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THE TUFTS DAILY

TUFTSDAILY.COM

Wednesday, november 13, 2013

VOLUME LXVI, NUMBER 45

Where You Read It First Est. 1980

TUPD investigates incident of racism The Tufts University Police Department (TUPD) and the Medford Police Department are currently investigating an incident in which non-university-affiliated persons in a motor vehicle shouted racial slurs at a group of Tufts students on Nov. 2.

According to an email sent out to the Tufts community from University President Anthony Monaco, TUPD responded to an early morning report that occupants of a motor vehicle on College Avenue had shouted derogatory terms at students. Officers later stopped the vehicle and identified the occupants.

“I know that our university community shares my deep concern over a report such as this, which highlights the importance of our shared commitment to protect members of our community from racism,” Monaco said.

TUPD was unable to comment on the pending investigation. Kevin Maguire, director of the Department of Public and Environmental Safety, stressed that he and the rest of the department are determined to prevent such incidents from happening again.

“We’d like to echo the President’s message that our university community shares

deep concern over such reports and that we are deeply committed to protecting our community from racism,” Maguire told the Daily in an email.

Nancy Wilson, interim dean of the Jonathan M. Tisch College of Citizenship and Public Service, also expressed concerns about the occurrence.

“From our perspective, these types of incidents are too common, so while it’s certainly important to respond when they happen and we hear about them, it’s also very important for active citizens to work every day toward building a world in which these incidents don’t happen in the first place,” Wilson told the Daily in an email. “Tisch College places a high priority on this point in the programs that we develop and implement.”

Katie Cinnamond, assistant director of public relations, echoed these sentiments.

“I think the main thing about these incidents ... is that they happen all the time,” Cinnamond said. “It’s important for us, as global citizens, to think about how to respond to them and to build [safer] communities.”

—by Josh Weiner

Caroline Geiling / The Tufts Daily

Speakers, including Massachusetts State Senator Ben Downing (GSAS ’08), talked about the state’s role in fighting climate change last night in Cabot Auditorium.

Local activists join panel on Massachusetts divestment

by Victoria

Leistman

Daily Editorial Board

Caroline Geiling / The Tufts Daily

The Tufts University Police Department began investigating a case on Nov. 2 involving a group of motor vehicle occupants who shouted racial slurs at Tufts students.

A panel of local environmental leaders met in Cabot Auditorium last night to discuss Massachusetts’ role in the fight against climate change.

Panelists focused on the S.1225 bill, which, if passed, would require the state to divest from fossil fuel companies within five years. Massachusetts State Senator Ben Downing (GSAS ’08), who proposed the bill in January, sat on the panel along with State Representatives Carl Sciortino (LA ’00) and Denise Provost as well as President of Green Century Capital Management Leslie Samuelrich.

Tufts Divest For Our Future mem-

Experts, students discuss transportation projects at panel by

Daniel Bottino

Daily Editorial Board

Tufts Democrats last night hosted a forum titled “‘How We Get Where We’re Going’: A Public Transportation Discussion” in Tisch Library.

The panel discussion, moderated by Lecturer in the Department of Urban and Environmental Policy Planning Penn Loh, addressed various issues concerning public transportation and featured presentations

by Boston Globe reporter Martine Powers, Somerville Mayor Joseph Curtatone and Transportation for Massachusetts Advocacy Director Lizzi Weyant.

The forum proceeded in a talk show-style format after a brief introduction from Loh. The panelists began by

describing their jobs.

Powers discussed being a transportation reporter for the Boston Globe, explaining that such a position is important because transportation affects everyone’s lives in diverse ways.

Curtatone introduced himself next, describing his experiences as a life-long resident of Somerville.

“What drives me from a personal, social and professional perspective is that Somerville was defined by transit up to about mid-century,” he said.

Curtatone explained that, with the advent of the automobile, public transit systems died out in Somerville and are only now starting to return.

This was detrimental to the city’s well-being, he said.

“Personally, I have been motivated by that history,” he said.

“This is beyond getting from point A to point B. It is about improving our quality of life. It is about preparing Massachusetts to compete in the 21st century global economy.”

Weyant followed Curtatone by talking about her role as a lobbyist. She spoke about her transportation priorities, which include investing in poor, rural areas of the state in order to help people who depend greatly on public transit. She added that climate change must be an essential issue in transportation policy.

After the panelists introduced themselves, a general discussion began. Loh’s first question dealt with the issue of funding transportation.

After giving some historical context, Loh described the see TRANSPORTATION, page 2

Inside this issue

ber Anna Lello-Smith began the event, speaking about the ways that climate change affects everyone and about the strength which activists will need to make a difference.

“We’re putting pressure on the system to change the way it operates,” Lello-Smith, a senior, said.

The panelists proceeded to address the moral, political and financial issues surrounding the climate crisis.

Professor of Urban and Environmental Policy and Planning Julian Agyeman introduced Sen. Downing, explaining that he had helped mentor the senator during his time at Tufts. Downing, the youngest member of the Massachusetts Senate, see DIVEST, page 2

Autism Speaks group hosts Spoon Assassins fundraiser by

Adam Kaminski

Daily Editorial Board

The Tufts Autism Speaks Group began its first charity game of “Spoon Assassins” last Friday at midnight.

According to Tufts Autism Speaks Group President Shannon McHenry, who organized the fundraiser, the club plans to donate all proceeds to Autism Speaks, an organization that sponsors autism research, awareness and outreach initiatives among families, government officials and private sector entities.

According to Spoon Assassins game master Kristofer Siy, each participant was given a target who that person must eliminate from the game by tapping him or her with an official game spoon. Except during designed “assassination hours,” targets are safe as long as they are holding their spoon so that it is at least 50 percent visible.

The game began with 107 participants, Siy, a freshman, said, and will hopefully finish just before

Thanksgiving break. The winner of the game will receive a $25 gift card to iYO Cafe in Davis Square and the two runner-ups will be awarded $10 gift certificates to the Tufts University Bookstore.

McHenry expects that the game will generate between $500 to $550 when all fees and donations have been collected. Each participant paid $5 to receive his or her spoon, and a few people also offered donations to support Autism Speaks.

Larry Evans, who is participating in Spoon Assassins, said he initially joined just because the game seemed fun. He is glad, however, that the game serves a good cause.

“I think [the charity aspect] only strengthened my feelings about being a part of the game,” Evans, a freshman, said. “It started out for fun but that added a new part to it.”

While Evans is happy to see that the event is raising money, he worried that people may not see SPOONS, page 2

Today’s sections

The all-new Tufts 180 Consulting group plans to begin activities next semester.

The Boston Playwright’s Theatre’s ‘Windowmen’ does not meet its full potential.

see FEATURES, page 3

see ARTS, page 5

News Features Arts & Living Editorial | Op-Ed

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Op-Ed Comics Classifieds Sports

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News

Wednesday, November 13, 2013

Panelists discuss importance of environmental activism DIVEST

continued from page 1

spoke on why he filed the bill and why total divestment from fossil fuels is so important.

“I found myself, while we had done a great deal, talking about what we ought to be doing,” he said. “We weren’t doing enough about how to stop the bad we were already doing.”

Divestment, Downing said, is most effective when it is a two-fold process.

“We need to at the very least not have our heart split partially to clean energy and partially to fossil fuels,” he said.

According to Downing, caring about climate change means putting an end to investment in, reliance on and support of fossil fuels. He added that ending this relationship will be a generational responsibility.

“Thank you,” Downing said to the audience. “Thanks for being here. Thanks for caring about this. Most importantly, don’t give up. We are right. We’re right on science. We’re right on math.”

Shana Gallagher, a freshman member of Tufts Divest, next introduced Dale Bryan, assistant director of the Peace and Justice Studies program, who provided the introductions for Provost, Sciortino and Samuelrich.

Provost, a sponsor of the S.1225 bill, spoke about the importance of taking a holistic approach — while paying special attention to history and context of the industry — to issues regarding fossil fuels.

As a leader in environmentally

friendly bills, Massachusetts already has an incentive to get the bill passed, she said.

“We need to have an awareness that is expansive enough to look at what’s going on generally in the fossil fuel economy and respond to other initiatives to curb the use of fossil fuels that have gotten us to the point we’re at now,” Provost said.

She added that activists must keep an eye on projects involving fracking and tar sands oil extraction as they emerge as new technological threats to clean air. Many who denounce climate change as a threat use American energy independence and employment rates as justification for dirty energy tactics, she said, and activists must be ready to combat that point of view.

Sciortino, who graduated from Tufts with a biology degree, discussed the urgency of the climate situation, saying that action must come now.

“Every time I hear someone put the climate crisis in terms of how we save the planet for future generations, I want to scream,” he said.

Sciortino explained that virtually nothing has been done on the national and global scale in terms of environmental action in the last thirty years. All the while, these issues have only become more and more dire.

“If we keep paying [Exxon Mobile Corp.] with our public dollars, we are not doing ourselves justice,” he said. If you

think you’re tired of working on something, keep up the fight because you are apart of the national movement.”

Samuelrich spoke about the financial risks connected with continuing to invest in fossil fuels. She explained that, when the major national move against carbon finally happens, assets held in fossil fuel companies may become devalued. Investing in alternative energies is therefore a good option right now, she said.

“As the economy changes and we look for new cleaner sources, it is very likely those [clean energy] companies will grow,” she said.

Samuelrich also said that divestment is a lot simpler than opponents have made it out to be.

Portfolio managers make decisions all the time about what they should and should not include in their client’s investments. “[Managers] should be serving their client — period,” she said. “It is incredibly feasible. The resources are there to do this.”

The panel opened up to a question and answer period where members from local environmental activist groups Fossil Free Somerville and 350 Massachusetts voiced their opinions and discussed their progress on these issues.

Downing emphasized that climate action is the right thing for the environment and for the economy.

“We’ve started to see the worst case scenario,” he said.

“All of the predications about climate change are true.”

MCT

The Tufts Autism Speaks Group’s first charity game of ‘Spoon Assassins’ began last Friday at midnight. Proceeds will benefit Autism Speaks.

Tufts Autism Speaks holds game for charity SPOONS

continued from page 1

appreciate the importance of the game’s purpose.

“The game is kind of separate,” he said. “It’s fun on its own, but people don’t necessarily do it for the cause.”

This game marks the first campus-wide event hosted by the Tufts Autism Speaks Group, which McHenry founded last spring.

Though the group has not yet gained recognition through Tufts Community Union (TCU) Senate

and has held only one meeting, McHenry has high expectations.

“There are 60 people on our e-list, 20 people who attended the first meeting, and 30 who attended the [general interest meeting],” McHenry, a sophomore, said. “We’re amidst scheduling a meeting with the Senate right now.”

Both McHenry and Siy hope the event’s proceeds will make a difference in the autism community and help publicize their club on campus, so they can host larger fundraisers in the future.

Mayor Curtatone confirms Green Line extension to Tufts TRANSPORTATION continued from page 1

impact of the expensive Big Dig project to reroute Boston’s chief highway. The project drew money away from other transportation problem areas, he said.

Weyant then discussed funding in terms of Massachusetts’ investment needs.

“The governor came out with this proposal in January that essentially said what most transportation advocates have known for a long time, which is that we needed about $1.2 billion a year in strategic investments,” she said.

These investments were needed for a variety of vital transportation projects that may normally go unnoticed by average people, Weyant explained. Governor Patrick’s initial request for $1.2 billion, however, was not approved.

“We ended up getting an average of about $500 million a year,” she said.

“We did this by raising the gas tax three cents. ... At the end of the day, we had about half as much as we had needed.”

Curtatone agreed that the invested money was not enough, but saw it as a positive step forward. He suggested a possible statewide ballot that would aim to garner the full amount of money needed. In regard to the raise in the gas tax, which was considered somewhat controversial, Curtatone argued the tax was fair.

“You use, you pay,” he said.

The conversation next moved on to a discussion on the proposed UPASS for Boston university students. The pass would allow students attending participating schools to ride on the T for free.

The panelists were generally favorable to the concept.

Powers commented on the link between housing and public transportation.

“The first thing you are looking for [in an apartment] is how many minutes it is to the T stop,” she said.

At the end of the discussion, audience members had the opportunity to discuss related issues with the panelists. Questions covered topics such as the possibility of a Green Line stop near the Tufts campus, affordable housing

Caroline Geiling / The Tufts Daily

A panel presentation called ‘How We Get Where We’re Going’: A Public Transportation Discussion,’ hosted by Tufts Democrats, took place in Tisch Library last night. and its connection with transportation and security issues on the subway.

Regarding the Green Line extension, Curtatone emphasized that the project would definitely happen within the next five years.

“It is coming,” he said. “It will hap-

pen. The game plan right now is [to have the stop by] 2018.”

After the forum, members of Tufts Democrats thanked the panel participants for sharing their opinions and ideas. Lucas Conwell, a member of Tufts Democrats, believes that the panel was

beneficial to the Tufts community.

“The panel was a great way to educate Tufts about an important issue that we don’t talk a lot about,” Conwell, a sophomore, said. “I hope this can be the start of a bigger conversation on the Tufts campus.”

Features

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tuftsdaily.com

Ben Zuckert | Straight Out of the Bible

Underdogs

I

Courtesy Connor Adams

After a general interest meeting this October, the Tufts chapter of 180 Degrees Consulting will officially start next semester. Currently, there are 26 branches of the organization around the world.

180 Degrees Consulting adds Tufts to worldwide map of social justice consulting

by Sabrina

McMillin

Daily Editorial Board

Only two of the 26 current branches worldwide of 180 Degrees Consulting are in the United States, so the founding of a Tufts branch of the world’s largest student consultancy next semester will serve as yet another landmark in the university’s growth as an elite player in the world of social innovation and consulting.

The group’s general interest meeting was held on Oct. 27 in Cabot Auditorium.

Senior Christopher Yee-Paulson, who serves as co-president of 180 Degrees Consulting alongside fellow senior AJ Scaramucci, was enthusiastic about the overlap of consulting and active citizenship in the group.

“There is a lot of intellectual capital at Tufts, and many students have strong interests in both social impact and consulting,” Yee-Paulson told the Daily in an e-mail. “This is the first type of organization that serves both needs, providing incredible synergies between these two intellectual camps.”

This has been an important year for Jumbos interested in pursuing business-related careers, in particular consulting. The School of Arts and Sciences does not offer a business major or minor, besides the Entrepreneurial Leadership minor, so would-be business students often take courses in the Department of Economics.

However, many students this semester have been looking for more guidance. The hiring of finance and consulting expert Christopher Di Fronzo (E ’96, EG ’04) at the Career Center this fall is evidence of the desire students have to learn about these fields. The addition of a chapter of 180 Degrees Consulting follows this trend.

Since its founding at the University of Sydney in 2007 by then-economics student Nathaniel Ware, 180 Degrees Consulting has become a worldwide organization with city and university branches in locations such as Prague, Tokyo and Stockholm — and now Medford and Somerville. The group has branches in 18 countries.

The new branch at Tufts will officially be launched next semester, and according to Scaramucci, who is also the founder of the Tufts branch, this

will bring a lot recognition to Tufts given the consultancy’s reputation worldwide.

“180 Degrees Consulting is now the largest pro bono student-driven consultancy in the world,” he said.

180 Degrees team members offer business advice to non-profit organizations and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) free of charge. At the University of Sydney, for example, student consultants worked with Red Cross Australia to help to cut down costs, allowing the organization to focus funding elsewhere.

Scaramucci explained that, while he has garnered experience in sales through his part-time work as a product specialist at Tesla Motors, the predominant factor that inspired him to start the Tufts branch was his study abroad experience at the University of Sydney, where he said he worked in the company’s original branch.

“All you do is go out and actively recruit consultants at a university campus,” he said. “You do some inbound marketing, they apply to be student consultants, and the individuals who get accepted then get paired into teams of five. Those teams of five get paired with a team leader, so that’s six total individuals. Finally, they get paired with a non-profit organization or NGO in the local area.”

Scaramucci’s team of consultants in Australia, he said, worked with Food Water Shelter, an Australia-based nonprofit that works in developing countries to benefit vulnerable women and children by providing functional education, social and health facilities. His team advised the organization to take advantage of the growing popularity of Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) through websites such as Khan Academy, so that students in Tanzania would have access to an assortment of courses that they wouldn’t otherwise have.

“In short, they were spending a lot of money on teachers and volunteers and textbooks and infrastructure, rather than on computers and Wi-Fi connection,” Scaramucci said. “What this enables for the Tanzanian kids is that they [have] the ability to have access to the Internet.”

While the club will enable student consultants to gain invaluable first-hand experience in the business

world, like Scaramucci said he has already seen, 180 Degrees Consulting puts volunteerism and activism at the heart of its goals to produce positive socioeconomic change in communities near chapters.

Jasmine Slivka, founder of the first 180 Degrees branch in the United States at Indiana University, expressed her excitement about the establishment of more chapters in the country.

“With an already strong presence in Australia, Europe, and Asia, we could see immense potential for 180 Degrees Consulting branches at many of the top universities in the United States,” Slivka told the Daily in an email.

Slivka, who is also 180 Degrees’ Chief Branch Officer of North America, has been collaborating with the executive board of the Tufts chapter.

“We have put together a very strong regional team to oversee the increasing demand for 180 Degrees Consulting branches and are very confident in the success of our new branches launching next semester,” she said.

According to Tufts University Associate Director of Development Christopher Pinault, the emergence of 180 Degrees Consulting on campus may open up opportunities for current students to strengthen connections with Jumbo alumni.

“There are many alumni who support the university financially, but they also want to give back and share their time and wisdom as well, so when AJ came to me saying he wanted to start a student consulting group, I thought that was a great idea,” Pinault said. “We have many alumni who are successful in the consulting industry, and I thought connecting AJ to these alumni who care about Tufts and our students would be a win-win for everyone.”

Yee-Paulson explained that he sees the Tufts branch working well with local non-profits in the greater Boston area in the years to come.

“I believe that as the branch gains recognition with local non-profits, our presence will expand rapidly,” he said.

“Within five years, I am confident [we] will be known throughout the Boston area as a premiere consulting services organization to non-profits with a reputation for bringing smart and driven students to front of various social, economic and political issues.”

was recently informed that the email address benjamin.zuckert@tufts.edu wasn’t working. Consequently, my investigation of landline usage is void because people couldn’t contact me.

Please send me an email at ben.zuckert@ tufts.edu if you have a landline. Thank you and I apologize for any inconvenience, which you should be used to if you own a landline.

This week it’s one of the most famous Bible stories: Lot’s daughters get Lot drunk, have sex with him and bear his children. Sorry, not that one (but that one is 100 percent in there — it’s Genesis 19:30). I meant David and Goliath from the Book of Samuel. Here’s how it goes down. Goliath is a Philistine who can’t be defeated. He says to the Israelites that if one of them kills him, the Philistines will become their subjects and vice versa. David, who’s delivering cheese and bread to the Israelites, asks, “Who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God?” Like I’ve said: it’s always about foreskin. The Israelites tell David that for anyone who kills Goliath, the king will give his daughter’s hand in marriage and will exempt his family from taxes. David responds, “Wait, did you say tax-exemption?” They say, “Well, yes, David, but marriage as well.”

David says, “Nah, I’m in it for the taxes.”

So David puts on armor in preparation for battle but doesn’t like it, so he decides to go without it. That’s a gutsy call.

After all, Goliath is wearing 125 pounds of bronze. Also, he’s nine feet nine inches tall — and that’s without heels on. Then David grabs “five smooth stones from the stream,” and with his sling in hand he’s ready for battle. Goliath, however, goes the more traditional route with a “spear shaft” that’s like a “weaver’s rod.”

Am I the only one picking up on sexual undertones here?

Anyway, when Goliath sees David, he asks, “Am I a dog, that you come at me with sticks?” David responds, “Yes, because you’re uncircumcised.” Goliath says, “Good one, David, but do you think it has health benefits?” They discuss it for a while, the Philistines and the Israelites make their cases, they agree to disagree and get back to the matter at hand.

David slings a stone into Goliath’s forehead, and he falls facedown onto the ground. Then he takes Goliath’s sword, kills him and cuts off his head. The Philistines run away and David carries Goliath’s head on a sword all the way to Jerusalem. And that’s why the Tufts Handbook bans slingshots.

So, what’s the real connection to Tufts?

Tufts Football, the classic underdog. But who’s Goliath? Any college, high school or middle school football team anywhere.

The first thing Tufts needs to do to win a game is to get rid of the equipment. David didn’t have any armor. Neither should they. Actually, that’s incredibly dangerous.

They should keep their equipment on, but play as if they’re not wearing it?

Alright, it’s the last game of the season, there’s one minute left and Tufts is down by two (side note: how does Tufts recruit players? “Come play for us, we haven’t won a single game in three years). Let’s take it back to David. How did he defeat Goliath? With a little help from the man upstairs. The problem is I don’t think He’s enough. They’re going to need something more reliable. This is what they should do: get Tufts lacrosse players and secretly switch them in.

Then they win the game, wisely choose not to behead the other team, and Tufts ends its 30-game losing streak.

Next week, I’ll be discussing the ramifications of cultural appropriation.

Ben Zuckert is a senior majoring in political science. He can be reached at Ben. Zuckert@tufts.edu.

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Arts & Living

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tuftsdaily.com

Theater Review

‘Windowmen’ strikes peculiar balance between funny, sentimental by

Drew Robertson

Daily Editorial Board

If you catch a whiff of strong fishy odor in the streets of Boston these days, you may be near the Boston University

Windowmen Directed by Brett Marks Boston Playwrights’ Theatre 949 Commonwealth Ave, Boston, 02215 Boston Playwright’s Theatre’s production of “Windowmen.” Steven Barkhimer’s new play certainly has a powerful flavor, but it may be best described as an acquired taste.

Somewhere in between a comedy, a drama and an expose, “Windowmen” promises a gritty peek behind the scenes of the Fulton Fish Market. At its prime, the Fulton Fish Market was the major supplier of wholesale fresh fish to New York City and the five boroughs, opening early each morning to allow bluefish, flounder and halibut to change hands — along with a veritable fortune in cash — before it closed in 2005.

With Fulton Fish Market as the pungent setting, “Windowmen” depicts the conflict and camaraderie that festers in the one-room office of the market, as workers man the service window through which the money passes. Fresh out of undergraduate school, philosophy major and math minor Kenny (Alex Pollock) is new to the job market and hopelessly lost until Vic (Brandon Whitehead), an inveterate windowman

Courtesy Boston Playwright’s Theatre

Brandon Whitehead shines in his role as Vic, the heart and soul of ‘Windowmen.’ and swindler, takes him under his wing.

Gradually, Kenny begins to realize that, no matter how many equations he may have solved in college, he is no match for the kinds of numbers that hit these cash registers. With hundreds of dollars going unaccounted for every other day, it seems that crates of salmon and sole aren’t the only things that are fishy in the market.

Yet if this premise is intriguing, the world and words of “Windowmen” are not.

Though the playbill protests that names have been changed and the plot dramatized, “Windowmen” is quite blatantly based on Barkhimer’s own experiences working at the Fulton Fish Market, and to say that the play feels autobiographical is an understatement.

Album Review

Lavigne explores different styles on new album

Morris

On her eponymous fifth studio album, Avril Lavigne is not leaving anyone disappointed. As soon as fans began to

Avril Lavigne Avril Lavigne Epic Records wonder about the singer’s absence, she popped back onto the scene, and her most recent release is a pleasant surprise.

While Lavigne channels her old style on this endeavor — potentially leaving some listeners nostalgic for songs like her 2002 hit “Sk8r Boi” — she also experiments

Event Review

Film festival starts with shorts competition by

Nicole Blank

Contributing Writer

with new sounds, most of which work just as well as the old.

Lavigne sticks to familiar methods on the album’s first two singles, “Here’s to Never Growing Up” and “Rock N Roll.” These two tracks fully incorporate the musical characteristics for which Lavigne is known — so much so that the two can almost be confused for each other. The first, a pop-rock ballad that features the singer screaming about staying young, seems to typify the Lavigne brand and message. As Lavigne proclaims, “Singing Radiohead at the top of our lungs / With the boombox blaring as we’re falling in love,” listeners are immediately transported back to the early 2000s. Although sometimes lacking creativity, the lyrics on Lavigne’s see LAVIGNE, page 6

see FESTIVAL, page 6

lUUK_ via Flickr Creative Commons

Daily Staff Writer

see WINDOWMEN, page 6

The Boston Jewish Film Festival is in its 25th year of celebrating the Jewish experience through film and media. On Nov. 7, the Somerville Theatre kicked off the festival’s Third Annual Short Film Competition.

From an initial 200 films, the contenders were narrowed down to just six shorts, each powerful in their own way. After the screenings, the directors took the stage for a brief question and answer session. This was then followed by a text-in vote for the best two films of the festival.

The most moving short film was “Nyosha,” based on the true story of Holocaust survivor Nomi Kapel. Director Liran Kapel tells the story of her grandmother at age 10, using stop-motion cinematography interspersed with classic animation. The result of the project was a jarring and emotional piece about a girl saving up to buy a pair of shoes during the Nazi invasion of Poland. The stop-motion, narrated by Kapel herself, captured the loss of innocence that so many children living during the Holocaust experienced.

The claymation version of Nyosha feels as authentic as a real-life child, with haunting, glassy clay eyes that shed actual tears.

“Nyosha” is a truly work of art, reminding audiences of the importance of creativity in the face of pure evil.

Despite the beauty of “Nyosha,” first place in the Short Film Competition went to “Unorthodox,” a coming-of-age story directed by Patrick Waismann. While the short was well made, the story was predictable and contrived. Yankel, a 13-year-old boy studying for his Bar Mitzvah, copes with familial tensions in an Orthodox

Lavigne returns to her pop-punk roots in a number of tracks on ‘Avril Lavigne.’

by Josh

“Windowmen” not only seems to draw on Barkhimer’s past, but also practically oozes with nostalgia for it.

Unfortunately, Barkhimer’s attachment to the material seems to hinder his artistic rendering of it. A surplus of sentimental details takes over, dampening the sizzling of the play’s irreverent one-liners with an overwhelming wistfulness. For example, the name of the fictional fish market is “Turner Point Fish,” a not-so-subtle reference to the turning point that occurs in Kenny’s life during his stint at the market.

The overly affectionate characterizations of Vic and Al (the strict boss, played by Will

Nimarta Narang | Hello U.S.A

Forks and spoons

D

o you find it to be a huge adjustment now that you have to use forks and spoons?” someone asked me once while we were having lunch at Dewick.

I didn’t know whether I should have felt offended and upset that this person had assumed I didn’t use these utensils, or whether the appropriate response was to laugh it off and attribute it to genuine curiosity. I quickly finished my meal to avoid the awkward pause.

The next day, something else occurred during one of my escapades into Boston.

I was window-shopping in a mall, when a woman at a kiosk asked me if I wanted free samples of her perfume. Now that I’ve spent a good three months living as a college student, I know how precious free things are and, naturally, I accepted her offer. While describing the merits of her product to me, she made a comparison to CoverGirl, the American cosmetic brand. I didn’t know what she was referring to, so I asked her to explain it again. She was shocked.

“But you speak English,” said the saleswoman.

I was confused. I wanted to thank her for her observation, but it seemed a tad bit rude. Instead, I just told her that my unfamiliarity with the brand had nothing to do with ability to speak English. She then asked me where I was from, and upon learning my nationality she uttered, “But you speak English so well!”

I was still confused. People all over the world speak English, so how did my ability to speak the language seem more impressive? I pressed her to clarify.

“You speak so good because you have an American accent!”

I considered correcting her, since the proper phrase is “you speak so well” and not “so good.” But I was a little angry, so I abruptly thanked her for her time and left.

I didn’t understand how she could assume I spoke English well based only on how I sounded. Is having a native-sounding accent what determines your fluency in a certain language? English is spoken in so many countries around the world — different accents are not supposed to create a barrier to communication.

This event is somehow similar to the spoons and forks incident. I’ve been using cutlery ever since I learned how to eat by myself, and I’ve had an American accent ever since I attended an international school where a majority of the teachers and students were American. One assumption was made knowing I was Thai, and the other was made thinking that I was American. It’s funny how different expectations are tied to different nationalities, and I have been subject to multiple as an international student here in the United States.

International students are usually aware that they are constantly being judged for the way they look, sound or behave. For some, hearing all these judgements about our nationalities isn’t a new phenomenon.

For me, however, the assumption about being American — especially the presupposition that I was able to speak English properly because of my accent — was new.

An accent is not indicative of your ability to speak English, and I know this for a fact.

It’s ironic how we so frequently make assumptions, even about our own cultures.

The woman in the mall had presumed certain things about me that turned out to be untrue, but sometimes I wonder about the assumptions I have made about the Thai culture — I know there are many. It may be “Hello U.S.A.” for me right now, but at moments it can also be “Hello Thailand.”

The same goes for those who live here — sometimes it can be “Hello U.S.A.” for them too.

Nimarta Narang is a freshman who has not yet declared a major. She can be reached at Nimarta.Narang@tufts.edu.

The Tufts Daily

6

‘Avril Lavigne’ channels nostalgia on new album LAVIGNE

continued from page 5

tracks are not necessarily underdeveloped. Rather, they seem to be her signature — intended to cater to fans’ expectations.

After the two opening singles, Lavigne wastes no time in demonstrating her musical versatility. “17” is an upbeat, catchy tune — a noticeable departure from her original, edgier fare.

Reassuringly, while “17” sounds markedly different from her earlier ventures, classically nostalgic lyrics like “We were on top of the world / Back when I was your girl” make it impossible to forget the old Lavigne.

Unfortunately, Lavigne’s effort to channel this same fun-loving style doesn’t entirely work on “Sippin’ on Sunshine.” Quite frankly, it sounds as if she is desperately trying to sing a song that should have been done by Natasha Bedingfield. Sometimes Lavigne’s punk vocals can keep up with the energetic pace, but on this particular track, it seems that she would do better to return to her roots.

Perhaps some of the most standout tracks on “Avril Lavigne” are the more acoustically influenced numbers.

“Bitchin’ Summer” and “Give You What You Like” both begin with skillful guitar introductions, eventually working their way into a quintessential Lavigneesque chorus.

On “Bitchin’ Summer,” Lavigne takes a stab at the rapstyle sound that many artists, including Miley Cyrus and Katy Perry, have recently attempted — and, like the others, Lavigne would be better off avoiding this pop-rap genre. The sound nega-

tively contrasts with the its beat, making for an overwhelmingly unsatisfying listen.

“Hush Hush” and “Let Me Go” both incorporate intriguing piano introductions, further showcasing Lavigne’s flexibility.

“Let Me Go,” one of the two collaborations on the album, features Nickelback’s Chad Kroeger — news which, for some listeners, forecasted a definite disappointment. Sadly, those preconceptions are justified. Kroeger overpowers Lavigne, and “Let Me Go” ultimately sounds much more like a Nickelback composition than a Lavigne song.

“Hello Kitty” and “Bad Girl” are like nothing else on the album. “Hello Kitty” incorporates some Japanese lyrics with a four-on-the-floor beat and references classic games like Spin the Bottle and Truth or Dare. These tracks certainly stray from the typical Lavigne sound, which is not necessarily a bad thing. The same goes for “Bad Girl,” featuring Marilyn Manson. Although Lavigne would likely classify herself as a pop-rock artist, most of her pieces lean toward a punk style. This track, however, feels more classic rock than punk coupled with the subtle background vocals of Marilyn Manson. “Bad Girl” is definitely off the beaten path, but here, that comes as a breath of fresh air rather than as a failure.

“Avril Lavigne” listeners will not find a record completely composed of early 2000s nostalgia, full of songs like “Complicated” (2002) and “My Happy Ending” (2004). Instead, Avril Lavigne’s latest album introduces new sides of the artist that fans are sure to love.

Arts & Living

Wednesday, November 13, 2013

‘Unorthodox’ surprises, wins first place

Twp via Wikimedia Commons

Somerville Theatre in Davis Square hosted the Short Film Competition to kick off the Boston Jewish Film Festival last week.

FESTIVAL

continued from page 5

home. The highlight of the film was River Alexander’s performance as Yankel, a heartfelt and

believable adolescent struggling to grow up. When his brother leaves home after a fight with their father, Yankel takes it upon himself to punish his father. The film’s suc-

cess at the festival was perhaps due to Waismann’s supportive fans in attendance, rather than his artistic storytelling ability. Though the festival was generally well structured, incidents like these made the competition aspect seemed disjointed and disorganized.

The question and answer portion of the night was incredibly insightful, as the directors told their own stories as artists. The audience directed the majority of their questions toward Kapel and Assaf MacHnes, who directed “Auschwitz on My Mind.”

The directors, all of whom are Jewish, spoke about the difficulty of producing a short film and telling a story in under 15 minutes. Kapel especially struggled with cutting down hours of her grandmother’s story into a mere 12 minutes. She also spoke about her decision to mix stop-motion with classic animation in order to help capture the innocence of the 10-year-old witnessing such tragedy. Kapel carried the actual figurine of Nyosha with her to the screening — the character travels with her all over the world from festival to festival.

Despite the somber thematic content that characterized the evening, there were some moments of happiness. The heavy tones of MacHnes and Kapel’s stories were countered by the comedic short “That Woman,” directed

by Edward Dick, which tells the story of a man sitting Shiva after a painful breakup, and a surprising blind date setup with Monica Lewinsky.

Overall, the Short Film Competition was a great way to kick off the Boston Jewish Film Festival. For more information about the festival, as well as a full list of the films, visit www.bjff.org/.

Courtesy Boston Playwright’s Theatre

The young and naïve Kenny (Alex Pollock) is a character that many college students can relate to.

our contact (617) 440-7361 or

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Talented acting, directing enhance ‘Windowmen’

WINDOWMEN

continued from page 5

Lyman) portray the men as dishonest but likeable. Rather than provoking compelling questions of right or wrong, however, this choice traps the characters in a swamp of moral ambiguity, leaving audience members to wonder, “So what?” at the end of all their sordid drama.

The dialogue is generally sharp and witty, if viewers can overlook the few melodramatic lines that threaten to make “Windowmen” predictable. The work as a whole is by no means obnoxious, yet this coming-of-age piece may need more development to become the crisp, dark comedy it promises to be.

The best part about the Boston Playwright’s Theatre’s production of “Windowmen” is that director Brett Marks and the cast and crew do such an impressive job with this new material.

Whitehead breathes life into his scenes, deliv-

ering chuckle-worthy moments throughout the duration of the piece. Pollock, too, delivers a solid performance, though Lyman seems occasionally uncertain, as if he isn’t quite up to the task of playing Al — a ruthless and allknowing businessman.

Designed by Anthony Phelps, the set is small, cramped and claustrophobic — just right for the all-too-intimate atmosphere where coworkers become conspirators. For his part, Marks utilizes the space remarkably well and the little stage lends a sense of intimacy to the action.

Oscillating between charming and sappy, “Windowmen” will not be everyone’s kettle of fish. Still, good acting and bright moments of humor help make the production palatable.

“Windowmen” will be playing at the Boston Playwright’s Theatre until Nov. 24. Student tickets are $10 and can be purchased online or by calling (866) 811-4111.

The Tufts Daily

Wednesday, November 13, 2013

7

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THE TUFTS DAILY

editorial

Editorial Jenna Buckle Melissa Wang Managing Editors Abigail Feldman Executive News Editor Daniel Gottfried News Editors Victoria Leistman Menghan Liu Melissa Mandelbaum Annabelle Roberts Mahpari Sotoudeh Josh Weiner Sarah Zheng Daniel Bottino Assistant News Editors Alexa Horwitz Denali Tietjen

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Wednesday, November 13, 2013

Making Boston more accessible

Hannah R. Fingerhut Editor-in-Chief

Editorial | Op-Ed

Despite being less than 10 miles from the center of Boston, students at Tufts often feel that they cannot make full use of the city due to the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority’s (MBTA) schedule. The subway system, commonly referred to as the T, is the most convenient mode of transportation for students, but it shuts down as early as 12:30 a.m. on weekends. This leads some students to opt for late-night taxis and others to avoid leaving campus in the first place.

In an attempt to tackle the issue of late-night travel, the Tufts Community Union Senate this Monday passed a resolution calling for a shuttle service to and from Boston on Friday and Saturday nights. Although the plan is still far from being put into practice, the move is indeed a step in the right direction.

Members of the Senate decided to take the issue of travel into their own hands after correspondence with the

MBTA seemed increasingly futile. The MBTA Rider Oversight Committee, a group associated with, but independent from, the MBTA, earlier this year conducted a survey on the topic of increased service hours in hopes of resurrecting the “night owl service” that was shut down due to financing issues. This same issue is likely to pose difficulties for those planning the Tufts shuttle — and it could be the case that students will have to pay for the service — but the price will surely be lower than hefty cab fares students have to shell out when returning from Boston late at night.

The project, if successful, will open up numerous opportunities for students at Tufts. Weekend plans would no longer be restricted to Medford and Somerville, as Boston’s brimming nightlife would become more accessible. Apart from concerts, bars and clubs, Jumbos would also have the

opportunity to meet up with students from different colleges around the Boston area. Many of these institutions, such as Bentley University and Babson College, already offer latenight shuttle services to their students. It seems only fair that such a service is offered at Tufts as well.

Most importantly, the initiative will undoubtedly increase the safety of students, who would always have a reliable and safe mode of transportation back to campus.

The current difficulty of late-night travel is one of the few issues that almost everyone at Tufts can agree on.

Those who ultimately decide on the implementation of the shuttle service are faced with numerous reasons for and few against. The Tufts School of Arts and Sciences website claims that the campus provides “easy access to an exciting metropolis” — it’s about time students felt that way.

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Off the Hill | University of Minnesota

Find safety in self-defense

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Luis Ruuska

Minnesota Daily

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P.O. Box 53018, Medford, MA 02155 617 627 3090 FAX 617 627 3910 daily@tuftsdaily.com

With sundown creeping up earlier each day, I would be lying if I said I didn’t feel unnerved walking through campus at nightfall.

Due to the recent string of robberies and burglaries and a sexual assault that occurred on or near campus during the past few months, I can’t be alone in my nighttime walking anxieties.

In his Oct. 30 letter to the editor, University police Chief Greg Hestness stressed that the crime rate is at a historical low.

This doesn’t exactly put my mind at ease. Many of the recent crimes on or near campus seem to have been perpetrated by the same person or people and in similar fashions. Some recent victims were even in groups when they were robbed.

Despite security measures like the Security Monitor Program, 20 Code Blue Phones and 2,300 around-the-clock security cameras installed on campus, students are still being caught off guard.

So what more can we do?

Students should assess all of their options and consider investing in self-

The Tufts Daily is a nonprofit, independent newspaper, published Monday through Friday during the academic year, and distributed free to the Tufts community. EDITORIAL POLICY 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. The content of letters, advertisements, signed columns, cartoons and graphics does not necessarily reflect the opinion of The Tufts Daily editorial board.

defense items if their lifestyle has them out and about at night.

After University police released the first fall semester crime alert, I purchased a Swiss Army knife.

Admittedly, I have only used the knife in mundane situations, but I am surprised at how much more secure I feel knowing it’s in my pocket, and in the event of an attack, I might not be entirely defenseless.

But a pocket knife is not the only selfdefense option students have. You may be surprised at what’s permitted on campus.

Per the University of Minnesota Board of Regents’ possession and weapons policy, students are entitled to carry any sort of weapon, excluding firearms or other dangerous weapons, as defined by Minnesota law. These other weapons include metal knuckles, automatic switchblades and flammable liquids.

It’s important to note that most students support keeping firearms off campuses as well. Seventy-eight percent of students surveyed at 15 Midwestern public colleges opposed concealed weapons on college campuses, according to a recent study published in the Journal of College Health.

However, common — and no less effective — self-defense items such as pepper spray, Taser guns and small knives are permitted on or off campus. These are also approachable investments students may want to consider to feel safe.

A quick search on Amazon.com yields a plethora of inexpensive but high-quality self-defense products designed to fit safely and inconspicuously on key rings for easy access.

A self-defense weapon isn’t right for everybody. Students should question why they need one of these items and what makes them feel safe. However, there are other options for self-defense beyond the pocket security device.

University police offer a number of selfdefense classes as well as links to external student groups that practice self-defense techniques.

I’m confident that University police and the University as a whole have been doing their best to keep campus safe, but they ultimately can only do so much. Selfdefense is also about your peace of mind when UMPD isn’t there or when you don’t feel safe. By taking a proactive interest in their own safety, students can help make campus safer for us all.

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Letters must be submitted by 2 p.m. and should be handed into the Daily office or sent to letters@tuftsdaily.com.

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ADVERTISING POLICY All advertising copy is subject to the approval of the Editorin-Chief, Executive Board and Executive Business Director. A publication schedule and rate card are available upon request.

The Tufts Daily

Wednesday, November 13, 2013 Op-ed

9

Op-Ed

Bhushan Deshpande | Words of Wisdom

Think before you shame by

Emily Schacter

During my sophomore year of high school, a boy called me a slut. He also called me a bitch, a whore and other names. Name-calling led to threats of violence, and eventually I stood up and said something. I sometimes look back and question why I didn’t think it was wrong that he called me awful names even before he threatened me. The conclusion I have come to is that I didn’t realize that it was that weird for him to call me those things. We all use the words slut, bitch and whore, right? Friends call their friends that, and I’ve called people that. I excused his remarks as being “okay,” because everyone else laughed and excused his behavior too. I don’t want to excuse those words anymore.

The words “slut,” “bitch” and “whore” have become normalized into our vocabulary and therefore justified as fair game. I try my hardest not to say these words, and I also try to call out people who do. But that is not an easy task. So many people use the words in a casual or joking way: “That dress looks kinda slutty.” “You’re so rude, don’t be a bitch.” “Haha, you hooked up with three people that night? You’re such a whore.” I want to make people aware of how harmful their seemingly benign words can be.

There are four ways these words are harmful. First, they cause us to objectify and have less respect for the bodies and feelings of those labeled with these terms.

Second, they make people ashamed of

their sexuality. Third, when someone uses these words, it can be a sign that they might be violent in the future, but since these words are accepted as normal, we often fail to notice those signs. Fourth, they can be triggers for survivors of rape, sexual assault and domestic violence, mentally bringing them back to the moment of the traumatic event.

I am a member of ASAP, or Action for Sexual Assault Prevention, a club at Tufts that aims to raise awareness to prevent sexual assault and rape on campus, as well as to promote consent and healthy relationships. This semester, we are starting a new campaign titled, “TULS is backwards.” TULS, or “slut” backwards, stands for Tufts Undoing Language of Shaming.

Our goal is to raise awareness among students of slut-shaming and victim-blaming language. We are concentrating on three specific words — slut, bitch and whore — and challenging the student body at Tufts to refrain from saying those words for one week. We want to create a dialogue and spark conversation between people, and this is a way to do just that. By asking people to refrain from saying these words, our hope is that everyone will grow hyperaware of when the words are said. You may be surprised by how often and how casually they come up in conversation.

It is important to address the reclaiming of such language. A reclaimed word is a word that was once harmful and denigrating, but has come to be considered acceptable and sometimes even empowering. It is used by the members of the group it was

originally meant to degrade in order to defuse the word’s power. Some feminists support the reclaiming of words like the ones used in this campaign. So, I want to make one thing clear: This campaign is not trying to detract from individual empowerment or choice; it is just trying to make everyone aware of the implications of using such words in everyday life with people who might not reclaim them or find them empowering. You have every right to reclaim these words for yourself, but no right to project them on others. They can be offensive and make people uncomfortable, so it is critical that we understand the ways they are used in everyday conversation. Personally, I don’t like being called any of the three words, even if the person saying them is joking or using them in a reclaimed way. Hopefully this campaign can create conversations among individuals, whether they use these words or don’t.

We hope that everyone participating in the TULS campaign gets something out of it. The goal is not to stop people from using three words for one week so that they can start up again right after. On the contrary, this is designed to get you thinking about how and why we use these words. You never know whom you may be affecting by your use of shaming language, even if that was not your intention. We encourage everyone to take on our challenge.

Emily Schacter is a sophomore majoring in international relations. She can be reached at Emily.Schacter@tufts.edu.

Off the Hill | Florida Southern College

Senior editors share importance of having a plan Rebecca Padgett

College is all about experiencing all that you can and not worrying about the future because you can never get these day back, right?

Right, until you get to your senior year and you’re filling out your grad application and going to grad checks.

Or maybe, you share a special moment with a group of friends and suddenly it hits, this could be my last time doing this with these people.

At some point during your senior year it will hit you that you are nearing the end. Whether it’s a gradual realization where you prepare yourself daily or it hits you full on like a freight train. You’re graduating whether you like it or not, but will you be ready?

Senior year is terrifying, nerve wracking and a whirlwind to say the least. If you simply have some sort of plan as to how you want to conduct your senior year and what you do after you graduate, senior year is guaranteed to be an exciting time instead of nail biting one. The senior editors of The Southern share their tips for preparing for senior year and beyond.

The Southern’s opinion editor Rebecca Padgett said, “I’ve known what I want to do with my career ever since I came to FSC. My professors have really helped to shape my dream career as a journalist into a reality. This being said my plans have completely been reshaped during my senior year. Reality hit me that moving to New York City and working for Vogue or another highly recognized magazine is probably not possible right away. It is still what I know I want to do, but it is going to take determination, persistence and a whole lot of cash.

Realistically, I don’t have the funds or experience to start off right away in New York. I know I will be happy working for smaller magazines and publications while building my resume and bank account so that I can make that step towards my ultimate goal. My biggest tip is to go after your dream job, but just know you may have to take some baby steps to get there. The most successful people have worked their way up to get where they are today.” by

The Southern

MCT

“I think it’s important to establish your career goals early on. It’s okay to change these goals or plans, but it’s important to plan ahead and have some sort of idea as to what you want to do or where you want to start off,” co-editor Kelly Lamano said. “When I came to FSC, I was originally a Psychology major. I still love the subject, but I realized it wasn’t the right path for me to take. Once I changed my major, I changed my mind set, as well as my career choice. If you have a passion for something, you have to take risks and get the experience you need to work your way up to that dream job. The dreaded job search involves looking through countless applications asking for applicants with a ‘preferred five years of experience.’ How can you gain experience if every job is already asking for experience? It can get frustrating, but you have to be persistent and keep looking. I would love to write for a magazine or newspaper in New York City. However, I know I will have to start small, build up my resume and portfolio and learn from people in the field. You have to be open-minded in taking advice, and receiving constructive criticism. It’s okay to make mistakes along the way, just be sure to be open in asking for help.”

“As for my social life, I have made a list

with my friends of things I want to accomplish with them before I graduate,” she continued. “Some nights, we’ll be reflecting and I’ll say things such as, ‘this is the last Halloween party we’re throwing,’ or ‘we have to do this before I graduate!’ It’s bittersweet. While I will miss my friends, professors and all the wonderful experiences FSC has given me, I am ready to begin a new chapter of my life.”

Danielle Burch, entertainment editor, said, “I have always had an idea of what I wanted to do after college, but through the years that plan has grown and changed.

It’s important to have a plan, but it’s more important for that plan to be more of a long term one rather than a fresh out of college one. You have to look at the big picture rather than just the right now. This means possibly working at a crappy job for a few years before becoming stable enough to move on to a better career path.

This might also mean putting aside that dream of living on your own and sucking it up to live with mom and dad to save a few bucks. It’s great to dream big and have your idea life after college, but this isn’t a fairy tale movie where you graduate and get the job. This is the real world and attaining that dream life may mean making a few sacrifices.”

One in four [Trigger warning: This article mentions sexual assault.] ex Signals,” or as upperclassmen might remember it from their orientations, “In the SACK,” is the one bit of mandatory sexual-assault awareness presentation that all students at Tufts receive. While people might hear more about it from time to time, depending on your social circles, you can go through your entire Tufts career without really hearing another mention of it.

I did, for my first two years here, anyway. Sure, I would talk about things with friends who were more cognizant than I, or read things in the Daily, but I don’t think I really understood how it is a problem here at Tufts.

Then junior year came around. The Boston Area Rape Crisis Center (BARCC) did a workshop during RA training, and around the same time, some friends of mine got incredibly involved in Action for Sexual Assault Prevent and the Consent Culture Network. And during one of those, a statistic that is thrown around a lot — 25 percent of women in college will be a survivor of sexual assault — finally got through to me.

Tufts is not immune to that figure.

That’s well over 100 students per graduating class, and that even ignores the male victims. It’s one person at a full round table in Dewick, and it’s someone from your English I class. It’s more than a couple people on the rugby team, and it’s a couple more from your freshman floor.

That last one was especially poignant for me. I was an RA on a floor of 44 freshmen last year, and I got to know them pretty well. Statistics may say otherwise, but I choose to believe that no one on the floor was so unfortunate. But the sad reality is that even if it wasn’t true for someone on my floor, it was for someone else in the building.

And the worst part? It is likely that they don’t even consider the experience to have been assault. BARCC gives as the legal definition of sexual assault “nonconsensual sexual penetration of any body part by any other body part and/ or object.” A full half of sexual assault survivors’ experiences meets that definition, yet they themselves do not realize the situation to have been assault.

The administration has set up a task force to “study” the issue, but even so, it does not always appear that it takes it seriously. If a quarter of the undergraduates reported being mugged before graduation, the Medford/Somerville campus would be on virtual lockdown by now.

And much of it is for a simple reason: The student body does not seriously demand change.

Now, I have never heard anyone on this campus say that someone who was raped “deserved” it or anything as terrible as that. But that doesn’t mean the environment on campus is particularly good. Examples are abundant: Delta Upsilon is colloquially known as the “rape frat” — this is bad whether said in a joking or in a semi-serious manner.

Tufts Confessions made it abundantly clear that a large chunk of students don’t know the first thing about the long-lasting mental anguish that assault can cause. Consider that hardly anyone will call out another student for saying, “That test raped me.”

Well, start by trying to change that.

The next time you hear something related to sexual assault that you don’t like, call that person out on it. It might not do a dent in immediately affecting any of those dreadful figures, but at least it’s a start to changing campus culture.

S

Bhushan Deshpande is a senior majoring in quantitative economics. He can be reached at Bhushan.Deshpande@tufts.edu.

Op-ed Policy 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. Op-Ed cartoons are also welcomed for the Campus Canvas feature. All material is subject to editorial discretion and is not guaranteed to appear in the Daily. All material should be submitted to oped@tuftsdaily.com no later than noon on the day prior to the desired day of publication; authors must submit their telephone numbers and day-of availability for editing questions. Submissions may not be published elsewhere prior to their appearance in the Daily, including but not limited to other on- and off-campus newspapers, magazines, blogs and online news websites, as well as Facebook. Republishing of the same piece in a different source is permissible as long as the Daily is credited with originally running the article.

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Comics

Wednesday, November 13, 2013

Doonesbury

Crossword

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Garry Trudeau

Non Sequitur

Tuesday’s Solution

Married to the Sea

www.marriedtothesea.com

SUDOKU Level: Finding pretzel M&Ms at your local convenience store.

Late Night at the Daily

Tuesday’s Solution

Melissa: “You can put it under the guru.”

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Follow us on Twitter at @LateNiteAtDaily

Please recycle this Daily.

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All classifieds submitted by mail must be accompanied by a check. Classifieds are $15 per week or $4 per day with Tufts ID or $30 per week or $8 per day without. The Tufts Daily is not liable for any damages due to typographical errors or misprintings except the cost of the insertion, which is fully refundable. We reserve the right to refuse to print any classifieds which contain obscenity, are of an overly sexual nature or are used expressly to denigrate a person or group. Questions? Email business@tuftsdaily.com.

Jumbos look forward to Regionals

Tyler Maher | Beantown Beat

What’s wrong with Tom Brady?

WOMEN’S XC

continued from back

just at the top of our team,” Wasserman said. “We wanted to show New England that TUXC is a tough team all the way through and use ECAC to boost our confidence heading into the Regionals meet.”

At the same time, the dominance of the NESCAC was on display. In a field of 47 teams from throughout the East Coast, NESCAC teams swept the top four spots and comprised eight of the top 10.

The NESCAC teams — including the Jumbos — will be a force to be reckoned with at the NCAA Regional Championship meet on Saturday in Gorham, Maine.

“Our goal for Regionals is to finish fourth or better and qualify for Nationals,” senior tri-captain Abby Barker said. “If we want to be competitive at a national level, we need to push ourselves to close the gap between Middlebury, Williams and MIT, so we will be prepared for the level of competition that we’ll face [Nov. 23] at NCAAs.”

W

Courtesy Kelly Fahey

The women’s cross country team placed third in a field of 47 teams at the ECAC Championship on Saturday, coming in behind only Middlebury and Williams at the race in Bristol, R.I.

Pack running again proves key for Tufts squad MEN’S XC

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their second place finish.

“Pack running has definitely been more prominent this season than in years past,” Pagano said. “In past years, strategy had taken an every-manfor-himself attitude, but this year, running in packs, especially with our [number three] through [number] seven guys, has helped much of our team run faster races.”

Next for the Jumbos is the NCAA Div. III New England Regional Cross Country Championship Meet, which will take place on Nov. 16 at the University of Southern Maine, where they hope to qualify for the National Div. III Cross Country Championships held later in the month at Hanover College in Hanover, Ind. According to Pagano, the Jumbos are expecting a “home field” advantage even though the meet will take place two hours from Tufts.

“We usually have about 70 fans come out to the regional meet, which definitely helps our guys,” he said. “It motivates them to run faster and intimidates the other teams.”

Courtesy Annie Levine

The men’s cross country team took home a second-place finish from the ECAC Championship on Saturday with a 75-point performance.

Eleven seniors suit up for last time FOOTBALL

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labrum and completed 20 of 30 passes for 156 yards. Ewanouski played well on defense, grabbing his first career interception and finishing with 10 tackles, a career and team-high.

With one second left in the game, the Jumbos had 4th-and-goal from the 19-yard line. Civetti called timeout.

“That was an appreciation for all the hard work [the seniors] put in,” Civetti said. “At the same time, it was to say to the younger guys on this team, ‘We’re gonna fight till the last second, regardless of the outcome.’”

The Jumbos were without several key players due to injury, including fresh-

man running back Chance Brady, freshman receiver Mike Rando and sophomore defensive lineman Pat Williams.

Eleven seniors were honored before the game: Kenyon, tri-captains linebacker Sean Harrington and offensive lineman Connor Glazier; defensive backs Nate Marchand and Ryan Pollock; running backs Jon Sobo, Nash Simpson and Cord Deal; and Trevor Barsamian and Matt Johnson, both of whom missed the season with injuries.

Four-year team manager John Dame was also recognized.

Tufts finished last in the league with 11.8 points per game and 35.4 points per game allowed. Still, it’s important to note that the Jumbos were signifi-

cantly younger than their opponents.

If all goes as planned in 2014, they will return their top two rushers, their two primary quarterbacks, their six leading receivers, 10 of their 11 leading tacklers and their starting kicker.

Throughout a frustrating season, the Jumbos were resilient.

“This team showed up every Tuesday ready to go, focused on the next week,” Kenyon said. “It’s a testament to the character of the team.”

Hamilton, the lone NESCAC squad Tufts did not face this season, also went winless. The Jumbos and Continentals meet on opening day next fall. The last time those two teams met, the Jumbos won.

ith the New England Patriots coming off a bye week and their season more than half over, it feels like a good time to take stock in the team’s current standing. They’re 7-2, leading the AFC East and likely postseason-bound. In that sense, it’s been a typical Patriots season.

One thing noticeably different about this season, though, is that the Patriots are not succeeding because of Tom Brady; they are winning in spite of him.

Brady, mired in the worst season of his illustrious career, has been downright terrible. In the first eight games of the season, Brady threw almost as many interceptions (six) as touchdowns (nine). He had just one game with over 300 passing yards after averaging more than 300 per game in each of the past two seasons. His 52-game streak with at least one touchdown — just two shy of Drew Brees’ record — came to an end in Week 5.

It’s been tough to watch. Brady has not looked like anything close to himself this year, barely resembling a shadow of the elite quarterback he used to be. There are visible cracks in his typically poised, confident demeanor. Brady hasn’t looked comfortable in the pocket and has been uncharacteristically shaky. He’s made a number of headscratching decisions, forcing throws to covered receivers when others were wide open.

His accuracy has suffered. What makes the drop-off even more confounding is that just last year, Brady was a legitimate MVP candidate and arguably the best signal-caller in the league. This year, he’s been one of the worst.

So, what exactly is wrong with Tom Brady?

There are many theories for why Brady looks suddenly mortal under center. Let’s explore the three big ones.

His receivers: Brady’s had difficulty adjusting to a new receiving corps this year. He doesn’t have his security blanket in Wes Welker, his former go-to guy. Rob Gronkowski, literally his biggest weapon, was hurt to start the year. Danny Amendola has missed time as well. Their replacements — several of whom are rookies — have been underwhelming, to say the least. They and Brady rarely seem to be on the same page.

This is the most obvious reason for Brady’s struggles and makes the most sense.

His age: Brady’s 36, which isn’t old in human years but lies somewhere closer to 100 in football years. At his age, every knockdown hurts a little more, and it wouldn’t surprise anyone if Brady (who plays on a surgically repaired knee) was hiding some sort of injury. It’s also possible that what we’re seeing is the beginning of age-related decline.

His contract: Brady just signed a threeyear contract extension this past offseason that will keep him with New England through 2017. Perhaps the job security has caused him to become complacent? Brady’s competitive drive has never been called into question, but the man’s married to a supermodel, has millions of dollars and is a three-time Super Bowl champion. If that’s not living the good life, I don’t know what is.

The good news is that Brady looked like himself in New England’s 55-31 rout of the Steelers in Week 9. Aided by a healthy Gronk, Brady shredded Pittsburgh’s papier-mâché defense for 432 passing yards and four touchdowns. It was easily his (and New England’s) best game of the season. Does that mean Brady’s turned the corner? Or will he slide back into mediocrity against a formidable Panthers defense on Monday?

We shall see.

Tyler Maher is a junior who is majoring in economics. He can be reached at Tyler.

Maher@tufts.edu.

Sports

12

tuftsdaily.com

Football

Jumbos fall to Panthers, finish third winless season in a row by

Aaron Leibowitz

Daily Editorial Board

Tufts was outmatched against Middlebury Saturday in the season finale at Zimman Field, scor-

FOOTBALL (0-8 Overall, 0-8 NESCAC) at Zimman Field, Saturday Middlebury 7 28 17 0 — 52 Tufts 3 7 0 0 — 10 ing first, but ultimately losing 52-10. The Jumbos went 0-8 and have now lost 31 straight games dating back to Sept. 25, 2010, when they beat Hamilton.

Meanwhile, the Panthers improved to 7-1 and earned a share of the NESCAC title — there are no playoffs — along with Wesleyan and Amherst. The Cardinals lost at Trinity, while the Lord Jeffs won at Williams.

The story in Somerville was the fantastic play of Middlebury senior quarterback McCallum Foote, who fired seven touchdown passes to close out a remarkable career. Foote was 30 of 46, passing for 402 yards, and he threw three touchdowns apiece to classmate William Sadik-Khan and sophomore Matthew Minno. The Panthers finished with 561 yards of total offense and 34 first downs.

In the first quarter, Tufts sophomore defensive back Garrett Ewanouski intercepted Foote and returned the ball to the Panthers’ 9-yard line. The Jumbos came away with a 20-yard field goal

Sofia Adams / The Tufts Daily

The Jumbos squared off against the Middlebury Panthers in the last game of the season on Saturday. Tufts fell to Middlebury 52-10 to finish the season 0-8. by freshman Willie Holmquist to take a 3-0 lead.

After a pair of Middlebury drives both ended in touchdowns for Sadik-Khan, junior quarterback Jack Doll marched Tufts 71 yards down the field and into the end zone, with junior Zack Trause punching it in from a yard away. That made it 14-10 Panthers.

“We responded from [last week’s 37-0 loss at Colby], at least when we could,” head coach Jay Civetti said. “And then, I think our youth and our inexperience [showed] against the best quarterback, maybe, in the country.”

The Jumbos would not score again. Freshman Alex Snyder, who started at quarterback

Men’s Cross Country

Men’s sub-varsity takes second at ECACs by

Chris Warren

Daily Staff Writer

Display the depth: These were the key words for the Jumbos this weekend at the Div. III Eastern College Athletic Conference Championship meet, held at Colt State Park in Bristol, R.I. this weekend.

The Jumbos certainly did display their depth, as their sub-varsity runners — those ranked eighth through 14th on the team — carried the squad to a secondplace finish with 75 total team points.

“The course was very unusual,” sophomore James Traester said. “It included a sideways incline, and it bottlenecked into some tight woods where you could only run two abreast.”

Williams took the top three individual spots and the team competition with 26 points, but that did not stop Tufts from besting all other squads — many of which were varsity teams — in the race.

Junior Marshall Pagano led the Jumbos with a fourth place finish in the 8k race, improving on his 26:23.0 time at NESCACs and running 26:02.52 to finish just behind Williams’ Kieran Scannell.

The rest of the Tufts pack soon followed, as juniors Greg Hardy and Colin McCrory and freshman Brian McLaughlin all finished within nine seconds of each other; Hardy finished in eighth at 26:17.08, McCrory finished in 10th at 26:22.30 and McLaughlin finished in 12th at 26:26.08.

Traester served as the Jumbos’ fifth scoring man on the day, finishing in 41st at 27:00.80, and junior Sam Garfield joined him in the finishing chute just eight seconds later in 47th as the timer struck 27:08.62. Junior Joseph St. Pierre

was the final Jumbo to cross the finish line, clocking a 27:56.48 time for a 95thplace finish.

“Overall, we wanted to all start somewhat up front and finish in the top 30,” Traester said. “We mostly executed that strategy perfectly with good positioning, and it led us to a very good finish at this meet.”

Pagano agreed that the team met its expectations and demonstrated its depth at the meet.

“We came into the race wanting to improve on our fourth place finish last year, and we definitely achieved our goal,” he said. “We knew we had one of the deepest Div. III teams in the nation this year, and this meet served to validate that fact.”

Traester also downplayed the role of the weather, which can have a huge effect on cross country races.

“The weather was pretty good.

Temperatures were definitely perfect,” he said. “There was only a slight issue between the second and third mile as the course opened near the ocean, which made conditions very windy.”

But overall, neither weather nor personal anxieties had an effect on the team’s performance.

“We put no pressure on ourselves coming into this meet,” Traester said. “We came in to see what we could do, to try and prove that we had the deepest team around. I think we, as well as Williams, proved that we have the deepest cross country squads in the northeast region.”

Despite the fact that the race was one of the most spread out of the season, the Jumbos managed to ride a solid 58-second split from their top five runners en route to see MEN’S XC, page 11

and split time with Doll, found a wide open sophomore Jack Cooleen in the end zone late in the first half, but Cooleen dropped it. Snyder’s next pass was intercepted.

Middlebury responded with a touchdown drive to end the half and headed into the locker room leading 35-10.

“We knew their offense

could put up points,” fifthyear receiver Nick Kenyon said.

“Unfortunately, we weren’t able to make enough big plays, and the score got out of hand.”

One of the lone bright spots for Tufts was the performance of Doll, who returned after missing three games with a torn left see FOOTBALL, page 11

Women’s Cross Country

Tufts runners finish third at ECACs

The women’s cross country team placed third out of 47 teams at the Eastern College Athletic Conference Championship (ECAC) meet on Saturday in Bristol, R.I. The team’s score of 111 points was bested only by NESCAC rivals Middlebury and Williams.

With teams resting their top seven runners for the NCAA Regional Championship meet next week, the meet was a chance for teams to showcase their depth by competing with runners eight through 14.

“It’s a good chance for the second seven to work on racing because other teams race their second seven, too,” senior Grace House said. “Our goal was to finish second or third. We wanted to stick with the Middlebury pack and the Williams girls.”

Freshman Alice Wasserman finished first for the Jumbos, placing 11th overall with a time of 23:03.

“I am extremely happy with my race,” Wasserman said. “I took a pretty hard fall towards the middle of the third mile, but my teammates helped push me to come back, and I ultimately had a great finish.

ECAC definitely gave me much more confidence as a racer.”

Not far behind Wasserman were House and junior Caroline KimballKatz. House placed 14th with a time of 23:06, and Kimball-Katz placed finished 15th at 23:12.

Next to cross the line for Tufts was sophomore Alexandra Kiesling, placing 34th with a time of 23:49. Sophomore Katie Kurtz finished in 37th at 23:59; by

Alex Connors

Daily Editorial Board

freshman Samantha Cox clocked in at 24 minutes flat, good for 39th; and junior Meg Gills placed 61st, finishing in 24:39.

The course, located at Colt State Park, is designed so that almost two-thirds consists of trails through the woods.

Both House and Wasserman noted that the difficulty of the course affected their racing strategy. “[The course] was easy in the sense that it was fairly flat, but most of the course was too loose in the woods,” House said. “There were really narrow trails, so it was important to get out fast and keep your position in the woods, and then try to move up in the few open sections.”

Natural obstacles also presented problems, causing Wasserman’s slip during the third mile.

“It was hard to pass other runners and keep a quick pace,” Wasserman said. “There were lots of hidden tree roots and rocks that made the footing extra difficult.”

With its third-place finish, Tufts showcased its depth beyond the top seven.

“Without the top seven running, it put a lot more pressure on us to carry the team’s position, since our places were the ones scored,” Wasserman said. “It was a little disappointing to not have them run with us and push us, but ultimately we did like the challenge of having to step up.”

Tufts’ performance offered a clear statement to its opponents.

“The team’s goal for the meet was to show how deep of a team we are and that we have strong runners, not see WOMEN’S XC, page 11