TheTuftsDaily2-10-15

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THE TUFTS DAILY

TUFTSDAILY.COM

Tuesday, february 10, 2015

VOLUME LXVIV, NUMBER 14

Where You Read It First Est. 1980

Tufts to increase genderneutral bathrooms

by Emma Steiner Assistant News Editor

Several Tufts students have partnered with the Office of Residential Life and Learning, the Lesbian Gay Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) Center and the Facilities Services Department to increase the number of gender-neutral bathrooms on campus.

Allison Aaronson, the Women’s Center Representative for Tufts Community Union (TCU) Senate, submitted a proposal to Tufts Facilities Services for review and cost summary on Monday, Feb. 2.

According to Aaronson, a sophomore, the proposal suggests tackling the project in three phases, with every public and academic building containing a gender-neutral bathroom by the completion of the third phase in fall 2016.

The first phase of construction would involve simply changing existing, gendered signs on singlestall bathrooms to gender-neutral ones, sophomore Zoe Jeka, who worked with Aaronson on the proposal, said. Once those changes have been made, the next phase would be to convert dual-stall bathrooms into two separate, single-stall facilities with open bathroom signage, she said.

The third and most complicated phase will tackle the large, multi-

stall bathrooms in buildings such as Dewick-MacPhie Dining Center and the Mayer Campus Center, Jeka said.

“We are proposing to change dual-stall bathrooms into genderneutral bathrooms with full stall units. Each stall would become a full unit, floor to ceiling, no cracks.

You can go in and lock the door.

Then outside there would be a shared sink space,” Jeka said.

The biggest challenge to accomplishing this project is construction, Director of the LGBT Center Nino Testa said, noting that there has not been any significant resistance to the project other than considerations about construction.

“There is a lot more student energy and momentum at Tufts,” Testa said. “The Senate passed a unanimous resolution in favor of more gender-neutral bathroom options … the energy is there and the will in the administration is there. Figuring out logistically how to do it is the station that we’re at.”

Although TCU readily passed a resolution to increase gender-neutral facilities, the needs of gender non-conforming people are not given significant consideration on campus, Aaronson said.

“Being a trans individual is not a choice, and [the validity of the experience is not] up for debate. Trans see BATHROOMS, page 2

Training to facilitate social justice conversations

by Sophie Lehrenbaum Assistant News Editor

The Dean of Student Affairs Office is collaborating with the University Chaplaincy to host a training on Feb. 13 that will teach participants how to effectively engage in difficult social justice discussions.

Forty students and numerous faculty members are expected to participate in the Facilitating Difficult Social Justice Conversations Training, during which student leaders from across campus will have an opportunity to hone their conversational skills and develop strategies to better breach conversations about contentious topics, as well as communicate more effectively regarding controversial social issues.

The event has largely been spearheaded by Director of the Lesbian Gay Bisexual and Transgender Center Nino Testa and University Chaplain Reverend Greg McGonigle. “[The idea] came up in conversations with [Dean of Student Affairs Mary Pat McMahon],” Testa said. “We felt there was a need for creating a space for our social activists … to come together to have conversations about how they engage with these issues in different places on campus and

their lives … and we noticed that some students were struggling to engage with their peers, family members, perhaps staff and strangers on different social justice issues they are involved in.”

Working with the chaplaincy on the project seemed to be a natural recourse, according to Testa.

“We are teaming up with the chaplaincy because they have facilitated similar events in the past and were planning on holding a similar event this year,” he said.

“Joining forces helps us to reach out to a wider range of students.”

Testa and McGonigle both explained that the training is comprised of two main sections, the first of which is designed to foster the development and improvement of active listening skills. Tufts’ Muslim Chaplain Celene Ibrahim-Lizzio will facilitate this section, they said.

McGonigle added that the second part of the training session, directed primarily by Testa and Director of the Women’s Center Steph Gauchel, will present a wide range of scenarios relating to social justice issues, and students and staff will assemble into smaller groups in order to discuss productive manners to tactfully and effectively approach the chalsee CONVERSATIONS, page 2

Nicholas Pfosi / The Tufts Daily

Plows clear snow on Tufts campus during a blizzard on Jan. 27.

Departments work together to tackle winter storm challenges

by Melissa Kain Assistant News Editor

As record amounts of snowfall continue to fall in the Boston area, Tufts’ Facilities Services department and Office of Emergency Management (OEM) have been working together to keep the Medford/Somerville campus accessible by preparing for storms and managing snow removal.

According to Geoffrey Bartlett, director of emergency management, the OEM coordinates with other university departments to facilitate storm preparedness and snow removal. Bartlett said that departments at Tufts come together and make decisions about different snow removal choices based on information provided by the OEM.

“We maintain a point of contact with civil authorities, [including] the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency and the National Weather Service,” he said.

According to Bartlett, these two government agencies provide insight and information on impending storms, which are then shared with the Facilities Services department.

“We make sure that we’re exchanging information with Facilities about the forecast, snowfall and any actions that we’re aware of,” Bartlett said.

The process of canceling school is also a topic that interests many students, and as Tufts saw its fourth snow day on Monday, many students have wondered how the decision to cancel classes

is made. According to Bartlett, the university tries to make cancellation decisions the day before a potential snow day, but this is not always possible.

“When a decision gets made, it gets shared with the community,” he said. “If it hasn’t been shared with the community, it’s because we haven’t decided yet.”

According to Bartlett, the National Weather Service tells the OEM its confidence in its weather predictions, which helps Tufts decide whether or not to cancel classes. If the National Weather Service is confident in the prediction, Tufts will cancel the night before.

However, if it is not, Tufts will wait to cancel classes. see SNOW REMOVAL, page 2

Student entepreneurs receive award to expand businesses

by Arin Kerstein

Assistant News Editor

Junior Danielle Feerst and senior Robert Wallace were recently awarded the 2014 Paul and Elizabeth Montle Prize for Entrepreneurial Achievement for their businesses, AutismSees LLC and Suisey Fanwear, respectively.

The prize awards Feerst and Wallace a total sum equivalent to the cost of Tufts tuition, which is split between the two of them and is aimed to propel their business plans forward.

According to Anne Moore, program specialist in scholar development, the recipients were chosen from a pool of eight applicants by a selection committee comprised of judges including her-

Inside this issue

self, Dean of Academic Advising & Undergraduate Studies Carmen Lowe and representatives from the Entrepreneurship Leadership Studies (ELS) program, the Gordon Institute and the Department of Economics.

The Montle Prize was established by Paul Montle (LA ’69), whose family now manages the fund, Moore said.

“The criteria laid out by the family were entrepreneurial skills and to accept along with the prize a moral obligation to return to Tufts much more than you received in terms of financial aid and educational benefits,” she said.

According to Sam Liggero, professor at the Gordon Institute and selection committee member, the committee looks for originality, innovation, feasibility and

something that goes beyond the concept stage.

“I also look for if the applicant has an idea of who the customer is and what problem is being solved by their product or service; so how well done is the analysis of the market for this product or service,” he said. “I take a look at the managerial skills, planning ability of the applicant, also a little bit at the financial analysis, the business plan, also, if possible, the product or service should have some social impact.”

Wallace cofounded Suisey Fanwear with Zach Etkind (LA ’10) to sell a sports jerseysuit jacket hybrid product called a suisey, which the two designed for an episode of see MONTLE, page 2

Today’s sections

CAFE will return as a fifth pre-orientation program option this August.

The men’s basketball team went 1-1 this weekend against NESCAC competition.

see FEATURES, page 3

see SPORTS, back

News 1 Features 3 Arts & Living 6 Editorial | Letters 10

Op-Ed 11 Comics 12 Sports Back

2

The Tufts Daily

Police Briefs Delta Tau Delusions The Tufts University Police Department [TUPD] received a report at 12:22 a.m. on Feb. 1 of an intruder at the Delta Tau Delta fraternity house, located at 98 Professors Row. When TUPD officers arrived at the scene, they discovered the intruder outside the house, yelling at one of the fraternity brothers. After seeing the officers, he attempted to walk away but was stopped.

When asked to identify himself, he supplied the name of a Tufts student, but did not know the date of birth, room number or student ID number of the identity he gave. At this point, someone else informed the officers that the name was not the intruder’s real name, but instead was the name of his friend. After this revelation, the miscreant, who was a Tufts student, began to talk in a rambling manner, covering a wide range of subjects. However, he continued to refuse to reveal his true identity. Eventually, he was given two options by the police: transportation to the hospital or placement in protective custody. He chose the former, but after his placement in the hospital, hospital staff notified TUPD of the student’s disruptive behavior at the hospital, includ-

ing a refusal to sign paperwork.

Officers traveled to the hospital and remedied the situation. In addition to TUPD, the Somerville Fire Department and several ambulances responded to the scene at 98 Professors Row.

On the Outside Looking In At 12:36 a.m. on Feb. 1, TUPD was notified of an intruder in an off-campus apartment. Upon arriving, officers escorted the unwanted person, who was a Tufts student, outside. After medical analysis, the student was deemed worthy of hospitalization due to alcohol intoxication and was accordingly transported to Lawrence Memorial Hospital.

13 by 1:13 An intoxicated student was discovered by TUPD off campus at 1:13 a.m. on Feb. 1. The student, who was sitting with his head inside a trash barrel, informed officers that he had drunk approximately 13 drinks.

He was transported to Somerville Hospital.

What my Mother Doesn’t Know On Feb. 1 at 2:29 a.m., officers responded to a report of two drunk students in Hillsides

Apartments. One of the students signed a refusal of treatment form, meaning she was not transported to the hospital.

However, the other student was in a considerably worse state of intoxication and was transported to Lawrence Memorial Hospital.

Before his transportation, the student requested officers to not tell his mother about the incident. TUPD noted that the police department does not contact parents: this is done by the office of the Dean of Student Affairs.

Candy Caper A resident assistant in Wren Hall notified TUPD at 10:45 p.m. on Feb. 2 of a possible crime. She explained that she had heard students around the vending machine, but did not think it was anything worth investigating. However, when she checked the vending machine afterwards, she noticed that the door was ajar and that it was completely devoid of its contents. She explained to TUPD officers that she was confident that the vending machine had contained items earlier. There did not seem to be any physical damage done to the vending machine.

—by Daniel Bottino

OEM relies on National Weather Service projections to predict snow days SNOW REMOVAL

continued from page 1

Kevin Maguire, director of public and environmental safety, emphasized that winter storms impact all facets of campus life.

Students, dining services, custodial staff and service crews are all affected by the winter weather, and the OEM shares winter storm information with all of these groups.

“A whole host of preparation, coordination and execution activities fall on our department,” Maguire said.

According to Linda Snyder, vice president of operations, several factors go into organizing snow removal on the different Tufts campuses in Medford/Somerville,

Grafton and Boston. Each of these campuses see different snow removal challenges, and on the Medford/Somerville campus, clearing the many parking lots, roadways and walkways can be difficult. Snyder said a large team works to remove snow from the campuses.

“We have different crews that focus on [clearing different parts of the campus], and we have a very close partnership with our custodial partner, DTZ,” she said.

“They help supply people to meet our needs for snow emergencies.”

According to Snyder, workers who help to remove snow are provided with cots, blankets, toiletries, meals and a place to stay on campus if they cannot

get home due to extensive storm conditions.

Snyder said the main issue that arises after so many storms is where to put the snow. Large snow piles can be dangerous at intersections, she explained, so snow is either hauled off campus or moved to safer on-campus locations.

Large teams work hard to clear the snow, and Snyder expressed her gratitude for the hard working snow removal teams.

“I’m so grateful to the many … men and women who are out in the cold weather driving equipment, shoveling snow,” she said.

“There’s a very large workforce who [work] during very difficult conditions to keep the campuses operational.”

Students work together to bring social justice issues to the forefront of discussion CONVERSATIONS

continued from page 1

lenging situations.

According to McGonigle, mounting tensions and deeper social fault lines in recent years have been major impetuses for action on the part of the chaplaincy. He explained how he feels the chaplaincy holds a direct obligation to help ameliorate some of the division that pervades various aspects of student life.

“The University Chaplaincy has always had nonviolent social change, dialogue and peacemaking at the heart of our values and programming,” he told the Daily in an email. “In recent years, and especially since [Sept. 11], interfaith dialogue has been recognized as crucially important for building bridges between people of different religions, cultures and worldviews to promote peace and social justice, the eradication of stereotypes and prejudice and common action for the common good. So we are interested in helping to educate the campus in the skills of interfaith dialogue and action to help all be forces for good in the world.”

Testa echoed McGonigle’s sentiments, adding that learning how to deal with and beginning difficult conversations is particu-

larly pertinent given the social climate of the campus and, on a greater scale, the country.

“We thought this is an appropriate time to [hold the facilitators training] in thinking about the full-scope of social justice issues, particularly around the [Black Lives Matter movement] and Title IX and sexual assault,” Testa said. “There are different modes of engaging as an activist … and we wanted to give students a space to prepare themselves to engage and understand how those issues affect them.”

Testa went on to explain that while he feels the training would be constructive for many students on campus, it is primarily geared toward individuals engaged in issues relating to social activism or who plan on interacting with social justice work in the future.

Various student leaders on campus, including Resident Assistant (RA) Morgan Jordan, believe the facilitators’ training could promote more fruitful conversations and forge safe spaces within the university.

“I think [facilitators training] would be constructive, and I think student leaders around campus, whether you’re an RA

Tuesday, February 10, 2015

News

or are on an executive board of another organization, could definitely benefit from some formal training about how to handle difficult conversations that may arise,” Jordan, a junior, said. “We have a really comprehensive training at the beginning of the year and it touched on this, but there definitely could be more.”

Ultimately, Testa hopes to use the training as a method to restore a sense of respect and compassion to difficult and often controversial conversations.

“I think a lot of times, particularly on difficult issues, conversations turn dehumanizing very quickly,” Testa said. “We see this in all of the major issues … there are ways that things turn into debates, opinions. In that, conversations can become dehumanizing to the folks involved in the scenarios.”

He explained that he hopes the training will teach participants how to prevent conversations from taking this turn. “This is not a session in which we are teaching students how to debate social issues, but [how to] reinsert a sense of humanity in conversations that can become dehumanizing … [and] without turning it into an argument,” he said.

Montle Prize awards ELS students for innovative business plans MONTLE

continued from page 1

their YouTube series, “Donnie Does.”

“Having that Suisey be on display during the video, then the video wind up on WORLDSTARHIPHOP, where it got over a million views, that got a lot of people interested in the Suisey,” Wallace said. “They wanted to know how they could get their hands on them, and then we’re like ‘oh wow, there’s a lot of interest, we’ve got to turn this into a business.’”

According to Wallace, the company is currently working on launching a website in the spring.

“We have sold 70 of them over in China so far, mostly as a means of marketing to get pictures out there,” he said.

Liggero noted Wallace’s clear understanding of his market audience and said he was impressed with him for developing prototypes and for potentially getting off-shore manufacturing set up.

Through AutismSees LLC, Feerst is developing software to help young adults who are on the autism spectrum and have learning disabilities seek post-secondary education and employment opportunities. Through mock-interviews and other programs, the software is aimed to increase presentation and speaking skills by providing feedback to users based on eye contact, emotions, speech timing, facial recognition and vocabulary, Feerst explained.

“The idea is that this would be a licensed technology for a nonprofit and for a school or institution, and then essentially the institution would have access to the technology and would be able to distribute the platform in a classroom or to their clients or to student who are practicing job preparation or interviewing skills,” she said.

Feerst said she plans to finish the product development phase in March and pilot the software later this spring. The software is currently being developed for use on an iPad or computer, but Feerst hopes it will eventually be accessible across platforms.

Feerst hopes to collect evidence to support her claim that her technology actually increases social and communicative abilities in young adults. Her goal is to have her technology recognized by the United States Department

of Education and implemented into schools to help teachers assess communication in conjunction with the Common Core Standards.

“My goal is that this would be a new way of revolutionizing how people practice for a job interview or a public speaking event, and in that sense, we could grow this to be much more than a software development company — it could be something that fixes unemployment for people who have special needs or learning disabilities,” she said.

Moore noted that Feerst’s product is filling a clear social need and commended her heavy involvement at Tufts in undergraduate research to get to this point in her career.

“This really came at the best time, because without further funding, I wouldn’t really be able to finish up the goals that we had for developing the product and really getting it to the point where we could launch it into schools and actually pilot it,” Feerst said.

Wallace also said that the award will help him jumpstart his business.

“Using the money that we won from the Montle Prize, we found lawyers, and with those lawyers we were able to get incorporated within the state of Massachusetts,” he said.

Moore explained that just applying for the Montle Prize is an opportunity in and of itself for ELS students.

“Just doing the application forces people to put the kind of nuts and bolts for their plans for their business, and forces them to articulate that in a concrete way, which I think is really really useful for the development of your business, whether or not you win the prize,” Moore said. “We also give all the applicants feedback from the committee if they don’t win, ways that they can improve their applications moving forward.”

Wallace agreed that although the application process was intense, it was helpful for his company’s progress.

“It was a pretty challenging task to be able to squeeze everything that our business is into three pages, but in the end, it was definitely beneficial to the business to be able to just brainstorm like this and cut down to the very basic fundamental explanation of what we do,” he said.

Proposal aims to reduce discrimination of trans students BATHROOMS

continued from page 1

identified individuals have been harassed, discriminated against and even arrested for using a bathroom that the public did not feel they were welcome to,” Aaronson said. “I hope that Tufts and other universities begin to prioritize the safety of open bathrooms over the comfort of the status quo.”

Aaronson also stated that she does want to keep the comfort of cisgender people in mind. She explained that her ideal outcome would be for residential and public buildings to have both open and gendered bathrooms, in case some students feel uncomfortable in a gender-neutral bathroom.

Director of the Office of Residential Life and Learning Yolanda King agreed that it is important for the university to respect all students’ needs.

“We need to make sure we are providing support and resources to gender non-conforming students to make sure they are getting the assistance they need,” King said.

Aaronson added that there is a list of buildings with genderneutral bathrooms on the LGBT

Center website, which will be updated throughout the construction process.

In addition to expanding the number of gender-neutral bathrooms, Testa explained that he, Aaronson and Jeka have also been in conversation with Associate Director of Student and Alumni Services Linda Snell to discuss additional steps to make Tufts a more gender-inclusive campus.

According to Testa, they are working on fixing the systems so that students can change their name and gender pronouns within Tufts databases. They hope to see changes such as a space in SIS that will allow students to input their correct pronouns, which would allow faculty members and professors to see their students’ correct pronouns when they upload a semesterly roster, he explained.

“Those are the conversations that we are having about ways to make our systems more inclusive of names, pronouns and identities in ways that will be efficient but also more human and more accurate for representing people’s actual identities,” Testa said.

Features

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tuftsdaily.com

CAFE pre-orientation program to return to campus this summer

by Becca Leibowitz Assistant Features Editor

Each year, about half the members of Tufts’ incoming first-year class begin their college experience not on the first day of mandatory AllUniversity Orientation but with the optional pre-orientation programs the previous week. In August 2015, a fifth pre-orientation program called CAFE (Conversation, Action, Faith and Education), run by the University Chaplaincy, will rejoin the existing four after a three-year hiatus.

Initially started in 2009, CAFE appeals to incoming first-years whose interests may not be encompassed by the other four programs — FOCUS, TWO, GO (formerly IO) and FIT, which address interests ranging from community service to outdoor adventure and fitness — according to University Chaplain Reverend Greg McGonigle, who is helping to plan CAFE. “The CAFE pre-orientation program was begun … as a unique pre-orientation experience for students interested in interfaith learning and engagement and social justice,” McGonigle told the Daily in an email.

Although it was held for just three consecutive years from 2009 to 2011, CAFE successfully gathered a group of strong student leaders in that time, according to McGonigle.

“Although small in size compared to other pre-os, CAFE gathered a remarkable group of incoming student leaders who shared a powerful experience together, and many of whom went on to be key leaders in Tufts’ religious and philosophical student organizations and in important campus movements for social justice,” he said in email.

According to McGonigle, a period of transitioning leadership within the University Chaplaincy in 2012 caused CAFE to dissolve. However, Director for Campus Life Joe Golia believes that the Chaplaincy’s newly revived support is expected to help make CAFE a success.

“While there was definitely support from the Chaplaincy [for CAFE during the three years that CAFE ran], this was before [McGonigle] was here,” he said. “It wasn’t at the extent of what it is now, and I think that’s why we’re hoping that it will be successful.”

In order to bring CAFE back to campus, Golia explained, McGonigle and Chaplaincy Program and Outreach Specialist Zachary Cole had to go through a detailed application process required of anyone interested in adding a new pre-orientation program.

“They did a great job getting [the application] all together and getting that to us … it was a little easier on their part because they were a returning and established group,” Golia said.

According to McGonigle, eight to 10 current students, alongside McGonigle and Cole, have been busy planning CAFE’s return for the incoming Class of 2019. One member of the planning committee is firstyear Marina Rakhilin, who learned about CAFE from McGonigle after becoming involved in the Interfaith Student Council.

Rakhilin explained that the planning committee is working to lay down the foundation of values upon which CAFE will grow.

“A lot of [the planning process] is just bringing up the question of what does interfaith look like to different groups,”she said.

According to Rakhilin, the committee discusses the program’s main goals as well as how it will differentiate itself from the other programs.

“We want community service but we don’t want to be just like FOCUS, and we want discussion but we want

NICHOLAS PFOSI / THE TUFTS DAILY

In August CAFE will return as a fifth pre-orientation program, allowing incoming first-years to learn about interfaith beliefs and social justice. people to feel at home, so it’s mostly just solidifying values that we definitely need to have and then figuring out what’s a safe way to ensure those happen,” she said.

Through various activities throughout the five days of the program, CAFE will provide its 25-50 participants with a variety of new experiences.

According to McGonigle, the activities in which CAFE participants will partake include discussions, sightseeing, trainings on social justice, interfaith leadership and community organizing, tours of prominent religious and cultural sites in Boston, a visit to Harvard Divinity School and panels with local community organizers.

McGonigle explained that CAFE is meant to have a lasting impact on its participants, providing them with the skills to contribute in a positive and meaningful way to the Tufts community as well as to the wider community even once the program is over.

“We hope participants will experience an opportunity to explore themselves and others, identify their strengths in religious and philosophical literacy and room to grow, raise their consciousness about issues of social justice on campus and in the wider community and learn how to make positive change through community organizing and activism,” he said.

Rakhilin added that, like the other pre-orientation programs, CAFE will also emphasize the relationships that its participants form with one another.

“We want [CAFE participants] to know that they have this community and they will always have it and it will endure, and also they get a learning experience out of it on top of the friendship,” she said.

Given FOCUS’s community serviceoriented nature, Golia expressed mild concern that CAFE could take participants away from FOCUS. He said, however, that given FOCUS’s high numbers for the Class of 2018, as well as CAFE’s plan to keep numbers low, this should not be a problem. “[CAFE is] only looking for small numbers so we should be okay, but I think if you’re looking at the descriptions of both and the interest level …

FOCUS would be the [pre-orientation program that] I think [CAFE] could affect,” he said.

McGonigle believes that while FOCUS and CAFE share certain characteristics, each takes a different approach to community participation.

“Unlike FOCUS that is centered on

direct service in the community, we are designing this pre-o to be more about community organizing and advocacy — examining the causes of social problems and seeking to build solutions through organizing,” he said.

Rakhilin explained that what makes CAFE different from the other preorientation programs, and perhaps more risky, may also make it all the more special.

“I guess the real difference is that it’s kind of really [an] educational experience, which is tricky, students teaching students and having really difficult dialogues, not that other groups try to avoid that, but they focus on activities rather than talking,” she said.

“Hopefully this will open up Tufts to a new generation of students who are willing to discuss difficult things and open themselves up.”

Golia and his team are looking forward to seeing how CAFE’s first year back on campus goes.

“We think they have a fantastic plan, like really ready to go, so we’re excited to have them as a part of the whole program and see what the student interest is,” he said.

According to Golia, CAFE is already included on the pre-orientation website and will be added to this year’s pre-orientation brochure, as well as advertised on Jumbo Days. Golia expressed his desire to make sure that CAFE is viewed alongside the other four programs as an accepted part of the pre-orientation mix.

“That was really important to me because I think that’s how it’s going to succeed … Anybody coming in has no idea that we just added it. It’s here, it’s one of the five,” he said.

McGonigle described the support that CAFE has seen from the Tufts pre-orientation community, and their excitement to be part of that community again.

“One thing that was very exciting as we began to meet with the other pre-o leaders was how encouraging they were of our reviving this program,” he said.

According to McGonigle, other pre-o leaders agree that CAFE will serve a purpose that the other programs don’t.

“Everyone expressed that CAFE occupies a niche that is not being fully addressed by the other programs. We are excited to work with the other pre-o leaders in order to learn from their wisdom, and we are eager to be supportive of their programs in any ways we can be,” he said.

Kendall Todd | Culture Shock

On being American in Paris

A

fter class the other day, I went to a sandwich shop I hadn’t tried yet, intent on buying a cheap lunch and doing some coursework. The man behind the counter was friendly and seemed to know many of the students also eating there, and he smiled at me as I ordered my sandwich. As I handed over my money, he asked how my day had been going, to which I replied in French, to the best of my ability.

Then, to my horror, he said the one sentence that I have come to dread hearing: “Are you American?”

I bit back my exasperated groan and nodded.

“I could tell from your accent,” he said, handing over my change. “Enjoy your lunch.”

You see, in my (admittedly limited) experience, Parisians act in one of two ways when face-to-face with an American who speaks a little French.

Some knowledge of language is crucial to this distinction, of course, because otherwise, you can expect to be met with the sharp-glance-and-eye-roll uniquely given to loud American tourists on the metro. If, however, you do know a bit of French, Parisians will either receive your efforts with grace, helping you along through your halting sentences, or – the worst possible reaction – with total confusion, leaving you floundering in the waters of unfamiliar cultural mores and conversational pitfalls.

The first kind of Parisian I mentioned is a godsend. There is nothing better for the disheartened language-learner than a native-speaker’s encouragement and gentle corrections. Even better for one’s confidence is when your conversational partner can sense your discomfort with the language, waving it off with a smile and a “You’re doing really well, actually!” If only France was populated solely with these kinds of people, then learning French would be a piece of cake.

Unfortunately, it is not to be. There is a certain kind of look that makes me quake in fear: It involves narrowed eyes, a furrowed brow and an air of such absolute confusion that I immediately backtrack on whatever I am saying, tongue tripping over words as my sentence falls flat. There is no good way out of a conversation like this, as I am quickly learning: Whatever you say will leave your conversational partner even more confused and leave you even more flustered and embarrassed. Trying to fix your sentence in French? No good – thinking in French is at least a hundred times harder when you’re panicking. Switch to English? Equally bad – chances are that you’re talking to someone whose grasp of English is elementary at best.

As I said, there’s no way out.

So, back to our friend at the sandwich shop. I accepted the handful of change he offered me and smiled.

Despite my initial irritation that he could tell I wasn’t actually French, I was glad he was one of the first category of Parisians rather than the second.

And when he asked me where in the United States I was from, he only had to repeat his question twice before I understood.

Kendall Todd is a junior majoring in International Relations and French. She can be reached at kendall.todd@tufts.edu.

4

The Tufts Daily

Tuesday, February 10, 2015

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PUTIN’S KISS Nashi is an increasingly popular political youth organization in Russia with direct ties to the Kremlin. Officially, its goal is to support the current political system by creating a future elite among the brightest and most loyal Russian teenagers. But the organization also works to prevent the political opposition from spreading their views among young people.

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Everything changes when Drokova becomes acquainted with a group of liberal journalists, including popular anti-Putin reporter Oleg Kashin. At first, she remains devoted to Nashi while pursuing tentative friendships with its left-wing critics — but when Kashin is brutally beaten by “unknown perpetrators,” she has a genuine change of heart and decides to take a stand.

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 7:30pm, Barnum 104 Introduction by the Director of the Tufts Russian Program

VIDA JOHNSON Film Discussion with Novaya Gazeta Correspondent and Nieman Fellow

IRINA GORDIENKO Sponsored By

The Tufts Russian Program

For More Information: tuftsgloballeadership.org or x73314

Arts & Living

6

tuftsdaily.com

Theater Review

Daniel Bottino | Frost for you

Mending wall

Mark Dannenhauer via Bread & Puppet Theater

Performers connect with the audience through calls for action and engaging puppet props.

'Captain Boycott' vies for social activism with subtle brilliance by lukas papenfusscline

The actors of the Bread and Puppet Theater normally burst into the playing space, sprinting around in all-white, Contributing Writer

Captain Boycott

Directed by Peter Schumann Bread and Puppet Theater

Boston Center for the Arts, Cyclorama 539 Tremont Street, Boston, MA 02116

flying flags high above their heads as the band blasts horns and bangs

on drums. The ensemble is politically active, frenetic and high energy; as a company, it has been making puppets, devising theatre, attending protests and sustaining itself on a communestyle farm in Vermont for over 50 years.

Those within driving distance of the group’s home base are lucky enough to see this company on a regular basis as the actors load up their flowerypainted school bus, puppets and props to take to the open road, performing in parks, churches, schools, protests and anywhere else where it can fit.

For many, Bread and Puppet’s most recent production at the Boston Center for the Arts Cyclorama, “Captain

Gallery Review

Art collective Smaller Fortress offers space to exhibit talent

by Grace Segers

Arts Editor

The Tower Gallery in Tisch Library is currently featuring a new type of exhibit: one with pieces donated by students unaffiliated with an official art class or organization. The works currently featured in the gallery outside of the Tower Café are pieces by artists from Tufts’ new art collective, Smaller Fortress. This creative organization was conceived

by Emma Turner, a senior majoring in English with minors in Studio Art and Film Studies, and implemented during the fall 2014 semester.

“It was just an idea I had to bring together a network of artists and artinterested, creative people on campus that could connect to each other,” Turner said. “I started asking my friends this past semester to join up … if they were interested.”

To get the ball rolling, Turner contacted acquaintances with broad artistic interests, ranging from sophomore to alumni status, connecting a network of art enthusiasts who are in perspective, age and talents. Some of the artists involved in the collective draw, others paint, take photographs or work with ceramics.

When founding Smaller Fortress,

Turner also contacted Anthony Mengelkamp, who runs the exhibits in Tisch Library. Mengelkamp was supportive of the idea, and intrigued.

“They never had a Tufts collective before in Tisch, or just student artwork in general that wasn’t organized by a teacher,” Turner said.

The creativity of its conception and the collaboration with Tisch Library allows Smaller Fortress to bring something completely new to the Tufts community — artistry unimpeded by grades or homework that still offers the ability to be viewed by a broad audience.

Smaller Fortress is not yet recognized

by Tufts, but Turner is hopeful that the group will continue to grow and undergo the process of becoming an official club in future semesters.

“I know how convoluted it is … to get recognized by Tufts,” Turner acknowledged, as she founded the Running Club in her freshman year and later became involved in the Tufts Student Filmmaker’s Association during its process of becoming an official member of the extracurricular community.

While Smaller Fortress is not yet recognized, the collective meets on a regular basis. These gatherings serve as a see SMALLER FORTRESS, page 7

Boycott,” revealed a new approach to the company’s radical theatre modus operandi. Instead of presenting its typical loud, circus-like outdoor performances, Bread and Puppet had the opportunity to examine a more subtle and nuanced performance style, driving home its political message in a way that didn’t involve massive puppets, huge dances and small scenes that cater to short attention spans.

While disjointed, as fans of Bread and Puppet know its performances to be, this production was a radical, intriguing departure for the troupe, reaching see BOYCOTT, page 7

Album Review

Ne-Yo's 'NonFiction' tells lackluster story

by Josh Morris Contributing Writer

Ne-Yo’s sixth studio album, “NonFiction (Deluxe)” (2015) hit the shelves recently, making it the artist’s first new

Non-Fiction Ne-Yo Motown Records album in three years. Listeners were expecting to it to be a hit, especially after such a long period of silence from Ne-Yo. Unfortunately, the artist did not live up to expectations.

As the album’s title might suggest, “Non-Fiction” aims to tell a story through its tracks. The title track, for example, showcases Ne-Yo speaking to the listener, prefacing what listeners are about to hear, beginning with Ne-Yo saying, “The story you ’bout to hear is complete fiction. It is however made up of a group of stories, true stories about real people.” But the story itself is complicated and difficult to follow. see NE-YO, page 7

The poetry of Robert Frost undoubtedly occupies an important place in American literature. Unfortunately, much of his work has faded into academia, analyzed in English class but not otherwise enjoyed. Nevertheless, Frost primarily wrote his poems for the enjoyment of his public readership, and it is this reading pleasure above all that I would like to share in my column this semester.

Walking into Cohen as a first-year for my first-ever college class, Bio 13, I was pleased to see the first line of one of my favorite Frost poems splashed across the PowerPoint slide: “Something there is that doesn’t love a wall,” from Frost’s “Mending Wall” (1914). Alas, my biology class was not about to transform into a discussion of Frost’s philosophical concept of boundaries: the professor tied the line into a discussion of the chemical properties of cell walls. To my dismay, Frost and poetry were forgotten for the rest of the semester.

But “Mending Wall” deserves more. For this is a poem, at its base, about human attempts at division. The poem’s narrator begins by describing a common means of division: a stone wall dividing his land from that of his neighbor’s. After this wall has been damaged by a hard winter, the two neighbors meet in the spring in order to mend the wall’s gaps: “I let my neighbor know beyond the hill / And on a day we meet to walk the line / And set the wall between us once again.”

Stone walls such as the once Frost mentions in the poem are a common sight in New England: from Connecticut to Maine, they crisscross the countryside, dividing the land. Usually constructed in the 19th century by hand, they often retain their original purpose as property boundary markers up to the present day.

Yet Frost professes uncertainty as to why his neighbor desires the presence of a firm barrier between their properties, arguing that he does not pose any threat to his neighbor’s land. In response the neighbor explains: “Good fences makes good neighbors.” At first glance, this sentiment seems mean-spirited, if not downrightly misguided. Our familiar image of the “good neighbor” envisions him or her as friendly and helpful rather than cold and aloof. Ideally, many would argue, walls should be anathema to good neighborly relations.

Yet I would tend to sympathize with Frost’s curmudgeonly neighbor. The neighbor is not being mean: he’s simply proud of what he owns and unwilling to compromise ownership of it. I often have similar issues when dealing with my cat, Jeoffry. Upon returning home last December for winter break, I discovered that Jeoffry had claimed my favorite chair, and was using it as his favored sleeping area. Obviously this was unacceptable: during the summer, Jeoffry and I had firmly established that I would have exclusive ownership of the chair, while Jeoffry slept on the footstool. Both articles of furniture are equally close to the fireplace (a vital point in winter), and Jeoffry had always been content with the footstool. Accordingly, my arrival home in December instituted a temporary struggle for ownership of the chair. However, after several days, the old borders were satisfactorily restored, and Jeoffry returned content to his footstool. Obviously, my cat and I have remained the best of friends, but I do admit our friendship was strained during the struggle over the chair. Now that boundaries have been restored, our friendship is secure and we have become once again good neighbors in front of the fireplace. In this sense, we can see the wisdom of Frost’s stubborn neighbor, who ends “Mending Wall” with a reassertion of his creed: “He will not go behind his father’s saying / And he likes having thought of it so well / He says again, ‘Good fences make good neighbors.’”

Daniel Bottino is a senior majoring in psychology and history and minoring in film studies. He can be reached at dbotti01@ tufts.edu.

Tuesday, February 10, 2015

The Tufts Daily

7

Arts & Living

Ne-Yo’s newest album struggles to tell a story NE-YO

continued from page 6

The album’s ability to tell a central story like this is lost if the audience isn’t listening to the entire album chronologically, which is often the case.

Tracks that are more specifically “storytelling” tracks are completely lost when played out of the context of the album as a whole. It’s difficult to retain audience attention with a piece that relies on an immersive listening experience, since many people are only tuning in just to hear Ne-Yo croon classics similar to hits like “Mad”(2008) and “So Sick”(2006). Tracks off “Non-Fiction (Deluxe),” such as “Everybody Loves/The Def of You (Interlude),” “Let You What…

(Interlude),” and “Good Morning/Gon’ Ride,” will prove to be disappointing to those who are seeking more typical tracks in Ne-Yo’s classic soulful, passionate fashion.

Furthermore, “Non-Fiction” jumps from genre to genre, which is perhaps a testament to Ne-Yo’s versatility as an artist but also reflects the lack of cohesion on the album. “Take You There” and “Religious/ Ratchet Wit Yo Friends (Interlude)” feature pleasing harmonies that offer a gospel feel. At the same time, Ne-Yo chooses to include “Time of Our Lives,” a track featuring Pitbull. The intense dance beat on the track clashes too heavily when juxtaposed with the album’s majority R&B vibe. In yet another change in genre, Ne-Yo slows it down toward the end of the album with the entirely acoustic “Story Time.” His extraordinary vocals and peaceful guitar, however, are seemingly ruined by the lyrics of this song, which follow the story of the singer’s persona in the song as he attempts to convince a partner to have a threesome, “You never know / Got

to open up your mind / You only live once, know what I’m talking ’bout?” It’s disappointing to find low-quality lyrics like this, or lines like, “When it’s early in the morning and my breath stink,” on “Make It Easy.” This is especially apparent when, at other moments, there are intriguing lyrics; prime examples include, “I need you to melt in my mouth,” off “Good Morning/Gon’ Ride” and the play on words in “Who’s Taking You Home” with, “Girl, I’m lookin’ at your body / And there ain’t nobody better.”

Somewhat surprisingly, as Ne-Yo has had no problem developing catchy choruses in the past, he struggles to rope the listener in with the lackluster ones on “Non-Fiction.” Tracks like “One More” and “Good Morning/Gon’ Ride” are standouts in this regard. If the audience makes it to the end of the song, the song’s merit is self-evident. The journey to get to those conclusions is hard-fought however, and listeners may be tempted to press fast forward within the first thirty seconds of each track. There are a few featured artists on the album, including T.I., ScHoolboy Q and Jeezy.

“Run/An Island, (Interlude),” featuring ScHoolboy Q, is the most notable of the three collaborations; Q’s harsh vocals juxtapose beautifully to create a nice dynamic with Ne-Yo’s falsettos. Ne-Yo also attempts to diversify his mix of featured artists on the album with several female artists like Candice and Charisse Mills, but unfortunately, both artists are lost in background noise with their parts on “She Said I’m Hood Tho,” and “Integrity,” respectively.

There are few tracks reminiscent of old-school Ne-Yo. “Who’s Taking You Home” manages to showcase Ne-Yo’s vocals, while still maintaining a beat that makes it

‘Captain Boycott’ addresses issues of contemporary social justice through theater BOYCOTT

continued from page 6

new heights at times and falling into new lows at others.

The Cyclorama, a round, squat, brick building on Tremont Street in downtown Boston — with seating for audiences between 100 people and 875 people — provided an intimate space for the show while also allowing the performers to keep the audience mobile. The play, split into three parts, involved shepherding the crowd around the Cyclorama. The brick walls themselves were covered in enormous canvases – beautiful, often abstracted protest paintings. These domineering paintings created a stark sense of confinement, a vacuum out of which the performance sprang, demanding political consciousness and action from the viewers. True to its style, the company offered homemade bread and garlic aioli to the audience at the end of the play.

As in most of its productions, “Captain Boycott” opened with the Bread and Puppet marching band.

Rather than playing its typical HONKstyle sing-alongs, the band became the “Boycott Orchestra,” banging out an undirected cacophony, somewhere between complete amateurism and utter anarchy. The result, especially when taken alongside other moments of meaninglessness and unexplainable violence, created a sense of chaos.

Particularly stunning was the opening image and movement: a solo dance.

A lone actress, wrapped in a flowing white sheet moved slowly toward the audience, illuminated by a single spotlight and accompanied by a single percussionist, picking up and throwing down sticks that resonated on different pitches. These same concepts were extended throughout the piece: stark lighting from a singular source and subtle, imaginative music. Ultimately, Bread and Puppet did a remarkable job exploring the concepts of stillness and movement physically, politically and socially. Stillness, a rarity in the company’s performances, was a welcome new tactic that allowed for strong images, powerful statements and beautiful silence.

What did not come through in this performance was any sense of cohesion. “Captain Boycott” was a work in three parts, each completely unrelated to the next. Further, there were a number of serious, moving motifs that were introduced and then completely left to fall by the wayside (in particular: references to the Greek tragedy Antigone, Brechtian character labels and the beautiful satire of the conflicting views of Verticalism and Horizontalism in the production). This is not strange for Bread and Puppet; indeed, the troupe often presents active plays full of disjointed scenes and episodes that are unrelated to the work as a whole. This disjointed method, however, reads well only in an outdoor setting, where the players must vie for audience attention against weather, traffic, dogs and families. In an indoor space with few distractions and an attentive audience, this detached storytelling leads to confusion and a lack of subtly and coherence, in contrast with the company’s attempts at nuance in other aspects of the production.

Despite certain fallbacks, this troupe was still able to craft an engaging performance that successfully conveyed the themes and messages it is known and loved for. Of course, Bread and Puppet artists are unafraid to work political themes into their work, Bread and Puppet as a theater troupe receives no corporate or government funding.

“Captain Boycott” was no exception to this tradition of politically charged content. Multiple references were made to Eric Garner and Michael Brown, two recent victims of police violence; the troupe also referenced the rising up of the 99 percent and promoted a message of peace for all war-ravaged communities around the globe.

The heroes (and the audience members) were encouraged to boycott companies, people and the governments that oppress them. Combining their trademark political commentary and their innovative use of elements of production, Bread and Puppet Theater succeeded by exploring both the chaos and the stillness of a complex and multifaceted topic.

Jasen Judson via Wikimedia Commons

Ne-Yo, known for hits like “Mad” (2008) and “Miss Independent” (2008) released his sixth studio album on Jan. 27. impossible to keep from dancing in your seat. “She Knows” has been the star of this album on the radio, with a pulsating sax beat that is the epitome of the R&B and dance hybrid for which Ne-Yo is known best.

After a three year hiatus, listeners will wish that Ne-Yo had invested more

time brainstorming this album’s execution. There are a few tracks on “NonFiction” that will satisfy audience craving for chart-toppers, but Ne-Yo’s attempts at storytelling often feel stilted. Maybe another three years will prove to be more fruitful for Ne-Yo.

Tufts affiliates share talent with new art collective Smaller Fortress

SMALLER FORTRESS continued from page 6

forum for student artists to touch base on their current activities and intentions.

“We talk about future projects, what we’ve been working on and our goals.”

Turner said of the makeup of a typical meeting. The senior’s own goals are a bit ambitious, as she wishes to have the works of Tufts artists made known to the broader public.

“I’d love to have another show … before graduation,” Turner said, mentioning her gallery contacts in the Boston area. If possible, she wishes to have an exhibit off-campus featuring the works of Smaller Fortress and any Tufts students who wish to participate.

But Turner intends for Smaller Fortress to be more than just a place for artists to gather and network. She wants it to also be a safe space for students to collaborate, discuss future goals and support each other’s efforts. An important aspect of the group is the way in which it encourages creativity outside of the classroom.

“It’s hard sometimes when you are in art classes and making art for those art classes and never … for yourself or for a general concept.” Turner said, adding that she hoped students will use Smaller Fortress as a resource, with exhibits designed to give students an

opportunity to work in different and creative ways.

The theme of the exhibit at Tower Gallery is “Conception,” a topic which Turner believes was broad enough to give her peers the room to think creatively and donate diverse pieces of artwork. “‘Conception’ is a great theme because it can be so wide. It can be literally everything and it can be such a specific thing as … birth.”

Turner’s own contribution to the exhibit is a broken, upturned ceramic bowl with a splotch of glaze in the center. While seemingly simplistic, this piece encompasses the concept of conception itself, as Turner presented the piece so that it looks like a sperm fertilizing an egg. Her bowl is surrounded by photographs, drawings and other various different works which capture the theme of conception while offering a unique point of view from each artist. Presenting uninhibited expression is a crucial aspect of Smaller Fortress’s mission, and the current exhibit in Tower Gallery succeeds in showcasing the talents of different artistic students.

“Conception” will be in the Tower Gallery in Tisch Library until March 13.

If any student wishes to become involved in the Smaller Fortress art collective, they may contact Emma Turner at emma. turner@tufts.edu.

Courtesy Emma Turner

The Tower Café’s “Smaller Fortress” exhibit, on display now through March 15, showcases student work in drawing, painting, photography, ceramics and other media.

8

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THE TUFTS DAILY Drew Z. Robertson Editor-in-Chief

Editorial

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Tuesday, February 10, 2015

Editorial | Letters

Editorial

Low voting numbers at Tufts must be fixed

On Wednesday, Feb. 4, the Tufts Community Union (TCU) Senate held a special election to fill several empty seats. Students elected representatives for one seat on the TCU judiciary, one on the Committee on Student Life and others on Junior Class Council, Junior Senate and Sophomore Senate. However, unless you are one of the 429 students who voted on Wednesday, you may not have known that. This dismal turnout, which amounts to only 7.45 percent of the student body, is part of a troubling trend toward decreased voter participation in TCU elections at Tufts.

While a dip in voter turnout is to be expected during a midyear special election (especially following multiple snow days and the ensuing scheduling chaos), this is not the first recent election that failed to capture the university’s attention. Even last year’s election for TCU senate president saw decreased turnouts. In that election, in which current President Robert Joseph defeated his opponent Andrew Nunez, only 1,183 students voted – just 32.5 percent of the Tufts population.

These numbers are far too low, especially in a community that prides itself on active citizenship and student involvement. TCU Senate plays a tremendously important role at Tufts, and students would do well to take more of an interest in who is elected. Even a cursory glance at the list of recent

Senate accomplishments reveals this.

For example, Senate played a crucial role in securing a late night dining option at the Commons, has fought for a more equitable financial aid policy for undocumented students and, just last semester, passed a resolution urging the Office of Residential Life and Learning to amend its housing policies to better include transgender students.

These issues impact the daily lives of many members of our community, and could even make or break someone’s Tufts experience. It makes little sense that we as a student body would pay such scant attention to whom we elect to make such impactful decisions.

Although some may place the blame on student apathy alone, this approach fails to do justice to the full scope of the problem. We know our peers; we know that they genuinely do care about making Tufts the best and most inclusive environment it can be. The issue at hand is not that they do not care about TCU Senate and the work that they do, but rather that they simply are not aware of the importance of student government on campus.

Yes, students should pay more attention to TCU’s activities on their own, but it would also be productive for TCU to make more of an effort to connect with larger segments of the student body. Tufts students need to understand how TCU elections impact their

lives and the lives of their peers before we can expect them to take the time to research candidates and make the important decision of who would make the best representative.

Furthermore, we need to find a better way for students to access concrete information about the positions and policies of the people they are voting for. The short candidate information blurbs on Webcenter provide hardly any information about the candidate’s positions and what they would do if elected. This transforms less publicized elections like the most recent one into glorified popularity contests; the winning candidate will ultimately be the one who can convince enough of their friends to log in and click on their name. If even the most involved Tufts students lack easy access to information about the positions of each candidate, how can we expect the entire community to enthusiastically participate in elections?

We can do much better than 7.45 percent. Our student body is passionate, active and generally well-informed.

But it is highly unlikely that they will take these elections as seriously as they should if they are unaware of TCU’s importance on campus and the positions of the candidates running. If TCU reached out to more of the Tufts population and gave students a more complete picture of the process, voter turnout could be much higher.

Clara Belk

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Letter to the Editor I would like to make some very important corrections regarding the article that was published about the uncertain future of TuftsLife in last Thursday’s Daily. When I was first contacted by the story’s author for information about the story, I responded with an email containing background information about who might be the best person with whom to speak for writing an article about TuftsLife. I also mentioned that in addition to TuftsLife, there is an effort underway to investigate campus-wide calendar services.

When I read the article Thursday morning, I was quite disappointed to find incorrect factual information in the article. In my email, I told the Daily that “student government has been working with the OCL and the

Dean of Student Affairs to look into ing my email, the contents of which I professional companies offering cal- never expected to end up printed in endars,” which was erroneously mis- the Daily. I believe that if the article’s interpreted in the article as “the TCU author had confirmed quotes or folSenate has also been looking into lowed up with me (as most reporters bringing an alternative online calen- for the Daily do), these errors could have been avoided. dar to campus.”

The statement I initially made I feel that it is very important to was very carefully chosen because make corrections to this article and in addition to members of the TCU give credit where it is due.

Senate’s Executive Board, Becky Goldberg, chair of the TCU Judiciary, Sincerely, had been leading the charge to find Robert Joseph a new campus calendar. In fact, the TCU President 2014-2015 entire initiative to find a campuswide calendar service is due to the hard work Becky has put into the search.

Part of my dismay at reading this Robert Joseph is the Tufts Community article was the fact that I had never Union (TCU) president and can be reached heard from the article’s author follow- at robert.joseph@tufts.edu

Correction

In the Feb. 5 article, “Preparing for relaunch, TuftsLife faces uncertain future,” it was stated that the “TCU Senate has been looking into bringing an alternative online calendar to campus.” In fact, according to TCU President Robert Joseph, the student government, the OCL and the Dean of Student Affairs have been collaborating on this process.

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.

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Tuesday, February 10, 2015

The Tufts Daily

Op-Ed

Letter to AEPi National Organization, former brothers of AEPi at Tufts University

by Benjamin J. Cohen

As a Brother of the Alpha Epsilon Pi Fraternity (1954 Initiation) and a former Chapter Advisor (Recipient of Certificate of Appreciation 1995) to AEPi at Tufts, I was greatly disturbed to read the Jan. 30 article ,“A Message to the Tufts community from the former members of Alpha Epsilon Pi Fraternity,” in the Tufts Daily. As the late Larry Glick, a well-known Boston radio station WBZ personality used to say: “There is always a story behind the story.”

That being said, I think that the leadership of AEPi at Tufts University owes an explanation to both its former members and the Tufts community as to why it has undertaken such a drastic step.

In their letter they claim that their long-time goals do not align with those of the National Organization. The original Mission Statement of the Alpha Epsilon Fraternity clearly states why it was conceived and what it seeks to accomplish.

Simply put, the goal of the Alpha Epsilon Pi Fraternity is the nurturing and subsequent development of mature, responsible members of the world of today. I recognize that the college experience as well as the campus scene of today differs greatly from the days of my own undergraduate experience as well as those of my time as the Chapter Advisor (1985 – 1995). Changing social mores and the impact of social media have affected daily life in so many ways, most noticeably in matters of civility, integrity and honesty. The Alpha Epsilon Fraternity, in its Ritual of Initiation, seeks to imbue the candidate with those timeless values that are the hallmark of a just society.

Consider the opening paragraph in the Alpha Epsilon Pi Mission Statement: “Alpha Epsilon Pi was founded to provide opportunities for the Jewish college man seeking the best possible college and fraternity experience. We have maintained the integrity of our purpose by strengthening our

ties to the Jewish community and serving as a link between high school and career.”

When I became a Brother of the Alpha Epsilon Pi Fraternity it was indeed an all Jewish organization. Over time it became less so as more and more non-Jewish men were accepted into the fraternity. I am of the opinion that if today’s mission statement were changed by replacing every occurrence of the word “Jewish” with a word suggestive of a more secular nature, then clearly the goals of the Eta Deuteron Chapter of AEPI at Tufts University would be brought into compliance with those of the national organization, and hence there would be no need to do something as drastic as disassociation. Consider the following a possible revision of the original mission statement to bring it into compliance with today’s reality where the word “Jewish” has been replaced by another word in italics to call your attention to the suggested change.

Yours in Brotherhood, Benjamin J. Cohen Alpha Epsilon Pi Mission Statement — Revised Alpha Epsilon Pi was founded to provide opportunities for the average college man seeking the best possible college and fraternity experience. We have maintained the integrity of our purpose by strengthening our ties to the secular community and serving as a link between high school and career.

Our heritage stems from one source: young college age men banding together in allegiance. The role of Alpha Epsilon Pi has expanded since its inception in 1913. Initially, the fraternity served as a brotherhood of young men who came from similar religious backgrounds and who had experienced the same prejudices against their religious beliefs. Alpha Epsilon Pi soon broadened its role to include serving as the living quarters

for some of its members. The fraternity became a home away from home, providing the same stabilizing and guiding values that students previously gained from their families. Armed with these values, Alpha Epsilon Pi faced changing conditions on the college campus and survived. Today, college students search out Alpha Epsilon Pi because it is an exceptional Fraternity. In the fraternity’s 100year history, over 93,000 men have worn the badge of Alpha Epsilon Pi and each year, over 2,500 undergraduates perform the Ritual of Initiation, which remains the same ritual adopted decades ago.

Perhaps of greater importance, Alpha Epsilon Pi develops leadership for the future of the global society. Tomorrow’s world leaders are in our chapters today. These are the young men who must be counted upon to support worthwhile causes and to prepare to be one of tomorrow’s world leaders, so that they may aid themselves, their family, their community and their people. Those students who enter the mainstream of secular life on the campus are far more likely to assimilate and to forsake their heritage.

Alpha Epsilon Pi can play a vital role in helping reverse the growing trend among our young people to abandon their cultural heritage at this critical time.

Throughout our history, the fraternity setting has served as a “learning laboratory,” a testing ground for young men who later become leaders in business, education, government, religion, and science. A goal of our fraternity is to help each student to develop character, to learn responsibility and to develop a proper set of values through living together in brotherhood.

Alpha Epsilon Pi prepares young men for their role in life as responsible citizens.

Benjamin J. Cohen (LA ‘57/’61) is a Tufts Alumni and former Brother and Chapter Advisor to AEPI at Tufts University. He can be reached for comment at zelda_c@verizon.net.

Op-Ed

Breaking down the heteronormative barriers in Greek Life

by Alex Dorfman

When my dad found out I was rushing, he said, “Alex, maybe you’ll meet someone!” Confused, I told him that I was rushing a sorority, and since a sorority is made up of girls, it wouldn’t be conducive to meeting my future husband.

“No, at a date party or a mixer,” he clarified. Although he meant well, it was this conversation that first made me realize the depth of the heteronormativity surrounding Greek life.

Take merely the social aspects of Greek life. Of course, there is so much more to fraternities and sororities than parties, but since parties help play a role in and exemplify Greek life’s heteronormative atmosphere, let’s focus on them. Much of the social life in the Greek world revolves around fraternity-sorority mixers. While these parties are fun, they’re not held for the sole purpose of the sorority sisters and fraternity brothers becoming friends and getting to know each other. ( Well, I guess in a way they are about getting to know each other, but in a very particular sort of way.) At these parties, at least in my experience, there is a certain presumption about men and women hooking up with each other. I’ve even heard girls express frustration at the fact that there is almost always an unequal ratio of girls to guys at these parties.

Now, of course, there’s nothing wrong with hooking up or with fraternities

and sororities mixing with that intention in mind. The issue is with the presumption of straightness. Girls and guys mix because it is assumed they will want to hook up with each other, but sororities don’t mix with other sororities because is assumed that girls would not want to hook up with other girls. Now, in some ways that is a fair presumption because often, the majority of the women in a sorority are straight. But this presumption creates an atmosphere that excludes those who don’t define themselves as heterosexual. And it’s not just the Greek social life that excludes members of the LGBTQ community. Greek life in general is incredibly heteronormative.

To quote Scherezade Khan, a junior from New York City who identifies as queer herself, “Sororities are very much almost painfully heteronormative organizations in structure, but in practice have quite a variety of people.” Scherezade is also director of community outreach on Panhellenic Council, as well as a sister in Alpha Omicron Pi. It’s that variety of people that is often forgotten when it comes to Greek life, especially people who are members of both the LGBTQ community and Greek organizations. Within the Greek system, it is important to provide support for those who do not fit into the heteronormative system. Scherezade herself is starting a Queer Women in Greek Life support group here at Tufts.

According to Scherezade, “There is

11

Op-Ed

certainly a need for a space for queer sisters within Greek life at Tufts.” The support group has about 20 people in it already, which is a pretty substantial number given that it just started. The group just had its first meeting, so its exact goals are still a bit unclear.

According to Scherezade, some members wanted to actively discuss and break down the heteronormative language in Greek life, while other members wanted the group to be just a relaxed place to come and talk about their experiences. As of right now, it sounds like Scherezade is attempting to make both goals possible. She is planning a workshop to discuss how to deal with the heteronormative language and planning a movie night to watch But “I’m a Cheerleader,” (1990) which she called “a ’90s campy queer classic.” Regardless of what its function ultimately becomes, a casual gathering space or a more active workshop, Scherezade’s project, Queer Women in Greek Life, is definitely much needed and will provide a safe space for queer women in Greek life sorority sisters. Since Greek life is traditionally known to be heteronormative, breaking down the assumption that all sorority sisters and fraternity brothers fit this stereotype is important because we no longer live in a world where heteronormativity can be accepted, especially at Tufts.

Alex Dorfman is an Op-Ed Contributing Writer at the Tufts Daily.

Adam Kaminski | The Cool Column

Freedumb?

L

ast week I tackled the question of whether or not I’d melt like a belieber clutching the Biebs when meeting my own teenage crush, Cyborg the Teen Titan (given that, of course, Cyborg could crush just about anything).

While the jury is still out on this hefty hypothetical, I thought it would be nice to continue this week on the theme and overarching question of last. That is, can machines and technology teach us anything about the human condition, whether it be neurological, biological, philosophical or psychological?

Examining how paraplegics learn to control and adapt to computer interfaces, intermediaries between firing neurons and mechanical limb movement and how beating hearts are not necessary conditions of normal life last week, today I’d like to walk a psychological track. More specifically, I’d like to highlight the work of Barry Schwartz, professor of psychology at Swarthmore College.

Professor Schwartz may be best known for his book and TED talk, both entitled “The Paradox of Choice.” The crux of his argument is this: Too many types of jeans exist, and he wishes someone else would do his shopping. Joking aside, this is essentially the problem we all face (save those hipsters who wear corduroy all the time) living in a society that equates freedom with maximizing everyone’s total number of options.

Our theory reads that a choice of ten things grants more liberty than a choice of two.

Before Professor Schwartz debunks this westernized myth, I want to bring technology into the mix, as I promised I would at the outset. Perhaps nothing in the world maximizes our total number of possibilities more than the internet; we sift through myriad articles full of useful and useless information, feel bombarded by scads of multimedia and could buy nearly anything on Amazon (jeans galore, pet tarantulas, the chef-d’œuvre Unicorns Are Jerks: A coloring book exposing the cold, hard, sparkly truth).

On first glance this doesn’t sound like such a bad thing, and according to technologists like Kevin Kelly, the founding executive editor of Wired magazine, it has counterintuitively allowed us to minimize; the amount of technology in our lives diminishes as the technology we do have becomes more capable of fulfilling our wants. We have iPhones instead of GPSs, flashlights, calculators, cameras, etc.

This doesn’t really extend to the internet, however, because of limited censorship, the sheer quantity of information and the multitudes of avenues, a surprising number of which lead me to cat videos. The only limiting factors are creativity and desire. This is a good thing, but it may, according to Barry Schwartz, have unintended consequences.

One such potential consequence is a dissatisfaction with whatever one has chosen to do on the interwebs. For example, since options are virtually limitless, think of all the educational, thought-provoking or hilarious uploads one misses by logging into Facebook — by logging into anything, really. Missing out is an inescapable result of having everything.

Back to the jean analogy. When Schwartz was given a wide array of pairs to choose from he found a great fit, but at what cost?

He didn’t find the best fit, and the more freedom there was in his selection the more this was seemingly attainable. Watered down, the essence looks like this: Options make us perfectionists. Freedom comes with the caveat that it might engender a lust for perfection and that you will not attain it.

Even so, I think I’d rather lust for the chimera of the ideal than be without connection to the information the internet holds.

I assume that Google raises my quality of life, but is this necessarily the case? Could technology be leading us in emotional and psychological circles?

Adam Kaminski is a sophomore who has not yet declared a major. He can be reached at adam.kaminski@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.

12

The Tufts Daily

FOR RELEASE FEBRUARY 10, 2015

Crossword

Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle

Tuesday, February 10, 2015

Doonesbury

Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Lewis

ACROSS 1 Waned 6 “Boyhood” actor Ethan 11 Taking a personal day, say 14 Emancipation Proclamation subject 15 Tale of Achilles and Agamemnon 16 Bro 17 Computer user’s combination 19 Green prefix 20 Gallery display 21 Pinnacle 22 Accustoms (to) 24 Wan 26 Pen points 29 They may be run at bars 30 What potatoes and needles both have 31 AT&T, briefly 33 Nebraska tribe 34 Biblical beast 36 Waikiki’s island 38 Aegean island 39 Computer user’s combination 43 14-time NBA AllStar Duncan 44 Washing machine filler 45 Anthem contraction 46 Indian princess 48 Rainbow maker 50 Leave out 54 Have __: be connected 55 Boy with a dragon, in a Disney classic 56 Wine region near San Francisco 57 Part of USSR 60 Louis XVI, for one 62 Resistance measure 63 “Game of Thrones” airer 64 Computer user’s combination 68 Spot for a Bluetooth headset 69 United Arab Emirates city 70 Cat-__-tails

Comics

by Garry Trudeau

Non Sequitur by Wiley

2/10/15

By Kevin Christian

71 Dr. of rap 72 Pine (for) 73 Modern surgical tool DOWN 1 Get away from it all 2 DVD alternative 3 War movie scene 4 Actress Gabor 5 Bit of progress 6 Many a Woodstock attendee 7 In the style of 8 Ill. neighbor 9 Prince William’s wife 10 Genesis garden 11 Like Verdi’s most famous works 12 Subject of the 2010 film “The Social Network” 13 Follows dental advice 18 “Please continue” 23 __-Aztecan: language family 25 Actor Morales 27 Dagwood’s wife 28 Big bunch 32 “Give me a break!”

Monday’s Puzzle Solved friday’s Solution

Married to the Sea

©2015 Tribune Content Agency, LLC

35 NBC show with skits 37 Suffix with glob 39 Place for cocktails and music 40 Hardly a picky eater?

41 50+ org.

42 Waffle maker 43 Vandalized 47 Pasta suffix 49 Muscle injury

2/10/15

51 New Zealand natives 52 Samsung Galaxy competitor 53 Mess (with), as a lock 58 Whirlpool 59 T, on a test 61 Fan mail recipient 65 Lawyer’s gp.

66 Long-snouted fish 67 “CSI” evidence

www.marriedtothesea.com

THAT SCRAMBLED WORD GAME

by David L. Hoyt and Jeff Knurek

Unscramble these four Jumbles, one letter to each square, to form four ordinary words.

©2015 Tribune Content Agency, LLC All Rights Reserved.

KEVEO CAFEDA RALUTI

Yesterday’s

Now arrange the circled letters to form the surprise answer, as suggested by the above cartoon.

“

-

Answer here:

Level: Not doing your homework the night before a snowday.

Check out the new, free JUST JUMBLE app

LIRCE

SUDOKU

”

(Answers tomorrow) Jumbles: BRAVO MUSIC WORKED UPBEAT Answer: When they added up their strokes on the golf hole, they were a — “TWO-SOME” WantedWanted

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Employment

Employment

Apply to be a GO Host Advisor!

Help new International and American students adjust to life at Tufts and the Boston area at Global Orientation from August 29-September 1, 2015! All Tufts undergraduate applicants are welcome! Host Advisor applications are due Friday, February 20th by midnight. You must attend a mandatory information session before you are given access to the application.

Sign up for an Info Session at http://ase.tufts.edu/icenter/programs/eventSignup.aspx Questions? Get in touch! GO 2015 is sponsored by the International Center – 20 Sawyer Ave., Medford Campus, (617) 627-3458. GO@tufts.edu

Receptionist jobs in MA. The position requires – Answering incoming calls, greeting visitors, directing calls to appropriate staff, oversee mail distribution, providing general office support, and assist others with a variety of clerical activities and related tasks. The salary for these positions is between $13.00 and $15.00 per hour depending upon experience.

Applicant should respond by email to APS@consultant.com or Text “Apply” With “Name” and “email address” to (267) 888 5244.

Tuesday, February 10, 2015

The Tufts Daily

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Tuesday, February 10, 2015

Tuesday, February 10, 2015

The Tufts Daily

15

Sports Tyler Maher | Beantown Beat

City of champions

A

Nicholas Pfosi / The Tufts Daily

The Blue Zone was unveiled this past Saturday during the men’s basketball team’s game.

Blue Zone a hit with fans, student-athletes BLUE ZONE

continued from back

game. In the last five minutes of the game, the large crowd was brought to their feet as the Jumbos nearly completed an improbable comeback.

“The [men’s basketball team] really appreciates people getting to the game and showing us support, especially with a school like Tufts where everyone has a lot of work,” senior guard Adam Zakaria said. “It really

gets us pumped up.”

After a successful inauguration, the Blue Zone will be back in action for the men’s basketball team’s game this Tuesday at 7:00 p.m. against Fitchburg State.

Tufts shuts down Hamilton’s attack to pull off NESCAC win MEN’S BASKETBALL continued from back

three-point dagger to push the lead back to eight. Williams made four free throws in the next two minutes to go up 74-62 at the 2:19 mark.

But the Jumbos saved the best performance of the day for last. Sophomore point guard Tarik Smith, who had been relatively quiet all day, was given the keys to the car for the last minutes of the game and delivered spectacularly.

Smith hit a layup at the 2:06 mark, and after Tufts forced a turnover, came down the floor for another slicing layup to cut Williams’ lead to eight. The Jumbos then had a costly non-shooting foul at the 1:23 mark giving the Ephs two free throws because they were in the double bonus.

Williams converted one, and after a missed jumper on the other end of the floor, Smith was called for a foul on what appeared to be an impressive block. Again, the Ephs hit one-of-two to go up 76-66.

Smith came down at the other end and immediately drew a foul and hit both of his free throws. Tufts went into a full-court press on the ensuing inbounds, and when Williams inbounded the ball, Smith came from behind for a steal and was hit as went up for the layup. The ball rolled around the cylinder before dropping in, and Smith hit the free throw to complete the and-one.

With the Jumbo faithful on their feet, Tufts’ full-court press caused Williams to throw the ball to Tufts first-year guard Vincent Pace under the hoop.

Pace took advantage and quickly hit a layup to make the score 78-75 with 43 seconds to play.

Sheldon elected not to foul on Williams’ next possession, and with cheers of “de-fense” echoing through Cousens, Tufts’ defense came up with the biggest stop of the game and forced Rooke-Ley to throw the ball out of bounds with 11 seconds to play.

However, after executing everything perfectly in the final two minutes, Tufts came up just short in its final possession to complete the comeback. Palleschi set a pick for Smith at the top of the key.

Smith went left, hesitated to consider a step-back three, then went back around the pick to the right, stepped back and was left wide-open at the top of key.

Smith set himself and let the shot fly, but it clanked off the right of the rim.

“I just told [Tarik], ‘keep your head up and you’re going to make that shot nine out of 10 times,” Sheldon said. “I would want him to take that shot in that situation every time.”

The excitement throughout Tufts’ loss on Saturday was not quite the same against Hamilton on Friday, as Tufts took the lead with 4:20 to play in the first half on a 3-pointer from junior guard Ryan Spadaford and did not let

go for the rest of the game.

The bench led the way for Tufts, as Smith, junior tri-captain guard Stephen Haldyna and Pace scored 16, 11 and 10, respectively.

“I think Hamilton was a very good team game,” Palleschi said. “The main thing was against their zone we wanted to get ball reversals and we wanted to get at least three passes per possession. We were able to do that and we found their holes, and they had weak spots in the middle so we had guys flashing in the middle and we got them the ball.”

The Jumbos also played well defensively, and despite allowing 18 points to junior forward Ajani Santos and 16 points to Lin, they were able to effectively stifle the Continentals’ offense.

“They had a little trouble with our zone at first, and then we mixed up it up more and more,” Sheldon said. “I think man-to-man we were better than them … in the end we just ran our stuff and we did what we had to do.”

Tufts now sits squarely in the middle of the NESCAC at 5-3 with their last two conference games on the road next weekend against Colby on Friday and Bowdoin on Saturday. The two games will be crucial for playoff seeding as both Colby and Bowdoin sit directly below Tufts in the standings, and if the Jumbos are able to win out next weekend, then seniors Ferris and Zakaria may not have seen their last game in Cousens Gym.

Emma Kindig / The Tufts Daily

Sophomore guard Tarik Smith continued his impressive play off the bench this past weekend, scoring 16 points in both his team’s 80-75 loss to Williams on Saturday and its 70-63 win over Hamilton on Friday.

s the New England Patriots make their latest victory tour, I can’t help but feel incredibly blessed. In my 22 years on this planet — every one of them spent living in Massachusetts — I have witnessed Boston sports teams win nine titles. The Hub of the Universe has become the Hub of Sports Championships. To say Boston sports fans have been spoiled lately is like saying Hitler wasn’t a particularly nice guy. I’m honestly starting to feel a little guilty at this point.

All I can say is that I am tremendously fortunate to have come of age during this unprecedented run of success. No MLB team has won more World Series this millennium than the once-cursed Red Sox. No NFL team has won more Super Bowls during the salary cap era (1994-present) than the Patriots. The Celtics are the winning-est franchise in NBA history with 17 championship banners hanging from the rafters of the Boston Garden. The Bruins, with six Stanley Cup banners in the same building, are no slouches, either. The championship cup runneth over in Beantown.

It wasn’t always this way. For a long time Boston was a down-on-its-luck sports town. Fans flocked to local watering holes not to celebrate the sweet taste of victory, but to drink away the bitterness of demoralizing defeat. The Patriots were generally mediocre and lost their first two Super Bowl appearances. The Celtics went 21 years between NBA Finals appearances, losing their Irish luck somewhere along the way. The Bruins went nearly four decades without winning the Stanley Cup. And then there were the Red Sox, who are in their own category as far as sports-induced suffering is concerned.

No team has ever been responsible for more heartbreak than the Sox, who famously failed to win a World Series for 86 years despite coming oh-so-close on numerous occasions. I saw firsthand in 2003, when I went to bed in tears after Aaron Boone crushed Boston’s World Series hopes along with Tim Wakefield’s knuckleball.

Then, a few months after 9/11, the floodgates opened. It was like someone flipped a switch. After decades of losing, suddenly Boston teams couldn’t lose. Everything started going our way.

Suddenly we were the ones getting all the breaks and mounting the improbable comebacks. We KO’ed rivals. Even though we never had the best players–no Kobe, no LeBron, no A-Rod, no Manning–we always had the best teams. We found a way to win.

Here’s a cool stat. From 1987-2001, Boston teams won zero championships. From 2002-2015, they won nine.

NINE. That’s a lot of duck boat parades, people. Boston’s longest stretch without a championship during that time; the three years between the Celtics’ 2008 title and the Bruins’ 2011 triumph.

Felt like an eternity.

Here’s another cool stat. In that same 2002-2015 timeframe, Boston teams played in 13 championship games/ series. That means on average, a Boston team made the finals every year. And let’s not forget that 2015 is far from over, meaning it’s very possible we’ll have to break out the duck boats again before the year is out.

This incredible run of good luck has made us forget that championships are exceedingly rare, so much so that generations can pass without ever seeing one. It takes a perfect storm for a city’s teams to reach the top of their sports at the same time, and it probably won’t happen again for a long, long time.

All good things must come to an end.

The sports gods can’t shine down on us forever. It’s been a run for the ages, and I hope it’s not over yet. But if it is, well, I’m just glad I was along for the ride.

Tyler Maher is a senior majoring in economics and English. He can be reached at tyler.maher@tufts.edu.

Sports

16

tuftsdaily.com

Fan the Fire debuts the Blue Zone on Saturday

men’s Basketball

by Abby Curran Contributing Writer

The Student Athletic Advisory Council (SAAC) unveiled the newly designated student cheering section this Saturday as part of the Fan the Fire event featuring the men’s basketball team’s game against Williams College. Students swarmed the stands for the game to celebrate the inaugural day of the new section, appropriately dubbed the “Blue Zone.”

Co-leaders of Fan the Fire and members of SAAC, juniors Dom Granato and Sarah Mahoney, brought the idea of the student section from its infancy to reality over the course of the 2014 fall semester. They took a student poll to determine the name of the new section — a vote that was held throughout January and early February — with the winning name finally released on the Fan the Fire Facebook page this past Friday afternoon. Blue Zone was the clear leader, winning by a large margin over other options.

The naming coincided with the Fan the Fire event dedicated to raising awareness for Autism. During warmups, the players wore shirts sporting the Autism Speaks logo. Several tables were set up throughout the gym in search of donations as well. Fan the Fire gave out water bottles and Frisbees throughout the game and sponsored a t-shirt giveaway at halftime. Mary Kate Patton, a first-year forward for the field hockey team, was all smiles after catching one high up in the stands.

“I am so excited to finally have a Fan the Fire shirt to wear to the games,” Patton said. “I love going to all the sports games, especially for Fan the Fire.”

Fan the Fire plans several events throughout the year to increase student attendance at games. Its events typically involve music, food and Fan the Fire merchandise giveaways — part of creating a fun atmosphere for students. Its goal is to bring in students across campus in support of Tufts athletic teams — a move that has not gone unnoticed among other colleges in the area.

“A bunch of other schools around the NESCAC during the SAAC meetings are all jealous of the Fan the Fire events,” Granato said. “[They] want to know how we do it so they can incorporate it into their systems too.”

In addition to events throughout the semester, Fan the Fire has been at the forefront of developing several other university-wide initiatives as well. One such initiative includes the introduction of brother-sister teams to the University’s athletic programs this past fall. The men’s basketball “sister team” is the women’s lacrosse team — a team that definitely made their presence known at the Fan the Fire event this past Saturday.

“We absolutely love [the new brother-sister program],” junior lacrosse player Jaymi Cohen said. “We’re only required to go to two of their games, but we’ve made it to almost every one because we want to go. We make signs that say “TU Women’s Lax hearts TU Men’s BBall” and they definitely love the support. They have texted us [that] they appreciate it and will return the favor at our games in the spring.”

The new Blue Zone student section is representative of the culture of support for Tufts athletes that has surged in recent years due to the efforts of Fan the Fire. Despite a heartbreaking loss on the day for the Jumbos, the men’s basketball team undoubtedly appreciated the addition of the Blue Zone section filled with students cheering throughout the highs and lows of the see BLUE ZONE, page 15

Emma kindig / the tufts daily

Sophomore tri-captain senter Tom Palleschi had a career day, finishing with 24 points, 10 rebounds and five blocks in his team’s 80-75 loss this past Saturday to Williams.

Jumbos stay above .500 after split last weekend

by Jake Indursky Managing Editor

Fans coming to the Cousens Gym Friday night hoping to see Linsanity 2.0 — courtesy of NBA point guard Jeremy

MEN’S BASKETBALL (5-2 Overall, 0-0 NESCAC) at Cousens Gymansium, Saturday Williams Tufts

32 37

48 38

— —

80 75

at Cousens Gymansium, Friday Hamilton Tufts

32 37

48 38

— —

80 75

Lin’s younger brother Joseph — were disappointed. Instead, they witnessed Tufts put together a solid team performance in its 70-63 win over Lin and his Hamilton Continentals.

However, fans that stuck around for Saturday’s game against Williams were treated to an impressive performance from sophomore tri-captain center Tom Palleschi, and almost equally impressive comeback effort from Tufts in the final minutes of the game.

Although the comeback fell short, leaving Tufts with an 80-75 loss to Williams, and a 5-3 record in the NESCAC, Palleschi’s dominance and the team’s collective effort left Tufts with plenty of positive takeaways from the loss.

“We could’ve packed it in,” coach Bob Sheldon said. “We could’ve lost that game by 10 or 12, and instead it went right down to the end.”

The game was also a Fan the Fire event as part of a larger national Autism Awareness day. The team donated proceeds from the concession stand to autism research and honored Tufts University School of Medicine’s research efforts in this field at halftime.

It was also a special day for seniors Adam Zakaria and Ben Ferris, who were both honored for Senior Day. Ferris has the distinction of being the only four-year senior on the team, while Zakaria transferred from University of Massachusetts-Amherst before his junior year.

The game started with a 3-pointer from Williams senior guard Daniel Wohl and a layup from Palleschi at the other end of the court. That sequence would play out throughout the first half.

At the 15 minute mark, Palleschi went to work, scoring the next 12 points for Tufts while single-handedly holding off the Ephs’ 3-point bombardier squad. Palleschi has appeared to grow more and more comfortable taking on a bigger role in the post since sophomore center Hunter Sabety’s injury.

Against Williams, Palleschi did a great job of getting in position once he received the ball, taking his time and working to get a good shot, pass or repost. Palleschi can sometimes suffer from going to his patented left-handed hookshot too quickly when he gets the ball down low, but against the Ephs he resorted to an assortment of hookshots, up-and-unders and a devastating quick turnaround jumpshot.

The final first half stat-line for Palleschi: 22 points on 11 of 14 shooting and seven rebounds.

“We entered the game with the game plan of getting the ball inside, and I can’t thank my teammates enough for getting me the ball inside,” Palleschi said. “They kept finding me and shots just kept falling. Sometimes you get in the zone and you can’t stop.”

The end of the half ended as fittingly as possible: With 10 seconds to go, firstyear forward Ben Engvall had his shot tipped by Wohl and the resulting loose ball bounced into Palleschi’s hands as the clock wound down. Palleschi took a dribble into the left corner and turned around for a one-footed, off-balance fadeaway jumper. The ball arced as cleanly as possible through the center of the hoop to finish off Palleschi’s incredible performance.

“The end of half shot was kind of hilarious,” Palleschi said. “I felt kind of like [Dallas Mavericks forward] Dirk Nowitzki with that leg up.”

Palleschi helped his team to a 37-32 halftime lead, despite the fact that nobody else on the team scored more than four points in the half. On the other end, Williams’ balanced attack resulted in four players scoring five or more points, including 11 from Wohl.

The Ephs consistently broke down the Jumbos’ 3-2 zone with dribble penetration, allowing the Ephs to drive and kick and rotate the ball to an open shooter beyond the arc faster than the Jumbos’ defense could respond.

“We kind of knew they were going to be alright [against the zone],” Sheldon said. “They have such good shooters

and if you move it around enough against a zone its trouble.”

In the second half, Tufts switched predominantly to man-to-man, but Williams countered with running a series of wing handoffs, high pick-andpops and off-ball screens to get their shooters open. The Jumbos had a difficult time reading the Ephs’ movement and, too many times, would leave either the screener or the popper open at the top of the key.

Wohl had a huge second half, scoring 20 points on five of eight shooting and three of four from three-point range, giving him a game-high 31. Senior guard Hayden Rooke-Ley scored 14 in the second half to give him 21 for the game. Both guards also had doubledoubles; Wohl had 13 rebounds and Rooke-Ley had 10.

“I think Wohl and Rooke-Ley may be the best set of wings in the NESCAC,” Sheldon said.

Regardless, Sheldon was not pleased with his team’s defensive effort throughout the game.

“We didn’t play good defense, we didn’t get to their shooters,” Sheldon said. “We knew [that they shoot].

They’re all [good shooters], so you can’t help out, and they’ve got some guys that can drive. We just did not defend well; our zone didn’t work well, and our man-to-man didn’t work that well.”

On the other end of the floor, Tufts offense fell apart as Palleschi appeared to tire, and the shooting drought for the rest of the team continued.

“Fatigue was definitely a big problem, and I didn’t seal nearly as well as I did in the first half,” Palleschi said of the difficulties he had getting the ball in the second half. “They started fronting in the post and sending two or three guys and its tough, but I still have to have faith and kick it out and if shots don’t fall, they don’t fall.”

At the 12-minute mark, the Ephs went on a 13-1 run over the next six minutes that gave them a 63-53 lead and appeared to put the game out of reach. However, the Jumbos responded with a 9-4 run of their own to make the score 67-62 with 4:19 to play. The run was punctuated by a thunderous putback dunk from sophomore forward Drew Madsen.

However, on the very next possession, Wohl silenced the crowd with a see MEN’S BASKETBALL, page 15