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VOLUME LXXXI, ISSUE 33
tuftsdaily.com
Tuesday, March 30, 2021
MEDFORD/SOMERVILLE, MASS.
Tufts announces decision to close Confucius Institute by Emily Thompson Contributing Writer
James Glaser, dean of the School of Arts and Sciences, and Diana Chigas, senior international officer and associate provost, announced the decision to close the Confucius Institute at Tufts University (CITU) in a statement released on March 17. The CITU was launched in 2015 and its partnership with Tufts was renewed for two more years in 2019. The statement explained its purpose. “[CITU was established] to provide support for supplemental, not-for-credit Chinese language and culture instruction and programming, and to facilitate educational and cultural exchange and cooperation between Tufts and Beijing Normal University (BNU),” the statement said. In the statement, Glaser and Chigas highlighted the reasons for the decision and the future of Chinese language and culture learning at Tufts, noting that moving on from the CITU will allow the university to expand its relationship with BNU.
“The CITU has made a valuable contribution to Chinese language and culture learning at Tufts and helped to facilitate Tufts’ important relationship with BNU … Our successful and collaborative experience has affirmed our interest in growing our relationship with BNU and exploring potential additional options for both virtual and in-person exchange in Chinese language, culture and other areas,” the statement said. According to Kalsang Nangpa, an organizer with the Tibetan Association of Boston, prior to the decision to close the CITU, organizers from the Tibetan Association of Boston and Students for a Free Tibet, along with members from the Uighur and Hong Kong communities, have jointly protested in favor of closing the institute at Tufts for 13 consecutive Saturdays. Nangpa said that on March 10, Tibetan National Uprising Day, over 100 protesters attended the weekly protest, joined by Massachusetts Rep. Erika Uyterhoeven. Protesters had sent over 600 emails calling for the closing of the CITU to University
President Anthony Monaco prior to the demonstration. Nangpa said there were multiple reasons why she and her fellow protesters were committed to taking action. “I’m a Tibetan,” Nangpa said. “The Confucius Institute is funded and run by the Chinese government. That is absolutely ridiculous to me because that is the same government that commits genocide on my people.” Yaqiu Wang, a China researcher at Human Rights Watch and MSNBC columnist, explained her view of the dangers of Confucius Institutes on American college campuses. “Given the background of the Chinese government having a clear history of silencing views that the party doesn’t like and restricting academic freedom … I think Confucius institutes undermine academic freedom on the campus,” Wang said. “That’s, I think, why they should be closed.” Nangpa also highlighted allegations of academic censorship within Confucius Institutes and expressed her concern about the presence of these institutes on college campuses.
CHRISTINE LEE / THE TUFTS DAILY ARCHIVES
The Confucius Institute at Tufts University, located on Packard Avenue, is pictured on March 27. “They’re basically infiltrating into the U.S. and our school systems, and I think everyone is directly or indirectly affected by this,” Nangpa said. “To know that there is a program at Tufts that is basically a propaganda tool of the Chinese government is very scary … Everything that should be talked about isn’t
being talked about in these classrooms, and where’s the academic freedom?” Wang explained the initial appeal for Confucius Institutes on college campuses and the responsibility of universities who chose to close their institutes. see CITU, page 2
TUPIT pushes for program allowing Councilor-at-Large incarcerated individuals to obtain Tufts Strezo calls for State of bachelor’s degree Emergency for women to be declared in Somerville
COURTESY HILARY BINDA
Founding Director of the Tufts University Prison Initiative at Tisch College, Hilary Binda, and Tufts students from the the weekly class Inside-Out course, are pictured. by Zoe Kava
Assistant News Editor
The Tufts University Prison Initiative at Tisch College (TUPIT) introduced a resolution that was passed unanimously by the Tufts Community Union Senate in a March 22 virtual meeting. The resolution calls on the university to allow currently and formerly incarcerated individuals who are taking Tufts courses through the TUPIT program, which is taught by Tufts professors, to earn a Tufts bachelor’s degree in civic studies. Currently, TUPIT allows incarcerated individuals to earn an associate degree in the liberal
arts from Bunker Hill Community College by taking Tufts courses, but the TUPIT resolution is pushing for those individuals to earn a Tufts degree. Most courses are currently offered at the Massachusetts Correctional Institution at Concord, but there is also Tufts programming at other facilities. TUPIT Student Group Director Claudia Guetta said that TUPIT is pushing for a bachelor’s degree program to provide formerly incarcerated students with the opportunity to earn the same degree that Tufts undergraduate students earn. “Right now, our incarcerated students at the men’s medium security prison … are taking Tufts
courses with Tufts professors for three and a half years, earning an associate degree in the liberal arts through Bunker Hill Community College,” Guetta, a junior, said. “They’re taking the same courses that Tufts’ arts and sciences students do, so for equal credits, we’re arguing that these Tufts students deserve equal degrees.” Guetta elaborated on TUPIT’s goals for implementing the bachelor’s degree program. “We’re essentially working to create a Concord-Tufts campus, approve the matriculation of students on the inside to earn this degree and make an equal degree for people inside who are doing the equal work,” she said. TUPIT Founding Director Hilary Binda said that the civic studies degree was specifically chosen because of its interest among incarcerated students. “The TUPIT major for a bachelor’s degree would be in Civic Studies for many reasons but above all because this is a practice-oriented field in which our students have expressed a lot of see RESOLUTION, page 2
NICOLE GARAY / THE TUFTS DAILY
Somerville City Hall is pictured on March 12. by Coco Arcand
Assistant News Editor
Councilor-at-Large Kristen Strezo wrote and introduced a resolution to the Somerville City Council calling for a State of Emergency for women to be declared in Somerville on Feb. 25. The resolution, which was co-sponsored by Ward 7 Councilor Katjana Ballantyne and unanimously approved by the City Council as a whole, raised concerns about how the pandemic has disproportionately affected women’s opportunities in the workplace and
FEATURES / page 3
ARTS / page 4
OPINION / page 7
Burnout, burdens and breaks: Students and professors respond
Madison Beer disappoints, underwhelms in overproduced debut album
#NotAllMenButAllWomen illuminates intersectional issue of gender-based violence
has undone some of the progress made by women in professional fields over the last few decades. In the resolution, Strezo outlined specific statistics about how the COVID-19 pandemic has negatively impacted the place of women in the workforce, specifically women of color. “Women in the U.S. accounted for 100% of the job loss claims in the United States in December 2020, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, with Black, Asian and Latina women accounting for all the jobs see SOMERVILLE, page 2 NEWS
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THE TUFTS DAILY | News | Tuesday, March 30, 2021
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Closure comes after weeks of protests from various groups CITU
continued from page 1 “I think the reason Confucius institutes were successful expanding on campuses … is because there is a genuine demand for learning Chinese language and Chinese culture, which is a great thing,” Wang said. “The university should respond to that demand by creating those programs or sustaining those programs out of its own pocket … Given the rising tensions between the U.S. and China, it’s very important that our schools continue to provide these trainings and programs for students so they can better understand China.” The Confucius Institute U.S. Center, which oversees the net-
work of Confucius Institutes in the United States, expressed disappointment in the decision and blamed conspiracy theories for creating the tensions surrounding the program. “We are very sad to hear that [Tufts’] CI is closing,” Erik Eging, press liaison for the Confucious Institute U.S. Center, wrote in an email to the Daily. “It’s unfortunate that an American university foreign language program is being forced to close due to political pressure and interference resulting from misinformation and twitter conspiracies instead of actual evidence.” He expanded further on his opinion about Tufts’ decision to close the Institute.
“We are living at a time in our country where teaching a foreign language is now considered a political act, where our State Department feels comfortable casually accusing American citizens of espionage due to their enthusiasm for global language education, and our legislators feel empowered to utilize our countries current anti-Asian sentiment to deny students educational opportunities,” Eging said. Massachusetts Rep. Seth Moulton has called for the closing of the Institute since 2018. When Tufts renewed the contract with the CITU in 2019, Moulton called the decision “troubling at best, deeply naive at worst.” After the announcement that Tufts will close its Confucius
Institute, Moulton reiterated his position and voiced his agreement with the decision in a press release from his office. “The Chinese Communist Party spends millions annually to fund Confucius Institutes. China’s government does this because it wants a foothold on American college campuses which it uses to bully students, stifle critical thinking, and influence public perception,” Moulton said. “Tufts University’s overdue decision to disband its Confucius Institute is the right one, and I hope it represents a sign that academia is finally waking up to the threat the Chinese Communist Party poses to colleges and our country.”
900 individuals sign petition in support of TUPIT resolution RESOLUTION
continued from page 1 interest, wanting to have a constructive impact and to work in the arena of social justice and community building both while incarcerated and certainly once they leave prison,” Binda wrote in an email to the Daily. Alex Lein, a TUPIT student coordinator and co-author of the resolution, emphasized the power of a college degree, especially for currently and formerly incarcerated individuals. “There’s an immense amount of power in a college diploma,” Lein, a senior, said. “But for students who have had experiences with incarceration, it has even more power than it may for many of us here at Tufts.” Guetta explained that TUPIT’s mission and the proposed bachelor’s degree program align with Tufts’ initiative to become an anti-racist institution. “We see TUPIT’s work as furthering racial and economic justice and really aligning with the university’s
dedication to becoming an anti-racist institution,” Guetta said. “We see this program as not only really tangibly beginning the work of dismantling institutional racism and elitism, but also uplifting the value of the Tufts arts and sciences’ bachelor’s degree.” Lein expanded on Guetta’s point. “The pandemic has highlighted health and socioeconomic inequities, alongside increasingly widespread conversations about racism and anti-racist pedagogy and efforts here at Tufts,” he said. “We ought to put those words into action, and I think this is one of the many ways that we can do that.” Guetta said that if implemented, the program will likely help to reduce recidivism rates. “Recidivism rates in this country are 75%,” she said. “So 75% of people go back to prison after being released, but studies show that with a college degree, that number drops to between zero and 2%.” Binda elaborated on why a college education is so import-
ant for incarcerated individuals, explaining that college often isn’t even an option for incarcerated individuals. “There are many many more reasons to support these programs than only the decreased recidivism rate,” she said. “Namely, our country provides nothing close to equal access to quality education for all people and communities. Most people in prison not only never had the opportunity to attend college but also never finished high school if they ever attended at all and never even considered college an option for themselves.” Lein said that if the program is implemented, Tufts will be one of the few elite institutions in the country offering a bachelor’s degree for currently and formerly incarcerated students. “A part of doing the bachelor’s degree work is that Tufts has an opportunity to promote itself as a leader, not just in its response to COVID-19, but also in the work of racial justice through its Prison and
Reentry Initiative,” he said. “This is a chance for us to do that by being one of the few elite universities in the country that would offer a degree of this kind.” Binda echoed Lein’s sentiments and said that the expansion of the program serves as an opportunity for Tufts to commit itself to inclusive education. “It’s a really exciting moment for Tufts,” she said. “We have the opportunity with this expansion of access to assume a position of real national leadership in the field of higher education and civic education — specifically among elite, private universities who have historically prided themselves on their selectivity rather than their inclusivity.” With unanimous support of the TCU Senate, the TUPIT student group also created a petition that others could sign to indicate their support, and as of March 29, there have been 900 signees. The program proposal will be voted on during the May 14 meeting of faculty from the School of Arts and Sciences.
Strezo's resolution gets support from Curtatone
SOMERVILLE
continued from page 1 lost that month,” Strezo wrote. “The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported in January of 2021 that 8.4% of Black women and 9.1% of Latina women have experienced job loss rates significantly higher than their White female peers at 5.7%.” These statistics are what ultimately drove Strezo to write this resolution, as she felt the issue of women’s economic status during the pandemic was an issue that she had to use her position in public office to help tackle. “I saw … consistent research saying that women are being really devastatingly hit, and [specifically] women of color are being devastatingly hit,” Strezo said in an interview with the Daily. “We have to take action … I can’t see these numbers and not feel prompted to take action in some way.” However, this resolution is not Strezo’s first attempt to help women in Somerville. She described that this resolution was a natural progression of her past efforts to ensure equality for all genders. “Women’s issues and families have always been a focus of mine. Previous to this [resolution] I was the co-chair
of the Somerville Commission for Women, so I have been working for many, many years within Somerville to really even the playing ground and create equity within our community,” Strezo said. “[This resolution] is just the next step of that.” The resolution notes that caretaking, for both children and/or sick family members, is one reason why women have faced increased unemployment and economic troubles during the pandemic. “In 2020 during the shutdown of schools, the U.S. Census Bureau reported that women ages 25–44 cited childcare demands as their reason for not being able to work, almost three times as often as men,” Strezo wrote in the resolution. The resolution has received support from Somerville Mayor Joe Curtatone, who explained why he believes the responsibility of caretaking fell on women during this time. “Historically, care-taking work has fallen to women, and there are many systemic reasons why that pattern is hard to break,” Curtatone wrote in an email to the Daily. “Taking steps like supporting women who temporarily leave their jobs to care for someone else is one way to help break down impacts
of this system. But addressing underlying factors like pay inequity, entrenched stereotypes, and comprehensive healthcare access, among other steps, are critical for deeper societal change.” The resolution calls for concrete policies to help women economically recover and support them as they begin to reenter the workforce. These steps include supporting women-owned small businesses, helping to create hospitable work environments for women and specifically tackling the institutional racism that affects women of color in the workplace and beyond. Strezo also explained a need for increased affordable childcare services. “We know that childcare needs are so dramatically needed, and yet so underserviced,” Strenzo said. “We created a system where we ignore that some of our workers have families … We have an insurmountable number of families in our city that are intergenerational caregivers caring for a sick relative or an elderly parent, and they have to step back from their careers to help do that, and we know from all the stats that they are predominantly women that do that, although we have plenty of men and non-binary residents as well
[who take on those responsibilities].” Strezo discussed the next steps, now that the resolution has been introduced, approved and received support. “I’m in conversations with the administration on the next steps of this, because the resolution calls for concrete action steps,” Strezo said. “And I’m excited about how this can hopefully positively very much affect Somerville.” Strezo emphasized that this is an issue that should not just pertain to women, but rather to the Somerville population as a whole. In the resolution, she included a statistic reported by the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, which found that the primary driver of U.S. economic expansion from 2015 to the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic shutdown was women-boosted workplace participation. Strezo underscored that there should be an increased focus on the struggles women face in the community. “Women are facing almost three decades worth of job loss … within less than a year,” Strezo said. “How can anyone hear that statistic and not want to respond? It’s 50% of our city, it’s 50% of our population, how do you ignore 50% of the population?”
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Features
Students struggle with burnout without longer spring break, professors make some changes
ALIZA KIBEL / THE TUFTS DAILY
by Amelia Becker Features Editor
The university started the spring semester late to accommodate arrival quarantine and shortened spring break to a single day to avoid extending the semester and discourage travel over the break. Without a break in sight, students are struggling with burnout amid growing workloads. “I have a smile on my face and I participate in classes,” sophomore Athena Nair said. “It’s not visible to see, but I think that’s how a lot of people are doing. I’m super, super burned-out.” Based on her own experience and conversations with peers, Nair crafted an open letter to faculty asking them to lighten the course load, implement breaks in class as brief respites and provide time for students to connect with one another. “We ask that, for the professors who have not already, you follow through and change your syllabi in response to the intensity of our current situation–we cannot be following the same syllabi from previous years in a year like this one,” the letter states. The letter acknowledges that professors should not operate according to a “business-as-usual” mindset and expect students to complete the same amount of work as in previous semesters. “It has been difficult – and often impossible – to be held to the same standards of academic excellence and expected to perform well on exams and achieve a high GPA, while also experiencing the intense distress of the moment we are living in,” the letter states. Nair emphasized that each student is facing their own set of challenges on top of school work. “Whether it’s a family thing, a friend thing, a national thing or a Tufts thing, something is constantly being added,” Nair said. “It’s exhausting.” Some professors updated their syllabi prior to the start of the spring semester to be more accommodating to students. Other professors have made changes more recently based on student feedback. Even so, many students find it difficult to bring up concerns to professors. “Some professors are very good at reading the room and getting a sense of how students are feeling,” Nair said. “But in some cases, it’s really hard to do that without anyone saying anything.”
Virginia Drachman, the Arthur Jr. Stern Professor of American History, is one Professor who has made changes to how she teaches her courses. This semester she decided to do less lecturing in her “Women in America since the 1950’s” course and instead have students grapple with readings and primary sources. She has also tried to create a sense of community virtually in breakout rooms by giving students extra time to chat with each other. “I’ve really been trying to do some revisions to accommodate the needs of my students or what I perceive to be the needs of my students,” Drachman said. In addition, Drachman gave her students a day off from class on Wednesday and plans to have another “wellness” day towards the end of the semester. “I like to use the phrase ‘use it as you choose it,’ because ‘wellness’ [day] kind of suggests a break, like spring break, but sometimes you need that day for other things … It’s your day and you do with it what you want,” Drachman said. Drachman has tried to connect with her students, but it can be difficult over Zoom. “When I see 20 little rectangles on my screen, it’s hard to really know how my students are doing, but I ask them, you know, pretty regularly,” she said. And sometimes they say they’re fine. And sometimes it’s a little quieter.” Drachman said students in her class were very happy to have a break. She could tell, even through the little rectangles on Zoom. “I’m getting the sense from my students that they just need a break,” she said. “The semester has a start and an end and nothing in between.” While many recognize and appreciate the safety reasons for the one-day spring break, students are struggling to keep up with their workloads without a more substantial break. “I just don’t feel like you can put people through a rigorous university program for 14 straight weeks without any time off,” Norman Ramsey, associate professor of computer science, said. Ramsey canceled homework and recitation several weeks ago in his COMP 105 class. Ramsey said he was able to do this because he knows the information students actually need to know in order to succeed in future computer science classes, and they won’t be missing out on cru-
cial knowledge with one assignment taken away. “Every year we might have one or two students who are going to go on and do doctoral study and they’re going to be at a slight disadvantage because that’s something that [information] would have been useful to them,” Ramsey said. “But everyone’s going to be fine. We’ll get a little less education than we would have [normally] this spring, but it’s a pandemic and we’re going to wind up getting less education one way or the other.” In addition to professors adapting syllabi and workloads, Counseling and Mental Health Services has continued to support students when they reach out. “We know students are struggling from all the students we meet with, from faculty, staff, et cetera,” Marilyn Downs, a staff clinician and director of outreach and group program at CMHS, said. “It doesn’t always translate into people making a counseling appointment.” Staff clinicians at CMHS serve as liaisons to various groups and services on campus. Downs serves as the liaison to Arts and Sciences and Engineering faculty and has provided training for faculty and staff on how to support students who may be struggling with mental health issues. CMHS has a number of resources on its website for mindfulness apps and resources, as well as group workshops. CMHS has also implemented a new “Ask a Counselor” service this year: 15-minute phone appointments that students can schedule online. “Sometimes it’s about something very short and specific, but I think sometimes it’s a little bit of a toe in the water, actually, to make an appointment and start with a 15-minute phone call and [think] ‘That wasn’t too bad, so maybe now I can come in for a full appointment,’” Downs said. Despite efforts made by faculty and staff to extend support to students, the difference between a one-day-long and week-long spring break is significant. A longer break gives students the time to relax and reset, rather than just catch up on work. “A week-long [break] with the two weekends is like nine days off. It’s such a difference from a three-day weekend,” Nair said. “That is a … turn your brain off from school kind of thing, or at least momentarily. It’s just completely different.” Nair said she retained the most information last semester in classes that had more flexibility in grading and in the structure of the class. “If your goal is to teach us for the long term, it’s better to not cram in information just to get it done,” she said. “And better to have more flexibility so that we can be more engaged long term.” Professors are doing what they can to support students and meet them where they’re at, while acknowledging the pandemic and a number of other factors weighing on students’ minds. “You give people time off, they can do more. And if you don’t give them time off, they can do less,” Ramsey said. “So we lost our time off, we’re doing less.”
3 Tuesday, March 30, 2021
Marco Sheng Transferable Skills
There’s no midway point
W
e’re at the fifth iteration of my column and more than midway through the semester. In the past few weeks, I’ve shared a part of my personal struggle and talked about self-compassion and relationships. There is much more I’d like to talk about, from habits to internships to parent-child relationships, and there will always be much more to talk about. Because that’s the thing — in a column there is a midway point, a word count and a bevy of editors making sure you don’t mess up. While I often wish life were more like writing this column, life is far from that. Life is messy and nonlinear. Life occurs where ambiguous thoughts fluctuate, vulnerable situations emerge and authentic growth is hard. Life contains suffering, and it’s a part of what makes life special. I’ve struggled for many years (and still do) with these themes of ambiguity, vulnerability and authenticity. But they are, in my opinion, ingredients to a well-lived life. This brings me to my next point. To get to this next stage of my life — to achieve greater comfort with ambiguity, learn to embrace vulnerability and reflect on what authenticity means for me, I’d like to turn to mindfulness. You’ve probably heard about mindfulness a lot. Studies show it can mitigate clinical depression, improve behavioral self-regulation and help with cognition. Mindfulness is something that we often hear about, but it can be hard to pinpoint exactly what it is. Here is a definition that I love by Jon Kabat-Zinn, the founder of the MindfulnessBased Stress Reduction eight-week program: Mindfulness is “the awareness that arises from paying attention, on purpose, in the present moment and non-judgmentally.” I love this definition because it’s simple and demonstrates so much of what I (and I’m sure others) can personally think about: Awareness: We are unaware of a lot of things — how people perceive us, what our blind spots are and what’s really the cause of something. Action step: Taking the time to get feedback about your blind spots and biases can help you achieve your goals. Attention: We allow our attention to be distracted or divided too easily, resulting in frustration, disconnection and reduced productivity. Action step: Reflect on your media and technology consumption. What is working for you and creating real value in your life, and what isn’t? Think about ways you can remove the things that aren’t. Purpose: We hear about the importance of having purpose in our jobs, careers and lives. Why is it that we do what we do, and how does it give us meaning? Action step: Read “Designing Your Life” (2016) by Bill Burnett and Dave Evans. They say it better than I ever could. Presence: We are called human beings, yet so often we are doing. What would it take for us to be present within our bodies and surroundings? Action step: Try yoga or something that makes you engage your mind and body. Judgment: We as humans have evolved to judge, but harsh judgment of others and ourselves can do more harm than good. Action step: Read the third iteration of my column, “You don’t need to swim in self-pity.” Self-pity often comes from self-judgment. Marco Sheng is a senior studying psychology. Marco can be reached at marco.sheng@tufts.edu.
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Arts & POP ARTS Pop CULTURE Culture
tuftsdaily.com
Tuesday, March 30, 2021
‘Life Support’ resuscitated by its singles, wounded by its tracks by Jack Clohisy
Contributing Writer
Today, in a music environment dominated by viral success, few were better set up for a strong debut album than online sensation Madison Beer. “Life Support,” released on Feb. 26, was her introduction into the pop soundscape. Unfortunately, Beer’s newness to a full-length project is evident. Her songs reflect all that is prominent in trending songs today: mediocre songwriting, catchy-but-generic instrumentals and a lack of artistic direction. The album actually starts off well with “The Beginning.” Cinematic in quality, had “Life Support” continued down this path of combining airy and enchanting vocals with melodramatic production, it would’ve stuck the landing. Alas, the album progresses with mashups of trap-infused pop and awkward filler tracks. “Good In Goodbye” and “Boyshit” highlight Beer’s ability to produce the occasionally played dance track. These songs, though catchy, fail to elicit much more than the passing emotions any young adult experiences in a relationship fallout. What takes the most potential away from this album is its overproduction and use of a synthesizer on the tracks. On “Interlude,” dial back the synth-overlaid vocals and there’s something charming about Beer’s crooning. This song sounds like what happens when you turn speakers toward a fan. The highs of the album are “Default” and “Selfish.” A track well-received on social platforms for its viral nature, “Selfish” finds the balance between modern pop and cinematic elegance. “Default” does the same, and it’s a shame the track is so short because if it were lengthened, it could’ve replaced some of the more droning tracks such as “Stay Numb and Carry On” and “Blue.” “Follow the White Rabbit” is a strong track in its alternative-pop-rock essence, but it feels out of place on “Life Support.” The majority of the album is somewhere between grandiose pop cuts and average radio hits. “Follow the White Rabbit” is easily an album track, but it would have fit better on
VIA EPIC RECORDS
The cover of Madison Beer’s album “Life Support” is pictured. an album where Beer could have developed this unique mesh of genres. In today’s age of music, the line between commercially successful and critically acclaimed is often blurry. Beer may receive a high number of streams per track due to her status as an influencer and her large follower count across many social media platforms. More than half of the 17 tracks are shorter than three minutes, which means fans can play many tracks in a short timespan. When music is crafted with the intention to create viral hits, it usually falls flat artistically. Beer definitely took the time to
piece together the lengthy “Life Support,” but there were some tracks that could’ve been left on the cutting room floor in favor of those (such as “Default”) that would have benefited from a little more care. Beer does succeed, however, in forging her own path. For being in such a popular market, she has established a name for herself as both an artist and an influencer. “Effortlessly” and “Emotional Bruises” exhibit the vast potential Beer has as a vocalist. Lyrically, the album would benefit from further development of its ideas, but this tends to come with experi-
ence and practice, so Beer is not too far off course. “Life Support” suffers from a seemingly tactical debut approach, focusing on pumping out successful singles over crafting album tracks. Because of this, there is a piece of authenticity missing from the record. By no means is the album completely skippable, but it likely won’t capture attention for that long. The overuse of synthesizers and vocal filters detracts from Beer’s ability to sing well over the tracks. This production decision places more emphasis on electronic elements than
Beer’s delivery. The production itself is often basic, and overlaying basic sounds with filtered vocals sets “Life Support” up to fail. If Beer chooses to continue down this path, she should embellish her craft using songs such as “Default” as a model for what strong pieces can transform into. Dropping the synthesizers would allow for Beer’s personality to shine through, as “Life Support” paints her in a vague way without attention to personal detail. Although it’s a manageable debut to listen to, Beer has work to do before she’s ready to ascend past the level of mere virality.
A&P
Tuesday, March 30, 2021 | Arts & Pop Culture | THE TUFTS DAILY
‘The Bachelor’ finale exposes a show struggling to maintain relevance by Gillian Rooney Contributing Writer
When “The Bachelor” (2002–) producers tapped Emmanuel Acho, former NFL linebacker and author of “Uncomfortable Conversations with a Black Man” (2020), to replace “After the Final Rose” host Chris Harrison in the wake of racial controversy, audiences were quick to notice that Harrison’s ghost still loomed large, as he still provided the show’s voiceover. Harrison ‘stepped aside’ after he came under fire for defending contestant Rachael Kirkconnell, a white woman who had attended an Antebellum-themed party in 2018. Kirkconnell ended up being Bachelor Matt James’ choice at the end of the 2021 season, though the two have since broken up amid the controversy. Many viewers had predicted the split after seeing James’ scraggly beard on the mid-season special, “The Women Tell All.” James still had the beard during the emotional finale, in which Acho posed questions to Kirkconnell about the Antebellum photos, an event that had been banned by Kappa Alpha (the hosting fraternity) in 2016, two years before Kirkconnell participated. Kirkconnell seemed hesitant to speak, and when asked if she was ready to discuss the
drama with James, who had been waiting offstage, she gave a nervous laugh and replied, “no.” Of course, James joined anyways, and they had a terse conversation about the role Kirkconell’s past played in their breakup. Some highlights from James’ segment include his statement that Kirkconnell “might not understand what it means to be Black in America,” his refusal to embrace Kirkconnell and an awkward silence so long that it was still going after a commercial break. James is clearly struggling in the wake of his public debut on national television and subsequent breakup, and his comportment on “After the Final Rose” begs us to consider if “The Bachelor” exploited a Black man’s trauma to seem more “woke.” The show’s decision to cast their first Black bachelor was seen by many as a response to criticism about the show’s enduring whiteness — there is an entire Wikipedia page entitled “‘The Bachelor’ and race.” Even given all that choosing a Black bachelor seemed to signify, the show continues to be mired in racial controversy and white women’s tears. Monetizing a Black man’s breakdown on national television is hardly a step in the right direction. Fans, former contestants and critics alike railed against this season as insen-
sitive and (even worse for reality TV producers) boring. However, the most exciting part of any season of “The Bachelor” is when, on “After the Final Rose,” the announcement of the next season’s bachelor or bachelorette is made (the show alternates between male and female leads). This season was no different, with fan-favorite Katie Thurston and runner-up Michelle Young set to both lead their own separate bachelorette seasons, with Thurston’s during the summer and Young’s during the fall. Yet one cannot help but feel that the unusual choice of two bachelorettes reeks of damage control on the part of the producers. While Thurston was celebrated by fans for her aversion to drama and her choice of entrance schtick (a working vibrator), the disastrous effects cast by Kirkconnell undoubtedly made the producers a little gun-shy when it came to casting white women. The program continues to show its overwhelmingly white viewership performative “wokeness” rather than make a real effort to properly vet contestants and place more emphasis on the safety and comfort of their Black leads. ABC will likely continue to thrash around in the sea of modern cultural discourse, barely keeping the show’s head above water.
VIA AMERICAN BROADCASTING COMPANY
A promotional poster for 25th season of “The Bachelor” is pictured.
OPINION
Tufts must recognize, take action against gender-based violence
VIEWPOINTS
continued from page 7 And just as it is so important that men engage in these kinds of conversations and reflect on the ways in which their actions may perpetuate a harmful and discriminatory culture, it is also important to recognize how Everard’s murder has produced outrage in a way that other instances of gender-based violence — especially those targeting women of color — have not. Black women are disproportionately affected by sexual violence. One in four Black girls will be sexually abused before the age of 18, and one in five Black women are survivors of rape. Within the Native American community, more than four in five women have experienced violence, and more than one in two have experienced sexual violence. In the Latinx community, 34.4% of women have reported being a victim of an intimate partner’s sexual or physical violence or stalking. Among Asian women in the U.S., between 9% and 20% are estimated to have experienced intimate physical and/or sexual violence within their lifetime, a crucial statistic to
examine in the wake of the March 16 Atlanta-area murders of eight individuals, six of whom were Asian women. Underlying this racially charged hate crime is a history of hypersexualization and fetishization of Asian women, one that is seldom addressed in public discourse. Within the transgender and gender non-conforming community, one in two individuals are sexually abused or assaulted at one point in their lives. The Human Rights Campaign found that 2020 was the deadliest year on record in terms of violence against transgender and gender non-comforming individuals, with at least 37 transgender and gender non-conforming people killed. Of those 37 victims, 22 were Black and seven were Latinx. The global response that has erupted following Everard’s death exposes the horrific reality of the manifold dangers that women and LGBTQ individuals face. We can mourn her death while recognizing that our coverage of the violence inflicted on women has tended to center around white, cisgender demographics rather than communities that face the greatest amount of violence.
Jasmine Hassan deserves justice. Mhelody Bruno deserves justice. Sia Marie Xiong deserves justice. Our outrage toward violence against women must be intersectional and cognizant of the interactions between race, ethnicity and gender identities. What measures will Tufts take to protect its students and staff from gender-based discrimination and violence? The blue-light telephones and SafeRide service are useful and important resources, but they are tools that place the onus on those in danger. Tufts must actively foster a culture on campus that emphasizes prevention and focuses on counteracting the behaviors of those who inflict harm. More spaces must be created that allow students to process their traumas. Tufts must also do more to educate its community on the subject of violence against women and the LGBTQ community. With the worldwide increase in levels of violence against women during the COVID-19 pandemic, it is necessary that institutions like Tufts provide vital support services, initiate conversations and pursue concrete action. Our lives depend on it.
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Drew Weisberg A Fantastic Voyage
‘Fantastic Four’ #574
J
ust as there’s an art to weaving a complex hydra of a narrative with as many subplots and side adventures as one can conceivably pack into a comic, there’s also a beauty to the “oneand-done” tradition of comic writing. With the semester winding down and my number of columns growing slim, we’ll be accelerating the pace somewhat and running through a few issues in rapid succession. But first, here is one more single-issue week to transition us into a speed run of the rest of Hickman’s saga. An odd feature of most comic book characters is that they operate on a concept that some have called a “floating timeline,” wherein there’s an unspoken cap on a character’s age while certain events are simultaneously allowed to update to the modern day. As such, there aren’t many birthdays in comic books where a character’s age is definitively stated, and the birthday of Franklin Richards is no different. Yes, it’s the Fantastic Four’s first child’s birthday, and it’s a unique chance for Hickman to show his skill by giving a distinctive voice to each of his characters, all while maintaining a deep understanding and respect for them and their established traits. Considering that the issue takes a rare turn away from Reed being the protagonist, we really get a great view of Franklin’s childhood optimism and wideeyed glee at having Spider-Man (who, in reality, is his parent’s coworker) come to his birthday. Franklin is delightful in the issue, clearly taking after both his parents and bearing a strong resemblance to his uncle Johnny due, in part, to his seeming lack of genius. The real twist though is that Franklin has another role to play in the issue. After the party is over and the Richards kids are put to bed, they’re visited by a mysterious stranger who teleports into the Baxter Building. He immediately puts up a force field around the children’s rooms, seemingly dispatches Franklin and moves to speak with Valeria. His carefully worded prophecy begins with the firm pronouncement that “the future must be avoided at all costs” and ends with the chilling utterance, “And all hope lies in Doom,” referring to the Fantastic Four’s greatest enemy. As he turns to leave, though, Valeria knowingly smiles, as she realizes the man is a version of Franklin from the future. Future Franklin disappears, and everything returns to a semblance of normalcy, that is, except for present-day Franklin. As Hickman puts it, “All alone in his room … A little boy creates a baby universe,” foreshadowing that Franklin’s reality-warping powers have manifested and this event has set in motion the cogs that will lead to that very visit with the future Franklin. Light yet weighty, there’s a balance that Hickman perfectly strikes when he intends to. Additionally, the range he exhibits, between the previous issue of pure sci-fi madness to the comparatively reserved storyline this time around is something to behold. Issue #574 is the sort of setup issue I wish we got more of in comics; so peacefully does it lull you in with fun character work that it makes you forget it’s an advertisement for issues to come. Drew Weisberg is a junior studying film and media studies. Drew can be reached at mitchell.weisberg@tufts.edu.
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THE TUFTS DAILY | FUN & GAMES | Tuesday, March 30, 2021
F& G
tuftsdaily.com LATE NIGHT AT THE DAILY Hannah: “And that’s why they call me Hannah Montana..”
FUN & GAMES
SUDOKU
FIRST-YEAR PRE-MED
Difficulty Level: Thinking of jump words
By Matthew Hixson
Thursday’s Solutions
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CROSSWORD
Opinion
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7 Tuesday, March 30, 2021
VIEWPOINTS
Living in a state of hypervigilance and fear: What Sarah Everard’s murder reveals about gender-based violence by Paloma Delgado Opinion Editor
Content warning: This article discusses sexual violence. I am frustrated, disgusted and scared. Nothing seems to change. Women are harassed, exploited, injured and killed, and yet even this reality is a point of contention and dispute. The victims of violence are scrutinized and questioned, and again and again we emphasize what women must do to protect themselves rather than redirecting our focus toward the perpetrators of this violence. On March 3, Sarah Everard was abducted and murdered as she walked home to her apartment in London. In the hopes of ensuring her safety, Everard intentionally chose a well-lit, busy street and spoke on the phone with her boyfriend as she walked. Various articles have highlighted Everard’s caution and preplanning, stating how unfathomable it was that she had done everything right and yet, somehow, this still happened. I understand the frustration. These are the same directions that were ingrained in me as a child and that I continue to follow as a young adult, the only difference being that I now know that doing all the “right” things will never really ensure my safety.
A recent study conducted by UN Women UK found that, among women in the United Kingdom between the ages of 18 and 24, 86% had experienced some form of sexual harassment in a public space. Within the United States, the found that women aged 18 to 24 who are college students are three times more likely than women in general to experience sexual violence. According to the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network, transgender, genderqueer and gender-nonconforming students are also at a higher risk for sexual violence. Everard’s murder has resonated with countless women and LGBTQ individuals across the world — a reminder of how deeply rooted gender-based violence is in our society. What happened to Everard amounts to many women’s worst nightmares, and responses from those in positions of authority underscore the pervasive culture of victim-blaming. On March 24, the Minnesota Supreme Court overturned the conviction of Francios Momolu Khalil, who was accused of sexually assaulting a woman in 2017. The court ruled that Khalil could not be found guilty of felony rape because the woman
LETTER TO THE EDITOR As a Tufts alum (LA’90), Episcopal priest and person who cares deeply about inclusion, I was both fascinated and saddened by the insightful article of March 18, “More than meets the eye: Goddard Chapel.” Even as a student, I thought having St. Paul preside over Goddard Chapel from its highest-profile window could not possibly feel welcoming to people of other faith traditions, or none. But I was surprised to learn the window’s inscription — “Stand ye, quit ye like men, be strong” — is a selectively edited quote from St. Paul (I Cor. 16:13) that, in this form, reeks of toxic masculinity. Isn’t it well beyond time to reenvision Goddard’s imagery so it can
truly be a place of welcome, reflection and belonging for all? How about moving the St. Paul panels to Tufts’ art collection — this is, after all, part of our history — and replacing them with more appropriately inclusive imagery, perhaps even simply the glorious burst of light that is already there? The Rev. Christopher Worthley (he/him/his) Christopher Worthley received a B.A. in international relations and German studies from Tufts in 1990 and lived and worked for a decade thereafter in Germany. Also a graduate of Yale Divinity School, he has served since 2002 as executive director of the Allianz Foundation for North America (allianz.com/foundation-na). He can be reached at christopher.worthley@aya.yale.edu.
was voluntarily intoxicated beforehand, which does not fall under the state’s definition of “mentally incapacitated.” This decision points to the way in which the law, as it stands, contributes to this culture that casts blame on survivors and victims of sexual assault rather than holding perpetrators accountable. Many have turned to social media in the wake of this event, generating a space for solidarity and reflection. Countless individuals shared their own stories of street harassment and violence, with the hashtag #notallmenbutallwomen emerging in an effort to emphasize just how many women have been affected by sexual assault and harassment. While negative posts aiming to detract from these experiences or shift blame toward the victims have circulated, many have shared productive posts that highlight ways men can help women feel safer. Some suggestions included maintaining distance when walking by a woman at night, staying mindful of boundaries and speaking up when male friends make derogatory comments or engage in inappropriate behavior. see VIEWPOINTS, page 5
Elizabeth Buehl Building Blocks
Overcrowding
A
lthough many of the effects of overcrowding in schools are not currently visible due to virtual modalities, over enrollment in American public schools is a pressing problem that has been facing our nation for several decades. Overcrowding occurs when a school has more students enrolled than the building was designed to accommodate. This stems from an increased population in the school district, often driven by a multitude of factors, including greater levels of development. Teacher shortages, in addition to lack of funding for education, are also driving forces for overfilled public schools. According to a 1999 report, 22% of schools are overenrolled to some degree, with 8% of schools surpassing their capacity by over 25%. Yet over enrollment is not evenly distributed among public schools. Rather, the percent of minority enrollment in a school is strongly correlated with rates of over enrollment. Overcrowding has many detrimental ramifications. One consequence of overcrowding is teacher burnout. Overworked
KAYLA DRAZAN / THE TUFTS DAILY
and undercompensated teachers are often unable to keep up with the demands of an overcrowded classroom. Additionally, overcrowded classrooms become noisier due to the increased number of students. Not only is this stressful for teachers, contributing to burnout, but it is also very distracting for learners. Increased noise can cause students who are already having trouble focusing to suffer to a greater extent. This, coupled with the inevitability of less individualized attention from teachers in a larger classroom setting, negatively impacts student outcomes. Studies also show that overcrowding leads to increased bullying, which has been proven to negatively affect academic performance. Not to mention that, with more students in a classroom, it is harder to tailor the teaching style to fit all of the students, which means that we move even farther from meeting the educational needs of each student. Some current solutions in place to combat overcrowding in schools include portable classrooms and short-term instruction buildings. These solutions are not only temporary, but also insufficient, because they result in suboptimal learning environments for students. Another less expensive solution that many schools have implemented includes schedule changing.
One popular adaptation involves creating different lunch shifts, so that some students eat very early and some students eat very late, which also negatively affects academic performance. In order to combat this ever-growing problem, we must shift our focus away from inexpensive efforts that decrease the quality of education. If we want to set a trajectory for long-term success in combating overcrowding, we must increase funding for education and rezone school districts as the population in different areas shifts. These plans must be implemented quickly, in hopes that we can provide the proper instructional environment for America’s youth as they return to in-person learning. Not only will these efforts benefit current American students, with emphasis on aid to minority students, but they will also dismantle anti-immigration activists’ argument that the United States should limit immigration in order to avoid further overcrowding. Rather than narrowly focusing on current shortcomings, we must look toward solutions to fortify long-term successful growth. Elizabeth Buehl is a first-year who has not yet declared a major. Elizabeth can be reached at elizabeth.buehl@tufts.edu.
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Arnav Sacheti Olympic Torch
Cross-country running needs a comeback
E
very two years, the Olympics provide an international stage for athletes to display their incredible abilities and for sports that are otherwise not closely followed to be put in the limelight. This is especially true for the sport of running. Watching athletes compete for national glory and medals while running on a track is exciting for many, and it’s one of the only times a large audience takes notice of the sport. For instance, Usain Bolt
Sports captured the public’s attention while setting world records in the 100 meter and 200 meter races at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing — Bolt would again break both records at the 2009 World Championships. Even if these athletes compete in year-round events, success at the Olympics can make an athlete a national hero and amplify the popularity of the sport for years to come. This is the type of exposure that cross-country running needs, which is why it is imperative that it make a return to the Olympic games. Cross-country running is a form of running that includes distances of 5,000 meters and above and is run on all terrains, from grass and gravel to snow and mud. It is a sport that is grueling, competitive and cerebral. These qualities make it perfect for a fun and interesting broadcast
to an international audience. In addition, cross country is one of the few types of running that has a close-knit team aspect to it, since all members of the team are running the same race and competing for team points. In spite of the fact that the sport is seemingly tailor-made for the Olympics, the history of cross-country running at the Olympics is relatively short. As a summer Olympic event for only 12 years from 1912 to 1924, cross-country was dominated by Finland and Sweden, with few other countries even receiving medals. Eventually, the event was disbanded when most runners in the 1924 Olympics’ cross-country race dropped out due to extreme heat. For more than 75 years, reinstating cross-country as an Olympic sport was not considered.
Finally, in 2008, the movement for the reinstatement of cross-country running at the Olympics gained steam again. A group of some of the greatest distance runners of all time — Haile Gebrselassie, Kenenisa Bekele and Paul Tergat — wrote a letter to the International Olympic Committee and International Association of Athletics Federations, urging them to consider reinstating cross-country running either in the Winter or Summer Olympics. “Cross-country running is of course the most natural, indeed elemental of all sports,” they wrote. “It is a fascinating discipline whose roots are lost in the earliest history of mankind.” Cross-country running is a truly fascinating sport, and it is only right that the In t e r n a t i o n a l Olympic
tuftsdaily.com Committee gives cross-country-focused distance runners what they deserve by allowing them to shine on the Olympic stage, whether that is during the summer or the winter. The greatest 100 meter and 200 meter sprinter of all time is widely regarded to be Bolt, whose net worth is around $90 million. On the other hand, Gebrselassie, one of the greatest cross-country runners of all time, has a net worth of only $1 million. If nothing else, the reinstatement of cross-country running in the Olympics has the power to increase awareness of the sport and heighten the profiles of some of the best athletes in the world. Arnav Sacheti is a sophomore who is studying quantitative economics. Arnav can be reached at arnavsacheti@gmail.com