The Tufts Daily - Wednesday, October 14, 2020

THE

VOLUME LXXX, ISSUE 21

INDEPENDENT

STUDENT

N E W S PA P E R

OF

TUFTS

UNIVERSITY

E S T. 1 9 8 0

T HE T UFTS DAILY

MEDFORD/SOMERVILLE, MASS.

tuftsdaily.com

Wednesday, October 14, 2020

Tufts to test Medford, Somerville neighbors for COVID-19 free of cost

by Alexander Thompson Assistant News Editor

Tufts announced in a statement on Oct. 6 that they will offer up to 300 free COVID-19 tests every week to residents living on select streets in Medford and Somerville.

Testing began yesterday and will be available to neighbors living in areas roughly bounded

by George, Main and Harvard streets in Medford and Powder House Boulevard and North Street in Somerville.

“This is one more way in which the university, Medford and Somerville are working together to support each other through this pandemic,” University President Anthony Monaco said in a statement.

Residents must be at least 18 years of age, asymptomatic and register for the test online at least a day in advance. The university is administering the tests at Breed Memorial Hall at 51 Winthrop St. in Medford.

Residents must provide a photo NICOLE GARAY / THE TUFTS DAILY

see COST, page 2

The Medford/Somerville campus COVID-19 testing site is pictured on Sept. 20.

Michael Jordan contributes as university infection control health director, leads Tufts’ response to pandemic

by Marianna Schantz Contributing Writer

In August, Michael Jordan, director of Tufts Medical Center, was named university infection control health director. He is tasked with spearheading the university’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Jordan is an assistant professor of medicine and public health and community medicine at the Tufts University School of Medicine and an attending physician in the Division of Infectious Diseases and Geographic Medicine at the medical center, according to the school’s website.

Jordan explained that the position of university infection control health director was created to diminish the immediate effects of COVID-19.

He detailed his extensive experience in the medical field and qualifications for the role.

“I was considered a good fit for the position because of my expertise in infectious disease, epidemiology, public health, laboratory science, and my professional experience, which includes work with the World Health Organization,” he wrote in an email to the Daily.

University President Anthony Monaco praised Jordan and underlined that he was a clear choice for the job. “[The COVID-19 pandemic] made it apparent to us that we needed an experienced infectious disease specialist to help guide us to a successful re-opening and to help keep us on track throughout the semester. Michael Jordan was the obvious choice for us,” Monaco wrote in an email to the Daily.

Monaco shared that Jordan’s established career with the university and expertise in infectious diseases strengthened his favorability.

He also noted that Jordan’s ability to communicate complex findings in an understandable manner made him an ideal candidate.

“He also has a talent for communicating in a way that makes complex topics understandable, which is a great asset when dealing with information that can be quite complicated,” Monaco said.

Having graduated from Tufts University School of Medicine and the Harvard School of Public Health, Jordan more broadly focuses on infectious diseases and specializes in HIV and emerging pathogens.

He explained the university’s current strategy in tackling the virus.

“Our COVID-19 prevention and preparedness plan, which includes routine surveillance testing, is informed by scientific evidence, modeling and advice provided by medical experts,” Jordan said.

As director, Jordan works with different networks across campus, including the Office of the President, Health Service and undergraduate and graduate stu-

dents. He also collaborates with regional and national public health departments and agencies.

Jordan added that he meets with community members and leaders to discuss new developments and offer instruction.

“I consult regularly with our schools, departments/divisions, and Health Service by providing guidance to senior leadership and

managers on a variety of safety programs and activities,” he said.

Marie Caggiano, medical director of Health Service, commended Jordan for his role in shaping the university’s response to the virus, which has led to lower than expected cases of COVID-19 on campus. see DIRECTOR, page 2

NICHOLAS PFOSI / THE TUFTS DAILY ARCHIVES

Tufts Medical Center is pictured on Aug. 28, 2014.

ARTS / page 4

SPORTS / back

New American Vampire chapter closes esteemed comic book franchise

Lakers win 17th championship in Lebron’s 17th year, AD dedicates title to Kobe

NEWS

1

FEATURES

3

ARTS & POP CULTURE

4

FUN & GAMES

5

OPINION

7

SPORTS

BACK

2

THE TUFTS DAILY | News | Wednesday, October 14, 2020

THE TUFTS DAILY Alex Viveros Editor in Chief

EDITORIAL Managing Editors Jake Freudberg Associate Editors Jilly Rolnick Alejandra Carrillo Maddie Aitken Jessica Blough Tom Guan Liza Harris Alex Janoff Matt McGovern Sara Renkert Sarah Sandlow Anton Shenk Carolina Espinal Sam Klugherz Alexander Thompson Alicia Zou

Executive News Editor Deputy News Editor News Editors

Assistant News Editors

Ryan Shaffer Executive Features Editor Sid Anand Features Editors Amelia Becker Jillian Collins Claire Fraise Evelyn McClure Kayla Butera Assistant Features Editor Megan Szostak Executive Arts Editor Devina Bhalla Arts Editors Ryan Eggers Steph Hoechst Tuna Margalit Chris Panella Yas Salon Elizabeth Sander Colette Smith Rebecca Tang Geoff Tobia Drew Weisberg Assistant Arts Editor Liz Shelbred Priya Padhye Paloma Delgado Amulya Mutnuri Mike Wilkinson Caroline Wolinsky Milli Lu Emily Nadler Julia Baroni Carys Kong Annabel Nied Valeria Velasquez Juju Zweifach

Executive Opinion Editor Senior Editorialists

Editorialists Editorial Cartoonists

Sruthi Kocherlakota Executive Sports Editor Tim Chiang Sports Editors Matt Goguen Jeremy Goldstein Aiden Herrod Pranav Jain Ananda Kao Delaney Tantillo Arpan Barua Assistant Sports Editors Jacob Dreyer Henry Gorelik Ethan Ling Arnav Sacheti Alex Sharp Eric Spencer Austin Clementi Executive Investigative Editor Arlo Moore-Bloom Executive Audio Editor Anne Marie Burke Executive Photo Editors Nicole Garay Aidan Chang Staff Photographers Patrick Milewski Menqi Irina Wang Austen Money Executive Video Editor

PRODUCTION Kevin Zhang Production Director Rachel Hsin Executive Layout Editors Yanqing Huang Laura Mogannam Campbell Devlin Layout Editors Miriam Shamash Tys Sweeney Executive Graphics Editor Sam Farbman Graphic Designers Freya Gupta Helen He Kristina Marchand Calisa Sana Ethan Schreiber Ethan Steinberg Colton Wolk Brendan Hartnett Julian Perry Mariel Priven Kate Seklir Abigail Zielinski Mykhaylo Chumak Justin Yu Aedan Brown Elizabeth Kenneally Makenna Law Grace Prendergast Michelle Li Tiffany Namkoong

Executive Copy Editors Deputy Copy Editors

Copy Editors Assistant Copy Editors

Executive Social Media Editors

BUSINESS Robert Kaplan Business Director Devina Bhalla Account Managers Coley Goren Sharan Bhansali Business Managers Norice Lu Evelyn McClure Patrick Milewski Luke Allocco Outreach Coordinators Sam Russo

Contact Us P.O. Box 53018, Medford, MA 02155 daily@tuftsdaily.com thetuftsdaily tuftsdaily tuftsdaily

Mayors of Medford, Somerville praise Tufts' new COVID-19 testing initiative for residents COST

Rebecca Barker Hannah Harris

Please rec ycle this newspaper!

tuftsdaily.com

continued from page 1 identification or utility bill with their address before receiving the test.

The 300 community tests represent a small fraction of the nearly 15,000 tests Tufts administers to its students, faculty and staff on a weekly basis in collaboration with the Broad Institute. At a cost of $25 per test, the 300 tests will add about $7,500 a week to a program that has already cost the university well over $2 million.

The university’s announcement won praise from the mayors of Medford and Somerville, who have been working closely with Monaco to coordinate their responses to the pandemic.

“We are very thankful to Tufts University for opening up asymptomatic testing for residents in the Tufts area,” Medford Mayor Breanna Lungo-Koehn said in a statement. “The availability of community testing will allow us to continue to track and monitor cases within our community, especially asymptomatic spread,

and will hopefully provide some peace of mind for residents in the shorter term.”

Prior to the beginning of the semester, Joe Curtatone, mayor of Somerville, expressed caution against Tufts’ reopening plan. However, he praised the university’s efforts to offer free COVID-19 testing to community members.

“Robust testing is a key part in containing this disease, so anything that can be done to make testing easier and more convenient is a boost for public health,” Curtatone said.

During the summer, Tufts received backlash from residents and politicians in Somerville and Medford as it moved to reopen the campus and welcome students. Elected officials argued there were significant gaps in the reopening plan and residents worried that the return of students and faculty could lead to an outbreak.

More than a month into the university’s reopening, those fears have yet to materialize.

The university reported two positive COVID-19 tests as its seven day total through Oct. 11, while four individuals are currently quarantined and one is in isolation on the Medford/ Somerville campus as of press time, according to the COVID19 dashboard.

In August, Nicole Morell, a Medford city councilor at large, expressed concern about Tufts’ reopening plan in a letter she co-authored with other elected officials. She said she is now pleased by the low number of positive tests from the university.

“I’m happy to see the [COVID19 test results] have stayed low, and it seems that Tufts has a good handle as far as their testing and responding to positive tests … especially when you compare it to some other universities around the country that are really struggling with this,” Morell said in an interview with the Daily.

Edward Beuchert, a board member of the West Somerville Neighborhood Association, also

commended Tufts’ new testing initiative.

“I could certainly see lots of people taking advantage of [the free testing],” Beuchert said.

While Somerville already offers free COVID-19 testing through a Cambridge Health Alliance testing center in Assembly Square, Beuchert explained that the testing location at Tufts is more convenient for neighborhood residents.

Beuchert also said that he did not necessarily object to the university’s reopening plan, as upperclassmen would return to Medford and Somerville and live off campus, regardless of whether the university went fully remote.

So far, he believes the reopening plan is going well.

“In general, I am not seeing Tufts students flouting the regulations,” he said.

Beuchert encouraged students to continue to adhere to health guidelines.

“You’re smart people. You know that this isn’t a hoax and people’s lives are at stake,” he said.

Jordan collaborates with university administration, students to reduce COVID-19 impact DIRECTOR

continued from page 1 “Many individuals have contributed to the work that has allowed the University to open and operate safely this Fall and Dr. Jordan has provided key leadership and expertise that has informed the University’s

response to the pandemic,” she wrote in an email to the Daily.

Caggiano added that COVID-19 cases may begin to rise on campus as the winter season approaches. She underlined that continuing to work with Jordan will be critical in reinforcing the university’s early success.

“I am optimistic that with continued vigilance among all members of the Tufts community, we can have a safe and healthy semester,” she said.

Jordan praised efforts to prevent the spread and transmission of COVID-19 on campus.

“I have been tremendously impressed with and humbled by everyone’s efforts and sacrifices to date, and I encourage each member of our community to continue to adhere to our health directives and protocols to keep each other safe,” he said.

tuftsdaily.com

Features

3 Wednesday, October 14, 2020

Owen Bonk Since You Last Saw Me

Antisocial media

A

confession: I am one of a great many people trying desperately to limit their time on social media. Earlier this week, I programmed actual restrictions into my phone, allowing myself a measly 30 minutes per day. I’ve also mentioned it to a few friends, publicizing the decision as a way of forcing myself to uphold this selfmade contract.

Although I’ve been wary of social media for a while, the decision to actively regulate my usage was precipitated by “The Social Dilemma” (2020), a Netflix documentary centered around Tristan Harris, a former Google employee and co-founder of the Center for Humane Technology. He uses the ominous phrase “human downgrading” to describe the effect social media has on our minds and has spent much of his career pushing tech companies like Facebook and Apple to adopt more ethical guidelines to govern their interfaces. In short, he is trying to prevent our devices from taking control.

His concern feels more than justifiable. Necessary is a better word. In 2020, a year during which our leaders have essentially forfeited their control over the ailments of our nation (with devastating consequences), there’s no limit to the power private entities are capable of wielding over us. Although they may do a very good job of convincing us otherwise, tech companies are continually pursuing profit in ways that completely disregard the health of humans. They want to know everything about us, and they want us to become uncontrollably addicted to providing them with our data.

Despite knowing all of this, I am not doing a very good job. Yesterday, I pushed back on my own limits so much that I ended up spending almost two hours on social media. The worst part is that I had no idea.

I chalk my obstinate usage up to two factors. First, my phone has become, for all intents and purposes, a pacifier.

When I’m waiting in line for a COVID19 test or a coffee, or I’ve arrived at a class early, or I’m waiting for a friend, my arm lifts my phone with a habitual ease that only fully dawned on me this week. When did I lose control over my own limbs?

The other, more formidable factor is my worry that being away too long might cause me to miss something important. I consider this a very valid concern amid a pandemic that has forced a vast majority of university activities to go online. If I hadn’t been checking my Facebook, I wouldn’t have gotten the information I needed to apply for this very column. If I’m not constantly refreshing my email, I might miss a time-sensitive message from a professor. If I’m not active on Instagram, I run the risk of my faraway friends forgetting I exist.

This issue, like the pandemic, won’t be going away anytime soon. I don’t know how to find a middle ground in this new world, and that scares me.

Perhaps that’s an indication that we’re already too far gone.

Owen Bonk is a sophomore who has not yet declared a major. Owen can be reached at owen.bonk@tufts.edu.

4

Arts & POP ARTS Pop CULTURE Culture

tuftsdaily.com

Wednesday, October 14, 2020

Julian Levy Keep the Cameras Rolling

American Vampire 1976 #1 has some bite

The vanishing stigma around direct-to-video movies

W

hat do the sequels to animated Disney classics, almost every movie released by Jean-Claude Van Damme or Nicolas Cage in the last 10 years and the majority of films released since March 2020 have in common? They were released direct-to-video on-demand. Whether they have been made free for subscribers of the film studios’ respective streaming services, or put on platforms to rent/buy for slightly inflated prices compared to what they would normally cost after a theatrical run, it has become common practice to forgo the typical distribution schedule of movies. Not that there was that much of a choice in the matter. But just as necessity is the mother of invention, so has the film industry adapted and in some ways, evolved to fit the needs of a peculiar year.

Prestige channels like HBO have released TV movies for years that while respected, have still carried with them the stigma of their release format. A film that appears to have been cheaply made or doesn’t seem like it was deemed important enough for release in theaters is often derided as “feeling like a TV movie.” Netflix has made strides in changing that. Efforts on their part to elevate movies released on streaming have slowly broken through long-established ideals of how a movie is supposed to be released, not that they haven’t faced any obstacles, of course. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences always remained adamant that a movie must release in theaters to be considered for their top honors. This is what led to films like “The Irishman” (2019), and “Marriage Story” (2019) having short theatrical releases (the length of their runs having more to do with theatrical exclusivity windows with theaters than Netflix’s policies).

Against all odds, 2020 has forced The Academy to, what I assume to be begrudgingly, remove their theatrical release requirement for the first time in history. Most blockbuster movies have been delayed in the hopes that they will be able to be released in theaters next year, while others have done simultaneous releases: a limited theatrical window in markets that have begun to reopen alongside a straight to on-demand approach. For possibly the first time in history, releasing direct-to-video is being viewed as an alternative rather than a downgrade for the studio releasing it. While many are missing the theater experience, thinking less of a movie’s artistic merit because of its home-video release format is increasingly rare. This assertion is somewhat anecdotal, but it is something I’ve noticed when talking to friends, or even when reading the news. What used to be “Have you heard about that new TV movie” has turned into just, “that new movie.” The debate around whether a movie should be delayed to be released in theaters has become more of a financial one rather than one of worrying about the optics of a movie being watched predominantly on televisions. The distinction is subtle, but important.

“Mulan” (2020), Pixar’s “Onward” (2020), “The King of Staten Island” (2020) and many more have been released primarily on streaming services or for on-demand purchase. Universal, after the success of “Trolls World Tour” (2020), even stated its desire to release more movies on-demand, foregoing their theatrical releases, or releasing them on-demand while still in theaters. While this temporarily got the company in trouble with AMC and the actual financial success of the film may have been greatly exaggerated, it is still representative of where the industry could be going. Netflix and other streaming services have primed viewers to be more accepting of this shift over the past few years, but the COVID19 pandemic has been the pressure needed to solidify the trend.

Julian Levy is a first-year who has not yet declared a major. Julian can be reached at julian.levy@tufts.edu

VIA DC COMICS

The cover of American Vampire 1976 (2020) is pictured.

by Drew Weisberg Assistant Arts Editor

A comic’s first issue is typically many things — a jumping-on point for new readers, a reintroduction for veterans to the canon and maybe a chance to establish a new status quo in a concise manner. The first issue of Scott Snyder’s American Vampire 1976 has inherited this unique problem, but manages to accomplish all the stated goals while Rafael Albuquerque’s art and Dave

McCaig’s coloring gives every panel a spark of life.

Acting as the first part of the final chapter of Snyder’s long-running original American Vampire (2010–) story, American Vampire 1976 #1 presents readers with Skinner Sweet, a former vampire and current circus daredevil whose long life has begun to weigh on him as he accepts the unfortunate reality of newfound mortality. History is the key word here, As this is the final chapter in a long tapestry of stories in the American Vampire canon, new read-

ers may often be confused by certain reveals that are no doubt meant to thrill longtime readers. Normally, this would be to the story’s detriment. However, all the story’s players are introduced with some flourish and enough dialogue to communicate all we need to know about their current situations, the most amusing of which is Travis Kidd, a vampire hunter who uses a solar lamp and a disco ball to dispatch a horde of club-going vampires.

The book’s primary weakness, though, is this verbosity and exposition dumping. Sadly, this is the double-edged sword of making a point to catch new readers up to the current events of the world and who these characters are. The complaint is valid, but minimal, as Snyder’s dialogue is riddled with the aforementioned bits of excellent characterization which paint a quick but no less detailed picture of his long-running story.

The art team is integral to crafting panels that match Snyder’s gritty script. Albuquerque’s line-work is a good balance between the traditional “comic book” look while also using delicate strokes for smaller details like Skinner’s scruffy beard. McCaig’s colors and shading cast shadows over much of the art, giving everything an appropriately dark feel even in shots during the day, which does wonders for the subject matter.

American Vampire 1976 #1 left me wanting more — I wanted to know who these people are, I wanted to understand what brought them to this point and I wanted to know how they were going to end up. This is most likely the indelible mark of a fantastic first issue and one that manages to push past moments of confusion or wordiness to set in motion the last leg of Snyder’s saga.

If you’ve been reading American Vampire thus far, this new chapter will most likely be wholly satisfying, and if you haven’t been reading it up to now, then this issue acts as a litmus test to see if you’d like the series, while still standing on its own as a solid first issue in its own right.

Wednesday, October 14, 2020 | Fun & Games | THE TUFTS DAILY

tuftsdaily.com

F& G

5

LATE NIGHT AT THE DAILY Alex: “I get COVID tested more than I shower”

Fun & Games

SUDOKU

LINDA C. BLACK ASTROLOGY

Libra (Sept. 23–Oct. 22) Monitor cash flow closely. Allow extra time for travel, transport, invoices and collections with Mercury retrograde for three weeks.

Review financial records and budgets.

SEARCHING FOR HEADLINES...

Difficulty Level: Second guessing Tufts Mobile Order’s wait times

Tuesday’s Solution

Tuesday’s Solution

CORRECTION A previous version of the article “‘Boys in the Band’ is back in town” misnamed playwright Mart Crowley. Additionally, the article stated that “The Boys in the Band” premiered on Broadway in 1968, when in reality the play premiered off-Broadway.

The article has been updated to reflect these changes. The Daily regrets this error.

CROSSWORD

I’VE NEVER UNDERSTOOD WHY MY HUMAN WON’T LEAVE THE HOUSE WITHOUT HER LEASH. I THINK SHE’S AFRAlD OF GETTING LOST. BUT IT’S OK, I KIND OF LIKE SHOWING HER AROUND. — HARPER adopted 08-18-09

6

THE TUFTS DAILY | ADVERTISEMENT | Wednesday, October 14, 2020

1/4

tuftsdaily.com

1/8

1/2

tuftsdaily.com

Opinion

7 Wednesday, October 14, 2020

Caroline DePalma Philosophy in Focus

ION OF STA IAT TE OC

n a startling change of tone from last week’s topic, today I’m discussing an application of “Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals” (1785), one that Kant would not have understood in today’s context: self-care.

We live in a relentlessly overwhelming world. While it’s not unique to this era that so much is happening at once, this time is uniquely modern in that many individuals possess a means of instantly accessing information about anything and everything. When so many of those things negatively impact our worlds, it’s very easy to feel like being aware of them all is not just a possibility, but an obligation.

Kant didn’t give us much warning about what an internalized duty to know everything about every tragedy would mean for our mental states, but what he did offer was a distinct source of all good in the world: good intentions.

Those two ideas may not seem immediately related, but let me provide the third piece of the puzzle: Katmai National Park and Preserve’s annual Fat Bear Week competition. This lighthearted competition radiates the simple goodwill that Kant discusses; it is the result of people who wanted to make others smile and to educate them on bears’ hibernation.

In my case, those people achieved their goals. But I was surprised at how guilty I felt for reading this article and not a more serious one. I had grown so accustomed to the idea that being “informed” was synonymous with “overwhelmed” that the second I felt relaxed about current events, I thought I was doing something wrong.

Kant would say that the opposite is true.

If I’m burying myself in polling data and factchecks to satisfy some imagined obligation to be the perfect, informed citizen, I’m not actually doing something good. As Kant says, the classification of “good” does not come from an action’s consequences, but the intentions with which it was enacted. Thus, informing myself because I think I have to is not necessarily good, even though the end result of avoiding ignorance is desirable.

The line between informed and overwhelmed is an infinitesimally thin one, and our access to never-ending information is what makes it so. I do have the will to be informed and to help remedy the challenges we face as a society, but I can only take so much.

The guilt I felt in distracting myself from it all for just a few minutes while reading about the winner of Fat Bear Week was a necessary reminder that being informed is useless if I am not also a functioning, energetic citizen.

So, I hope you’ll take a moment this week to read about some fat bears with the sole intention of having a moment to breathe, away from the suffocating reality that we live in. The bigger headlines will be there when we’re ready for them, and I hope we can learn to let it be Kant’s goodwill that brings us to them.

TERS RES FO

NATIONAL A SS

I

On the importance of Fat Bear Week

FO

U N D E D 192

0

Caroline DePalma is a first-year who has not yet declared a major. Caroline can be reached at caroline.depalma@tufts.edu.

The Tufts Daily is a nonprofit, independent newspaper, published Monday through Friday during the academic year, and distributed free to the Tufts community.

The content of letters, advertisements, signed columns, cartoons and graphics does not necessarily reflect the opinion of The Tufts Daily editorial board.

EDITORIALS Editorials represent the position of The Tufts Daily. Individual editors are not necessarily responsible for, or in agreement with, the policies and editorials of The Tufts Daily.

OP-EDS The Op-Ed section of The Tufts Daily, an open forum for campus editorial commentary, is 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.

ADVERTISING All advertising copy is subject to the approval of the Editor in Chief, Executive Board and Business Director.

Sports

8 Wednesday, October 14, 2020

Nicole Setow Wonder Women

Breanna Stewart

I

n honor of the Seattle Storm’s thrilling Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) Finals win on Oct. 6, this week’s spotlight is on twotime Most Valuable Player (MVP) Breanna “Stewie” Stewart. The forward brought home the hardware this season after a dominating run against the Las Vegas Aces. One of the most impressive highlights of the championships was Game 1, where Stewart netted 37 points and 15 rebounds for the Seattle Storm. The team won the next two games to sweep the WNBA Finals, with Stewie and her legendary teammate, Sue Bird, taking to the court as a commanding duo.

Based on how Breanna Stewart played this season, one may never have guessed that she was fresh off a ruptured Achilles’ tendon that kept her sidelined for the 2019 WNBA season. After months of rest and rehabilitation, she was eventually cleared to play. Then, when the COVID19 pandemic postponed all sports, she had to wait even longer to return to the court. Stewie’s hunger for a comeback is not unique –– it’s a narrative that many professional athletes have experienced at some point in their careers. But this was Stewart’s first career-impacting injury since she had started playing professionally in 2016. Her win this year, especially amidst a pandemic, truly speaks to her resiliency as a young athlete.

At the age of 26, Breanna Stewart already boasts an unprecedented resume. She helped lead the University of Connecticuit Huskies to four consecutive NCAA titles while being named the Final Four’s Most Outstanding Player for each of those championships. Her compelling court leadership led the Seattle Storm to select her as the No. 1 overall draft pick.

Shortly after — without even making her WNBA debut — Stewart got called up to the senior national team at age 21 to compete in the 2016 Rio Olympics.

While some may have doubted the young player, she proved critics wrong when she helped secure a gold medal for Team USA before returning to finish the WNBA season and claim Rookie of the Year. Now, with one Olympic gold medal and two WNBA championships, there’s no telling where Stewart’s career will take her.

What makes the 6-foot-4 forward such a remarkable player to watch is that she never seems to take her foot off the gas.

When scoring opportunities appear slim, one can always count on her to create chances. She rebounds with tenacity and shoots 3-pointers with dead accuracy, and it is impossible to miss the satisfying swish every time she hops back and nets a high arc shot. These impressive goals are only rivaled by the excitement of seeing her inside the paint. She’s often caught spinning and popping a quick fadeaway or powering through defenders for a layup that she makes look way too easy.

Honestly, watching Breanna Stewart play makes me want to dust off my old kicks from my brief stint on my high school basketball team and hit the court — though my 4-foot-11 frame would probably have to work a lot harder to recreate some of her signature moves.

Nicole Setow is a sophomore who has not yet declared a major. Nicole can be reached at nicole.setow@tufts.edu

tuftsdaily.com

LA Lakers win their 17th franchise championship

by Sharan Bhansali Staff Writer

The Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Miami Heat 106–93 in Game 6 of the NBA Finals on Sunday to win their 17th franchise championship. Led by Lebron James and Anthony Davis, the Lakers dominated the Heat on both sides of the ball. James, who has played in the league for 17 years, scored 28 points on 13-for-20 shooting and made 14 rebounds and 10 assists to get his 28th playoff triple-double. Davis scored 19 points, and had 15 rebounds, three assists and two blocks, and played for 35 minutes.

Rajon Rondo, Kentavious CaldwellPope and Danny Green contributed a lot to this Game 6 win. Rondo scored 19 points, Caldwell-Pope scored 17 points and Green scored 11 points, combining for 47 of the Lakers’ 106 points. Since the beginning of the season, these role players have been dedicated to winning a championship and doing everything it takes to win. Dwight Howard, playing his 15th year in the league, finally won his first NBA title. Howard was on his way to the Hall of Fame even without winning a title, but

finally achieving the highly coveted championship ring puts a bow on Howard’s decorated career.

The Bill Russell NBA Finals Most Valuable Player (MVP) Award is given to the player that performs the best in the NBA Finals. For the 2019–20 season, Adam Silver, the NBA commissioner, awarded James with the Bill Russell NBA Finals MVP Award. This is James’ fourth championship and fourth Finals MVP. He is the first player to have won a Finals MVP with three different franchises: the Miami Heat in 2012 and 2013, the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2016 and now the Los Angeles Lakers in 2020.

Davis played for the New Orleans Pelicans from 2012 to 2019. He then requested a trade in the 2018–19 season to join a team determined to win a title. Davis won his first NBA title with the Lakers and was a big part of their success; he finished the series averaging 25.0 points, 10.7 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 2.0 blocks and 1.3 steals per game. Although it does not show up in the box score, he was a force to reckon with on the defensive end, too. Davis dedicated this title win to the late Kobe Bryant.

“Ever since the tragedy, all we wanted to do was do it for him … He was a big brother to all of us,” Davis said.

The Larry O’Brien Championship Trophy, which is awarded to the winner of the NBA Finals, was presented to the Lakers on Sunday, following their grueling battle against the gritty Heat team led by Jimmy Butler. The Lakers players, coaching staff and managing board took pictures with their well-deserved trophy and celebrated thereafter in the locker room.

As champagne was popped in the Lakers locker room, the Heat’s championship dreams were crushed for the 2019–20 season. Butler was a great leader for the Heat and managed to bring the team to the finals against all odds, but unfortunately they lost to the powerful Lakers. The competition in the Orlando Bubble was extremely fierce and mentally taxing for the players and coaching staff.

“I can just say that I’ve never won with this atmosphere. None of us have,” James said. “We’ve never been a part of this. This is right up there with one of the greatest accomplishments I’ve had.”