The Tuf T s Daily
LOCAL
Medford passes Welcoming City Ordinance
Evan Vezmar Staff Writer
The Medford City Council passed a Welcoming City Ordinance on Jan. 14 with a 6–1 vote to establish Medford as a welcoming city for immigrants and to ensure the Medford Police Department continues its policy of non-involvement with federal immigration enforcement.
“No City funds, resources, facilities, property, equipment, or personnel may be used to assist or participate in the enforcement of federal immigration laws…” the ordinance reads.
Under the new ordinance, Medford personnel are not permitted to ask about a person’s immigration status and may not aid operations led by federal immigration agents. The city cannot take legal action against people based on immigration status, with the exception of criminal activity separate from the enforcement of federal immigration law.
The ordinance reinforces an existing Medford Police Department policy to prohibit expending resources to cooperate with federal agents on illegal immigration cases. LOCAL
“No officer or employee of the Medford Police Department may initiate an investigation or take law enforcement action on the basis of actual or perceived immigration status, including the initiation of a stop, an apprehension, or an arrest,” another portion of the ordinance reads.
“No officer or employee of the Medford Police Department may participate in or assist with an operation led by a federal immigration agency to detain persons for civil immigration enforcement purposes.”
The ordinance stems from existing policy that had been in place at the Medford Police Department since 2019, according to Medford City Councilor Matt Leming. Leming said the move to formally set police policy into law was spurred by a desire to solidify its protections.
“There was some discussion during the committee meetings about the difference between this being just police policy and this being an ordinance,” he said. “If
it were just police policy, then it could potentially be chipped away at over time. But if it’s an ordinance, then that’s a local law to point to.”
Medford City Councilor Justin Tseng echoed Leming’s reasoning, arguing that an ordinance incorporating the department’s non-involvement
policy might let Medford residents feel safer.
“A problem that we started to foresee with that policy was just that not a lot of people knew about it,” Tseng said.
“And so even though maybe practically, the effects were there … for that lived experience, there was still a lot of
fear about interacting with the police department.”
Policy, Tseng said, is different from law.
“I think inherent in that difference is the worry that it’s not permanent and that any mayor in the future or police chief in
Residents and wildlife experts sound alarm for escalated bird deaths
Attempts to curb Somerville’s rat problem have unintended consequences on birds of prey.
Anika Parr Assistant News Editor
Somerville residents and wildlife experts are raising concerns over the high frequency of bird deaths over the past months. Two owls were reported dead in Somerville over a two-week period in December 2024 with necropsies revealing internal bleeding indicative of anticoagulant rodenticide poisoning, according to the founder of the nonprofit Save Arlington Wildlife.
“If you extrapolate there are likely many, many more,” Kiesel wrote in an email to the Daily. “Most dead wild animals are disposed of by the city or residents or are scavenged by other wildlife.”
Somerville’s surrounding municipalities have also seen high rates of raptor death recently. Since the latter half of November 2024, Kiesel has been involved in the processing of 11 poisoned birds of prey in the area, including
An owl perches in the trees near Houston Hall on Oct. 23, 2024.
Arlington, Somerville, Cambridge, Belmont and Lexington.
“All of those birds exhibited some bleeding issues (which anticoagulants cause by stopping the blood from clotting),” Kiesel wrote.
Both city officials and environmental activists emphasized the need to protect raptors in Somerville because they are natural predators that help to keep rat populations in check.
“Raptors can eat hundreds and hundreds of rodents in a year,” Mary Vriniotis, co-founder of Save Somerville Wildlife, said. “And it’s hard to know how many rodents are poisoned by
one particular bait box, but if you kept their predators alive, then that just seems like a more effective strategy.”
“It’s hard to come by urban predators,” Colin Zeigler, the environmental health manager for the city’s Inspectional Services Department, said. “Predators — especially for rats — need high canopy. They need a lot of canopy. And Somerville, as much as we like our parks and trees, there’s not a lot, so to see even one die as a result of something that’s preventable is concerning to us.”
Zeigler and Vriniotis both said that effective rat control requires reducing reliance on second-generation anticoagulant rodenticides to simultaneously address the root causes of bird deaths.
“This isn’t something that we can poison our way out of,” Vriniotis said. “We need to have much better waste management … because as long as there’s an
SAMANTHA ENG / THE TUFTS DAILY
A Medford street is pictured on Saturday.
City Council ordinance solidifies Medford’s status as a ‘welcoming city’
ORDINANCE continued from the front
the future could revoke that policy.”
Tseng said that while he first proposed the ordinance in 2022, the change only began to move through the council in the wake of President Donald Trump’s election victory in 2024.
“We were suddenly confronted with the reality that a lot of people would feel much more unsafe under this new administration,” he said. “These are residents. These are people in our community. These are people who play an integral role in who we are as a city.”
Similarly, Leming said that passing the ordinance was partly a proactive measure to clarify the city’s stance on immigration.
“Part of it is just easing fears,” he said. “It doesn’t change the police department policy. We’re still doing what we were doing before. But it does give assurance
that that policy is less likely to change even with pressures from the Trump administration.”
The process of codifying police policy into law involved discussions between the Medford City Council, lawyers from the American Civil Liberties Union and Medford People Power.
While the specific language of the ordinance classifies Medford as a “welcoming city,” Tseng and Leming both defined the law as a way to make Medford a sanctuary city.
“This is essentially sanctuary city legislation,” Tseng said, but noted the varied connotations of the term. “I think ‘welcoming city’ is a better descriptor of what we’re trying to do here in terms of stating our values but also the intended feeling we want to give our residents.”
Medford City Councilor George Scarpelli, the only member of the council to vote against the ordinance, argues that a lack
of transparency with the police department and potential ramifications from the federal government are causes for concern.
Leming said he reached out to Police Chief Jack Buckley for revision suggestions to the ordinance but never heard back.
The Medford Police Department did not respond to the Daily’s requests for comment.
“My reservation was for two very simple reasons,” Scarpelli said. “One, making sure that we left our police department with the authority that they needed to move forward within their dayto-day processes. The other piece was the financial ramifications … and how [it would] negatively affect our federal financial picture moving forward.”
Scarpelli expressed concern that Medford, a welcoming city, would face heightened scrutiny on funding from the federal government.
He also suggested that the council’s quick process in
passing the ordinance left many citizens unheard.
“Sometimes you press the fast forward button without looking at the big picture,” Scarpelli said.
Tseng noted that the council solicited feedback from Medford residents.
“I don’t think there’s much disagreement in Medford about this policy, about the values behind this law. I think that Medford as a whole is very accepting of our neighbors, wants to protect our neighbors and wants to make people feel like they’re included.”
Tseng addressed concerns about a potential loss of federal funding and highlighted his belief in the ordinance’s intrinsic value.
“Our neighbors’ lives are worth more than a few pennies here and there,” Tseng said. “That’s an important statement that we are making with this Welcoming City Ordinance.”
Rodenticides threaten birds of prey in Somerville
BIRDS continued from the front
easy food supply for the rodents, then having all the poison in the world doesn’t get anything done.”
“You cannot just irresponsibly throw bait around and expect any sort of results,” Zeigler said.
“Rats are a condition and an indicator of poor human practices and human health.”
The Inspectional Services Department is working to implement rat abatement strategies that reduce reliance on poison, including methods like SMART Boxes, which enable rat baiting and trapping without rodenticides.
“We handle cases on an individual level,” Zeigler said, “while discouraging the use of rodenticides as much as possible. That is the number one goal and objective of the city’s response.”
Zeigler acknowledges that while the city still uses
rodenticides for larger infestations, they have shifted away from second-generation anticoagulants in favor of a Vitamin D concentrate.
“The issues with bioaccumulation associated with second-generation anticoagulants is significant and it’s a real concern of the city, so we have moved away from that,” Zeigler said.
The towns of Arlington and Lexington have already banned the use of second-generation anticoagulant rodenticides on public property, with Arlington implementing the ban in 2023 and Lexington following in April 2024. Residents and wildlife activists are pushing Somerville to take similar action.
“The environmental health coordinator and her supervisor have said that they were working towards removing [these rodenticides] from municipal lands, but we haven’t seen
anything public and in writing to that effect,” Vriniotis said.
“We don’t have any real data on what is going on behind the scenes with this city.”
“I think that the local Somerville government is appallingly negligent in this area,” a Somerville resident, who has been an active supporter of a second-generation anticoagulant rodenticide ban since assisting in the rescue of a poisoned hawk in 2023, said. “I think that the [Somerville City] Councilors have, for the past several years, brushed it off.”
Although no official action has been taken in Somerville, Zeigler confirmed that a ban on these poisons is under consideration.
“I’m concerned that overuse of these poisons is unnecessary, and a blanket ban would be within the interest of a healthier environment,” he said.
The city of Somerville has also discussed a Home Rule petition to bypass state restrictions and implement a second-generation anticoagulant rodenticide ban on both municipal residential land, according to Zeigler. Lexington and Arlington have pursued similar legislation.
As the city considers a blanket ban, residents highlight the essence of holding community members accountable for proper rodent management and educating them on best practices.
“I think that there could be much more accountability with regards to trash and waste management and also guidance,” the Somerville resident said.
“I would say the biggest thing about approaching the rodent issue to avoid these types of incidents of secondary poisonings is to work as closely as you can with your community members,” Zeigler said.
UNIVERSITY
TCU to hold special elections for spring semester
A reformed voting process will begin Saturday to fill vacant seats in the organization.
Zach Halverstam Assistant News Editor
The Tufts Community Union Senate will hold special elections this week to fill vacant positions for the spring semester of the 2024–25 academic year. Voting will begin at noon today and end at the same time on Saturday.
The majority of races this semester will be for class senator seats: five for the Class of 2025, one for the Class of 2026 and two for the Class of 2027. The Asian American community and LGBTQ senator positions are open, and a seat on the TCU Judiciary, which oversees the creation and regulation of student organizations in accordance with the TCU constitution, is also vacant.
“We have an election to make sure that all of our seats are being filled,” TCU President Joel Omolade, a senior, said, “and [so] we have the
appropriate amount of senators who are able to represent certain issues on our campus.”
The open community senator seats, representing the Asian American and LGBTQ+ populations at Tufts, can pave the way for changes that benefit marginalized groups at the university level, Election Commission Treasurer Luca O’Neil, a junior, said. In the last year, for instance, Community Senator Iman Boulouah helped establish the first physical space for those of Southwest Asian and North African descent at Tufts in West Hall.
“I think it’s great that we have representation in the Senate,” O’Neil said. “Even looking at the political climate in our current United States, we are seeing these attacks on these communities, and I think part of the way that we resist that … is to start local and that even starts at the university level.”
Ensuring fair and democratic elections is the central role of the Election Commission, which has been tasked to organize this week’s vote. According to junior Meirav Solomon, ECOM public relations chair, their primary goal this semester is to educate Tufts students about the TCU electoral process.
“I think that it should be incredibly clear. I think that the average Tufts student should be able to tell other people, ‘Hey, this is what we do at our school. This is how it’s run,’” Solomon said.
Solomon and other ECOM members have instituted a number of measures to increase transparency for candidates and voters following the TCU presidential election controversy last spring. Over the summer, ECOM revised many of its internal bylaws to clarify TCU documents outlining election procedures.
“We feel that we have successfully filled those gaps and closed those loopholes in a way that has made this past [year’s] elections … much more transparent,” Solomon said.
ECOM also made an effort to increase its outreach efforts through its output on social media and a general interest meeting for potential candidates, which they hosted in late January.
The overarching goal, Solomon said, is to clear up misunderstandings before problems occur.
“Instead of having to educate TCU senators after they’ve run, we can educate them before,” she said. “That way, they’re able to spread that education to the body politic as well but also just know it within themselves and then be able to answer questions.”
Special elections are not new for returning Tufts
students. However, O’Neil said there are more open seats for the senior class than is typical. O’Neil explained that upperclassmen are less inclined to serve a single semester at the end of their college career.
Omolade said he appreciates when seniors join the Senate because it shows their genuine interest.
“It’s not about the longevity or the trajectory of the Senate, it’s just [that] they have this idea or passion they want to explore in their last semester of college,” Omolade said.
Omolade, nearing the end of his time at Tufts, is optimistic about what TCU can accomplish in his final semester as its president.
“I’m excited to see what the end of the year holds for me and the Senate,” he said, “because I think that we are in a really strong spot and only in a stronger spot as the year continues.”
COURTESY ANTHONY VITALE, ERASTE TALLA, BLAKE FREEDLAND, NICHOLAS GOLDBERG AND ANASTASIYA KOROVSKA Clockwise from top left, candidates in the special election, Anthony Vitale, Eraste Talla, Blake Freedland, Nicholas Goldberg and Anastasiya Korovska, are pictured. Not pictured is Sunny Jueun Pak.
FEATURES
Students, professors weigh in on Eaton Hall’s modern makeover
Olivia Bye Staff Writer
After over a year of renovations, Eaton Hall has reopened its doors to the Tufts community for the spring semester. The renovations, which took place from November 2023 to January 2025, largely aimed to modernize the building’s interior, improve functionality and accessibility and implement energy-saving systems. As students and faculty have explored the restored building’s classrooms, offices and study spaces, they have begun to form their own thoughts on whether the new Eaton lives up to its promised improvements.
Today, Eaton Hall is home to the anthropology, classical studies, religion and sociology departments at Tufts as well as the women’s, gender and sexuality studies program, the Center for Interdisciplinary Studies and the Perseus Digital Library. Built in 1908, Eaton served as Tufts College’s library for nearly six decades until its collections were moved to Tisch Library, then known as Wessell Library, in 1965. In 1950, Eaton expanded to include the War Memorial Wing. This expansion nearly doubled Eaton’s size.
Eaton’s new structural developments aim to modernize the space while preserving its historical architecture. The front of the building now features a windowpane glass wall that serves as a bridge between Eaton’s original library building and its reading room. Additionally, the reading room now features a retractable wall, which transforms
the space into both an 80-seat classroom and a 126-seat room for the admissions department to host informational sessions. The building also features 12 classrooms/ seminar rooms.
During her first visit to the newly renovated Eaton, sophomore Laquasha Belle noted the building’s modernity.
“It’s kind of comparable to the [Tsungming Tu Complex], but I like that the rooms are really big … and it seems more comfortable than Nelson Auditorium in the
TTC or compared to other spaces on campus,” she said. “I’ve had a class in Braker Hall, which I know other humanities classes are typically in … And I think the setup [in Eaton] is a lot more modern, and it’s nicer and easier to find rooms in the building.”
Andreola Rossi, senior lecturer in the classical studies department, teaches several classes in Eaton this semester and moved offices into the new building. Rossi also appreciated Eaton’s renovations.
nastiness,” they said. “It’s been really refreshing to see the new space and to see professors moving in, and it just gives it more of a dignity and shows that the school actually respects these departments that contribute so much.”
During the period of time that Eaton Hall was under construction, Arie, along with many other students and faculty, were using the Lincoln Filene Center as a temporary space for classes. The building was considered by students and faculty to be less than ideal.
“There were a lot of issues in [Lincoln Filene]. It was always either too hot or too cold; the windows didn’t open properly. … I remember once my sophomore year, we actually found a bird’s nest in the ceiling,” Arie said.
Rossi recalls that the close quarters during those years were also inconvenient for graduate students who shared that space.
“It’s no mystery that Eaton before was a mess, right? So everything is an improvement … there are a lot of rooms, there is also space for students to study … there is much more space and the space is utilized very well,” Rossi said.
One of the most noticeable changes to Eaton is the large, wheelchair-accessible elevator that features prominently on the building’s entry-level floor. Senior Romy Arie, who is currently taking a Latin graffiti seminar class in Eaton and took classes in Eaton during their first year at Tufts before its renovations, noted the building’s improvements in accessibility, as well as areas that still needed work.
“Before Eaton got renovated, there was a professor who did use a wheelchair who was not able to properly access the third floor of the building or the first floor because there’s just no elevator. So the elevator is the biggest difference I’ve seen. But also … the doors don’t have a little ledge when you walk in, just really small things like that,” they said.
The renovation of Eaton Hall is one of several recently completed projects at Tufts. Over the past few years, Tufts has constructed several academic buildings integral to its campus. This includes the Tsungming Tu Complex, formerly known as the Science and Engineering Center, which was opened in 2017 and serves as Tufts’ resident home to all things science and technology. The Joyce Cummings Center, built in 2022, also houses several STEM departments, including mathematics, economics and computer science.
Arie was glad to see a building dedicated to the humanities undergo renovation.
“We’ve seen a lot of STEM buildings opening the past few years … I know a lot of humanities students, at least from my perspective, felt kind of jilted, like all these science kids are getting new buildings, new spots, and we just get left with the
“The people who suffered are really the graduate students. They didn’t have any place to stay. They didn’t have any place to meet,” she said.
While the renovations to Eaton Hall have been a welcome improvement to many, students also shared their frustrations over the lack of study space.
”[I’d like] more study spaces that are just out in the open … because there’s not a lot of them in Eaton … more study spaces that are not just classrooms,” first-year Ngone Gningue said.
Arie agreed, noting that Eaton Hall had been one of their central study locations during their first year at Tufts.
“I used to study a lot in there … and it was nice because it kind of felt like my building. My department was in that building. The new classrooms they made are beautiful … but [that big study room] is definitely missing for me,” they said.
When renovating a building as old as Eaton, one challenge is to upgrade its functionality and enhance its facilities while simultaneously preserving its historical architecture. Looking to future renovations of Tufts buildings, Belle hopes a balance between the two can be struck.
“It would be nice to have [other buildings on campus] remodeled, but I understand also wanting to keep some of the older aesthetics there. I know that [Olin Center] specifically has … an older, classical Tufts aesthetic, which is nice, but maybe modernizing some of the desks at least [would be nice],” she said.
Arie hopes that Eaton Hall is just one of the renovation projects in store for Tufts’ various humanities departments.
“I’d want to continue to see expansion of humanities buildings. I know that there’s a reason that they do build more of the STEM buildings … but Tufts is a liberal arts school, and I would love to see that reflected in the buildings as well,” they said.
GRAPHIC BY CHLOE NACSON-SCHECHTER
SOPHIA KHAN / THE TUFTS DAILY
Eaton Hall is pictured during first week of spring classes on Jan. 16.
Addressing the uphill battle of safety, accessibility on campus
Audrey Peel Features Editor
It is undeniable that Tufts’ infamously hilly campus is challenging to navigate. Try as students might, an uphill trek is nearly unavoidable. The pedestrian experience is a part of day-to-day life here on campus. While many pedestrian safety issues go unnoticed by students in the chaos of each day, this was not the case for junior Anand Patil, when he took his first steps at Tufts as a first-year in 2022.
Patil was already passionate about improving pedestrian safety due to his previous experiences in his hometown of Cincinnati, Ohio. After noticing unsafe driving around a busy plaza in Cincinnati, Patil decided to take action. He emailed a city councilor to get traffic-calming measures in place, and working with the local government on that initiative opened his eyes to the world of policy.
Patil noticed similar issues at Tufts. His background in advocacy for pedestrian safety set the stage for the next two years of his time as a Tufts Community Union senator on the Administration & Policy Committee.
“At the start of 2022, I became a senator, and I sent an email to operations … I said I wanted to work on long-term and short-term plans to improve the roads, crosswalks and infrastructure around campus,” Patil said.
Patil walked through campus, taking pictures of all the issues he saw concerning pedestrian safety and accessibility, and then drafted a TCU resolution with the help of other senators. The resolution, named “A Resolution Calling On Tufts University Board of Trustees to Invest in the Safety, Accessibility, and Quality of Outdoor Pedestrian Infrastructure,” was passed by the Senate on April 16, 2023.
But the question still remained: How could the resolution turn into action? Patil wanted to get the trustees’ support in transforming his ideas into reallife construction efforts. After struggling to find their contact information, Patil walked into Ballou Hall, climbed to the fourth floor and hand-delivered the resolution to Paul Tringale, secretary of corporation in the Office of the Trustees.
Soon, Patil had administrators working with the Senate on his initiative.
“In general, this was something that I think a lot of administrators cared about and wanted to work on … what it took was something to spark it,” Patil commented.
Patil’s resolution proposed a number of projects including daylighting — increasing visibility at intersections by removing parked cars near crosswalks
— traffic-calming measures, redoing the sidewalks and intersection by the Mayer Campus Center, replacing and adding tactile strips at crosswalks and other general improvements on the quality of sidewalks on the Academic Quad. As early as the summer after his first year, improvements were being made.
“Over the summer, they completed about $1 million in sidewalk and road repairs,” Patil said.
With the help of Mike Howard, the executive vice president of Tufts University, an official Campus Planning and Development Committee was formed to address the issue in both the short and long term. The committee, which includes individuals from various departments across Tufts, hired an auditing firm to construct an itemized list of renovations.
“This firm’s job was to look at every single sidewalk on this campus … and rate it. How good is its quality? Does it have tactile strips? Does it have proper curb cuts?” Patil explained. “And then looking at accessibility pathways, like how does a handicapped user get from [Harleston Hall] up to … [Carmichael Hall].”
The committee continues to meet several times a semester to work on addressing these issues.
One challenge that the committee faces is that many roads on the Medford/Somerville campus are not owned by the university, but by townships. Rocco DiRico, executive director of Government & Community Relations at Tufts and a member of the committee, highlighted some of the issues that administrators come across when attempting to implement changes, specifically when dealing with public roads.
“When the university is making improvements to public roads, we make sure that we coordinate with the local municipality to ensure that our improvements comply with local guidelines and priorities,” DiRico wrote in an email to the Daily.
This can be difficult when trying to redesign areas around Tufts. Sometimes improvements to public roads can be more easily done when they are linked to capital projects and presented as one package.
One example of this is on Boston Avenue, where renovations to Bacon Hall are underway. DiRico described plans to connect the large renovation project to smaller road improvements that the committee would like to see done.
“Tufts University is currently renovating [and] expanding Bacon Hall located at 530 Boston Avenue in
Medford … As part of the project, the university is making several infrastructure improvements to Boston Avenue. These improvements include a new sidewalk, a new crosswalk, new ramps, and new trees,” DiRico wrote.
These changes will aim to make crossing Boston Avenue easier and safer, while ramps will serve to increase accessibility.
Kirsten Behling, associate dean of student accessibility and academic resources, is also on the committee. Behling focuses on improving accessibility on campus, which, despite the road renovations that have taken place, remains a challenge.
“We are geographically limited by the hill in the middle of campus. The university recognizes the impact it causes and has offered a few different methods of navigating it, including the Dowling Hall elevator, the campus shuttle, and the use of the Lyft accommodation through the StAAR Center,” Behling wrote to the Daily.
First-year Sophia Caro, who was briefly on crutches in the fall 2024 semester, emphasized the challenge posed by the hill.
“Getting up on the [academic] quad is just really tricky … because we’re on a hill, pretty much all the paths are stairs,” Caro said.
Caro highlighted a need for more access points to the Academic Quad and Reservoir Quad. She found the uphill quads challenging to reach other than by the Dowling Hall elevator, which can often be crowded at peak hours and only be taken from Boston Avenue.
For addressing problems like limited campus elevators, Behling expressed excitement about the physical accessibility audit being conducted to evaluate Tufts’ current accessibility issues and propose potential solutions.
“That report will help guide our priorities for continuing our work into the future. The report is particularly significant because it encompasses the experiences of many different Tufts community members, including students, staff, faculty and visitors to campus,” Behling wrote.
These efforts have and will continue to improve both the safety and inclusivity of campus for the entire Tufts community. Many would say much work remains to make campus easily accessible to all — but with the attention of the committee and the dedication of student senators and Tufts administration, renovations are being made piece by piece to upgrade the pedestrian experience.
Emily Sullivan Boston Book Crawl
Lovestruck Books
Hello! Welcome and come on into my first column. As a lifelong reader and current English major, I’ve developed many opinions about bookstores — some admittedly pretentious, others a little less so. Feel free to browse along these lines as I tell you about my experiences browsing the shelves within many of Boston’s bookstores.
With romance ranking consistently as the top genre in publishing, it’s not surprising that more and more romance-centered bookstores have popped up. While many books of that genre find their homes on Kindles and e-readers, there is something to be said about the physical form.
Our first stop on this bookstore crawl, Lovestruck Books, definitely knows the importance of this. Newly opened in Harvard Square, I ventured in during a bustling and celebratory Friday afternoon, shortly after they first opened. Full of voices evaluating the store while eagerly searching for their next read, the environment contrasted the stereotypical quiet and meditative atmosphere of most bookstores. Between the meandering crowd, the labyrinthine bookshelves and the assortment of tables offering special activities, I squeezed my way in and began to explore.
The front of the store offers a range of genres including young adult, fantasy/science fiction and nonfiction. With its general Barnes & Noble-esque collection of popular reads, there is something for everyone at Lovestruck Books. However, if you are someone who enjoys hunting around, running fingers down spines and taking your sweet time searching for a diamond among the rough, then this might not be the bookstore for you. The store, while having a shelf dedicated to recommendations from staff, lacks a sense of meticulous curation. But that might change as the bookstore finds its footing in the weeks after its grand opening.
Lovestruck Books finds its rhythm in the back of the store. There, on brilliant red shelves, is a gallery of cartoon covers promising both giddy, swoon-worthy love stories and steamy, pulse-rising, passionate tales. Readers can find almost every genre of romance: contemporary, western, historical and a fittingly dim corner for the dark romances. I also found a considerable section for the new and growing designation of “romantasy.” While I disagree with some of the books being shelved in “romantasy” rather than the traditional fantasy section, the selection was still appreciable.
The store is unapologetically feminine and very aware of its consumer base. There is pop music playing overhead and tables of merchandise. You can find fancy bath products, candles promising love, tarot cards and tote bags for the latest BookTok craze. Current trends in bookselling appear with “blind date with a book,” where the book is wrapped in paper and a tempting description scrawled on in place of a cover. Lovestruck Books is, to put it simply, fun. There’s even a coffee shop. I, who for once was feeling awake at 2 p.m., refrained from purchasing a drink. Although, the polished café did look inviting tucked alongside the rest of the bookstore. It offered a tempting respite from the lively book search. With rent payments coming up and no books jumping out at me, I left Lovestruck Books without making a purchase. I may return though to pick up a book perfect for this month since love is, after all, in the air.
Emily Sullivan is a junior majoring in clinical psychology and English. She can be reached at emily.sullivan654577@tufts.edu.
RACHEL LIU / THE TUFTS DAILY
Bicycles, pedestrians and cars navigate the intersection of Boston and College Avenues on Wednesday.
ARTS & POP CULTURE
How lucky are the Irish?
Artistic influence has long been a powerful force in Irish culture. As early as 1902, William Butler Yeats and Lady Gregory harnessed its power in “Cathleen ni Houlihan,” a one-act play that championed nationalistic sacrifice and remains one of the most significant texts in Irish history. More than eight decades later, the Dublin-native rock band U2 reimagined one of the grimmest events of the Troubles in their 1983 track “Sunday Bloody Sunday.” It was an instant hit, and the band’s next album, “War” (1983), topped the U.K. charts.
Today, Irish art may be better represented internationally than ever before. 2022’s Oscarnominated “The Banshees of Inisherin” exposed audiences to the violence of the Irish Civil War. Meanwhile, in 2024, the critically acclaimed “Kneecap” took audiences on a journey through Northern Ireland, featuring glimpses into the Irish Republican Army (including a cameo by accused former leader Gerry Adams), the modern Gaelic language revival and a whole lot of ecstasy. It doesn’t stop there. Castlebar’s Sally Rooney earned another New York Times bestseller with “Intermezzo.” Additionally, “Romance,” the newest title from Dublin’s latest rock sensation, Fontaines D.C., was named the best album of 2024 by both Time Out and Independent.
Yet, a different arena has proven just as influential in thrusting the island into the international spotlight: social media. It’s a widespread, internet-driven phenomenon that ranges from “splitting the G" when drinking a Guinness to the short shorts of “Aftersun” (2022) leading man Paul Mescal.
Many commentators attribute this movement to the way the world — especially the United States — views the stereotypical Irish person: They have a distinctive accent, they’re happy (in fact, the happiest Europeans) and, most importantly, they’re seen as political progressives. For the population of white 20-somethings who have become influential in pop culture through internet spaces like X, it’s a no-brainer to become aligned with Irish personalities.
To be clear, this support is not simply superficial and self-serving. Known for their anti-colonial attitude — which is notably a rare attribute for European nations — Irish voices have been some of the loudest critics of the Israel-Hamas war. While Rooney refused to translate her last two novels into Hebrew, Kneecap frontman Móglaí Bap called out the “bombing [of] Palestinians from the sky” from the main stage at the 2024 Reading Festival.
As Sarah J. Mass, a professor of Irish history at Tufts, explained, it’s not surprising that Ireland has found itself wrapped up in an anti-occupation movement.
“Ireland and Palestine share a history of partition,” she mentioned. “They also share that with India and Pakistan. So there’s a particular experience of a nation somehow being severed that all of those people and all of those national movements share.”
While Irish stars have been widely and publicly celebrated for this stance, domestic issues have been comparatively overlooked. Among them, immigration has been particularly hotly contested. In November 2023, an anti-immigration protest in Dublin turned into one of the country’s worst riots in the 21st century, with 60 police officers suffering injuries and up to €20 million in property damage.
This xenophobia stems from a
public unsettled by a housing crisis, where a 27% increase in wages from 2012–22 was met by a 75% increase in residential property prices and a 90% increase in rents. If that isn’t enough, the nation is suffering from its worst homelessness crisis in history, and Dublin is ranked last for public transit out of 30 European capitals. Northern Ireland has recently been plagued by public labor strikes, as well as debates between nationalist and unionist political entities.
Overall, it appears that the Irish receive attention primarily when engaging in meme-worthy actions or making loud political statements on international matters. Importantly, this lack of coherence on national issues may stem from crucial moments in Ireland’s past.
Though the Great Famine of the mid-19th century is today most often seen as the butt of
Boston native quipped that she had played the donkey in “The Banshees of Inisherin” (2022). Harmless and well-received by the general Irish public, Edebiri’s joke also highlights a broader phenomenon: attention on Ireland that has little actual connection to the island or its discourse.
Further, there are ties between Ireland’s religious past and its political present. For Ireland, it took until 1972 for the Catholic Church’s role in the constitution as “guardian of the Faith” to be eliminated. After this move toward industrialization and church-state separation, Ireland experienced a rapid period of modernization. One of the foremost changes was tax cuts for major corporations. From 1996 to 2003, the tax rate was reduced from 40% to 12.5%. Today, American companies including Meta, Apple, Microsoft and hundreds of others have set up operations in mainland Ireland.
“The genie is basically out of the bottle in terms of making Ireland incredibly attractive to these multinationals,” Mass noted. “But it means that there is a real strain on resources and questions about economic citizenship and social citizenship, and what the Irish state should provide, and to whom.”
Just as Irish celebrities are both aided and hindered by an international community, the nation’s economy is too. In 2022, the Republic of Ireland collected €22.7 billion in corporation taxes. Almost 60% of it was paid by U.S. corporations.
a joke, the exodus of almost 2 million people (or nearly 25% of the population at the time) from 1845 to 1855 continues to impact the nation today. With such a sizable portion of the population immigrating to areas such as the United States, Australia and England, Irish culture was largely preserved by individuals living thousands of miles away. Today, more than 30 million people in the United States alone claim Irish heritage — more than five times the population on the island itself.
Now, many of the people who celebrate and promote Irish pop culture have little incentive to understand its domestic issues. Take Ayo Edebiri, the star of “The Bear” (2022–) who has jokingly identified herself as Irish. It’s a long-running joke that originated during a 2023 red carpet interview with Letterboxd for “Bottoms” (2023), when the
In racing to recreate itself as a modern society after the fall of the Church and the Troubles, it seems as if Ireland missed one important step: creating a new national identity. That’s not to say that there isn’t a clear view of what makes someone Irish both on the island and abroad, but rather that Ireland is still stuck in limbo between modernity and its past.
Now, it’s up to the generation deemed “ceasefire babies” by Maynooth University’s Fionntán de Brún, to reconcile this disconnection. And while a lot of work must be done, they are trying. From the strong depiction of the Irish language movement in “Kneecap” to Mescal’s advocacy for Irish authors like Rooney and poet Derek Mahon, many Irish celebrities are trying to bring the spotlight back on the island and its most pressing issues.
It will always be the artists’ work that draws international attention, but how the Irish harness their nation’s “trendiness” is of equal importance. For a place that gives so much both artistically and economically, Ireland asks for very little comparatively. Maybe it’s time the rest of the world starts paying their fair share.
Noah Goldstein Staff Writer
VIA PICRYL
A vintage travel poster for Ireland is pictured.
What’s new in television today?
of the world, reflecting on how things are more complex than they may appear.
Originally published Feb 5.
“School Spirits” (2023–)
Season 1 of “School Spirits” ended how every great first season does: with a massive plot twist. Almost two years ago, we discovered that protagonist Maddie Nears (Peyton List) wasn’t truly dead as established in the pilot episode. Instead, she’s been ‘body jacked,’ with her spirit forced to reside in Split River High School while the spirit of 1950s student Janet (Jess Gabor) takes over her body.
The second season of “School Spirits” now works to uncover the why and the how. What is Janet’s main objective? How was she able to take Maddie’s body? And can Maddie finally return to the world of the living? Thankfully, the season is off to a good start, delving right into the characters’ possible motivations and evolving relationships. While Maddie’s ghost friends help to unravel the mystery, they are also forced to confront their own experiences as school spirits. Meanwhile, Maddie’s living friends must expand their own understandings
Despite being a show about high school relationships and complications, “School Spirits” is infused with themes of grief, personal identity and growth in challenging times.
Season 2 of “School Spirits” is streaming on Paramount+.
“Cobra Kai” (2018–25)
After six seasons of karate fights, backstabbing, returning friends and foes, and relationship drama, “Cobra Kai” will finally come to an end. The final five episodes will pick up after the Sekai Taikai, returning our bickering dojos to the All Valley Karate tournament. Plenty of questions have been left unanswered over the past few months: What’s going to happen to Tory and her brother? Who will win the All Valley? And why is Kreese still here?
Cobra Kai has always known how to raise the stakes, but its final five episodes will return the show to its roots. The success of Cobra Kai may partially be attributed to its stylistic karate fights, but what keeps viewers invested is the characters. At the end of the series run, hopefully we will come to understand our
characters more fully. Hopefully, Tory (Peyton List) will find love and acceptance from good people, Miguel (Xolo Maridueña) will feel adequate about himself, Robby (Tanner Buchanan) will learn to stand on his own and Sam (Mary Mouser) will become more understanding. Hopefully Johnny (William Zabka) will find peace in his new life and Daniel (Ralph Macchio) will leave Mr. Miyagi’s legacy alone.
Cobra Kai Season 6 is shaping up to be a true send-off for the series, but as we all know, “‘Cobra Kai’ never dies.” Season 6 Part 3 streams on Netflix on Feb. 13.
“Common Side Effects” (2024–)
What if there was a medicine that could cure almost everything? This is the basic plot and inspiration behind Adult Swim’s new animated series “Common Side Effects.” Coupled with excellent animation and an intriguing premise, “Common Side Effects” accomplishes much in its first two episodes. Similar to the Netflix animated series “Inside Job” (2021–22), “Common Side Effects” follows a conspiracy theory of Big Pharma purposefully hiding the cure from the public in order to continue lining their pockets.
Enter Marshall (Dave King), who quite literally stumbles upon the “caviar of mushrooms” — a mushroom that can cure almost anything, preventing the most horrendous of deaths.
After reuniting with Frances (Emily Pendergast), an old high school friend, the two must work together to unravel the secrets of Big Pharma. The catch? Frances works directly for the CEO of Reutical Pharmaceuticals. Can the two — and their pet tortoise — help to uncover the medical secrets suppressed by Big Pharma and the government? Hopefully we will find out soon.
“Common Side Effects” is now streaming on Max.
“XO, Kitty” (2023–)
If you’re looking for some good old-fashioned television fun, “XO, Kitty” may be the series for you. Following the events of the “To All the Boys” trilogy, “XO, Kitty” focuses on the youngest of the Song Covey sisters, Kitty (Anna Cathcart). In the second season, Kitty returns to the Korean Independent School of Seoul after an eventful first semester that ended in her expulsion from the school. How did she get back in? Still very much unclear after the
second season. In fact, unclear reasoning, coupled with “telling, not showing,” is the backbone of this season. While Kitty continues to get into mischief and mayhem, searching for her estranged family and exploring her newfound bisexuality, the show relies on telling us important information instead of showing it on screen. However, if you’re a fan of the Americanized K-drama or scrolling on TikTok while watching TV, maybe try “XO, Kitty” on for size.
“XO, Kitty” Season 2 is now streaming on Netflix.
“Paradise” (2025–)
What happens when the head of the Secret Service discovers the president has been murdered in his own bedroom?
“Paradise” follows Xavier Collins (Sterling K. Brown), the head of security for U.S. President Cal Bradford (James Marsden). Xavier must uncover who’s behind the murder while a much larger mystery lingers in the background. There isn’t much to say now without spoiling most of what makes this show an excellent return to television, so go watch it now.
“Paradise” is now streaming on Hulu.
Odessa Gaines Executive Arts Editor
GRAPHIC BY ODESSA GAINES
HOROSCOPE
MARCH 21-APRIL 19
LIBRA
SEPTEMBER 24-OCTOBER 23
Hold the door for everyone behind you. Slow down the pace with a cup of tea to clear your head. You don’t always need to be in a hurry around campus.
SCORPIO
OCTOBER 24-NOVEMBER 22
There’s something weighing on your conscience, and it’s time to bring it out into the light. Scary conversations are the most important
SAGITTARIUS
NOVEMBER 23-DECEMBER 21
You know better than that silly, immortal groundhog. This is your season to be the sunlight that drags the world out of a dreadful winter. Be extra kind to your professors.
DECEMBER 22-JANUARY 20
That goal that felt out of reach is now sitting in your hands. Celebrate yourself this weekend and take your friends out. It’s okay to ignore your to-do list for a while.
AQUARIUS
JANUARY 21-FEBRUARY 18
Your joy has been hidden for a while, but it’s
80?
PISCES
FEBRUARY 19-MARCH 20 You’re right where you wanted to be when you were
Make
to remember that you’ve lived through every moment that felt impossible to survive. It’s not always so bad.
Late Night At The Daily
Arghya: “I don’t cry at movies” Samantha: “Are you a STEM major?”
Sage Advice: Introductions
Dear Reader,
Like me, you may be wondering what exactly will be written about in this biweekly column. Every two weeks, I will make my best effort to provide some semblance of wisdom to a selected prompt provided by you — the community — or general wisdom when I feel like ranting, rambling or reflecting.
I think it’s necessary to preface this column with the disclaimer that I — as most of you who know me can attest — am far from being expertly qualified in navigating the challenges that life is famous for. I’m susceptible to habit. I’ve been known to make more than my fair share of mistakes and suffer dutifully for them, soldiering on through embarrassment and disappointment alike. Much to my annoyance, I let myself ponder on past occurrences to the point of rumination.
Rarely do I give myself the opportunity — or challenge, rather — to sit down and draw concrete conclusions from these mistakes. While this might seem like the obvious thing to do, I find myself too wrapped up in the minutiae of daily life to dedicate enough time for this intentional reflection.
You might ask why, then, am I attempting to give advice to others when I’m the one who needs advice myself? Indeed, maybe I should focus on my own problems before I attempt to help others with theirs. So let me explain.
I can mention only a small moment from around four years ago that might shine some light on the question. Sent reeling into confusion by a lengthy AP Physics exam and in need of some commiseration, I stayed late after class for a postmortem with a friend. They needed help on a question they didn’t understand while I miraculously thought I had found the right answer.
Though armed with only a working understanding of the concepts, I sat with my friend and worked through the problem once again. With my solution under the microscope of their questions, I soon found that my own thinking had become clearer and that I had developed a better understanding of how to approach future problems.
Upon reflecting on this moment, I’m reminded of the classic adage that says that by helping others work through ideas — thereby forcing you to slow down and articulate your reasoning — you yourself can gain a better understanding of whatever it is you’re thinking about.
I hope to do just that through this column. As long as you submit your prompts, I will attempt to provide a little bit of wisdom, however helpful or insightful, so that both you and I can make sense of moments in our lives that give us pause.
Please, reflect on whatever is giving you trouble and solicit some Sage Advice for guidance. I can’t promise you it’ll be reliable, but I promise you it’ll be different from whatever else you find on the Daily’s newsprint pages.
So, to answer why I’m writing this column?
Truthfully, the name was just sitting there.
Sincerely,
Matthew Sage
‘Game Day’ by Nate Hall
Horoscope by Defne Olgun
OPINION
VIEWPOINT
Gen Z’s reactions to TikTok ban suggest growing need for simulated community
Max Lerner Opinion Editor
In August 2020, President Donald Trump ordered ByteDance — the parent company of TikTok — to sell their American assets. That order would prove to be a death knell for TikTok: Four and a half years later, in January, the Supreme Court upheld a law to ban it. On the app, and among the generation that uses it most, panic ensued.
Regardless of one’s views on the banning of TikTok, the greatly histrionic reaction of young American adults to losing the app reveals a greatly pressing and potentially dangerous truth defining our generation: We are desperately starved of community and a greater sense of comradery, and we are reliant on social media to satiate that hunger.
This desire is completely reasonable when one considers the world that Generation Z has grown up in. The generations before us
have all benefited from outlets that promote socialization and community-building. Scrolling on their phones when “spending time” with friends was not an option, so they spent their days shopping at the mall, for example, or going to the movie theater. At school, their classes and clubs were all in-person, and group projects meant actually meeting face-to-face with their group. All of these activities fostered friendships and community.
Our generation grew up in a time where many of those experiences were actively being supplanted by technology. To compound this digitization of social time, the outbreak of COVID-19 in 2020 caused a large majority of schools to convert to online learning, with some even permanently replacing in-person learning with online classes.
This has all resulted in the stunted emotional development of an age group that has since been labeled “the indoor
generation.” It is an unfortunately fitting moniker: Our generation is unprecedentedly lonely and unsocialized.
For young adults, exposure to this antisocial environment when growing up results in a gaping void where identity, interest-based communities and group solidarity would typically exist. For people in marginalized groups, such as the queer community — where local communities (and even friends) may not be tolerant — TikTok has served as a generator of virtual camaraderie and a builder of incorporeal solidarity. It is out of this deficiency that TikTok cemented its role in supplying these community-building resources. From this phenomenon, our generation’s emotional dependency on the app was born.
This emotional connection to TikTok came to a head in mid-January as the reality of the app’s ban was realized by its users. People compared the event to heartbreak and
VIEWPOINT
reported feeling uncertain about their futures without the app. The Jed Foundation, a non-profit “that protects emotional health and prevents suicide for our nation’s teens and young adults,” published an article months before the ban titled “Navigating Change: Managing the Emotional Impact of a Potential TikTok Ban.” Both the poignancy of and necessity for such an article further highlight the deep emotional ties between our generation and the app.
We are still 58 days away from the end of Trump’s 75-day extension on the app’s ban. Regardless of which way the decision goes, we should reflect on how and why our reaction to the mere banning of an app was that of mourning. We cannot change the conditions of the world that we grew up in, but we can and should manage the ways that we move forward from that upbringing and adjust to the world around us. We should create and encourage others to join interest-based communities, go out of
our way to interact with the people around us and try our hardest to make our environment — whether that be our hometowns, our school or even our dorms — places of kinship, tolerance and solidarity. Tufts University alone has more than 350 organizations available for students to join, including numerous identity-based communities that allow students to gain the connections that technology has so thoroughly robbed them of. I personally have found an academic community in The Tufts English Society and a philanthropic and like-minded activism-centric community in Action for Sexual Assault Prevention. Most recently, I have nurtured an interest in journalism in the company of supportive friends and executives in the Daily. In short, there is no one way to find a community, and as a generation, it is in our very best interest to start looking for one in the world around us, rather than just on our phones.
The death of the hobby: Creativity is perishing at the hands of hustle culture
Opinion Editor
In the corner of my room, abandoned piles of yarn collect dust, stacks of novels lie untouched and countless watercolor brushes never see the light of day. While my short-term engagement in these hobbies temporarily amused me, I failed to consistently commit myself to any of them.
Hobbies — any activity engaged in for pleasure ranging from crafting to gardening — are a scarce delicacy for college students, whose day-to-day lives don’t often allow for leisure time. The mental, emotional and physical health benefits of hobbies are frequently overlooked and treated as luxuries in a schedule packed full of academic and personal endeavors.
In an ideal world, my various crafting projects and unread books would be long since completed. However, as the whirlwind of life catches up to me, I instead prioritize my schoolwork, physical health and social life. Slowly but surely, these aspects of my life have overshadowed my love to create. In the little free time I do have, I opt to scroll on my phone instead of reading a few chapters of my current book or crocheting a couple of rows of a scarf.
This isn’t to say I never take time for activities outside of school and my social life. However, when I do, it’s rare that I apply myself to starting and finishing a complete project. This isn’t just a problem that I face — 76.5% of the population opts to watch television daily, and 28.7% socialize daily, whereas only 16.7% make time for daily reading, and 2.3% make time for arts and entertainment, such as crafting.
However, socializing and crafting are not mutually exclusive.
As students, we have access to many opportunities that combine the two. Fiber Arts Club, one of Tufts’ many visual arts resources, is a community dedicated to expanding student access to all fiber arts through weekly meetings. Pono Merryman and Gabriel Currie, co-presidents, and Emily Bartolone, treasurer, comment on the ease of working creativity into everyday life.
“With fibers like crocheting and knitting, it’s really portable so you can take it a lot of places,” Merryman notes. As a combined degree student, Merryman takes advantage of the time they have to create.
Similarly, both Currie and Bartolone find themselves capitalizing on even the small chunks of time they have free. Currie, much
like Bartolone, notes that he “like[s] to knit on the SMFA shuttle, and there’s a couple other people who do that too.”
Or, when Bartolone finds herself frustrated with being on her phone, she’ll opt to spend a few minutes on the project she’s currently working on.
Crafting can be a social practice, too. Currie, for example, comments that he and his roommate have been watching “Game of Thrones” and knitting together since being back from break.
In a society that emphasizes side hustles and capital gain from hobbies, any leisure time without profit can be seen as time wasted. Reading a book or knitting a scarf for oneself lacks the instant gratification of watching a television show, buying clothing or scrolling on your phone.
Currie, however, finds beauty in this absence of instant gratification. “I think there is something very meaningful, at least to me, about taking the time to make something, especially something that takes so long, like a garment or a sweater or something.”
However arduous, the process of physically creating something tangible can be rewarding in a way we rarely encounter. Unfortunately, the effort needed
to commit to a hobby can seem daunting, especially for those already struggling to maintain a healthy balance between school, work, family and friends. The best way to foster a genuine commitment to and love for a hobby is to start small. Currie advises Tufts students to not “start with a big project, because then you’re going to feel like you don’t have any time to do it … once you get the hang of [starting small], everything seems much more approachable, and you’ll find time for it.”
Hobbies shouldn’t be treated as a luxury. When satisfied with their leisure time, college students are proven to experience an improvement in their quality of life — thus, we should be
actively prioritizing engagement in our hobbies.
As students at Tufts, we’re inundated with opportunities to pursue our hobbies. The foundation of our education is a commitment to providing “transformative experiences for students” in an environment where “creative scholars generate bold ideas.” Given that we’re fortunate enough to have access to resources like clubs, organizations and materials, we should take advantage of them.
Don’t let your academic schedule take over your life. Don’t let your social circles stop you from crafting in your free time. Most importantly, don’t let the pressure to immediately succeed at a new hobby stop you from ever trying.
The Tufts Daily is a nonprofit, independent newspaper, published Monday through Friday during the academic year, and distributed free of charge 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 Editorial Board. Individual editorialists are not necessarily responsible for, or in agreement with, the policies and editorials of The Editorial Board. Editorials are submitted for review to The Tufts Daily Executive Board before publication.
VIEWPOINTS AND COLUMNS: Viewpoints and columns represent the opinions of individual Opinion editors, staff writers, contributing writers and columnists for the Daily’s Opinion section. Positions published in Viewpoints and columns are the opinions of the writers who penned them alone, and do not necessarily represent the opinions of the Daily itself. All material is subject to editorial discretion.
OP-EDS: Op-Eds provide an open forum for campus editorial commentary and are printed Monday through Thursday. The Daily welcomes submissions from all members of the Tufts community; the opinions expressed in the Op-Ed section do not necessarily represent the opinions of the Daily itself. Opinion articles on campus, national and international issues should be 600 to 1,200 words in length and submitted to opinion@tuftsdaily.com. The editors reserve the right to edit letters for clarity, space and length. All material is subject to editorial discretion and is not guaranteed to appear in the Daily. Authors must submit their telephone numbers and day-of availability for editing questions.
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Olivia Zambrano Assistant
VIA WIKIMEDIA COMMONS
Simple pink knitting on single-ended needles is pictured.
Rowan Chetner Staff Writer
JoJo Siwa is undoubtedly one of the most cringey — and hated — artists of our generation. Her music video for “Karma” earned the most dislikes of any YouTube music video by a female artist in 2024, and the comment sections on her songs are constantly filled with animosity, with jabs such as, “Gonna play this at my funeral so people would be jealous im in the coffin” under her most recent music video for “Choose Your Fighter.” Although I agree Siwa is eminently cringey, I believe people are often too quick to judge her. Too many allow their discomfort with her persona to overshadow any attempt to understand her.
Siwa’s ascent to fame has been far from ordinary. She stepped into the public eye when she was nine years old during her debut on “Abby’s Ultimate Dance Competition.” At 11 years old, she joined the cast of “Dance Moms” before signing with Nickelodeon, cementing her iconic brand of youthful and glittery exuberance. Throughout her childhood, Siwa’s every move was tied to her brand. She almost always wore brightly colored sparkly clothes with her signature high, side ponytail and oversized bows. She released songs and YouTube videos that displayed a meticulously crafted “JoJo Siwa” character. She launched JoJo dolls, clothes, toy cars, bows and a variety of other merchandise that showed off her brand. “JoJo Siwa” was simultaneously a character, a brand and herself — she was a JoJo Siwa trinity.
Siwa’s rise to stardom was incredibly unique compared to other former child stars. Icons like Miley Cyrus and Olivia Rodrigo gained popularity portraying scripted characters on the Disney Channel. Siwa, on the
On his first day in office, President Donald Trump announced an executive order ending birthright citizenship under the 14th Amendment, which granted citizenship to formerly enslaved Black people after the Civil War. Almost immediately, the executive order was temporarily blocked by a federal judge in Washington, D.C. Attorneys general from 22 states agreed that the order is
JoJo Siwa: Misunderstood
other hand, only made the rare guest appearances on scripted shows like “Bizaardvark” and “The Thundermans” — in which she played, well, herself. She was nearly always performing a hyped-up version of herself, merging her public persona with her daily life. While Cyrus and Rodrigo created content aimed at a younger audience, they both dressed and acted like typical girls of their ages. In contrast, critics called Siwa a “giant toddler” due to her childlike style and behavior.
Siwa’s transition into adulthood as an artist was also distinctive. Her childhood brand was so intensely geared towards children that her shift to producing more explicit content was even more jarring than other child stars’ transitions. Although Cyrus’ shift from her “Hannah
unconstitutional and violates the 14th Amendment. Even so, Trump is arguing that the exceptions in the 14th Amendment, such as the Indigenous exception, don’t allow for birthright citizenship.
Trump cites the Civil Rights Act of 1866, written two years before the 14th Amendment.
The Act says that citizenship is denied to “Indians not taxed “and those subject to any foreign power. The 14th Amendment includes the phrase “subject to the jurisdiction thereof,” which Trump argues is referring to people excluded under the Civil Rights Act. Accordingly, the children of illegal immigrants cannot be citizens because their parents are subject to their native country’s power.
Trump further cites the 1884 Supreme Court case Elk v. Wilkins, which ruled that Indigenous people born on Native-controlled land are subject to their own tribe’s government over the U.S. government, denying their
Montana” era to singing naked on a wrecking ball was intense, the transformation from Siwa singing “Every girl’s a super girl” with a big sparkly bow on her head to singing “I’m your guilty pleasure” surrounded by giant teddy bears touching themselves is an even more staggering contrast. Siwa had to eliminate her entire brand to make this switch, a feat Cyrus and Rodrigo did not have to undertake.
Yet, when Siwa claimed that “no one has made, in my generation, this extreme of a switch” in a March 2024 interview with Billboard, the internet bashed her wildly. The top comment on BillBoard’s TikTok of the interview clip says, “Honestly the level of delusion is kind of iconic.” However, what Siwa is saying is true. There are not many others who have gone so dramatically from embodying a
entitlement to U.S. citizenship. Let’s be clear, this distinction inherently erases the United States’ genocidal takeover of Indigenous land and punishes Indigenous people with disenfranchisement for maintaining sovereignty. The U.S. Justice Department said on the Indigenous exception to citizenship: “The United States’ connection with the children of illegal aliens and temporary visitors is weaker than its connection with members of Indian tribes. If the latter link is insufficient for birthright citizenship, the former certainly is.” The Trump administration is implying, if not outright stating, that Indigenous people — the only people in the United States not descended from immigrants — don’t, and shouldn’t, count as citizens.
Is Indigenous citizenship in the United States actually in jeopardy? Under this executive order, no. Indigenous people were granted citizenship under the Snyder Act in 1924. Even so, the implications of
childlike character for the majority of their childhood to creating the type of explicit content she is creating now.
Nevertheless, because both Siwa’s youthful and adult eras are incredibly cringey, people don’t take time to consider the truth behind her claims. Many people scorn Siwa for her remark that she “want[s] to invent a new genre of music … gay pop.”
Critics discredit Siwa’s vision by asserting other artists have already contributed to the gay pop genre. However, in the same interview, Siwa clarified that she is not the first to make gay pop music — she just wants to give the genre a name and distinguish the genre from other pop music. She said her vision of gay pop is “not necessarily ‘pop’ — it’s not giving you ‘Katy Perry California Girls pop’ — it’s giving you ‘Lady
the Trump administration’s statement are dangerous. It upholds the idea that white America is the ‘true’ America and that Indigenous people do not deserve a say in the government that overlords their tribal governments. It weaponizes Indigenous sovereignty to disenfranchise illegal immigrants and dehumanizes Indigenous people in the process.
Trump’s use of the Indigenous exception is only a precursor to the real targeted precedent under the executive order: United States v. Wong Kim Ark. This case deals with the 14th Amendment’s “subject to the jurisdiction thereof” phrase and states that Wong Kim Ark — someone born in the United States whose parents weren’t diplomats — was automatically a U.S. citizen under the 14th Amendment.
As the Trump administration pursues appeals, it’s arguing that the Wong Kim Ark decision only applies to the children of permanent residents
Gaga Judas.’” She also referenced “Applause” by Lady Gaga and “Can’t Be Tamed” by Cyrus, proving she is aware of past gay anthems.
This article is not to say Siwa does not deserve criticism. For one, her management of her girl group XOMG POP! has been morally questionable. However, we should be careful not to judge what she says so quickly just because her music and vibe are cringey. Siwa is only 21 years old, the same age as myself and many other Tufts seniors. She is still developing her identity, just like us. She never had the chance to grow as a person beyond her public “JoJo Siwa” persona. Instead of outright dismissing her, we should recognize that Siwa has been finding herself in the public eye for over a decade, and be mindful of that fragility.
or children born to people who have green cards. Let’s be clear: This is such a bad argument that it’s laughable. It’s so bad that the Washington judge dismissed the entire argument in three pages. But that doesn’t mean that the Wong Kim Ark precedent is in the clear. While I personally believe that this argument is ridiculous, the Supreme Court is packed with Trump appointees, and there is no certainty that they will allow the precedent to stand. While the 14th Amendment is not being overturned, the spirit of the amendment is in jeopardy. If Trump succeeds, he will lay a very dangerous precedent: a nation of immigrants that can manhandle Indigenous people to dehumanize large swaths of other immigrants. It’s racialized warfare on a chessboard Trump controls. It cannot stand.
Sorsha Khitikian is a sophomore majoring in clinical psychology, history and civic studies. Sorsha can be reached at sorsha.khitikian@tufts.edu.
Sorsha Khitikian Through Indigenous Eyes
VIA WIKIMEDIA COMMONS
JoJo Siwa is pictured in 2018 (left) and 2024 (right).
Henry Blickenstaff
Extra Innings
Most surprising moves of the o season
This MLB offseason has been unpredictable, to say the least. Not only were there many bigname free agents available, but the trade market has also been surprisingly active, making for an exciting few months. These three moves have been the most surprising.
Juan Soto leaves the Bronx for Queens
Sure, the New York Mets were always a contender for Soto, but it’s always surprising to see the New York Yankees miss out on a player of this magnitude — especially one who spent 2024 in the Bronx. Soto was one of the most coveted free agents of this generation thanks to his unmatched pedigree at just 26 years old. The Yankees did offer a 16-year, $760 million contract, but Soto chose the Mets for 15 years and $765 million — the biggest contract by total value in MLB history. Because the two offers were so similar, his decision wasn’t about the money, which makes this even more shocking. Soto willingly turned his back on the most iconic
franchise in all of sports in favor of their scrappy and far less successful younger brother. George Steinbrenner is no doubt rolling over in his grave.
Diamondbacks land Corbin Burnes
In pure shock value, few moves in recent memory can match this one. Burnes was one of the biggest names available this offseason, and the Arizona Diamondbacks aren’t typically big spenders, so to say this came out of nowhere is an understatement. In a Nov. 15, 2024 article, MLB analyst Mark Feinsand named 10 different teams as candidates for Burnes — none of which were the Diamondbacks. The Mets, New York Giants and Toronto Blue Jays were all rumored to
be frontrunners at one point or another, but Burnes chose the Diamondbacks on a sixyear, $210 million deal which includes an opt-out after the second season. The move cements the Diamondbacks as real contenders, even if they are in the same division as the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres. Cubs trade for Kyle Tucker Tucker wasn’t even supposed to be available this offseason, but the Houston Astros saw the contract that Soto got and decided that they couldn’t afford to keep him around past 2025. With only one year before he becomes a free agent, the Astros decided to trade Tucker to get some value, and they found a willing
partner in the Chicago Cubs, who sent them third baseman Isaac Paredes, pitcher Hayden Wesneski and infield prospect Cam Smith. The Cubs have been looking for a real superstar ever since the departures of 2016 heroes Anthony Rizzo and Kris Bryant, and they found one in Tucker, who is among the best players in baseball. It’s a surprisingly aggressive move from a franchise that doesn’t typically behave like a big-market team in the free agent and trade markets. Their challenge will be convincing him to stay in Chicago beyond 2025.
Henry Blickenstaff is a senior majoring in history. He can be reached at henry.blickenstaff@ tufts.edu.
In Photos: New Balance Indoor Grand Prix
Ice hockey splits weekend NESCAC series
Tara Wirtschoreck Staff Writer
In an exciting weekend of NESCAC play, Tufts men’s ice hockey had two games that were both decided by a solitary goal. Their 3–2 win against Middlebury on Friday and 3–2 overtime loss to Williams on Saturday made for a stressful weekend for those watching.
Against Middlebury, Tufts struggled to get their offense going in the first period but stayed in the game, thanks to the impressive netminding by junior goalie Gus Bylin, who blocked all but one of Middlebury’s 12 shots in the first period.
“Most of their shots were from the outside. We’ll let them take those shots all night. We trust our goalie enough to make those saves,” senior forward Tyler Sedlak said.
In the last minute of the first period, senior forward Harrison Bazianos was able to score the team’s first goal, and the period concluded in a 1–1 tie.
In the second period, firstyear forward Rory Andriole got assists from junior forwards Liam O’Hare and Brendan
Fennell to give Tufts a lead over Middlebury for the first time. Sophomore forward Marcus Sang was able to bring the Jumbos to a two-goal lead to start the third period, with assists from sophomore forward Trace Norwell and senior forward Brennan Horn.
After that, the Jumbos just had to hold on to their lead.
Middlebury scored again in the third period to bring the game to a 3–2 finish, but Tufts held out to maintain their lead and win.
Though the Jumbos may not have had a consistently strong game against the Panthers, they were able to hold their lead through the third period.
“Earlier in the year … [we talked about] trying to win these games when [the score] is 2–1 or 3–2,” Sedlak explained. “Friday night, we definitely didn’t play our best, but we were able to find a way to win.”
Junior forward Max Resnick explained that though the team could’ve played better, the main goal was to find a way to win, and the Jumbos were able to do that.
“I thought we learned how to play in [a] different style of
game this weekend. On Friday night, we probably didn’t play our best, and we, for the first time this year, stole a game.” Resnick said. “Sometimes good teams have to find a way to win if they’re not playing their best.”
Andriole explained that staying calm helped the Jumbos keep control of the game.
“I think we did a good job of not getting too caught up in the highs or lows that come within a game, staying level and finding a way to win.” Andriole wrote in an email to the Daily.
In the game against Williams, Tufts wasn’t so lucky in keeping their lead.
“Saturday, we were in a tight game, and [we] haven’t really been in that situation, with managing the clock, and managing the puck going [into] the third. I thought it was a good growing moment for us this weekend.” Resnick said.
The game was neck and neck throughout. Neither team could score in the first period, but during the second period, action picked up.
The scoring started with Bazianos’ second goal of the weekend, assisted by firstyear defenseman Bryceon
Lago and junior defenseman Chris Throndson. The goal was answered with one from Williams less than a minute later. Further into the second period, Andriole came up with his second goal, off of a turnover by junior defenseman Phillip Lammarre and a pass from O’Hare. But, Williams immediately responded again with a goal of their own to bring the score to 2–2 going into the third.
Though both teams tried for a goal, nothing found the back of the net in the third period, bringing the game to overtime.
After taking a penalty with just a few seconds left in regular time, the Jumbos started a man down in overtime, meaning the Ephs held a 4–3 man advantage. Williams scored 20 seconds into overtime, making it a 3–2 overtime loss for Tufts.
As hockey goes into the last few weeks of the regular season, it’s becoming more clear that every point is going to count for NESCAC standings to determine postseason placements. The top eight teams will play in the NESCAC tournament, with the top four seeds hosting the quarterfinals. Right
now, Tufts is tied with Amherst for sixth.
“A lot of the teams that we will be playing here in this stretch are the teams we’re competing against for spots three through eight [in the NESCAC standings],” Norwell said. “I’m pretty optimistic. If you win a couple of those games, you put yourself in a pretty good position.”
This weekend, Tufts will play against Connecticut College twice. The Jumbos will play at the Camels on Friday night and will then be back to Malden Valley Forum to play at home on Saturday.
“Going into this weekend, we’re playing a team that we just beat in the playoffs last year,” Sedlak said. “They’ve lost eight games in a row, so they’re trying to get back on the winning train, and we’re in need of 6 points to jump the [NESCAC] standings.”
The Jumbos have the potential to have a strong showing against the Camels this weekend, and they hope to prove it starting Friday.
“We’re doing a lot of good things right,” Norwell said. ”[If] we make sure we keep doing them right, we’ll keep winning games.”
COURTESY TUFTS ATHLETICS
Members of the Tufts ice hockey team are pictured on Jan. 24.