The Tufts Daily - Tuesday, March 2, 2021

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T HE T UFTS DAILY

VOLUME LXXXI, ISSUE 15

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Tuesday, March 2, 2021

Campus Safety and Policing workstream highlights possibilities for TUPD reform, arming status to be revisited

by Rebecca Barker and Alex Viveros News Editors

University President Anthony Monaco presented the findings from the Campus Safety and Policing workstream, including the recommendation to form a working group regarding the arming status of Tufts University Police Department officers, in a Feb. 17 email to the Tufts community.

The Campus Safety and Policing workstream, which was one of five workstreams formed in July as a part of Monaco’s “Tufts as an Anti-Racist Institution” initiative, was tasked with reviewing the existing model of the TUPD. Twenty-four members including administrators, professors and students contributed to the workstream, and have met frequently over a period of several months. Its findings were presented as a final report to President Monaco and the administration. see POLICING, page 3

SOPHIE DOLAN / THE TUFTS DAILY

The Tufts University Police Department’s sign is pictured on Jan 23, 2018.

Act On Mass proposes amendments to increase transparency in Massachusetts State House

VIA WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

The Massachusetts State House is pictured.

by Zoe Kava zation, Act On Mass, on Feb. Assistant News Editor 24. The amendment, filed

by Rep. Erika Uyterhoeven of The Massachusetts State Somerville, was voted down, House voted on this session’s but would have ensured comlegislative rules, including an mittee votes and testimony be amendment pushed forward made public. The results of the by progressive political organi- vote came as a disappointment

for Act On Mass, who had been pushing for three amendments to State House rules, including this one.

In a statement released following the vote, Ryan Daulton, campaign manager with Act On Mass, shared his perspective.

“It’s shocking that many of the arguments against the amendment blamed constituents for our lack of understanding of how the State House functions when that’s precisely what we are asking for: to stop being shut out of the legislative process. This vote was a blatant signal that representatives care more about power than their constituents,” Ryan Daulton said, according to the statement.

In November, Act On Mass launched its “Transparency is Power” campaign, which has advocated for three amendments to State House rules. The amendments include requiring that votes held in committees be publicly disclosed; bills be made public and open to review for 72 hours prior to a final vote; and the threshold for a vote be publicly recorded to be reduced from 16 votes to eight votes.

Since its launch, the “Transparency is Power” campaign has gained the support of 19 state representatives, as well as a number of grassroots and political advocacy organizations, including Sunrise Movement Boston.

Ella McDonald, communications director for the

FEATURES / page 4

ARTS / page 6

SPORTS / back

A look into Hosea Ballou’s life, impact on Tufts

Slowthai’s “Tyron” is an outstanding sophomore effort

Athletes Unlimited continues growth of women’s lacrosse

Transparency is Power campaign, said that Act On Mass launched its campaign because it noticed that important progressive policies were dying in the state legislature.

“We were seeing this recurring problem in the State House where really critical progressive legislation just gets lost in committees and we have no idea what’s happened to it,” McDonald said. “The problem that we are really addressing with this campaign is the lack of transparency and accountability [in the State House]” McDonald, a junior, is also involved in other activism groups including Sunrise Movement Boston and Sunrise Movement Tufts. She cited the lack of transparency in the Massachusetts State House as a reason for failed legislation. She also compared the Massachusetts State House to that of other states, and said that the Massachusetts State House is consistently ranked as one of the least transparent State Houses in the country.

“It’s really, really difficult in our State House to know how our representatives vote. We see TRANSPARENCY, page 2 NEWS

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FEATURES

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ARTS & POP CULTURE

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FUN & GAMES

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OPINION

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SPORTS

BACK

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THE TUFTS DAILY | News | Tuesday, March 2, 2021

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Despite failed vote, Act On Mass will continue fight TRANSPARENCY

continued from page 1 don’t have public committee votes, which puts us sort of in the minority of states,” McDonald said.

Jeanette Gronemeyer, a member of Sunrise Boston, explained how that lack of transparency in the Massachusetts State House has stalled the implementation of progressive climate justice legislation.

“Last session, Sunrise Boston’s political team did this huge push through the ‘Which Side Are You On’ campaign which focused on getting … the 100% renewables bill passed,” she said. “Due to the lack of transparency on Beacon Hill … [the bill] was killed in committee, and we didn’t even know which legislators to hold accountable.”

Kate Murphy, a member of Sunrise Tufts, said that last year they had tried to subvert the committee process and file the 100% renewable energy bill as an amendment.

“We were hoping that, at least by achieving roll call, we would be able to point out legislators who said they publicly supported climate justice legislation but then voted against it,” Murphy said. “It eventually ended up failing because our amendment filer was pressured by various

people, and the State House … to not file it.”

Murphy, a junior, said that without a roll call vote, it’s difficult to know which representatives to hold accountable for climate justice bills dying in committee.

“Not knowing where our reps stand makes it impossible to put pressure on them to work towards climate justice, especially since they can easily say they support something, and then in the back room just go and vote against it,” Murphy said. “We wouldn’t know because there’s no public record of committee votes … unless roll call is demanded.”

Gronemeyer echoed the importance of knowing how legislators vote in order to put pressure on them to support climate justice legislation.

“We can’t even really successfully take on these theories of change within Massachusetts without accountability,” Gronemeyer said. “With the current non transparent processes, we don’t know how [representatives] voted, and so we don’t even know who to hold accountable.”

Gronemeyer said that the 100% renewables bill is getting filed again this session along with climate justice proposals.

She emphasized the importance

of the transparency amendments that Act On Mass is working to pass in order to push these bills forward.

“The justice bills that intersect with climate justice … that will be presented this session, it is very crucial for these transparency amendments to get passed in order for those bills to even have a chance,” she said.

Murphy said that climate justice bills aren’t the only bills that have been killed in committee, but that progressive legislation is failing across the board.

“There are other bills where it’s worse,” Murphy said. “The [Safe Communities Act], which really offers protections for immigrants, was killed eight years in a row.”

On Feb. 23, Act On Mass released a statement prior to the formal vote in response to the State House’s proposed version of the joint rules.

“Over the weekend and early this week, the House reviewed the Senate proposal, and stripped it of almost every transparency measure,” the statement said. “The House version wouldn’t publish a full record of committee votes, the House version completely strikes the requirement to make testimony publicly available, [and]

the House rejected a provision added by the senate to provide a full week of notice to the public before the committee hearings are held.”

During the rules debate, the State House voted down the amendment, with only 36 representatives voting in favor, despite great constituent support.

Act On Mass expressed their disappointment in a statement released following the vote.

“The vote puts the deep disconnect between voters and their representatives on full display,” the statement said.

“Over the past few months, volunteer members of Act on Mass have organized themselves in 100 districts alongside dozens of advocacy organizations to meet with their representatives.”

Act On Mass added that though the amendment didn’t pass, the campaign was able to make some changes to the State House rulebook.

“While the amendment did not pass, the new rules the House has already agreed to are a small step forward. That would not have happened without the massive outpouring of support from people all across the Commonwealth,” the statement said.

News

Tuesday, March 2, 2021 | News | THE TUFTS DAILY

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Some community members dissatisfied with results of workstream, want to see disarmament of TUPD now POLICING

continued from page 1 The workstream did not come to a conclusion regarding the arming status of TUPD officers. Rather, the group proposed creating a separate working group focused solely on exploring alternative models to the TUPD’s current arming policies. The report suggested that such a group could meet over an approximately 12-month period to address this discussion in a “lengthier and more comprehensive communication and engagement effort” than the workstream.

Recommendations by the workstream were split into five main sections: Mission; Organization Model and Resources; Policies and Practices; Training, Education and Communication; and Oversight and Accountability.

The workstream did not come to a conclusion regarding the arming status of TUPD officers. Rather, the group proposed creating a separate working group focused solely on exploring alternative models to the TUPD’s current arming policies.

The Mission section of the report focused on updated values, community building and leadership both within the TUPD and between the TUPD and the Tufts community. Among these recommendations was the proposal to hire a leader of the TUPD who shares the mission and values of the university and is willing to implement the recommendations outlined in the workstream’s report.

The university has already begun the hiring process for a new leader, according to Executive Vice President Mike Howard, and he said the process is expected to take several months.

“This search is being supported by Spelman and Johnson, a leadership search firm that has an established reputation for developing broad, deep, and diverse pools of talent for the consideration of search committees such as ours,” Howard wrote in an email to the Daily.

The workstream also detailed the role that community building can play in establishing trust between the TUPD and the Tufts community through initiatives such as increasing biking and walking patrols and participating in annual “community immersion sessions.”

The Organization Model and Resources section of the report included recommendations that addressed the presence and role of TUPD officers on campus. Along with the recommendations regarding the arming status of police officers on campus, the section advocated for the outsourcing of current TUPD responsibilities to non-police-officer personnel.

According to the workstream, such sworn personnel currently respond to routine

services on campus, including well-being checks, lockouts and transports, but the report advises that this changes.

“These activities do not require the expertise, training, and authority of a police officer who is sworn and armed,” the report said.

Additionally, the workstream recommended that the university expand its use of mental health professionals to respond to mental health crises. The report indicated that such an expansion should occur collaboratively between the Public Safety, Health Service and Student Affairs departments, citing an increasing campus need for resources regarding mental health.

“The number of service calls involving mental health matters is significant and has been steadily increasing over the last decade,” the report said. “Although police officers are trained in mental health basics, there are more appropriate and effective ways to respond to people in a mental health crisis.”

Additional proposals included the hiring of a community engagement officer, as well as a recommendation for the Department of Public Safety to review the compositional diversity of the TUPD. The Policies and Practices section of the report highlighted recommendations to address transparency and accountability within the TUPD, stating that a regular review of policies and practices within the department should be established and made publicly available. The section called for the formal adoption of a bias-free mandate to ensure that all members of the community, regardless of personal identity, are treated justly by the TUPD.

“The general idea is to start thinking about ways in which … systemic racism has been playing in all facets of society, but particularly at Tufts, and ways to acknowledge and to remediate it.”

Recommendations were also made toward reforming the complaint and investigation processes of the TUPD, suggesting that complaints should be solicited directly from the community. For investigations, the workstream proposed that a formal and impartial process be formed in conjunction with Human Resources, the Office of Equal Opportunity and other administrative groups.

With the Training, Education, and Communication section of the report, the workstream recommended that the Department of Public Safety expand its training program to increase the

quality and number of trainings conducted each year.

Specifically, the workstream suggested that training be conducted in cooperation with third parties not involved with law enforcement. Proposed curricula included trainings that address bias-free policing, de-escalation, crisis intervention, diversity and inclusion, mental health and physical and cognitive accessibility.

The final section of the report, Oversight and Accountability, called for the establishment of a permanent Campus Safety Advisory Board.

The report suggested that the Board would include students, faculty and staff from all four Tufts campuses. The Board would ensure that the vision and values articulated by the workstream are implemented by the university, facilitate com-

“We should not shy away from these tensions. Respectful discourse and debate are the hallmarks of a thriving academic community. Tufts should be at the forefront of dialogue on such a vital and imperative initiative.” munication between the TUPD and the Tufts community, meet regularly with department leadership and share its work with the community on an annual basis, per the report.

The workstream met with several groups during its research process to inform its recommendations, including Tufts Action Group, an organization founded by faculty and staff shortly after the killing of George Floyd last summer, according to Keith Maddox, Tufts Action Group Steering Committee member and associate professor of psychology.

“The general idea is to start thinking about ways in which … systemic racism has been playing in all facets of society, but particularly at Tufts, and ways to acknowledge and to remediate it,” Maddox said.

The workstream’s report provided a letter written by Tufts Action Group regarding the organization’s demands for the TUPD. In the letter, Tufts Action Group called on the administration and the TUPD to open a dialogue with the community regarding the department’s personnel, training, management and general operations.

The general idea is to start thinking about ways in which … systemic racism has been playing in all facets of society, but particularly at Tufts, and ways to acknowledge and to remediate it. Keith maddox The letter listed a series of demands by Tufts Action Group,

including calls for the “immediate and permanent disarmament of TUPD,” the implementation of community liaisons to the TUPD, the development of plans to re-assess the budgeting of the TUPDin favor of social alternatives and the transparent sharing of information regarding the TUPD’s training and budget.

Members of Tufts Action Group also created a petition last summer titled “In solidarity with the Movement for Black Lives, we call for Tufts University to Disarm and Defund the TUPD.” “We demand the University cut ties with state and local law enforcement agencies, disarm and defund the Tufts Police Department, and reallocate resources towards collective community safety,” the petition said.

A number of Tufts Action Group members assisted in forming the workstream’s recommendations. Hope Freeman, director of the LGBT Center and interim director of the Women’s Center, is on Tufts Action Group’s steering committee as well as the workstream committee. She sought to present alternatives and research on policing.

“As a [Tufts Action Group] member my goal was to support my colleagues on the committee in recognizing varying approaches to community safety and accountability; restorative justices and transformative justices,” Freeman wrote in an email to the Daily.

“Students on the committee introduced abolition concepts as we tasked our selves with looking at everything.”

Maddox said that, while Tufts Action Group has not yet met to discuss the findings of the workstream, he was personally disappointed that the final report did not include an immediate recommendation to disarm TUPD. “From the basis of [Tufts Action Group’s] demands it’s pretty clear that the idea of … further study isn’t necessary, and that the idea is that this is a kind of imperative that needs to take place for the institution now,” Maddox said. “It is a little disappointing from a personal standpoint that it’s going to take another 12 months, and that’s just to decide whether to [disarm the TUPD] or not.”

Tufts Community Union Senate Diversity Officer Mathew Peña said that, while he can only speak for himself and not the entire Tufts community, he was also disappointed by the lack of a decision regarding the arming status of the TUPD. “I was a little saddened by the fact that there was no consensus on what we can do with arming police officers,” Peña, a senior, said. “I say that coming from a very heavily policed neighborhood myself.”

Peña, who grew up in Highbridge — a neighborhood

in the South Bronx — said that he personally believes the presence of armed police officers, especially for routine services and well-being checks, can be threatening.

“I’ve been going through metal detectors [at school] since I was in sixth grade, and I had thought college would be that bit of escape from policing,” Peña said. “It also brings my nerves up whenever I see officers because that’s what I know them for … they’re there to completely define and enforce things … that’s just what I’ve been raised with.”

In his Feb. 17 email to the Tufts community, Monaco noted that some members of the community may be unsatisfied with the initiatives proposed by the workstreams.

“Some community members may be dissatisfied by these reports viewing them as falling short, and others may disagree on the best way to achieve our stated purpose,” Monaco said.

“We should not shy away from these tensions. Respectful discourse and debate are the hallmarks of a thriving academic community. Tufts should be at the forefront of dialogue on such a vital and imperative initiative.”

Howard said that the arming status of TUPD officers responding to routine services will be revisited once a new leader of the Department of Campus Safety is hired.

We should not shy away from these tensions. Respectful discourse and debate are the hallmarks of a thriving academic community. Tufts should be at the forefront of dialogue on such a vital and imperative initiative.anthony monaco Peña emphasized the importance of community involvement as the university moves forward with the implementation of recommendations.

“We’re doing this for a community, so it only makes sense that you invite as many voices as possible,” Peña said. “I also definitely do believe that the most marginalized and the most heavily policed groups, like people from where I come from, should be very integral to this conversation.”

According to Rob Mack, associate provost and chief diversity officer for the Medford/ Somerville and SMFA campuses, decisions on whether recommendations will be implemented by the university have not been finalized. Mack said that the timeline and goals for implementation will be made transparent, and plans to further engage with the Tufts community in discussion on campus policing and safety.

“This has been and needs to be a community effort,” Mack wrote in an email to the Daily.

“We will continue to welcome input and ideas from community members as we begin to bring these recommendations to life.”

4 Tuesday, March 2, 2021

Features

tuftsdaily.com

More than meets the eye: President Hosea Ballou

by Ari Navetta

Assistant Features Editor

Editor’s Note: “Ballou” in this article will refer to Hosea Ballou 2d unless otherwise specified.

Tradition at this time was to use “2d” as opposed to “junior” or “II.” “TUESDAY, JULY 19, 1853, was a typically warm midsummer day in the Boston area,” Russell Miller wrote in his authoritative history of Tufts from 1852-1952, “Light on the Hill” (1986). “The location was Walnut Hill, on the outskirts of the town of Medford, Massachusetts; from this eminence, the highest in the Boston area, the Bunker Hill monument was clearly visible, and it was said that seventeen towns and villages could be distinguished in the distance. The occasion was the laying of the cornerstone of the main building for ‘a literary institution devoted to the higher cultivation of the mind,’ already christened Tufts College by its Board of Trustees.”

Even though Tufts College was chartered in 1852, students would not enter Tufts University’s halls until 1854. This gave Rev. Hosea Ballou 2d, who was a pastor and had little administrative experience, ample time to embark on this mission.

Ballou was born in Guilford, Vt. in 1796 to a Universalist family. After receiving only a primary education — as traditional Universalists were wary of over-education — Ballou became a teacher, traveling preacher and recognized minister. After marrying his childhood sweetheart, Clarissa Hatch, in 1820, he served the parish of Roxbury, Mass. from 1821–38.

“You will think me very presumptuous in undertaking the office of president, and I perfectly agree with you therein. But I shut my eyes to the consequence, and rush forward.” “[His namesake, Hosea Ballou], great-uncle of the first president of Tufts (and often confused with him), has often been considered ‘the father of Universalism in America,’” Miller wrote.

During this time, Ballou, ever the intellectual, continued his learning with self-education.

“During the 1820’s he perfected his earlier knowledge of Latin, learned to read ‘with ease’ French, German, and Greek, and acquired ‘considerable knowledge’ of Hebrew,” Miller wrote.

During this period, Ballou also emerged as a writer.

“He contributed over 100 articles and reviews to Universalist

COURTESY DIGITAL COLLECTIONS AND ARCHIVES / TUFTS UNIVERSITY

Ballou Hall is pictured, circa 1860. periodicals, co-edited at various times two Universalist papers, edited a scholarly journal which he had founded, edited the first American edition of a European work in religious history, and published a collection of psalms and hymns for Universalist use,” Miller wrote. “His major research contribution was a history of Universalism during the first six centuries of the Christian era which probably did more than anything else to establish the author’s reputation as a Universalist scholar.”

In 1842, Ballou joined the Board of Overseers of Harvard University, where he would serve until 1858. It was during his time at Harvard that Ballou got involved with the fledgling movement to create a Universalist school.

According to Miller, Universalism became a “recognizable sect” in America toward the end of the eighteenth century. “[Universalism] represented a small part of the larger movement of revolt against the Calvinist predestinarianism which the majority of colonists had inherited,” Miller wrote. “It offered, through its teachings of the universal Fatherhood of God and the universal brotherhood and ultimate salvation of all men, an optimistic, humane ethic characteristic of the democratic strivings of a new nation in the making.”

Universalists eventually developed a reputation for being outspoken on liberal religious issues. From the very beginning, the sect advocated for a separation of church and state.

“They took a strong stand against slavery, advocated temperance, and even organized a General Reform Association in

the 1840’s through which they could express themselves and act on the various movements permeating the Jacksonian era that were intended to better the lot of mankind,” Miller wrote.

The skepticism of traditional Universalists toward higher education had not been a problem when the sect was still emerging, but as it expanded, many began to call for more formal education for young men intent on entering the ministry. This had widespread support, but there was vigorous debate over how it should be done, specifically over whether the education should be purely theological, literary or a combination thereof.

Plans to establish a Universalist school endured many starts and stops, but eventually a Board of Trustees, which included Ballou, was created to oversee the project and bring it to fruition. Ballou was a natural addition to the Board, as he had contributed to the rise of Universalism in the country.

“Gentle and retiring to the point of self-effacement, studious and meticulously thorough, he was active, in his quiet way, in most Universalist affairs during the crucial early period,” Miller wrote.

One of the first orders of business was deciding on the school’s location. One option, Walnut Hill in Medford, was far from Ballou’s first choice, largely due to its proximity to Harvard University, as he explained to T.J. Sawyer, fellow trustee and even more prominent Universalist than Ballou.

“We shall at least stand before the public, in comparison with Harvard,” Ballou wrote in a letter to Sawyer. “The oldest, richest, best appointed University on this

side of the Atlantic, which stands in plain sight, with its army of professors … to say nothing of its library, cabinet, scientific school, law school, medical school, etc.”

There was one benefit to the location, however, which appears to have trumped all other concerns.

“I know of but one reason for having the college in so unfortunate a position: a large sum, given by Mr. Tufts, is granted in condition that a literary institution of some kind, under the control of Universalists, be placed on Walnut Hill,” Ballou wrote to Sawyer.

When Charles Tufts was once asked what he planned on doing with Walnut Hill, he famously replied, “I will put a light on it.”

This land was not uninhabited before Tufts came into its possession, however. The campus sits on what was once home to Indigenous communities in Massachusetts before colonists appropriated the land.

“As an institution that benefits from the ownership of land once inhabited and cared for by Indigenous communities, Tufts has a responsibility to recognize this history and engage with the descendants and nations who represent the original peoples of what is now eastern Massachusetts,” Tufts’ admissions website says.

Along with Charles Tufts’ donation, Universalists who were overjoyed at the news of such an institution also contributed small donations that formed the backbone of Tufts’ initial funding.

“There was just this groundswell of excitement, enthusiasm, putting people’s resources into this enterprise — real-

ly putting their money where their mouth was — to build this thing,” Pamela Hopkins, Tufts public services and outreach archivist for digital collections & archives said.

The presidency was originally offered to T.J. Sawyer, who declined. Next on the list was Ballou, despite his hesitancy toward the idea.

“He deeply wanted the college to be established and to be successful,” Hopkins said. “But he had no desire to be its president. And he, of course, had no experience being a college administrator.”

Ballou’s surprise at his own decision to accept the offer is evident in correspondence with his brother Levi.

“I suppose you have heard that the Trustees of Tufts College have ventured the hazardous game of appointing me president,” Ballou wrote. “You will be still more surprised to learn that I think of accepting the office, — not on the ground of being fit for it, which the Lord knows I am not, but because I do not know who they can get that is fit for it […] You will think me very presumptuous in undertaking the office of president, and I perfectly agree with you therein.

But I shut my eyes to the consequence, and rush forward.”

Ballou had one caveat to accepting the position; he required a year to visit a variety of colleges in order to “to get some idea of what a College is,” as he put it in the letter to his brother. On Sep. 20, 1853, Ballou started this process at Harvard University, somewhat ironically. see BALLOU, page 5

F e at u r e s

Tuesday, March 2, 2021 | Features | THE TUFTS DAILY

5

Tufts' historical roots reflected in university today BALLOU

continued from page 4 Next up was Williams College on Nov. 8, 1853, Yale University (then College) on Nov. 14 and Brown University on Dec. 5.

According to Hopkins, he also took the search abroad, spending time in Europe to observe how higher education was conducted there.

Further taking matters into his own hands, Ballou sent out a general request to Universalists everywhere to help supply Tufts with books.

“All the Universalists are just so excited about this enterprise and are contributing financially and fundraising and trying to send books and the whole bit,” Hopkins said.

These books would have gone directly into the hands of Tufts’ first students and to Ballou’s personal library, which served as the school library for some time.

Ballou’s collection is now housed in the Department of Special Collections at Tisch Library.

Once the school was nearly up and running, Tufts’ supporters were given a taste of what their work had helped create. A course catalog of sorts — containing the College’s Board of Trustees, faculty, admission information, courses of study and expenses

Marco Sheng Transferable Skills

This is not a success story

I

had optimized this whole plan for how this column would go, but of course that thing we call life (and the vagaries of the mind) hits, and the beautiful schedule that played in my head falls to pieces.

So much of human existence is how we pick up those pieces, yes.

But it’s also about how we change our mindset so that the puzzle that is our life is neither perfectly complete nor in utter shambles.

I am constantly going through this struggle of the

for the 1854–55 school year — was distributed to churches, peer institutions and individuals to begin the process of enrolling students.

“Those [first] students are taking something of a leap of faith,” Hopkins said. “They’re really trusting that this is something that will be lasting, that if they all work hard — and with the providence of God and His care — they will have this successful college that will continue to bring up young clergymen and educate them in the liberal arts tradition.”

The catalog reveals stark differences between the fledgling institution and the Tufts of today. Although more limited than at present, course subjects ranged from ancient languages and rhetoric to hygiene and moral science. Ballou himself was the instructor of history and intellectual philosophy and also served as the university’s librarian and administered religious services.

The admissions process did not include SAT scores, high school transcripts or essays, but simply that students “produce certificates of their good moral character” and pass examinations in Latin, Greek, mathematics and history.

Student expenses were even further from those of today, consisting of $35 for tuition, $10 to $15 for room rent, $5 for library use and $2.50 for board.

The student body, however, appears to have had much of the same energy Tufts enjoys today.

“Student wacky hijinks started right away with broken windows, where things just kind of get out of hand,” Hopkins said. “There’s a lot of high spirits early on.

And we see this very early initial growth and presence of a robust and developing school spirit in the student body.”

Ballou died in office in 1861, leaving behind an institution that would thrive on the seeds he sowed. While it eventually shed its Universalist focus, Tufts has never strayed far from the spirit that was established in those early days.

“I don’t think he could have, over 150 years [later], imagined where things would be now, but there’s some really sturdy foundations built on that hill,” Hopkins said. “I see this long thread of that can-do attitude through Tufts all the way to the present day, that if we work hard, and we maintain our values, and we push for justice … we’re gonna get there, in the end — that all our sacrifices will be worthwhile.”

Hosea Ballou 2d is pictured, circa 1860.

all-or-nothing mindset: the unhealthy perfectionism of giving up in shame when your idealistic hopes inevitably don’t appear easily.

This might sound abstract and confusing, so I’ll give you a concrete example: me. I was born to a Harvard University (later MIT ) professor and a University of California, Berkeley graduate. I grew up as an Asian American in both Boston and near San Francisco, so earning a degree from a top college felt as given as the air I breathed. I enrolled in Johns Hopkins University the fall of 2015 as a neuroscience major, so all was going according to plan.

Fast forward months and years of angry texts, fake excus-

es, missed classes, porn sites, cancelled meetups, disordered eating, rom-com binges, work avoidance, self-sabotaging thoughts and countless therapy sessions, and here I am.

As a privileged, well-supported senior, there is a case to be made that I am a “failure.” In many ways, that’s what I think I am. But “failure” is a mindset, not a person. I know there’s so much more to me than that kid who took six years to graduate from college.

While constantly thinking you’re a failure is self-defeating and unhelpful, failing can be an amazing thing if you use it as an opportunity to learn. It’s difficult because we fear failure and find the emotions of rejection and losing out to be uncomfort-

able. When I failed to overcome my struggles last semester, I changed my living situation to better suit my needs. When I failed to get better in therapy, I had to make a change and grow under a different form of therapy built on daily measurement and skill-building. When I couldn’t stop letting Netflix, YouTube and Twitter interfere with my academics, I had to change and decided to pay for a website-blocking app. In each of these examples, what I left out was the fact that I had to learn to accept my limitations instead of waiting for a magical willpower to reveal itself.

Just as I had optimized the plans for my column, I had idealized this last semester of my college career. In my mind

COURTESY DIGITAL COLLECTIONS AND ARCHIVES / TUFTS UNIVERSITY

I saw a gaggle of housemate friends, the ease of productive work flying by and the picture-perfect job offer in my hands. But, of course, that thing we call life hits.

This is not a success story — at least, not yet.

Lesson 1: Instead of being perfectionistic, try to live in the gray and understand that two things can both be true even if they appear oppositional.

Lesson 2: You don’t have to be a “failure”; you can be a forward “failer,” someone who actively sees mistakes and limitations as opportunities to accept, change and grow.

Marco Sheng is a senior studying psychology. Marco can be reached at marco.sheng@tufts.edu.

6

Arts & POP ARTS Pop CULTURE Culture

tuftsdaily.com

Tuesday, March 2, 2021

‘Tyron’ is a two-headed dragon of emotions, hard-hitting rap

by Geoff Tobia Jr. Arts Editor

Slowthai (Tyron Frampton) has made a name for himself over the past two years, becoming one of the most popular grime artists in the U.K. He has rapped alongside Denzel Curry, Aminé, Brockhampton and Tyler, the Creator, among many others.

He has also worked with various producers, such as Mura Masa, Kenny Beats and Disclosure.

His debut album “Nothing Great About Britain” (2019) was well-received by critics and was

nominated for a Mercury Prize.

So, the release of “Tyron” (2021) was on every fan’s radar, and Slowthai has once again delivered an excellent piece of work.

A two-part album, Frampton’s sophomore record is chock-full of life-spilling details and streams of consciousness over a wonderful array of instrumentals.

The first half of “Tyron” rarely gives you time to breathe.

Listeners could figure that out before even listening to the album, as the entire first half of the tracklist is stylized in all capital letters, while the second half

is stylized in all lowercase letters. To start, “45 Smoke” is the explosive result of Frampton and producer Kwes Darko’s collaboration. These two have collaborated as far back as Slowthai’s 2017 single “Murder,” one of the first singles in Frampton’s discography. On “45 Smoke,” the noisy and bass-booming beat is relentless as Frampton comes in with his signature full-fledged yelling delivery. The line “Money to me like s— for a fly/ So I stay getting P ‘cause the world is mine” serves as a great example of his typical flaunting.

Then there’s “Mazza” featuring ASAP Rocky, and it’s an absolute banger. The rappers manage to reference Sonic the Hedgehog, Soulja Boy and the Popeye cartoons within their three-minute window. But nothing matches the meaning of the term “mazza” better than the beat. In an interview with Apple Music, Frampton explains that “Mazza is ‘mazzalean,’ which is my own word … It’s just a mad thing … like how everything comes and it’s so quick, and it’s a rush.” The next two cuts, “Vex” and “Wot,” are also excellent, with “Vex”

VIA WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

The cover art for Slowthai’s album “Tyron” (2021) is pictured.

Here’s why you should watch ‘Riverdale’

by Maeve Hagerty Assistant Arts Editor

Content warning: This article references murder and suicide.

This article contains spoilers for “Riverdale,” Seasons 1–4.

Jan. 26, 2017, a little more than four years ago, was a monumental day. It was on that day that the iconic characters Betty, Archie, Jughead and Veronica were brought to TV format on the CW television series “Riverdale” (2017–).

Based (loosely) on the Archie

Comics from the 1940s, the series follows the story of the four high school best friends as they move through a storyline of steamy romance, murder, mystery and melodrama.

When Season 1 concluded, the show appeared to be an average, albeit a little trashy, teenage romance-mystery series. And then Season 2 dropped in the fall of 2017 and the world of television was shaken to its core.

Suddenly, the previously questionable dialogue was non-

sensical and melodramatic to an extent this author had never witnessed before. What was supposed to be a season surrounding the serial killer, the Black Hood, was also characterized by a gang war that culminates in Betty performing a striptease to become part of the Southside Serpents and a literal drag race between the two gangs — the Ghoulies and the Southside Serpents — that’s something straight out of “Grease” (1978).

Archie created a vigilante group known as the Red Circle to

stop the Black Hood and later begins to work for his girlfriend Veronica’s previously absent mob boss of a father, whose epic evil plan is to create a private prison in Riverdale. And then Archie decides he hates Veronica’s father and threatens to reveal his criminal activities (including murder) to the authorities. None of it made much sense, to be frank.

But it was amazing. No show has ever created comedy — willingly or, in the case of “Riverdale,” unwillingly — of

covering Frampton’s thoughts on social media and “Wot” recalling the energy he felt while meeting with New York rapper Pop Smoke the night before he tragically passed away just over a year ago.

Tracks six and seven, “Dead” and “Play With Fire,” are eerie songs but still have punchy drum patterns like their preceding instrumentals. With this interesting way to conclude the first half of the album, it’s admirable to see how specifically Frampton wanted to construct this project.

The first track of the second half has Tyler, the Creator’s “Igor” (2019) vibes, and that’s nothing to complain about. The chorus and keyboard-assisted “I Tried” is an excellent starter for this calmer second half, as Frampton contemplates his past and the decisions he’s made. “Focus” is another low-key track provided by the unique pairing of Mount Kimbie and Kenny Beats. Singer Dominic Fike joins Frampton and Denzel Curry on “Terms,” a dark track both instrumentally and lyrically, with lines like “Let it off the leash, better run for the trees/ Blood on the leaves, teeth through your jeans” showing the occasionally visceral nature of Frampton’s lyricism.

The two best features on the album come in the second part of the LP, the first of which is up-and-coming singer Deb Never on “Push.” The song gives the energy of a bright but cloudy day, with Frampton and Never’s vocals having incredible chemistry. The second is English singer and producer James Blake on the song “Feel Away,” which also features Mount Kimbie.

The song was the lead single for “Tyron,” and it’s incredibly beautiful in the context of the record. Blake’s vocals and production contributions are as dreamy as they’ve always been, which isn’t a surprise considering his other work.

The final song, “Adhd,” is an unbelievable ending. It’s easily the most emotionally vulnerable song on the record with a somber beat to match Frampton’s crushing lyrics. The song’s final verse gets incredibly angry, with Frampton’s screams serving as backup vocals, and then ending with, as he describes it, “a kiss — just to sweeten it all up.”

the type demonstrated here. It is genuinely hilarious. Sitting and watching “Riverdale” with a group of friends on Teleparty became the perfect quarantine activity since the show’s wacky plot, and even weirder characters, seemed to be the only thing more insane than 2020.

However, it was in Season 3 that the show turned from weird to insane, and became cemented as a fan-favorite for its madness. The audience is expected see RIVERDALE, page 7

A&P

Tuesday, March 2, 2021 | Arts & Pop Culture | THE TUFTS DAILY

Though absurd, ‘Riverdale’ is worth a watch RIVERDALE

continued from page 6 to believe that there is a supernatural-esque villain known as the Gargoyle King, a figment of a widely popular board game called “Griffins and Gargoyles” that is encouraging the ritualistic suicides of kids in Riverdale. It was all very confusing, but immensely entertaining.

Additionally, there is a massive Riverdale conspiracy (as there always seems to be) that the ever-brilliant Betty and Jughead are intent on solving. Season 3 also saw Archie imprisoned, essentially because of Veronica’s father, for admitting to a murder he did not commit. In response to a juvie inmate who said he had been selling drugs for his Nana since he was in fourth grade, Season 3’s Archie birthed the now-infamous line, “that means you haven’t known the triumphs and defeats, the epic highs and lows of high school football.”

But, more importantly, Season 3 saw The Farm become a major, cryptic plot point as Betty becomes dedicated to liberating the obsessed Farm devotees. The Farm seemed like some crazy mind-control experiment, and yet, in one of the last episodes of the season, the Farm is revealed to be an underground organ-harvesting business. Apparently, the cult’s founders Edgar Evernever and his wife Evelyn (who pretends to be his daughter so she can attend high school and recruit people for the Farm) are stealing devotee’s organs and selling them. This was undoubtedly one of the best subplots of the entire series, one which resolved itself rather abruptly in the first few episodes of Season 4, in which Betty’s mom kills Edgar as he tries to escape on a homemade rocket which he and his cult followers built in their time sequestered in an abandoned motel.

Season 4 came out in 2020 and notably featured a scene in which a teacher at Jughead’s new prep school jumped out a window with no context and hardly any explanation, among other wild, ridiculous plot points including side-character Cheryl keeping her dead brother’s corpse in her basement so she can talk to him.

With Season 5 currently releasing episodes every week on the CW, there is so much more about “Riverdale” to discuss, from the botched musical sequences to the numerous plot holes.

And yet, there is only one thing left for this writer to say: watch “Riverdale.” Do it. It is genuinely one of the funniest shows on Netflix and has something in it for everyone. If you’re bored some night this week, gather your friends and hunker down to start binging a show you will never forget.

VIA IMDB

A promotional poster for the fifth season of the TV show “Riverdale” (2017–) is pictured.

7

Drew Weisberg A Fantastic Voyage

Part 1: “Dark Reign: Fantastic Four”

A

n interesting note that differentiates comic book storytelling is the “crossover event,” which, in the years since its debut in the pages of “Secret Wars” (1984), has become a way to “shake it up” and add some variety to universes. It is in one such turbulent period for the Marvel Universe that we begin our journey, with Hickman’s “Dark Reign: Fantastic Four” (2009). For the uninformed, “Dark Reign” was a Marvel event taking place in the fallout of the “Secret Invasion” event, which saw ex-Spiderman villain Norman Osborn rise to power and force numerous heroes underground. This chaos would see the Fantastic Four’s home, the Baxter Building, besieged by Osborn’s military force, H.A.M.M.E.R., all while Reed Richards is testing an experimental multiversal viewing device.

The story begins with the team (along with the Richards-Storm children, Franklin and Valeria) moving into the renovated Baxter Building when Norman and his goons enter and demand their surrender. In their rush, though, the goons cut the power, creating a warp in time and space that sends Susan, Johnny and Ben to various parallel universes while Reed views them from the safety of his lab.

The B and C stories of Susan, Johnny and Ben traveling from universe to universe as well as the kids taking care of themselves while their folks are away are fun, but not too memorable. Though they are all rendered beautifully in the art by Sean Chen, they don’t have long-lasting implications for their characters. They do, however, serve as entertaining counterpoints to Reed’s heady ponderings in the A story.

At this point, it would behoove me to mention that Reed Richards is the star of Hickman’s tale. While later arcs will expand the cast and flesh out the other core members of the team, Reed acts as the emotional fulcrum of this chapter and several going forward.

As Reed pours over the multiverse, he finds a common thread: his tactics are failing. This culminates in a fit of rage in the fourth issue. Reed announces, “All collective efforts were failures. The mass of successes were represented by my acting alone … I have failed everyone … And now the time has come to fix it,” as he powers down his multiversal telescope and returns the displaced Susan, Johnny and Ben to their home universe.

The story is simple, so much so that in a collection of Hickman’s run it has been described as a “prologue,” and yet it’s the catalyst for Reed’s obsessive and borderline megalomaniacal characterization in the various arcs to come. Reed’s desire to solve problems on a greater scale, his increasing distance from his family, a need to try new things and become a better man all begin here with his “peek behind the curtain.” “Dark Reign: Fantastic Four” is the planting of Hickman’s flag, the point at which he held up the work of previous Fantastic Four writers and dared to say, “The status quo isn’t working.” In stories to come, Reed may have to sacrifice everything to solve everything.

Drew Weisberg is a junior studying film and media studies. Drew can be reached at mitchell.weisberg@tufts.edu.

8

THE TUFTS DAILY | FUN & GAMES | Tuesday, March 2, 2021

F& G

tuftsdaily.com LATE NIGHT AT THE DAILY Cole: “The wheel fell off...” *chair collapses*

FUN & GAMES

SUDOKU

DANGEROUS GAME

Difficulty Level: Not pushing the snooze button on your alarm

By Matthew Hixson

Monday’s Solutions

SEARCHING FOR HEADLINES...

CROSSWORD

tuftsdaily.com

Opinion

9 Tuesday, March 2, 2021

OP-ED

The United States must put an end to human rights abuses in China BRETT ZAKHEIM

Nationalism is a core tenet of the Chinese Communist Party, which is responsible for a series of human rights violations in China. Much of China’s rise in the global order over the past several decades can be attributed to the idea that it is time for China to regain its glory.

China’s continued development has sent a clear message to the world — that it will no longer succumb to Western influence.

This intrinsic determination has resulted in unprecedented economic growth and a commitment to addressing climate change. However, these feats, like many in history, have come with a price. The government’s nationalistic vision has led to the genocide of the Uyghurs, an ethnic minority native to Xinjiang, and religious persecution in Tibet. The United States has been a bystander in both affairs for too long, afraid to unhinge its relationship with China. This behavior from a nation as powerful as the United States is unjustifiable.

Elizabeth Buehl Building Blocks

Pledge to participate

A

lthough the constitutionality of this event has been contested many times in the past, in our modern public school system, every morning, students nationwide recite the Pledge of Allegiance. This event is then followed by a school day hallmarked with reading, writing, science, math, recess, P.E., lunch and more. Yet, in today’s political climate, it is time we ask ourselves if this is enough. Are we preparing

Xinjiang occupies the northwest corner of China. The Uyghurs inhabited this region long before it was part of China.

Throughout the past decade, the Chinese Communist Party has imposed restrictions on Uyghurs on the basis that they are an ethnic and religious minority; their language, religions and customs are different from those of the ethnic Han majority. The Chinese government has created labor camps and reeducation facilities where Uyghurs work without pay and are taught to speak Mandarin.

Additionally, Uyghurs are not allowed to wear traditional face coverings or pray, and women have been subjected to forced sterilization. This systematic attack on the Uyghurs threatens their survival as a people.

In an attempt to draw China’s support for the War on Terror at the beginning of the 21st century, the United States labelled a Uyghur organization as a terrorist group without having any evidence of terrorist actions. Several Uyghurs, all of whom were Muslims, were held in Guantanamo Bay. Some

of them were not released until 2013. Although the Trump administration denounced the Chinese Communist Party’s oppression of the Uyghurs, no substantial actions have been taken thus far to support these denouncements. We can only hope that the Biden administration will end the United States’ complicity.

China’s autonomous region, Tibet, is another area where China is committing grave civil rights abuses. According to Sophie Richardson, the China director at Human Rights Watch, “What we’ve watched over the last 20, 25, 30 years is the Chinese government quite steadily encroaching on religious freedom in Tibet … in managing religion, in revising texts, in controlling who can or can’t become a monk or a nun, in controlling how services can be held.” The Chinese government claimed that it would bring economic development to Tibet; however, in order to develop, the government forced Tibetans off their lands. The government expelled Buddhist monks and set up “reeducation

camps” to compel traditional Tibetans’ conformity to the cultural practices the Chinese Communist Party enforces.

As a champion of democracy, the United States must intervene to stop this blatant abuse of human rights. According to Human Rights Watch, “A number of governments and parliaments,” including the U.S. Congress and European Parliament, “… issued resolutions and considered legislation on issues including Hong Kong, Tibet, and Xinjiang, yet few governments were willing to impose tougher responses, such as sanctions or export controls, to press Beijing to change its policies.” The United States is the only government that truly has enough power to make a difference in China’s policies.

So why hasn’t any major change been made?

Many claim that the U.S. is not making any moves because it doesn’t want to ruin its already unstable relationship with China. The United States doesn’t want to be involved directly with China’s domestic affairs. However, it seems

that this is a two-way street.

China is not only committing abuses on its own soil, but as a nationalistic plea, it is also trying to restrict freedoms of Chinese people abroad. This is where the U.S. must inevitably get involved, despite an already fragile bilateral relationship.

As written in the World Report 2020: Events of 2019, “The US repeatedly rhetorically condemned China’s human rights violations, yet these comments were weakened by President Trump’s complimentary commentary of President Xi.” With the new Biden administration, we are hopeful that the U.S. will take initiative to address these abuses in China.

Please join us in attending the EPIIC International Symposium from March 18–20. “The Rule of Law: Chinese Nationalism and Human Rights” discussion will take place at 9 a.m. EST on Saturday, March 20.

Americans to engage civically? Can we uphold democracy without understanding its true essence and nuances?

The evidence lies in the numbers. Following the 2020 presidential election, our nation saw extraordinary statistics: About 66% of the voting-eligible population cast their vote. Compared to other democracies, the United States has one of the lowest voter turnout rates. At the root of this low rate: education. Studies show that education and voter turnout are positively correlated, meaning the more educated an individual is, the more likely it is that they will head to the polls on election day.

The cornerstone of our democracy rests on voter turnout. In order to represent the

true desires of the American people, we must pull from the largest sample possible. This is simply impossible unless we can increase the number of Americans who are motivated on the basis of political efficacy to share their opinion.

Yet, while increasing voter turnout is important, civic education is essential. Today’s media is riddled with misinformation, and technology bombards the public with an incessant flow of information.

According to a 2016 report, only one in four voters were able to name the three branches of government. With this, we must question: Are voters filling out their ballots from an informed stance? Can the public properly digest the resources at hand? In order to accu-

rately represent one’s wants and needs, one must be able to formulate opinions from an analysis of facts. In the words of high school civics teacher Trish Everett, “… Another part of the reason I adore this area of study is that, for a lot of students, this is the first time that someone has ASKED them what they think, instead of just telling them what the right answer is so they can remember it for the test … Being able to respectfully disagree, to disagree without being disagreeable, is a necessary skill for so many situations.”

We are not adequately preparing today’s youth to engage civically. An estimated 60% of rural youth and 30% of suburban and urban youth live in areas with few or no opportu-

nities to engage in civic affairs.

The only way we can rectify this is through proper civic education.

Civic education must be reformed inside and outside of the school classroom. Not only do we need a nationwide K-12 civic education requirement, but we also need a dynamic curriculum that inspires students to get engaged. It must promote civic thought in all disciplines and empower students from every background.

We must provide all students with the platform to develop civically to ensure a prosperous future for our democracy.

Brett Zakheim is a sophomore studying economics. Brett can be reached at brett.zakheim@tufts.edu.

Elizabeth Buehl is a first-year who has not yet declared a major. Elizabeth can be reached at elizabeth.buehl@tufts.edu.

Sports

10 Tuesday, March 2, 2021

tuftsdaily.com

New pro women’s lacrosse league, Athletes Unlimited, emerges

the creation of a couple of different professional leagues.

Both leagues were essential in terms of elevating the sport to new heights. Not only did they give talented athletes an opportunity to continue their careers after college, but they also played a key role in inspiring future genera-

tions of female lacrosse players.

As a result, the sport has experienced tremendous growth and is now reaching parts of the country where lacrosse was previously not as well known.

Both leagues have since ended, with the COVID-19 pandemic shutting down the

Women’s Professional Lacrosse League last April, effectively canceling its 2020 season. But in October 2020, the creation of a new league was announced: Athletes Unlimited.

The league has plans to begin play this summer, from July 19 to Aug. 22. Fifty-six of the nation’s most talented lacrosse players will now have an opportunity to continue playing the sport at a professional level.

“Women’s lacrosse is one of the fastest growing sports in the U.S. and incredibly popular among young players and fans,” John Patricof, Athletes Unlimited co-founder and CEO, said in an interview with U.S. Lacrosse Magazine. “Our leagues are all about excitement, storytelling and fan engagement, so lacrosse is the perfect addition to our network of pro sports leagues.”

Athletes Unlimited has a powerful and non-traditional mission to focus on elevating professional women’s sports, and provides athletes with a player-focused model to do so. Lacrosse will be Athletes Unlimited’s third league, adding to its professional softball and volleyball leagues.

Athletes Unlimited’s rules are different from the traditional rules. According to its website, games will be played in a “fast paced format consisting of eight-minute quarters, 9v9 gameplay and a 60-second shot clock all housed on an 80yd x 50yd playing field. Play will begin with draws at the beginning of each quarter as well as after every goal.”

Additionally, Athletes Unlimited’s player-centered model allows team captains to rotate based on their performances. Team captains are an essential part of the league, as they draft their own teams prior to games. This means that players have more control, as there are

through its Olympic competition, winning by an average of over 20 points per game and beating two teams by more than 40 points.

This level of dominance occurred in spite of the country’s top talent from Stephen Curry to LeBron James to Kawhi Leonard electing not to play due to the Zika virus and injury concerns. Meanwhile, the United States’ women’s team also cruised to the gold medal in Rio, beating Spain in the final by 29 points. In the preliminary round the U.S. women’s team beat the runner-up team from Spain by 40 points.

As the men showed in Rio, America’s “B team” can destroy every other team in the world, often rendering the games uncompetitive and unwatchable. It was clear that Olympic basketball desperately needed a tweak.

Because five-on-five is so deeply rooted in global hoops culture, small tweaks have little ability to reverse the trend of uncompetitive Olympic basketball. Therefore, something major was needed.

Luckily, for this year’s Tokyo Olympics, the International Olympic Committee has introduced 3×3 basketball as one of its events. With five-on-five basketball still going strong, the threeon-three game will add an element of novelty and excitement to the world of international basketball.

Regarded as the world’s number one urban team sport, according to olympic.org, the three-onthree game provides an element of relatability for fans that the fiveon-five version rarely does. While five on five is the epitome of organized basketball, far more people play “pickup” or “streetball,” which is an outdoor, half-court version that requires fewer players and is akin to what the three-on-three Olympic game will look like.

From a young age, kids all around the world learn toughness and grit from battling it out on the blacktop. They meet new people at the courts and build lasting friendships with teammates, while learning to respect their opponents. In these ways, “streetball”

is an identity and character builder that speaks to everyone who has picked up a basketball. Most importantly, unlike the organized five-on-five basketball, there are few financial barriers to entry as one needs only a basketball and a few friends to play.

Three-on-three basketball has already started to make a public name for itself in American circles.

Primarily, it has allowed individuals who were unknown or underappreciated in the five-on-five game to rise into the spotlight.

The Big3, which was started by American rapper Ice Cube, is a 3×3 league started primarily for retired NBA players. It has given players such as Joe Johnson an opportunity to show that they can still hoop.

In 2019, Johnson won the Big3 MVP award during a period where he was unable to get onto an NBA team. After his stellar Big3 season, Johnson got multiple offers from NBA teams and was able to join the Detroit Pistons, showing the power of marketing that the threeon-three game can provide.

VIA FLICKR

A collegiate women’s lacrosse player is pictured.

by Sophia Antezana Contributing Writer

Beginning with the launch of the United Women’s Lacrosse League in 2016 and the Women’s Professional Lacrosse League in 2018, the sport of women’s lacrosse has recently witnessed

Arnav Sacheti Olympic Torch

Get excited for three-onthree ball

T

here comes a point in the life of every sport when a tweak needs to be made.

This may be because players are exploiting certain rules too much, a specific change will let teams have more success statistically or simply because the games are not as fun anymore.

That is exactly what has happened with international five-onfive basketball. Since 1992, the United States men’s and women’s basketball teams have each decisively won gold in all but one Olympics (the women got bronze in Barcelona in ’92 and the men got bronze in Athens in ’04).

Most recently in 2016, the United States men’s team ripped

no team owners or other entities that can make decisions for them.

Player performance is based on points given by Athletes Unlimited. These points also play a role in awards and bonuses. This will allow the league to remain competitive, while making it very entertaining to watch, as teams will constantly be changing according to players’ performances. The shuffling of rosters will allow for interesting new matchups and player combinations, to an extent that has never before been witnessed in the sport.

The AU Lacrosse Player Executive Committee is composed of very notable names in the sport: Amber McKenzie, Mira Shane, Kayla Treanor and Michelle Tumolo. Other notable players among the 56 currently listed include highly accomplished athletes such as Sam Apuzzo, Meg Douty and Katrina Dowd — just to name a few.

Many of the players in the league are also members of the U.S. National Team, which has plans to play in the World Lacrosse Women’s World Championship that has been postponed until 2022. The inaugural Athletes Unlimited season will provide these national team athletes with an opportunity to play and prepare before the World Championship.

The league is also providing an exciting opportunity for the younger generations of lacrosse players, as it is also planning to have an Athletes Unlimited Futures lacrosse program. The selected athletes will play at a national summit in July 2021, which coincides with the professional league’s season.

The creation of this league has already sent a positive and inspiring message to its current players, future generations of lacrosse players and all female athletes.

The fun of the three-on-three game will be brought to the world stage through the Olympics, not only by finally instituting some international parity into the game, but also by giving countries the opportunity to showcase their previously unknown or overlooked talents. For example, Guyana’s men’s 3×3 basketball team is competing in the 2021 FIBA AmeriCup with the hope to qualify for the Olympics. With relatively little recognition in the five-on-five space, Guyana hopes that through their team’s play in the three-on-three format, local basketball will experience a boost in popularity.

With the ability to inspire a country of close to a million, what three-on-three ball can do for Guyana and other less basketball-oriented countries is exciting. Get your popcorn ready.

Arnav Sacheti is a sophomore studying quantitative economics. Arnav can be reached at arnavsacheti@gmail.com