WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
Greenidge to lead new Intro to RCD course in spring see FEATURES / PAGE 3
Jumbos off to perfect 5–0 start
Tinashe impresses with ‘Songs for You’ see ARTS&LIVING / PAGE 4
SEE SPORTS / BACK PAGE
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VOLUME LXXVIII, ISSUE 57
Tuesday, December 3, 2019
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Clinton advisor assesses role of facts, media in political discourse by Grace Gong
Contributing Writer
Philippe Reines, advisor to former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton since 2002, talked about recent changes in the political communications landscape since President Donald Trump’s rise as a candidate at a Civic Life Lunch hosted by the Jonathan M. Tisch College of Civic Life and the political science department on Monday. Reines, who was Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Strategic Communications in 2010 under Clinton and a communications advisor during Clinton’s 2008 presidential campaign, also teaches the civic studies special topics course 150–06, titled “Hindsight Might Not be 2020 – The Upheaval of Political Communications in the Era of Trump.” Reines notably played the role of then-candidate Trump during Clinton’s 2016 presidential debate preparations. Reines explained that he believes political communication in the present era is too hasty, alleging that the news media fail to verify the validity of facts before rumors spread like wildfire. “I am a vocal critic of the media,” Reines said. “The speed hasn’t only increased for those on the receiving end, it also has increased for reporters — the pressure for them to say whatever is on their mind, no matter how insignificant, creates a lot of mistakes.” Reines argued that the state of current political communications has sped up noticeably in his own career, even within the past decade. Reines recalled that when Clinton fell ill with pneumonia and fainted two months before the election in 2016, the media and news outlets spread the news so quickly that it reached hundreds of thousands of people before her own staff knew. Comparatively, Reines noted that when Clinton fainted from food poison-
ing in 2006, their team had several hours to deal with the news and could do damage control before information was disseminated. Reines asserted that this event cost Clinton at least 75,000 votes, and from the margin by which she lost, it most likely cost her the election as well. Reines explained that the changing speed that information spreads drastically impacts the political sphere, noting that it can be used as a campaign strategy to hurt a competing presidential candidate. Reines also asserted that a female Democratic nominee would have the best chance to defeat Trump in the upcoming election. Reines explained that he believes men have a harder time seeming rational when arguing against Trump, who often comes off as brash in debate. According to Reines, people agree and disagree because of competing perceptions around facts. “I might never agree with someone who disagrees with me on facts,” Reines said. “If I say its Monday, and he says it’s Saturday, how can I convince him today is Monday?” Reines applied this view to his analysis of Trump’s comments in argument. “When you’re Donald Trump, it doesn’t matter what you say. No one knows what to expect, and that’s why it’s so hard to remain composed when arguing with him,” Reines said. However, Reines attributed Senator Elizabeth Warren’s success in her presidential campaign thus far to her ability to come off as calm and sensible during a presidential debate, providing a juxtaposition that may be attractive to potential voters. “She doesn’t get tied up in anything,” Reines said. “The hard thing [about] being a candidate is to stick to what you want to stick to, which is hard in a heated political climate.”
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Phillipe Reines speaks at Civic Life Lunch on Dec. 2 at Tisch College. Lastly, Reines discussed the impact of Twitter on politics, describing his and other politicians’ Twitter usage as unhealthy. Reines explained that despite being uncensored and overly heated, Twitter acts as a medium to
reach supporters that may feel isolated, such as Democrats in Wyoming or Oklahoma. “It can remind people that they are not alone, and they are among the millions of other supporters,” Reines said.
UMaine president discusses education research in higher education by Austin Clementi
Executive News Editor
Tufts’ Institute for Research on Learning and Instruction (IRLI) in conjunction with Tufts’ Department of Education, invited President of the University of Maine (UMaine) Joan Ferrini-Mundy for a colloquium on the integration of education research into college classrooms. Ferrini-Mundy
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holds a Ph.D. in mathematics education, according to the UMaine website. The event, called “The Place of Educational Research in the Culture of Institutions: Reflections and Hopes in Higher Education and Beyond,” was the second in IRLI’s Colloquia Series which explores various aspects of education research. IRLI, which was established last fall after a large grant by the James S. McDonnell Family Foundation, attempts to integrate
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education research into Tufts’ classes, which currently features a heavy emphasis on learning that takes place in STEM classrooms. The group also focuses on inclusivity and intentionality in education to increase representation in education. Andrew Izsák, a member of IRLI’s steering committee, introduced Ferrini-Mundy, who began by praising Tufts’ education department for its research into engineering education. As president of UMaine,
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Ferrini-Mundy said she has tried to make research into education part of colleges’ “institutional culture.” Ferrini-Mundy emphasized that initiatives in learning and programming should be as accessible as possible to as many students as possible. “Can we make our education affordable enough that all students can have access
NEWS............................................1 FEATURES.................................3 ARTS & LIVING.......................4
see IRLI, page 2
FUN & GAMES.........................5 OPINION.....................................6 SPORTS............................ BACK
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THE TUFTS DAILY | News | Tuesday, December 3, 2019
THE TUFTS DAILY Jessica Blough Editor in Chief
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Ferrini-Mundy talks strategies at IRLI event IRLI
continued from page 1 to it? Can we retain those students?” she asked. “Are we enabling them to learn and to stay with us?” In exploring this idea, Ferrini-Mundy spoke of her experiences with the New England Commission of Higher Education (NECHE), the accrediting institution for New England colleges, who asked her several questions about student performance after college and student success. Ferrini-Mundy said that she was curious about whether and how she could measure the standards that the accrediting institutions like NECHE used. To measure these sort of data, FerriniMundy stressed the importance of having “ground-level” research methods and initiatives to present to leaders at universities in order to improve the institution’s educational opportunities. “[Research] would enable me to make a much stronger case in my work over funding, with the trustees, with our faculty for why we might choose to do certain things and not other things,” Ferrini-Mundy said. “You can’t get to the answers without understanding the basics of learning at the undergraduate level.”
She also highlighted ways in which research can be made more exciting through meta-analysis and language that is less technical to show trustees and funders the evidence regarding what teaching and learning methods worked, and furthered that researchers were responsible for such work. Ferrini-Mundy then began to explain how institutions could make research into education more infused into a school’s culture, first emphasizing that schools must align with their local context. For example, she pointed to the relatively low retention rates that state schools, such as hers, tend to see, but noted that when certain researchbacked learning models were applied to the students, retention rates increased. “It takes understanding the context of the place enough and then latching onto something about that context,” she said, adding that IRLI, with its emphasis on research, was already doing this. Ferrini-Mundy also said that institutions should also partner with other institutions, using UMaine’s partnership with the foresting industry as an example of how an institution changed its culture surrounding an issue.
“They took some goals that resonate really well across the state — to sustain and strengthen Maine’s existing forest products — we will attract investment, we will revitalize rural communities,” she said. UMaine’s president pointed to the forest industry’s use of models that included research infused with practice as a means by which the organization tied research itself into its culture. In her final point of the presentation, Ferrini-Mundy stressed the importance of institutions looking to the future, particularly citing that STEM fields are becoming more interdisciplinary in nature, and thus the research into how to teach subjects may need to change in the future. She also pointed to artificial intelligence as a means through which educators may need to create a new field in researching how to both teach students about artificial intelligence and how to implement it in the classroom. The event ended with a brief question and answer session from the audience, which was largely composed of Tufts faculty.
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RCD to add new intro course in spring 2020
Contributing Writer
The Department of Studies in Race, Colonialism, and Diaspora (RCD) at Tufts is undergoing a major renovation. Starting spring 2020, there will be a new class required for all RCD majors and minors, called Intro to RCD (RCD-0050). According to professors in the department, this intro class aims to better prepare students for higher-level RCD courses. According to the Tufts RCD website, the RCD department includes six different educational tracks. This includes Africana, American, Asian American, Colonialism, Latino, and Native American and Indigenous Studies. In the School of Arts and Sciences, American and Africana Studies are offered as majors. All tracks except for American Studies are offered as minors. Both incoming RCD majors and minors will be required to take this new introductory course. Director of Studies for RCD, Professor Kendra Field, spoke to the goals of the class. “The course aims to introduce students to ways of doing interdisciplinary research and writing. Equally important with this course, we hope to introduce students to all of the faculty [in the RCD department],” Field said. Unlike other courses, it will be taught by multiple professors from the RCD department, with the goal of giving students a more holistic experience for their intended study. Track Director of American Studies, Kerri Greenidge, will lead the course. “The way the course is going to run this year is that Kerri Greenidge will be the convening faculty member,” Field, an associate professor of history, said. “Then each week with just a couple of exceptions there will be a rotating faculty from the RCD who comes in to lecture about their particular area of expertise.” Not only will the rotating faculty expose students to different topics of studies, but they will also teach students different ways of approaching the material. Professor Greenidge explained how each scholarly discipline has its own lens when looking at work. With the rotating faculty, students will be exposed to various techniques that exist in each of the individual tracks.
Tuesday, December 3, 2019
Nate Rubright Somerville with Townie Tim
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A sign in Eaton Hall outside the Department of Studies in Race, Colonialism, and Diaspora, then known as the Consortuium of Studies in Race, Colonialism, and Diaspora, is pictured on Oct. 29, 2018. by Jillian Collins
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“In Africana Studies, there’s a certain lens, certain practice, that you use as a scholar and [there are different lenses] in American Studies [and] Colonialism Studies,” Greenidge said. “It’s a way to introduce students to the way scholars approach this intellectual endeavor. It’s a way to ensure that students — when they take a higher level RCD course — have the best background, in order [for the students] to achieve and approach whatever project that is they end up doing.” This new intro course aims to help build the intellectual integrity of the RCD department itself, explained Field. Hiring more faculty for the following years is just the start of the department’s growth. Another important factor of this growth is the community development that exists between the different areas of study. “That’s an important third goal: to build departmental identity and community across these different tracks,” Field said. Some students see a disconnect between the different identity groups and education tracks on campus. Jessie Lan, a member of the RCD Working Group and Tufts Asian Student Coalition, spoke more to this disconnect. “I feel like the community, especially in marginalized communities, is really important. It’s hard to build that on a campus that already feels pretty fragmented,” Lan, a junior, said. “I think there’s a lot of talk about how the RCD different tracks are very separate and splintered and there’s not really community there.” However, Lan believes that this new course has the opportunity to bring students from different ethnic and educational backgrounds together. “If I take Latinx studies classes I’m not just studying Mexicans in Mexico. It’s the experience of racialized people in the U.S.,” Lan said. According to students within the department, many of the tracks share common narratives and the impact of the courses can be stronger when taught together. “The RCD courses definitely take into account differences in relation to power, and then study about how power affects different things and how that creates social structures around the world,” Lan said. “Especially in race, colonialism, and dias-
pora studies those are the things that push back against the dominant narrative.” The course hopes to provide the opportunity to bring students of different backgrounds together, as well as to bring new students into the department. “With the department, people can stumble into RCD,” Lan said. “If you’re a CBS [cognitive and brain sciences] major and don’t know anything but want to take this class, you come in with the same foundational understanding.” Overall Lan expressed optimism for the course’s prospects. When Lan was a first-year, she felt like she didn’t know that much about race and ethnic studies. However, she believes this course will bring more open discussion to life earlier on in students’ academic careers “I have high hopes for it [Intro to RCD] because they want to cycle through professors in the department too, so it’s not just one person teaching it all the time. Different faculty can have exposure with the students and [help with] community building,” Lan said. “[Since] it’s not specific to one track, hopefully a lot of different people with different identities and different politics will be in the same space.” The Intro to RCD course is already filled for next semester, according to SIS. Twenty students are currently registered and five students are on the waitlist to take this course in spring 2020. Field said the RCD department is hoping to offer this course every year. In addition to adding this course, they are also forming a new course specifically for RCD majors called Theories of Methods. “The Theories [of ] Methods course will be a more advanced course which is required only for majors,” Field said. “That will not be offered this year, but will be offered the year following.” Field thought it was important to note that these new requirements won’t affect students who have already declared their majors and minors. The old requirements will still apply to them. As a newer department, the RCD department hopes to strengthen its presence on the Tufts campus. Through reworking of its requirements, there are high hopes for more discussion on race, colonialism and diaspora. “The same way history has a requirement and English has a requirement, this is going to be the required introductory class that introduces people to all of these ways of looking at humanities,” Greenidge said.
Looking cold
f you grew up in a warm climate, go ahead and ignore this week. I’ll probably come back next time with a more universal column so just sit tight. But, for all of you that claim to be from north of the Wall, I want to take this time to discuss a fairly hilarious phenomenon. About a week ago, I was getting ready to go for a run with the Tufts Marathon Team and an interesting thought crossed my mind. It was pretty cold, somewhere in the teens, and it was early, so no sun yet. I had my usual assortment of layers, gloves and hat that I wear, and just as I was ready to go outside, I took my outermost layer off. Why did I do this? Was I worried about being too hot? Not particularly. Was it too bulky? Again, no. See, I took my outer layer off because for a long time I have been afraid of looking overdressed for the cold. I think my first salient memory was waiting for the bus in the third grade. I rolled up to the bus stop with my ski jacket on and my neighbor Mike said something to the effect of “you look cold, is it too cold out here for you?” It was November and the prospect of being too cold this early in the season was enough for me to swear off looking cold forever. I know I am not alone in this feeling. I shared this thought with the team during the long Wednesday morning runs, as I do with a lot of thoughts I have. At least a few folks had this same thought and changed what they were wearing that day because they didn’t want to appear too bundled. Because of our talk, I think I might make a resolution to take the warmth over the vanity. Especially in New England, people aggressively underdress for the weather as a sort of power trip. Just the other day, during the weekend snowstorm, I saw a dude leaving Dunkin’ in shorts and a T-shirt, drinking an iced coffee. I think if I had mentioned something about the cold, my words would have warmed him up even more. There is definitely something to feeling like you can outmuscle the weather, especially this time of year. But, I think there are diminishing returns to this practice. No matter how tough you are, hypothermia sets in at about 95 degrees Fahrenheit. And you never know when you need the extra power to your immune system. Sure, you could prove to the Mikes of the world that you are tough enough for the weather. But on the other hand, you get to be warm. So for all of you rocking hoodies and sweatpants during snow storms this year, I see you. You are tough beyond compare and your commitment deserves approbation. I’ll be the one dressing like my infant daughter, with at least one more layer than everyone around me. And, like her, I won’t be afraid to cry when my face gets too cold.
Nate Rubright is a member of the Somerville community. Nate can be reached at nathan.rubright@gmail.com.
4 Tuesday, December 3, 2019
ARTS&LIVING
Devina Bhalla Bhallin’ with Books
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ALBUM REVIEW
‘Born A Crime’ and Tinashe is both sharp, vulnerable on ‘Songs for You’ by Christopher Panella a few final words
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The cover of Tinashe’s album ‘Joyride’ (2018) is pictured. It’s frankly impossible to overstate how good “Songs for You” is. It’s a refreshing listen. The glossy, lightly colored beat of “Life’s Too Short,” with Tinashe’s high-pitched voice, is cleansing. When she sings, “I know you picture us / Been a long time without me / Up early, make breakfast / Spend the day playing video games,” Tinashe presents the perfect way to listen to “Songs for You.” It’s an album meant to be enjoyed carelessly, domestically and comfortably. But that doesn’t mean “Songs for You” isn’t sharp. Tinashe directs many of her tracks toward a lover, including “Save Room for Us (feat. MAKJ)” and the easybreezy soul-replenishing guitar track “Remember When.” The latter might just be Tinashe’s best song ever, a song where she practically pleads to kiss, touch and love her lover again. And while it’s easy to get cozy with “Songs for You,” especially when Tinashe whispers, “All these songs for you baby/ you know who you are” on the interlude “You,” it’s impossible not to feel like Tinashe is letting the listener in on an intimate moment. Call it a threesome or a ménage á trois; it’s sexy.
Only YOU Can Prevent Wildfires. SMOKEYBEAR.COM
And it’s this closeness that makes “Songs for You” different from any of Tinashe’s previous releases and many of 2019’s releases. Her voice ranges from soft and gauzy to fierce rap and strong singing. The artist is never predictable; no matter what listeners might expect, Tinashe blends sounds and beats together in a way that’s new and exciting. It’s an album from someone who isn’t afraid to play around and experiment but shows mastery over everything she touches. On “So Much Better,” a duet with G-Eazy that’s immediately easy to overlook — it’s arguable that no good song has been made with G-Eazy as a feature — Tinashe manages to make a song that plays to both of the artists’ strengths, with explicit lyrics and an actually acceptable feature from G-Eazy. If that isn’t skill, what is? And fortunately, that skill doesn’t get to Tinashe’s head. She spends much of “Songs for You” vulnerable and honest about the love that she needs and the love she deserves. That’s important for the balance of the album; rather than focusing on either bragging or bleeding love, Tinashe does both.
ION OF STA IAT TE OC
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Devina Bhalla is a sophomore studying sociology and English. Devina can be reached at devina.bhalla@tufts.edu.
Tinashe has always released good music — she’s a consistent talent with a variety of releases including independent mixtapes, multiple studio albums including her strong debut “Aquarius” (2014) and the enjoyable (but missing something) “Joyride” (2018). But that was the previous Tinashe; there’s something different about 2019 Tinashe. That difference is felt throughout her new album “Songs for You” (2019), a sexy, vulnerable release that puts Tinashe in the top echelon. Maybe it’s because “Songs for You” is her first independent release after years of struggles with her former record label, RCA, and a recent split from the label, but the album is an immediate new sound, fresh and exciting for anyone who’s followed Tinashe. Over the album’s 52-minute runtime, Tinashe plays with various R&B beats and sings about love, independence and raw emotion. When the chorus of “Feelings,” the album’s opener, hits, it’s clear that there’s a newfound confidence here: “Lately, I ain’t been in my feelings / ‘Nashe, I’ve been minding my business.” Tinashe’s grind to create “Songs for You” comes through in how polished the album is. It’s scattered pop full of bubbly R&B beats that seemingly both allow for beginnings and remind the listener where Tinashe is coming from. On “Hopscotch,” Tinashe sings almost carelessly about her successes — she’s pretty (so pretty that Nicki Minaj sang about it), she’s popular and she’s successful. If only these other girls could compete — she’s showing them how it’s done! When she sings “These hoes wanna be like me,” it’s impossible not to agree with her. It’s a hot song, a release that’s up there with the best songs of the decade. Other songs are spacey — “Stormy Weather” and “Know Better” are calmer, slower vibes that allow the listener to learn more about Tinashe. When she sings about falling in love on “Know Better,” it’s a side of the singer that’s raw and real. On “Cash Race,” Tinashe combines a fun pop beat with a sick rap, in which she mentions her inability to stay satisfied with success and brags about being the center of attention. It’s a flawless show of confidence from an artist ready to run the music game; if anyone’s going to be the hottest artist going into 2020, thank god it’s Tinashe.
NATIONAL A SS
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ith the little taste of break that Thanksgiving gave us, I was able to finish reading Trevor Noah’s “Born A Crime” (2016). “Born A Crime” is another comedian’s autobiographical novel (perhaps I’m on a comedian kick thanks to Jenny Slate) full of stories from Noah’s childhood in South Africa. Noah is biracial and was born during apartheid in South Africa when racial segregation was still in full effect. From the first page, he explores this in-between space. He is not seen as African by Africans, and not white by whites. Noah is a hilarious comedian in my opinion, yet “Born A Crime” is told in a slightly less humorous and polished voice than you see on TV. Noah is comfortable with his voice, skipping back and forth from humor to raw, personal reflections within sentences. As he travels throughout his life in South Africa, you watch him codeswitch and change his behavior in order to fit into the spaces he found himself in. You watch as he grows into a man whose circumstances and persona could blend perfectly into a comedian with a memorable voice. Readers get to see him grow a pirated CD business and see him change as the shape of his family changes. You are brought into periods of poverty in which a mother’s craftiness keeps them alive. Noah is vulnerable about the difficulties of his life as well as the harrowing reality of the post-apartheid era in South Africa, giving you a welcoming hand into the stories of his past that mirror so many difficult struggles of those in similar situations. More than any other focus though is Noah’s love and admiration for his mother. She is a remarkable woman who I could not begin to be able to put together my own words to describe. Noah, however, is able to give you a stunning picture of her ferocity and strength. I will let him tell you about her instead of trying to myself. Thanksgiving break also allowed space from this stressful semester and gave me a little bit of time to think about my column and what I wanted my last one to be. I’ve really enjoyed pushing myself to read for pleasure during this semester. It is one of the best ways to relieve stress and feed my mind; it is a healthy outlet during the heat of the semester. This being said, the weekly due date sometimes inhibited my ability to take my time with a book. I couldn’t ingest it fully and, therefore, sometimes wished for more time before writing about it. So, in reflection, I am so blessed that the Daily has given me the opportunity to create this habit and realize how much I love writing about books — but perhaps I will not give myself such a time crunch in the future. Nevertheless, I hold strongly to my original stance from my first column: I think everyone should take a chance with reading for pleasure during the school year as well. Take a chance and pick up a book you put aside in September. It will always do better in your hands than on the shelf.
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Tuesday, December 3, 2019 | FUN & GAMES | THE TUFTS DAILY
F &G FUN & GAMES
LATE NIGHT AT THE DAILY Jess: “But are the kids on Facebook these days?”
SUDOKU
LINDA C. BLACK ASTROLOGY
Sagittarius (Nov. 22–Dec. 21)
Attend to family matters and enjoy domestic projects. Organize and beautify your spaces. Don’t try to force an outcome. Make and clean messes.
Difficulty Level: Having to shovel snow for the first time in your short life.
Monday’s Solutions
CROSSWORD
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6 Tuesday, December 3, 2019
Deeksha Bathini Looking for Life, Destroying Life
We need more Farmers
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s the end of the semester approaches, I finish up my column “Looking for Life, Destroying Life.” The title, as mentioned in my first column, originates from a famous Haitian proverb. It refers to a woman selling mangoes to make a living. In doing so, she falls off her mango truck and dies. When poor people seek out life, amidst terrible odds, their pursuits are futile, even destroyed. I first came across this idea in Tracy Kidder’s book, “Mountains Beyond Mountains” (2003), which follows the career of Paul Farmer, a doctor seeking to address multi-drug resistant tuberculosis in remote Haiti. Farmer himself is a protagonist with a deep-seated compassion for the poor and desperate, believing that all humans are of equal value regardless of their birthplace. As I initially ventured through the biography, I felt ambivalent towards Farmer. While I appreciated his ardent support of struggling, sick Haitians, I could not help but feel like his mission was impractical, and quite frankly, unattainable. Farmer would walk four hours up hills and rough terrain to ensure that one of his patients was compliant with the strict regimen of antibiotics required to cure multidrug resistant tuberculosis. As I read this, it initially struck me as naïve and the thought crept into my mind: Does he seriously think he can save an entire country one-by-one, or does he just have a god complex? To my 18-year-old self, Farmer seemed like the ultimate idealist. Now, having worked abroad and delved deeper into my public health curriculum, my perspective has shifted slightly. Farmer’s undying fervor to help the poor and sick points to the very essence of global health and medicine. Farmer’s favorite quote even reads, “Physicians are the natural attorneys of the poor, and the social problems should largely be solved by them.” As I wrap up this column, I want you to understand the relationship between Farmer’s mission and the title of Kidder’s book. In global health, we face enormous problems, mountains even. And beyond those mountains are even greater mountains. To address human health, we need to build toilets, we need to end poverty, we need to feed children, we need to stop gender violence, we need to provide clean water; the list goes on and on. Farmer is an anomaly. He dedicated his entire life to global health. In fact, the Brigham and Women’s Hospital, where he completed his residency, let him spend half his clinical hours in Haiti because he was adamant on addressing the need there. For a regular person, like you and me, it is hard not to become discouraged by the number and scope of problems that exist in global health. But Kidder puts it rather eloquently: “if the poor have to wait for a lot of people like Paul [Farmer] to come along before they get good health care, they are totally fucked.” My point is, we can’t wait for that one in seven billion. We need to care because if we don’t, lots of people are going to be “totally fucked.” Deeksha Bathini is a junior studying community health. Deeksha can be reached at deeksha.bathini@tufts.edu.
Opinion
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EDITORIAL
New Year’s resolutions for Tufts, part 2 Today, we continue our two-part editorial suggesting New Year’s resolutions for our university to adopt. By addressing institutional issues that affect us every day, Tufts can become a more inclusive, fair and accessible community. Tufts, these should be your goals for 2020: Support Medford and Somerville communities through higher PILOT payments Tufts must address its encroachment on the Medford and Somerville communities this coming year. As Tufts negotiates a new payment in lieu of taxes (PILOT) agreement with the city of Somerville, it is important that we acknowledge the impact that Tufts has on surrounding communities. Although we saw a significant increase in Tufts’ contributions to PILOT payments in the 2019 fiscal year, this amount only represents about 8% of hypothetical property taxes for Somerville, instead of the 12.5% that the community expects. Higher PILOT payments in the next fiscal year would be a great first step in addressing community issues, for these payments could fund manifold municipal projects and services. With enrollment increasing each year and rents rising, Tufts has more of an impact on Medford and Somerville than ever before. Supporting our surrounding communities is a vital duty. Freeze Tufts tuition to lessen student financial burden Following increases in recent years, Tufts raised tuition again by 3.8% for the
2019–20 academic year. Despite Tufts’ commitment to fully meet demonstrated financial need, funds provided often fall short of fully supporting students, as Tufts includes student loans in its financial aid packages. Demonstrated need is highly subjective, and schools use different calculations to determine how much a family can pay for education. With the significant increase in Tufts’s cost of attendance, financial accessibility becomes a severe challenge for middle- and low-income students. Tufts must implement a tuition freeze policy, ensuring entering first-years will pay the same price for their college education during their four years; this policy is not unique and significantly increases financial security. Make Tufts financially accessible to all students Beyond the high price-tag of a Tufts education lies hidden everyday costs of living. Every semester, students must purchase textbooks and online programs for their classes, and the expenses for these mandatory items often add up to several hundred dollars. Living away from home entails having to do laundry, which, on campus, means paying fees for washers and dryers. Creating laundry and textbook stipends, as the university did for printing fees, will help alleviate these financial burdens. Further, expensive on-campus dining options contribute to food insecurity for low-income students and upperclassmen living off-campus. Tufts should provide healthy options with low prices at the Commons
Marketplace, Hotung Café and Hodgdon Food-on-the-Run in order to ensure that all students can eat a well-balanced meal without financial consequences.
Appropriately react to and prevent discrimination on campus This semester, the Tufts community faced multiple hateful acts targeting minority communities. In response to these events, University President Anthony Monaco announced the development of two Bias Response Teams (BRTs). This was a step in the right direction, as these teams will directly respond to incidents of discrimination on campus, independent of the investigative and reporting processes usually involved. We hope that these teams will work to proactively address acts of hatred and demonstrate zero tolerance for discrimination on campus. In line with Kerri Greenidge’s proposals, Tufts must integrate anti-discrimination efforts into the curriculum. Further, Tufts must react to acts of hatred by immediately condemning them and initiating proper investigations and disciplinary actions. Like all New Year’s resolutions, these concerns are opportunities for change, progress and improvement. We call upon Tufts to commit to these resolutions and to the students that make this campus what it is. Let us start this year on a positive note, address these important problems and set the stage for a year of improved student, workplace and community relations. Happy New Year, Tufts.
EDITORIAL CARTOON
New Year’s Resolutions
BY JULIA BARONI
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7
Sports
8 Tuesday, December 3, 2019
David Meyer Postgame Press
Be a good sport
“
Be a good sport.” I think that is a line from “The Great Gatsby” (1925), but I may have heard it somewhere else. All I know is that in sports, good sportsmanship is a standard for players and teams to uphold, even at professional levels when all the players are grown-up. One of those sportsmanship rules is about running up the score on a team. It is the reason it is bad practice to alley-oop to end a basketball game or go for two when up an enormous amount, just for the sake of doing it. But is it always wrong to keep scoring? I asked myself that recently while watching a Div. III college basketball team take a bad loss recently. In games such as this, is it poor sportsmanship by the other team to run up the score? To me, the answer is most certainly and definitely: it depends. I know. That sounds silly. I think unwritten rules, though, would agree. If a college football team is absolutely wiping the floor with their opponent, it is unreasonable to keep going for it on fourth down. A New York high school football coach was recently disciplined for beating a team so badly. The problem was, his team was better and he kept them in. They won 61-13 and he had to face a disciplinary hearing and get a short suspension for running up the score. The reason he was suspended and could not defend himself was because he played his starters even while up so much. I do not think it merits suspension, but I do think it is tough on the players who do not get in so often and work hard to play even one minute. Had he put in his backups who do not get the opportunity to play when they are losing, those players would have seen their hard work pay off. And if they did score and score a lot, this would certainly not be poor sportsmanship. The coach cannot be expected to ask his players who may only play a few more football games in their career to play and then not score, simply for the sake of not running up the score. But, the coach kept his starters in after they led by a huge margin in the third, with an infinitesimal chance of the other team coming back. Then he kept scoring with the same kids who had already been crushing them so painfully. There are plenty of players across sports who do not get a chance to be in the spotlight. They only log a few minutes per season and they log a lot more minutes being used to warm up the starters in practice. When they get to play, if they take full advantage of that opportunity, there is no poor sportsmanship in that. It is only a bad look not to give them a moment to bask in their hard work and see if they can grab some glory.
David Meyer is a senior studying film and media studies. David can be reached at david.meyer@tufts.edu.
tuftsdaily.com
Women’s basketball jumps ahead of Brandeis in 4th quarter, beats Skidmore
EVAN SLACK / THE TUFTS DAILY ARCHIVES
Senior guard Cailin Harrington shoots a 3-pointer during Tufts’ 80–42 win over Bridgewater State on Dec. 4, 2018. by Ananda Kao
Contributing Writer
Senior guard/forward and co-captain Erica DeCandido scored 19 points against both Brandeis University and Skidmore College to lead the women’s basketball team to two consecutive wins. These wins bring the No. 2 ranked Jumbos to an undefeated 5–0 this season. On Tuesday, the Jumbos defeated the Skidmore Thoroughbreds 66–43. Both DeCandido and senior guard Cailin Harrington put up game-high 19 points. With the loss, Skidmore dropped to 2–4 on the season. Harrington scored the first eight points for the Jumbos in just over five minutes to give the Jumbos an 8–2 lead. Threepointers from Harrington and junior guard Erin Poindexter McHan as well as points from DeCandido and sophomore guard Sofia Rosa brought Tufts to a dominating 23–7 lead at the end of the first quarter. DeCandido reflected on the Jumbos’ defensive performance. “After the Brandeis game, which was so close, we went in and worked on our defense, and we came out and only allowed [Skidmore] to have seven points in the first quarter,” she said. “Our defense was a lot better in the Skidmore game, we worked more as a team, and knocked out a lot of shots.” Tufts dished out 20 assists, had 48 rebounds and gained its largest lead of the game, 27 points, with 4:33 left in the game. DeCandido and senior guard Sadie Otley tied for a game-high eight rebounds each. The Jumbos defense held the Thoroughbreds scoreless for nearly eight minutes in the first half and never gave up their lead. Three days before on Saturday, Nov. 23, Tufts narrowly beat Brandeis 81–77 in a fourth-quarter thriller. The game saw 21 lead changes. Despite efforts by Brandeis
guard Camila Casanueva, who put up a career-high 32 points, the Judges could not hold onto their lead in the last few seconds of the game. This was Brandeis’ first loss of the season (4–1). Coach Jill Pace offered her thoughts about the game. “We played against a really great Brandeis team,” Pace said. “It was close the whole way and it was really great for us to be in those situations, especially the end of game situations, so it was a good test for us.” Tufts trailed until about four minutes into the game when DeCandido made a layup to tie the game at 9–9. Rosa then added a layup of her own to give the Jumbos their first lead of the game. This lead did not last long, however, as the Judges responded less than a minute later to tie the game again. The game continued to be a back and forth battle, consisting of 10 ties and 21 lead changes throughout the four quarters. Even though Tufts trailed at the end of each of the first three quarters, Brandeis never held a lead larger than eight points. Many other factors of this game were tightly matched, including the fact that both teams were unbeaten going into the matchup. Tufts edged out Brandeis in rebounds, collecting 37 to the Judges’ 30. Both teams had 16 assists, and the Jumbos ended with a 46.7 field goal percentage to the Judges’ 43.8%. Brandeis converted better in 3-pointers, making half of its attempts while Tufts made a third. Following DeCandido’s 19 points, Harrington put up 15, and both sophomore guard Molly Ryan and Rosa put up 14 for the Jumbos. These four combined for 35 of Tufts’ 40 points in the first half. DeCandido spoke about the win. “Our defense definitely was struggling at first, we weren’t really playing team defense but what worked was our effort,” she said.
“The second half we decided to outwork them, which really worked for us and although the game was close we were able to make free throws at the end and outwork them to get rebounds.” Tufts trailed by one point to start the fourth quarter. Points by DeCandido, junior guard/forward Emily Briggs, Rosa, and Harrington, as well as 3-pointers by Ryan and senior guard and co-captain Lilly Paro, clinched the Jumbos the lead with 28 seconds left. Pace talked about the teams’ strengths offensively and defensively in these past two games. “We’ve been passing the ball really well in these past couple of games, so just sharing the ball,” Pace said. “We’ve been pushing offensively in transition super well in both of those games. Defensively, we’re just a gritty tough team and our players really care about defense as does our coaching staff.” Tufts plays Emerson tonight with a 7:30 p.m. tipoff. Emerson is currently 3–3 on the season but is coming off a dominant 87–64 win over Emmanuel last Tuesday. Tufts is looking to come out with a strong defensive effort — it’s what the team has been working on all week. “We continue to work on our defense, that’s something we cherish and we want it to be the best that it can be,” DeCandido said. “So every day we just work on that, and also working on what they’ll do against us and how to get around it.” Looking ahead to the rest of their season, Tufts is excited to continue to improve with each practice and game. “I’m looking forward to getting better as a group because we have a lot of room for improvement, which is definitely a good thing because we’re winning games now,” Ryan said. “But I can definitely see us getting better in the future by learning each others personnel and just talking more on the court.”