The Tufts Daily - Thursday, October 5, 2023

T he T uf T s D aily

Iconic Rosebud diner sold to new management, closes for renovations

Shannon Murphy

Assistant News Editor

Originally published Oct. 4.

Rosebud American Kitchen and Bar, which was built in 1941 and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1999, has closed for renovations following brunch on Sunday.

The popular 381 Summer St. location, known for its modern American cuisine and formerly owned by Alpine Restaurant Group Inc., was purchased by Bindaas Concepts Inc., which is owned by Babu Koganti.

“We love Davis Square, we love Somerville and the community,” Koganti told the Daily. “When Alpine Group approached us [saying] that they want to sell this …

we thought we could help. That’s a great location and … it’s a historical legacy.”

The closure will allow time for Bindaas to make repairs within the building and “have every small nook and corner be addressed,” he said, citing a leaking roof and pest control issues. Bindaas also plans to introduce traditional Indian cuisine to the Rosebud menu. Despite these changes, Koganti says he remains committed to preserving the history of the diner.

“We want to keep the legacy [of Rosebud] going and add some Indian inspired dishes … which would open up the boundaries,” Koganti explained. “We want to keep the ‘diner feel’ to it and still keep the old classics, like the grilled cheeseburger. … It’s not going to be another average

Abortion debate attracts pro-choice protesters

[Indian] restaurant where you can find chicken tikka masala or butter naan or a mango lassi. It’s going to be a very unique concept.”

However, Rosebud’s former staff and management said they felt blindsided and caught off guard by the very short notice of the closure.

“It was sort of a bizarre announcement,” former general manager Olivia Papp said. ”[It was like] ‘hey everyone, you don’t have a job after Sunday’ and also, ‘let’s get ready to rumble because we’ve got an extremely busy week ahead of us.’”

After learning Rosebud would close, Papp informed staff of the change.

“Thursday [Sept. 21], we got a call to come into the

see ROSEBUD, page 3

Samantha Eng Contributing Writer

Editor’s note: João Ribeiro is an opinion columnist at the Daily. He was not involved in the writing or editing of this article.

The Federalist Society chapter at Tufts called TUPD in response to a pro-choice protest at a discussion event on the morality of abortion on Sept. 29. The two speakers at the event, Harvard law professor Stephen Sachs and Boston College philosophy professor Gregory Fried, were invited by FedSoc to discuss pro-life and pro-choice views.

When the event “Is Abortion Morally Justified in America?” began at 5:30 p.m., protesters moved inside the venue.

The front-row seats were filled by protesters who frequently interrupted the speakers during the beginning of the event. One held a sign which read “I love abortions.” Another held a noise machine which played continuous sounds of cars honking, dogs barking, doorbells ringing, wolves howling and crowds booing.

In response to the speakers’ difficulty talking over the noise, FedSoc members called TUPD, and an officer entered the room at 5:51 p.m.

In a statement to the Daily, FedSoc wrote, “As a non-partisan public policy and legal organization on campus, we are devoted to fostering respectful discourse

see PROTEST, page 3

Is America’s global dominance fading? Fletcher panel discusses implications of an expanded BRICS

How will the addition of six new countries to an important supranational organization influence the global balance of power? Could it weaken the United States? Fletcher School Professors Daniel Drezner and Abiodun Williams along with Senior Fellow Mihaela Papa unpacked those questions during a panel discussion on Sept. 28 at the Cabot Intercultural Center.

An organization of fast-growing, non-Western economies, the BRICS group meets annually to discuss avenues for economic cooperation and geopolitical advancement. It’s not an official alliance, but more of a loose consortium of countries with a shared interest in chipping away at Western nations’ economic and political dominance.

Since 2010, BRICS has had five member states: Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. At the most recent summit in August, the group admitted six new countries: Argentina, Ethiopia, Egypt, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

Papa opened the conversation by discussing the potential implications of an expanded BRICS.

It could help offset the existing imbalance in global decision-making, she said, where nations in the Global South are underrepresented despite making up the majority (85%, by one estimation) of the world’s population.

Williams agreed, pointing to the makeup of the United Nations’ most powerful body, the Security Council. The council has five permanent members — China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States —

plus 10 non-permanent members elected to two-year terms.

“If you look at the UN Security Council, the council reflects the realities of political and economic power of a bygone era: 1945,” he said. “Yes, there is China, a member

of the council, but there is no India on the council. Africa, which has the largest bloc of votes in the UN General Assembly, 54 countries, is not represented. And you have no countries from Latin America.”

Papa and Williams believe the BRICS expansion as an important step towards creating a multipolar world order, one where the West — and the U.S. specifically — isn’t the sole, dominating force on the global political stage.

Countries in the Global South have become increasingly frustrated by wealthy, Western countries dominating international forums, according to Papa and Williams.

"[The BRICS expansion] highlights growing disenchantment with the prevailing international system, and systemic shocks, including the COVID-19 pandemic, the Ukraine War, with all its consequences in terms of food and energy security for poor countries and the climate emergency,” Williams explained. “All of these are underlying the deep inequities at the core of the global order.”

The Global South is calling for change, and the BRICS expansion is answering that call. But what

Rebecca Barrie Contributing Writer

CLINT CHEN / THE TUFTS DAILY

The BRICS political alliance was discussed at a Fletcher School event, pictured on Sept. 28. see BRICS, page 3

Business

Tufts drops to 40th place on U.S. News list; 287th in WSJ ranking

Katie Spiropoulos Deputy News Editor

Tufts dropped from 32 to 40 on the US News and World Report’s list of the best universities in America and ranked 287th out of 400 on the Wall Street Journal’s list earlier this month. Both publications tailored their algorithms this year to focus on alumni outcomes, analyzing metrics like graduation rates and graduates’ salaries when compiling their rankings.

The Journal debuted an allnew system for its 2024 rankings, evaluating schools’ performance in three umbrella categories: student outcomes, learning environment and diversity. In addition to its overall “best colleges” list, the Journal also published lists of the best schools for student experience, salary impact and social mobility.

US News updated its own ranking system this year with a similar focus on outcomes, adding first-generation graduation rates as a factor and increasing the importance of variables like borrower debt and Pell graduation rates in its formula. The publication used to only collect data on enrollment, but decided that the graduation rate is a better measure of Pell grantees’ success in college. US News also removed alumni giving rate, class size and new students’ high school class standings from con-

sideration this year.

In response to the new lists, University President Sunil Kumar said he doesn’t place much stock in numerical college rankings.

“The number next to our name is immaterial,” Kumar wrote in an email to the Daily.

“What we do care about, however, is how well we are doing as a driver of our students’ social mobility — do we enroll students from across the economic spectrum, support them while they’re here, help them graduate, and provide them with the tools to succeed at their chosen careers.”

Tufts ranked 391st out of 400 colleges on the Wall Street Journal’s social mobility index,

which rewarded schools that enrolled low-income students, kept tuition down and maintained high graduation rates.

“To the extent the data underlying the rankings provide meaningful assessment of our performance on these dimensions and match our own internal metrics, we should use the data to make relevant improvements in these areas,” Kumar wrote.

Director of Admissions JT Duck told the Daily via email that the university will examine the data that informed this year’s rankings to “learn more and to take appropriate action.”

“Tufts is a wonderful place to learn and grow with excel-

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The Tufts Daily is the entirely student-run newspaper of record at Tufts University in Medford, Mass. An editorially and financially independent organization, the Daily’s staff of more than 100 covers news, features, arts and sports on Tufts’ four campuses and in its host communities.

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The Tufts Daily office is located on the colonized land of the Massachusett people and within the territories of the Nipmuc and Wôpanâak (Wampanoag) tribes.

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lent academics and extracurriculars and a commitment to civic engagement that is unique in higher education,” Duck added. “That hasn’t changed one bit.”

Jessica Mann, a senior in her third semester as a tour guide, doesn’t think that the new rankings will undermine prospective students’ interest in Tufts.

“The people that we see on these tours are generally very academically excited, extracurricular-ly excited students,” Mann said. “I’ve never gotten a question that has to do with rankings before.”

She herself is not preoccupied with the rankings.

“It’s not something that I would ever bring up on a tour,”

L.A. Times reporter Rosanna Xia talks ‘Lessons for Climate Communication’

Anne Li Contributing Writer

Originally published Oct. 4.

Rosanna Xia, an environment reporter at the Los Angeles Times, 2020 Pulitzer Prize finalist and Tufts alum, presented at Tufts. This presentation is part of the series of events hosted in celebration of her newly published book, “California Against the Sea: Visions for Our Vanishing Coastline.”

After graduating from Tufts, Xia combined her passions for environmental justice and communications, diving into the environmental journalism landscape in California. Xia strives to help her readers think critically about climate change.

“The words climate change … it’s so politicized today and so overwhelming that it almost means nothing anymore,” Xia said. “When you talk about climate change, how do you actually start writing about this issue? I think it’s about finding your way, finding issues that will speak to broader universal messages.”

She continued by explaining several examples of environment coverage from various media outlets across the nation, including the Washington Post and the New York Times.

“This is a snapshot of some of the things I find fascinating at the Washington Post — they’ve been expanding their climate departments,” Xia said. “They have a whole climate solutions vertical, which is really interesting. I think they recognize that readers are craving solutions-oriented stories.”

She expressed admiration and praise for others reporting climate solutions, referencing Christopher Flavelle, a New York Times reporter focused on climate adaptation.

"[Flavelle] focuses solely on what it means to respond and prepare for the consequences of climate change that are inevitably going to happen, whereas so much of our conversation today is still about mitigation and curbing all of the effects that lead to global warming,” Xia said. “To have someone focus on adaptation was a brilliant move, and he was one of our first adaptation reporters in the industry.”

Another issue with current climate communication lies in the language used by scientists and reporters. Xia noted The Guardian’s rebranding of climate change as the climate crisis to highlight its urgency.

“My personal hot take is that climate change is almost like the word nondescript. … With climate change, I think you can get way more precise about it,” Xia said. “A conversation about all those floods that are happening now five times

a year outside your home, or the beach that used to be this wide, or a hurricane that just hit again … or the fact that Austin just had its hottest summer on record with the number of over one hundred degree days — those are tangible ways to talk about the climate crisis.”

She encourages the audience to contemplate what they are communicating, who they communicate to and how to guide people into these conversations.

“Sometimes we’re preaching to the choir and other times we’re bringing new people into the conversation. I think bringing more people into the conversation is what we desperately need. Sometimes saying the words ‘climate crisis’ or ‘apocalypse’ throws up that wall immediately,” Xia said.

Xia further discussed how to spread the message that climate change is not something for the future, but rather something to take action on now.

“The numbers are pretty stark,” Xia warned. “Two-thirds of our beaches are at risk of being drowned out by sea level rise and 100% of our salt marshes and the entire ecosystem along the Pacific coast could be completely gone by the end of the century, based on what we’re doing today and the hardened infrastructure that is in the way of the ocean coastline.”

Through a broader approach to the entire California landscape,

Xia said, the L.A. Times has helped unite legislators and city council members against a common issue.

“That’s one of the beauties of reporting. You help people talk to each other, connect the dots and the silos across all these different spaces,” Xia said.

Xia explained that recognizing feelings as valid, acknowledging uncertainty and seeing the nuances of different resident stories have proven the most effective when approaching climate communication.

“When we write about climate change, you can’t just tell people the sky is falling. You also have to plant ideas and solutions. … If a legislator is reading this article, what are some ideas that they could pick up and run with?” Xia said. “Each person I interview, I ask, ‘What is your call to action? The L.A. Times is about to write this paper for environmental rights. What is your call to action?’”

Ultimately, Xia believes we should focus on responsibility and courage.

“We all have the responsibility to do something about this … and that responsibility takes courage,” Xia said. “We have to have the courage to take action. Responsibility and courage are two words that ground you more than hope in this journey of communicating climate change issues and the climate crisis.”

Bendetson Hall, home of the Tufts admissions office, is pictured on April 12.

Rosebud diner closes for renovations, to return with Indian-inspired menu

ROSEBUD

continued from page 1

restaurant,” bartender Steph Giordano said. “Then, our general manager … explained to us that we will be closing the doors as of [Oct. 1] because the corporation that bought us said that they’re going to close, do renovations to the space and then do a concept change.”

Giordano also suspects that Bindaas is withholding information about the extent of the restaurant’s changes.

“Originally, they said that they were going to do Indian fusion with American diner,” Giordano said. “But there’s been a lot of speculation online [and] they kind of have been retracting their statements on what this concept change is.”

According to Giordano, the change was completely unexpected, and there was a lack of communication from Bindaas.

“I’m not happy,” Giordano said. “There was no indication that this was going to ever happen. When they purchased this restaurant originally, they said that they weren’t going to do exactly what

they’re doing. They said they were going to keep Rosebud the same and keep all the staff. … To pull the rug out underneath like 55 employees 90 days later is absolutely absurd to me.”

Giordano praised Rosebud as “one of the best restaurants I’ve worked for.”

“A lot of the staff that used to work there frequently come and visit and still support [us] … when

Fletcher experts discuss alliance of non-Western economies

BRICS

continued from page 1

will the expansion mean for its member states?

“The world is like … a multiplex cinema,” Papa said, “In every room, there’s a different movie. So, for example, there is a Hindi movie in one and then there is a U.K. movie in another. ... What happens when we have [an] AI or climate change challenge where all the people need to be in the same room?”

BRICS allows member states to discuss issues that transcend borders, Papa said, which is essential to solving transnation-

al issues like climate change. Moreover, it gives member states economic support, most notably by establishing trade pathways between states and allowing them to utilize the New Development Bank.

During the August summit, Brazil’s president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva even proposed the creation of a common BRICS currency to rival the U.S. dollar — a possibility Drezner dismissed.

“The BRICS are not going to replace the dollar. Let’s be very clear about that. There is absolutely no way that is going to happen,” Drezner said. The dollar’s

dominance, he argued, will end eventually, but certainly not anytime soon, thanks to its historical precedence as the trade currency of the world.

BRICS won’t transform the global economy, according to Drezner — not yet, anyway. This doesn’t mean the West, particularly the U.S., shouldn’t take notice of the expansion.

“China’s role within BRICS has been changing and BRICS is aligning much closer with China, which affects China/U.S. relations,” Papa said.

Even Drezner, who rejected the idea that BRICS could

be creating a multipolar world, acknowledged that the relationships BRICS fosters between China and its other member states is relevant to the U.S.

“What the members of the BRICS have in common is the desire for a more multipolar world,” Drezner said. “We [currently] live in a bipolar world. We have the United States on one hand and we have China on the other.”

Essentially, China is gaining allies through BRICS, and the U.S. cannot afford to lose allies to China, given competitive tensions between the two.

Rosebud needs it. It’s like a little community place,” Giordano said.

In light of the situation, Papp praised the way her team handled the announcement.

“Despite the worst case scenario that we’re facing from a business standpoint, the team’s response to all of this has been more than mature and caring,” Papp said. ”[We have] dedication and passion for what we do and [are] showing up for each other and for our regulars and our guests. … We want to represent what we do and basically give the people what they want to the very last day.”

Since Massachusetts law prohibits service employees from sharing tips with back of house workers, Papp told the Daily that the previous ownership agreed to start a support fund for Rosebud’s former chefs, hosts and dishwashers.

Thus, the professors concluded, the BRICS expansion is bigger than the sum of its parts. It concerns more than just its member states or even the Global South as a whole, and its implications have more to do with the signal it sends to the West than the success or failure of BRICS as an organization.

“[The BRICS expansion] is a signal to the US that there is a need to strengthen and renew its own relationships with allies,” Williams said, “because even in a multipolar world, there are some poles which will necessarily be closer than others.”

TUPD called after protestors disrupt discussion on morality of abortion

PROTEST

continued from page 1

and dialogue. Unfortunately, some students seem to disagree with our goals, and sought to disrupt our event on Friday night. In accordance with university policy, we asked for the assistance of TUPD in taming the disruptions, which the responding officers did effectively.”

The noise machine was turned off by the front-row protester at 5:54 p.m., but disruption continued. The officer’s requests to stop disruptions were ignored by shouts in the audience until a second officer arrived at 6:13 p.m. TUPD did not leave the venue until the end of the event.

“We respect the right to peacefully protest,” João Ribeiro, FedSoc co-president said. “At the same time, we acknowledge that we’re at a liberal arts college and a big part of that is critical thinking, is to hear different ideas.”

The protest was organized by the Tufts chapter of Planned Parenthood Generation Action, who posted on Instagram, “Join us outside Alumnae Lounge at 5pm, September 29th with signs to peacefully protest this event.”

Protesters expressed their frustration that the speakers, unaffected by abortion law, should not have the power to promote speculation about abortion morality on campus.

“I’m protesting today because I don’t think white men should be making decisions about my reproductive rights,” Sanya Desai, a sophomore, said.

Desai continued to describe the nature of abortion rights as a topic of discussion.

“I’m hoping that this [protest] will just help people to realize that abortion rights are not something that are up for debate, or not something that should be talked about in a devil’s advocate type [of] way,” Desai said. “It’s some-

thing that’s deeply personal and that shouldn’t just be joked about or talked about for the sake of it.”

Though there were no female speakers, Ribeiro stated that none of the women that FedSoc contacted to speak were available.

“We reached out to over 20 different women from across the state in different levels of academia, let it be philosophy, public health or political science,” Ribeiro said. “We actually reached out to Tufts groups,

including Planned Parenthood [Generation Action], … in the spring and they failed to respond to our email.”

Along with Desai, other protesters said Tufts’ acceptance of an event which questioned the moral validity of abortion disappointed them.

“I think it’s just important to show as a community that this is not something that we stand for,” sophomore Calli Recck said.

One FedSoc member, James Kasparyan, who told the Daily

he is pro-choice, suspected the protestors might have mischaracterized the group’s intentions.

“It’s really a discussion about [abortion rights] in general and to hear both sides,” Kasparyan said. “We expect them to come from varying positions and we hope that they at least either hear something they haven’t thought about before, or their own ideas are reinforced in some way.” Kasparyan said.

When introducing his views, Fried acknowledged the controversy and spoke about his qualifications to discuss abortion morality.

“I am an American citizen, and I do vote. And I believe that we all have to weigh in on decisive and divisive questions in this country,” Fried said.

Sachs commented on the protesters’ actions and the role of his identity.

“It’s a great disservice to prevent others from taking part in that even in the course of hearing two other people debate. I don’t think it matters whether the two of us are both men. I don’t think it matters whether the two of us are both white,” Sachs said. “I don’t think any of that makes us unable to discuss, even if it means that there’s certain features of experience that we lack the same kind of access to.”

SAMANTHA ENG / THE TUFTS DAILY

A protester is pictured outside the Alumnae Lounge on Sept. 29.

VIA WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

Rosebud American Kitchen and Bar is pictured in 2017.

F EATURES

Q&A: Milkweed Editions CEO Daniel Slager on publishing environmental literature

Natalie Bricker Assistant Features Editor

The Daily spoke with Daniel Slager, CEO of Milkweed Editions. Milkweed is an independent, nonprofit literary publisher based in Minneapolis. Slager sat down with the Daily to discuss his journey into publishing, Milkweed’s commitment to sustainability, Amazon versus independent booksellers and more.

Editor’s note: This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Natalie Bricker (NB): Can you please tell me your role in Milkweed Editions?

Daniel Slager (DS): My title is publisher and CEO at Milkweed Editions. I acquire and edit most of the books we publish and run our publishing house.

NB: How long have you been at Milkweed?

DS: Next month it will be 18 years.

NB: And how did you get into publishing?

DS: Well, I was really passionate about books when I was at your stage of life. But I didn’t know what to do about it. When I graduated from college, I just picked up and moved to New York City. I found an entry level job as an editorial assistant at William Morrow. I lasted in that job [for] maybe eight months or so. I hated it. I left and did a little bit of a lot of things. Traveling, waiting tables. Eventually, I went back to grad school [to study] comparative literature. And I started doing translations when I was in grad school. It was as a translator that I found my way back into paid work as an editor.

NB: What were you translating?

DS: I was translating literary texts from German.

NB: That sounds really interesting, to try to capture what the author is saying without changing too much.

DS: Exactly. It’s very creative [and] interesting, working with language. Actually, I tell people all the time, it is really good training for being an editor.

NB: How so?

DS: It’s such close work with text. Moving and carrying content across from one language to another really encourages a translator to work through all possibilities.

NB: Going back to Milkweed Editions, what is your goal or mission statement?

DS: Because we are incorporated as a nonprofit organization, we do have a mission statement. Our mission is to identify, nurture and publish transformative literature and build an engaged community around it.

NB: How did COVID-19 affect your sales?

DS: One of the things that’s really hard for publishers to know is the biggest contributing factors to good sales, because it’s some mix of great content, landing at the right time and [being] promoted really intelligently. All those things have to align in order for us to sell books.

COVID was kind of a boom time for us at Milkweed … It was a good time for publishers, in general, because people were at home reading books more. Also I think our sales surged both because of COVID and because we had been getting better and better as a publisher in the lead up to COVID. And so the timing was really good for us.

We were fortunate in that a growing number of readers during COVID wanted the kind of books we’re publishing.

NB: Do you have any idea why that is?

DS: Well, our best known books over the last five to ten years have been in the category of environmental literature. The most famous one is “Braiding Sweetgrass” (2013) by Robin Wall

Kimmerer. We published another book that did land during the pandemic, called “World of Wonders” (2020) by Aimee Nezhukumatathil. They’re both books that explore our relationship as human beings to the more-than-human world. I think partly because of climate change, and partly because a lot of people feel alienated from the natural world, there’s a growing appetite for literary work exploring that whole related set of questions.

I would like to think the cultural conversation caught up with us. Ideally, we [at Milkweed] were playing a leadership role in that sense and the appetite for those kinds of voices has been growing.

NB: It makes a lot of sense to me; people had more time and capacity to think about these bigger questions because they were sitting at home.

Do you make an effort in the books you publish to talk about climate change?

DS: We’re looking for voices and books that are engaging with that set of issues. … There’s growing interest in that.

NB: [Let’s talk about] the sustainability component of Milkweed. Your website states: “60% of our books are printed at manufacturers using renewable energy sources and vegetable-based inks, and 85% are printed on post-consumer recycled material.” Is

sustainability a priority for you and for the authors that you’re publishing?

DS: Absolutely, it’s a priority. It’s the clearest example of how we live our values as an organization and as a publisher, in everything we do, including the partners we work with to make our books.

NB: Has that been in practice as long as you’ve worked [at Milkweed]?

DS: We’ve made a lot of progress in that regard. Increasingly, the readers of … environmental literature are looking for books from publishers that pay attention to [climate issues].

NB: I do remember us talking about what you [called] the ‘magic of books’ [when we spoke previously]. We had a discussion about whether e-books and buying books on Amazon … versus an independent bookstore takes away from this ‘magic.’

DS: I’ve come to think that I don’t really know of a more generous, more magical exchange than what happens between a writer and a reader when one reads a book. [Reading is] quiet, it’s solitary … It’s really incredibly magical and powerful. And for me, beautiful and profound.

If you walk into a great independent bookstore, and you talk to a bookseller, and you say, “I’m looking for a book, but I don’t really know what I’m looking for.” And they say

something like, “Well, what’s the last book you fell in love with?” You tell them a book, and — best case scenario, and this is often the case — they’re going to say, “If you love that book, I have another book for you.” I don’t really think [Amazon’s] algorithms do that as well as human beings — especially really knowledgeable human beings.

Many indie bookstores are essentially little community centers. What better kind of community center [is there] than one that’s focused on books and facilitating that magical exchange?

I know a lot of people buy all their books from Amazon. As long as [readers] are buying books, I’m happy.

NB: My last question is: what are you hoping for in the future of Milkweed?

DS: I want to become increasingly global in our digital engagement of audiences. I’d like to become, ideally, the world’s leading publisher of content exploring our relationship as human beings to the rest of the natural world. … Really, we’re doing what I think we should be doing right now. I don’t think we need to change massively.

NB: Well, it’s great that what you’re doing currently and [your] future plans are aligning right now.

DS: That’s right! We feel pretty good about the progress we’ve made and where we are right now.

COURTESY LUCY HAWTHORNE PHOTOGRAPHY

Daniel Slager is pictured.

Navigating Boston by the trees

Hopping off the MBTA Green Line after riding from the Medford/Tufts station to Park Street, the transition from a suburban to urban landscape is self-evident. The air downtown is saturated with the smells of street food, gasoline and sweat. Glancing around offers a view of Boston’s skyline juxtaposed with the expansive Boston Common and Public Garden. From this spot, exploring Boston can take on many different forms, like traveling by way of urban green spaces.

Urban green space is defined as land within an urban environment containing substantial amounts of vegetation, which can consist of community gardens, manicured parks, recreational spaces and lawns.

Rosalind Greenstein, a lecturer in the Department of Urban and Environmental Policy and Planning at Tufts, shared her thoughts on the purpose of urban green spaces in an email to the Daily.

“Urban green spaces provide environmental and recreational services. When the space is publicly owned and publicly maintained it can translate into more access for more people,” Greenstein wrote.

A shining example of urban green spaces that provide multiple services for Boston is the chain of parks and green spaces known as the Emerald Necklace. Designed by Frederick Law Olmsted in the mid to late 1800s, the Emerald Necklace extends across 1,100 acres, from the Boston Common through Jamaica Plain to Franklin Park.

Alyx Britton, volunteer and field maintenance coordinator for the Emerald Necklace Conservancy, elaborated on the three main purposes for the design.

"[Olmsted] designed the Necklace for three main purposes, one of which was to provide recreational space for urban residents of Boston who couldn’t afford to get up to the Cape or the Hamptons,” Britton said. “The second [purpose] was to do something about the … unbearable odor of the Back Bay area, which at that time was a tidal marsh and raw sewage dump … and then the third reason was to provide stormwater drainage to the city of Boston.”

Following catastrophic flooding in Oct. 1996, the Emerald Necklace Conservancy was

created to advocate and care for the entire linear park system. The conservancy’s work is holistic, covering preservation, education, programming, safety, sustainability and park administration in the Emerald Necklace.

Today, the Emerald Necklace offers a diversity of recreational activities for Boston residents and visitors. The park system, which is the namesake of the Green Line, offers a range of activities from relaxation to hiking to sports.

“There [are] places where you can go for a hike, fully forget you’re in the city and can be in what feels like the middle of the woods. Or you could go to a highly manicured rose garden and then to a soccer game, also in the Necklace,” Britton said.

Beyond recreation, urban green spaces are homes for environmental advocacy, like that provided by the Emerald Necklace Conservancy. Britton spoke to the role of nonprofit advocacy in green spaces.

“One of the things that’s important to recognize in our work and in nonprofit advocacy work is that we’re here to amplify voices. The work didn’t start with us, and it doesn’t end with us either, honestly,” they said.

Many of the voices amplified in urban green spaces are those of residents in surrounding neighborhoods. This concept can be seen in the Southwest Corridor Park, which stretches four miles from Back Bay to Forest Hills.

The park was created out of efforts such as the People Before Highways rally of 1969, and continues to serve as a hallmark of community involvement in Boston. The park is home to numerous community gardens, biking and walking trails, basketball courts, dog parks and playgrounds.

Similar to the Emerald Necklace Conservancy, the Southwest Corridor Park Alliance advocates for and represents this linear park as a whole. Jennifer Leonard, chair of the Southwest Corridor Park Alliance, described the role of her organization.

“We have the mission, basically, to continue the community involvement — to be the community voice for the park. And so that involves focusing on supporting volunteer garden stewardship, supporting advocacy for the bike and walking trails and supporting … a number of different activities in the park,” Leonard said.

One of the largest programs overseen by the Southwest Corridor Park Alliance is their community garden, which — according to Leonard — offers both an opportunity for volunteerism and community socialization.

“A lot of people don’t really have their own yards, or they just have a tiny patio, at most. And so, it’s an outlet for gardening, but it’s also a service to the community,” Leonard said.

“It also becomes social because they go out and do some work in the park, see their neighbors,

get into conversations and have that strong connection.”

Additionally, the Southwest Corridor Park Alliance advocated for the community in the planning of areas bordering the park. Jennifer Jones, volunteer coordinator and community garden steward with the Southwest Corridor Park Alliance, spoke to the organization’s role in local redevelopment.

“There’s a lot of rebuilding that’s going on [near the park]. The Mildred C. Hailey public housing is being redeveloped, so they’re knocking down buildings, [and] building new buildings. We’re involved in making sure that, because they share a boundary with the park, … there’s proper flow and community involvement,” Jones said.

Designing and maintaining urban green spaces is not without its challenges. Leonard expanded on how even tasks like tree planting can be difficult when having to consider an urban landscape.

“The Southwest Corridor is challenging because so much of it is over the MBTA. Some of it is actually decked over the trains and so there’s a limit to what trees can be planted on that space,” Leonard said.

Overall, urban green spaces are a vital part of Boston and its surrounding communities. Beyond being aesthetically pleasing, urban green spaces provide health benefits, recreational space and places for neighborhood connection.

These publicly accessible lands are fruitful places to explore and engage with environmental values.

“Having a place that is easily accessible to connect to the natural world, I think that is a mental health benefit, a spiritual benefit and a benefit for future generations, as we teach other people and youth to value our natural resources,” Britton said.

As much as urban green spaces allow stakeholders to pass on environmental values, they are also a reflection of social values. When thinking about urban green spaces overall, we must consider how their impacts are distributed across all who use them.

Greenstein probed the possible equity concerns of urban green spaces.

“As with any ‘public good,’ everything about green space reflects social values,” Greenstein wrote. “For example, we know that well-maintained public green spaces will increase the value of nearby private property. Are these beautiful and well-maintained spaces broadly scattered around the city to benefit all residents and all neighborhoods, or just selected neighborhoods?”

Urban green spaces have numerous benefits and can be inspiring examples of community advocacy. However, it is always important to think about who does and does not benefit from urban green spaces.

Carmen Smoak

Deputy Features Editor

COURTESY SCOTT ROMNEY / SW CORRIDOR PARK CONSERVANCY Southwest Corridor Park is pictured.

ARTS & POP CULTURE

Demi Lovato’s ‘Revamped’ and the trend of rerecording music

Ryan Fairfield Arts Editor

When Demi Lovato released her album “HOLY FVCK” in Aug. 2022, she bid adieu to her traditional pop style and migrated to the world of rock. While embarking on a tour for the album, Lovato began to reimagine her older pop songs, performing rock covers of some of her classics like “Heart Attack” (2013) and “Cool for the Summer” (2015). The fans seemed to love the new rock versions of the songs, which inspired Lovato to record and release them in “Revamped” (2023).

Lovato is a powerhouse vocalist, and the switch to rock allows her tone and vocal range to shine even more than they did on her pop tracks. For evidence of this, look no further than her recent performance at the MTV Video Music Awards where she performed a medley including “Heart Attack,” “Cool for the Summer” and “Sorry Not Sorry” (2017). The performance, which USA Today ranked as the second-best performance of the night, was electric with Lovato truly looking like a rockstar alongside her band — even Taylor Swift was up dancing and singing along.

When it comes to “Revamped,” some of the choices for which songs would get the rock treatment were obvious. The songs Lovato performed at the VMAs were clear choices alongside tracks like “Confident” (2015) and “Neon Lights” (2013).

“Confident - Rock Version” features a heavy drum beat that elevates the song and gives it a punchy feel that is more subtle on the original track. While “Neon Lights - Rock Version” also features a strong beat, perhaps the best addition to this song was Lovato’s choice to feature rock band The Maine on the track. The Maine’s lead vocalist John O’Callaghan’s vocals mesh beautifully with Lovato’s and give the song a duet feel on the chorus they sing together.

While on the subject of duets, Lovato also chose to make “Give Your Heart a Break - Rock Version” a duet with the lead vocalist of the band The Used, Bert McCraken. The duet feels like a battle between these two vocalists vying to express their love for one another. Lovato originally said, despite the somewhat misleading title, “Give Your

Heart A Break” (2011) was about faith and fighting for the one you love — a message that is even more present in the rock version, though it might not have the typical ballad feel to it.

Some might be shocked to see rock versions of “Skyscraper”

ducing track on “Revamped,” it would have to go to “Don’t Forget - Rock Version.”

“Don’t Forget,” which was originally released on Lovato’s debut album of the same title, not only takes listeners back to 2008, but it is the perfect song

old work seems to be so appealing to artists, Lovato stated that when someone’s songs have been out for so long, reinventing them can be an attractive opportunity. For Lovato, the driving force was wanting to make the songs better vocally,

rerecord or Clarkson gave her the idea, the tweet no doubt predicted the future.

Rerecording her old work is primarily about ownership for Swift, which makes sense for an artist who is so passionate about her music and specifically the lyrics. That being said, Swift is likely the only artist whose rerecordings, both talent-wise and popularity-wise, surpass that of the originals. Take “All Too Well” (2012) for example. When rerecording “All Too Well (Taylor’s Version)” (2021) Swift rerecorded both the original five minute version and the unheard ten minute version, which fans had been pressuring her to release for years. “All Too Well” spent one week on the Billboard Hot 100 and peaked at No. 80, while “All Too Well (Taylor’s Version)” spent 15 weeks on the chart and peaked at No. 1, making it the longest song to ever top the chart.

Other artists have recently released music for a much simpler reason: to commemorate the anniversary of the album’s release. To celebrate the 10th anniversary of her album “Yours Truly” (2013), Ariana Grande released a deluxe version of the album which included live versions of some of the tracks from the album in addition to a new version of “The Way,” featuring the late Mac Miller. While this reason for rerecording is more likely a sentimental reason rather than an economic or popular one, it can still be exciting to hear, even if the version does not add much to the original.

(2011) and “Tell Me You Love Me” (2017) on the album. These songs are known to be Lovato’s more vulnerable songs and giving them the rock twist could have been a risky decision if done poorly. Thankfully, even in the rock versions, the two songs stay true to their emotional roots. While, yes, Lovato does add rock instrumentals, it is the impassioned vocals that dominate the track and make them stand out.

Listening to an adult Lovato revisit songs from throughout her career is no doubt nostalgic for many who grew up with them.

“La La Land - Rock Version” aids in driving home that nostalgic feeling. The track maintains that playful, fun energy from the original, but the rock additions help it feel more mature and emphasize Lovato’s growth as an artist. That being said, if an award were to be given for most nostalgia-in-

to conclude “Revamped.” The lyrics, while seemingly about heartbreak, potentially serve as a message for Lovato’s career. Lyrics like “Somewhere we went wrong / We were once so strong” are a reminder of the struggle Lovato has been through throughout her career. Yet, she persevered, and is still a force to be reckoned with. Lovato may pose the question “Did you forget about me?” but nothing could make her audience forget about her. 15 years after her debut album, “Revamped” proves Lovato is not going anywhere and is, just maybe, the best she has ever been.

When thinking about “Revamped” it is hard to not think about the countless other artists in recent years who have revisited their old work and reimagined it. When asked a question about why rerecording

telling Billboard, “I’m the type of person that wants to out-do myself always.” This is just one of the many reasons why artists may rerecord old work — to make them better — but for the most famous example of rerecording music, it is about ownership.

The story of Taylor Swift’s rerecordings is a much more dramatic one than just wanting to make the songs better. Swift’s music catalog was sold without her consent despite the artist trying to buy the masters herself. Shortly after this news broke, fellow artist Kelly Clarkson tweeted, “just a thought, U should go in & re-record all the songs that U don’t own the masters on exactly how U did them but put brand new art & some kind of incentive so fans will no longer buy the old versions.” Regardless of whether Swift was already planning to

Whatever reason an artist may have for rerecording old work, it can be a treat for fans, especially when the album or song in question is one that the fans have grown up with. In the case of Lovato, “Revamped” helps emphasize her transition away from pop music and proves that any of her songs, even the ones that one may think would never work, can be made rock. Swift’s case is unique, but one that has proven to be not only an extremely successful move but one that calls attention to a major issue in the music industry — artists not being able to own their own work. Who knows who might be the next artist to put a spin on their old work? But it seems to be a rising trend in the industry, so all one can do is keep an eye out for who might next “revamp” their old music.

VIA WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

Demi Lovato is pictured in 2016.

Ed Sheeran’s seventh studio album is an ode to mediocrity

The Power of the Pen

What Reagan did

While the writers strike of this year has recently come to an end, the actors are still on the picket lines fighting for better pay and protections from big studios. The constant fight in the entertainment industry for actors’ fair treatment has gone on for decades — all the way back to the Reagan presidency.

Former president, Ronald “The Great Communicator” Reagan, is the one of only two movie stars to ever take the Oval Office. Reagan moved to Hollywood in 1937 and became a member of the Screen Actors Guild (precedent to SAG-AFTRA) shortly thereafter. Reagan had been scouted by a Warner Brothers agent, with his move to Hollywood marking the beginning of a 28-year-film career. Known for his suave charm, Reagan quickly moved up in the SAG hierarchy.

Reagan acted as SAG president between 1947–52 and 1959–60. During his first presidential term, Reagan was able to secure residuals for television actors as with the fall of movie attendance, film actors were looking for a piece of the revenue pie. As president in 1959, Reagan organized the 1960 SAG strike in an effort to help secure residuals for film actors.

The 1960 strike, the second American actors strike in history, began in March of that year and went on for five weeks. Although the 1960 strike pales in comparison to the 2023 one, the win was significant for its time. Not only did the end of negotiations secure residuals for film actors, but Reagan was also able to promise pension and welfare plans for actors — the first in the organization’s history.

Shortly after the strike came to a close, Reagan resigned from the SAG presidency and his final acting role was in 1965.

Ed Sheeran’s newest album, “Autumn Variations” (2023), is nothing special. In fact, the title is apt, since the album is just variations of his previous works (which he happens to be releasing in autumn) but without much panache and experimentation. That may have been Sheeran’s goal, but it doesn’t negate the album’s overall quality.

Ed Sheeran has always been a hitmaker. From the smashing success of “Shape of You”(2017) to the omnipresence of “Bad Habits” (2021) to the ubiquitous wedding song “Thinking Out Loud” (2014), Sheeran has never shied from the mainstream. In fact, he has defined the mainstream throughout the 2010s.

He suddenly changed his approach with his last studio album, “-” (2023). “-” (pronounced “subtract”) was an emotional rollercoaster; his wife had recently been diagnosed with cancer, and one of his closest friends, Jamal Edwards, had just overdosed. His music reflected the turmoil in his life, and the lyrics were more revelatory than any of his previous work had been. “Eyes Closed” (2023) was released as the lead single and became a hit, but the album was clearly intended to be more about personal exploration than commercial success.

He took an even more directly noncommercial approach with “Autumn Variations,” completely eschewing leading singles or other traditional promotion. He appears to have put out

the album purely for the sake of putting out his music, without any commercial or artistic ambitions. It’s more of a concept album, coming across like a private collection of miscellaneous autumn favorites, rather than a fully produced album he wrote himself. Each song is devoted to someone he loves (except “England” which is, of course, dedicated to England). The overall impression of the album is that of a laid-back soundtrack that could easily be played as background music on a crisp morning — just uninteresting enough to be ambient.

None of the songs are especially distinctive, at least after a first listen. The album opens meekly with the song “Magical,” which Sheeran says is his favorite of the record. The song is strongly reminiscent of “Run” (2021), a Taylor Swift song Sheeran collaborated on (also produced by Aaron Dessner). “Run” is a great song, but did the world really need another song like it? Probably not.

Everyone should brace themselves to have “Plastic Bag” enter their earworm repertoire. It’s clearly the lead single that would have been, with an upbeat tempo that gets old after about three listens. The lyrics, much like many of his other more recent songs, allude to his history with substance addiction and alcoholism. Despite this catchiness and hints of self-exploration, the song really doesn’t accomplish anything special.

The second half of the album is a bit more somber. “Spring” is a mournful yet hopeful song. Its lyrics continue

to openly explore Sheeran’s addiction, much like the majority of the songs in this album: “I said I’d do a sober month / I failed, but tried and wrote this drunk.” It’s a pretty and simple song, but once again, it’s nothing particularly unique.

“When Will I Be Alright,” the best song on the album, is honest and slow. Most importantly, it incorporates a melancholy fiddle (which automatically makes any song better). The lyrics reflect his continuing uncertainty following loss and depression. The song certainly doesn’t reinvent the wheel, but it’s a nice addition to Sheeran’s repertoire.

Though Sheeran has changed his approach to advertising, this album is in no way a case of an artist reinventing himself. It could just as easily have been called “Ed Sheeran’s Seventh Studio Album” as it can be “Autumn Variations.” It clearly incorporates all the styles that Ed Sheeran has tried out in the past, from folk to rap to pop, and is filled with simple yet catchy melodies. Some of the album’s songs are good, some are bad, most are mediocre and all are derivative. But there isn’t anything wrong with that; in fact, it seems to be Sheeran’s intention. If he continues to release albums of this variety, he will have the freedom to make the kind of music he likes, without the pressure of appealing to critics or billboards. Perhaps less deliberately commercial albums will allow Sheeran to avoid some of the pitfalls of fame, and transition peacefully from a popstar to a relic of the sound of the 2010s.

The next year, he began the first of his two terms as Governor of California. Here, we can start to see the shift in Reagan from actor to political player. This all culminated when he became president in 1980.

As U.S. president in 1981, Reagan made waves by firing more than 11,000 air traffic controllers on strike for better retirement benefits, an increase in pay and better safety protocols. Reagan not only had the workers fired, he also decertified the Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization union, calling the strike illegal.

Reagan’s response to the PATCO strike undermined union power — the same power SAG-AFTRA is now trying to cement.

While this move may have seemed out of left-field from Reagan, a closer look reveals he began showing anti-union policies far earlier.

In 1969, Reagan sent the National Guard to break up a student activist protest at the University of California, Berkeley. Even before joining the political world, while acting as SAG president in 1947, Reagan, an extreme anti-Communist, decided to help the U.S. government blacklist several actors, directors and writers who were thought to be part of the Communist Party. These entertainment workers were barred from working in the industry until the 1960s.

So, how is it possible that a man, once the leader of a union, one who fought for the betterment of workers, could become what he once opposed? We will discuss more in the next column.

Abbie Klein Assistant Arts Editor

COURTESY MARK SURRIDGE

Ed Sheeran is pictured.

Odessa Gaines

Odessa Gaines is a junior studying cognitive and brain science. She can be reached at kgaine01@tufts.edu.

Puzzle by LUCAS CHUA

Ben Choucroun Antisemitism Broken Down

Weaponization of the label

hurts Jews and Palestinians

On Sept. 2, 50 neo-Nazis marched through the suburbs of Orlando, Fla., waving flags adorned with swastikas. In recent months, dozens of synagogues have been targeted with bomb threats and “swatting” calls. Canada’s parliament recently gave a standing ovation to a veteran of Hitler’s Waffen-SS, a group tasked with exterminating European Jews. I have seen neo-Nazi flyers distributed in my hometown, and recently far-right extremists held a rally outside a Jewish center with signs reading “Jews did 9/11.” Other Jews

have also noticed the rise in antisemitism; a recent study found that 82% of Jewish adults feel antisemitism has increased in the past five years.

Amid this horrifying rise in antisemitism, some organizations supposedly dedicated to stopping discrimination have repeatedly attacked Palestinian activism while neo-Nazis continue to march through the streets. These actions, which include conflating antisemitism with anti-Zionism, obscure the actual danger of far-right antisemitism and can help perpetuate antisemitic myths.

In May, Palestinian activist Fatima Mohammed was heavily criticized for her graduation speech at the City University of New York School of Law. Mohammed, an anti-Zionist (someone who opposes the idea of a Jewish ethnostate state in the land of Palestine), condemned Israel as a settler-colonial state and correctly accused it of attacking worshippers. Even though CUNY’s Jewish Law Students Association released a letter in support of Mohammed, her speech was condemned by the pro-Israel AntiDefamation League and CUNY’s chan-

cellor. Alexis Grenell, a columnist at The Nation, even compared Mohammed’s address to the “Protocols of the Elders of Zion,” a notorious antisemitic forgery that encouraged genocidal anti-Jewish pogroms in Russia and became an important Nazi propaganda tool during the Holocaust.

The absurd attacks on Mohammed for simply voicing her legitimate opinion about Israel while literal Nazis march through the streets of Orlando are a microcosm of a larger issue, namely, conflating far-right antisemitism with leftwing pro-Palestine activism. Jonathan Greenblatt, the head of the ADL, described “radical left” groups as the inverse of the far right. One of the groups Greenblatt described was Jewish Voice for Peace, a progressive Jewish activist group that opposes Zionism. While left-wing groups are not invulnerable to antisemitism, comparing pro-Palestinian activists to the far-right extremists committing terrorist attacks is clearly an attempt to stifle pro-Palestinian voices.

The association of antisemitism with anti-Zionism is harmful to Jews as well

as Palestinians. A common antisemitic myth is that Jews hold secret loyalty to Israel, and associating antisemitism with anti-Zionism furthers that trope. This trope has been perpetuated by rightwing, pro-Israel figures such as Donald Trump, who suggested that “liberal Jews” who voted against him were destroying Israel in a post made on Truth Social on Rosh Hoshana. This dual loyalty myth follows directly from the idea that attacking the apartheid ethnostate of Israel is somehow antisemitic.

As a pressing issue that harms Jews every day, antisemitism should not be weaponized against Palestinians or their advocates. Instead, we must all fight for Palestinian liberation and against antisemitism. In addition to educating oneself about these issues, joining anti-fascist groups and supporting anti-Zionist political organizations are great ways to fight the oppression enforced by antisemitic bigotry and Israel.

Ben Choucroun

Originally published Sept. 29.

Content warning: This article mentions sexual assault and rape.

Earlier this year, the Connecticut Supreme Court passed down its ruling concerning the immunity of rape victims in Title IX cases on campus. Title IX is the law that governs how sexual assault cases are supposed to be handled on college campuses. In a 7–0 vote, the court concluded that due to certain lacks of fairness, full immunity could not be extended to a Title IX victim of rape at Yale, and that a defamation case against her could continue.

This case began in 2015 when then-Yale student Saifullah Khan went to a party around his college campus. He met an acquaintance, who for protection in court documents is referred to as Jane Doe. The two went back to her residence and what followed is disputed. According to Khan, Doe was inebriated and he had consensual sex with her, while Doe claimed that she had fallen asleep only to wake up and find Khan in her bed, naked and with condoms on the floor. This event was reported to the campus police the same day, and within a few days, Khan had been arrested on charges of sexual assault.

Yale then suspended Khan from the school and the case went to trial in March 2017. In criminal court, Khan was acquitted of all his charges by a six-person jury and allowed to return as a student to Yale University. However, another accusation emerged and Yale was forced to suspend Khan once again. In 2019 the University-

Wide Committee on Sexual Misconduct found him responsible for the 2015 assault and expelled him from the university. The expulsion led Khan to sue Yale over damages to his reputation as well as breach of contract for not giving him his degree. He is seeking over $110 million and accused Doe of defamation.

The nature of this lawsuit is highly unusual in most campus sexual assault cases since victims are protected by Title IX of the U.S. Civil Rights Act which prevents intimidation or threats against victims. However, in their ruling, the Connecticut Supreme Court described the Yale UWC hearing as quasi-judicial due to a lack of cross-examination, failure to place witnesses under oath and failure to provide transcripts to Khan and his defense team. Due to this lack of safeguards, the court ruled that Khan was not granted a fair trial, and thus the victim was not entitled to immunity.

This ruling could be widely cited in future lawsuits and have a chilling effect on college campuses for rape victims and other victims of sexual harassment and discrimination. Title IX only stipulates that all educational institutions that receive federal funding or assistance need to have fair investigations in cases involving discrimination based on sex. However, what constitutes as fair is not specified, and is subject to change with each presidential administration. Usually, when a new President arrives at the White House, their Department of Education drafts new guidelines on how Title IX should be implemented in schools and colleges. Saifullah Khan’s case was tried by the university under Obama-era guidelines which do not mandate cross-examination, a process during which witnesses are questioned for the validity of their testimony. However, when President Trump was elected in

2016, his administration reversed many of those guidelines. Now that President Biden is in the White House, his Department of Education is set to restore many Obama-era guidelines in the coming months.

One can see how daunting and confusing the system is to navigate with each successive administration changing, deleting and readjusting guidelines to the use of Title IX. What is encouraged for one year is suddenly quasi-judicial the next, and for victims, it is even more damaging, potentially leading to fear of getting sued. This case also highlights the shortcomings of colleges behaving like courts during sexual assault-related disciplinary hearings. The Connecticut Supreme Court ruling clearly displays a lack of fairness and pro-

tection for the accused in the Yale UWC hearing. In its ruling, the court described the UWC hearing as unfair and improper, further describing that the school had effectively reduced Khan’s lawyers to the status of a “potted plant.”

This system is set up in an overly convoluted way in which the victim and those who are innocent may be harmed or traumatized by a university’s investigations into sexual assault on college campuses. It should be the goal of Congress to codify a version of Title IX guidelines into law to prevent further changes and distortions. A more concrete system would help colleges set up more fair and impartial Title IX hearings and prevent further harm to victims and the wrongfully accused.

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OP-EDS: Op-Eds provide an open forum for campus editorial commentary and are printed Monday through Thursday. The Daily welcomes submissions from all members of the Tufts community; the opinions expressed in the Op-Ed section do not necessarily represent the opinions of the Daily itself. Opinion articles on campus, national and international issues should be 600 to 1,200 words in length and submitted to opinion@tuftsdaily.com. The editors reserve the right to edit letters for clarity, space and length. All material is subject to editorial discretion and is not guaranteed to appear in the Daily. Authors must submit their telephone numbers and day-of availability for editing questions.

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“antisemitism”

is a first-year who has yet to declare a major. Ben can be reached at benjamin.choucroun@tufts.edu.

The need to codify Title IX

Evan Wang

Contributing Writer

VIA WIKIMEDIA COMMONS Yale University is pictured in 2012.

VIEWPOINT

SCIENCE

Quantum computers: Available for free from your own home

Jaiden Rodgers Contributing Writer

Originally published Oct. 4.

As you’re reading this, millions of dollars are being invested by big tech companies into developing quantum computers around the globe. Luckily, industry leaders like Microsoft and IBM have also decided that the pursuit of science should have no price tag. Thanks to them, you can run experiments on real quantum computers for free from the comfort of your own home.

While most people certainly like free things, many also don’t know the first thing about quantum computing. It’s challenging enough to explain the binary code behind ‘regular’ computers, so attempting to give a brief written summary of quantum mechanics, qubits and superposition is far beyond the technical ability of anyone who doesn’t currently hold a Nobel Prize in both physics and literature.

Fortunately, Microsoft’s Azure Quantum Katas and IBM’s Quantum Platform each offer

the equivalent of a college-level course in quantum computing concepts and programming. The documentation is thorough enough for serious, practical applications while still serving as interesting, digestible material for novices to enjoy.

Of these two sites, IBM’s Quantum Platform is better suited for those just starting out in the quantum world. Not only are its quantum computing lessons more beginner-friendly, but so is its coding interface. The Quantum Composer tool lets users perform guided experiments with quantum circuits visually rather than on a command line. Everything produced is real, executable code that can be run on actual quantum computers.

For those without the luxury of a quantum system at home, IBM even offers free limited cloud access to some of its own quantum computers. Its Open Plan grants users 10 minutes per month of access to quantum systems on any device with modern browsing capabilities.

In fact, IBM’s desire to speed up progress towards useful

quantum computing has led to the creation of IBM Quantum Credits. While anyone affiliated with an institution can apply, credits are only awarded to individual research projects that demonstrate outstanding potential; they come with the benefits of extra access to

quantum systems and opportunities to connect with other talented minds in the space. This can act as an incentive to get more people interested in using IBM’s Quantum Platform regardless of experience.

Beyond being a fun use of your free time, this open access

to quantum computing systems and technology is profoundly important because it reduces entry barriers for anyone interested in working on quantum computing research. Anyone can access these tools and teach themselves an exciting, burgeoning field of science.

FDA approves breakthrough treatment for Alzheimer’s disease

Originally published Oct. 3.

Alzheimer’s disease is the most common form of dementia, affecting an estimated 6.7 million Americans. Earlier in the year, biotechnology companies Eisai and Biogen made a significant breakthrough in the landscape of pharmaceuticals, resulting in Lecanemab, also known by the brand name Leqembi, a new prescription medication designed to decelerate cognitive decline associated with the disease.

Alzheimer’s disease is a condition primarily found in adults over 65 that steadily impairs memory and mental function. It

became widely known through a report in Germany on Nov. 3, 1906 by the eponymous psychiatrist Alois Alzheimer, who had been observing a 50-yearold woman with a strange set of symptoms, including memory disturbances, confusion and aggression. The condition developed rapidly and claimed her life only five years later. Alzheimer examined slides of the woman’s brain tissue and noted distinctive plaques as well as protein accumulations on her brain cells called neurofibrillary tangles.

Plaques are the hallmark of Alzheimer’s disease. The National Institute on Aging explains these plaques are made of beta-amyloid proteins that consist of mul-

tiple forms, with beta-amyloid 42 being considered especially deleterious. Beta-amyloid proteins clump between neurons, disrupting cell functioning and memory. Neurofibrillary tangles, a buildup of a protein called tau on neurons, also affect memory processes. Once a certain amount of beta-amyloid plaques collect on the brain, tau proteins swiftly propagate throughout the brain. Notably, most types of Alzheimer’s are not directly linked to a single genetic cause. Although multiple genes have been linked to the condition, factors such as smoking, diet and exercise can also affect one’s chances of developing Alzheimer’s.

As such, Leqembi is not a complete treatment but rather a measure to improve life expectancy and quality of life for diagnosed patients. Infused intravenously every two weeks, Leqembi targets the amyloid plaques, effectively preserving cognitive function for a longer time, according to Forbes. The drug has been approved in part because it does not have many alarming side effects. At most, Leqembi was found in trials to occasionally cause an amyloid-related imaging abnormality, which is essentially inflammation in certain brain regions. This side effect can manifest as ARIA-E (brain swelling due to fluid collecting) or ARIA-H (bleeding in the brain).

Notably, Leqembi only treats amyloid-beta plaques, which are only one piece of the Alzheimer’s puzzle. However, Michael Irizarry, Eisai’s head of Alzheimer’s research, told

BioSpace that the company is currently developing the E2814 drug that is targeting tau, the protein that leads to neurofibrillary tangles. In theory, Leqembi can be combined with this tau-targeting medication to combat both plaques and tangles, potentially slowing cognitive decline even further.

The Food and Drug Administration accelerated Leqembi’s approval on Jan. 6. Through this method, the FDA can “approve drugs for serious conditions where there is an unmet medical need, based on clinical data demonstrating the drug’s effect.”

However, it was not until July 6 that the FDA granted Leqembi standard approval, meaning that the U.S. Medicare health plan for patients over 65 could have broader coverage for the drug, which carries a hefty price tag of $26,500 a year. While Medicare can cover around 80% of the price, that still leaves about $5,000 for Alzheimer’s patients and their caregivers to pay annually. Although Eisai has support programs to help with the cost, it is not fully clear how much they will cover or if the funds they offer will be enough to diminish the economic burden on patients and caregivers.

Regardless of the cost, a larger concern is that Leqembi may not benefit all Alzheimer’s patients equally: Alzheimer’s — and dementia more generally — may afflict Black Americans for different reasons than it does white Americans on average. An NBC article writes that elderly Black

Americans have two times the dementia rate as elderly white Americans. Despite this, 49% of Black volunteers did not qualify for the clinical trials because they did not have enough amyloid-beta protein in their brains to be considered.

This disparity not only exists between Black and white Americans, but also between Black and Hispanic Americans. Even though 55% of Hispanic volunteers did not meet screening requirements, they made up 22.5% of Eisai’s U.S. 947-person Leqembi trial — an overrepresentation of Hispanics in the broader U.S. population — while only 4.5% of participants were Black — a brazen underrepresentation of the population that is most affected by Alzheimer’s in the United States. Eisai reports they are currently looking into why such a large number of Black volunteers were screened out of the trial.

Multiple studies are finding that systemic racism and the resulting socioeconomic inequality, a disparity that affects access to medical care, better quality of life and exposure to environmental factors likely have a hand in these biological differences between American racial groups. So, while Leqembi’s approval is an impressive contribution to the field of medicine, it is just the tipping point to fine-tuning treatments, investigating Alzheimer’s disease and dementia further and recognizing healthcare inequities in the United States and the world at large.

A quantum computer is pictured.

Adi Raman Contributing Writer

VIA WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

A cerebral autopsy specimen showcasing amyloid plaques is pictured.

New signings shine under management of Xabi Alonso

ALONSO

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ond division. During his time in Spain, Alonso gained a reputation for his possession-based team, but at Leverkusen, he has emphasized the importance of productive possession, where each pass has a purpose and supports the team. Alonso has switched to an adaptive 3–5–2 formation with ball-playing center-backs and attacking fullbacks anchoring his build-up play. When defending, Bayer’s fullbacks retreat into a back five while the remaining players become compact. In his first season in Germany, the former Real Madrid legend took Leverkusen from 17th to 6th, averaging 1.6 points a game, a figure once held by current Liverpool boss and Gengenpress pioneer Jürgen Klopp back in 2008. The number of shots from opponents also dropped from 13.4 to 10.9 per game, highlighting the defensive improvement. Alonso’s initial success in Germany has sparked rumors of a potential reunion with Real Madrid, as Los Blancos will be in the market for a new manager next summer.

One of Leverkusen’s young stars is attacking midfielder Florian Wirtz. Much like Bayern Munich’s Jamal Musiala, Wirtz is being touted as the future of German

Women’s

Tara Wirtschoreck Contributing Writer

football, as the 20-year-old’s creativity and goal-scoring ability has troubled defenses throughout the country. Alonso uses Wirtz in a two-man attacking duo with Jonas Hofmann behind Nigerian forward Victor Boniface. Hofmann joined Leverkusen from Mönchengladbach this summer and has been an engine down the left flank. Hofmann knows the Bundesliga like the back of his hand having played in Germany since his youth academy days. On the contrary, Boniface was brought in from Belgian side Union Saint-Gilloise as a replacement for last season’s Moussa Diaby, who led the team’s goal scoring and assist charts last season. A physical force up front, Boniface combines pace with composed finishing in the final third. He already has six goals and two assists in the Bundesliga and is showing no signs of slowing down.

Two additional signings have also balanced Leverkusen’s lineup. Benfica’s Alejandro Grimaldo is an attack-minded left-back who brings pace to complement Hofman on the left wing. This gives Alonso flexibility in terms of outlets that can be deployed for quick counter-attacks. Former Arsenal captain Granit Xhaka also joined Leverkusen’s ranks this season. Xhaha’s defensive midfield role is similar

to what Alonso had during his prime at Liverpool and Real Madrid. Despite lacking pace, Xhaka’s ability to thread passes through midfield and high-pressure pressing makes him a key asset. The Swiss international is also known for his rocket left foot which makes him a goal-scoring threat when he overloads in attack.

Looking forward, Leverkusen will hope to make a deep run in the Europa League where they could potentially lock horns with the likes of Liverpool and Roma. Considering their favorable group stage draw, Alonso’s men should focus on the Bundesliga as title challengers Bayern Munich are unlikely to drop many points.

The former World Cup winner Alonso has played with some of the best midfielders in history including the likes of Xavi, Iniesta, Gerrard and Kaká. In terms of coaches, he has played under master tacticians like José Mourinho, Pep Guardiola and Carlo Ancelotti. All three managers followed unique blueprints for their teams and Alonso seems to be blending his learnings into a unique style of his own. His experience is unmatched and Leverkusen’s performances in the coming months could be the making of another world-class manager for years to come.

volleyball loses to Hamilton in tight fifth set

Originally published Oct. 4.

The Tufts’ women’s volleyball team lost to Hamilton 2–3 on Saturday, despite bringing strong energy to the court.

Tufts’ second away game of the weekend began less than 24 hours after their loss against Middlebury on Friday night.

Though they lost, the Jumbos still had a strong game, scoring 81 total points to the Continentals’ 73. Tufts also had a strong offensive showing, with 62 kills.

Hamilton had a strong defense; Rileigh Farragher, senior setter and opposite hitter, explained that this made scoring on the Continentals difficult.

“They came out and played really consistent defense and really limited their errors,” Farragher wrote in an email to the Daily. “That meant that we were going to have to earn all of our points, they weren’t going to give us any, which caught up to us in the end.”

The game was exciting throughout all five matches, with neither team ever taking a truly decisive lead. Megan Harrison, senior defensive specialist and libero, explained

Henry Blickenstaff Extra Innings

2023 Postseason Power Rankings

The 2023 playoffs are here, and it’s time to rank all 12 teams that qualified, from the bluebloods to the pretenders.

12. Miami Marlins (84–77) The Marlins set a record this year — by having the worst run differential of any playoff team in MLB history at -56. Let’s face it, this team got stupidly lucky this year, and anything other than a first round exit would be a huge surprise.

11. Arizona Diamondbacks (84–78) Like the Marlins, the Diamondbacks also somehow snuck in the postseason with a negative run differential (-15). They’re a young team with a lot of upside, but I think they’re a year early.

10. Minnesota Twins (87–75) The Twins aren’t a bad team, but the main reason they’re here is their abysmal division, which they won by nine games despite only having 87 wins. They also can’t escape the fact that they haven’t won a playoff series since 2002.

9. Milwaukee Brewers (92–70) The Brewers have a lethal starting rotation, headlined by Corbin Burnes, Brandon Woodruff and Freddy Peralta, and they have the best closer in baseball in Devin Williams. Their weak offense will likely keep them from making a run, however.

that the Jumbos and Continentals were both excited to play against each other, and the tight scoring only heightened that.

“[Hamilton] came in super fired up, super ready to defend” Harrison said. “It was a really fun game to play. We both competed really well against each other.”

The first set set the pace for the rest of the game, with Hamilton winning by a close 22–25. The Continentals took four of the first five points, taking a lead that the Jumbos couldn’t catch up with.

The Jumbos truly found their stride in the second and third sets, which they won 25–20 and 25–14 respectively.

Harrison credits this to the teamwork and comradery throughout the game.

“This game, our energy was super consistent. We were super dialed in with each other,” Harrison said. “It was just a welloiled machine. Even though we didn’t win, on the inside, it felt like we were working really well together.”

These successful sets were led by Alina Qi, junior opposite and middle hitter, who scored 17 points throughout the match.

But the Jumbos couldn’t keep their momentum up through the fourth and fifth sets. The Continentals won the fourth set 20–25, making the Jumbos’ lead a tie.

The fifth and final set started off close, but the Continentals pulled away. The result was a 12–15 final match, cementing Tuft’s loss against Hamilton.

Right now, the team’s record is 6–6 overall and 1–3 within the NESCAC, making it 10th in the NESCAC. Because of this, they are hoping to build on some of their skills in the following games.

Harrison believes that Tufts’ strong teamwork helped them in this match, and hopes that as the season progresses, the Jumbos use their combination of this camaraderie and skill to win more matches.

“It’s still early in the season, and we’re just working out the kinks,” Harrison said. “We know that it’s all going to come together really soon and click.”

Tufts will travel to Waterville, Maine on Friday, where they’ll take on Colby College. In terms of more technical goals, the Jumbos hope to add more intentionality to their offense, Farragher explained.

“This Friday, we are really going to focus on limiting errors and being smarter when the play isn’t perfect,” Farragher wrote. “We like to run a very fast offense, which is great, but sometimes I think [we] get caught up in it and need to remember it’s ok to slow the ball down and make a smart move.”

8. Toronto Blue Jays (89–73) This team is loaded with talent and they pitched really well this year, but will their bats wake up? Between Bo Bichette, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Matt Chapman, Toronto can be dangerous if they get hot. But that’s a big if.

7. Texas Rangers (90–72)Texas couldn’t hold off the Astros for the AL West crown, which cost them a first-round bye. This is another team with a high ceiling, as they can score with anyone. But their confidence is shaky at best, and Tampa is a tough firstround matchup.

6. Philadelphia Phillies (90–72) Can the Phillies repeat their magical run from last October? They certainly have the talent, and a first round matchup with the Marlins helps, but they’ll have a hill to climb against the powerhouse Braves and Dodgers in the National League.

5. Houston Astros (90–72) Here they are again. The defending champs will have a bigtime target on their back. While they didn’t have a strong finish to the season, they found a way to earn a first-round bye, and their playoff experience will make them a tough out.

4. Tampa Bay Rays (99–63) The Rays had an outstanding season, but they’ll be without two huge pieces this October — Wander Franco and Shane McClanahan. They earn a high ranking regardless as they played well even after losing those guys.

3. Baltimore Orioles (101–61) Just as everyone predicted, the Orioles posted the best record in the American League this year. They’re a young and exciting team that has the tools to win it all, but it remains to be seen whether or not their lack of experience will hurt them.

2. Los Angeles Dodgers (100–62) The Dodgers went 49–24 after the All-Star break and cruised to their 10th NL West title in 11 years. Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman had career years and led the second-best offense in baseball. Once again, it’s World Series or bust for LA.

1. Atlanta Braves (104–58) Put simply, this team can rake. They tied the record for most team home runs in a season with 307 and slugged over .500 as a team. They seem to be a team of destiny, and the pressure is on to win their second title in three years.

Henry Blickenstaff is a junior studying history. He can be reached at henry. blickenstaff@tufts.edu.

Tufts volleyball is pictured in a game against Trinity College on Sept. 16.

Football keeps the momentum going with a big win over Williams

Nick Dohr Contributing Writer

Walking into the Saturday game, both the Tufts Jumbos and the Williams Ephs held 1–1 records, looking to take a win home to move their winloss record over .500. In the last two years, this has been a close matchup: Tufts walked away with a 35–28 win last year and fell in a 32–29 loss the year before.

A slow first four total possessions by both teams had both of them looking for a big play to get the momentum started. A combination of a good reach into the passing lane to block a pass by senior defensive linemen Ed Iuteri, and then a 12-yard catch on the next possession by wide receiver Henry Fleckner had the Jumbos moving in the right direction. Junior running back Chartellis Reece capitalized on this, scampering 28 yards into the endzone for a Jumbo touchdown. A good kick by sophomore placekicker Vaughn Seelicke made the score 7–0.

The Ephs’ first-year quarterback Owen McHugh worked to get the Williams momentum started, but it was junior running back Mario Fischetti who rushed for 29 yards to spur the offense into gear. He was brought down by two senior Jumbo defensemen, linebacker EJ Comerford and defensive back Jeremy Zuniga. Another long throw broken up by junior defensive back Louis Timmins stopped Williams’ momentum from escalating. When the Ephs’ run defense got their act together, the Jumbos certainly noticed.

“They were definitely going to try to stop the run, and that definitely opened it up for [Jaden Richardson]. He scored three great touchdowns and even Michael [Berluti] was pulling the ball a whole lot more because they were biting

on the run, which allowed him to get so many more yards,” Reece said.

Williams has a notoriously large defensive line, and that was expected to be a problematic factor for the Jumbos in Saturday’s game. Chartellis Reece dismissed this, acknowledging the Jumbo’s own strengths.

“We have a big line ourselves. So it wasn’t different from practice honestly,” Reece said. This game, he had 21 carries for 104 yards, averaging five yards a carry.

Fischetti would keep the Ephs’ momentum going, this time on offense, as he ran for 61 yards to the Tufts 15-yard line. He was brought down by first year defensive back Ty Richardson, the younger brother of star Jumbo wide receiver, senior Jaden Richardson.

For the elder Richardson, having his younger brother on the team has been special.

“It’s the first time we’ve ever been on the same team together,” Richardson said. “So it’s been awesome to be able to spend time together with him but also get to see him grow and do his own thing and come into his own as a player and a person as well.”

Jaden Richardson explained that his favorite moment of the game was not any of his three touchdowns, but observing his brother Ty in action.

“It was really great to see my brother and his roommate who we grew up with get out on the field and make plays,” Richardson said.

The Ephs would finally find the endzone after the long Fischetti run, with Owen McHugh connecting on a 13-yard pass to senior wide receiver Paul Harshbarger to even the score 7–7. It was then that the momentum swung firmly to the side of Tufts, with Berluti first finding junior tight end Jack Elliott for a first down,

then Henry Fleckner for another. Berluti completed a 26-yard pass to Jaden Richardson who, with a remarkable one handed leaping catch, made the score 14–7. Louis Timmins intercepted a pass to put the ball back in Jumbo hands, but Tufts wasn’t able to do anything major off of the turnover. Luckily for them, neither were the Ephs.

Two Berluti runs on the next Tufts possession would add 24 more yards to the Tufts tally. Berluti rushed for a total of 120 yards in the game against the Ephs, more than any other Tufts player. Another three and out by the on-fire Jumbo defense gave Berluti the ball at the start of the second half, and he capitalized. He put the ball in the hands of Jaden Richardson once more with a 29-yard pass to make the score 21–7. Richardson had 10 catches for a total of 153 yards against Williams.

McHugh responded quickly though, hitting freshman

Xabi Alonso and the rise of Bayer Leverkusen

Bharat Singh Sports Editor

The Bundesliga usually follows a set script. After a few matchdays, Bayern Munich leads the pack with its star-studded squad as Dortmund and Leipzig trail them. The league is wrapped up by the winter in contrast to other European leagues that go down to the wire. This summer, the Bavarian giants reinforced their frontline with Harry Kane, captain of England’s national team. The former Tottenham star, who was on track to break the Premier League’s all-time scoring record, has eight goals in the league and has combined well with Bayern’s attacking frontline. Despite aiming to win their 12th consecutive championship title and boasting a dazzling squad, Bayern’s invincibility is being tested by a new challenger this season.

wide receiver Brady Stahelski on a 43-yard gain. McHugh threw for 75 yards throughout the game, completing five out of 17 attempts. A long run by Fischetti put Williams inside the 15-yard line, but the Tufts defense was able to get a stop and prevent a touchdown. Fischetti rushed for a net total of 138 yards on Saturday. Junior kicker Ivan Shuran put the ball through the uprights to make it 21–10.

Fischetti on the next Ephs possession attempted to add more points to the tally, but was brought down by senior defensive back Kristian Rosario. Two incomplete passes for the Ephs put the ball back into Jumbo hands, and the dynamic duo of Berluti and Richardson made the score 28–10 on a 39-yard catch and run. Berluti threw for 265 yards, resulting in three touchdowns and completing 23 of 33 attempts. He pointed to the fact that the team had really found their rhythm, and that was what brought them success.

“I think we were able to just find our rhythm throughout the game,” Berluti said. “When we needed to make plays, we did, whether it was Jaden or Cade [Moore] or Henry [Fleckner] or the line, creating big holes, Chartellis [Reece] running hard or the defense coming up big on third downs.”

It was a stellar team win for the Jumbos, with all elements of the squad performing at a high level. From a yard comparison, Tufts had a total of 514 yards of offense on the day, while the Ephs only had 252.

Tufts will take on Bowdoin on Oct. 7, and it will be a close matchup. It will be Bowdoin’s homecoming game, and the Jumbos will be headed up to Maine looking to continue to play as a team and take down the Bowdoin Polar Bears.

Bayer Leverkusen have hit the ground running in this year’s Bundesliga, winning five of their first six matches. Their opening two fixtures were against RB Leipzig and Mönchengladbach, who they defeated 3–2 and 3–0 respectively. Such a start has garnered praise from pundits, with much of the credit going to Spanish manager Xabi Alonso, who is only in his second season as a top-flight professional coach. Alonso’s recruitment and tactical philosophy has turned Leverkusen into an aggressive unit that looks comfortable in and out of possession.

The Spaniard’s first role in management came with the B-team of his boyhood side Real Sociedad with whom he secured promotion to the Spanish sec-

see ALONSO, page 11

NATALIE BRONSWELL / THE TUFTS DAILY

Michael Berluti is pictured with the ball during a game against Williams College on Sept. 30.

VIA WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

Xabi Alonso pictured during the Euro 2012 tournament against France.