jason Schwartz Staff Writer

For the second year in a row, the Jumbos will be playing at the NESCAC tournament. Squash powerhouse Trinity will host the tournament in Hartford, Conn. on Feb. 10 and 11. Last Tuesday, the regular season ended on a rather bleak note, with the Jumbos falling to No. 1 Harvard 9 – 0, dropping No. 16 Tufts to 8–5 on the season. Considering Harvard’s elite ranking as the best squash team in the country, one would expect Tufts, which is outside the top 15, to score around zero points against their contenders. However, the ladies played solid squash; each team member averaged close to 13 points against their opponent. Junior co-captain Claire Davidson tallied 20 points, the most out of her teammates, against her opponent, Harvard firstyear Amina Yousry (11–8, 11–7, 11–5). The loss against Harvard did not deflate the team’s hopes going into the break preceding NESCACs. “Harvard is the top in country so there was really no pressure for us going into that match,” Davidson said. “I don’t

think this loss will hurt our morale at all after the fact.” In fact, senior co-captain Chista Irani sees the team as gaining from the loss. “There was some good squash, and [the game] is helping us train for the NESCACs,” Irani told the Daily in an e-mail. “It was a great opportunity to play against women who are some of the top players in the country.” The women’s squash team will be playing Amherst in the first round of the tournament on Saturday morning. Coach Joe Raho and the team are looking to redeem themselves after losing to them 6–3 on Jan. 10. “We are going to go in with a lot of confidence that we can handle a lot of teams in our conference,” Raho said. “We are trying to stay focused. Hopefully, we can turn around a good match. We lost to Amherst 6–3 last time we played them during the regular season, so we are hoping to turn it around and pull out a win.” Davidson echoed her coach’s statement. “We lost to them earlier in the season, but they lost to Bates, and we just beat Bates, so it’s going to be a close match,” Davidson said.

Over the past few weeks, the team has put in many hours of training in anticipation of the duel against the Mammoths. They have had a laser-like focus on and off the courts. “Since we played them recently, we know their ladder really well,” Davidson said. “We’ve been talking about each individual player on their team, practicing really hard and doing a lot of fitness seven days a week.” The team appears to be in mint condition and ready for action, but competition remains stiff. Raho knows how good Tufts’ conference rivals are and isn’t sure if his team will make it past the second round. No. 3 Trinity, No. 13 Williams and No. 14 Middlebury, all conference rivals, erect a formidable wall which blocks the players’ aspirations of winning it all. Raho said he doesn’t think the team will go to the NESCAC finals. “Hopefully, we can play a great match against Amherst,” Raho said. “If we advance, it unlikely for us to beat Trinity or the other NESCACs in the second round as they are very good teams.” The Jumbos face the Mammoths in a Proboscidean encounter at 10 a.m. on Saturday in Haverford, Conn.

aints head coach Sean Payton said he’ll “probably never get over” the blown pass interference call by the referees in this year’s NFC Championship game that costed his team’s place in Super Bowl LIII. The Saints will most likely be back again next year with another chance to make a run for the title. The stakes are much higher for coaches aiming for a top four finish in the English Premier League — failure to do so would cost their teams a spot in the elite Champions League next year — with money and stature on the line. Liverpool, Manchester City and Tottenham have a seven point gap before the next three teams, leaving Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester United to fight for the last coveted champions league spot. Arsenal, under new boss Unai Emery, has had ups and downs, but looked hopeless last weekend as they were dominated by Manchester City, failing to even record a shot in the second half of its 3–1 defeat. Though Arsenal has had a renaissance under Emery compared to the Wenger days, defensive reinforcements were paramount in the January transfer window after numerous injuries to the back line. However, the club did not have sufficient funds to buy a new defender and still look vulnerable on defense. The Gunners are currently in sixth, three points off fourth-place Chelsea, and face an uphill battle to reach the top four. When Ole Gunnar Solksjaer took over for José Mourinho, United was eight points off fifth-placed Arsenal, and 11 behind fourthplaced Chelsea. Fast forward six weeks since his arrival, and the Red Devils have gone 7–1–0 in league play and are now ahead of Arsenal and just two points behind the Blues. United has excelled under Solksjaer, playing exciting soccer, but faces a daunting month (PSG twice, Arsenal, Liverpool, City and Chelsea). Will the honeymoon come to an end? The new manager has stars Marcus Rashford and Paul Pogba excelling, but the team’s overreliance on David de Gea in goal highlights its defensive frailties. Chelsea hasn’t clicked yet under Maurizio Sarri, and the manager has showed signs of frustration by repeatedly calling out his players’ lackluster will-to-win. He allegedly locked his team in the locker room an hour after an embarrassing 4–0 defeat to Bournemouth last week to conduct an inquest as to why his team wasn’t motivated in the second half. He got the man he wanted in new striker Gonzalo Higuain, but Chelsea will need Eden Hazard to rediscover his form as he moves back to his favored position on the left wing if they have any hope of remaining in the top four by the end of the year. Each of these three teams is going to finish the season with a different manager than they ended the last, and these three men are shaping the future for their clubs. While Sarri and Emery had a full preseason with their squads, Solksjaer came in midseason and, so far, has worked wonders with United. That being said, this is the Norwegian’s first big-time head coaching gig, and he doesn’t have anything close to the experience of his counterparts. With the six big teams in England battling it out for these top four spots, the race is always a treat, and with 13 games to go, this year’s race is looking as good as ever.

Arjun Balaraman is a sophomore studying in quantitative economics. Arjun can be reached at arjun.balaraman@tufts.edu

12 tuftsdaily.com

Sports

Thursday, February 7, 2019

Tufts alum Zach Groen blazes trail in NFL

COURTESY TREY MADARA

Zach Ertz (left) and Tufts alum Zach Groen (LA ‘10) walk off the field at Lincoln Financial Field following a Monday Night Football win over the Washington Redskins on Dec. 3, 2018. by Helen Thomas-McLean Assistant Sports Editor

For Tufts alum Zach Groen, serving as the public relations manager for the Philadelphia Eagles is more than a job — it’s a dream come true. Groen is in his fifth year with the franchise serving as a liaison between the media and the team. He graduated from Tufts in 2010 with a bachelor’s degree in English and media studies and was a member of the 2010 lacrosse team that won the program’s first NCAA championship. Groen’s Tufts education helped lay the groundwork for his success in an industry that is notoriously competitive, inspiring him to pursue his passion with dogged persistence. Groen predominantly works with media groups to provide them access to players and coaches. During the NFL season, Groen follows a set schedule laid out by the NFL. Groen opens the locker room each day for 45 minutes and schedules press conferences with coaches and key players. He also coordinates broadcasts every Friday and Saturday prior to games and helps arrange the formation of the press to expedite the interview process on game day. He fields incoming requests for interviews with individual players and helps to determine the best press opportunities for the team. On top of coordinating with the press, Groen works to distribute information on the team, compiling statistics, notes and records. Groen puts out an updated 300– 400 page book of information every week, which broadcasters then use to cover the team for that week. While the responsibilities of the position are relentless, Groen insists that his job is a labor of love. “In season, there’s not a lot of free time, maybe a Saturday off if we’re playing at home,” Groen said. “It’s a lot of hours but it’s really fun.” Groen also serves as a resource for the players, allowing him to develop professional and personal relationships with many

members of the team. Groen helps prepare players for interviews, which often involves keeping them updated on key story lines in the media. “It takes time to develop those relationships,” Groen said. “Once you get to know the guys on a personal level, they recognize that you’re a permanent fixture of the organization. The more exposure you have to the team, the closer you’re going to get to the players.” Groen joined the Eagles in 2014 as a public relations coordinator, and was promoted to public relations manager in June 2017 — just in time to experience the team’s historic Super Bowl run. “The city was electric in January,” said Groen. “Everyone you met was excited about the year — everyone was wearing their Eagles gear.” In the weeks preceding the 2018 Super Bowl, Groen dealt with a huge increase in press coverage and interview requests. “You have to do your best to accommodate everyone, even when there’s no possible way to accommodate everyone,” Groen explained. Groen attended the 2013 Super Bowl when the NFL needed public relations volunteers. His experience there got him great connections and lasting friendships. Although this experience was special, his experience at the 2018 Super Bowl was unparalleled in its excitement and importance. While Groen got to enjoy the spectacle of the event, he had to maintain his focus. “This time around it was a different experience. We tried to tune all that out, treating it like another game,” Groen said. Watching the Eagles win their first Super Bowl in franchise history was the highlight of Groen’s career so far. “It was incredible. The type of thing that you’ll remember forever,” Groen said. In June, Groen was presented with a Super Bowl ring in a special ceremony for Eagles employees. “I’m very fortunate to have a ring,” he said. “The organization was really really great to all the employees.”

While Groen currently possesses a highly coveted position in the NFL, the path to becoming a full-time employee was paved with challenges. Groen has worked almost exclusively in professional sports, starting with his first internship in the summer before his junior year at Tufts. He got that position through reaching out to the Major League Lacrosse headquarters in Brighton, Mass. Groen ended up with an academic internship working three to four days a week writing for the league’s website and compiling statistics. The internship was Groen’s first exposure to the world of professional sports, and helped Groen get a feel for public relations. The following summer, Groen moved to New York City for an internship with Major League Soccer. The summer before his senior year, Groen was hoping to develop a clearer sense for what work he’d be interested in pursuing after graduation. His knack for writing and passion for sports sparked an interest in sports writing, yet his internship with Major League Soccer helped affirm his interest in public relations. Shortly after graduation, a Tufts alum helped Groen set up an informational interview with Stacey James, the vice president of media relations for the New England Patriots. Although there was no job opening with the Patriots at the time, the interview helped Groen get his foot in the door for future opportunities with the team. Groen then moved to New York City to pursue an internship with a small sports marketing agency. After interning for the agency, Groen found a full-time job at a New York agency specializing in outdoor sports. While Groen pitched products to the media and occasionally met athletes, such as snowboard gold-medalist Shaun White, he longed to pursue his true passion — working in football. Two years after his initial interview, Groen contacted James expressing his interest in any openings with the Patriots, and learned of an internship position. Groen left his full time job to take the internship with the Patriots, a decision that epitomized his commitment to working in the NFL.

Groen stayed with the Patriots for a year, interning for the team when they lost in the 2012 AFC championship to the Baltimore Ravens. Through his position with the team, Groen gained valuable exposure to public relations in the NFL. In May 2013, Groen began his second internship in the NFL, this time working for the Green Bay Packers. Although it was difficult for Groen, an East Coast native, to move to an unfamiliar area, his experience in Wisconsin proved to be pivotal for the development of his career. Groen had a hands-on internship experience with the Packers, and got to interact with players. Though he gained valuable experience working for the Packers, it was difficult to remain an intern when he yearned for the stability of a full-time job. Groen accepted another internship with the Packers, but kept an eye on other employment opportunities that could offer him a full-time position. The opportunity Groen had been waiting for finally arrived when he received a call from his former boss in New England. An Eagles employee working in public relations had quit his job, and the team, which was training in New England, reached out to the Patriots to see if they knew of anyone who could fill the position. Groen’s former boss recommended him, and the Eagles offered Groen a job. “It was an incredible moment — it felt like a long time coming. I’m thankful that my former boss gave me that opportunity,” Groen said. “It was really, really special.” Groen visited campus last spring to be inducted into the Tufts Athletics Hall of Fame alongside his teammates from the 2010 lacrosse season. The induction was a great honor and brought back memories of good times spent on the field. Perhaps more important than the sport itself were the lessons that came along with being a student-athlete at Tufts. Groen cites his former lacrosse coach Mike Daly as a mentor. “I had the pleasure of playing for Mike Daly. The program he built at Tufts was really special. The values that he instilled in the program were tremendous not only at helping us as athletes but helping us as men,” Groen said, adding that his former coach taught him lessons that he carries with him to this day. In the classroom, Groen found a mentor in English lecturer Neil Miller. Groen took a series of creative writing classes with Miller throughout his time at Tufts, beginning with a nonfiction class. Groen remembers Miller as being an incredible teacher who gave his students the freedom to write about their interests. His open-ended assignments sparked Groen’s interest in writing, and Miller’s guidance and support helped broaden Groen’s perspective on potential career paths. “He showed me that I could pursue a career in a personal area,” Groen said. “He encouraged me to pursue my interest in an untraditional field”. At this point in his career, Groen attributes his success to his willingness to take risks. In a job pool as limited as the NFL, Groen emphasizes the importance of taking initiative. “You shouldn’t rule out any opportunity, especially when it comes to location,” he said. For Groen, taking an internship in Green Bay, Wis. was a blessing in disguise, since it exposed him to a new part of the country and introduced him to his fiancé, who now works for the Eagles. His advice for Tufts students interested in working in professional sports is simple: “Don’t be afraid to move around, to try something you’ve never done before. You never know where that next stop is going to take you.”