Thursday, February 11, 2016 by The Tufts Daily

Student groups, Ex-College class feature audio narratives see ARTS AND LIVING / PAGE 7

Beyoncé’s ‘Formation’ is a political statement that celebrates her heritage

Tufts women’s fencing won at the third Northeast Fencing Conference see SPORTS / BACK

SEE ARTS AND LIVING / PAGE 6

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VOLUME LXXI, NUMBER 13

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Thursday, February 11, 2016

MEDFORD/SOMERVILLE, MASS.

MBTA explores possible fare hikes at public meetings by Sophie Lehrenbaum News Editor

The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) announced plans to raise fares on rapid transit to either $2.20 or $2.25 per trip at its Jan. 4 Fiscal and Management Control Board (FMCB) meeting. The proposed fare hikes that would go into effect on July 1 come in response to a long-standing MBTA operating deficit, which is projected to climb from $170 million during the 2016 fiscal year to around $427 million in fiscal year 2020, according to a report by the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (massDOT). In addition to seeking online feedback from community members about the fare increases, the MBTA is holding an ongoing series of Public Fare Proposal Meetings throughout the month of February before the FMCD makes a final decision in March. The meeting schedule can be found on MBTA’s website. “[The purpose of the] public hearings [is] to invite comments from the community as well as inviting customers to comment via the Internet and via telephone. Attendance at meetings has ranged from meeting to meeting,” MBTA

Deputy Press Secretary Jason Johnson told the Daily in an email. Johnson explained that the MBTA has been searching for a viable financial resource, as fare revenues fail to cover all of the MBTA’s operating expenses. In its annual FMCB report, released on Sept. 22, the FMCB wrote that increasing non-fare ownsource revenues to address the structural operating budget deficit and other external options have to be explored. “The Board fully recognizes that it will also have to… make decisions in the months ahead that will be unpopular, even painful, [but] hopes this clarity of tough but necessary choices will help all stakeholders to recognize the tradeoff between the MBTA we all want and the system we can afford and properly run,” the FMCB wrote. The FMCB highlighted in its report a series of structural shortcomings that members hope to address, admitting that budgetary and managerial problems with projects such as the Green Line Extension project reflect a greater need for accountability within the MBTA system. Other highlighted failures included poor past funding plans and last winter’s breakdown of the MBTA.

“A decades-long failure to take such actions has enabled serious problems at the MBTA to grow exponentially,” the FMCB report said. “That inability to act must end. Last winter exposed a broken MBTA, revealing not only immediate failures of infrastructure and planning, but deep-seated and fundamental deficiencies across the Authority that have built up over time, including burdensome debt service and unmet maintenance needs.” Ultimately, the MBTA settled on fare increases as its operating plan, and left the FMCB to vote on several options for fare changes during its Jan. 4 meeting, Johnson explained. Johnson added that the Board narrowed down to the two fare increase options from four original proposals. “The…FMCB received proposals from staff for possible fare increases, and options for one or more proposals to present to the public. It cited three ways to increase fare revenue: Increase Ridership; Increase Fare Collection; Increase Fare levels,” Johnson said. In accordance with the FMCD vote, the options have been reduced to either an increase in system-wide average fares by see MBTA , page 2

Tufts Mock Trial team wins second place at tournament, look to nationals by Isabel Banta

Contributing Writer

The Tufts Mock Trial A and B teams attended the American Mock Trial Association (AMTA) regional tournament in Central Islip, New York last weekend, moving the A team one step closer to advancing to the National Championship. At the AMTA tournament, hosted by the Suffolk Academy of Law, the A team took second place out of a pool 26 teams, earning a place in the Opening Round Championships, according to the AMTA result summary. The Opening Round Championships in Wilmington, Delaware, held between Mar. 19 to Mar. 20, is the final tournament before the Mock Trial National Championships in mid-April. Meanwhile at the tournament, the B team received an honorable mention for the “Spirit of the AMTA” Award for the team exhibiting the most sportsmanship and embodying the ideals of mock trial. Additionally, B team member sophomore Andrew Nassar placed first in the category of “Outstanding Witness,” according to the results page. During the competition, the A team took on opponents from Brandeis University, Fordham University at Lincoln Center, Boston College and The King’s College, according to the results page. The B team faced teams from St. John’s University, Boston University, Brown University and Fordham University at Rose Hill. These results follow the teams’ earlier success in the season, according to Tufts Mock Trial (TMT) co-president Katie Grosch. During the weekend of Jan. 23 to 25, the TMT A Team finished in fifth place in the Downtown Collegiate Tournament, presented by Empire Mock Trial in partnership with New York University (NYU), at the Brooklyn Courthouse in the Eastern District of New York, according to the tournament website. Amid snowstorm Jonas, sixteen teams competed in the invite-only tournament. TMT competitors faced opponents from Princeton University, Yale University, Northwestern University and the tournament’s first-place winners, the University of California at Berkeley.

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MBTA General Manager Frank DePaola lays out potential fare increase plans in the conference room in the Massachusetts Department of Transportation building for a fare proposal.

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NEWS............................................1 FEATURES.................................5 ARTS & LIVING.......................6 WEEKENDER...........................7

see MOCK TRIAL, page 2

OPINION.....................................8 COMICS.....................................10 SPORTS............................ BACK

THE TUFTS DAILY | News | Thursday, February 11, 2016

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News News

T HE T UFTS D AILY Sarah Zheng Editor-in-Chief

EDITORIAL Nicholas Golden Mengqi Sun Managing Editors Nicholas Pfosi Associate Editor Arin Kerstein Executive News Editor Isha Fahad News Editors Abby Feldman Melissa Kain Sophie Lehrenbaum Emma Steiner Ariel Barbieri-Aghib Assistant News Editors Kyle Blacklock Gil Jacobson Robert Katz Liam Knox Catherine Perloff Vibhav Prakasam Hannah Uebele John “Joe” Walsh Kendall Todd Executive Features Editor Nicole Brooks Features Editors Nina Joung Jake Taber Diane Alexander Assistant Features Editors Constantinos Angelakis Emily Cheng Emma R. Rosenthal John Gallagher Executive Arts Editor Lancy Downs Arts Editors Justin Krakoff Josh Podolsky Jonah Allon Assistant Arts Editors Cassidy Olsen Eran Sabaner Hannah Hoang Dorie Campbell Emily Karl Erin Sifre Stephen Dennison Abigail Feldman Shannon Geary Allison Merola Fury Sheron Cassie Bardos Ian Clarke Miranda Chavez Jake Goldberg Emma Henderson Steven Honig Anita Ramaswamy Noah Weinflash

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Maclyn Senear Executive Sports Editor Ray-Paul Biron Sports Editors Ross Dember Phillip Goldberg Alex Schroeder Chris Warren Yuan Jun Chee Assistant Sports Editors Maddie Payne Eddie Samuels Noah Smith Sofie Hecht Executive Photo Editor Alex Knapp Caroline Ambros Picture Tufts Editor Ray Bernoff Staff Photographers Katlyn Kreie Nora Nord Nicholas Pfosi Julia Press Evan Sayles

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MBTA plans to raise fares to tackle operating deficit MBTA

continued from page 1 6.71 percent (Option 1) or 9.77 percent (Option 2), which are projected to increase revenue, by 5.5 percent and 8.2 percent respectively compared to the Fiscal Year 2015, according to MBTA reports. In its overview of the fare proposal, the MBTA explains that the final plan could involve a combination of Options 1 and 2 or may reflect other alternatives posed during the public process, either through the meetings held this month or electronic or mailed feedback, which the MBTA plans to accept through Feb. 12, according to the Public Meeting schedule. Option 1 would raise a single fare, rapid transit — a CharlieCard trip on the T — from its current price of $2.10 to $2.20, while the Option 2 proposes to increase the fare to $2.25. Both options would enact changes like merging inner and outer express bus zones to a single zone, rounding ticket

MOCK TRIAL

continued from page 1 TMT qualified to participate in the Downtown Collegiate Tournament because of the A team’s fifth place win at last year’s National Championship Tournament in Cincinnati, Ohio, under the leadership of co-presidents Nicholas Teleky (A‘15) and Anna Lyons (A‘15), according to the team’s website. Grosch, a senior, and TMT Co-President Sara Weiss said they had expected the Downtown Invitational to be challenging, so the Tufts team members had to consistently impress the judges to progress through each round. Weiss, a senior, said that winning a tournament is not achieved by winning a case, but by judges’ scores out of 10 for team members’ opening statements, witnesses, crossing attorneys and closing statements. “At the Commonwealth Classic and Brandeis Invitational, members of our team got individual awards at these tournaments as attorneys or witnesses, so heading into the Downtown Invitational our team was doing well,” Weiss said. “The Downtown Invitational is known as the most difficult in the country, so winning fifth place was great and on par with our performance in past years.” At the Downtown Invitational, Weiss won the title “Outstanding Attorney” for her role as an attorney for both the prosecution and defense, according to the TMT website.

Yiran Xu

Executive Business Director Qinyue Yu Receivables Manager Evan Sayles Online Advertising Jay Hayes Ad Managers Joshua Morris Eva Sachar

LAURA DE ARMAS / THE TUFTS DAILY

Tufts Mock Trial Co-Presidents Sara Weiss and Katie Grosch pose for a portrait on Feb. 2. Grosch said that these results put the A team in line to reach their goal of attending the AMTA National Championship, which will be held in Greenville, South Carolina from April 15 to April 17. When elected to be co-presidents, Weiss said that she and Grosch decided to strengthen the team and make a concerted effort to make it to the national tournament. Under their leadership, TMT began its season by winning the UMass Amherst Commonwealth Classic and taking sec-

ond place at the 10th Annual Justice Louis D. Brandeis Invitational. Weiss agreed that the team is performing especially well, and said she hopes TMT members are gaining experience and enjoyment from the competitions. “We are so proud of the way the team is performing, especially at the Downtown Invitational that opened the spring semester,” she said. “Our philosophy right now is to get experience, get some trophies and have some fun.”

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higher than services restricted to the more urban parts of the city. First-year Ethan Whitman echoed some of the frustrations mentioned in the FMCB report. Whitman, a Boston-native, says the MBTA has struggled to improve for as long as he can remember. “In general I would say the MBTA is functional but definitely not outstanding,” Whitman said. “It’s really outdated and the infrastructure needs to be replaced.” Whitman also said the proposed price hikes for fares are a cause for concern within the community, and are more indicative of a regression rather than an improvement of the system. “I would oppose them on the grounds that a lot of people rely on the T to get to work and might be struggling to make ends meet,” he said. “I think the MBTA should focus on getting money from a source that doesn’t put pressure on low-income communities.”

Tufts Mock Trial finishes strong in district, regional competitions

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fairs to the nearest $0.25, setting one price for all discounted passes — seniors, T.A.P. and student– and eliminating the 10-ride Commuter Rail paper ticket. Whereas other pundits in Massachusetts politics have called for higher revenues as part of the solution, including former Secretary of massDOT Jim Aloisi, who writes about the MBTA in the Commonwealth Magazine, the Baker administration has emphasized operating and efficiency improvements as the primary means to fix the T. A massDOT MBTA Fare Policy memo signed by Governor Charlie Baker and massDOT Secretary and CEO Stephanie Pollack from December reiterates that current law caps any fare increases to no more than 10 percent every two years. It also highlights the fact that fares can vary based on different lengths and operational characteristics of trips. For example, commuter rail and ferry boat trips would be priced

Burnt Beans

Bleeding Eye

Someone unintentionally burnt beans in the Latin Way Apartments at 12:41 p.m. on Feb. 1. The fire department came in response and vented the room before allowing a system reset.

A student called the Tufts University Police Department ( TUPD) about his eye bleeding outside of Health Services at 5:30 p.m. on Feb. 6. He appeared to have broken several blood vessels in his eye. He suffered the injury while removing his contacts and went to the hospital as a result.

Dislocated Knee Someone called from the Tisch Sports and Fitness Center basketball court after suffering from a potential dislocated knee at 9:50 p.m. on Feb. 3. The person was then taken to the hospital.

Booze Thief? Someone jumped over the bar at Winter Ball at Royale Boston on Feb. 6

at 9:30 p.m. and tried to open a cooler which had alcohol. Royale security spotted the culprit and accompanied this person out of the nightclub.

Car Damage While backing out of a spot on Talbot Ave. at the intersection with College Avenue at 1:35 p.m. on Feb. 7, a driver hit another car. Both cars experienced slight damage, although nobody was hurt, and TUPD helped the drivers transfer information.

Thursday, February 11, 2016 | ADVERTISEMENT | THE TUFTS DAILY

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Complete the OLIVER CHAPMAN LEADERSHIP AWARD 2016 NOMINATION FORM Available online on the I-Center homepage under Events & Announcements:

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Features

Students explore audio storytelling through courses and podcasts by Coral Yang Staff Writer

By January 2015, about 17 percent of Americans have listened to a podcast in the past month, a figure that has risen from nine percent in 2008, according to an April 2015 report by Pew Research Center. This trend in audio storytelling has also come to Tufts, as students enroll in courses on radio journalism and experiment producing podcasts successfully. “When you are watching TV, it’s like you are in a theater, you are in the audience, you are watching something that happened to somebody else. When you are listening to a radio story that’s done well, you are right with the microphone, you are in the middle of the action,” NPR Senior News Reporter Craig LeMoult (LA ’88) said of good audio narrative. When LeMoult moved to Boston, part of his dream was to teach a class at his alma mater. This semester, he is teaching an ExCollege course about radio journalism and audio storytelling, a class that quickly filled up since registration. He was surprised at how Tufts students are genuinely enthusiastic about radio and the audio narrative. “I was thrilled on the first day of class, when I asked everybody to introduce themselves and tell me what they’ve been listening to, and every single person has been listening to public radio and podcasts,” LeMoult said. “It was really exciting to be in front of a classroom of students who really care about audio storytelling, who really want to be able to do it themselves. [It’s] hugely gratifying.” This enthusiasm about audio storytelling is not unique to LeMoult’s class: Tufts Podcast Network ( TPN) has focused on producing student-created podcasts since it was founded in 2013. Having made some reputable podcasts, including “the Blind Date” series, the student group launched their new website that showcases the stories they produce. Xander Landen, the current executive editor of TPN, said the group got the inspiration for the Blind Dates Series from the Boston Globe project. “It was based on the Boston Globe [project] where they have people fill out questionnaires and they matched people, they go on a blind date, and each person recounts their experience on the blind date after it happens,”

Landen, a senior, said. “We decided to do this in a podcast format.” This program boosted TPN’s engagement with the Tufts community, as the group played matchmaker. Although not a completely journalistic project, the show has been a success, according to Landen. “I think we are going to continue to do it this semester because people who did it had a lot of fun with it,” Landen said. Currently, TPN is producing several other projects as its membership continues to grow. Its more journalistic project, a new collage podcast, titled “Sound Line,” has just come to being this semester, in which various podcasters each contribute one section of the program about different news topics, a format which is largely similar to the NPR show “All Things Considered.” “We all work on one project, and everyone’s doing shorter stories in Boston area, in the Tufts community, and contribute every week.” Landen said. From a non-journalistic angle, a show called “For Lack of a Better Word” has been gaining wide popularity, in which the podcasters discuss words that are not existent in the English language – their meanings and people’s first-hand experiences of using such words. Senior Cooper McKim, who started TPN on campus, said he was first drawn to podcasts such as “The Truth” and “Snap Judgment,” and the narratives in them. A huge radio fan, McKim noticed that there previously was not a group about podcasts at Tufts, motivating him to create this space on campus. TPN now posts podcasts every weekend and continues to grow. TPN is a reflection of a bigger change in the audio medium itself. Following the success of the podcast series “Serial” in 2014, popular attention and curiosity has been increasingly drawn towards podcasting, which has remained low-key despite existing for a decade. To LeMoult, it was the well-produced content and the skilled storytelling that made Serial a popular podcast, and subsequently brought podcast as a medium to the forefront. “Because people were hearing about this one podcast that was so good and so successful, they started saying ‘what is this podcasting thing, should I check it out? What other kinds of podcasts are there?’” LeMoult said. “It truly did introduce the whole idea of podcasting to a lot of people who would never listen to one before.”

Storytelling is the key word for LeMoult, McKim and Landen. Storytelling makes the audio medium special, because to them, audio has a unique power to virtually transport the listeners to the scene that the story describes. Landen used the word “captivating” to describe his listening experience. “It really forces you as a listener to imagine and recreate the situation, really think about and consider everything that’s being told… there is something very captivating about just the human voice,” Landen said. “Sometimes I will read a news article, it could be hard for a news article to hold my attention, whereas when there’s someone carrying me through the story, telling the story with their voice, I’m more likely to keep listening because that’s like someone is talking to you.” Aside from the content and the perks of the medium itself, technological advances have been a strong helping hand in the popularization of podcasts and audio storytelling – with the ubiquitous smartphone, podcasts and audio content have become readily accessible and easy to produce, which makes more people willing to participate. As a result, the variety of podcast shows has become unprecedented. “There’re so many [podcasts]… I mean, there are so many, no matter what you are interested in there’s a podcast that you can listen to, and that you will enjoy,” LeMoult said. However, LeMoult doesn’t think that the podcast boom necessarily implies a crisis for traditional radio journalism. “I know WGBH and WNYC and other public radio stations are very involved in creating new podcasts,” LeMoult said, ” They see what’s happening; they see that people are going this way, and they say, ‘well, let’s get in on that!’” One challenge that traditional radio stations are confronting right now, however, is the mass movement of quality radio personalities into podcasting. “Some of the podcasters who I love the most, I loved them while they were on the radio,” LeMoult said. “People like Alex Blumberg, who started the Gimlet network of podcasts, who had been my professor in Columbia; ‘Serial’ – that came from people who worked for ‘This American Life,’ the show that really inspired me to start radio.” However, thinking about the future, LeMoult said, “I just see it as a growing world of audio storytelling.”

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Kinsey Drake Channeling Ina

Carmichael Hall: dinner party edition

ou know those people who run into Carm and haphazardly sling a few scoops of cereal into a bowl and splash milk on top? Or those who grab a slice of lukewarm pizza and shovel said “meal” down their gullets while balancing their plates precariously on top of an economics textbook, desperate to get some energy before running off to class? I am the opposite of those people. Sure, we all have busy days. But when you have a little extra time, it is worth it to put together a nice meal in the dining halls to share with friends. To really appreciate the dining hall, you have to think of it as a pantry in a professional kitchen, with an array of prepared ingredients that you can assemble into a meal. Dozens of people have spent hours cleaning, cutting and cooking just so you can make your dinner party dining hall dreams come true. To make it happen, swipe into Carm with a handful of your friends, and divide the tasks as described below: For the space cadet: assert your dominance and reserve a nice big table for the party. For the non-celiac: head to the breadboard, slice off some of the fresh bread and then pile them onto a plate. For the salad-fiend: you know where the oil and vinegar is, right? Of course you do. Grab a big salad bowl, drizzle in some olive oil and balsamic vinegar and toss in some garlic salt or parmesan cheese from the pasta station. For the other salad-fiend (I know you probably have a couple): place some raw crudités on a plate, then spread a thick, even layer of hummus onto another dinner plate. Make a well in the center of the hummus, then drizzle olive oil on top and sprinkle with feta cheese. For the friend who always makes a sandwich: grab two small bowls and a plate, then, head to the sandwich bar. Fill one bowl with pesto, the other with an assortment of nice olives, and place a nice selection of salami, cured meats and sliced cheese on the plate. Once everyone regroups, spend a few minutes commiserating over the struggles of fighting your way around Carm. I know, I know, this was a process, but it’ll all be worth it in just a few minutes. Arrange all the food on the table — snap it, ‘gram it, whatever — then dig in. Dip the bread in the olive oil and balsamic, swipe some crudités in the hummus or make a nice tartine with bread, pesto and salami. Feast until you’re all stuffed and then resolve to make this dinner party a weekly tradition for the rest of the semester. Kinsey Drake is a sophomore, and she can be reached at kinsey.drake@tufts.edu.

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ARTS&LIVING

Thursday, February 11, 2016

MUSIC VIDEO REVIEW

Beyoncé celebrates her black Southern roots with ‘Formation’ by Cassidy Olsen

Assistant Arts Editor

“What happened after New Orleans?” asks the voice of the late Anthony Barre, better known as Messy Mya, over the intro to Beyoncé’s new surprise single, “Formation” (2016). Barre, a black comedian, rapper and social media celebrity who was killed at the age of 22 in November 2010, isn’t really asking us so much as demanding an answer. The use of Barre’s distinctive raspy voice, paired with the image of Beyoncé crouching on a sinking police car in the single’s accompanying music video in reference to Hurricane Katrina, marks the beginning of a powerful declaration from the artist: if blackness is political, then I’m political. What happened after New Orleans? Continued systemic inequality, police brutality and the rise of the Black Lives Matter movement. With the “Formation” music video, Beyoncé alludes to these aspects of a national black struggle, attempting to break down the walls between performance, artistry and activism. From shots of a young black boy breakdancing in front of an armed SWAT team to a white wall emblazoned with spray paint that reads “Stop shooting us,” the imagery clearly speaks to issues that Beyoncé herself has never before directly addressed in her music. “Formation,” which dropped last Saturday afternoon, isn’t just political because of its video’s heavy allusions to many facets of the historical black struggle in the United States. “Formation” is political because of its unapologetic celebration of black Southern pride and black womanhood. The lyrics of the celebratory dance track reference Beyoncé’s Southern roots (“My daddy Alabama, Momma Louisiana”) and various Southern food proclivities, including the caption-worthy nasal drawl of “I got hot sauce in my bag, swag.” In the song’s music video, Beyoncé sings, “I like my baby hair, with baby hair and Afros/ I like my Negro nose with Jackson Five nostrils,” over the image of a smiling Blue Ivy Carter in a white dress and natural Afro. This affirmation of black beauty and femininity is repeated throughout and supported by Beyoncé’s large ensemble of natural-haired

black female dancers, who accompanied the multi-platinum singer during her Super Bowl halftime show performance of the song this past Sunday. A l t h o u g h “Formation” is Beyoncé’s first new song in over a year, the Mike Will Made It-produced single is in many ways a natural extension of the direction the singer was headed LAWRENCE K. HO VIA TRIBUNE NEWS SERVICE with her trap-in- Beyoncé backstage at the 57th Annual Grammy Awards at Staples Center spired “7/11” in in Los Angeles on Sunday, Feb. 8, 2015. 2014. Both tracks contain hip-hop production layered over World Tour in her commercial. Although her twangy, bouncing beats with Beyoncé dancers were outfitted in black leather unirap-singing in her husky drawl. Unlike forms and berets that may have alluded to the energetic levity of “7/11” and it’s the Black Panther Party of the 1960s, the polaccompanying hand-held music video, itics of her live performance didn’t resonate however, “Formation” burns slow- as deeply as that of her music video, as it ly, building upon bass and trap beats was undermined by the more commercial towards its “Okay ladies, now let’s get requirements of the venue. After a faux dance in formation” conclusion. The song is battle with Bruno Mars, Beyoncé locked arms strong, sexy and infectiously catchy. with Coldplay’s Chris Martin and sang a remix These musical qualities and hip-hop influ- of Coldplay’s “Up&Up” over a forced-nostalences are clearly tied to the single’s themes gia montage of previous Super Bowl halftime of black female pride and the video’s focus performances. The whole thing felt more like on touchstones of Southern black culture, “We Are the World” or the opening ceremony ranging from marching bands and Mardi of the Olympics than a Beyoncé performance Gras dancers to beauty supply wig shops and the day after dropping a politically charged black basketball teams. Outfitted in custom single, but even Queen Bey has to pay the bills. Gucci bodysuits and dresses, Beyoncé and Poignantly, the “Formation” release coinher female crew also appear to take control cided not only with Black History Month and of a “Southern Gothic” plantation house for Mardi Gras, but also with what would have much of the video, dancing through its cor- been the late Trayvon Martin’s 21st birthday ridors and sitting on its front porch steps, on Feb. 5. Although the backlash due to accuflanked by men in coattails. This reclama- sations of cultural appropriation by Beyoncé tion of power in a space historically used to in Coldplay’s recent “Hymn for the Weekend” diminish black women is arguably the video’s music video may also have something to do strongest image. with the timing of the “Formation’s” release, In her Super Bowl halftime performance the political intentions of the song are surely alongside Bruno Mars, Mark Ronson and deliberate. Beyoncé’s black Southern identity headliner Coldplay, Beyoncé premiered is front and center, and it’s here to slay. “Formation” for live television and subse“Formation” is available to stream and quently announced her 40-date Formation download for free exclusively through Tidal.

TOP 10

Top 10 Valentine’s Day songs from 2015 by Justin Krakoff Arts Editor

It’s that time of year again, folks. Can you feel the love in the air? No? Fear not! Whatever your relationship status on Facebook, here are ten songs from 2015 for everyone this Valentine’s Day. Enjoying some Valentine’s Day romance: Miguel’s “Coffee” demonstrates that intimacy can still be a sexy subject in modern R&B, as this slow jam is perfect for all those looking for a little mood music this weekend. Finding love on the dancefloor: Years & Years’ “Shine” represents the kind of feeling you can only have when you’re first falling in love, and this thrilling ode to just that fits the bill for those looking to dance this Valentine’s Day. Feeling a little self-love: Hailee Steinfeld’s “Love Myself” is the perfect power anthem for all those who are, to paraphrase Nicki Minaj, “feeling themselves” on this special

day. The fact that its lyrics are quite, um, suggestive doesn’t hurt either. Celebrating Galentine’s Day instead: Ellie Goulding’s “Army” perfectly fits the mold of the ridiculously fantastic “Parks and Recreation” (2009-2015) holiday with the anthemic track celebrating everlasting friendship despite all the turmoil of life (namely, love-related troubles). Moving on from your Valentine’s Day crush: Zara Larsson’s “Lush Life” was released almost a year ago, but the summery tune serves as a wonderful kiss-off to that boy or girl who foolishly decided not to be your Valentine. Reveling in the bliss of young romance: Troye Sivan’s “Youth” reminds us all of what it is like to be young and in love as the wild, synthpop track forces the listener to embrace this intoxicating sensation. Thanking someone for always being there: Ryn Weaver’s “New Constellations” is a touching reminder to appreciate those

special people in your life, including friends and family. The track builds to a soaring conclusion, perfect for those who wish to spread the love in their heart this weekend. Daring to fall in love: Jess Glynne’s “Hold My Hand” treats a serious subject with just the right amount of cheer as the house-inspired song sees Glynne boldly declaring herself as ready to fall in love after living the single life, which is a very relatable feeling for many. Running away this weekend: Carly Rae Jepsen’s “Run Away with Me” is the best us-against-the-world anthem since Katy Perry’s “Teenage Dream” (2010) as the song’s blaring sax and M83-inspired sound take the listener on a whirlwind journey to the land of pop euphoria. Showing a little sexy love: Selena Gomez’s “Good For You” fits the bill here as this seductive tune not only serves as a confidence booster but also as your go-to track for getting into the spirit of Valentine’s Day.

Stina Stannik After Years

Chapter One Editor’s note: This column is part of a fictional weekly serial. he millisecond before the bathroom’s motion-sensor lights came on allowed enough anonymity and formlessness for Cecilia to noticeably relax. She started to wash her hands but, finding herself in the mirror, shook her head in exasperation and instead pushed open the window on the far wall, leaning her forearms on the sill so that her dripping hands hung out over the street. The honks and smog and gray buildings were a balm, the city beginning to shake her loose from where the last phone call had left her thoughts lodged. It wasn’t homesickness, or at least that word didn’t quite match what Cecilia was feeling. She wasn’t yearning after a past home, but still, there was a…displacement, a severe and sudden disconnect between her surroundings and the town where she’d grown up. She would gladly have left that town in the past and had successfully done so through four years of college and three years since, until this afternoon. Coming back after lunch to complete another round of fundraising calls for the generic nonprofit at which she worked, Cecilia found herself talking to Edison. He was 89, but he vaulted his way right up out of her phone with his meandering tales of hikes and rock-climbing in the mountains behind his log cabin that lay nine miles outside of a tiny Idaho town (population 63) and had a new library of which Edison was so proud. He had no email address, but oh the sun had come out, and the fall day was perfect, and had he mentioned that he had fought in World War II and afterward the GI Bill set him free from his father’s expectations. He loved how boaters would take to the river in the high heat of summer and missed the skiing he had done in Oregon as a college student. Cecilia forgot entirely why she had called, lost in a vision of him sitting at the edge of a glacial lake, shelling nuts and watching the mountains age. The call shouldn’t have been anything more than a pleasant blip in an otherwise depressing day, but it came at such a time that it held special meaning for Cecilia, as all things seem to be omens when we least want them to be. Her maternal grandfather, a man she’d not seen in 20 years and who was by all accounts in perfect health, claimed to be dying and requested that Cecilia and her parents come help him settle his affairs, whatever that meant. Cecilia, as selfish as she felt to think it, had no intention of going — she didn’t have the money or time, and any hope for a relationship was surely long gone. Still, since the conversation with Edison … She sighed, shutting the window and drying her hands. Edison painted a beautiful picture, but Cecilia was still entirely set against the trip. Well, maybe mostly set against it. That night water began tumbling through the building’s heating system, tickling the pipes awake after a long summer’s hibernation. The softened glug and gurgle recalled the drainpipe off the porch roof by the window of Cecilia’s childhood bedroom, and the rolling current carried her off to the best night’s sleep she’d had in months.

Stina Stannik is a junior majoring in peace and justice studies. She can be reached at Stina.Stannik@tufts.edu.

Thursday, February 11, 2016

WEEKENDER

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RAY BERNOFF / THE TUFTS DAILY

A student watches a slideshow of Tseng Kwong Chi’s photographs in the Aidekman Art Gallery on Feb. 9.

Tufts Art Gallery debuts two new exhibitions this spring by Eran Sabaner

Assistant Arts Editor

Tufts University Art Gallery opened two new exhibitions, displaying paintings, photographs and multi-medium installations by three artists this spring. The first exhibition, located upstairs in the Tisch Family Gallery, is the first major retrospective show of the artist Tseng Kwong Chi. Titled “Tseng Kwong Chi: Performing for the Camera,” the show features more than 80 works by the artist who lived a short yet fulfilling life, after dying from AIDS at the age of 39. He also achieved fame and notoriety in the 1980s art scene. Tseng’s photographs are witty, playful and sometimes political. In his 1979 series “Easts Meets West,” Tseng wears a uniform resembling a “Mao suit” and takes self portraits in front of famous landmarks. The series juxtaposes many opposing concepts of Eastern and Western culture, democracy and dictatorship, capitalism and communism, as well as self and national identity. In addition to the “East Meets West” series, the exhibition features various other works of the photographer. The artist’s collaboration with Keith Haring and dancer/choreographer Bill T. Jones is particularly eye-catching. The prints feature Jones stretching his body to form different positions. Jones’ body is painted with patterns resembling Haring’s signature subway drawings. Haring himself is seen in one of the prints with a paintbrush in his hand, while wearing a tank top of his own design. Other notable works in the exhibition include portraits of iconic artists such as Andy Warhol, Jean Michel Basquiat and Keith

Haring. These artists were all in Tseng Kwong Chi’s circle and were his collaborators and muses. In a way, “Performing for the Camera” celebrates the art scene of the ’80s as much as it commemorates Tseng Kwong Chi. The second exhibition, titled “Upheaval,” has a theme that is subtly similar to Tseng Kwong Chi’s pieces. Located downstairs in Koppelman Family Gallery, this exhibition features more recent works by two acclaimed artists, Marcelo Brodsky and Jorge Tacla, whose work pay homage to political activism — in this case, in their hometowns in Chile and Argentine. Merging photography, sound and text, Brodsky’s installations are experiential. Tacla’s choice of medium is predominately paint, but the exhibition includes some of his ink and graphite drawings. For “Upheaval,” Brodsky goes beyond South America and explores social justice in regions of North America, Europe and Japan. Tacla’s work is based on Chile and the Pinochet regime. Political topics such as exile, revolution, resistance, freedom and social change are evident in the works of both artists. Around 300 people attended the opening night reception for the exhibitions on Jan. 21. ’80s music was playing in the background at the reception, complementing the Tseng Kwong Chi exhibition. Lissa Cramer, the gallery’s Exhibitions Coordinator, entertained guests and prompted them to check out the photo booth. Attendance was high, but not unexpected for the reception. The gallery has been open since 1991, and has featured many notable exhibitions. Just last term, MacArthur fellow Shazia Sikander’s installation

“Parallax” was on display. Apart from displaying exhibitions, the gallery hosts many events such as parties, curatorial tours and artist panels. Every Thursday from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. the gallery organizes CreateDate, little workshops that are often related to the exhibitions displayed. The gallery also works with other departments at Tufts to organize a broad range of activities. Last term, the gallery worked with TSR to organize yoga sessions near Sikander’s installation “Parallax.” Cramer is responsible for coordinating the gallery’s exhibitions and has held this position for the past two years. In addition to her job at the gallery, Cramer is working towards a M.S. degree in arts administration from Boston University. When asked about the general process of opening a new exhibit at the gallery, Cramer said “exhibitions that are scheduled are planned out two to three years in advance.” Exhibitions are selected by Director of Galleries and Collections Amy Ingrid Schlegel. Curating a new exhibition can be difficult, especially when a gallery displays works from across a range of different mediums. “Each exhibition is different,” Cramer said. “I wouldn’t say that there are challenges, but there are certainly different requirements we have to meet for each exhibition … One exhibition could have a lot of complex AV components compared to the next exhibition which could be all photography. One of the perks of working in an art gallery is that the space is always changing. With each new exhibition, there is new artwork, a different gallery design and exciting new programs.”

Students did not have any role in curating the exhibitions. Only graduate assistants were involved in the process. However, any student interested in working with the gallery can apply to curate a show in The Slater Concourse Gallery. “Normally the exhibitions are curated by a curator,” Cramer said. “However, we have two graduate assistants who work on each exhibition in some capacity. The Slater Concourse Gallery is a community gallery which rotates each month. Students are welcome to apply to curate an exhibition in that space.” During the opening, the gallery promoted its new Instagram account with a photo booth. In addition to Instagram, Tufts Art Gallery is active on other social media sites, particularly Facebook. CreateDates, Student Advocacy Council (SAC) parties and artist talks are announced through Facebook. For Cramer, by being active on social media the gallery can inform students about its myriad goings-on. “Social media is a great way for art institutions to connect with its surrounding community. We can advertise our exhibitions and programs, showcase a new acquisition or simply post pictures of people enjoying the gallery,” Cramer said. Both “Upheaval” and “Tseng Kwon Chi: Performing for the Camera” are on display until May 22. The gallery will also host four Slater Concourse exhibitions over the semester. Additionally, in accordance with the “Upheaval” exhibition, the gallery has recently announced that they will host a symposium featuring the two artists on Thursday, Mar. 10.

Opinion

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EDITORIAL

Why we need Indigenous People’s Day In today’s issue of the Daily, there are two op-eds — one for and one against the university officially changing “Columbus Day” as an academic holiday to “Indigenous People’s Day” to celebrate indigenous peoples. There has been significant support of this change in the past, especially last semester when the TCU Senate passed a resolution urging the university to make the switch. Faculty voted down the resolution for reasons that remain unclear. Now the choice between Columbus Day and Indigenous People’s Day has reemerged as a number of TCU Senators have brought the issue to the front-end of campus discussion and debate, building off of the work of campus activists and alumni. The Daily believes that the proposed change to Indigenous People’s Day is not just long overdue, but it is also a materially and symbolically important gesture toward revealing the tensions that still exist from the past, right here on campus and in the history that we must relearn. The history surrounding Christopher Columbus has been reduced to a nursery rhyme, “In fourteen hundred ninety-two / Columbus sailed the ocean

blue.” By incubating this false history in the hearts and minds of young schoolchildren, including those with indigenous backgrounds, we are rewriting and undermining the painful reality of history. Columbus has become a figure built up for idolization whenever needed from the District of Columbia to Columbus, Ohio. Against the facts, he becomes a far darker figure, one whose name is not affiliated with discovery or courage or “Columbia,” that fanciful American alter-ego of utopian democracy. But instead, Columbus is revealed for what he really was — a plunderer and slaver whose mission to the New World contributed to the genocide of an entire civilization. Columbus Day as a holiday acts as a celebration of the colonization of many indigenous lands that continue to occur under Western imperialism. Our university has contributed to the false Columbus historical narrative by continuing to celebrate this holiday, and by refusing to acknowledge that it sits on lands that once belonged to indigenous people. Tufts needs to recognize its role in America’s often painful history. As many of the activists

and TCU Senators spearheading this change have stated, changing the name of this holiday will not make up for the oppression that indigenous people have experienced, but it can help refocus historical and institutional narratives away from the painful histories that Columbus and others perpetrated to native people. While we still refuse to admit to this past, when we gloss it over, erase it and treat Columbus Day like a non-issue, we let ancient wounds in our country fester. It must be the voices of indigenous people that are amplified, lifted up and given space. Indigenous People’s Day is not just about the indigenous people in the Americas, but those whose homes were colonized in South America, Africa, the Caribbean and Asia. For people who see all of this as another chapter in political correctness, Indigenous People’s Day should be an opportunity to let compassion dominate instead of fear and judgement to begin the work of coming to terms with Columbus’s America, our America. History cannot be changed — but only by admitting to the evil at the heart of America’s origin can we begin to understand and ultimately heal.

EDITORIAL CARTOON BY FURY

The Tufts Daily is a nonprofit, independent newspaper, published Monday through Friday during the academic year, and distributed free to the Tufts community. The content of letters, advertisements, signed columns, cartoons and graphics does not necessarily reflect the opinion of The Tufts Daily editorial board. EDITORIALS Editorials represent the position of The Tufts Daily. Individual editors are not necessarily responsible for, or in agreement with, the policies and editorials of The Tufts Daily. OP-EDS The Op-Ed section of The Tufts Daily, an open forum for campus editorial commentary, is printed Monday through Thursday. The Daily welcomes submissions from all members of the Tufts community; the opinions expressed in the Op-Ed section do not necessarily represent the opinions of the Daily itself. Opinion articles on campus, national and international issues should be 600 to 1,200 words in length and submitted to oped@tuftsdaily.com. The editors reserve the right to edit letters for clarity, space and length. All material is subject to editorial discretion and is not guaranteed to appear in the Daily. Authors must submit their telephone numbers and day-of availability for editing questions. ADVERTISING All advertising copy is subject to the approval of the Editor-in-Chief, Executive Board and Executive Business Director.

Thursday, February 11, 2016

Aren Torikian The Arena

Rubi-uh-oh… After being bombarded with advertisements and door-to-door canvassing, the people of Iowa finally got to cast the first votes in the process to find America’s next president. For all the pre-caucus hype, Iowans didn’t disappoint. On the Democratic side, Hillary Clinton edged out Bernie Sanders (who cleaned up last night in New Hampshire) by less than half a percent. Sanders outperformed expectations in Iowa, winning exactly the demographics he needed to, namely young people, who voted for him 85-15. But it’s on the Republican side where things got really interesting. Donald Trump was expected to win, with Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio trailing. Instead, Cruz, playing off of the state’s Evangelical population, rallied to victory, with Trump and Rubio all but tied for second. While Trump underperformed, the real winner of the night was Rubio, who outperformed his polls by several percent. He also won counties which are good cross-sections of the average Republican electorate, such as those around Des Moines. Cruz won because of Iowa’s demographics; similar conservatives Rick Santorum and Mike Huckabee won Iowa in recent years, and neither had a real shot at the presidency. This catalyst for a Rubio surge was tempered by an awful debate performance on Saturday. Rubio’s biggest problem is that he seems rehearsed. On Saturday, this became painfully obvious. After being called out by Chris Christie for being inexperienced and a Washington chum that memorizes 25-second sound bytes, Rubio proceeded to repeat the same spiel three times. I don’t know if he’ll ever talk about “dispel[ling] the fiction that Barack Obama doesn’t know what he’s doing” ever again. Rubio should’ve known it would be a long night when CNN exit polls indicated two-thirds of voters found the recent debate important in their decisions. Rubio, projected to place a strong second after Trump, finished 5th (5th!) behind even Cruz, for whom New Hampshire was but an afterthought. Trump won handily, with Ohio Governor John Kasich in 2nd. The party establishment wants to crystallize around a candidate, so it can pivot to focusing on Hillary Clinton. Donald Trump is Donald Trump and Ted Cruz is seemingly too conservative. That leaves Rubio and the two governors. I don’t give Jeb Bush much of a chance, but Kasich’s performance puts him squarely in the discussion. That being said, he is not polling particularly well outside of New Hampshire. Kasich is trying to run as the moderate of a really conservative group of candidates, a tune that was well received in New Hampshire, but won’t be as the race heads to South Carolina and Nevada. Marco Rubio has, as I have said for months, the hallmarks of a great candidate. Unfortunately, he just keeps shooting himself in the foot. With Kasich’s strong New Hampshire performance, Rubio’s path to the White House, and the party’s consensus, just got a little bit murkier. My money is still on him, but my money was also on the Carolina Panthers. Aren Torikian is a sophomore who has yet to declare a major. Aren can be reached at Aren.Torikian@tufts.edu.

Thursday, February 11, 2016 | Opinion | THE TUFTS DAILY

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Opinion

OP-ED

Why Indigenous People’s Day matters to me by Anna Del Castillo This summer I had an amazing opportunity to travel to Peru for the first time. As a Peruvian-Bolivian student my childhood was filled with songs from the Andes, zampoña flute lessons and Peruvian and Bolivian cuisine. I was overjoyed to finally be able to visit my father’s homeland, but unsure of what to expect from the month in Peru. Little did I know that the lessons gained from the trip would change my life. Through the days spent traveling in that beautiful country, I met family members who taught me about Peruvian culture and history. Accompanying these lessons was a strong appreciation for our Incan ancestry. I spent hours at the table with my tía Chachi, a professor at La Universidad Católica de Santa María in Arequipa, who told me of our mighty Incan ancestors who created complex roads and communication systems, celebrated the earth and innovated brilliant agricultural structures. She taught me sacred Incan practices and native dances. As I sat at that table and watched my family passionately retell

the history of the Incas, I was filled with both pride and anger for the silenced voices of my ancestors. The Spanish conquest of the Inca empire is known as one of the longest and deadliest campaigns in the Spanish colonization of the Americas. Spanish soldiers under the leadership of Francisco Pizarro massacred and enslaved thousands of natives. Among the catastrophic effects of the Spanish conquest was the destruction of Inca culture, religion and sacred sites. This story is all too familiar among Native American groups who encountered European conquistadors. In Peru, I visited ruins of sites that were destroyed during the Spanish conquest and replaced with Spanish invader architecture. During our time in Cuzco, my sister and I saw a notable difference in the architecture. Infused with the Spanish invader architecture were pieces of Incan structures. One example is the Inca sun temple, Qurikancha which was once the most popular Incan temple. It was destroyed and used as a base for the Church of Santo Domingo when the Spanish conquered the city. Below the

Spanish architecture lies the foundation of original Inca architecture. To me, the uneasy fusion of Inca and Spanish architecture visible in those Cusqueñan buildings stands as a symbol of the colonization of Peru. Just as the buildings stand on Incan foundations, the success of Spanish conquistadors stands on the shoulders of native Peruvians whose voices were silenced by relentless force and deception, allowing a forty-year conquest to destroy their civilization because culture was not as valued as gold to the conquistadors. The story of my ancestors is just like those of indigenous peoples all over the world. Why do we not have a day of celebration for their discoveries and legacy? Francisco and his men did not discover Peru, just as Columbus did not discover North America. When we use this dangerous language, it celebrates colonialism and the atrocities that indigenous people suffered and continue to suffer. Changing the name of “Columbus Day” to “Indigenous People’s Day” is only one small gesture that we can do to destroy the notion that people such

as Francisco Pizárro and Christopher Columbus embodied the “spirit of discovery.” As my friend and fellow co-author of the Indigenous People’s Day resolution, Benya Kraus, stated, “We are able to condemn the horrors of colonization in lands abroad, but are reluctant to feel a similar devastation about the colonized lands Tufts is built upon today.” As a premier educational institution that prides itself on civic engagement, it is time for this university to teach students about the real history of colonialism. I am just one student with one story, but I have encountered many other Tufts students with similar narratives of indigenous ancestry, each one inspiring us to pursue justice for indigenous communities. I am hopeful that this change will happen this year and that we as students can work together to center Indigenous voices and counter colonial and racists actions that continue to occur around the world. Anna is a sophomore majoring in International Relations. She can be reached at Anna.Del_Castillo@tufts.edu.

OP-ED

In defense of keeping the ‘Columbus’ in Columbus Day by Nick Giurleo As a kid most of us can remember hearing at one point or another: “In 1492, Columbus sailed the ocean blue.” Younger students of 2016 and beyond, however, might find themselves remembering Columbus in a more negative light as a mass murderer in the likes of Adolf Hitler and Joseph Stalin. While organized anti-Columbus Day sentiments have been circulating the political atmosphere since the 1970s, not until the past decade or so have more serious efforts been made to change the holiday to “Indigenous People’s Day” or to abolish the holiday all together. College students, among others aware of the history of Columbus’s exploits in America, are very quick to entirely characterize Columbus as nothing more than a perpetrator of genocide. According to historian Howard Zinn, Columbus is estimated to have massacred “through murder [and] mutilation…more than half the 250,000 Indians in Haiti.” Many at Tufts University, among many others in colleges and institutions in the United States, have lobbied extensively to officially change the October holiday’s name to Indigenous Peoples’ Day to commemorate Native American history. There is no historical dispute that Columbus’s colonization efforts in Hispaniola between 1492 and 1498 resulted in the deaths of a ghastly num-

ber of Native Americans. Numerous accredited historians from James W. Loewen to Samuel Eliot Morison have established that what Columbus did fits the modern UN definition of genocide. This part of Columbus’s history should be acknowledged, but it is a fallacy to assume the 1937 United States national holiday of “Columbus Day” was designed with the intent to celebrate the acts of genocide committed by Columbus. In fact, according to 36 U.S. Code § 107, the 1937 piece of legislation passed by Congress creating the national holiday, the purpose of the holiday was to “express the public sentiment befitting the anniversary of the discovery of America.” The intent of Columbus Day was never to celebrate the brutal consequences of the imperialism manifested in the Age of Exploration and beyond. The holiday was designed to celebrate Columbus’s efforts to fund a voyage across the Atlantic in an effort to find an alternative route to the East Indies, an effort in itself that deserves at least some degree of historical commendation. Many here at Tufts have taken an active role in pushing for renaming the holiday. Recently, the TCU Senate overwhelmingly passed a resolution requesting the university officially to rename the Columbus Day holiday to Indigenous Peoples’ Day. According to an online petition to rename the holiday here at Tufts, “The change is to acknowledge the history of colo-

nialism and racism that ‘Columbus Day’ embodies, and to center the narratives of Indigenous People’s.” While a need for a day commemorating Native American culture and the brutal history Native Americans suffered under the U.S. Manifest Destiny mentality doesn’t exist, renaming Columbus Day does next to nothing to compensate in any way for the wrongs perpetrated against them. Proponents of the name change might argue that disassociating Columbus as a historical hero is a must, but this mentality raises the question of how far Americans and the rest of the world will go to erase evidence of imperialism in the world. Less than a year ago, on a trip to Alaska, President Obama announced he would be renaming North America’s tallest mountain, Mt. McKinley, to Mt. Denali in “a historic nod to the region’s native population.” When does the effort to erase evidence of imperialism go too far? Should lawmakers devote their seriously limited time to renaming the Strait of Magellan because Magellan was an imperialist or renaming Rhodes University in South Africa because the money of 19th century imperialist Cecil Rhodes founded it? Renaming everything on this planet touched by imperialism is superfluous when so many are suffering from more pressing problems like war and poverty. The unfortunate reality of modern life is that imperialism has shaped a dramatically large portion of the his-

tory of the world. Making an effort to wipe out its unfortunate side effects risks damaging mankind’s recorded record of history. How does this connect back to Columbus, one might ask? Regardless of one’s opinion on how Columbus should be historically portrayed, the role he played in accidentally sailing to the New World is large enough for him to be acknowledged as a historical character of importance. Perhaps whether or not his achievement merits a national holiday can be debated, but if a holiday is retained, the “Columbus” in the holiday’s titling should be maintained to pay homage to his achievement. It is up to those truly knowledgeable of history to discern, in an unbiased manner, why the holiday is being celebrated: not as a celebration of genocide or imperialism but as a commemoration of discovery in an age of much closed-mindedness and fear. Call it “Columbus and Indigenous Peoples’ Day.” Keep calling it “Columbus Day” but recognize the caveat. Make “Indigenous Peoples’ Day” a separate national holiday. Invent a new name for the holiday like “Columbus Discovery Day.” The moral of this story is that history should not be biasedly distorted to suit anyone’s agenda, regardless of what stance they take on the Columbus Day question. Nick is a first year who has not declared a major. He can be reached at Nicholas. Giurleo@tufts.edu.

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Thursday, February 11, 2016 | Sports | THE TUFTS DAILY

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Sports

Fencers look to swing momentum from dominant wins into NEIFC Championships FENCING

continued from back “Ayala did very well this weekend and completed a very strong starting epee squad, along with Gooch and Anne Oursler, for the day,” Boden said. Both Boden and Gooch insisted that, while their team still faced a number of larger, better-funded schools with more established fencing programs, which led to the team’s disappointing results at their Jan. 23 conference meet, that fact did not matter this weekend. “I think our biggest strength is that we are always together; we are like a family, and we always fight together, regardless of our opponent,” Gooch said. Boden added that the effort the team

members had put in this semester made this win possible. “The team has put more hours of fencing into pre-season and in-season practices than in previous years and our hard word definitely shows,” Boden said. “A lot of the girls go to extra practices at other fencing clubs and that kind of experience and dedication to training definitely pays off.” With the championship season approaching, starting with the Northeast Intercollegiate Fencing Conference Championships at Wellesley on Feb. 20, the team plans to bear down and switch into a postseason mindset in preparation. “We’re really focusing on having a more dominant presence on the strip and keeping

that momentum going,” Boden said. “We’ve been practicing every day during the week and many of the starters will be training with other fencers at a club off-campus for extra experience and more diverse practices.” With this kind of preparation, Gooch believes that the team will be prepared for the challenge that the championships will present. “Championship season is always a little different, especially because the format of the tournaments is different than the other meets,” Gooch said. “This is the end of the season, so we know that we have to put everything we have into the last two meets. We’ve been talking a lot about our mentality going into these meets, so I think we are ready to end the season on a high note.”

Jumbos edge Cardinals in upset, dominate Camels at NESCACs WOMEN'S SQUASH

continued from back while Burns defeated Aaliyah Davidson 11-6, 11-6, 11-7 in the third position. Still, the Jumbos were tested in some of these match-ups, evidenced by Karthik’s 5-game win over first-year Olivia Silverman 4-11, 11-9, 11-9, 10-12, 11-6. Banner continued her return from injury with an 11-7, 11-7, 6-11, 11-4 victory over junior Anne Holly in the fifth position. The victory over Conn. College, following up the one against Wesleyan, should help Tufts recover its spot in the rankings.

“As a team, we didn’t really let the loss on Friday affect us negatively and went into Saturday’s match with clear heads,” Karthik said. “We were also very determined to win, especially since we knew that the match against Wesleyan was important for ranking purposes.” The two wins to finish the weekend put Tufts at 9-7 on the season as the team now moves on to preparing for the College Squash Association (CSA) Team Nationals coming up Feb. 19 – Feb. 21. Tufts next plays Boston University (BU) on Thursday night, before tak-

ing on Wesleyan and Vassar again on Saturday, Feb. 13. These will be the last matches Tufts will play in the lead-up to the CSA Team Nationals at Yale, and they will take each game as it comes. “As far as nationals go, we’re focusing on our upcoming matches first,” Jafry said. “We plan on going to Wesleyan again this Saturday and hopefully beating them by a wider margin than we did this past weekend. We also have BU and Vassar to play before Nationals. After these matches, we’ll start mentally and physically preparing ourselves for Nationals.”

ALEX KNAPP / THE TUFTS DAILY ARCHIVE

Tufts women’s squash faced off against Wellesley at the Zesiger Squash Courts at MIT on Jan. 27.

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Ryan Schneiderman Outside of the Boot

Leicester City and the Decline of the Premier League Hierarchy If I had told a Leicester City fan at the beginning of the season that they would be staying in the Premier League at the end of the year, they would have been more than satisfied. After all, but for a historic relegation escape where they accumulated more points in their final nine games than they did in their first 29, Leicester would have found themselves back in the second division of English football only a season after being promoted. At this point last season, they were bottom of the league with 17 points. Currently, Leicester sits five points clear at the top of the Premier League with 53 points. Such a turnaround is truly astounding considering the lack of parity in English football. Since the 1995-1996 season, just four different clubs, Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal and Manchester City have been crowned champions and just nine clubs have finished in the top four. In a league without a salary cap and where players are bought and sold instead of traded, it is no surprise that clubs just trying to balance their books have not been able to compete against teams amassed by Arab royalty and Russian billionaires. This season, however, the script has changed. Last season’s champion, Chelsea, is currently in the 13th place. Meanwhile, Manchester United, the club crowned champions 13 times in the past 21 years, are six points adrift of the top four. Perennial contenders Arsenal, Manchester City and Tottenham still remain in striking distance; however each is on pace to finish around 73 points, a total that has never won the Premier League. Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger attributes it to the quality of competition. He’s right, and unsurprisingly it’s all about the money. The current Premier League TV deal is such that each club is awarded a minimum of 54.1 million pounds. This is 60 percent higher than the amount awarded in 2013 and triple what Spain’s La Liga’s bottom team receives. Since the new TV deal was implemented in 2014, 17 current or former Premier League clubs have broken their club record signing fee. While the top clubs are still in a different spending class (Manchester City spent 55 million pounds on Kevin De Bruyne this summer), even the worst premier league clubs are competitive in the international transfer market. The likes of Crystal Palace’s record signing Yohan Cabaye (13 million pounds from Paris Saint Germain), player-of-the-year contender Riyad Mahrez of Leicester City and Stoke City’s Xerdan Shaqiri (formerly of Bayern Munich and Inter Milan), are no longer reserved for the premier league elite. Next year a new TV deal will kick in. The current three billion pound deal will again see an increase in excess of 60 percent. It is projected that the team who finishes last will receive 99 million pounds, more than Chelsea received last year as champions. While the Premier League title will likely remain more of a dream than a goal for most clubs, it is clear the hierarchy of the Premier League is the weakest it has been in the modern era. For fans of Leicester City and of the other success stories in the Premier League this year, all there is to do is enjoy the ride. Ryan Schneiderman is a sophomore who has not yet declared a major. He can be reached at Ryan.Schneiderman@tufts.edu.

12 tuftsdaily.com

Sports

Thursday, February 11, 2016

FENCING

Tufts fencing succeeds at Smith Fencing Conference

Ben Feinberg Sports Editor

The women’s fencing team had a successful meet on Saturday, defeating five different teams at the third Northeast Fencing Conference meet of the season, hosted by Smith College. Tufts beat Wellesley University 18-9, Boston University (BU) 24-3, the University of New Hampshire (UNH) 23-4, the University of Massachusetts (UMass) 17-10 and Smith College 18-9. The only setback Tufts suffered on the day was an 18-9 loss to Sacred Heart University. The meet was in direct contrast to the Jumbos’ last multi-meet on Jan. 23, when the team went 1-5 at Boston College. With the exception of the match against Sacred Heart, where Tufts only won one of the three contests, the team was fairly dominant, winning 15 of the total 18 weapons contests on the day. The Jumbos relied on no single style of fencing to win on Saturday, taking multiple wins in every weapon category and posting overall winning records across the six matches, with a result of 41-13 in the sabre, 37-17 in the epee and 32-22 in the foil. In an impressive showing in the sabre, Tufts swept all nine points in the matches against BU, UMass and UNH. Almost as impressive, the team took eight of the nine points in the epee in the Smith and BU matches. Even in the single disappointment against the Sacred Heart Pioneers, the Jumbos still managed to win in the foil, refusing to get shut out in any match of the day in a clear improvement over the previous conference meet. “One of the main reasons we struggled with Sacred Heart is because we lost the confidence we had with the less competitive schools,” junior Anna Gooch said. “Our fencing is not worse than theirs; we just have to go into it with the mentality that we can win.” Despite the loss, junior Juliet Hewes was a rock for the Jumbos all day long in

ZOE HOWARD VIA TUFTS UNIVERSITY WOMEN'S FENCING FACEBOOK

Tufts fencers celebrate a win together at the Smith College multi-meet on Saturday, Feb. 6. the foil, going 12-0 overall even as her team struggled against Sacred Heart. “Hewes was undefeated all day,” Gooch said. “She fenced amazingly, and that really helped carry the team.” Gooch herself was likewise impressive, posting a 12-3 mark in the epee to lead Tufts in that weapon. “I think we did a very good job of keeping up our energy throughout the day,” Head Captain Alex Boden said. “We didn’t give up any touches, we fought hard for every point and it definitely showed.” Leading the team’s dominant sabre fencers, Boden, a senior, won 12 of her 15 points in the sabre. The sabre has been one of Tufts’ leading weapons this season,

“I think we were definitely a lot more driven this meet,” Boden said. “Last meet, even though it doesn’t show in the meet records, there were so many individual bouts that came close but were lost by one point. Against Brown, the foil squad alone had six or seven bouts that were lost 4-5. Those points make a huge difference in the outcome of a meet, and for this weekend we decided that losing by that kind of a margin was unacceptable. With the exception of Sacred Heart, we didn’t think about over- or underestimating our opponent schools—we just went in with the intention to fence them as hard as we could and not pay attention to the score. That turned those 4-5 bouts into 5-0, 5-1, and 5-2 victories.”

Gooch agreed, saying the team tried to learn from the past meets. “I think the team did so well because we were confident going into the day,” Gooch said. “It was an early start, but we managed to not let fatigue get in the way, which is what has happened in the past.” Beyond Boden, Gooch and Hewes, who have been the most consistent point scorers in their respective weapons categories so far this season, the Jumbos also received meaningful points from their rookie class. Firstyear Annie Ayala, one of the starting epee users, was the object of many of her teammates’ praise. see FENCING, page 11

WOMEN'S SQUASH

Tufts stumbles early but recovers with two victories in consolation matches Yuan Jun Chee

Assistant Sports Editor

Though the Jumbos were unable to advance to the winner’s bracket of the NESCAC Championship this past weekend, they found a silver lining in the tournament. No. 24 Tufts fell to No. 18 Bates on Friday but bounced back Saturday to record victories in its consolation matches against Wesleyan and Conn. College with 5-4 and 8-1 wins respectively. Though Tufts came out with energy and looked to start the tournament off strong, they struggled against a solid Bates squad on Friday. First-year Hannah Burns was the only player to record a victory the first night against Bates, beating classmate Katie Bull in the third position in four games. Burns took the lead, winning the first set 11-6, but found herself on the wrong side of the scoreline soon after. She

eventually recovered to take the next two sets 11-5, 11-1 to take the win and put her team up early. But Burns’ teammates did not have the same luck in coming back in their match-ups, losing in all of the next eight positions. Fellow first-year Sinclair Meggitt put on an impressive show in the seventh position as she and the Bates Bobcats sophomore Hannah Conner battled to five games. Meggitt lost the first game 11-9 before taking the next two games in extra points. However, Conner fought back and won the next two games 11-5, 11-6 to seal a come-from-behind victory and hand the Jumbos another disappointment. “I think it was a tough loss because we were able to compete with the Bates girls,” Burns said. “They were favored to win, but it was encouraging if anything because we could feel that we could definitely keep up with these girls.”

The Jumbos moved into the consolation bracket, determined to channel their disappointment to rewrite the story on Saturday. In its first match of the day, now-No. 25 Tufts edged No. 23 Wesleyan, delivering a 5-4 upset. While senior captain Paget Stanco was unable to defeat Wesleyan sophomore Laila Samy in the top match, losing 11-6, 11-0, 11-3, the match-ups in positions two through six delivered better news for Tufts. Burns defeated Wesleyan senior Bridget Doherty in dominant fashion in the third position, 11-3, 11-0, 11-4, while first-year Sahana Karthik won her match against Cardinal sophomore Tatum LeClair in straight games in the fourth position, 13-11, 12-10, 11-8. Sophomore Lauren Banner also won in straight games in the fifth spot, 11-4, 11-9, 12-10. A few other Jumbos took just one more game to get the win, with sophomore Claudia Udolf and first-year

Zarena Jafry fighting off the challenge of their opponents in four games, defeating the Cardinal’s first-year Ali Imperiale and senior Liza Bayless respectively. Even with their losses, the Jumbos still made life difficult for the Cardinals. Meggitt won the first game 11-8 in a four-game defeat to junior Annie Ferreira by the scoreline of 8-11, 11-8, 11-5, 11-6. First-years Christa Irani and Isabella Libassi also took one game off their opponents despite losing. The team got even more comfortable in its final game of the weekend as it easily defeated No. 27 Conn. College. The Jumbos put in a dominant performance, winning the top eight matches against the Camels. Stanco, duking it out in the first position, defeated junior Ashley Arthur 11-4, 11-6, 11-3, see WOMEN'S SQUASH, page 11