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THE TUFTS DAILY

TUFTSDAILY.COM

monday, march 30, 2015

VOLUME LXVIV, NUMBER 41

Where You Read It First Est. 1980

University introduces new international travel policies

by Sophie Lehrenbaum Assistant News Editor

Nicholas Pfosi / The Tufts Daily

Avram Finkelstein and members of the Tufts Flash Collective, a collective art project, plan a public art piece on March 27.

Flash collective centers dialogue on racial privilege

by Nicholas Pfosi Contributing Writer

Last Thursday and Friday, artist and activist Avram Finkelstein led students in creating a public work to make a statement on racism and racial privilege in the United States.

The event, which Finkelstein termed a “flash collective,” was a collaboration between the Tufts Art Gallery and the Jonathan M. Tisch College of Citizenship and Public Service. It was funded through a grant from the Massachusetts Cultural Council (MCC).

The Tufts flash collective formed in order to create a student-driven, public work to be displayed as a billboard near the Mayer Campus Center Lower Patio. According to Amy Ingrid Schlegel, director of galleries and collections at the Tufts University Art Gallery, the Office of the Provost’s recent forum on race, inequality and action combined with Tufts student activism in the Black Lives Matter movement provided an appropriate background to center the work around race and privilege on campus.

“A [flash collective] is an organism.

You have to trust in it,” Finkelstein said of the eight-hour workshop, in which 13 Tufts and dual-degree students participated. “From every part of our lives, we’re told what we can’t do,” Finkelstein explained. “We can’t communicate complex ideas. We can’t get people to care about things.

The flash collective is an exercise in permission.”

Finkelstein created the concept of a flash collective in response to the HIV/AIDS crisis during the 1980s. After his significant other passed away from AIDS in 1984, six of his friends and colleagues, including himself, created the “Silence=Death” campaign, which calls for outspoken action against “the oppression and annihilation of gay people,” according to its website.

Finkelstein explained that this work of “cultural production” became a “rallying cry for AIDS activism and activism around LGBT issues.” After years of speaking about this work, see FLASH COLLECTIVE, page 2

In a March 18 letter addressed to all members of the Tufts community, the Office of the Provost and Senior Vice President announced the key details of a new International Travel Safety Policy, which is effective immediately.

The policy is meant to present a structure for fostering safe international travel, and it outlines two new procedures that have been set in place to advance the goals of the university as an institution informed by a global perspective.

These include the establishment of a university-wide online Travel Registry, for which registration is mandatory for all students and staff embarking on universityrelated travel and a Travel Review process for students who intend to visit countries that have been

issued U.S. Department of State Travel Warnings.

According to Provost and Senior Vice President David Harris, international travel has played an integral role in the Tufts community, and as the university’s global presence has expanded in recent years, the policies on international travel to protect students and staff abroad have simultaneously grown.

“In 2011, an International Business and Travel Committee and Student Safety Committee identified some of the challenges we face internationally and made recommendations to improve our operations,” Harris said. “Included in those recommendations were the hiring of a full-time employee responsible for international travel matters and the creation of a central registration process for all travelers.”

He explained that the committee, which was comprised of several faculty and staff members, particularly representatives from Risk Management and Tufts Technology Services, recommended that a university-wide, uniform system of protocol be developed and put in place and that an online interface be created to provide the necessary tools for an efficient emergency response in light of crises abroad.

“As part of this process, the university issued an RFP [request for proposal] and reviewed options for an online travel registry,” Harris said. “We chose the Terra Dotta software solution, which is also used by many of our peers.”

He added that in 2013, the university hired Claudia Jackson for the new role of program managsee TRAVEL, page 2

Green T charette to consider future of Green Line T stop intersection

by Melissa Kain Assistant News Editor

The Green T at Tufts Design Charette, to be held on April 1, will invite members of the Tufts community to share their ideas about the future of the Boston Ave. and College Ave. intersection, where an MBTA Green Line T stop is slated to be built by 2019, according to Betsy Byrum, the education and outreach program administrator at the Office of Sustainability.

The meeting will be hosted by the Department of Urban and Environmental Policy and Planning (UEP) Field Projects Team, Tufts Urban Planning, Policy and Prosperity (UP3), the

Office of Campus Planning and the Office of Sustainability.

Byrum, who is also a parttime graduate student in UEP, said that the charette is part of a UEP course titled “Field Projects,” which allows students to apply the knowledge and theory that they learn in the program to a real-life experience.

“Students in the program serve as consultants for a client and work on a project for them,” she explained.

According to Byrum, the Office of Campus Planning and the Office of Sustainability were both interested in looking closely at the intersection where the T stop would be built, and her team wanted to find “a niche where [they] could fit in and add some-

thing of value to the process.”

“Something that we thought would be really interesting would be to figure out a way to engage the Tufts community in the process,” she said. She noted that the charette will focus on topics such as pedestrians, bicycling and vehicles, and will also hear attendees’ general feedback on the station.

According to Program Director at the Office of Sustainability Tina Woolston, she is most interested in the look and feel of the intersection and seeing a design that is safe and welcoming for pedestrians and bicyclists.

“I would love to hear people’s support for looking at something see GREEN LINE, page 2

TCU Senate Update The Tufts Community Union (TCU) Senate meeting opened last night with a presentation on the new Tufts Student Experience website project, which will be implemented in the next academic semester.

Kaitlin Provencher, manager of web content and strategy in Tufts’ Digital Communications office, presented the revamp plan of the Student Services website.

Provencher admitted the inefficiency and complexity of existing Tufts websites, and explained that the scope of the project will encompass various websites such as the new Student Life website.

Student Life, for example, will integrate various functions and links to the general Tufts community. The project will include a new Tufts Career Services website and a new Health and Wellness site.

Provencher noted that anything that requires students’ private information will remain in SIS and will not become part of the Tufts Student Experience.

Provencher added that Tufts will create three additional websites for scholar development, accessibility services and international education, all of which will be implemented as part of the project. She also revealed that a new tufts.edu website will launch next semester as well.

Provencher explained that the project’s major goals are to make information easily accessible, citing a new “preview card” feature in which information regarding any Tufts-related program or department will be neatly organized and shown on an index-like card on the website, from which students can find necessary information and links.

She added that Tufts intends to highlight success stories and achievements of students on these websites, and also provide strong publicity for club events.

In response to TCU Senate’s interest in creating a new, clear calendar that can list every student organization’s events, Provencher explained that Tufts is exploring platforms Trumba and EMS for a new calendar, but clarified that the Office for Campus Life still retains the authority of hosting student organization information online. She further clarified that some departments, such as the Office of Residential Life and Learning, will not revamp their websites.

With no treasury report at yesterday’s meeting, the Senate moved on to the vice president’s report, which contained updates from various commit-

Inside this issue

tees. First, the Administration and Policy Committee announced that tutors, Area Residence Directors and other resources will be available in public places. The Education Committee then gave an update about its plans for how to accommodate high numbers of snow days in the future.

The Services Committee gave an update on its exploration of Hindi and Korean as possible languages to be offered at Tufts in the future.

Next, TCU Vice President Matt Roy took the floor to discuss a new project approval to work with Tufts University Police Department (TUPD) in regard to racial profiling of students. Roy, concerned with continued discrimination of students by the police force based on race, voiced for a submission-based survey in which students will be able

to share their experiences with police discrimination.

According to Roy, the survey will provide anonymity for the submitter, and the experiences shared, which can have happened on or off campus, will be shared with TUPD and the personnel involved with TUPD training. Roy hopes that through this collaborative effort between Senate and the TUPD, the university’s police force will be better trained to deal with racial profiling issues.

Though some members of Senate were concerned that unrelated off-campus experiences with police discrimination would not particularly help TUPD in their training, the project approval passed by majority in a vote of 21-1-2.

—by Roy Yang

Today’s sections

The Tufts SPARTN lab uses quadcoptor drones to test multi-agent networked systems.

Kesha’s recent name change and career moves serve to rebrand, as well as to send a message of acceptance and self-love.

see FEATURES, page 3

see ARTS, page 5

News 1 Features 3 Arts & Living 5 Editorial | Letters 8

Op-Ed 9 Comics 10 Sports Back

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The Tufts Daily

Monday, March 30, 2015

News

Visiting the Hill this week MONDAY “Tisch Talks in the Humanities: Generative Empathies” Details: Director of the Cultural Agents Initiative at Harvard University Doris Sommer will join Amahl Bishara, assistant professor of anthropology and Peter Levine, Tisch College associate dean for research in a discussion on the meaning and use of empathy, especially with regard to current discourses on the concept.

When and Where: 12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m., Lincoln Filene Center Rabb Room Sponsor: Jonathan M. Tisch College of Citizenship and Public Service “STEM Lecture Series: Ashok Basawapatna” Details: Ashok Basawapatna of the University of Colorado will discuss his research as part of the STEM Lecture Series, which showcases groundbreaking research in STEM fields.

When and Where: 3:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m., Halligan Hall Room 102 Sponsors: Center for Engineering Education and Outreach, Department of Education

“My Chicago” Details: Aleksandar Hemon, author of several works including “The Book of Our Lives” (2013) and “The Lazarus Project” (2008), the latter of which was a finalist for multiple awards, will deliver the Coit-Phelps Lecture in the Humanities In Celebration of Saul Bellow’s Centenary.

When and Where: 5:30 p.m. – 6:30 p.m., Ballou Hall Coolidge Room Sponsor: Center for the Humanities at Tufts “Reed Krakoff: Lyon and Bendheim Lecture” Details: Reed Krakoff, founder of luxury designer brand Reed Krakoff and former creative director of Coach, Inc., will deliver the Spring 2015 Lyon and Bendheim Alumni Lecture.

When and Where: 6:00 p.m.

– 8:00 p.m., Alumnae Lounge Sponsors: Career Services, Communications and Media Studies Department, Entrepreneurial Leadership Program, Office of Alumni Relations, Tufts University Alumni Association

Tufts Arts Gallery, Tisch College collaborate on ‘flash collective’ project

flash collective continued from page 1

though, Finkelstein decided to engage communities differently, by teaching the skills to actually produce the work. He has since led more than half a dozen flash collectives at many institutions across the country.

Senior Director of Tisch Programs Mindy Nierenberg explained that Tisch College wanted to be involved with the project, given its connections to current social issues.

“I think the Tufts art galleries do a great job bringing artists and art to campus that have a connection with civic engagement or social issues,” she said.

When Schlegel reached out to discuss the two organizations working together, Nierenberg proposed incorporating the Provost’s forum and centering the piece around the Black Lives Matter movement.

“People need a way to talk about this — a way to express themselves.

I don’t think people ordinarily think of art as a way of doing that,” Nierenberg said. “I think that especially on a campus like Tufts, people are very much in their heads, and that the way that people articulate ideas is through words as opposed to images. But I think having a way to address some of these issues, to make a statement, through the power of art — I don’t think [it’s] possible any other way.”

After a brief and unsuccessful local search, Schegel’s office connected with Finkelstein and began planning the collective. After a twohour reception on Thursday, the students gathered in the basement

of Eaton Hall and began to work.

After an eight-hour day on Friday, the flash collective finished at 5:00 p.m., 30 minutes ahead of schedule.

“It was amazing,” Finkelstein said after the event. “I think the level of thoughtfulness and consideration, and the complexity of the issues which were brought up, was more comprehensive than many other flash collectives I’ve worked on.”

Finkelstein described trust as the “main breakthrough” in collectives, yet with this Tufts group, this was not an “obstacle.”

“I felt there was a tremendous amount of collegiality — a sense of trust and safety … It felt like a collective who had been working together a long time.”

“I think every art student wants to make work collaboratively,” Cleyton Woolery, a sophomore dual degree student who was part of the 13-student collective, said following the event. “It met my expectations, and maybe exceeded them, because we will continue to be in dialogue after the day is over.”

The final design, which still needs to go through a production phase, is scheduled to be installed by the end of April, followed by an unveiling event after the end of classes, according to Schlegel.

Nierenberg added that she hopes the final installation will generate discussions among students of the issues it presents.

“I hope that the community goes and sees it,” Nierenberg said. “I hope that people look at the images and that it makes them think, because that’s the whole spirit of it: to promote dialogue with each other about issues which are difficult to talk about.”

Police Briefs It’s a Mad Mad Mad Mad World At 1:00 p.m. on March 16, a loud and angry man appeared at the Aidekman Arts Center and asked whether he was at the music building. He was told that he was not at the correct location, and that the Granoff Music Center was next door. When TUPD officers arrived at the Music Center to investigate, no one fitting the man’s description was found. The man did not appear to be a student, according to TUPD.

Science of Deduction At 12:30 p.m. on March 16, a staff member from the Pearson Chemistry Lab reported to the Tufts University Police Department (TUPD) that a flat screen TV had been stolen from one of the lab’s rooms. It had been mounted on the wall before its disappearance. It has not been recovered yet.

—by Daniel Bottino

WEDNESDAY “Bil’in 10 Years On: Popular Struggle & Popular Media” Details: Iyad Burnat, the coordinator of the Popular Committee of Bil’in, a Palestinian town in the West Bank, will discuss his non-violent resistance activism in support of Bil’in. The event will also feature scenes from Burnat’s brother’s film, “Five Broken Cameras” (2011), as well as photography from Bil’in.

When and Where: 12:00 p.m. – 1:15 p.m., Tisch Library Room 304 Sponsors: Department of Anthropology, Anthropology Collective “Hidden Law — The Evolution of Christian Law in Late Antiquity” Details: Yifat Monnickendam of The Hebrew University of Jerusalem will discuss research on the discrepancies between imperial law in the Eastern Roman Empire and Christian practices and customs.

When and Where: 12:00 p.m. – 1:15 p.m., Eaton Hall Room 202 Sponsor: Perseus Project “Stories of Leadership from Engaged Universities Around the World”

Details: Lorlene Hoyt and Amy Newcombe Rowe, both of Tufts’ Talloires Network, will discuss the successes of universities around the world in interacting with local communities to solve civic problems as part of the UEP Colloquium Series.

When and Where: 12:00 p.m.

– 1:15 p.m., Sophia Gordon Multipurpose Room Sponsor: Urban and Environmental Policy and Planning Program “Being Black Ain’t So Bad: Dominicanas Negotiating Race and Belonging Across the Atlantic” Details: Lorgia García Peña, assistant professor of Romance languages and literatures and of history and literature at Harvard University, will speak. García Peña co-founded Freedom University in Atlanta, Ga., a school that provides education and college preparation assistance to undocumented students.

When and Where: 5:00 p.m. – 6:30 p.m., Lincoln Filene Center Rabb Room Sponsors: Consortium of Studies in Race, Colonialism and Diaspora (RCD), Department of Sociology, Latino Center, Latin American Studies Program

“The Ebola Crisis from Outbreak to Stamp Out — Lessons for the Future” Details: Anthony Banbury, special representative of the secretary general and head of the United Nations Mission for Emergency Ebola Response, will discuss lessons learned from the Ebola crisis.

When and Where: 5:30 p.m. – 7:00 p.m., Cabot ASEAN Auditorium Sponsor: The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy

THURSDAY “Contested Normality: Palestinian Citizens under the Israeli Land Regime” Details: Suhar Bishara, director of the Land and Planning Rights Unit, Adalah, at the Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel, will discuss Palestinian life in Israel, focusing on the case of Palestinian Bedouins in the Naqab desert.

When and Where: 6:30 p.m. – 8:00 p.m., Lincoln Filene Center Rabb Room Sponsors: Department of Anthropology, International Relations Program, Consortium of Studies in Race, Colonialism and Diaspora (RCD), Middle Eastern Studies, Toupin Bolwell Fund

—by Audrey Michael

Charette focuses on impact of new T stop

GREEN LINE

continued from page 1

innovative like that,” she said.

According to Byrum, the Tufts Campus Sustainability Council released a report in 2013 that contained many sustainability goals for the university, including developing new transportation initiatives to reduce the impacts of commuting.

“They have been working on producing a transportation demand management plan … and that is one of the other reasons why this is all timely, because since that planning has happened, it is also a great time to think about how the MBTA station can be leveraged to help shift the transportation mode

of people at the university,” she explained.

Byrum added that the ideas raised during the charette will be applied to the work being done by clients surrounding the planning for the station and the intersection.

“It’s an opportunity to work on a project that can actually be applied to real work that the university is doing,” she said.

According to Director of Campus Planning Lois Stanley, students provide an important perspective on the future of the intersection.

“Students are users of the campus … so their perspective is especially important,” Stanley said, noting that this is the second time that she has worked with a team of UEP students.

“I’m really impressed by the professionalism of the students and the thoroughness that they bring to the task, and as I did last time, I am looking forward to their analysis and their recommendations,” Stanley said. “They’re professionals.”

“This is a great opportunity for students and employees to … have their voices heard about their thoughts around the intersection, and about the new Green Line station,” Byrum said. “We know that … student, staff and faculty use that intersection regularly, and a lot of them take the T, so this is a great opportunity to come with their thoughts and opinions and share them. We’re super excited about hearing what everyone has to say.”

New policies introduced for school-related travel

TRAVEL

continued from page 1

er for international safety and operations.

Harris explained that a task force was formed to transform committee recommendations into concrete procedures, which he emphasized was a collaborative process that transcended schools and departments to ultimately form one university-wide system.

As Program Manager for International Safety and Operations, Jackson explained that the sole goal of the policy is to promote the safety of students who are preparing to travel internationally, and she believes that the Travel Registry will make great strides in doing so.

“The Tufts Travel Registry is an integral part in promoting the overall safety of Tufts travelers,” Jackson said. “The trip date and location are automatically provided to the Tufts’ emergency assistance provider, International SOS, so that travelers receive information such as travel alerts and advisories.”

She concluded that the most important capability of the new system is its ability to locate and contact travelers in case of emergency by having travelers’ key information on record.

The community-wide letter detailed that students will have the ability to store passport information through the registry, which can be accessed in case it is stolen while abroad. The letter assured members of the Tufts community that only users with specific

authorization will have the ability to view their personal information and that data collected will be expunged regularly to further safeguard student information.

Jackson said the registration process for the travel registry is simple and is done through students’ Tufts usernames and passwords.

“Registering only takes a few minutes — you do not need to set up an account, you simply sign in with your Tufts UT and password and start entering your trip and contact information,” Jackson said. “Registering your research trips and other Tufts-related international travel will ensure that all essential pre-travel information has been shared with you and you are aware of the resources available to you when you travel.”

The letter additionally underscored that students who hope to travel to countries with U.S. State Department Travel Warnings will have to provide supplementary information to the Tufts Review Committee for International Travel Safety, prior to their trips to ensure that their plans are practical from a security standpoint.

Numerous students, such as sophomore Grant Fox, have expressed a lack of familiarity with the changes in policy, mainly because it will only impact their travel in part, or tangentially. “[I] wasn’t aware of this policy mostly because I’m planning on going to France, which is pretty basic and regular,” Fox said. “A registry of everyone who’s abroad

sounds pretty simple and reasonable. They’re still Tufts’ students, [so] it makes sense to know where in the world they are.”

Fox expressed concern, however, about the panel review for students, explaining that he worries the extra measure might be excessive, and he hopes that the policy will not discourage students from pursuing travel plans to those areas of the world.

“The panel review for students going to State Departmentwatched countries is a little dicier, but it depends on how it’s implemented,” Fox said. “Most of those countries are safe as long as you have a plan and know what you’re doing … If the school is just doing this check up on you to make sure you have a plan and are prepared then it’s a good idea. If they’re using it to discourage travel to these places, then there’s a problem.”

At the same time, Jackson emphasized that the all-encompassing, standardized manner of approaching travel will allow Tufts to better provide for the safety of its students and staff, even when they are not physically on campus.

“I know that this system will enable the university to better coordinate an emergency response, which is critical given that a large percentage of the Tufts community members travel internationally during their time at the university,” Jackson said. “Additionally, it empowers travelers through pretrip advisories as well as an overview of Tufts resources available during travel.”

Features

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tuftsdaily.com

Nico Johnson | Swiping In

Mind your manners

T

(Alonso Nichols / Tufts University)

Babak Moaveni, assistant professor of Civil Engineering, and Usman Khan, assistant professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, confer in the Lab.

SPARTN Lab bridges theories, practice with quadcopter drones

by Ian James

Contributing Writer

Three small quadrotor drones execute a series of synchronized flips in the middle of a Gantcher Center tennis court. This performance, captured in a minute-long Youtube video uploaded last summer, showcases the work of Tufts’ Signal Processing and RoboTic Networks (SPARTN) lab.

Since its establishment in 2012, the lab has successfully brought together theories and applications as it incorporates students from all levels.

Started by Assistant Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering Usman Khan, the lab contributes to Tufts’ signal processing and robotics research. It currently focuses on “multi-agent networked systems,” and uses the Parrot AR.Drone platform as a test-bed, according to its website.

“The research that I do is more theoretical, so my Ph.D. students work on very abstract problems,” Khan said.

“The concepts are mathematical and statistical, so it’s hard to explain the research to someone who is not experienced in those areas. With SPARTN I wanted to create a lab that ‘puts [an accessible] face’ on the abstract research. That is the most important thing here.”

Michael Tran, who is currently a graduate student at Tufts, joined the SPARTN Lab in its first year as a rising junior. He explained the goal of using the drones.

“Professor Khan’s area of expertise is wireless sensor networks and distributing systems, so his end goal was using these drones as a platform test for algorithms and other ideas,” Tran said. “The idea is to use these drones as a testbed for wireless sensor networks.”

The lab is also used to expose undergraduates to research, according to Khan.

“The lab gives me an opportunity to interact with and integrate undergraduates students in the research,” Khan said. “The way we work the abstract theory is developed by the Ph.D. students or master’s students who have seen this research for a while, and the undergraduate stu-

dents do these smaller projects which show some the ideas we have developed in our research.”

Tran believes that working with SPARTN Lab gave him experiences he did not find in the classroom.

“Compared to a lot of the stuff I did in the classroom, SPARTN Lab was more hands-on,” Tran said. “The project that I was working on was with these quadcopters that Professor Khan ordered. Our job was to actually program them. In class I had learned to program stuff, but applying it to an actual robot was something you don’t really get in the classroom.”

Undergraduates are given as much autonomy as they want while working in the lab, according to Khan.

“The autonomy for undergraduate students ranges from zero to 100 percent,” Khan said.“We have done some projects where it has been completely autonomous.”

Often, Khan will provide the equipment and allow undergrads to devise their own projects.

“I have said, ‘This is what I can provide — quadcopters, computers — and I can buy some equipment, like microcontrollers or wireless communication chips or GPS devices,'” Khan said. “Then they come up with their own project, so a lot of the projects we did initially, the undergraduate students came up with. I said, ‘This is the equipment that we have, this is the direction that we want to go, now what can you do in this domain?’”

The Ph.D. students are also responsible for setting the framework and goals for the projects in the SPARTN Lab, according to Ph.D. student Chenguang Xi. “The most important thing is to let the undergraduate students know how everything works, and then the details of implementing the theory, they will figure out for themselves,” Xi said. “We need to let them know what the aim of the project is, to set what the big picture is.

Xi stressed that it was important that undergraduates understand the abstract concepts that the projects involve.

“We focus more on what the theory is behind the application, because

it is very important to understand those things first,” Xi said. “Once they understand those things, they may only need to be told the final goal.

That could be only one equation, and they are programming to implement that equation. Then it’s not our job, it’s their work.”

One of the lab’s current projects involves the use of quadcopter drones to monitor the integrity of bridges.

“The idea is that bridges in the [United States] need to be inspected every year or so, and they usually want an engineer on site to make a visual inspection,” Tran said. “For some bridges they have sensors to measure the strain and tension as well. For a large bridge you have to close down the traffic and send out an engineer to actually do the inspection.”

Drones, Tran said, could take the human out of the equation.

“The idea is that instead you have a drone equipped with a camera to make the visual inspection,” she said.

“And if there are sensors on the bridge you could also have the drone go up to the sensors, collect the data and then return with the information.”

Most of the theory for this project has already been verified, according to Xi, but applying the theory presents its own set of challenges.

“The main framework of the theory was already established, but it turns out that in many practical situations there is more to be developed,” Xi said.

“For those parts of the process there is often not a lot of established work, so that is some of the theory that we work on: For example, we worked on making the drones work even when there is ‘noise,’ or interference.”

At Tufts, the SPARTN Lab is unique in the way that it connects undergraduate, graduate and Ph.D. students.

The interactions, according to Khan, are what drives the lab toward new innovations.

“We start with some initial ideas, and then the process becomes very interactive,” Kahn said. “It is very interactive because these are openended problems, and there are many ways to solve one of these problems.

It is an evolution based off of interaction with students.”

hroughout my years at Tufts, I’ve consumed approximately 1,750 meals in the dining hall. My average dining hall visit lasts about 25 minutes, which means I’ve spent roughly 730 hours, or about 30 full days, eating in Dewick or Carmichael.

Spending all that time has allowed me to gain some insight on how things work and how people behave in the dining halls. Our feeding grounds are remarkable institutions — a peek behind the scenes reveals a startling amount of procedures and operations previously unfathomable. (Do a search for Tufts Dining’s video on how it makes its Butternut Squash Bisque.) I have tremendous respect for the dining hall staff and the well-oiled machine it runs.

But there are certain things the dining halls can’t control, like the behavior of their patrons. This week, rather than preparing a recipe, I’ve provided some basic manners that, though by no means exhaustive, will still make all of us happier, better-fed Jumbos.

1. The art of getting food in a line: First of all, during peak dining hours, it should never take you more than eight seconds to get your food from a bin. I’ve never punched anybody in my life, but the closest I’ve come to doing so was when someone ahead of me in line took more than 30 seconds (not even kidding) with the shrimp and linguine because they burrowed through all the noodles looking for extra shrimp. The humanity.

Note: There are almost always four bins at a station. Let’s say you’re in line, and all you want from the station is General Gau’s chicken, which is the final of the four bins. There’s just one person in front of you, scooping Tomatillo Shrimp from the second bin. I maintain that it’s OK, if not beneficial for everyone in line, for you to go ahead of the person getting shrimp to quickly get your General Gau’s and get out of line.

2. Putting dishes away: I’ve noticed this problem more in Dewick than in Carm, but an unnecessary bottleneck occurs when people try to put their dishes on the cleaning carousel.

Basically, the first person in a large group walks up and puts their dishes on the nearest tray of the carousel. The first tray may seem like prime real estate for an in-and-out operation, but alas, it actually forces people to either wait until you’re done, or try to go around and run the risk of colliding with you just as you turn to leave the line. I’m no game theorist, but if you’re the first person, it makes more sense to walk to the end of the carousel. That way, you leave space for others to enter behind you and reduce the risk of collision.

A final note on dish duty: Don’t put your used napkins in your cup. They usually stick to the side, which makes it one more thing a dishwasher has to deal with.

3. Acknowledge the dining staff: This goes beyond please and thank you, which I consider minimums. The dining staff works really hard to make our experience a positive one, and acknowledging that is important. You don’t have to become friends with every dining hall employee, but it pays dividends to be considerate and engage in conversation.

One of the highlights of my life came when it was gingerbread-man season, and an employee I’d become friends with let me try one at 3:00 p.m. even though they weren’t technically supposed to be available until dinner.

Of the 1,750+ meals I’ve consumed at Tufts, that gingerbread man was one of the tastiest, most memorable things I’ve sunk my teeth into.

Nico Johnson is a senior majoring in political science. He can be reached at nicholas. johnson@tufts.edu.

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The Tufts Daily

Monday, March 30, 2015

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Arts & Living

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Arts News

Helen Schmidt | Around the Book Block

The Kesha Manifesto

Life after death

by Nika Korchok Executive Arts Editor

As the Tufts campus prepares to welcome one of pop’s biggest, most outlandish and crass stars to the Spring Fling stage, the Daily Arts Section set out to deliver a comprehensive history of her persona and her music, and to explain why she is a driving feminist force in the music industry.

With as much bravado as she exuded while singing about brushing her teeth with a bottle of Jack Daniel’s, Kesha Rose Sebert dropped the dollar sign from her former stage name and began steering her life and her music in a new direction. In 2009, the singer formerly known as Ke$ha shot to fame with her party banger TiK ToK, establishing herself as the wild child of pop with a ballsiness and devilmay-care attitude that shook up the entertainment industry and marked her as a force to be reckoned within the music scene. Adorned with glitter from head to toe, a style that seemed to be a mixture of Britney-gonebad and early David Bowie or Keith Richards, the songstress rocked fur vests with cowboy boots, sparkly dresses and ripped vintage band tees, always with a messy mane of wild, blonde, lion-hair bedhead. While she received criticism for her party girl persona, it also quickly became evident that Kesha was one of the smartest stars in the pop game. Infusing her songs with a bratty sharp wit and layering vocal harmonies over rapid fire rap verses, Kesha sang about sneaking into parties at the mansions of wealthy men and not batting an eye at their money in “Party at a Rich Dude’s House” (2010), celebrating her personal success and loving exactly who she was in “We R Who We R” (2010) and being unapologetically sexual in “Sleazy” (2010).

It is not unheard of for a musician to undergo a major aesthetic brand transformation, whether it’s their persona or their name. Lady Gaga swapped out her blunt blonde bangs on “The Fame”(2008) for long blonde rocker locks on “The Fame Monster” (2009) Most recently, she switched to long flowing dark brown hair for “Cheek to Cheek” (2014), her recent collaboration album with Tony Bennett, for which the pair picked up a Grammy for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album. Sean

I

bikephotomusic via Flickr Creative Commons

Kesha changed her name to drop the dollar sign of Ke$ha in a powerful move to reclaim her persona and rebrand her work with a stronger vein of self-love.

Combs, whom Kesha sang about emulating on her first single “Tik Tok,” jumped from Sean “Puffy” Combs to Diddy to P. Diddy, and he has now returned to the simple and elegant Puff Daddy. Katy Perry’s hair changes color so frequently it’s a shock that it isn’t holographic.

Madonna, Cher and Britney have switched up their looks with nearly every new single they released.

David Bowie’s famous turn as Ziggy Stardust — complete with face paint in a red lighting bolt shape across his eye — was a landmark artistic move in the pop world, as the character challenged conventional gender roles and pushed the envelope for artistry in music. It should come as

no surprise that Kesha credits Bowie and Richards among her musical inspirations, alongside Johnny Cash and Iggy Pop. Kesha collaborated with Iggy Pop on “Dirty Love” for her album “Warrior” (2012).

Kesha’s first hit vocal performance was, in fact, uncredited — delivering vocals on Flo Rida’s “Right Round” (2009). This brief moment of being shunned by the industry may have fueled so much of the brashness of her early work. In fact, in an article on AOLTV written by Harley Lond, Kesha explained the reasoning for the initial inclusion of the dollar sign. “’Well it kinda came from “Right Round” (rapper Flo Rida’s number one single on see KESHA, page 6

Movie Review

'Insurgent' underwhelms with formulaic young adult drivel

by Priyanka Dharampuriya Daily Staff Writer

Say what you will about dystopian young adult cinema — the genre lacks originality. The characters are cut-

Insurgent Directed by Robert Schwentke Starring Shailene Woodley, Miles Teller, Ansel Elgort, Theo James and-dry, the world-building is questionable and the messages are diluted in favor of fast-paced action and shots of a brooding Liam Hemsworth or Theo James type — but somehow, these stories have found tremendous success with mainstream audiences.

It could be the effective casting, as these films have given unprecedented attention to a lot of on-screen talent, including Jennifer Lawrence and Shailene Woodley. It could be the

EyesOnFire89 via Flickr Creative Commons

Shailene Woodley’s performance as Tris steals the otherwise-mundane show. loyal fan base. It could be the hope and power it lends to 16-year-olds in the bleakest of situations. Either way, the directors, writers and production crews behind these movies have created and perfected a formula that works. The “Divergent” franchise has succeeded by fulfilling these expectations, but the latest film in the series, “Insurgent” (March 11), often veers

far from the plot of the book it was based on. Ironically for a series that focuses so heavily on individuality, the weaknesses of “Insurgent” lie in its divergence, both from its source material and from the classic YA dystopian formula. The film would benefit from following those cut-and-dry formulas see INSURGENT, page 6

’ve had a strange fascination with death for as long as I can remember. It was never tied with an obsession with heavy metal music or a desire to dress in all black, not that those tendencies always go hand in hand. It has seemed to stem from a more scientific standpoint, and my interests expanded from the process of dying to what happens to organisms after they’re dead. As I understood more of the science behind dying, I was drawn to more and more books regarding human anatomy and those who work with our remains when our conscious selves have left them.

So today, in a special edition for my readers who are fans of the macabre, here are my favorite books regarding the lives of our bodies after death.

In an attempt to make this column as chronological as I can, I’ll begin with Alex Beam’s “Gracefully Insane: Life and Death Inside America’s Premier Mental Hospital”(2003). Although not dealing directly with death, this book chronicles the lives of patients in McLean Hospital, located in none other than Belmont, MA, only a few minutes away from campus. Before becoming the psychological treatment hospital it is today, McLean was a leading institution in examining neurological diseases in its patients. Knowing how and why a patient died was crucial in forwarding the efforts of the doctors at McLean for other patients with similar afflictions. Beam’s writing is exquisite, making the incredible, and sometimes unethical, advances at McLean accessible to readers unfamiliar with psychology’s complicated history.

After the craze of advances made at mental hospitals in the early 1900’s, medical doctors turned to a neater way of human investigation in the latter half of the 20th century. Mary Roach’s “Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers” (2004) reveals the historical and modern treatment of cadavers, the title given to humans once they’re deceased. She discusses the strides made in the medical fields over thousands of years, and the stories of how institutions gained so many cadavers on which to practice. She takes a unique outsider standpoint on the world of medical students, seeing their work on human bodies as both terrifying and fascinating. She understands that cadavers are no longer thought of as humans, but she can’t help but seeing the two sides to every body.

A practice common hundreds of years ago and regaining popularity today is cremation. In her book, “Smoke Gets in Your Eyes & Other Lessons from the Crematory,” (2014) Caitlin Doughty archives her time as a cremation assistant at a San Francisco crematorium. She discusses her role in the business of death, including scraping ashes out of the cremation machine and having late night conversations with the bodies she was to burn the next day. Doughty also examines her opinions toward cremation versus burial, and she explains her conflicted feelings between society telling us cremation is our future and her belief that she will not be cremated herself when she dies. Her recounting of her experiences of burning a body until it’s nothing but ash provides readers with an insight to a practice that few ever witness.

Depending on the era and culture, death can be a thought-provoking but tricky subject. People are raised in societies where certain practices and expectations exist surrounding the dead, but these books give a little more insight into the histories of practices outside of what many communities see as normal. As something we can’t experience directly and retell to others, exposure to death is one of the most unique occurrences we have in our animated lives.

Helen Schmidt is a sophomore majoring in biology. She can be reached at helen. schmidt@tufts.edu.

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Monday, March 30, 2015

Arts & Living

‘Insurgent’ lacks character development, dampens nuances of novel INSURGENT

continued from page 5

more and leaving behind its attempts at uniqueness.

“Insurgent” starts where “Divergent” (2014) left off. Future Chicago is in ruins, and what remains of humanity has split into five factions according to virtue: Abnegation (the selfless), Amity (the kind), Candor (the truthful), Erudite (the knowledgeable) and Dauntless (the brave). Because this is a teen dystopia, our protagonist, Tris (Shailene Woodley), is a Dauntless initiate, but secretly Divergent — someone who does not fit into any of the five factions. When she stops an attack on Abnegation, she inadvertently plunges the city into an inter-faction war. “Insurgent” opens with the Dauntless as reluctant refugees in the Amity compound and chronicles the the desperate and power-hungry Erudite leader Jeanine Matthews’ (Kate Winslet) hunt for the Divergent. The plot of “Insurgent” is quite different from the novel, with a different central conflict: There is a mysterious box with a secret message for the city, which only a true Divergent can open. The film follows the dystopian YA formula here, and thus the Divergent who needs to open the box happens to be Tris.

Visually, the film is incredibly successful. Viewers see the perpetually badass Tris, her calculating brother Caleb (Ansel Elgort) and her hunky (if unfortunately named) boyfriend Four ( Theo James) visit different factions and undergo outrageous simulations in order to open the box. Viewers see them squirm at suspiciously mellow (read: drugged-out) Amity headquarters, attempt to blend in with the blackand-white suits at those of Candor and battle evil geniuses at the Erudite compound. The changes in scenery flesh out the five factions, allowing the audience to see the merits and perils of each unique location.

The constant change, however, takes valuable time away from potential character development. For example, viewers lose important content that develops characterization, such as the majority of Four’s backstory and his relationship with his abusive father. We do meet Four’s mother, Evelyn (Naomi Watts), the leader of an underground rebellion. She lacks believability, however, both because of her strange back-

EyesOnFire89 via Flickr Creative Commons

Four (Theo James), Tris (Shailene Woodley) and Peter (Miles Teller) all add depth and complexity to their roles in a film that feels formulaic and self-parodying as a result of its outrageous plot. story and because Watts looks barely five years older than James himself.

The film also highlights much less of Tris’ relationship with her friends and family compared to “Divergent” or the “Insurgent” novel. Outside of the film’s main characters, Elgort and Miles Teller (who plays Tris’ fellow Divergentinitiate Peter) add depth and complexity to their roles. Elgort’s performance allows us to see Caleb’s internal conflict, as he sides with Jeanine and assists in Tris’ capture. Peter’s character is as arrogant and awful as expected, but Teller adds humor and levity to the character so that it’s impossible not to laugh as viewers simultaneously hate him for his actions.

To its credit, this film doesn’t reduce its characters to caricatures, even when it is incredibly tempting to do so — no one is entirely good, no one is entirely bad and

everyone is unbearable in their own way.

Problematically, though, the film adaptation retains the overall theme of distrust of knowledge and those who pursue it, and the Erudite are consistently depicted in a negative light. The heavy-handed delivery of the message that the hunger for knowledge and the hunger for power are equivalent is a worrisome one to send to a predominantly impressionable teenage audience.

On the bright side, Woodley’s performance is solid throughout the film, and she makes unbelievable situations such as trippy simulations, the hunt for the ridiculous magic box and the slow motion action scene watchable and even bearable.

The film seems to be in constant tension between the cast’s nuanced performances and its own apparent

self-parody. At the Amity compound, citizens happily hand out meals with the greeting, “Go with happiness.” In Candor, the population delivers a chant of “Thank you for your Candor” as a post-interrogation ritual. In simulations, Tris repeatedly rescues her deceased mother from a floating, burning house and swings across cables in a way that made more than one audience member exclaim “Tarzan!” The movie is full of you-can’t-be-serious moments — intentional or otherwise.

Overall, “Insurgent” is adequate, even enjoyable, when it follows the formula, and slightly painful to watch when it doesn’t. Though this is hardly a film franchise that will promote productive introspection about humanity, it fulfills its primary purpose — to entertain.

Kesha is a modern rock star, icon of female empowerment

Jeff Denberg via Wikimedia Commons

Kesha, known for her crassness and bratty pop, delivers complexity beneath the layers of infectious hooks and electro beats.

KESHA

continued from page 5

which Ke$ha made an uncredited appearance) and I didn’t make any money off of it, [so] I’m kinda being ironic about it,’ Ke$ha said. ‘I could hear [the song] everywhere’ but was so broke ‘I couldn’t buy a taco.’”

Much of Kesha’s work adopts a sexuality that transcends traditional gender roles. Blending machismo with an unashamed, unbridled and raw sexual energy that celebrates her female identity. The combination is rarely so viscerally channeled into

banger pop. Granted, sex in pop is as common as twang in country, yet it is Kesha’s handling of sexuality that sets her apart. Take “Boots and Boys” or “Blah Blah Blah” from 2010’s “Animal.” On “Boots and Boys,” Kesha sings, “They bring me so much joy (bring me joy)

/ (I gotta say it) / I wear ‘em both so pretty as I walk in the city.” On “Blah Blah Blah” she snarkily states, “I don’t care where you live at / just turn around boy, let me hit that.”

And then, of course, there is the hidden gem “Dinosaur,” where the artist sounds off at older men trying to pick her up, rolling out the biting lyrics, “Not long ’til you’re a senior citizen / And you can strut around with that sexy tank of oxygen / Honey your toupee is fallin’ to your left side / Get up and go bro! / Oh wait you’re fossilized, ha!”

Kesha’s work inverts gender stereotypes by allowing the personas in her songs to adopt complete autonomy of their bodies and sexual choices, going against the grain to objectify the male body at times and counterintuitively drawing attention to the way women are so frequently and brutally treated by the entertainment industry in the process. Her work asserts that the women in her songs are as free to refuse objectification as they are to “Take the drinks from the tables when you get up and leave ‘em / and I don’t care if you stare and call us scummy/ because we aren’t after your affection and sure as hell not your money, honey” — as delivered in “Sleazy.”

Perhaps more important than her lyrics, though, is

the reasoning behind Kesha’s name change, or the death of the dollar sign. After checking herself into rehab in January 2014, the singer spent six months recovering from an eating disorder and embarking on a serious journey of self-love and self-acceptance that culminated with the name change as well as some significant career changes.

In an op-ed that she penned for Elle UK, Kesha described her reasons for checking into rehab.

“I’ve always tried to be a crusader for loving yourself, but I’d been finding it harder and harder to do personally … So I made the decision to practise what I preach. I put my career on hold and sought treatment. I had to learn to treat my body with respect.”

Now, after rehab, the star has dropped the dollar sign from her name and changed her twitter handle from the former @Keshasuxx to the simple @ KeshaRose. Separating herself from her music producer Dr. Luke, whom she alleged sexually assaulted her and was emotionally and psychologically abusive, Kesha is removing toxicity from her life and moving forward to embrace positivity. She isn’t a traditional role model, but her refusal to be destroyed by an industry that so often thwarts the voices of strong women makes her an icon.

Monday, March 30, 2015

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EDITORIAL | op-ed

Editorial

Kesha choice sets a precedent, resists double standard in today's music

A testimony to the efficiency and ubiquity of the information network on a campus as small and interconnected as Tufts, not a student could be found who hadn’t caught wind of Kesha’s anticipated performance at Spring Fling 2015 a mere hour after the news was released.

As is expected of any major announcement, the revelation of the concert’s headliner was immediately met with mixed reviews. But while students commented on how Kesha’s popularity had peaked quite a few years prior and called attention to the stark juxtaposition between her music and that of the previously featured Childish Gambino and Nelly, the overarching consensus on campus seemed to be one of excitement and contentment with the artist chosen by the Tufts University Concert Board.

A portion of this excitement stemmed from the fact that Spring Fling would feature “her” music — and rightfully so, considering striking imbalance in gender representation in the history of Tufts’ Spring Fling. Since the second semester concert became a tradition on campus in 1980, only one female performer has been booked as a headliner — that was Evelyn “Champagne” King in 1983 — and closer inspection into the history of the event reveals that a solo female artist hasn’t been hired, even as an opening act, in two decades.

But, apparently, for critics the importance of this year’s precedent-setting

announcement, a counterweight for decades of entirely male Spring Fling headliners was not enough to satisfy. Instead, these critics seemed to feel that the chosen female performer must also, to their definition, portray women in a good light.

Specifically, they argued that while it might be commendable to support women in the performance industry, it was unfortunate that the woman Tufts invited to campus to support is “trashy,” a woman who sings about sex and drugs. Furthermore, neighsayers argued that Kesha’s persona supports the idea that women need to be oversexualized and party hard to be successful in the media’s eye.

But perhaps the responsibility to see women as more than sex symbols or “train-wreck” party animals with just enough talent to carry them along falls not on the performer, but rather on the audience. Before we write off Kesha as another attention-seeking female pop star who degrades her fellow women by merely choosing to create her image as one of a glitter-bearing and carefree rebel, it is important to understand the double standards that exist at the core of these negative sentiments. When Childish Gambino (not so jokingly) requested that the audience of Spring Fling 2014 provide him with marijuana while he performed on stage or rapped his own misogynistic lyrics, nobody batted an eyelash. Acts such as these are part of his “hip-hop persona” and therefore forgivable — or,

at the very least, they are degrading to the genre or culture, but not to the universal idea of male performers. Kesha, on the other hand, who has, on more than one instance, used her pop-cultural success to comment ironically on the misogynistic tendencies of the music industry and the party scene, is critiqued for being unapologetically sexual and promoting reckless behavior — the very two habits that the media convinces women to have as necessities to garnering any attention in the public eye.

And beyond that, many of Kesha’s actions make her far more than just a run-of-the mill performer with a shortlived time in the limelight, but as an unconventional role model of sorts.

The singer, formerly known as “Ke$ha,” recently eliminated her trademark dollar sign from her name in an effort to eliminate toxicity in her life not long after checking herself into rehab for an eating disorder. Though she sang of self-expression and self-love, Kesha was plagued by hyper-criticism of her own body and image, fueled by a society that put her — and most other public figures– under an often extremely personal magnifying glass. The move to get help for herself and to continue her career without compromising her health or the image she hopes to portray is one of a strong woman, and one of a performer that should be respected and welcomed to this year’s Spring Fling.

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America’s looming water crisis

by Tom Bonan The Bucknellian

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Last week, NASA scientist Jay Famiglietti wrote an op-ed to the Los Angeles Times with the alarming prediction that, given current usage rates, California has a little over a year’s worth of fresh water left.

For people living in the east, it’s hard to imagine the climate and temperament of the west. Even to those that call cities like Phoenix, Los Angeles and Denver home — myself included — it is incredibly easy to forget that this area comprises one of the largest deserts in the world. The more than 30 million people that rely on the Colorado river, in both the upper and lower basin states, are the inhabitants of the most prolific desert civilization the world has ever seen.

With very little snowpack in the Sierra Nevadas, California has entered into its fourth year of a very severe drought. This comes on top of roughly 20 years of belowaverage water yields and precipitation.

The Tufts Daily is a nonprofit, independent newspaper, published Monday through Friday during the academic year, and distributed free to the Tufts community. EDITORIAL POLICY 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. The content of letters, advertisements, signed columns, cartoons and graphics does not necessarily reflect the opinion of The Tufts Daily editorial board.

Essentially, as water becomes more scarce, the only options will either bring more of it in (which would be unbearably expensive to consumers) or to ration whatever is left (which should have begun years ago).

Most of these areas see fewer than 15 inches of rain a year, which many places on the East Coast can see in a week or less during the spring. In order to make these places habitable, water has been diverted — often from hundreds of miles away — using an intricate series of reservoirs, aqueducts and pumps to move water to a location it was never meant to be. Roughly 80 percent of this water is used for agricultural irrigation, and the rest is sent off for personal consumption.

The largest concern comes from the state’s agricultural sector. California exported $21 billion worth of agricultural products last year and accounts for half of all nuts and produce grown in the country. In 2013, lack of access to water caused farmers to abandon 400,000 acres of land, a figure that is sure to grow higher

as water becomes more expensive. When it really is time to cut back on usage, the state will be forced to either take on the burden of further subsidizing water or jeopardize a lucrative and culturally significant economic sector.

We are entering an unprecedented age where we have a seemingly godlike control over the environment, yet are powerless to provide even the basic necessities of modern life. As the effects of climate change, growing population and increasingly scarce resources begin to take place, the time to begin acting is now.

We are no longer in an age where we can play things by ear and develop the world as we go along. The greatest challenge facing this country — as well as other nations across the globe — will be learning how to cope with a world that is radically different from the one we became comfortable with in the 20th century. We have created a world that we wish existed, but now must cope with a world that is settling into a new equilibrium.

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Monday, March 30, 2015 letter

The Tufts Daily

An open letter to survivors

by Allyson Blackburn

Trigger warning: This article discusses sexual assault and rape.

Dear Survivors, On March 1, a concerned brother wrote about his love for his sisters. On March 24, a concerned mother wrote a letter to her daughter about safety on college campuses. Both of these articles had authors who hoped to protect the young women in their lives. Both of the articles, however, were immensely difficult for me to read, as they suggested that women should carry the burden of preventing their own assaults. This is called victim blaming.

These op-eds in the Tufts Daily reminded me of my own parents’ misplaced advice concerning my safety when I arrived at Tufts. They told me, “Don’t be stupid,” and, “Don’t put yourself in the position to be raped,” and, “Only you can be accountable for your choices.” I talked about this conversation in “Not Your Mother’s Monologues” this year. These words burned into me, and reaffirmed everything I had thought about myself and my experiences with sexual violence. It made me feel like I couldn’t talk to them about the rape that had happened to me before they ever tried to teach me how to prevent it. It felt as though no matter what I said, they would hold me accountable. It made me feel like I really had done something wrong, that I had deserved what happened to me. They didn’t tell my twin brother not to rape when he went off to school; they told me not to get raped. It’s easier for us to believe that our sons and brothers couldn’t commit violence and that our daughters and sisters are “smart” enough to not fall victim to it. My parents didn’t mean malice; they weren’t trying to

silence me. They really were concerned about my safety and do want what is best for me. I love my parents, but that doesn’t mean that what they did and what they said wasn’t wrong or disrespectful.

I have spent years of my life wondering what I could have done to prevent my assault. Was I too provocative? Too inappropriate? Did I make myself vulnerable to this?

None of these things are true, I know that now.

But we keep reading these op-eds, these letters, these heartfelt pleads to our “daughters” and “sisters” begging us to stop living our lives, and they remind me of all the times I have blamed myself instead of those who hurt me. These letters and op-eds ignore a breadth of experiences with sexual violence that may not involve men in fraternities or on a sports team. This is a narrative that has been privileged in conversations about assault on college campuses, that reflects the experiences of too many, but not all survivors. These articles invalidate the trauma of men, queer women, people of color and trans* people. Our rapists aren’t always men lurking in dark corners, they are more often people whom we love and once felt safe with.

The reality is that I could not have prevented what happened to me without actively choosing to live less of my life. I wasn’t vulnerable, I wasn’t an easy target: I was human. My very existence was and is an invitation for violence, but it should not be.

My rapists are responsible for what happened to me, as is the case for all survivors. I don’t want anyone to write me a letter to tell me that I need better friends, that I need to take self-defense classes or that I need to carry a gun.

Teach your children and siblings about

the importance of ensuring enthusiastic and affirmative consent. Teach your sons and brothers to respect the bodies and autonomy of women and trans* people, but also teach them that they too can be hurt by sexual violence. Care about sexual violence and violence against women not because you have daughters, sisters or wives, but because we are human and deserving of respect.

Survivors, you are warriors, you are gods, goddesses and deities. You are powerful, beautiful and wonderful. I am amazed by your courage to step outside everyday, to live on this earth, despite how often your existence and your trauma is rehashed, invalidated and entirely denied. There is a community of us on this campus, and there are resources. We are strong, we have voices, and we have love for each other.

You are not responsible, you should not be held accountable. Another person or other people hurt you. They made that decision and acted on it. They inflicted violence upon you. Nothing made you vulnerable to this attack, nothing made you an easy target. The only thing, person or people that could have prevented what happened are the people who chose to do it.

I write these words not only as a reminder to you, but also to myself.

Violence was done upon us and it wasn’t our fault. We are hurt, but we are strong and we deserve better than this.

Love Always, Allyson Allyson Blackburn is a second year student enrolled in the dual-degree program at the SMFA, and majoring in psychology at Tufts. Allyson can be reached at allyson. blackburn@tufts.edu.

Op-Ed

Reclaiming our monologues

by Alex Dorfman Op-Ed Contributer

This past Thursday, I went to see “Not Your Mother’s Monologues.” The performance was made up of 19 unique pieces, and I was thoroughly impressed by how powerful each woman’s performance was. I, for one, can barely speak at a normal rate in front of my Spanish class when I’m just giving a presentation on the Spanish Equestrian School, so anyone who can get up in front of a room full of people and perform a monologue is basically my hero, especially if they do it with the grace and composure that these ladies did. Now, what exactly was “Not Your Mother’s Monologues” about? Well, it certainly was not my mother’s monologues. (Geez, stop rolling your eyes. Just chuckle. It’s funny.) But in all seriousness, these monologues were definitely different from something my mother would have gone to while she was at college.

Now, I can only base my thoughts off my own experiences with my mother, but from my conversations with her, I think that we mainly differ in our understandings of what it means to be a woman.

One time, she yelled at me for having sex with a guy I wasn’t strictly in a relationship with because I wasn’t respecting myself as a woman, and I just shrugged and told her that having sex with said guy didn’t make me feel any more or less of

a woman. I just did it because I wanted to. Now, although this is not an incredible, poignant anecdote, what I mean to show with it is that in this generation, how “woman” is defined is both an individual and ongoing process. And I think that is something that’s particular to our generation. Now, rather than looking for a definition of woman that applies to everyone, we are constantly learning and recognizing that there really is no single definition because everyone’s experiences differ depending on race, religion, sexuality, heritage or favorite color. “Not Your Mother’s Monologues” did an excellent job at capturing this. Perhaps the directors of the show put it best when they said that this performance was about women but not the universal woman.

In fact, in their speeches before the monologues actually began, the directors of the show went on to point on that, although technically “Not Your Mother’s Monologues” was “finished” in the fact that it was being performed that night, this was probably a play that could never actually be finished because creating a concrete definition of what it means to be a woman is impossible. This was incredibly well put because it leaves the meaning of woman open-ended, to be discussed, changed and morphed by women themselves as time goes on. This open-minded and thoughtful approach is admirable, and the performance itself

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Op-Ed | letters

exemplifies it perfectly. The submissions committee did an excellent job picking 19 pieces from the original 120 to exemplify the open-ended yet comprehensive approach to this project. Though only 19 monologues were performed, they covered a broad range of topics, from failed relationships to almost relationships to cloaks to moving from Bangkok to America. And, though, yes, there was some overlap between monologues, each had its own story to share so that in the two-and-a-half hours of the show, none of the pieces felt repetitive. Rather, they each offered their own individual insight into that woman’s experience of being a woman, thus each adding a new take on what being a woman means.

Now, although this performance overall was called “Not Your Mother’s Monologues,” it still, in some ways, referred back to the monologues of our mothers. There were numerous pieces referencing the speaker’s relationship with her mother, and how her mother’s story impacted her own. I particularly liked these because they illustrated how, though these are not our mother’s monologues, our mother’s monologues are still relevant to our own. In other words, this performance both claimed new monologues and recognized that long line of women preceding us, and how we struggle and grapple with their definitions of women and our own.

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Henry Jani | Reply All

Dear audience members

I

’ve been watching you from high above.

That’s right, up in the clouds, through the heavens — of Cohen Auditorium.

This week, I spent my time running back and forth between the stage as an assistant sound designer for Tufts’ spring musical, Into the Woods. The soundboard was located just above the audience in the upstairs balcony seating area. From my lofty post, I watched you all carefully and have come to the conclusion that y’all are some goofy goons.

Firstly, I must address the polemic of toting children along to theatrical performances. As I personally have elected to selectively ignore the notion of my existence prior to the age of 18, it might be obvious what my opinion on this matter is. But I’ll be fair and assess this objectively with some observations. My friend recounted that she sat behind a mother and her small son, probably about four or five years old, on Saturday night show. Whenever the phenomenal Witch appeared on stage or the big bangs welcoming the arrival of the Giant were cued, he made sure to grab his mother and confirm that her well being had not been crushed by fear. This adorable anecdote sways the pendulum in favor of allowing children to attend these longer, more mature types of performances. He was clearly engaged and responsive to the show’s plot line.

Alas, for every one of these kiddos comes five bip-bopping boogers who will bawl at every chance they find. Everyone knows the feeling of being confined with crying children in spaces such as airplanes or the theater and the associated nuisance. But when regarding theater technology, an upset child can be detrimental. One of my sound cues during the show was synchronizing the Baker’s newborn with a recording of a crying infant. You can maybe guess where the problem arose, as I had no idea who was actually crying when. Was it the sound?

Was it a human? I solved the problem by just starting to cry myself.

Another type of audience member is the over-enthusiastic viewer. Now, one must understand the nuance of appropriately appreciating a show as opposed to completely losing it at any line that may come across as humorous. As our show was a comedy, there are certainly many points at which roaring laughter are expected, such as the Witch realizing the loss of her powers and corny puns recounted by the Narrator. But honestly, every line of dialogue was not some masterpiece crafted by Louis C.K. like some audience members thought.

This overzealous type catalyzes a certain type of sociological experiment, in my opinion, where everyone else in the audience is rendered self-conscious that they didn’t find the same material funny.

One obnoxious giggler and before you know it the entire audience is laughing at some arbitrary scene about Bulgarian shaman prancing around parsnip patches. That line does not exist in Into the Woods, but it certainly did in my dream last night. Help me.

Lastly are the audience members who cannot commit to watching the entire show and leave early. I strongly believe that unless there is an emergency or absolutely necessary cause to depart, one should be able to view the entire show. It’s equivalent to watching the first half of an excellent movie and then ruining the opportunity to ever watch it again. I think this problem has arisen from the modern condition’s exacerbation of commitment issues. And yes, I have had troubles trusting anyone originating from my childhood ever since Steve left Blue’s Clues (1996-2006). But I’ve persevered, and I make an effort to sit through every performance I attend.

So glue your bum down and watch the show, biddies.

(Crying baby sound), Henry

Henry Jani is a first-year who has not yet declared a major. He can be reached at henry.jani@tufts.edu.

10

The Tufts Daily

Monday, March 30, 2015

Comics

Critters R Us

Jumble

by Kit Collins

THAT SCRAMBLED WORD GAME

by David L. Hoyt and Jeff Knurek

OGRIR ©2015 Tribune Content Agency, LLC All Rights Reserved.

KIPMS DRIBYH

Check out the new, free JUST JUMBLE app

Unscramble these four Jumbles, one letter to each square, to form four ordinary words.

CUBENO

Now arrange the circled letters to form the surprise answer, as suggested by the above cartoon.

Print your answer here: Saturday’s

(Answers tomorrow) Jumbles: WHIRL DUNCE LONGER WARMTH Answer: Climbing the mountain was going fine until the weather — WENT DOWNHILL

WWW.LISASFAMILYPIZZERIA.COM

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Follow us:

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Summer Online Courses: Take Tufts home with you this summer, or to work, or around the world.

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Monday, March 30, 2015

The Tufts Daily

11

Sports

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Tufts faces snowy conditions in first home outdoor meet WOMEN’S TRACK AND FIELD continued from back

dashes. Harvey went 12.84 seconds to win the 100 meters, as she was only one of two women under 13 seconds on the day. She later returned to action in the 200 meters, again crossing the finish line first in her heat and in the event overall, running 26.76 seconds.

Sophomore Rita Donohoe, who is also an Assistant Copy Editor for the Daily, also had a strong race in the 400 meters, given the conditions, running 1:02.79 to take fifth overall in the event, earning Tufts four more points. First-year Annalisa DeBari nabbed a second place finish overall and a victory in her heat of the 100-meter hurdles, running 15.88 seconds to claim eight points for Tufts.

Tufts also had a very strong day in the jumps. Junior Alexis Harrison, normally a sprinter and long jumper, took fourth in the high jump, getting over the bar at 5’0.25”. She also won the long jump, bounding out to 16’10.5”″ for the victory.

Sophomore Keren Hendel vaulted to victory in the pole vault, passing over the height at 10’11.75.” In the triple jump, the Jumbos swept the first three spots, as first-year Toluwa Akinyemi (first, 34’6.25”), first-year Sophie Lattes

(second, 33’10.75”) and junior Mary Ellen Caruso (third, 33’10.25”) grabbed a total of 24 points for Tufts.

The Jumbos continued their impressive streak in the throws. First-year Amylee Anyoha was victorious in the discus, throwing 114’0” to grab the win. First-year Jennifer Sherwill took sixth in the event, throwing 96’9”, while sophomore Bailey Conner took seventh with a throw of 93’9”. Conner also took fifth in the shot put, throwing the standard 36’9” and Sherwill took seventh with a 34’11” throw.

“The throwing conditions were pretty good given that it was snowing the entire meet,” Sherwill said. “The temperature affected us more than the condition of the throwing circles. The throwing circles were definitely wet, but I don’t think it affected our throws too badly.”

Sherwill believes there is plenty of room for improvement in the throws squad.

“I think there is a lot of room for improvement in the coming weeks,” Sherwill said. “We have a lot more practices to prepare for the meets to come and I think everyone’s marks will improve from the ones on Saturday.”

Burgos also noted how the dynamic of team cheer and energy changed

throughout the meet.

“Although the weather was horrible, I think we did a pretty good job with bringing energy to the meet overall,” Burgos said. “But, it proved difficult as the day went on because most people had to stay warm for their competitions, and it was difficult to cheer for our jumpers and vaulters who were competing in Gantcher [about a half mile from the outdoor track].”

She gave a generally positive overall evaluation of Tufts’ performance at the competition.

“I think for many of us it was a good first outdoor meet,” Burgos said. “A number of people set PRs, and I know many were quite happy with their performances.”

The Jumbos will next compete at the Sam Howell Invite in Princeton, N.J. on Friday and at the Amherst Invitational, hosted by Amherst College on Saturday.

There, they will face many strong teams, including Amherst, to build some momentum as they head into the lateseason meets and NESCACs next month.

“Performing well at NESCACs is ultimately, I believe, the goal for everyone; remaining consistent and confident in our performances will be important,” Sherwill said.

New coach takes over crew program MEN’S CREW

continued from back

races will occur at the Shoemaker Boathouse. Later in the season, the Jumbos will participate in the New England Championships and the ECAC National Invitational Championship.

In addition to being extremely prepared both physically and mentally to race well against top competition, the team will have to adapt to a new coach. Noel Wanner, who had been the coach of the Middlebury men’s and women’s club rowing programs since 2008, officially joined the Tufts coaching staff in January. Wanner has a polished resume as a rower and a coach, having rowed at Wesleyan and subsequently coached at Wesleyan and Middlebury.

“Since the spring season happens pretty fast, all of our races are crucial, and all are a chance to prove our preparation, talent and toughness,” Williams said. “The two at the end of the season, The New England Rowing Championships and ECACs, definitely stick out, as they are larger scale regattas with a lot of competi-

Alex Cherry / The Tufts Daily

Tufts rowers bring their boat into the dock after a long practice on the Malden River in the fall of last year. tors in the field. These races are kind of the climax of the season, and so we get a lot of motivation through knowing that they are not too far down the road. Also, our race against Middlebury this year will be a focus of ours, not only because they peren-

nially give us a solid competition out there but also because [of Wanner].”

The Jumbos hope to build on great efforts in the fall and winter and perform well on every stage as the weather warms up and the team gets back on the water.

Nearly every team playing high stakes game this week INSIDE THE BPL continued from back

Queens Park Rangers team is searching for stability in order to mount a surge back out of the bottom three to stay in the top division. On Saturday, it will take on another team close to the bottom in West Bromwich Albion away from home.

Meanwhile, toiling at the bottom of the league table is a Leicester City team that looks truly lost amongst England’s best competition. Its points­total is poor enough at the moment that a win on Saturday might still not be enough to lift it off the floor of the table. It will have the benefit of playing at home, however, and face a West Ham United side that has lost a great deal of its composure since impressing in the first half of the season. With a win, manager Nigel Pearson’s team might just be able to mount an unlikely comeback to stay in the top league.

Historically, Premier League seasons almost always feature a tight battle for

the title. In that respect, this season is shaping up to be somewhat abnormal as Chelsea sits six points clear at the top of the table. Also, having played one less game than the other title contenders, Chelsea could potentially open up a nine point lead at the top.

That means that most of the late­ season drama will most likely be coming out of the battle for Champions League qualification spots. At the moment, in those three qualifying spots behind Chelsea sit Manchester City, Arsenal and Manchester United.

To show just how close the three are in points, if Manchester United, currently in fourth, were to win this weekend, it could potentially leapfrog Arsenal and Manchester City into second place.

Sitting five points away from the top four in fifth is Liverpool, and one point behind Liverpool stand Southampton and Tottenham. All six of these teams will feel they have a chance of finishing in the top four spots, and a win for one

team or a loss for another could mean a major shift in that section of the table.

Clearly, the Arsenal­-Liverpool matchup will carry great importance this weekend.

A loss for Arsenal could shrink the gap between the two teams from six points to three. If Arsenal wins, however, the gap between the current top four and the fifth place team could be as big as seven points by the end of the weekend. While Arsenal hosts Liverpool in London on Saturday, Manchester United will be hosting Aston Villa the same day as it looks to further cement its place in the top four.

Rounding out top four action, Manchester City will be taking on Crystal Palace in South London next Monday.

Widely regarded as the world’s most competitive league, the Premier league could yet see a great deal of mobility in the table. Fans of the Premier League will hope that the high stakes at the top and bottom of the table will result in not just world class soccer but world class drama as well.

Wil Glavin | The Fantasy Expert

My first 2015 draft

M

y 10-team AL/NL head-to-head league had its draft last week, and I was picking fifth. The 6×6 league has BBs and QSs as the final two categories, and you play nine pitchers (it could be nine SPs and zero RPs, four SPs and five RPs, etc.). The first four picks went as expected with Mike Trout going first, followed by Giancarlo Stanton, Andrew McCutchen and Clayton Kershaw.

The only two players I considered at that point were Paul Goldschmidt and Carlos Gomez. In my own personal projections, I have the former’s 2015 line looking like this: .300/33/101/107/13 compared to the latter’s: .285/95/25/75/38.

It is much harder to find elite average hitters later in the draft than top stolen base contributors, so that made Goldy the eventual choice. He also projects to be a league leader in runs and RBIs, while Gomez is not a top-tier RBI guy.

Over the next four rounds, I saw several of my targets getting drafted a few picks before me (Adrian Beltre, Corey Dickerson and Starling Marte), so I settled for firsttier SPs (Chris Sale, David Price and Jordan Zimmermann).

Interesting sidenote: One member of the league drafted Craig Kimbrel and Aroldis Chapman in rounds six and seven.

This is a strategy that I tend to avoid, because you are wasting an early pick on a player that will have excellent ratios and 100 Ks for a reliever, but 185 K SPs with great ratios are still on the board, as were elite middle infielders and third basemen.

I drafted my four closers from rounds 19 to 26 (Joaquin Benoit, Brett Cecil, Santiago Casilla and Luke Gregerson), and they should easily surpass 110 saves, while Kimbrel and Chapman will not.

While it was not my strategy entering the draft, I wound up collecting numerous top prospects with limitless potential. I drafted Kris Bryant, Jorge Soler, Gregory Polanco and Joc Pederson during rounds 10 through 18.

Bryant is actually a great sell-high candidate given his legendary performance during Spring Training, and I already received an offer of Alex Gordon and Matt Kemp for the Cubs wunderkind.

Next, my team appeared to be light on stolen bases, so I snagged Leonys Martin and Ben Revere in hopes that they can combine for 90 steals. I also looked to add Jean Segura or Alcides Escobar later in the draft, but they were taken right before me. With Martin, Revere and the 20-30 SB potential of Polanco and Pederson, however, I still project to be in the top three or four in the league in steals.

Catchers were not a priority for me because I felt that outside of the top five or six, many project to have similar numbers.

I grabbed the underrated Miguel Montero (fifth in BBs among Cs in 2014) and the up-and-coming Derek Norris (seventh).

Toward the end of the draft, I took Marcus Semien and Arismendy Alcantara.

Both players have 20 HR potential, reasonable speed and dual-position eligibility.

Finally, I ended my draft with three SPs who are not elite K guys, but won’t hurt you in ERA and WHIP like many late round pitchers will. Kyle Lohse and Kyle Hendricks were safe, effective picks, but my favorite of my final picks was Kendall Graveman.

He had elite ERA and solid WHIP totals throughout his minor league career and is a groundballer pitching in a great pitcher’s park. His only knock is his high LOB percentages throughout his minor league career.

The rest of my team: Adrian Gonzalez, Christian Yelich, Matt Holliday, Todd Frazier, Alex Wood, Mat Latos, Neil Walker, J.J. Hardy, Mike Fiers.

Wil Glavin is a junior majoring in English. He can be reached at william.glavin@tufts.edu.

Sports

12

tuftsdaily.com

Crew

Jumbos ready to get back on the water

by Steven Hefter Sports Editor

The men’s crew team begins its season on Saturday, April 4, with a race against Hamilton at the Shoemaker Boathouse.

The No. 9 Jumbos, according to the Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association, enter the season with high expectations and hope to challenge the top teams they will face. The Continentals enter the season ranked No. 15, which is a testament to the strength of the NESCAC. Trinity holds the No. 1 spot in the pre-season rankings, while Bates sits at second, Williams at fourth and Wesleyan at sixth.

The Jumbos were last in action back on Oct. 25, when they participated in the Head of the Fish Regatta hosted

by Skidmore College. Tufts finished in second place out of 15 teams in its best finish of the fall season. Among the highlights of the race, the team’s lightweight four won the event for the second year in a row. Tufts finished in first place out of seven teams with an 11:44.87 time. To earn second place, the University of Rochester finished with a time of 11:59.03, almost a 15-second difference. The lightweight quad was not the Jumbos’ only success on the water. In the collegiate singles, first-year Andrew MacMillen finished in second place with a time of 13:21.59 in the 10-man race. In addition, the Tufts men’s lightweight double came in third place with a 13:58.44 time.

The Jumbos also raced in the prestigious two-day Head of the Charles Regatta during the fall season. Three boats represented the Jumbos in the event, and on the opening day, Tufts raced in the club eights event. The boat came in 40th place out of 47 total boats with a 17:15.43 time. Tufts rowers were junior stroke Andrew Warren, sophomore seven-seat Tyler McCullough, junior six-seat Jon Williams, junior five-seat Martin Van Mierlo, sophomore four-seat Zach Merchant, senior three-seat Dixon Minnick, sophomore first-seat Griffin Richards, first-year bow Colton Karch and sophomore coxswain Connor Fallon.

Two Tufts boats raced on Sunday: the men’s collegiate eight and the

men’s lightweight four. The collegiate eights came in 36th place out of 44 teams with a 16:56.55 time. The lightweight four boat came in 16th place out of 22 teams with a time of 18:10.12.

After the strong outing at the Head of the Fish Regatta, the team got to work in the offseason, and it hopes that the workouts and hard work that were put in both in Boston and in Florida over break will pay off in the beginning of the season. Because it was so cold, the team had to find ways to push each other and stay fit.

“Over the winter we were limited in what were able to do, of course, because the river was frozen,” senior Chris Rickard told the Daily in an email.

“That means we had to get creative with our training, both so that it could be effective, and so that it wouldn’t be quite so monotonous. Although we spent a lot of time using the rowing machines, or ‘ergs,’ we tried to break it up with other types of aerobic exercises like biking or running as well. This year we have also been doing team body circuits (a combination of body weight/ light weight exercises including lots of jumping and pushups) that have been really great because they build both strength and aerobic capacity, which I think will be incredibly helpful for us later this spring.”

“We definitely entered winter training on a positive note after Head of the Fish last fall, with every boat carrying out a solid row,” Williams told the Daily in an email. “Because of that we went into training with good momentum, and as a result, we all pushed ourselves and each other to be fitter than ever for the spring. We’ve really hit training hard, and it was exciting to finally see it translate into boat speed in Florida over break. Now it’s time to take that into competition, and I think I speak for us all that we’ve anticipated some strong rowing for the start of the spring season.”

The upcoming schedule for Tufts includes races against Hamilton, Wesleyan, Bates, the University of New Hampshire and Amherst. All see MEN’S CREW, page 11

Track and Field

Matthew Schreiber / Tufts Daily

Snowy weather forced the jumps events to move inside the Gantcher Center.

Despite snowy conditions, Tufts wins Snowflake Classic

by Chris Warren

For the first time in over a month, the women’s track and field team had its full squad in competition at its own Snowflake Invitational, held at the Ellis Oval. The Snowflake Classic, which ushers in the outdoor season, was run in miserable conditions. Temperatures hovered in the low 30s with a wind chill making it feel like 25 degrees on the track.

And on top of the cold, it also snowed for the entire duration of the meet. Tufts’ first full-squad spring meet looked more like a winter meet than anything else.

Tufts took the victory in the meet with 149 points, beating out second-place Northeastern (96 points) and thirdplace Bridgewater State (89 points).

The women started the day off scoring points in the 10,000 meter.

Sophomore Meredith Reynolds led the way for Tufts, running a solid time of 41:06.52 for the 25 laps of the 400meter track to take fifth for the Jumbos.

Junior Annie Levine placed seventh in the event, running a 41:38.44 to score three points for Tufts. Sophomore Sports Editor

Sarah Corning also grabbed a point in the event, taking ninth in 41:53.30.

Junior Sydney Smith began her day in the 3000 meter run — as the steeplechase was not run at the meet due to hazardous conditions around the steeple pit — running 10:30.55 to take second overall. Sophomore Lindsay Atkeson also scored a point in the event, grabbing eighth overall in 11:01.77.

Senior Lauren Gormer, fresh off of a solid 800-meter performance in South Carolina, won the 1500 meters, running 4:52.78 and earning 10 points. Senior Megan Gillis and sophomore Alice Wasserman were not far behind, taking third and fourth with times of 4:55.80 and 4:56.40 respectively.

First-year Franchesca Burgos, who placed 43rd in the 1500 with a 5:37.28 time, noted the poor racing conditions.

“The snow and puddles on the track were not a good combination for race day,” Burgos said. “The jumps and vaults had to be held indoors, and the throwers had to deal with very wet and muddy fields, so conditions were less than ideal.”

Senior Christina Harvey sprinted to victory in both the 100 and 200-meter see WOMEN’S TRACK AND FIELD, page 11

Inside the BPL

With title nearly decided, Champions League battle remains fierce

by Jack Szumski Contributing Writer

Next weekend’s round of Barclay’s Premier League action will be highlighted by a clash between two heavyweights in English soccer. The Arsenal-Liverpool matchup may not be a title­-decider, but it looks like an all-­ important fight for the chance to play in Europe’s premier competition next season — the UEFA Champions League. With eight more rounds still to play, most teams will be focusing on what they can realistically achieve this season, from the UEFA contenders to those fearing regulation.

Everton, for example, started out the season with hopes of landing in one of the top five or six places, not enough to qualify it for the Champions League, but instead for Europe’s less prestigious, but still highly lucrative, Europa League.

Now, a disappointed Everton squad has found itself dwelling closer to the bottom than anywhere near the top five. As a result, Everton’s manager, the Spaniard Roberto Martinez, has expressed some worry over the team possibly falling into the bottom three places, called the relegation zone. A finish in the relegation zone would mean Everton’s first departure from the Premier League since 1951. With nine points separating the “Toffees” and one of those relegation spots, the club should be

Александр Осипов via Wikimedia Commons

Roberto Martinez as a coach of Everton in Europa League match against Dynamo Kiev on March 19, 2015. in just good enough condition to avoid a catastrophic departure from England’s top league. In an effort to distance themselves further from disaster, Everton will hope for three points (earned by winning) at home against a difficult Southampton side on Saturday, April 4.

Tottenham is another team that may

need to come to terms with landing outside of a high-enough position. The team from North London travels to Burnley to take on the struggling side this coming weekend, but its fate might already be out of its control. Unlike Everton, the Tottenham “Hotspurs” were hoping for a top-four finish resulting in Champions

League qualification. Sitting in seventh, the team will surely feel that the top four might just be out of its reach this season. If all of the results go their way this weekend, the Spurs will still only find themselves in fifth and trailing another three points behind fourth. Tottenham’s Argentinian manager Mauricio Pochettino will be hoping that the team’s 21-year­ -old English striker Harry Kane continues his red-­hot form, which has seen him score five goals in his last three appearances for the club.

Tottenham’s opponent this weekend, Burnley, will be hoping for a result in their favor as they attempt to climb out of the bottom three and stay in the Premier League for next season.

The club was promoted from England’s second tier (the English League Championship) just last season but will end up returning to the League Championship if its form doesn’t pick up soon. If Burnley earns a win at home this weekend, it could see itself jump up to 15th (out of 20) in the table and out of the relegation zone.

Taking up the two positions below Burnley are Queens Park Ranger and Leicester City —­ both teams were also promoted to the Premier League this season. Having recently undergone a change in management, the struggling see INSIDE THE BPL, page 11