The Tufts Daily - Thursday, February 8, 2024

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Thursday, February 8, 2024

VOLUME LXXXVII, ISSUE 1

LOCAL

LOCAL

Somerville becomes first Mass. city to call for Gaza ceasefire

Oldest men’s prison in Mass. to permanently close

Anna Fattaey

Summer Maxwell

Originally published Feb. 6.

The Massachusetts Department of Correction announced on Jan. 24 its plans to close the Massachusetts Correctional Institution at Concord, a medium-security men’s prison, by summer 2024, falling in line with Gov. Maura Healey’s Fiscal Year 2025 budget recommendation.

Officials cited the state’s lowest prison population in the past 35 years and potential savings of over $200 million in operating, maintenance and capital project costs as reasons for the closure, per a press release. MCI-Concord — Massachusetts’ oldest men’s correctional facility — currently holds about 300 men, operating at just 50% capacity.

Those statistics made the closure far from a shock to Mass.

Rep. Simon Cataldo, whose district includes MCI-Concord.

“This was a smart move on a fiscal level and in terms of managing our population of inmates in Massachusetts, and I hope that we see more closures in the future as incarceration rates continue to go down,” Cataldo said.

But capacity and costs are likely not the only reasons behind the shutdown.

“Whoever acted like they didn’t see this coming, didn’t live in the jail,” David Delvalle, a member of Tufts’ Class of 2026, said. “If you lived in the jail, you saw the sinkholes. You saw the water was messed up. … There’s asbestos in that jail. There’s lead in that jail. …

That jail should have been closed 10 years ago.”

Delvalle was released from MCI-Concord in October 2022 after serving 7 ½ years of a 10 ½ year sentence and is now pursuing his bachelor’s degree on Tufts’ Medford/Somerville campus after getting his start by taking classes through the Tufts University Prison Initiative of Tisch College.

TUPIT provides the opportunity for incarcerated men to earn a bachelor’s degree in Civic Studies from Tufts during their sentences at MCI-Concord.

Massachusetts DOC reported that Massachusetts consistently has the lowest rate of incarceration in the country — 122% lower than the national average. MCIConcord’s closure brings further

University News Editor

In late January, Somerville became the first city in Massachusetts to pass a resolution calling for an enduring ceasefire in Gaza. The resolution, which was brought forth by City Council President Ben Ewen-Campen, was passed in a 9–2 vote after close to three hours of testimony and deliberation on Jan. 25.

“My moral convictions compelled me to draft this resolution, pure and simple,” EwenCampen said. “I believe from the bottom of my heart that this is the right thing to do.”

The resolution states that the city council supports an enduring ceasefire, the provision of humanitarian aid to Gaza and the release of all hostages. It urges the federal government to do the same.

The resolution recognizes Israel’s right to defend itself in accordance with interna-

Deputy Features Editor

COURTESY JOSH REYNOLDS PHOTO / SOMERVILLE FOR PALESTINE

Community members gather outside Somerville City Hall in support of the resolution calling for a ceasefire in Gaza. tional law and condemns the terrorist attacks by Hamas on Oct. 7, while also condemning antisemitic, anti-Palestinian, anti-Israeli, anti-Arab, Islamophobic and xenophobic behavior. The resolution will be sent to the Massachusetts federal delegation as well as U.S. President Joe Biden.

A politically active Somerville resident, Chris Dwan, attend-

ed the meeting and relayed the emotions that other attendees in the room were feeling.

“There was optimism, there was fear, there was anger,” Dwan said, “and most of all, what I saw from most of the people there was that they wanted to be heard, and they wanted to be safe.” see GAZA, page 2

LOCAL

City of Somerville opens first seasonal ‘warming center’ for unhoused residents

Grayton Goldsmith Staff Writer

The City of Somerville has created an overnight warming center for unhoused residents that will stay open for the winter season. Located at the Armory at 191 Highland Ave., the new center is a partnership with two local nonprofits: Housing Families and the Somerville Homeless Coalition.

Last year, the city operated pop-up warming centers in churches and city buildings on especially cold days and nights.

This year, the facility will remain open every night from 6:45 p.m. to 7 a.m. through March 24. It can host up to 20 guests each night.

“After last year, it went really well and we thought … it would be great to offer [a facility of this kind] for more of the winter,” said Karin Carroll, Somerville’s director of health and human services.

At the warming center, guests are offered a hot catered meal for dinner and sandwiches for breakfast. They also have access to a kitchen stocked with coffee, hot chocolate and other snacks as well as a “resource table,” where they can find toiletries, warm winter clothing, books and puzzles.

Taylor Sokol, a clinical social worker at Housing Families who helped set up the warming center, described what a night might look like for a first-time guest.

“If it is their first time … we’ll go through the expectations of the space [and] the structure of what will happen throughout the night and in the morning, give them a tour, and answer any questions they may have about what they can and cannot do,” Sokol said. “[After dinner], guests are free to be in their cots or be in the kitchen,” she added. “We have lights-out and quiet hours

at around 10:45, but oftentimes it quiets down before that.”

Unlike a traditional shelter, which often prioritizes moving guests into permanent homes, the focus of the Winter Warming Center is to provide immediate relief from cold weather conditions. Still, Housing Families and the city also hope that the center can serve as a first point of contact for Somerville’s unhoused population. Both organizations are happy to direct unhoused people to relevant organizations should they decide to seek further assistance.

“Last year we did have some guests that, after staying with us for one night, decided to fill out a housing application with one of the outreach teams,” Carroll said.

“It’s a part of connecting people to services when they’re ready.”

Sokol reflected on the importance of developing a rapport with each guest. see CENTER, page 3

4 FEATURES

6 ARTS & POP CULTURE

9 OPINION

12 SPORTS

Students from the Hill take on ski hills

“Zone of Interest” hones in on horror

It’s time for Gen Z to take office

Jumbos hockey crush Camels after close loss

page 7

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opportunity to change how prisons are conceptualized across the state.

“I think that our prison infrastructure is outdated for traditional maintenance reasons, but also outdated in terms of how we conceptualize a healthy and productive way to incarcerate people in a manner that will facilitate their reentry to the community,” Cataldo said.

According to Cataldo, MCIConcord also occupies 64 acres of land that will now be freed up for alternative uses.

“There’s a major opportunity for housing in the region,” Cataldo said, “which has been a problem for economic development, and for quality of life and affordability in the region and in Concord itself.”

Despite the optimistic possibilities, the closure also means uncertainty in the future of the approximately 300 incarcerated men who will now have to be moved to different prisons across the state and the several programs that served them at Concord.

“My immediate initial reaction was worry for our TUPIT program,” Martha Pott, professor of child study and human development, who studies incarceration, said.

Delvalle’s TUPIT classes became a lifeline while inside MCI-Concord.

“I’ve never felt so seen and so heard in my life until I got around those people,” Delvalle said. “I bet my life on school. I literally put my everything into it, and it gave me so much fruit.”

But now Delvalle worries that despite the closure moving incarcerated students into cleaner, safer prisons, this move will jeopardize their degrees.

“Education is all some of these men have. It’s the only thing keeping them from not hurting themselves,” Delvalle said. “That’s their bibliotherapy: They get to write down their emotions. That’s how I cultivated my voice, talking about my most painful moments, to my most triumphant moments, to the day that my daughter was born.

That’s what kept me sane while I was incarcerated — being able to pick up that pen and express myself through school.” see PRISON, page 3 News Features Arts & Pop Culture Fun & Games Opinion Sports

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THE TUFTS DAILY

Thursday, February 8, 2024

NEWS

Intentionality & Inclusivity Chairs Education Chair Social Chairs

Production Olivia White Production Director Mike Kourkoulakos Assistant Production Charlene Tsai Directors Devna Aggarwal Claire Wood Executive Layout Editors Natalie Bricker Kathryn Hood Executive Copy Editors Max Antonini Executive Social Media Meghna Singha Managers Tom Jamieson Executive Newsletter Editor

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UNIVERSITY

Fostering collaboration and understanding, TCU Senate hosts leadership lunch Alexandra Huenlein Staff Writer

Club leaders from media, programming and performance groups met with Tufts Community Union Senate leaders in the Alumnae Lounge on Friday for a shared lunch, part of a five-part series where the TCU Senate invites different club presidents to lunch. These meetings were coordinated to discuss problems these clubs face and to foster a stronger connection between TCU Senate leaders and student organizations.

Arielle Galinsky, TCU Senate president, moderated the event.

Among the attendees were club presidents from a capella groups, Public Harmony and Tufts Mimes. The goal of this discussion was for the senators to gain a deeper understanding of issues specific to programming, media and performance organizations, Galinsky said.

“The obstacles that a performance group would face is very different from what a political organization would face, or [a] religious or cultural organization,” Galinsky said. “And so through these lunches, we have the opportunity to really kind of understand those nuances and be able to effectively pursue them in our advocacy as student government leaders.”

According to Galinsky, these insights will affect the internal policy of the TCU Senate and determine what issues the senate will discuss with the Tufts administration.

Clara Scheutz, co-president of the Jackson Jills a cappella group, was excited to connect with the TCU senators and leaders of other performance groups at the event.

“I was really looking forward to networking with other groups and discussing shared concerns about various things on campus, and also just having the face time with people from the TCU Senate, who can advocate on behalf of our organiza-

with, and actually talking about them and seeing that other organizations are having these similar problems and trying to work towards them was really, really helpful,” Gomez said.

One concern for numerous clubs revolved around booking

RACHEL LIU / THE TUFTS DAILY

The Alumnae Lounge is pictured on May 10, 2023. tions to Tufts’ administration,” Scheutz said.

Varun Sasisekharan, president of the Beelzebubs a cappella group, further emphasized the importance of these meetings.

“Each of our groups are in our own bubble sometimes, and it’s hard to understand how everyone else functions in the context of being a student and a performer at this university,” Sasisekharan said. “So I think just coming here and hearing from everyone else, how their experience has been, how they’ve navigated being in the role that they’re in. That’s what I was looking forward to [in this meeting].”

Matt Gomez, president of performance group, echoed this idea.

“So many of us have similar issues that we’ve been dealing

spaces on campus, particularly for end-of-semester performances. According to Galinsky, 21 new student organizations have been approved by the TCU Senate.

“There are so few spaces and so many groups who have this interest, and a lot of that is compounded by the fact that there are many new groups on campus,” Galinksy said, “A lot more groups, a lot more students, and the same amount of spaces.

So there’s not a lot of space for groups to have their activities, their events and their performances.”

Also discussed were problems coordinating events and showcases among different performance clubs. Gomez explained that for Public Harmony, a “platform for other organizational leaders to discuss working spaces

[and] making sure that we’re not overlapping with our different events” would be very beneficial.

Finances were another topic that many clubs had shared concerns over.

“We also talked about funding for albums and reducing that barrier for groups to be able to fundraise on their own or to rely on alumni donations and allowing them to use TCU Senate funds to be able to cover their albums and travel to performances and gigs,” Galinsky said.

The clubs also raised questions about issues with the reimbursement system for self-funded groups on campus and discussed further action to take toward resolving this issue.

“Hopefully we can get a conversation going with [Office of Campus Life] staff about how to make the reimbursement system run smoothly from here on forward and work out some of the kinks in the system,” Scheutz said.

The lunch elicited positive feedback from both club leaders and TCU senators. Galinsky explained that her goal this semester was to ensure that student leaders felt comfortable sharing their thoughts and opinions with the Senate. "[The Senate] has sometimes been in this kind of ivory tower, not really being truly accessible,” she said. “Today, I think we really broke that barrier by being able to effectively have these conversations in a comfortable, informal atmosphere.”

Gomez also remarked on the success of the meeting. “The fact that we’re able to raise these concerns to their attention and, hopefully, work towards a solution is really huge,” he said.

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Over 500 supporters turn out to Somerville City Council for ceasefire vote GAZA continued from page 1 The city council meeting consisted of testimony from councilors and residents. Speakers shared accounts of emotional trauma felt by both Palestinians and Israelis as a result of the conflict overseas, and they also spoke of an alleged rise of hate speech more locally.

Formal movement for a ceasefire began as early as December when local group Somerville for Palestine began petitioning U.S. Senators Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey to call for a ceasefire. As of the resolution’s passing, the petition had 800 signatures. Ewen-Campen and fellow city councilors Lance Davis, Jake Wilson, J.T. Scott, Will Mbah, Willie Burnley Jr., Naima Sait, Jake Wilson and Jesse Clingan voted in favor.

Sara Halawa, the initial organizer of Somerville for Palestine, estimated that over 500 supporters of Somerville

for Palestine were present at the Jan. 25 meeting. Supporters held Palestinian flags and signs reading “Ceasefire now!” and “Free Palestine.”

“We packed the chamber,” Halawa said. “When they finally passed it, the room just erupted in applause. [ There was] this outpouring of relief and joy. … Many, many people had not felt that uplifted since this horrific genocide began.

So it was a really great victory for us.”

Halawa also spoke to the Daily about why she felt compelled to speak up and advocate for a ceasefire.

“I believe really strongly that every single one of us has a responsibility to do every single thing we possibly can to stop it now, and that means using every shred of power that we have, in whatever capacity we have it, to speak out and call other people into speaking out with us,” she said.

Councilor-at-Large Wilson also spoke about why he felt it necessary to speak up as an elected official.

“I just couldn’t stay silent any longer,” Wilson said. “I had so many constituents, both Jewish constituents and Palestinian constituents, tell me stories where it was just obvious there was so much hurt and so much fear and so much pain on both sides.”

Councilors and other Somerville residents who did not support the resolution argued that the resolution would further divide Somerville, but elaborated that they were not necessarily against a ceasefire in Gaza.

“I support an Enduring Ceasefire and a safe release of the hostages,” Councilorat-Large Kristen Strezo, who voted against the resolution, wrote in an email to the Daily. “I think the Ceasefire Resolution is divisive and this

divisiveness can harm our Somerville community.”

Councilor Judy Pineda Neufeld — the only other councilor to vote against the resolution — did not return the Daily’s request for comment.

Carina Kurban, a member of Somerville for Palestine, spoke to the possible domino effect Somerville’s resolution could have across Massachusetts.

Just days after Somerville passed its resolution, the city councilors of Cambridge unanimously passed their own request for a ceasefire.

“With enough cities in Massachusetts to push for this, the senators are going to be forced to listen and really push for it, and the more cities in the U.S. that push for it, the more senators are going to have to push for it, and the more senators that push for it, the more pressure it’s going to put on the federal government,” Kurban said.

THE TUFTS DAILY

Thursday, February 8, 2024

NEWS

3

Future of TUPIT uncertain with imminent MCI-Concord closure

VIA WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

Massachusetts Correctional Institution at Concord, a medium-security men’s prison, is slated for closure by summer 2024.

PRISON continued from page 1 Despite fears for the future, Hilary Binda, founder and executive director of TUPIT, remains optimistic the closure does not mark the end of the program.

“The state’s announcement about the pending closure of MCI-Concord was unexpected, but I am confident that the DOC will work closely with us to sustain our program,” Binda wrote in an email to the Daily.

“We hope that TUPIT will con-

tinue to have enough classroom space to run the program, and that we will have access to our current incarcerated students. … The change will be challenging, but we hope to make it a change for the better — together.”

Sustaining TUPIT and other initiatives is being taken into consideration by officials as the closure is implemented.

“The [DOC] is developing plans to transition these programs to other comparable facil-

ities in the system,” the DOC wrote in its press release.

Policymakers are also prioritizing continuing the programs offered at MCI-Concord. “As far as we can see right now, there’s a path forward for all of those programs to continue in new locations,” Cataldo said.

One remaining question is why MCI-Concord — located in an affluent community — was chosen compared to the state’s other aging and partially filled prisons.

“The state can get a lot of money by selling that property, … so I was a little suspicious of that,” Pott said. “That prison is in [Concord residents’] backyard. It might be more in their consciousness than it will be if that prison disappears.”

When asked to provide further comment, the DOC referred the Daily back to its Jan. 24 press release.

Regardless of the motivations, the bottom line remains that MCI-Concord will perma-

nently shut its doors this summer. But, it appears likely that programs including TUPIT will be able to continue their work in helping incarcerated students achieve their degrees and more.

“That’s what the world needs more of, love,” Delvalle said. “Whether it’s through education, whether it’s through just nurturing people. … That space in that classroom is bigger than just education.”

Warming center provides overnight relief from winter conditions CENTER continued from page 1 “What I’ve found helpful is offering choice and prioritizing the client’s autonomy … understanding that they might be nervous or skeptical, which is totally normal,” she said. ”[We] emphasize that they can leave at any time, that they can just come check it out, eat and then leave. … There’s no obligation to stay [or] to come back. The staff are there to support them.”

The warming center has seen a steady increase in nightly occupancy since it opened on Jan. 8. According to Sokol, about 14 to 16 guests stay each night these days, up from just five or six in its early days. Most have been repeat guests, but Sokol said that she still occasionally sees a new face.

To that end, Carroll recognized the difficulty in spreading the word to a population that is notoriously hard to reach, often lacking access to the internet and other typical channels of communication.

“Mainly the folks we’re trying to reach are not on the internet,” she said. “They’re remote or living outside. So we really relied on our [nonprofit] partners … and their street outreach teams. … They’re out there, reminding folks about the warming center, where it is, how to get there, and that it’s safe.”

Although the warming center has been successful so far, it remains to be seen whether the city will reopen the facility next winter. According to Carroll, this year’s initiative was made possible by one-time funding from the American Rescue Plan Act, created during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Somerville is using [its ARPA funding] for populations that were hit really hard by COVID, like our unhoused, our low income,” Carroll said. ”[But] the ARPA funds are one-off funds … they will go away after this year.”

Still, she remains optimistic.

Now that the program has had a successful trial run, she hopes to further expand the city’s offerings for unhoused residents at facilities like the Somerville Homeless Coalition’s Daytime Engagement Center in Davis Square.

As for Housing Families, Director of External Relations Molly Abrahamson said her organization was also here to stay.

“We’re new to Somerville and just starting to build our relationships,” Abramson said.

“We did a new warming center in Revere last year and are doing it again this year.

Usually when we enter these contracts, it is with the goal of building out partnerships with the cities.”

Carroll hopes to see the progress continue, and is

The Somerville Armory building at 191 Highland Ave. is pictured. pleased with what they’ve accomplished thus far.

“We’re very proud … to be able to offer somewhere safe and warm

KAITLYN WELLS / THE TUFTS DAILY

for our most vulnerable residents, seven nights a week,” she said.

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Features

THE TUFTS DAILY

Thursday, February 8, 2024

Features How Tufts students are taking to the slopes this winter Arielle Flaherty

Contributing Writer

Flying down the mountain as the wind slaps your face: Skiing is a dance of control and freedom.

Your skis cut into the edge of the mountain, carving up snow (or ice) as you turn. When you get to the bottom of the mountain, it’s straight back up the lift for another run.

Many Tufts students are avid skiers, but the sport’s high entry cost can make it prohibitively expensive. To go skiing, you need to purchase gear, obtain expensive ski tickets and have access to a mountain. Ski passes can be as expensive as $113 on a weekday in New Hampshire. On top of that, gear rentals generally cost over $50 for a single-day rental.

These costs can be especially hard for students to front. To address the issue, several campus organizations are seeking to make the sport accessible for all Tufts students.

The Tufts Mountain Club is seeking to provide affordable skiing opportunities for both beginner and advanced students.

Sophomore Patrick Hennessey, the club’s ski and aqua director, spoke to these efforts.

“I want to … [see] a lot of people out there skiing that have never [skied] or wouldn’t normally have the opportunity to,” Hennessey said. “Skiing is very exclusive, very expensive, and if TMC can be the gateway for people to get into skiing, that would be great.”

This weekend, TMC will be hosting its annual Skikend event, which is focused on getting beginner skiers to the slopes. Students will stay at the Loj, TMC’s property in New Hampshire. The club will then ski at Dartmouth Skiway, which is only about an hour away from the Loj and boasts 28 trails, most of which are at a beginner to intermediate skill level.

In addition to joining in on club trips, students can borrow ski gear for free from TMC’s office at 17 Chetwynd Road, affectionately known as Chet.

“We just got a donation, so now we have eight or nine pairs of alpine skis, boots. … We have snow pants with goggles, helmets and poles,” Hennessey said. “You can basically go to our place, Chet, and pick up an entire ski outfit. … I would say a lot of people don’t utilize [that] resource.”

COURTESY SHOSHANA DALY

Killington Resort, Vt., is pictured.

After checking out gear, TMC members can sign up to go on ski trips organized by fellow TMC members in the trips board channel of the club’s Slack workspace. Then it’s time to hit the slopes and make new friends while shredding the gnar.

First-year Stuart Baybutt, an avid skier, found other enthusiastic skiers and a sense of community through TMC. “It’s really easy to get involved,” he said. “You always go on trips with upperclassmen, or people you’ve never met before, and then you can ski with them the full day and make new friends.”

In addition to providing opportunities for beginning skiers, Hennessey also noted that he wants to foster activities for advanced skiers. He especially wants to help develop activities that have lapsed since the pandemic, such as alpine touring and backcountry skiing.

“TMC has a big history of all sorts of traditions … some of that got lost during COVID,” he said. “I want to try to bring [that] back and hopefully bring some of those skiers together.”

In that vein, TMC is hosting a ski-centric weekend at the Loj the weekend after Skikend. This weekend focuses on providing a space for experienced skiers to get out on the slopes in all styles of skiing. The weekend features trips for resort skiing, snowboarding, telemark skiing and backcountry skiing.

Beyond TMC, Tufts also offers other opportunities for students to get involved in skiing.

For those who ski competitively or would like to, Tufts has its own club skiing team. The team competes throughout the winter and practices two times a week at Wachusett Mountain in central Massachusetts and Ski Bradford in northern Massachusetts.

Mary Boshar, captain of the women‘s ski team, has skied competitively since she was around 8 years old. After discovering Tufts had a ski team, she realized she could continue to engage with her passion for competitive skiing in college. Now, as a senior, she is leading the team as it expands.

“The interest every year just grows and grows,” Boshar said.

“The team for a long time, maybe forever, has been pretty much open to people of all abilities. So we made the decision to continue not making cuts based on people’s skiing ability or experience.”

Ben Sagerian, captain of the men’s ski team, noted that the team is open even to those who have not ski raced before. He elaborated that the team has a unique recruitment process.

“We do it based on commitment,” Sagerian said. “Everyone is required to come to our general interest meeting … and then after that we do three weeks of dryland training. …

Then, [prospective skiers] have to come to an office hour where they chat with us.”

The team seeks to provide a positive environment for competitive skiing while fostering a love for the sport. In addition to competitive success, including a trip to nationals last year for the women’s team, the team is also a lot of fun.

“I think there’s also an air of really fun chaos,” Sagerian said.

“Controlled chaos, of course, but I feel like there’s just always a spontaneity with this team that’s really, really fun.”

While skiing is what brings the team together, the members’ academic interests and social circles at Tufts vary. Boshar noted that the team brings together people from all majors and aspects of Tufts.

“Some of my best friends are people that I’ve met through the team and definitely would not have met otherwise,” she said.

Sagerian echoed this sentiment, speaking to the diversity of the team.

“You literally get people from every corner of this university,” he said.

Regardless of whether you are racing down the mountain or learning for the first time, both Club Ski and TMC are hoping to get Tufts students to the slopes this winter. Who knows? Maybe you’ll meet some interesting and fun people along the way. "[I] hope that people can just enjoy the feeling of going down a mountain for the first time,” Baybutt said. “It is a pretty awesome feeling.”

THE TUFTS DAILY

Guillem Colom GC in DC: Tales From the Swamp

The DC college rivalries trifecta

I

t’s a frigid Saturday afternoon in the middle of a January snowstorm, and I just convinced myself that it would be a great idea to walk 25 minutes in near 15-degree temperatures to Georgetown. I planned on meeting one of my hometown friends who’s a senior at Georgetown University for coffee, and she informed me that she was bringing along another mutual friend who attended American University. He majored in international relations, and I thought that it would be the perfect opportunity to yap about the ignominious failures of Kevin McCarthy.

Social philosopher Travis Kelce once mused that “my best first impression is the worst impression ever, so I can just build from that point on.” I may have taken that too far.

My obligatory hyperbolic jokes aside, I enjoyed reconnecting with familiar faces and meeting new ones.

Sitting at the chairs around the stained coffee tables were Georgetown students hard at work, already burdened with term papers. It wasn’t even the end of the first week and my Georgetown friend already told me that she was swamped with paper assignments due the following week.

All three of us talked for what felt like hours about anything and everything. From classes and internships, to outrageous study-abroad stories involving the Azerbaijani government, to relationship dramas I had no personal investment in but didn’t mind sharing my feedback on, much like Wendy Williams. Having been in D.C. for a week, I felt normal in the social scene.

In the middle of our conversation, I decided to ask a question that had lurked in my head for months out of morbid curiosity: “How do American, George Washington [University] and Georgetown students intermingle with each other?”

I assumed that the proximity between the three universities, in addition to the close-knit environment of D.C. fostered through political and social networks, would enable all types of people to meet each other and find common ground. And as a new American University student (who refused to identify myself as that because Tufts is way cooler), I felt like I could get acquainted fairly quickly.

Both of my friends responded along similar lines: Everyone here gets along and we’re all in this together. It was a striking show of unity that not only made me feel comfortable but also directly contradicted what I heard from a few friends back at Tufts who herald from D.C. I heard rumors from these friends about the competitive and, allegedly, petty rivalry among the three universities. According to these sources, American has a bit of an inferiority complex. Georgetown students were stereotyped to be vain and conceited based on their connections through the rich alumni pool of the university.

George Washington students held their own, while American students were stereotyped as Georgetown rejects.

It didn’t help that Georgetown student social media pages doubled down on these stereotypes. Student-run

Thursday, February 8, 2024

Instagram accounts have a habit of mocking American students as inferiors and rejects. One well-circulated meme posted by a student account with over 13,000 followers depicts an AI-generated image of a boy sobbing as he unwraps an American basketball jersey for Christmas.

Despite these tensions, I decided to sleuth to determine whether this rivalry was substantive or meaningless. I consulted only the best sources at my disposal to find my answer.

The same ones that knifed my friends and me in the back with their ungodly rankings: U.S. News & World Report and College Factual.

Knowing D.C., it’s not surprising at all that the three universities uniquely excel at political science and international relations. American University ranks No. 10 among all national graduate public affairs programs and in the top 50 for political science. Their School of International Service is one of the best international relations programs in the country, and American boasts an impressive alumni pool that includes Massachusetts’ own Rep. Jim McGovern.

George Washington similarly achieves excellence. Their political science program consistently ranks in the top 25 nationally. They recently ranked No. 12 among all programs for international relations and national security through their Elliott School of International Affairs, and their highly-rated University Honors Program is known to provide career-defining academic opportunities for students.

And of course, Georgetown. Its political science-equivalent program in its Department of Government was recently rated No. 6 in the nation, and their Walsh School of Foreign Service was ranked as one of the best international relations programs in the world.

Beyond university rankings, D.C. is indeed a competitive environment, including competition for classes, internship spots and future employment opportunities. However, all three universities foster strong learning environments and produce collaborative, caring and exceptionally talented people.

When attending a highly ranked university, it’s easy to get dragged down by arbitrary comparisons based on inconsistent metrics. It’s even easier to use these rankings to tear down other people’s achievements simply because of their affiliation.

What I took away during my conversation, and the many more I’ve had with friends from other D.C. colleges, is that these ‘rivalries’ are white noise, distractions from the real friendships and interactions people are having.

Rather than taking the easy route by putting others down, D.C. students see the forest for the trees.

Disillusioned by the pettiness of national politics and D.C.‘s own reputation for cynicism, many D.C. students recognize and applaud each other’s talents and want to make D.C. a more inclusive space for everyone who comes through. My own experiences thus far with my friends reaffirm this.

Petty and vain squabbles to gain clout never end well, and they ultimately end up imploding in our faces, leaving us as cynical and spiteful shells of ourselves.

Just ask Mike Johnson.

Guillem Colom is a junior studying political science. Guillem can be reached at guillem.colom@tufts.edu.

Halia Frishman Dream Works

The producer Originally published Feb. 6.

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he unconscious mental voyages to weird places and with stranger people, the daytime rambles that are only slightly more rational — I’ve always been good at dreaming. To my chagrin, but not my surprise, I was recently informed that my biggest red flag is that my head is often off somewhere in the clouds. Yet, despite all this dreaming, in college I find myself a tad bit lost: How do people discover their dream jobs? In this column, I endeavor to not only stumble upon my future career but maybe yours too…

In honor of the recent screening of “All Static & Noise” here at Tufts, today we will meet David Novack, the producer and director of this new, exposing documentary. The film is a collection of testimonies from family members of Uyghurs who have been detained and from survivors of Chinese ‘re-education camps.’

Their stories bring attention to the brutality of state-sponsored oppression of the Uyghur population in Western China.

How Novack found himself in the position to help build an international platform for Uyghurs to share their stories began back in 1982 at the University of Pennsylvania. He was studying engineering, singing with choirs and performing in music pits, when he met his wife Nancy, who was a film major and more recently the film editor of “All Static & Noise.” After a quick stint in the pharmaceutical industry, Novack immediately sought out a different career path: One that would stimulate the “music side” of his brain.

“I came across a music video in 1985, … and I was listening to the sound of the drums in this piece of music, and it became clear to me that there was an engineer behind the creation of that sound,” Novack said.

So, off he went to Berklee College of Music for music production and engineering. For the next decade, Novack worked in sound mixing for film; however, he always knew he wanted to someday produce. The first story he found was inspired by the history of his great-great uncle, a famous Jewish liturgical musician in Ukraine. This inspiration would become his first documentary: “Songs of Odessa.” "[After “Songs of Odessa”], I sort of had this two-sided thing again, where I really liked filmmaking and I had been learning the language of film through mixing,” Novack said.

While the “Songs of Odessa” took Novack to Ukraine, his next expedition led him to the U.S. Mid-Atlantic. A pitch that began as a “positive reality show” about researchers (the market, more focused on reality TV like “The Bachelor,” wasn’t ready) turned into a human rights documentary that exposed the dangers of mountaintop removal mining in West Virginia and Kentucky: “Burning the Future: Coal in America.”

“The nature guy in me who was very much connected to my father — who was a landscape architect and botanist — said, ‘Wow, this has landed in my lap for a reason. I am meant to make this film. And I’m going to make this film,’” Novack said.

I know that Novack’s career path has been a winding one, but we are learning that following passions often is, so stick with me. These experiences along the road were the catalyst for Novack’s

Features

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strong filmmaking drive and “solidified not only the filmmaking process, but [his interest in] making films that have some connection to human rights, … bringing awareness to things that are going on that people don’t know about.”

Another career pivot occurred when Novack became a professor. He has now produced four films, and he teaches graduate and undergraduate film as well as sound studies at a university in Lisbon.

“I decided that … I would teach sound and film so that I could share my knowledge and continue to grow and continue to do research in the sound sphere, but with a little more liberty in time,” Novack said.

“There’s more freedom of time in academia than there is in industry, for sure.”

From sound engineer to producer to professor, Novack’s career is not a sedentary one.

“You know, I feel like these things call to me. People ask, ‘What’s your next film?’

I don’t really know yet,” Novack said.

While traveling in China, at the request of the U.S. Department of State, to share “Burning the Future: Coal in America,” Novack met Janice Englehart, who became his co-producer of “All Static & Noise.” From the get-go, the new film was about human rights and more general changes in China.

“We learned of what was escalating in Xinjiang and the Uyghur Region. The more I dug into it, the more I realized it really had to be a film of its own,” Novack said. “That’s how the paths are — not linear, right? Our career paths are often not linear nowadays. They don’t need to be linear. I think a linear career path is a thing of my parents’ generation.”

I asked Novack if he was living his dream career. It was a question I was scared to ask because career satisfaction feels deeply personal, and I also worried if the mere concept of living our dreams bordered on being too cliché. In any event, to share our journeys is vulnerable, so I thank Novack for sharing with us today. This is what he said: “I don’t feel like I’m living my career dream because I don’t think that really exists. I think we can have career dreams, [but] when we are in them, … we’re usually thinking about other things that we really want to get done,” Novack said. “I honestly don’t think [a dream career] exists [for me], because I love to do everything.”

Based on our conversation, I know that as an audience we can expect more Novack-produced films in the future (maybe even fiction?), but for today I would like to end with “All Static & Noise.” Here is what you should keep in mind before watching: In 2017, Communist Party leaders gave a speech at Xinjiang University, which “painted Uyghur and other ethnic minorities in the Uyghur Region as ‘terrorists,’ guilty of ‘separatism.’” Novack expressed his disapproval of this censorship. "[The official] said that people have to speak the party line, and anything else — anything outside of what is permitted to be said — is static and noise, and all static and noise has to be eliminated,” Novack said.

In referring to itself as “All Static & Noise,” the film is a revolution. It is a declaration that, despite the risks, noise will be made. Spreading awareness helps amplify the brave voices that speak out for freedom and safety. With that said, I will keep you posted on when “All Static & Noise” comes back to Boston.

Wishing you luck in all your dream-catching endeavors…

Halia Frishman is a sophmore studying international literary and visual studies. Halia can be reached at halia.frishman@tufts.edu.

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THE TUFTS DAILY

Thursday, February 8, 2024

Arts & Pop Culture

ARTS & Pop POP Culture CULTURE Arts Paul Osmond For The Culture

‘The Zone of Interest’ cures all ailments of Don't bite the bait! war and terror

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ip-hop has a problem: unoriginality. Espoused by “oldheads” and hip-hop traditionalists for years, criticism of unoriginality in hip-hop is now an established sentiment within the community. Although some hip-hop artists and groups like JPEGMAFIA, Smino, EARTHGANG and Griselda maintain the experimental and innovative spirit of the genre, mainstream hip-hop is overwhelmed with strikingly stale records. Former heavyweight rappers like Lil Baby and Nicki Minaj are progressively declining in prowess, while newcomers like Jack Harlow and Sexyy Red demonstrate the degeneracy of hip-hop consumption.

Ironically, the technique that characterized the innovation of hip-hop now embodies its downfall: sampling. Many hip-hop listeners, fans and media personalities have isolated “nostalgia baiting,” or the sampling of classic tunes, as the primary essence of the unoriginality plaguing hip-hop. Jack Harlow’s “First Class” (2022) epitomizes the “nostalgia bait” that angers many avid hip-hop fans. Sampling Fergie’s blockbuster “Glamorous” (2006), “First Class,” appropriates the classic hook “G-L-A-M-O-R-OU-S,” as Harlow lazily interjects bars like “I can put you in …” Fundamentally, nostalgia-baiting involves the incorporation of classic songs to invite broader audiences who cherish their old-school hits. Whereas typical hip-hop song structure often places the first chorus after an opening verse, “First Class” begins with the bastardized version of Fergie’s “Glamorous” hook.

Unfortunately, Harlow fails to reconcile any arguments against unoriginality with his verses — rather than introducing novel bars, clever punchlines or exciting flows, Harlow recycles familiar topics that, ultimately, neither expand nor add nuance to the original song. Nevertheless, Harlow, at least, adds something (hip-hop) to the original track — I will never reject rappers throwing some bars over pop songs.

However, Harlow is certainly not the only rapper nostalgia-baiting listeners — Drake, Future and Young Thug violate listeners with their overly sexualized “Way 2 Sexy” (2021), and Ice Spice and Minaj — albeit somewhat cleverly — hijack the Barbie theme song, “Barbie World” (2023). Most egregiously, NLE Choppa shamefully brutalizes the classic Nelly track “Hot In Herre” (2002) in his track, “IT’S GETTING HOT” (2023). Known for his energetic, violent and vivacious delivery, Choppa hardly effuses the same charming cadence as Nelly. Whereas Nelly effortlessly transitions between punchy flows in the verses and sensual yet jumpy singing for the chorus, Choppa maintains the same grating vocal delivery throughout “IT’S GETTING HOT.” Moreover, Choppa completely diverges thematically from Nelly’s classic track.

In “Hot in Herre,” Nelly delivers sexual yet charming lyrics; contrastingly, Choppa raps discomfitingly about “smoking his opps.”

Sampling made hip-hop special.

Previously, artists rearranged and manipulated familiar, unconventional or even obscure songs and sounds to create musical masterpieces. Dishearteningly, hip-hop artists today are degrading the innovative nature of sampling.

Paul Osmond is a fourth-year combined-degree student studying English. Paul can be reached at paul.osmond@tufts.edu.

Jonathan Glazer attends the premiere of “The Zone of Interest” at the British Film Institute’s London Film Festival.

Ethan Essner

Assistant Arts Editor

When you sit down to watch “The Zone of Interest” (2023), the first thing you may question is the bitter blackness that chokes the screen. It is then complemented by the faint sound of chirping birds, rustling trees and then a deep-pitched overture. The screen remains static, as you stare into dark nothingness. It’s one of Jonathan Glazer’s trademark styles. And then you are whisked away into the depths of World War II, but it’s not quite the part you’d imagine. It’s not about suffering populations or brutal warfare. Instead, “The Zone of Interest” is a quiet tale; it moves slowly and meditates on the idyllic world between the suffering during the war and combat. In its brevity, it’s an incredibly ‘weird’ film. It’s one with no bounds of possibility, but which forces us to savagely believe whatever is shown.

The new work from Glazer is adapted from the 2014 novel of the same name by Martin Amis. The film’s narrative lies in the murky bowels of the Holocaust and is centered around a man named Rudolf Höss (Christian Friedel), the commandant of the Auschwitz concentration camp in Poland. He lives a seemingly cliché life of any authoritarian head under the ruling fist of Adolf Hitler, in a beautiful Eastern European house next to scenic rivers and forests. Yet, the estate he lives in is just beside Auschwitz. Rudolf, his five children and his wife Hedwig (Sandra Hüller) embrace the quaint beauty of a life away from political turmoil and battle but still steep in the riches of a life surrounded by fatality.

Before “The Zone of Interest,” Glazer crafted the film “Under the Skin” (2013), which gives a less-matured eye into his surrealist, acidic style of direction. Scarlet Johansson fronts the project as a woman who lures men into sexual encounters and sends them into another dimension — contrived from the extraterrestrial. Stylistically, the film, with a multiverse concept, is an introspective journey of unwavering traction. The characters

embody strong emotions, while the film almost entirely lacks any dialogue-heavy sequences. These scenes, rooted in daunting silence, allow Glazer to show this world of darkness and endless abyss in a way that’s chilling and unvarnished.

In a more general sense, his films take these worlds that can be rather commonplace and rips away their layers to reveal the shocking innards of the characters and story. With “The Zone of Interest,” the intentions are no different. The film moves in the direction of any other historical drama but then plummets down a rabbit hole of science fiction, horror and full-throttle psychological brain trip.

The film embodies abstract themes behind the blanket idea of ‘war.’ “The Zone of Interest” can be identified, on the part of Glazer and Amis, as a repentant contrast to the story of Anne Frank.

It’s about an unruly, indescribably vapid feeling of being thwarted from knowing what is truly going on in the world — or, in this situation, right next to you. There are notions of neglect and a lack of sensitivity that fester after years of sitting around tragedy, even to the point where it becomes dull. And even as Rudolf’s family survives within the climate of Auschwitz, something feels off. One watches as the family indulges in their developed, little enclave, embracing the comfort of bedsheets and bedtime stories while smoke towers out of the gas chambers less than a mile away. It sounds so preposterous, but Glazer’s directorial vision makes it seem possible.

And after the characters go to sleep, the surrealistic brilliance of Glazer rings out of the film. For instance, Mica Levi’s score, with a composition of noises and blaring string instrumentals, creates a terrifying backdrop to the visuals. The film utilizes artificial intelligence-enhanced images to allow us to see characters move around in the night. It’s startling, with the individuals remaining anonymous, and gives the audience a look into the strange events occurring around the setting. Other visuals, like the blank screens of black and red, create breaks in the film for viewers to

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digest themes and zero in on what makes the story so eerie to watch while the score booms in the background.

The most commendable component of “The Zone of Interest” is the gorgeous cinematography from Łukasz ŻŻal. Every image, whether the camera is stagnant or moving, is gorgeously framed and grounded in an unsaturated color tone.

Both elements are so necessary for what the film attempts to show with its grotesque plot. One of the most impactful frames moves with Hedwig as she angrily walks to confront Rudolf. As she walks, she moves past the fence of the camp, and you can see the battered buildings, synonymous with the ideas of fear and death. The camera reveals her small stature relative to the massive structures behind the wall, putting everything into perspective by showing everything the audience needs to see. It further sheds light on the idea that the oppressors will never manage to willingly get out of the frame of the oppressed. Żal’s capture of the estate is also so intelligent. More specifically, the framing of the backyard: He tends to gravitate toward the usage of wide compositions to show every character in a scene and allude to the dynamics of the setting. It can even seem overwhelming with the eventfulness in so many of the backyard scenes featuring the children and adults.

The visuals of the pool and the garden all feel so challenging to watch as they are so peaceful but always tend to be framed beside towering barbed wire fences and pillars of smoke.

The most prominent cinematic qualities of “The Zone of Interest” are surrealistic and even hypnotic, but they live in the shadow of so much death. Glazer’s film adapts the source material of a normal story into something so unsettling.

It’s a horror film set in the middle of the Holocaust that’s not necessarily scary because of the Holocaust and isn’t exactly scary because of the people in it either.

But, the way it’s told and presented somehow makes it more shocking than any movie to be released in the past few years.

THE TUFTS DAILY

Thursday, February 8, 2024

Arts & Pop Culture

Did ‘Percy Jackson and the Olympians’ live up to expectations?

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Elizabeth Foster Confessions of a Cooking Fanatic

Starting Sohla’s ‘Start Here’ Originally published Feb. 7.

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Rick Riordan is pictured in New York City in 2018.

Caroline Vandis

Senior Staff Writer

Originally published Feb. 5.

“Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief” (2010) is a widely condemned film adaptation of the beloved “Percy Jackson & the Olympians” book series (2005–). While many fans were left disappointed by the film, its biggest hater could be found in the man who started it all. Rick Riordan, the series’ creator, described the movies on Twitter as his “life’s work going through a meat grinder.”

In a 2018 blog post, Riordan published letters he sent to the film’s producers begging them to preserve his story. The acquisition of 20th Century Fox by the Walt Disney Company in 2019 was Riordan’s opportunity to rewrite the past, this time as an executive producer. In a 2021 blog post, Riordan wrote about his confidence in the series and said that he was “over the moon about the level of thoughtfulness and love for the PJO book series that everyone is bringing to the discussion.”

While the movie set a low bar to be improved upon, Riordan’s promises of a more faithful and more fun adaptation set expectations sky-high. So did the series live up to its promise of achieving what the film could not?

A major win for the series was its cast. Walker Scobell, Leah Jeffries and Aryan Simhadri, who play Percy Jackson, Annabeth Chase and Grover Underwood, respectively, perfectly embody the natures of their characters. In episode 6, “We Take a Zebra to Vegas,” Scobell and Jeffries sell the innate chemistry of Percy and Annabeth.

While sending an “Iris message” to Luke (Charlie Bushnell), Annabeth says, “toss it, Seaweed Brain,” and banter ensues, leading Luke to ask, “When did you turn into an old married couple?”

Another shoutout in terms of casting has to go to Adam Copeland’s Ares.

Though the show boasts a slew of guest stars, from Megan Mullally to Jason Mantzoukas to Timothy Omundson, Copeland takes the cake. His interaction with the main trio is incredibly natural in its contempt, and he plays the willfully manipulated Ares to perfection.

The main way the series misses is in the pacing of the show, which is decidedly … slow. One of the hallmarks of a “Percy Jackson” quest is that the trio comes across silly versions of mythological figures and has to remember how they were defeated in their myths, but there is a clear lack of urgency throughout the quest that hinders the storytelling experience.

A perfect example is in the opening scene of episode 7, “We Find Out the Truth, Sort Of.” In the book, this is a drawn-out scene in which Annabeth and Grover are tricked into testing out enchanted waterbeds by the salesman, “Crusty.” They become trapped, only to be freed thanks to Percy’s quick wit as he recognizes and outsmarts Crusty, aka Procrustes, another son of Poseidon who would fatally stretch his victims on an iron bed. In the series, Percy simply walks into Crusty’s Waterbed Palace and declares, “I know who you are. You’re Procrustes,” cheapening the intrigue.

This leads us to the real problem of the show — it’s not fun. There are some quick comedic moments from Percy here and there (Percy flossing in

episode one or the interaction between Percy and the Oracle in episode 3 come to mind) but ultimately the show lacks the innate sarcasm and silliness of the original book series.

The Lotus Casino, one of the most fun aspects of the first book in which Percy, Annabeth and Grover get stuck in time and actually get the opportunity to be kids, was boiled down to mere tedious exposition. The Lotus Casino is the one thing many Percy fans agree the 2010 movie did right, with its iconic Lady Gaga “Poker Face” soundtrack — and yet Riordan posted on Threads prior to the premiere of the Lotus Casino episode, “if some of you seriously think I’d allow any callbacks to certain movies, you haven’t been paying attention for the last decade. The show is its own thing. And imo it’s so much better!”

Did Riordan ultimately deliver on his promises? As an admitted fan of the original movie, it’s honestly hard to say yes. What the movie didn’t offer in terms of accuracy to the source material, it delivered in its playfulness that was true to the energy of the original book series. While the series found ways to enhance the story for new viewers, including giving Percy four pearls to return from the Underworld instead of three or by changing the final scene with Luke to highlight Percy’s fatal flaw and bring Annabeth into the fold, it fell short of its promises to improve wholly on the defunct 2010 film.

In the future, the series needs to bring more of Percy’s sarcasm, more urgency and suspense to the plot and trust that the audience trusts its protagonists to problem-solve in the moment, instead of knowing the problem firsthand.

he thing I will grieve the most about leaving Boston is that I will not have access to the network of events and intellectuals that Boston ushers in. Spending a weekend at MIT’s iQuHACK? Attending Hilary Hahn’s performance with the Boston Symphony Orchestra? Listening to Sohla El-Waylly’s book conversation at the Harvard Book Store?

Last November, I purchased my first cookbook for myself (a dangerous precedent). As shared in many of her videos with New York Times Cooking, El-Waylly’s goal is to build intuition in the kitchen, and her debut book, “Start Here: Instructions for Becoming a Better Cook,” walks you through developing your own tastes. The cookbook proved itself invaluable with pictures of the step-by-step instructions.

Last night’s adventure: a double batch of coconut cauliflower korma.

Now, I confess that I do not shop for recipes in a way that is true to the chef’s intentions (we are attempting to stick to a budget). This usually means skipping some nuts, seeds and spices in a recipe, or ingredients that I know I will not use in another recipe before they go bad. And as I’ve developed my cooking intuition, I am more confident leaving out certain ingredients and knowing that the final dish will be okay.

Now, I’ve been building my house’s spice collection for the past two years, and am looking for every opportunity to reap the benefits. If you are still assembling your spice cabinet, consider using two of the three spices. This is also a vegan meal, so what you’re not spending on meat or dairy, consider spending on spices that will last you many meals. Here’s my version of Sohla El-Waylly’s coconut cauliflower korma: Ingredients: 1 onion, 2 inches of ginger, 4 garlic cloves, 1⁄4 cup of neutral oil, 1 medium cauliflower (quartered), 1 can of coconut milk, 3 Thai green or serrano chilis (though we used jalapeños), 8 pitted prunes Optional ingredients: 1⁄4 cup of almonds, Cinnamon stick (or ground cinnamon), 3 green cardamom pods (or ground cardamom), 1 tablespoon ground coriander Cut half of the onion into thin slices.

“Frizzle” the slices (fry to somewhere between crispy and caramelized) for about 12 minutes in a medium pot. Remove onions to a plate, leaving behind the oil. Simultaneously, make a garlic, ginger and onion puree with the other half of the onion. Grating the ginger and garlic and finely dicing the onion also works. Optional: toast the slivered almonds in the pot, about three to five minutes, and remove to a separate plate. Salt the sides of the cauliflower and sear in the pot. After five to seven minutes, flip and sear the other side of the wedge. Transfer to a plate. Add the onion puree to the pot with the spices. Stir frequently while the mixture caramelizes.

After five to eight minutes, add the coconut milk, half a can of water, the chilis and the prunes. Let this come to a simmer before returning the wedged cauliflower to the pot.

Let this cook partially covered for 20–30 minutes. Serve with steamed rice.

Elizabeth Foster is a fifth-year master’s student studying computer science. She can be reached at Elizabeth.Foster635086@tufts.edu.

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Opinion

Thursday, February 8, 2024

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Opinion VIEWPOINT

Our future depends on young people running for office, so I’m running Kunal Botla

Opinion Editor

The time for Generation Z to run for office is here.

In the past decade, we’ve seen the median age of politicians in Congress climb. At the same time, however, we have seen influential younger members of Congress, including Gen Z Rep. Maxwell Frost, D-Fla., and millennial Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y. Overall, the House is getting younger. Young voters were instrumental in generating Democrats’ success in the 2022 midterms. In future elections, young candidates should be at the forefront.

Although many conversations about government revolve around the federal government, state and local governments exercise large swaths of control over the specific policies and decisions that directly impact people’s day-to-day lives. For example, school boards set agendas for public schools and ensure they are running as intended.

Mayors and select boards are elected to manage the oper-

ation of cities and towns and make decisions about their day-to-day functioning. City councils and town meetings manage legislation and govern a city or town, creating long-term plans, policies and regulations.

The shadow of politics impacts everyone and everything in American society.

Book bans are one example of a contentious topic in recent years that is often subject to the decisions of school boards or state legislation. But it’s not just books. Our generation will be impacted in ways other generations haven’t been because of climate change, housing, gun violence and other issues uniquely impacting the youth of the United States.

Therefore, Gen Z needs to find its seat at every table. To make that happen, we all need to be involved. Every member of Gen Z needs to vote, and if you want to run, run.

Millennials make up over a quarter of the population eligible to vote, but only 7% of members of Congress, according to the Center for Information & Research

on Civic Learning and Engagement at Tufts. Young women make up only 30% of candidates and are much less likely to express interest in running for office.

Locally, many Gen Z candidates are running for office and winning their elections. In 2021, Justin Tseng, 21 years old at the time, was elected to the Medford City Council. In 2023, then 18-year-old Emerson College student Angus Abercrombie was elected to the Belmont Town Meeting and is now running for School Committee. 19-year-old Omar Mohuddin ran for mayor of Woburn and 20-year-old Emerson student Albert “Trey” Fuccillo ran for city council in Marlborough — and these are only a few of the young people running for local office.

You could be among those people. Gen Z must upend the idea that every politician has a law degree; people in politics must come from every background for our government to be truly representative.

Younger candidates have numerous resources for their campaigns. In a digital age,

GRAPHIC BY RACHEL LIU raising money is simpler than ever and data about voters is available digitally. There’s support from organizations like Run for Something and David Hogg’s “Leaders We Deserve.”

Finding where you can run is easy, using online resources like wherecanirun.org.

On that note, I’m running for office.

On March 5, I’ll be on the ballot for a Town Meeting member — a nearly 200-member legislative body that meets several times each year to vote on and discuss “warrant articles” — in Lexington, Mass.

The Town Meeting is a unique-

ly New England form of government intended to represent the local community by embodying the ideas of direct representation. However, it can only be representative of the local community if the members that make up the body are.

I’m running to represent the interests of Gen Z’s present and future; I hope you will too. Run for office, for something — anything. Your voice is valuable. Find a seat at the table. It’s Gen Z’s turn to join the ‘American experiment’ in its 248th year. The experiment only works if every American is represented.

VIEWPOINT

Kevin Golub

Tennis commentators need to commentate, not opine

Opinion Editor

Jannik Sinner conquered all at the Australian Open last month.

The 22-year-old Italian dominated the lower-ranked players and overcame challenges in the later rounds to win the title, his first Grand Slam. With this crowning achievement, Sinner moved closer to the coveted title of world No. 1 — currently held by Novak Djokovic — and cement-

ed his reputation in the tennis world. Still, tennis commentators have not given him the respect he deserves in comparison to Djokovic. He is far from done, and every player should be worried about facing him.

Sinner’s high-quality tennis was matched by his class during the trophy presentation. He dedicated significant time to thanking his parents, expressing how he “[wished] everyone could have [his] par-

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John and Patrick McEnroe are pictured at the 2009 U.S. Open.

ents” since they gave him the freedom to pursue his athletic interests. In the public eye, he is reserved and humble, a contrast to his fiery brand of tennis. Despite having great success at the AO, Sinner was not given the respect he deserved

by TV commentators. They weren’t able to let go of their pro-Djokovic biases.

Frequent viewers of tennis should know that ESPN and Tennis Channel commentators exhibit biases toward certain players. John McEnroe, the former pro tennis player-turned-commentator, has long favored Djokovic. During the Sinner-Djokovic AO semifinal, McEnroe claimed that Sinner didn’t have to work hard to get the upper hand on Djokovic because Djokovic was not in good form. McEnroe is not the only commentator to land in hot water: The BBC’s Andrew Castle was accused of being biased toward Djokovic during his coverage of the 2023 Wimbledon final. After Djokovic smashed his racquet during the match, Castle explained away the outburst, calling it

Djokovic’s “emotion,” prompting one disgruntled fan to call Castle’s commentary “crass.”

ESPN’s longtime commentators displayed one of their most egregious moments of bias during the 2020 U.S. Open in the immediate aftermath of Djokovic hitting a ball that struck a line judge in the throat. Djokovic’s behavior violated Article III of the Official Grand Slam Rule Book which outlines “ball abuse.” In accordance with the rule, the U.S. Open tournament referee decided to default Djokovic.

After Djokovic was ejected from the match by the tournament referee, McEnroe asked on live TV whether, “because [Djokovic is] one of our all time great players,” it was possible to figure out a way for him “to continue playing the match.” ESPN First Take commentator Stephen A. Smith criticized the tournament’s decision to default Djokovic, implying that he should have been given preferential treatment as a top athlete willing to participate in a top tournament during a global pandem-

ic. These nonchalant comments clearly demonstrate extreme bias toward Djokovic and an unwillingness to apply the rules of tennis equally to all players, regardless of their world ranking.

These commentators got caught up in Djokovic’s typical melodramatic behavior instead of giving Sinner appropriate recognition. Despite what these commentators might say, the 2024 AO confirmed several things. First, Djokovic is mortal. He has weaknesses, and opponents can conquer him. Second, Sinner is capable of rising to the occasion under pressure.

Finally, Carlos Alcaraz, the 20-year-old Spanish sensation, is not fully at peak form.

His performance in the quarterfinals was disappointing.

One other takeaway from the AO that commentators neglected to mention is that Sinner and Roger Federer — the GOAT in my humble opinion — share a great deal in common. Sinner has a strong coaching team, led see TENNIS, page 10

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10 Opinion

THE TUFTS DAILY

Thursday, February 8, 2024

VIEWPOINT

COP28: A comedy of climate governance errors Kaashvi Ahuja Staff Writer

Originally published Feb. 5.

I don’t know many people who take the annual Conference of Parties, the United Nations Climate Change Conference, conventions seriously. Toward the end of every year, I anxiously watch the television to see the president of the COP as they deliver their closing remarks outlining all the climate goals that took an abundance of shiny suits and private jets to establish. And, without fail, every year I am disappointed by the utter lack of productivity in the outcome.

These meetings, held by the member states of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, will likely host more than 70,000 delegates, business leaders, climate scientists, indigenous peoples, journalists, experts and stakeholders coming together to legally address the largest crisis of our time. Unfortunately, they have become the subject of mockery, or at best, indifference, and it’s easy to see why.

The conference this December perfectly demonstrated how organizations under public scrutiny for contributing to global warm-

ing utilize COP to create a false impression that they have always been dedicated to the protection of our planet. Dr. Sultan Ahmed Al-Jaber, the president of last year’s conference, is the head of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company. To put this into perspective, a man who controls the ninth most valuable oil and gas brand, whose work relied on the emission of at least 487 million tonnes of carbon dioxide in 2023 alone, has laid the groundwork for intergovernmental deals that were made at arguably the world’s most important climate conference.

It’s like asking ExxonMobil to give a TED talk on why ditching fossil fuels is imperative to our future — it just doesn’t make any sense. Some people may counter, “Isn’t this what we need? An organization committed to reducing its environmental impact by setting the standard for others to follow its example?” That would be ideal and commendable, but unfortunately, it is far from reality.

After COP28, the urgency of action was made clearer than ever: Emissions must fall 43% by 2030 to keep the Paris Agreement temperature goal of 1.5 C within reach. Jaber, while apparently sharing this consensus, is the CEO of a company that is on course to increase its emissions by virtually

the same amount. Fields operated by the ADNOC are projected to produce more than 1.3 billion barrels of oil and nearly 90 billion cubic meters of gas, which translates to a staggering 684 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emitted by 2030. This is gross and infuriating but not in the least surprising.

Every year, this climate summit is hosted at a different location. In 2021, the U.K., a notable oil and gas producer, hosted COP26, and in 2018 it took place in Katowice, a town centered around Poland’s coal sector. While these choices seem undeniably calculated, the decision to let the United Arab Emirates host COP28 appeared almost sinister because of the way the summit was intertwined with ADNOC. I am not the only one who feels strongly about this.

More than 100 members of the U.S. Congress and the European Parliament called for Jaber to step down as president of COP28, claiming that his appointment risked undermining climate negotiations vital to the survival of our deteriorating natural world.

Instead of heeding the concerns, Jaber claimed there is “no science” that says phasing out fossil fuels is necessary to limit global warming to 1.5 C above pre-industrial levels. Instead, he exaggerated the need for socioeconomic develop-

VIA CHRISTOPHER PIKE / COP28 / FLICKR

COP28 President Sultan Al Jaber is pictured at the formal opening of the UN Climate Change Conference. ment, saying fossil fuels are necessary “unless you want to take the world back into caves.” These spine-chilling comments echo those of other men in high positions who are notorious for downplaying the climate crisis.

The bottom line? We need to see a shift in governance at these conferences. At this stage in the climate crisis, we cannot let companies with clear conflicts of interest decide the actions that they deem necessary to preserve the planet because evidently, they do not care about it. Organizations like Greenpeace, WWF and other climate justice groups, while they

may receive various critiques, are better contenders for the COP presidency. These organizations at least see environmental protection as a priority, not as something they can compromise for the sake of profiting off the very thing that causes environmental decay.

The only way we can start seeing legislation that secures the future of our environment is if we start holding the people who do not have its best interests at heart accountable and let those who do have the best interests be leading forces, as opposed to background voices. For that, we need protest, not indifference.

VIEWPOINT

The Republican Party should support Haley after the New Hampshire primary Matthew Rampe Staff Writer

Originally published Feb. 6.

With a turbulent primary underway, the Republican field of eight candidates has been whittled down to just two: former President Donald Trump, who’s battling four criminal indictments, and former governor of South Carolina Nikki Haley. After two state primary elections and looking at current polling, Trump is vastly outpacing Haley. He recently polled 26 points ahead of Haley in South Carolina, the state of the next

Nikki Haley is pictured.

primary and Haley’s home turf. If this trajectory continues, Haley will soon be forced to join her fellow candidates, the majority of whom have dropped out and ended up supporting Trump, the most recent one being Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.

Although one Republican winning over another may not seem to make a huge difference, it is important to look at the key policy differences between Trump and Haley. These differences may seem small but will have large implications for the future of the Republican Party, especially the viability of more moderate candidates. We should be look-

VIA WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

ing for more moderate candidates because moderation in politics helps decrease polarization within and between parties. It also increases the ability for a dialogue about politics to occur in a civil manner.

Trump has refused to participate in the Republican debates so far, so it is hard to see what he might say to directly oppose others.

However, we can gain an understanding of his views by looking at what he has said in the media and the actions he has taken in the past. Trump is relatively moderate when it comes to the economic policies he is promising to enact: higher wages, lower taxes and more jobs for American workers. However, when looking at his other views and personal actions, he becomes much more radical. It is clear on Jan. 6, he incited a riot on the Capitol which led to the death of four people in the crowd and five police officers. Following the Jan. 6 insurrection, Trump continuously denied involvement and continued to claim the 2020 election, which he lost to Biden, was rigged.

This radical approach has continued into his newest campaign with many of his social views. On abortion, although refusing to answer the question if he supports

a national ban, Trump has said how he believes the overturning of Roe v. Wade to be “a great victory.” Trump has also advocated for the complete elimination of the Department of Education and to allow prayer in public schools. This elimination is quite drastic. Adding prayer to schools would blur the line of separation between church and state. Trump’s foreign policy is also radical, calling for the U.S. to completely eliminate its trade dependence on China in many critical areas. More dangerous than his policy platform is his inciting rhetoric. Trump has continuously used inflammatory wording when discussing relations with other countries, such as when he infamously described numerous South American and African countries as “s—hole countries.”

Unlike Trump, Haley has taken a more moderate approach during this campaign. This can be seen clearly with her education policy.

She believes that the Department of Education should lose a large amount of its funding, but she does not believe in its complete elimination. In addition, though she has a similarly harsh stance on China, she stops short of many of Trump’s tariff proposals. Haley also has bet-

ter experience on the world stage.

She has previously served as the United States ambassador to the U.N. This experience dealing with world leaders on a constant basis gives her heightened expertise in dealing with foreign policy and politics. She has avoided the harmful rhetoric that Trump has made his signature, and notably, she believes in the 2020 election results.

Haley has aimed for the more moderate voters in the Republican party, looking to find a base of people in those who disagree with the current ‘Trumpification’ of the Republican Party. However, it seems that after losing in two states’ primaries and approaching a third loss with poll numbers looking weak in her home state, Haley’s campaign is coming to an end soon. This battle between Haley and Trump reveals much about the current climate of the Republican Party, showing how most Republicans want Trump back and support him and his views. Haley losing this battle indicates a bleak future for moderate candidates winning the Republican nomination. Her eventual loss is the end of moderate viability within the Republican party for the near future.

Lavazza and Gucci. Finally, both have strong global fanbases.

Sinner is well-positioned to win more Slams and become world No. 1, despite commentators’ enduring support for Djokovic. With a strong team behind him and an unparal-

leled skillset, Sinner will surely make a name for himself within the tennis world and outside it. He will garner the attention Federer did. He will transcend tennis and become a renowned athlete known all over the world. In due time, he will likely

become the GOAT, a reality that commentators need to accept.

Tennis commentators need to remove their biases from their match commentary. Their job is to commentate the facts of the match, not share their biases toward specific players.

Sinner’s win demonstrates tennis commentators’ biases

TENNIS continued from page 9

by Darren Cahill, who is known for coaching Lleyton Hewitt, Andre Agassi and Simona Halep, all of whom won Grand Slams or reached world No. 1 under Cahill’s guidance. Federer too

employed a strong coaching staff, including Severin Lüthi and Ivan Ljubičić. Both have received major endorsement deals, with Federer signing with Lindt, Wilson, Rolex and Uniqlo throughout his career and Sinner signing with Nike, Rolex,

THE TUFTS DAILY

Sports 11

Thursday, February 8, 2024

Tufts swimming and diving crushes Hamilton, celebrates Class of 2024 Madeline Mueller News Editor

Both the men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams triumphed over Hamilton College on Friday. The women’s team won 175–113, and the men’s team won 166–109. The meet, the last home meet of the year, also served as an opportunity to celebrate Senior Night and honor the 19 swimmers and divers in the Class of 2024.

Many seniors gave strong performances in the meet. For the women’s team, this included Jillian Cudney, who won two events. Cudney won the 200 freestyle with a time of 1:54.15 and the 50 butterfly in 25.72. Senior diver Emma Fishbein won the three-meter event with 211.20 points, a collegiate best score for Fishbein. Elise Fong was first in the 100 backstroke at 1:00.77.

On the men’s side, the Class of 2024 swimmers also impressed.

Graduate student Peter LaBarge won the 200 freestyle in 1:44.38 and also won the 50 butterfly. In the 200 freestyle relay, the Class of 2024 made up the winning lineup.

LaBarge, Edwin Liang-Gilman, Eli Houlton and Will Stearns combined for a time of 1:25.33.

Based on strong performances from other class years, the team doesn’t need to fear for its future when the Class of 2024 leaves. To start the meet, junior Lara Wujciak, sophomore Quinci Wheeler, sophomore Jade Foltenyi and first-year Sydney Stasz took first place in the medley relay (without a senior member). Sophomore Madeleine Dunn helped Tufts cement its lead by winning two events, swimming the 400 individual

medley in 4:35.52 and finishing the 500 freestyle in 5:03.67.

There were plenty of victories for other class years on the men’s side as well. Junior Eric Lundgren and first-year Oliver Grossman joined LaBarge in winning two individual events each. Lundgren excelled in the 400 individual medley with a time of 4:13.50, and he also went 53.51 in the 100 IM. Grossman’s 23.97 in the 50 backstroke was nearly two seconds faster than any Hamilton swimmer. Later in the meet, Grossman also won the 100 backstroke in 52.28. Other winners included juniors Ethan Schreier in the 100 butterfly and Soeren Euvrard in the 50 freestyle.

Even the newest members of the team made strong contributions. The top three finishers in the women’s 50-yard breaststroke were all first-year students: Aliyah Larson, Stasz and Mia Solomon. Larson set a new pool record in the 50 breaststroke with a time of 30.54, replacing the 30.73 record set earlier this season by Wheeler. The top men’s diver in the meet was first-year Jay Wilkinson. Wilkinson competed in both the one-meter and three-meter events, taking home the top scores in both (298.20 and 261.90, respectively). Rafae Shafi continued to show dominance in distance events with a time of 4:50.61 in the 500 freestyle, and first-year Jack Nussbaum won the 100 breaststroke.

Tufts dominated in the meet, such that beginning with 3-meter diving, the remaining events were scored as exhibition events for Tufts. This means that swimmers and divers still record their time or score but cannot score points for the team.

Willie Xu is pictured in the Feb. 2 meet against Hamilton College.

Senior night celebrations included posters, balloons and plenty of writing on the windows of Hamilton Pool. Members of the junior class organized the event and dedicated speeches to each senior. The team also celebrated with a dinner after the meet.

As the scale of the celebration shows, the program is very proud of the work and leadership of the Class of 2024. Several juniors on the team expressed that the seniors balanced a highly competitive spirit alongside supportive leadership.

“This year’s class is really, really driven, even compared to previous senior classes,” Euvrard said. “The reason they’re so driven is because they want to bring the team together.”

Junior swimmer Valeria Strohmeier agreed.

“The class of 2024 has always been so supportive of their teammates and [has] shown us what it is like to be a part of such a close team that is there for each other no matter what,” Strohmeier wrote in an email to the Daily.

Junior diver Cam Yuen noted that the unique experience of joining the team without normal competition during the COVID19 pandemic may be one reason the seniors have invested so much in the team’s success.

“They lost one of the most important years of their college experience, their first year,” he said.

“I honestly think that year probably made them one of the most driven classes out there. … As leaders this year, they want everyone to have the experience that they missed out on in their first year.”

Celebrating the contributions of the Class of 2024 also meant

COURTESY TUFTS ATHLETICS

recognizing that the seniors will soon say farewell to the team.

“It was a very special night and made me realize how much I am truly going to miss all of them,” Strohmeier wrote.

“It is going to be very hard to say goodbye at the end of the season.”

Luckily, the season is not over for the Jumbos. The team culture that the Class of 2024 has helped establish will help the team as they approach end-ofseason competition.

“The spirit that we feel and the togetherness that this team has generally is the best feeling, especially going into championship season,” Yuen said.

The Jumbos compete next on Friday at the Boston University Winter Open, with NESCAC Championships the following week.

Klopp leaves formidable legacy at Liverpool

Jürgen Klopp is pictured on July 21, 2022.

VIA WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

LIVERPOOL continued from back the Premier League, bringing in Senegalese sensation Sadio Mané as well as Belgian midfielder Georginio Wijnaldum.

His last major transfer splurge came in his third season using funds from the sale of Philippe Coutinho to Barcelona. The 135 million euro transfer fee helped bring in current Dutch captain Virgil Van Dijk. His greatest masterstroke, however, as pointed out by Rory Smith, New York Times Sports correspondent,

was opting for Chelsea reject Mohamed Salah despite having a preference for fellow countryman Julian Brandt. Salah has transformed Liverpool and has brought Egypt onto the world football stage.

Klopp’s success will be hard to replicate. As of Oct. 8, 2022, he had an astounding 2.08 goal average and once went 21 games unbeaten away from home in the Premier League.

One could dig up a gold mine of similar stats but as previously emphasized, his story goes

beyond goal averages and winning streaks. The Klopp era saw the rebirth of a fading giant, the evolution of a dynasty and the planting of unearthed talent.

Whether one sees it as rescue or redirection, it was resounding and will be cherished. As rumors spread of a great former player stepping in, fans can dream of what could still be a fairytale ending with the club still alive in four major competitions. Klopp is Liverpool’s modern era, and one thing’s for sure: He’ll never walk alone.

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12 Sports

THE TUFTS DAILY

Thursday, February 8, 2024

Sports Tufts men’s ice hockey bounces back from overtime loss to beat Conn. College 4–0 After two games against the Camels, the Jumbos emerge victorious.

Tara Wirtschoreck Staff Writer

This weekend, the Tufts men’s ice hockey team played against Connecticut College twice. This proved to be the second chance the Jumbos needed. After losing 4–3 in overtime at home against the Camels on Friday night, the Jumbos came back with a 4–0 win on Saturday in New London, Conn. to show that Friday night was an anomaly.

On Friday, the Jumbos started strong with a goal by junior forward Tyler Sedlak in the first period that brought the score to 1–1 going into the second period.

After a scoreless second period by both teams, the Jumbos picked back up in the third.

Goals by sophomore forward Cole Dubicki and senior defenseman Sam Miller brought the score to 3–1 with less than six minutes left in the third.

Though two goals in five minutes is a difficult feat, in the NESCAC, anything can happen. The Camels scored with about three minutes left, and then, before the Jumbos seemed to process that they were in a 1-point game, they scored with just 20 seconds left to send the game to overtime.

The Jumbos weren’t able to defend against the Camels; in overtime, Conn. scored again to bring the final score to a 4–3 loss that didn’t reflect the strength of the Tufts team.

“We knew we were the better team all along,” sophomore forward Max Resnick said.

“Friday night, we just got into penalty trouble and let them hang around, and they ended up getting lucky and winning.”

Harrison Bazianos is pictured in the Jan. 27 game against Middlebury College.

While they were on the ice, the Jumbos played incredibly well. But their biggest issue came from the amount of time they were spending in the penalty box. With a total of eight penalties, the Camels spent 13 minutes on the power play and scored two of their four goals during that time.

“Friday night, I think we took [19] penalty minutes, which is absurd,” Resnick said.

“That’s almost a whole period in the box. So just being disciplined, not stirring it up, just playing our game … and just playing for us and each other is a skill that we worked on.”

The Jumbos acknowledged the loss and came ready to play a decisive game of hockey on Saturday. “[Friday] was tough. We should never lose a 2 goal lead in the 3rd period and we all know that,” Sedlak wrote in an email to the Daily. “But we had

to quickly flush it and worry about [Saturday’s] game and bouncing back as it was crucial for our standing. With that being said, we knew we were the better team, and we were all eager to go and prove that on Saturday.”

If the Jumbos were out for revenge after Friday, they certainly found it with a 4–0 victory on Saturday.

“We had a character win [on] Saturday, coming out and winning 4–0 after blowing a lead and losing at home in front of a big crowd,” senior goalie Peyton Durand said. “I think the loss woke everyone up. We did our best and delivered our best and got the win.”

The strong victory was an important moment for the Jumbos to show how they could play as well as maintain their standing in the NESCAC. “We knew Saturday was a must-win,” Resnick said. “So

COURTESY TUFTS ATHLETICS

we were pretty ready to go, fired up from the puck drop and we showed from the start that we were ready to go.”

Though the game started slow at first, with no scoring in the first period, the Jumbos were able to pick up the pace with a goal by Sedlak near the end of the second period. The third period, though, was when the Jumbos demonstrated just how much better they were.

Sedlak scored again early in the third period, followed by back-to-back goals from junior forward Harrison Bazianos to bring the score to 4–0.

The Jumbos forward line of Bazianos, Sedlak and Resnick proved unstoppable for the Camels. Bazianos and Sedlak had an impressive two goals each, and Resnick assisted three out of the four goals.

“On Saturday … between [Resnick, Bazianos and me], we had another level we needed to

play at, and we did just that,” Sedlak wrote. “We have been able to find chemistry all year and I think we all complement each other really well, so it’s fun being able to play alongside them every night.”

Durand’s impressive goaltending and the team’s strong defense made the Jumbos’ already strong offense completely untouchable for the Camels.

“We are one of the teams in the NESCAC that’s given up the least amount of goals all year,” Durand said. “I think that says a lot about our [defensive] core. … On Saturday especially, they kept a lot of shots that I saw to the outside.”

Another important aspect of the Jumbos’ win on Saturday was avoiding the penalty trouble they had run into Friday night. They only faced two penalties, meaning they had five skaters on the ice for the vast majority of the game.

“The emphasis for Saturday was to stay out of the box and play against them 5-on-5 because we thought we dominated play 5-on-5 Friday when we were at even strength,” Durand said. “And we did stay out of the box, we took [fewer] penalties and then we won 4–0 on Saturday. I think that was pretty telling of our team and how good we can be when we’re playing 5-on-5 instead of living in the penalty box.”

Next weekend, Tufts will play two home games against Amherst and Hamilton in their second-to-last weekend of the regular season.

“We have two huge weekends coming up,” Resnick said.

“Hopefully we play well … and we end up with a good seed going into the playoffs.”

Danke Jürgen: The Liverpool love story Bharat Singh Staff Writer

“Messi mashed on Merseyside.” If Anfield had ever dreamt of hearing a sweeter line, that dream was unfolding tenfold. A corner of traveling Catalan fans were left speechless as a sea of red chanted on. Although Peter Drury is often lauded as the master of modern commentary, it was Darren Fletcher who uttered those words. And he hadn’t planned it. How could he?

Liverpool were trailing by three goals against FC Barcelona. In the absence of Mohamed Salah, their Egyptian talisman, overturning such a deficit was impossible.

Jürgen Klopp believed otherwise.

For a man brought in by data, his legacy cannot be measured through statistics. For the many spine-tingling nights he brought

to Anfield, Klopp will forever be embedded in the fabric of Liverpool, not only in the club but in the city and the hearts of every young scouser who passes his murals with a ball in hand as well. Beyond the silverware, which includes a Champions League and Premier League title, Klopp’s eight years at the club will be cherished for non-tangibles that will outlive his reign.

His gegenpress, a counter-pressing system of relentless pressure that rattles even the calmest opposition, is now second nature to his players. This energy transmits to the stands, making Anfield a feared cathedral of sporting drama.

Klopp’s integration of youth into the first team has given the club an exciting roadmap for the coming seasons. Not too long ago, a young scrawny Trent

Alexander-Arnold was tip-toeing on bins leaning over the fences of Melwood. Today he is another golden feather in the academy’s hat. It was his presence of mind that completed the comeback to knock Barcelona out on that famous night. Last week, Klopp called on another rough gem against Chelsea: Conor Bradley.

Bradley, who would replace Trent at right-back, assisted and scored against “the Blues.” At full-time he was embraced by Klopp. His smile said it all.

It’s easy to focus on the last three or four years when assessing Klopp’s impact. In that period, Liverpool has remained among the top three teams in Europe alongside Manchester City and Real Madrid. But Klopp’s greatness must always be remembered in the context of the team he initially inherit-

ed. In 2014, Liverpool had fallen short of an incredible title race spearheaded by Luis Suárez. The Uruguayan’s partnership with Daniel Sturridge was one of the best in league history with the pair scoring 52 goals, finishing first and second on the scoring charts. It was also one of Steven Gerrard’s last chances to lift the one missing piece in his stellar collection of accolades.

As Brendan Rodgers stepped down, Klopp emerged as his successor.

Suárez joined Barcelona and Gerrard hung up his boots. What was left was an exciting and untested mix of talent, youth and experience.

A rough draft for a project that, Klopp made clear, was going to take time. In a way, given his track record with Borussia Dortmund, the fans accepted this and embraced the

experimental years with optimism. One of Klopp’s defining characteristics is that he is a master delegator. Yes, on the touchline he wears his heart on his sleeve, but behind the scenes, the German coach values insights from different departments — in particular, data when it comes to recruitment. In his first season, he brought in Christian Benteke and Roberto Firmino, the latter of whom would be integral to Klopp’s frontline for years. He also recruited young defensive talent Joe Gomez from Charlton Athletic for only 5 million euros.

Gomez is Liverpool’s starting centre-back to date and has represented England at major tournaments. In the following two years, Klopp scouted within see LIVERPOOL, page 11