Partly Cloudy 76 / 58
THE TUFTS DAILY
VOLUME LXVII, NUMBER 52
by Sarah Zheng Daily Editorial Board
Approximately 60 students participated in the sixth annual Field Exercise in Peace and Stability Operations (FieldEx) simulation, which took place in a Weare, N.H., paintball field last weekend. The simulation initiative, led by the undergraduate student group Alliance Linking Leaders in Education and the Services (ALLIES), explored religious and ethnic conflict in an imaginary multi-ethnic, post-colonial nation, according to Shan Zhi Thia, one of the event organizers. According to the FieldEx event page, Tufts and non-Tufts students paid $10
TUFTSDAILY.COM
MONDAY, APRIL 14, 2014
Students simulate religious, ϐ or $15, respectively, to register and take part in the simulation. Participants included students from Tufts and Wellesley College, as well as four advisors with real-world experience who helped students take realistic approaches to the scenario, Thia, a junior, said. "There was someone from the U.S. army military intelligence to work with the peacekeeping group, ... a history graduate student to advise civilians and work with the religious leaders, et cetera," Thia said. This year's simulation was modeled after a number of current conflicts in the world, including the situations see FIELDEX, page 2
Where You Read It First Est. 1980
Tufts Democrats host discussion on hunger in U.S. by Abigail Feldman Daily Editorial Board
Tufts Democrats hosted their ninth annual Issues of the Future Conference in the Alumnae Lounge Friday evening, which focused this year on hunger in America and federal assistance programs. Congressman Jim McGovern (D-Mass.) delivered the event's keynote speech. After some opening remarks from members of Tufts Democrats and event organizer Ethan Finkelstein, a sophomore, McGovern explained why he found hunger to be one of the most troubling issues in the country. Unlike with other societal problems like violence, he said, there are clear ways to end food insecurity. "We have plenty of food," he said. "We certainly have the expertise and infrastructure to deliver food to people. We know the nutritionists. This is not a situation where we have massive droughts and people starve. We can solve this problem, and it really bothers me that in this country — the land of plentiful — there are so many people who are hungry." McGovern warned that those who cite national debt as a reason for budget cuts in federal aid forget that the issue is not simple arithmetic, but involves deeper problems within local communities. When kids do not eat, they do not perform as well in school and become sick more often, he said. Senior citizens, too, end up in emergency rooms more frequently when
they take medicine on empty stomachs, according to McGovern. "Cutting people off of food stamps — cutting people off of assistance where they have shelter — that doesn't alleviate the deficit or the debt," McGovern said. "It just makes another problem." According to McGovern, the government has a moral obligation to protect those people suffering from hunger. While some people argue that the government should allow the nation's many charity groups to handle the problem on their own, McGovern said he feels that food banks and charities cannot support the growing demand for aid on their own. The majority of people on assistance programs who are able to work, he said, are working, yet still struggle to meet their needs. He described the situations of a few homeless Massachusetts families that he met on a recent visit to a food bank. "They earn just above the line, so they don't qualify for some of the state-subsidized programs — but they don't earn anywhere near enough to be able to pay rent," he said. Despite the fact that these programs are some of the most efficient in the nation, there's a misperception in this country that people on federal assistance programs are often scammers, McGovern said. "You read about some of these scams in the newspaper because the USDA is going after people who try see HUNGER, page 2
Holi on the Hill COURTESY ALLISON JEFFERY
2014 FieldEx participants engaged in a conflict simulation this past weekend in New Hampshire.
TSC, Lewis Hall collaborate by Jei-Jei Tan
Daily Editorial Board
Tufts Sustainability Collective ( TSC) and the Lewis Hall duty team last Friday hosted EarthFest, an afternoon of eco-activities on the Academic Quad followed by a music festival outside Lewis Hall. EarthFest has been held in Boston for many years as an eco-friendly music festival, Caroline Jeanmaire, who organized this year's EarthFest, said. Although Tufts has hosted EarthFest in the past, this year's event was much larger than previous editions, according to Jordin Metz, member and former co-director of TSC. "We were lucky to have a windy but sunny Friday that brought people outside," Jeanmaire, a junior exchange student, said. Over 20 student groups set up tables on the Academic Quad, including Tufts Bikes, Tufts Transit Coalition and Students for a Just and Stable Future, as well as representatives from organizations such as Tufts' Green House and Tufts Career Center, as well as off-campus companies MassRides and Zipcar. Activities held throughout the morning included mural painting, a clothing swap, a fashion show and a Jeopardy game that tested participants' knowledge of
sustainability-related issues, according to Jeanmaire. Students also had the chance to create energy on a special bicycle provided by the Office of Sustainability. The Eco-Reps had previously collected donations for the clothing swap from students in dorms, according to sophomore Charlotte Clarke, the Eco-Rep for Haskell Hall. During the event, the clothes were available for free, and the Eco-Reps took photos of people with their new clothes. "We want to promote reusing ... [to] reduce your carbon footprint, reduce your waste output," sophomore Angie Bell, the Eco-Rep for Carmichael Hall, said. Food from local restaurants was also provided, Jeanmaire said. "We [did] our best to have things that are made of vegetables to give people the feeling that green food is also good," she said. New this year was TSC's collaboration with the Lewis Hall duty team, according to Fern Gray, resident director of Lewis Hall and a first-year student in The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy. The team organized the Leo Lewis Music Festival, a concert featuring undergraduate student performers that included bands Waldo and Shark Saddle, as well as the Disney a cappella group, Enchanted. see EARTHFEST, page 2
Inside this issue
NICHOLAS PFOSI / THE TUFTS DAILY
Hindu Student Council executive board members throw powder into the crowd during Holi on the Residential Quad on April 13.
Today’s sections
University commencement speakers reflect Tufts values.
Ramen is underwhelming at Ittoku, while other dishes shine.
see FEATURES, page 3
see ARTS, page 5
News Features Arts & Living Editorial | Letters
1 3 5 8
Op-Ed Comics Classifieds Sports
9 10 15 Back