The Tufts Daily - Tuesday September 8, 2026 (Welcome Back)

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Tuesday, September 8, 2026

VOLUME XCIV, ISSUE 2

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Students host speak-out on first day of classes in response to MyTERN suspension, other changes to TUPIT Amelia Sammons and June Myint

Executive News Editor and News Editor

On Sept. 8, students are hosting a speak-out in response to the recent changes that have been made to the Tufts University Prison Initiative, including the suspension of the MyTERN re-entry program and change in directors. The event will be hosted at 10 a.m. on the Academic Quad and will include speeches from organizers, as well as any attendees who would like to share what the program means to them. Joseph Auner, interim provost and senior vice president, sent an email in early August informing students and faculty that MyTERN would be suspended for the 2026–27 academic year. This suspension comes after a Cambridge

shooting in May involving a former MyTERN student. The university later published an update explaining that Melanie McFarlane, TUPIT’s deputy director, would be taking over for founder and Executive Director Hilary Binda and that applications for the bachelor’s degree pathway would be paused indefinitely. Faculty also received an email outlining these changes. Assuming his role on July 1, Auner, who is also an Austin Fletcher professor of music, convened a working group to evaluate the structure and future of TUPIT. The group consists of faculty and staff from the School of Arts and Sciences, Jonathan M. Tisch College of Civic Life and the provost’s office. The main grievance that has been expressed by students and faculty who have been involved in the program is their lack of

Tisch College, located in Barnum Hall, is pictured on April 7, 2023. representation within the working group. Simrin Mehra, a senior who has been involved in TUPIT as a MyTERN student, teaching assistant and student assistant since her sophomore fall,

explained where some of the grievances stem from. “There are huge changes being made to this program, and no one’s communicating it, no one’s explaining it, no one’s asking for our opinion,” Mehra said.

LAUREN ALIOTTA / THE TUFTS DAILY

“Decisions are being made by people who know absolutely nothing about the program, or have never had any kind of serious involvement or understanding of it.” see TUPIT, page 2

Tufts AAUP issues report calling for CEVIHE accountability, its removal from the president’s office Josué Pérez

Senior News Editor

Tufts’ chapter of the American Association of University Professors called for accountability and transparency of the Center for Expanding Viewpoints in Higher Education in an end-ofyear report published and sent to University President Sunil Kumar on May 27. In the report, Tufts AAUP makes three recommendations: relocate CEVIHE from the president’s office, publish bylaws that would delimit its power to review faculty syllabi without consent and disclose the names of its donors and Community Advisory Board members. Throughout the report, Tufts AAUP takes issue with actions that they say closely follow a national “viewpoint diversity” movement aimed at bolstering conservative viewpoints, undermining faculty governance by shifting power over syllabi to administrators and the federal government and

STELLA JEONG / THE TUFTS DAILY

The front of Ballou Hall is pictured on Sept. 26, 2025. harassing faculty who do not share conservative goals. “One of the crucial elements of the report was to try to show that the Tufts Center for Expanding Viewpoints really is, in many ways, in line with the broader national movement for viewpoint diversity that is quite explicitly and unapologetically a

right-wing project for the erosion of faculty governance,” Nathan Wolff, an associate professor of English and a member of Tufts AAUP, said. In a September 2025 AAUP report, Eitan Hersh, CEVIHE director and professor of political science, described the Center’s aim as boosting the

visibility of conservative views on polemic issues, such as immigration, gender and sexuality and global conflicts. “To the extent that conservative perspectives — especially ones that have significant support among the mass public and political leaders — are absent from curricula that engage in

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public policy debates, I think it’s important to offer suggestions for readings that convey those perspectives,” he wrote in a statement to the Daily. A “curriculum project” According to AAUP’s report, CEVIHE’s student interns have reviewed syllabi of courses taught at Tufts and nationally on immigration, gender and policy as part of a “curriculum project.” The report claims that the project undermines previous statements that syllabi review by the Center would be optional. The AAUP takes issue with the lack of notice and review without Tufts faculty members’ consent. “We haven’t formalized any curriculum project yet,” Hersh wrote. “A few students have sought to learn how some academic subjects are taught across the U.S. … and have made some recommendations for the kinds of topics and readings that might resonate with their peers. But we have not see CEVIHE, page 2 News Features Fun & Games Arts & Pop culture Opinion Science Sports

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TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 2026

T he T ufts D aily Editorial Julian Glickman Editor in Chief

Olivia Bye Sadie Roraback-Meagher Managing Editors

Julia Segal Maya Godard Associate Editors Amelia Sammons Executive News Editor Sera Kwon Executive Features Editor Sophie Herron Executive Arts Editor Olivia Zambrano Executive Opinion Editor Luke Fredericks Executive Sports Editor Addison Dion Executive Science Editor Gus Gladstein Executive Investigative Editor Max Lerner Editorial Board Chair

Multimedia Ellie Broscow Executive Audio Editor Elliot Riseman Executive Video Editor Christina Jamieson Executive Photo Editors Josué Pérez Elise Lea Samson Executive Graphics Editor Sophie Penenberg Executive Fun & Games Editor

Committees Sorsha Khitikian Ethics & Inclusion Chair Zach Halverstam Education Chairs Dylan Tanouye Shea Tomac Social Chair

Production Angelina Moy Josh Solomon Production Directors Jamie Song Executive Layout Editor Caroline Baker Executive Copy Editors Elyssa Cabey Max Lerner Executive Social Media Shea Tomac Managers Keira Krisburg Executive Newsletter Editor

Business Julia Critz Business Director Samantha Mascera Assistant Business Carol Wu Directors Claire Wood Alumni Liaisons Aisha Karim visit tuftsdaily.com/masthead

Founded in 1980, The Tufts Daily is the entirely student-run newspaper of record at Tufts University in Medford, Mass. An editorially and financially independent organization, the Daily’s staff of more than 100 covers news, features, arts and sports on Tufts’ four campuses and in its host communities.

Students rally around TUPIT following cancellations TUPIT continued from the front Professor Andrew West, who has worked across three prison institutions with TUPIT and teaches in the chemistry department at Tufts, shared his thoughts about a group of students who had been anticipating applying for the B.A. program offered through TUPIT. “[The pausing] hurts my heart because I got to know those guys, and they were so excited to apply to the Tufts bachelor’s degree, and they were so excited to be actual Tufts students,” West said. Mehra also explained that once students complete the associate’s degree program, they have to apply to the Tufts bachelor’s program. With applications for the B.A. program now paused, students who have already completed the A.A. program will not be able to advance.

“So what that means is that there are students inside the prison who have been taking Tufts classes for two years, are supposed to continue this year, and were supposed to apply and start their B.A.s… and that’s just been suspended, and they’re just left completely in limbo,” Mehra said. Faculty and students have also shared concerns over how these changes will impact individuals currently enrolled in the program. Professor Heather Nathans, who has six years of experience in various roles at TUPIT and teaches in the Theatre, Dance, and Performance department at Tufts, expressed the consequences in a statement to the Daily. “For our incarcerated students and returning citizens, pausing our programs means the potential loss of a sustaining community,” Nathans wrote. “It also means

losing the chance to transcend limitations imposed on them earlier in their lives.” Shayla Dutta, a junior involved in MyTERN, emphasized the program’s value in social and emotional rehabilitation. “So much of the work that the program does is taking people … who had been told to believe that they were worthless, who had been convinced that incarceration was the only path forward and who had never existed in a situation where they had been supported or uplifted, and breaking down those walls and building this community of trust,” she said. ”[To take that away], it’s a serious change. It’s a serious betrayal.” Senior Norah Higgins, who has been involved with TUPIT since her first year, is among several Tufts students who will be sharing at the speak-out. She expressed that

transparency and greater involvement in TUPIT’s decision-making processes are ideal outcomes for the event. “We want to include students and community members in decisions about TUPIT’s future, in providing clear explanations for the decisions being made,” Higgins said. Despite its unclear future, faculty and students continue to advocate for the value of the program. “TUPIT and MyTERN embody [diversity, equity, inclusivity and justice] and spotlight Tufts at its best — precisely because it is not easy,” Nathans shared. “Yet, despite all the challenges, under the leadership of Professor Hilary Binda, Tufts has built a nationally-recognized program in prison education through a passionate commitment to putting those stated values into practice.”

AAUP sharply criticizes CEVIHE structure CEVIHE continued from the front

taken any action on their recommendations.” While Hersh states that the Center’s syllabi review is intended to develop future resources for faculty who wish to receive them, Tufts AAUP members maintain that the practice may endanger non-tenured faculty. “My aspiration is to offer resources to university faculty (not just at Tufts) to help teach the big questions of public life, including controversial topics, in ways that engage with a diversity of perspectives, value systems, competing evidence, etc,” Hersh wrote. The report, however, is concerned with a potential domino effect in which Tufts begins regular “internal review” of faculty and their syllabi, expressing concern over these reviews negatively swaying tenure and promotion processes. “It is our concern that, if not limited, this may constitute a first step in a program of assimilation of the further steps not yet taken: making reviews of syllabi part of

‘external reviews of university departments as well as evaluations for tenure and promotion,’” the report states. “It is concerning that the president’s office is providing full support to a Center … which so far unilaterally acts as if it is in a position to devise better syllabi than faculty may do themselves.” But Hersh maintains that CEVIHE will not engage in review of faculty syllabi without their consent. “We also have neither the ability nor interest in facilitating ‘[coercive] participation in curricular review’ nor in ‘bypass[ing] ordinary processes for curriculum review,’” he wrote. Donor and membership transparency The report calls for CEVIHE to name its donors and members of the Community Advisory Board in order to aid transparency concerns. The day after the report was published, CEVIHE published a web page with the eight members of the Community Advisory Board. They include Tufts Trustees

Daniel Zilberman, Jennifer Selendy and Jason Epstein; Carine Hajjar, a Washington Post editorial board member; former state representative Joe Kennedy III; Adam Lewis, head of school at Catholic Memorial; Linda Whitlock, chair of the governance committee of the Red Sox foundation; and Jim Stergios, executive director of Pioneer Institute. “We did this in May, without any knowledge that it is something the AAUP chapter recommended in its report that was circulated in June,” Hersh wrote. “We started to do several updates to our website as soon as the school year ended. And we continue to make updates, as summer is a time when we can prioritize such things.” CEVIHE in the president’s office Members of Tufts AAUP also take issue with the Center’s placement within the president’s office. “We began with this question of: Why is the Center in the president’s office? What authority does that confer to it that’s unique to that center versus any other center on campus?”

Kamran Rastegar, professor of International Literary and Cultural Studies and member of Tufts AAUP, said. Hersh wrote in a December correspondence to the Tufts AAUP that the Center is “being incubated in the President’s Office and may ultimately be housed within a particular academic unit.” “Housing the Center, at least initially, in the President’s Office may help it take root,” Hersh wrote. “I also know from discussions with President Kumar that he believes it is essential for pluralism to flourish across the university, and that this does not mean he is endorsing any viewpoint by simply fostering the conditions for its expression.” Rastegar explained that the main purpose of the report was to elicit transparency and answer questions about the Center’s unknown practices. “There’s a pressing need to really get some answers about what’s going on, because it’s just really unprecedented,” he said. “We’ve posed very direct questions, but the answers are somewhat elusive.”

Land Acknowledgement The Tufts Daily office is located on the colonized land of the Massachusett people and within the territories of the Nipmuc and Wôpanâak (Wampanoag) tribes.

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The Department of Studies in Race, Colonialism, and Diaspora is pictured in Barnum Hall on March 6.

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TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 2026

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Tufts students react to the departure of Race, Colonialism, and Diaspora professor after allegations of academic dishonesty Carly Hope News Editor

Kerri K. Greenidge, a former Race, Colonialism, and Diaspora tenure-track professor, is no longer employed at Tufts following criticism of her 2022 book, “The Grimkes: The Legacy of Slavery in an American Family.” Her departure follows allegations of false evidence and misattributed citations in her work, which were supported by an academic review conducted by Tufts. The book, which received initial praise and several awards, describes the life and activism of an abolitionist family across the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries. However, Greenidge faced increasing scrutiny in 2024 when Myra C. Glenn, a retired professor of American history at Elmira College, decided to investigate Greenidge’s sources. Her investigation, fueled by doubts about several of Greenidge’s references and citations, found several factual errors and missing attributions.

According to a statement from Patrick Collins, executive director of media relations at Tufts, the university was made aware of allegations that Greenidge’s work “contained multiple errors of fact and failed to give appropriate credit to the work of another” in 2022. The university then began a peer review process led by external academics, who concluded that there were issues with the evidence and citations listed in the book and reported their findings to W.W. Norton, the publisher of “The Grimkes.” W.W. Norton has since removed “The Grimkes” from its website. Tufts’ administration has declined to comment on the manner of Greenidge’s departure and whether it was connected to the Tufts-led review of her work. “Consistent with its policies and practices, the university will have no comment on any potential personnel actions related to this matter,” Collins wrote in a statement to the Daily.

Greenidge, who was a Radcliff Fellow at Harvard University for the 2024–25 academic year, had been in the process of transferring to the history department from the RCD department. In an interview with The New York Times about her departure, Greenidge, a Black woman, contended that the review process was spurred by a hostility towards Black women in academia, an allegation which Tufts denies. “We stand by the review and strongly deny any allegations of bias that have been raised in some quarters,” Collins wrote. While Tufts has denied any allegations of racism, Greenidge’s race has remained a large part of the conversation. “I think that people will see a woman of color being accused of doing something wrong, and whether that’s true or not, probably accuse the institution of falling victim to [Diversity, Equity and Inclusion] practices,” junior Cristiano Miyawaki said. Miyawaki believes the university should release a statement

The Department of Studies in Race, Colonialism, and Diaspora is pictured in Barnum Hall on March 6.

clarifying that this is an isolated event, rather than a racially motivated pattern. Greenidge herself argued that her race was the reason for the increased visibility of this incident, which has been reported on by the Times and the New York Post as well as discussed by opinion sections in the Boston Globe and several blogs. According to Miyawaki, a video he had seen about Greenidge that was published years ago now had comments from the past month containing racist language and derogatory comments about Black academics. “By being silent, [Tufts is] allowing the narrative to run wild,” Miyawaki shared. “As an institution with some power in all of this, you have some obligation to respond.” Some students feel that Greenidge’s behavior may cause Tufts to receive more unwanted attention. “Especially with the new attention the university is getting, at least in the current

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political climate ... and the new eye the administration has on us, I feel like this would be a slam dunk for conservatives,” junior Ryan O’Malley said. “I feel like Fox News or wherever would have a field day with [this story], and it just puts more unwanted attention on the university.” O’Malley, a history major, doubts that this sort of controversy would discourage students from taking classes with a professor, since most don’t follow academic news. “I’m not looking up any of my other professors’ credentials, but when you do have all those criticisms — since it’s in the news — it can affect students. But personally, I’m not sure if it would affect me,” O’Malley said. Miyawaki reported feeling mostly surprised that an issue of academic dishonesty would appear among professors. “I was kind of bewildered,” Miyawaki said. “You don’t expect things like this to happen at your university, by any means.”

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Tufts pilots new orientation structure, aiming to build a stronger sense of community among first-years Sophie Herron

Executive Arts Editor

Tufts launched its newly restructured orientation program this year, designed to help first-years build community through the creation of orientation groups. From Sept. 2 through Sept. 7, incoming students had the opportunity to attend classic, fan-favorite events, including the O-Show and Jumboning, while spending time within their small cohort. Each group was facilitated by two student orientation leaders responsible for guiding 24 first-years through orientation events, hosting four smallgroup sessions and organizing a time to regroup within the first six weeks of the semester. The programmatic changes resulted in a $500 orientation fee which in part goes toward paying student orientation leaders. The undergraduate orientation staff were responsible for redesigning the program. “We began the planning process for this change more than two years ago,” Mary Kate Kelley, director of orientation and student experience, said. Kelley and her team incorporated input from parent, family and student surveys, spoke with

Goddard Chapel tower is pictured.

staff and faculty and consulted with student coordinators. “The feedback was unanimous — orientation needed groups!” Kelley said. She added, “Having orientation groups is a standard at most universities — I’ve never come across another orientation program that does not have leaders.” In reference to the program fee, Kelley commented, “We did budget projections and looked at peer institutions to make sure our new student fees align with our peers.” Joe Peterson, a senior, was an undergraduate orientation coordinator for Kelley’s team. He has worked on the orientation staff for three years, motivated to return by anecdotes from students about how orientation helped them find community. Peterson struggled to adjust to Tufts as a first-year student who didn’t participate in a Pre-Orientation program and believes that the opportunity to meet people in small groups would have helped his transition. Meryl Welsh, a first-year, participated in a Pre-O program, but said that “for kids who didn’t, I think that it is good to have smaller groups because it makes it more manageable to get to know a specific group of people.”

A first-year who hadn’t participated in Pre-O also valued the small groups, saying “I’m not really that extroverted, so I think it was really helpful in getting to know more people, and I did get to make some friends.” Helping students build connections is a part of Tufts’ broader approach to orientation, which aims to promote intellectual engagement, inclusion and community. “When I’m thinking through events, I’m like, how can we [achieve] each of those [goals] with what we’re planning?” Peterson said. He highlighted the drag show as an example of these goals in action: “We just really see students come into themselves and just have a blast.” The Illumination Ceremony, which occurred on Sept. 3, is Peterson’s favorite event. Watching the first-years “feels like the first time that they are really like ‘wow this is my community, this is a beautiful community and this is where I’m meant to be,’” Peterson said. The transition from zero orientation leaders to 160 posed new challenges, including the hiring and training process. “It’s really important to make sure that everyone gets on the same page regarding the Tufts culture and the Tufts values,”

Peterson said. “People that are living out those goals … are something we look for in the hiring process to be sure that they would be able to instill those within their first-year students.” Peterson and three other student coordinators contributed to the recruitment process, including Ruby Appleton, a junior and another undergraduate orientation coordinator. In her role, Appleton developed two days of training for orientation leaders, including sessions with CARE and programs to help develop facilitation and community-building skills. On the second day of orientation, Appleton said, “I think honestly, it’s going swimmingly … I think people are building connections with their group members and also their group leaders.” Peterson agreed that the pilot program ran smoothly, saying that “a lot of our really intentional planning pulled through and has been successful.” Despite the program’s success, Peterson acknowledged room for improvement. “I already have a notes app list on my phone of things to change about orientation,” he said. “I always say that the first day of orientation planning starts the

second after the last day ends.” Under the direction of her orientation leaders, Lily Pacuit, a first-year, said her group did “mostly icebreakers, which I see the value in.” Welsh also participated in name games and icebreakers, but noted that student leaders personalized the schedule. “I think a lot of the orientation group leaders aren’t super strictly following whatever they were given, which I think makes it more fun because it’s a much more relaxed environment and people can actually get to know each other,” Welsh said. Appleton hopes engagement between the members of orientation groups will lead to lasting friendships. “The orientation coordinators were able to do what they wanted with planning orientation, and now it’s time for the students and the leaders to make orientation truly their own,” said Appleton. Ultimately, orientation aims to make college feel less daunting. “We hope students can leave orientation with a feeling of belonging — that they feel connected to other students and ready to start their new transition,” Kelley said.

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Features

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 2026

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Features Hey Claude, how is Tufts handling this AI thing?

AARON GRUEN / THE TUFTS DAILY

characteristics. “Everyone on the committee really takes [that feedback] to heart and listens to what people have to say. I found that to be really refreshing. You don’t always get that at other institutions.” Cardamone broke down three main focuses of the AI Council across the university. The first is the Generative AI Guidelines, a centralized set of broad, university-wide AI recommendations which were first released in February 2026. “We very deliberately went after guidelines instead of policies, because with guidelines it allows individual scholars in their area, disciplinary context or clinical context to make their own decisions,” Cardamone said. “The intent of guidelines is to give us a shared framework for talking about [AI], and to use those guidelines to help individual departments or schools come up with their own policies.” The AI Council aims to be seen as an advisor in this process, not a legislator. “These things are constantly changing … as AI has changed, and as we get feedback from people about how these guidelines are working,” Cardamone said. The ultimate goal is for each school or department to develop their own more specific AI policies, as has already begun with the Tufts Medical School. The second focus is curriculum. This semester, Tufts launched two new minors in the Computer Science department: a minor in the Application of AI and a minor in AI Development. But the Council’s curricular development goes beyond the technical. There are also other minor programs currently in development that are connecting AI with the social sciences and humanities, including one currently undergoing the approval process within the Science, Technology & Society program. “The idea is that this minor would help you understand enough technically about AI to have a broad sense of how current systems work, but also to think about the kinds of social critique and analysis stuff you would learn in your other courses [and] how you can apply that to AI,” Seaver, one of the people spearheading this potential minor, said. The third focus of the council is faculty development. “Faculty feel largely unsupported in AI,” Cardamone explained. “There’s so much going on in the institution, and it’s hard to see where the supports are.” To address this, the AI Council launched the AI Faculty Fellows program, a new initiative

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The Tsungming Tu Complex is pictured in November 2024.

I get that misconception a lot,” Cardamone said. “I think [the AI Council is] about [how generative AI] is impacting the way we work. There are a lot of people excited about opportunities with it and are having fun exploring it and would like to understand better how to explore it,” she added. The survey data that the council is responding to reflects just how divided the student body actually is on the question of AI. Cardamone estimates that around 10% to 15% of students will never touch AI — they simply do not want to. On the other end, roughly 30% have embedded it deeply into their learning, their creative practices and even their personal organization. Other survey participants fall somewhere in between. This range of attitudes has come with real academic consequences. Last spring, faculty began flagging a troubling pattern: Students were acing their problem sets but failing their exams. “We saw failure rates across the university, across disciplines that we’d never seen before,” Cardamone said. The culprit, she suspects, wasn’t students deliberately cheating, but something more subtle. “I think it’s not because students are saying, ‘Hey, do my homework, ChatGPT.’ Maybe some are, but most aren’t,” she said. “They’re like, ‘I’m trying to solve it, and then it’s giving me the better answer.’” As a result, students presented flawless homework that masked genuine gaps in understanding. This is precisely the kind of on-the-ground feedback that the AI Council exists to collect, synthesize, distribute and address. Rebekah Plotkin, the director of the Center for Professional and Workforce Impact and a member of the AI Council, noted that the council’s responsiveness to student and faculty feedback has been one of its defining

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Like many others, I spent the first few weeks of this summer searching ‘internship’ on LinkedIn jobs and Handshake, praying that there would be any position that required zero experience, or whatever vaguely tangible skills my English and film and media studies majors could advertise. Unlike my similar job searches in years past, this time I noticed a new addition: Quite a few of these listings contained calls for “AI literacy” or “fluency with generative AI tools” as “preferred qualifications.” It is clear that one’s understanding of and fluency in using AI programs have become a valuable and employable skill, especially for young job seekers entering the workforce. This has made me wonder: How exactly is Tufts preparing its students for this AI-saturated job landscape? After throwing our caps, are we going to be thrown into the deep end of a dystopia where bots have usurped our entry-level jobs, rendering our liberal arts degrees in English and film and media studies obsolete? Or will we be the brains quick and adaptable enough to get ahead of them? Moreover, is Tufts adapting quickly enough that it will equip me with the necessary “AI literacy” I need for a career after I graduate in 2028? Also — what does “AI literacy” even mean? These are some of the questions I brought to Nick Seaver, director of the Science, Technology & Society program and a member of Tufts’ AI Council.

Turns out, there is not a clear, institutionalized way of navigating AI in the classroom, a reality I have come to understand personally given the diversity of AI policies I’ve had to re-learn for each new class. “I think making a lot of [these AI policies] devolve to individual faculty is very challenging because faculty are going to try to treat the issue in a way that makes sense to them, and students are encountering four or five or six different versions of this policy in a semester,” Seaver said. Seaver’s frustration points to a broader structural problem that Tufts’ AI Council was created, in part, to address. But fixing it, he noted, is easier said than done. “A lot of universities — and Tufts is unfortunately not exempt — have a kind of kindergarten soccer approach to pursuing AI, where every single person chases the ball in exactly the same spot,” Seaver said. “It might be better if we spread out and people took care of different things.” The AI Council was formed in spring 2026, following recommendations from the AI Task Force that surveys the university population and assesses immediate steps for its AI governance. It aims to represent a holistic view of approaches to AI across Tufts schools, departments and even non-academic units, like the Career Center, Counseling and Mental Health Services, Student Accessibility and Academic Resources Center and the library staff. Hoping to better understand the role of the AI Council, I spoke with Carie Cardamone, the senior associate director of the Center for the Enhancement of Learning and Teaching as well as the associate chair of Tufts’ AI Council. “It’s not like the AI Council has some agenda where everybody should use AI to do everything.

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opening to faculty across the university. “The intent is [that] these faculty aren’t here just to learn about AI, but to help their disciplinary area adapt to AI,” Cardamone said. “In some cases, that may be helping them learn to use new tools or do new cool things with it, or bringing in outside speakers. In other cases, it might be revamping assignments and curriculums to create these AI-free spaces. And both things might be true in the same discipline.” Which brings me back to my original question: What does “AI literacy” even mean? Apparently, the definition is not quite settled. “There’s a lot of complex thoughts about what AI literacy should be and how it should be integrated into the curriculum,” Cardamone said. For Cardamone, shared experiences and conversations are the best path forward. “Can, through these conversations, we come to a shared understanding of what the baseline AI literacy we want across the school is — across all the students, staff and faculty — to be able to do their jobs? To be able to wrestle with the issues that come up when you’re trying to decide: Do I use AI on this task … or this communication I’m having with another human? Where does AI’s role fit in it?” At the heart of those conversations, Cardamone said, is accountability. “If you use AI to make a decision, whatever that decision is, you are accountable for that decision,” she said. “Whether it’s to share something written by AI or not, whether it’s to do a task in a certain way, all of that still lies with the human.” And underneath accountability, she said, is something even simpler: trust. “Faculty trusting students, students trusting faculty. Just two people trusting each other that their interaction is really between two humans and not moderated by AI.” For now, the AI Council is still working out what exactly that looks like in practice. But if Cardamone’s passion for the question is any indication, the conversation around AI at Tufts is well underway. Part Two of this series will look at what AI literacy actually looks like in practice, including new programming from Tisch Librarians. A piece on Tufts’ new AI minors is coming later in the semester. Stay tuned to see if I will ever get a job.

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FEATURES

A Jumbo’s Journey

One last time Ben Rachel

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ell, well, well… The situation I am in while writing my last first column is interesting. I’m currently writing in the car with my family, on our way back from dropping my sister off at Dartmouth. A young freshman. Yesterday, my family helped me move into my senior, off-campus house. I bet you can deduce which move-in was more taxing… The whole situation is quite ironic and, at some points, quite interesting. The contrast has been pretty apparent between my college freshman sister, wide-eyed with a heart full of naivety, and my senior self, with no meal plan, barely any classes and a 401k. For example, our respective move-ins were incredibly different. My family tends to do a small trip to Boston for a few days before move-in day. Back in 2023 (oh wow), during our vacation, we had no idea what to do in Boston. We were your typical tourists, acting like fish out of water, trying to develop a Boston accent and somehow always ending up in front of Paul Revere’s house in the North End. Instead of packing essentials from Chicago, I decided to buy everything I needed from a Target near Tufts. Neither my family nor I realized that this was a terrible idea. By the time

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 2026

we got to the Target in Porter Square, the shelves were desolate, the employees had disappeared and even the mice were visibly shaken. Let’s just say, I was not able to use soap in the shower for a while. Move-in day itself was, as my parents described it, “traumatic.” Hauling my luggage up to my dark and lonely single in Hodgdon Hall wasn’t the best first impression of Tufts. I had done zero planning for my room (this was before AI), and I really only had sheets, a pillow and enough underwear to last me a month without laundry. My sister’s move-in could not have been more different. This time, during our family trip to Boston, we were able to create a well-designed itinerary that led us across Boston, stopping at specific stores and eating delicious local meals. We even went out to explore Salem! And we learned from our last Target run, so we went to the Target out near Salem. For my sister’s move-in day, we were much more prepared. We brought a toolbox, double-sided tape, command hooks and she even had a fully laid-out plan (and if we deviated from it, we had to go sit in time-out). Would this have been possible without me? The older child? The guinea pig child? Of course not. Hell, this time we even bought two different tapes because we didn’t know which one would be better and tested them out with the posters and prints in my room. Let’s just say, I learned which tape was weaker when a large poster fell on my head while I was asleep.

THE TUFTS DAILY

GRAPHIC BY ELISE LEA SAMSON Even beyond those things, the contrast between my sister worrying about her first semester and me trying to grasp the reality that this is my last first semester was very apparent. As a senior, I thought I would be more prepared coming back to Tufts. I know exactly where my classes are (I’ve been cursed with a class in Lane Hall), I know which groceries I need and I know what I want to accomplish this semester. But even though I have three years of Tufts under my belt, I still shared feelings of unpreparedness and nervousness with my sister. At first, I attributed it to not being on campus since last December, but that just wasn’t it.

I soon realized that it’s just the nerves of moving in. No matter the year or your age, moving your whole life into college and leaving everything else behind is always tough. There will always be that whirlwind of nerves, excitement, anxiety, happiness, novelty and unpreparedness. And while I initially thought that was a bad sign, perhaps it isn’t. Maybe it’s a good sign. Going into whatever year you’re in with that brick in your stomach is not just normal, but good. For me, and for all my other seniors, feeling that same novelty, anxiety and unpreparedness I felt as a freshman is exactly what I want.

So with that, let me introduce myself once more. I’m Ben Rachel, a senior majoring in economics and minoring in computer science. I write a biweekly column in the Tufts Daily called “A Jumbo’s Journey,” where I document my experiences, what I learn and any lessons I think might be relatable. To both my returning and new readers, welcome. I hope you will continue this journey with me, one last time. With novelty and anxiety, Ben Rachel Ben Rachel is a senior studying economics and computer science. Ben can be reached at benjamin.rachel@tufts.edu.

Go off (text)book. Build real-world skills at AWS Builder Center for experience that you won’t find on a syllabus.

8

FUN & GAMES

F&G

THE TUFTS DAILY

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 2026

Late Night At The Daily Josué: “I thought we were talking about the [Goldilocks] book. Yeah, she’s an idiot.”

FUN & GAMES

Sharper Advice

Is there a ‘right way’ to do college? Sophie Penenberg

Q

: I’m a freshman, and it’s my first week here. My roommate already has a whole friend group and my orientation leader keeps saying “It’s a marathon, not a sprint,” like that’s supposed to help. I’ve already eaten alone at Dewick twice. Am I doing college wrong? A: First of all, breathe. Second of all, welcome to Tufts! For all you new faces, we here at Sharper Advice are here to give you sometimes-solicited — but more often not — advice on your lives here on the

Hill. Whether you’re a freshman meeting your roommate for the first time or a senior back for one last lap, chances are you already have a problem you’re too embarrassed to say out loud. So tell us, instead. Here’s what we think: As people who have experienced the hell that is the first few weeks of college, we can tell you with 100% certainty that you have nothing to worry about. If you don’t want to transfer within the first couple of days, you’re doing it wrong. I, personally, settled on not transferring in late October. So are you actually doing college wrong? Just because your roommate has friends does not mean you have failed at college. It probably means your roommate met some people and that’s it. They are not winning a secret freshman competition, and they are probably just as miserable as you are. In fact, we would argue that you should

the nightmare blunt rotation you laugh about with your forever friends once you’ve found them. They’re out there, we promise. It just takes time. Welcome to the Hill. We’re glad you’re here. Sharper Advice Sophie is a junior studying community health. Sophie can be reached at sophie.penenberg@tufts.edu.

GRAPHIC BY ISRAEL HERNANDEZ

CROSSWORD

Orientation ACROSS 1 "Do the Right Thing" Pizzeria 5 Precious 9 Perpendicular to the keel 14 Zone 15 Actress Skye 16 Number of hills in Roma 17 Carmichael, Houston, and Miller location 20 Carpet fiber 21 Mailed 22 Command-Z, on a Mac 23 Low card in a royal flush 25 German article 27 Religious center on campus 33 Blood-typing letters 35 Reasonable 36 Like week-old bread 37 Soprano Lily 39 Laurel and Getz 42 "Who does he think __!" 43 ___ Gay (W.W. II plane) 45 Familia members 47 Airline to Stockholm 48 Downhill dining hall 52 Sticky stuff 53 Game, ___, Match 54 Wife of Esau 57 Beaver projects 60 Literary lion 64 Here

be suspicious of anyone who has their entire college social circle figured out by Labor Day. Give it a month. Give it a semester. Give it a year. People change. Friend groups change. You will meet someone in an extremely boring class, at a party, in a club, looking for a table at Tisch, when the third fire drill happens in your dorm at 2 a.m. And then there’s Dewick… We know that eating alone in a dining hall feels like the social equivalent of standing in the middle of campus with a sign that says ‘I HAVE NO FRIENDS.’ But truthfully, nobody cares. Partly because we’ve all been there, and partly because everyone is far too busy trying to decide who they should sit with, whether the pasta will be a good shape or whether the line cutter deserves jail time. And please, for your own sake, do not make a big decision this week about who your friends are. Firstsemester friend groups end up being

67 Hall's singing partner 68 Carded 69 Entr'___ 70 Trumpet blast 71 Fey of "30 Rock" 72 Homes for bears DOWN 1 Delhi wrap 2 Greek god of war 3 "___we forget" 4 Reach by ship 5 Casino cube 6 Many millennia 7 Middle-earth creatures 8 Fished with a net 9 Silent communication syst. 10 Pass on after passing on 11 Vingt- ___ (blackjack) 12 Just slightly 13 The Beatles' "Love ___" 18 Some Monopoly cards 19 "Just ___!" 24 Things that leave you speechless? 26 Canadian interjections 27 "Leave this instant!" 28 Pantry pest 29 Rodeo rope 30 Bel ___ cheese 31 Director Kazan 32 Reduced amount 33 Imitated

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34 Femur e.g. 38 Not as substantial 40 Actor Cage, informally 41 Depletes 44 Torn ___ (sports injury) 46 Cut 49 Spiral-horned antelope 50 Be dead serious 51 "How tragic" 54 Small step 55 Two-part 56 Old Spice rival 58 Digital music format 59 "Frozen" reindeer 61 Cooties 62 Memo abbr. 63 Bill and Louis

65 Opposite of NNW 66 Authour LeShan

Originally published Sept. 2, 2025. ‘Orientation’ by Ezra Holzapfel Interested in submitting a puzzle? Reach out to production@tuftsdaily.com.

THE TUFTS DAILY

ARTS & POP CULTURE

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 2026

9

ARTS & POP CULTURE ‘Citizenship: Notes on an American Myth’ intertwines personal, national history Sarin Chaimattayompol Deputy Arts Editor

“Citizenship: Notes on an American Myth” by Daisy Hernández attempts to define what it means to be a citizen by braiding together vignettes from her childhood in an immigrant household against the backdrop of U.S. immigration policy. In an interview, Hernández said she thinks of a memoir as an “entryway into the history and political context, because that’s where you’re going to have the feelings.” Hernández is a queer daughter of a Colombian mother and a father who fled Cuba as a political refugee. Hernández writes about how she “felt incredibly American but not exactly a citizen,” fearing

a teacher might turn her over to immigration authorities. As she grew older, she realized the fear came from her lack of ‘social citizenship.’ T.H. Marshall, an English sociologist, defines social citizenship as every person in a state having “the right to a modicum of economic welfare and security to the right to share to the full in the social heritage and to live the life of a civilized being according to the standards prevailing in the society.” Yet, as Hernández points out, a person can possess full civil and political citizenship, like the right to vote, but still have unequal social citizenship. Hernández gives the example of a public health department vaccinating children for free, while her mother had to pay for

basic pediatric vaccines in cash envelopes. Hernández is wholly aware of her place within the hierarchy of social citizenship and of the language that defines her as a citizen. In her exploration of unpacking what citizenship means, she examines the restrictive citizenship laws for Black, Native and Asian Americans in the 1800s. She also delves into U.S. foreign policy in Latin America in the 1900s, birthright citizenship, gerrymandering, healthcare, queer citizenship and more. But if you are looking for an in-depth and comprehensive look into citizenship in U.S. history, I would point you in the other direction, as the history lessons in the book may bore a history buff.

The book was ambitious at times, attempting to tackle more than the 304 pages could cover. Citizenship has been endlessly contested throughout American history with shifting legal boundaries and cultural definitions. To define such a nebulous concept is already a Herculean task, but to define and layer her research with personal stories strains the reader and distracts them from the main takeaway. There were times when I found the jump between personal anecdotes, historical facts and scholarly references jarring. What Hernández does achieve successfully is turning a hypothetically dry nonfiction book into something more suitable for recreational reading on

a park bench or on the subway. If you’re like me, someone who is not majoring in history or international relations and gets turned off by dense history books, you might enjoy the conversational, almost poetic narrative style of writing. Next time you pick up your newspaper or tune into the news and hear the word ‘citizenship,’ think about how Hernández writes that “authors, editors, and journalists speak of immigrants as a flood, a tidal wave, a surge of water that cannot be controlled. The insistence on water, this fear of being drowned by the Other, says nothing, of course, about immigrants, but a great deal about the political anxieties of the creative class in the United States.”

Despair and dogs: ‘The Dog Stars’ explores longing and loss in a postapocalyptic future Sophie Herron

Executive Arts Editor

From expansive historical epics like “Gladiator” (2000) to science fiction thrillers like “Blade Runner” (1982), Ridley Scott is a worldbuilding maestro who conveys the brutality of survival in beautiful imagery. His most recent film, “The Dog Stars” (2026), adapted from Peter Heller’s novel of the same name, serves as another example of his aesthetic prowess, yet fails to adhere to a coherent plot. The film follows Hig (Jacob Elordi), a young man existing in a post-apocalyptic world after a pandemic wipes out the majority of humanity. Living on an abandoned airfield in Erie, Colo., with a grumpy old survivalist called Bangley (Josh Brolin) and his beloved dog, Jasper, Hig uses a small propeller plane to make supply runs into abandoned Denver, occasionally picking up radio signals from Grand Junction. After Jasper is killed by marauders, Hig leaves Erie and Bangley behind to find Grand Junction, meeting his love interest, Cima (Margaret Qualley), and her father, Pops (Guy Pearce), along the way. The film begins with Hig on a supply run in a sequence that reveals the world so slowly that it feels peaceful despite the burned bodies in the street. The first glimpses of Denver are from the safety of the cockpit, giving the viewers time to admire the beauty of green mountains and crumbling buildings. Upon landing, Hig’s thorough routine answers any question one could have about post-apocalyptic life: How do they get medicine? Where do they get

gasoline? Where did the dogs go? Do the TVs still work? Hig’s relatively uneventful supply run makes the apocalypse feel mundane while simultaneously establishing the world in 2035 without extensive voiceover or forced, expository dialogue. Yet the commitments to striking imagery and time-intensive worldbuilding come at the expense of plot development. Hig and his friends are attacked by multiple groups of visually interesting marauders, including a horde of pale, bald, heavily tattooed scavengers. While the audience learns where Hig can find Coca-Cola, they never learn what these tattoos mean. By establishing the mystery of these people, the film creates an unspoken and unfulfilled promise to resolve it. Despite being discussed multiple times, they only appear once more in the film to attack the protagonists before disappearing entirely. Disturbing night vision shots capitalize on their distinctive appearance and distorted movements. But any other tribe could have executed the attack, and there is no justification for their bizarre presence and behavior besides its aesthetic effect. Hig’s journey to Grand Junction is similarly underdeveloped. After long, cinematic sequences, the film sacrifices even more time by pausing the quest storyline to create space for a love storyline rather than allowing the two to develop simultaneously. Almost immediately after leaving for Grand Junction, Hig crashlands his plane in the mountains, then repairs it while falling in love with Cima. Both Cima and Hig

are widowed, both enjoy listening to music and drinking coffee and neither has exposure to other young people. As they fall in love, there are no trials to reveal deeper characteristics, values or fundamental compatibility. While many relationships begin with small talk over coffee, a film exploring how to find contentment in an unforgiving reality calls for more emotional depth. Even after resuming, Hig’s quest falls short of a hero’s journey. Grand Junction is easy to find because Hig already knows where it is, and there are few obstacles to their arrival. Hig’s hopes for a better place are quickly dispelled, and the protagonists must flee and return to Erie. Their escape is dangerous, but once again improbably easy — they escape

unharmed and unpursued. Furthermore, the journey does not cultivate their interpersonal relationships because Hig and Cima are already in love and Pops is already fine with it. The climax at Grand Junction teaches Hig to appreciate what he has — a moral that Bangley tells him explicitly. Yet, Hig already knew how to be content — he spent every day of his pre-pandemic life with a job he enjoyed, a wife and dog he loved and a baby on the way, wondering how he got so lucky. Only after losing everything did he become discontent with his place. Bangley never wished to be elsewhere — he was prepared for the apocalypse before it happened and didn’t have anyone to lose. Finding

“The Dog Stars” (2026) set in Avezzano.

contentment in one’s current home requires overcoming the grief of what was lost in addition to abandoning phantom hopes. Grand Junction dispels the fantasy of an out-of-reach paradise, and Cima helps Hig move on from his grief. Hig learns his lesson after Grand Junction, which suggests that dispelling the myth of something better — rather than letting go of the past — is the catalyst for contentment. This outcome seems inconsistent with the amount of time devoted to his love story, which emphasizes the importance of letting go. Because the plot failed to unify its components into one narrative, the resulting film is visually beautiful and touching but follows a meandering and unclear trajectory.

VIA WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

THE TUFTS DAILY

ARTS & POP CULTURE

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 2026

11

Is ‘One Night Only’ the Modern Romcom’s Death Rattle? Spring LaRose

Deputy Arts Editor

“Sex sells,” the saying goes. So, in theory, a movie that revolves around having sex should do okay for itself at the box office, especially if that movie is from director Will Gluck. His previous romcom, “Anyone but You” (2023), was hailed by some critics as the commercial comeback of the romcom. And yet, “One Night Only” (2026), Gluck’s new romcom, bombed in theaters. Why did this happen? The reason is simple: “One Night Only” is as sexless as a dentist’s office. The film is set in a dystopian New York City of the near future, where sex outside of marriage has been made illegal in America except for one night a year (dubbed “The One Night”). Basically, it’s “The Purge” (2013) but with sex. Owen (Callum Turner), a pizza shop owner, plans to propose to his girlfriend Malika (Maya Hawke) on The One Night. Meanwhile, Allie (Monica Barbaro), a cover singer for commercials, and her

friend Jacinta (King Princess) want to find men they truly connect with. Malika and Jacinta end up going off course, leaving Owen and Allie to fend for themselves. Meet-cutes and hijinks ensue. The premise of “One Night Only” is absurd, but the film squashes it down into a strangely mundane world. And the more “One Night Only” explains itself, the more trouble it gets into. The no-sex rule is explained to be an initiative implemented by a conservative government as a possible solution to the spread of STDs; all single people are fitted with biosensors that can tell if you’re having sex based on physical signals. It’s like Gluck is trying to mangle screenwriter Travis Braun’s idea into making sense. The worldbuilding is an unconvincing mish-mash of dystopian, casual and quirky that comes back around to bland. And then there’s the issue of Allie and Owen’s chemistry. Their interactions are pleasant, but there’s no real passion underpinning them. Allie is awkward, Owen is mildly

charming. Together, they’re nice people but not at all interesting. “One Night Only” tries to fall back on the absurdity of its premise to make the couple feel irreverent, but it doesn’t work. Allie and Owen are the film equivalent of those faceless drawings that are so popular on modern romance novel covers — blanks we’re supposed to project ourselves onto, which really just leave us staring at a void. Because it is set in a dystopian world, “One Night Only” must have social or political commentary by default. It positions itself as a send-up of conservative values and hook-up and dating app culture at the same time; however, by walking this line, it says nothing about either. Allie and Owen are supposed to be the true romance that triumphs over the controlling government and the carnal chaos of The One Night, but since their dynamic is inoffensive at best, again, nothing is said. One might imagine that The One Night in New York means a huge, rather grotesque orgy.

But in the world of “One Night Only,” people having sex on the street looks like a sterile act — there’s no sweat, grit or grime at all. It’s another result of the film’s general emptiness — even sex can’t shake the corporate-crawlies. And for some inexplicable reason, condoms seem to be the only form of birth control available to the public. The goose chase that Allie and Owen go on for the last condom in New York might as well be replaced with a billboard for Trojan. Another part of the dystopia is the ever-presence of advertisements — a reality echoed in Allie’s job as an ad singer. So there is also, hypothetically, an anti-corporate message in the film. But because “One Night Only” does not provide commentary on its own reality beyond a shrug of the shoulders, it falls under the umbrella of the same corporate slop it’s trying to deconstruct. In the finale, Owen goes running out looking for Allie, finding her inside a red lighthouse. They decide not to have sex for another year, and then get

GRAPHIC BY ELISE LEA SAMSON

roped in as background dancers in the commercial being filmed outside the lighthouse. Finally, “One Night Only” is being explicit about the fact that it has more in common with an ad for Skyrizi than it does with “When Harry Met Sally” (1989). But if “One Night Only” is an ad, then what is it advertising? Waiting for marriage? Condoms? Gluck has certainly rejected the pornographic “Fifty Shades of Grey” (2015) or “365 Days” (2020) approach to on-screen sex and romance with “One Night Only.” On paper, that sounds like a step in the right direction for restoring us to the romcom heyday of the 90s and 2000s. But Gluck has gone so far in the opposite direction that the result is completely detached from reality. He has made something in the shape of a romcom, but since it is neither sexual nor romantic nor funny, it’s just uncanny. You can mine real meaning out of “One Night Only” by viewing it not as a romcom, but as a prophecy of what happens when humanity is removed from the equation of storytelling.

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OPINION

THE TUFTS DAILY

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 2026

OPINION Letter from the Editor in Chief: A Daily welcome Julian Glickman Editor in Chief

To the Tufts community, Whether you’re a Jumbo calf or a returning ‘Bo, it is my privilege to welcome you to Tufts! My name is Julian Glickman and I am honored to be the editor in chief of The Tufts Daily for the fall 2026 semester. It is with great pleasure and candor that I introduce you to the Daily, an organization that has defined my two years at Tufts. First, I want to address our newest community members and future leaders: the class of 2030. Arriving at college can be deeply overwhelming. You’re surrounded by new faces, new places and, potentially, a newfound uncertainty about the future. Despite all the joy freshman year can bring about, it is easy to feel pressure — pressure in social settings, about future employment and around academics. While I cannot prevent anxiety, I can encourage you all to practice something that can guide you: curiosity. Be curious about your environment. Question everything. Take on new challenges and adventures. Try new things. Learn more about your community, from groups within Tufts to neighborhoods outside our campus bounds. One of the best ways you can practice curiosity is through journalism. The Daily is Tufts’ editorially and financially independent student-run newspaper of record. Founded in 1980, we publish every weekday online and once a week in

print, with an expanding presence on social media. The many faces I had the pleasure of meeting at the Club Fair know that I take great pride in a new Daily member’s true ability to pursue whatever interests them. The Daily provides essential reporting in an area otherwise lacking in news coverage: our local communities of Medford and Somerville. I’ve been grateful and proud to see our local coverage expand substantially over the past several years with Daily reporters spreading across the Greater Boston area to cover local elections. It has brought me tremendous joy to hear residents share their appreciation of the Daily’s work. Beyond our role in Medford and Somerville, the Daily holds an ever-growing importance on campus. Our writers work tirelessly to hold the university accountable, thanks in part to our financial independence, while also highlighting boundless student activities and campus life. Our editorial team also includes an illuminating Features section, a creative Arts & Pop Culture section, an outspoken Opinion section, an erudite Science section, a whimsical Fun & Games section, a passionate Sports section and a probing Investigative team. Outside of our editorial scope, the Daily is a space for multimedia to thrive. From Photography and Videography to Graphics and Audio, the creativity of Daily members, as well as editorial

content, has been able to flourish through our multimedia team’s tireless efforts. We also have an incredible team that keeps production running smoothly, including Layout, Newsletter, Graphics, Copy and Social Media. As the media landscape continues to evolve, we are excited to be expanding our presence on social media, with several Reels posted on Instagram last semester. If you want to help the Daily run as a well-oiled machine, our Business and Ethics & Inclusion teams are always working tirelessly to keep us honest and thriving financially. As campus speech becomes an increasingly contentious lightning

rod, the Daily remains committed to providing a space for impartial news coverage, creative articulation and open argumentation. The Daily also will never compromise on its dedication to something irreplaceable: human expression. The Daily is full of opportunities; I ask that you find what allows you to channel the curiosity I spoke of earlier. Are you curious about what goes on outside your circle on campus? Join News. Do you have a burning argument? Join Opinion. Do you have a story to tell? Join Features. Do you have an artistic masterpiece or even just a masterpiece-hopeful? Join one of our Multimedia sections. Wherever you decide to go, you will be received with open

The President’s Lawn is pictured in the fall.

arms. Attend our general interest meetings on Sept. 15 and 24 from 8-9 p.m. in the Joyce Cummings Center. Follow our Instagram at @tuftsdaily. Pick up a copy of the paper. Have a family member sign up for a subscription. Don’t just join the Daily, though. Hold us accountable. Tell us if we ever veer away from our principles. Whether through an op-ed or in an anonymous tip, we want to hear your voice. On behalf of the entire Dailmunity, welcome again to Tufts. Welcome to a new world of abounding curiosity. Pax et Lux, Julian Glickman Editor in Chief, Fall 2026

SAMANTHA POKORNY / THE TUFTS DAILY

Environmental policy: How the gap widened Monica Reilly Staff Writer

Originally published Feb. 4. It’s easy to view climate change and environmental issues at large as being inherently partisan. Recent polling shows stark differences in how Republicans feel about climate change versus Democrats. Not a single Republican voted for former President Joe Biden’s environment-centric Inflation Reduction Act. Additionally, our current Republican president has officially left the Paris Climate Agreement. However, in spite of the seemingly intrinsic nature of today’s partisan environmental disagreements, caring for our world was once an issue that brought the U.S. government together. While there were American environmental policies in the pre-Nixon era — like the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899 or the Air Pollution Control Act of 1955 — it wasn’t until the Nixon administration that protecting the environment became a priority. Former President Richard Nixon founded the Environmental Protection Agency, signed the Clean Air Act into law and allowed the passage

of the National Environmental Policy Act. In many ways, he established the foundation for environmental policy in the U.S., and many of the laws he signed into place continue to play a critical role. Nixon is an important example because he refutes many of the justifications as to why environmental policy became so partisan. It has been argued that because Republicans align themselves with the free market and deregulation, they will inevitably be ideologically opposed to environmental regulatory policy. However, this is disproven by Nixon spearheading environmental policy in the U.S. Even former President Ronald Reagan, who was notoriously anti-regulation, supported the Montreal Protocol, a treaty designed to limit the production of ozone-depleting chemicals. In fact, U.S. public opinion data shows us that this was the time when both Republicans and Democrats were the most united on environmental policy, even as Reagan’s conservative policies gained traction across the U.S. Once we understand that Republicanism is not inherently anti-environment, the question then becomes: How did

environmental policy become so polarized? This is a question that has been asked and answered a slew of times, but there are a few very apparent factors. That same U.S. public opinion data also shows us that throughout the 1990s, Republicans suddenly became increasingly anti-environment, with Democrats remaining largely stagnant in their beliefs. While it is impossible to pinpoint any one specific cause for this shift, it is important to note that this shift took place at the same time that the Global Climate Coalition was at its height. Formed just two years earlier, the GCC was made up of U.S. businesses and industries aiming to sway environmental legislation. Such members included General Motors, Chrysler Corporation and Shell Oil Company. Coalitions such as these worked to spread disinformation surrounding climate change, sowing doubt in the minds of Americans as to the validity of scientific findings. At the same time, it directly impacted legislative decisions, swaying the Clinton administration to enact voluntary instead of mandatory emissions reductions on corporations and even influencing the 2025 UN Climate

Change Conference in Rio de Janeiro to agree on weaker legislation. Being made up of such wealthy corporations, the GCC was a powerful lobby. Within their lobbying decisions, we begin to see a potential explanation for the radical partisan shift in environmental policy. When the GCC first started gaining traction in the early ‘90s, it lobbied more towards Republicans at a ratio of 1.8to-1. By 2020, that ratio rose to 5-to-1. We can see similar phenomena across various industries which would be economically harmed by fossil fuel reductions, including oil and coal companies. There are a multitude of explanations for why lobby groups like the GCC would favor Republicans — being pro-business, representing more states with oil — but at the end of the day, these groups were able to sway Republican leaders and conservative think tanks via their donations. That’s not to say that Democrats are completely immune to this kind of influence. Former Democratic Senator Joe Manchin notoriously opposed the proposed Build Back Better

Act, effectively blocking its adoption and forcing legislators to instead accept his revised Inflation Reduction Act, which included provisions favoring fossil fuel companies. He also happened to receive close to $1 million from lobbying groups, and even has ties to a coal company himself. Figures like Manchin, who should in theory be aligned with environmental policy, show that money speaks louder than ideology. Even though the GCC has been dissolved for the past few decades, the impacts of it and similar lobby groups still reverberate. Oil and gas corporations continue to spend hundreds of millions of dollars each year on lobbying, and the partisan divide seems to be getting wider and wider. But we are not helpless in this fight. In spite of President Donald Trump’s many attempts, the green energy sector of the market continues to flourish, and millions of Americans have been gathering together to protest Trump’s harmful policies, including his environmental ones. Tufts students have the power, both now and in our future careers, to take stances in one way or another that better our planet. The future depends on it.

THE TUFTS DAILY

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 2026

SCIENCE

13

SCIENCE Lettuce address this outbreak Shanzeh Haider

Deputy Science Editor

Have you been suspicious of your lettuce? Perhaps your TikTok feed is telling you to stop eating salad, or you’ve simply heard about an illness caused by contaminated produce from a friend. If you’ve been wondering what’s up with this lettuce-fueled frenzy, you’re in the right place. The U.S. is currently facing the largest outbreak of cyclosporiasis ever recorded. So, what even is cyclosporiasis? The Cyclospora cayetanensis parasite causes cyclosporiasis, a gastrointestinal illness. It is transmitted through contaminated food and water. Symptoms typically occur

anytime between two days and two weeks after first exposure. Some of the common symptoms include diarrhea, nausea, fatigue, loss of appetite, cramping, bloating and weight loss. Rarer symptoms include body aches, vomiting, fever and flu-like symptoms. Many people can clear cyclosporiasis on their own, but some cases are treated with an antibiotic, such as trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole. In the U.S., we have an official ‘cyclosporiasis season,’ which occurs from May 1 to Aug. 31, annually. This season, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported 18,445 confirmed cases, 990 hospitalizations

and two deaths. To put this number into perspective, only 1,180 cases were reported between May 1 and Aug. 31 in 2025. This year, cases have been reported in 49 states, including Massachusetts. Additionally, the CDC notes that there are over 13,505 unconfirmed cases that require further investigation, indicating that many cases have gone unconfirmed or unreported. The outbreak this year has been linked to packaged iceberg lettuce distributed by Taylor Farms de Mexico, sourced from central Mexico. There have been 11,458 cyclosporiasis cases attributed to this linkage, making up a major part of the outbreak. A wide

variety of popular chainbrand restaurants use Taylor Farms iceberg lettuce, including Taco Bell. On July 24, the Food and Drug Administration reported that across nine states, 1,947 people infected with cyclospora reported a recent exposure to Taco Bell. However, the affected lettuce has been recalled. According to the FDA, the lettuce “should no longer be available in stores or restaurants,” as the best-by dates have passed on these products. Additionally, on July 17, Taco Bell stated they “completed removal of affected Taylor Farms lettuce” from their restaurants. To reduce the risk of cyclosporiasis, the CDC

recommends avoiding recalled food, following food safety guidelines and practicing hygienic measures when handling produce. Additionally, cooking produce to 158 degrees Fahrenheit (70 degrees Celsius) and above kills the parasite, which reduces overall risk. While the cyclosporiasis season officially ended on Aug. 31, total case counts are still being computed and investigated, as the CDC reports that “it can take about six weeks from the start of symptoms to when CDC receives the case information.” Therefore, keeping up to date with the news on the outbreak is another crucial step you can take to stay informed and safe.

Back to the books: Science-backed tips for academic success this fall Addison Dion

Executive Science Editor

Are you a biopsychology major looking to apply your neuroscience lessons to your study habits? Maybe you’re an undeclared first-year wondering how neurotransmitters and fMRI studies could possibly relate to your time spent in Tisch. This semester, your days of relying on day-before cram sessions are over. Check out these four science-backed tips to help you crush your classes this semester. 1) Space It Out Spaced repetition is a study technique wherein you commit to learning information in shorter, more frequent sessions. This technique has been shown to improve recall and reduce fatigue by breaking large amounts of content into smaller pieces. This may look like daily flashcard review in the week leading up to an exam, as opposed to long library sessions the night before. Studies demonstrate that to effectively learn, there must be a waiting period between two consecutive stimuli. Massed instruction, often known to college students as ‘cramming,’ has been shown to increase the risk of tiredness, leading to “cognitive decline in individual performance” and “rapid decay of temporary memory.” These effects occur because presynaptic neurons, or nerve cells, become overstimulated, preventing the release of neurotransmitters that support important neurological functions. By practicing spaced repetition, you can avoid these deleterious effects and strengthen your long-term memory, doing yourself a favor during finals. 2) Test, Rest, & Test Again You might ask: Why would I give myself another exam

voluntarily? Oddly enough, a multitude of neurological studies point toward active recall, a learning strategy that utilizes the active retrieval of information without looking at any study materials, as a reliable and effective mode of learning. This method is based on the psychological principles of the testing effect, which suggests that active retrieval leads to ease of recollection of said material in the future. The Hermann Ebbinghaus forgetting curve, or the hypothesis that the most significant loss of memory retention occurs in the first hour after learning, serves as the basis for understanding active recall. The hypothesis indicates that “learners will forget 40% of information within a few days and almost 90% within a month.” From a neurological standpoint, fMRI studies suggest greater hippocampal and frontal cortex activation during active recall exercises (as opposed to the simple reviewing of information). Active recall, while requiring more brain power in the short term, ultimately reduces the total amount of time students need to spend with information before an exam. Overall, the more a student utilizes a neural pathway, the more efficient the pathway becomes in remembering specific information. This can be likened to strengthening a muscle in the gym — the more reps you put in, the more strength you gain. Implementing active recall into your study habits may look like routinely using flashcards, either physical or digital. Additionally, students may find it useful to quiz themselves and scour through practice problems in preparation for an exam. 3) Hit the Hay In addition to offering respite after a long day of

classes, your time spent in bed might help your brain thrive. From mental to physical, adequate, high-quality sleep forms the foundation for overall health and well-being. Furthermore, good sleep is critical for memory consolidation and learning. According to Dr. George Dragoi from the Yale School of GRAPHIC BY Medicine, memELISE LEA SAMSON ory formation occurs in two crucial phases. Phase one, 4) The Mind-Body Connection memory encoding, occurs Does time spent in the gym when you’re awake. In this offer you an escape from the phase, neuronal networks in a stressors of college classes? Good part of your brain known as the news — these exercise sessions hippocampus fire and ‘encode’ may be doing more for your the basis for the memory. brain than you think. Phase two, memory consolInterestingly enough, exercise idation, occurs during slow- stimulates the release of growth wave sleep, or deep sleep. In factors, chemicals that promote this phase, encoded sequenc- the growth of new blood veses are “integrated by chemi- sels in the brain and support cal connections into new and the health of existing neurologexisting neuronal knowledge ical blood vessels. Additionally, networks and filed for long- it stimulates the release of term storage in the neocor- brain-derived neurotrophic factex.” If memory consolidation tor, a neurotransmitter that is cannot occur, long-term mem- crucial in the growth and surory formation in your brain vival of new neurons during will fail to occur. brain development, as well as The results of a study conduct- the healthy functioning of these ed in Saudi Arabia, which moni- existing neurons during adult tored the sleep duration of health life. BDNF works by binding to sciences students, revealed that TrkB, a tropomyosin receptor, on students who slept six to seven neurons and stimulating activity hours nightly achieved higher within the neuron. The activity GPAs than those who slept less. stimulated by BDNF is critical to This study further demonstrates learning and memory function the critical role sleep plays in within the brain. the memory consolidation and Additionally, studies have learning process. shown that the prefrontal cortex

and medial temporal cortex, two parts of the brain involved in thinking and memory, appear in greater volume in people who exercise versus sedentary people. While the most benefit is derived from regular exercise, some research indicates that even a single session can benefit synaptic communication, leading to advances in neurological functions such as planning, task switching and memory. Not sure how to start? Experts recommend, at minimum, half an hour of moderate physical activity most days of the week to derive neurological benefits. This can equate to 150 minutes per week. There’s no need to be stressed about the semester ahead: Scientists have already done the homework for you. Whether it be daily flashcard drills or practice exams, grueling leg days or an early night’s rest, there’s research to support anyone’s needs. Let these four tips serve as your ‘lab manual’ for academic success this fall.

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THE TUFTS DAILY

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 2026

SPORTS

SPORTS Field hockey readies to defend crown Leanna DeSousa Staff Writer

After a thrilling overtime win over the Johns Hopkins Bluejays in last year’s NCAA title game, the Jumbos look to maintain their status as field hockey champions. The 2–1 victory by a golden goal was Tufts’ second national title in field hockey history. The Jumbos were ranked first in the National Field Hockey Coaches Association’s preseason poll. The team finished the 2025 season with a 19–3 overall record and 9–1 in the NESCAC. The Jumbos scored a total of 73 goals, led by forwards Hannah Biccard (LA’25), who scored 17, and Eleanor Helm, a sophomore with 13. Tufts allowed their opponents to score a mere 22 goals against them, thanks in part to goalkeeper Lydia Eastburn’s (LA’25) 66 saves. The impressive season led to several honors for the squad’s members. Biccard, Eastburn and senior defender Claire Casey were named to the NFHCA Division III

All-American team while Biccard was named NFHCA Division III national player of the year. The trio, along with junior midfielder Eleanor Luft, received NFHCA All-Region honors. Helm joined Biccard, Casey, Eastburn and Luft in earning all-conference honors after the team made it to the NESCAC semifinals. The squad’s coaching staff was named NFHCA National Staff of the Year for the second year in a row and it was recently announced that head coach Tina Mattera would be inducted into the NFHCA Hall of Fame for her impressive career. Despite graduating five outstanding seniors, the squad has many returning players with plenty of high-caliber experience under their belts. The senior and junior class played in last year’s national championship game and NESCAC semifinal, as well as the national title g a m e of 2024 a n d the 2024 NESCAC championship, in

which they emerged victorious. Casey, Helm and Luft have been placed on the 2026 NFHCA Collegiate Watch List and show great promise as leaders for the upcoming season. The squad is welcoming eight new teammates who play across the pitch. The incoming first-year class includes two forwards, two true midfielders, three defensive mids and a goalkeeper. The versatility of the

“Being a captain pushes me even more to work hard and keep my cool in chaotic moments. My fellow captain Ben Pensky does an incredible job with this on the field and it is something I will continue to do my best to replicate,” Ben Brown wrote in a message to the Daily. Other key returnees include fifth-year goalkeeper Nikola Antic, who started all 24 of the Jumbos’ games last year and is entering his fourth season as the team’s number one, and senior centerback Bijan Akhtarzandi-Das, who started every game alongside Ben Brown at center back. Going forward, junior midfielder Ellis Denby, who played 83 minutes in the title game and has become a true midfield dynamo for the Jumbos, senior defender Ethan Jett, who tallied three goals last term, senior striker Henry Brown, who posted seven goals last fall and senior winger Canfin, who led the team and the NESCAC in goals and co-led the team in assists last year, have all returned with an eye on bringing the Jumbos back to the promised land.

“Returning three full classes plus two 5th year leaders from that 2025 team is huge. Everyone has been exposed to those big pressure moments, … and now it’s about everyone stepping up … into more leadership roles,” Ben Brown remarked. In addition to relying on proven quantities, Dezotell has also enlisted first-year recruits and transfer players to bolster the Jumbo ranks. Among the first-years, tricky winger Oscar Suarez, left midfielder Curtis Fitzgerald and commanding midfielder Theo Behe could be ones to watch. “The fresh[men] and transfers immediately fit in with the guys and seeing their talent has been super exciting. … If someone came into our locker room, they wouldn’t be able to pick out who were fresh[men] or transfers; everyone is super comfortable and having fun,” Ben Brown wrote. As for the schedule, the homeaway ratio heavily favors the Jumbos. 10 of their 15 regular-season games will be played on Bello Field. Five of their opponents have been ranked in the United Soccer

incoming midf i e l d e r s may become a useful tool for the team, adding to the bench’s depth. “Winning last year does not mean we stop

Men’s soccer kicks off title defense Max Druckman Staff Writer

There are a few moments in sports history that are so memorable that every fan can pinpoint where they were when it happened. Bobby Thomson’s shot heard ‘round the world, Malcolm Butler’s goal-line interception in Super Bowl XLIX and, for Tufts fans, Xavier Canfin’s overtime goal that crowned the Jumbos men’s soccer team as 2025 National Champions, their fifth such Division III crown. The most difficult part about winning a National Championship, though, is the pressure to replicate the feat the following year. That is the tall task that faces Head Coach Kyle Dezotell and his squad this fall. This year’s team features many returning faces, including fifth-year central midfielder Ben Pensky, who started 23 out of the Jumbos’ 24 games last year and had two assists against Penn State Harrisburg in the NCAA Tournament, and senior midfielder Ben Brown, who formed one half of the team’s center back pairing last year. The two Bens will serve as this year’s captains.

working hard or change our plan of attack,” junior midfielder Ellie Wilkins wrote to the Daily. “At the end of the day, our goal is to be the best team there is, and have fun and support each other along the way.”

The Jumbos will face their usual rigorous schedule, including their conference opponents. Many NESCAC opponents are also in the top 25

ranked teams by the NFHCA, including Bates at No. 5, Middlebury at No. 7, Wesleyan at No. 8, Williams at No. 11, Hamilton at No. 12, Bowdoin at No. 15 and Amherst at No. 19. Tufts will also play the thirdranked Babson College in the first half of the season. “We will combine our individual strengths as one to make this team the best it can be. Keeping the standard high and holding each other accountable in practices is key to our strategy so that come game day, we are more than prepared,” Wilkins added. “If we want to be the most competitive version of ourselves, we cannot be satisfied by winning in the past but rather be hungry to do it again.” The team will begin their season with a home opener against Trinity College on Saturday, Sept. 5.

COURTESY TUFTS ATHLETICS

Eleanor Luft is pictured during a game against Bates.

Coaches pre-season poll, including No. 5-ranked Bowdoin. Other dates that Coach Dezotell and his staff will have circled on their calendar include the Sept. 19 match against No. 9 Connecticut College, whom the Jumbos beat in last year’s NESCAC Championship Game and the Oct. 24 match against No. 10 Williams, the only team to beat the Jumbos last year. “The [NESCAC] is always very tough so all those games will be a battle and we are going to take it one game at a time,” Brown said. Besides the major looming question concerning whether the Jumbos can repeat as champions, other, more imminent matters currently concern Coach Dezotell. Foremost amongst those considerations is goalscoring. Midfielder Henry Perkins (LA’25) was the team’s co-leader in assists last term, while midfielder Daniel Yanez (LA’25) also tacked on five goals. Following their graduation, the pressure now falls on Canfin and Henry Brown to pick up the goalscoring burden. Additionally, 10 out of the 57 goals scored by the Jumbos last year were

penalty kicks, meaning creativity from open play will be integral to winning matches. Another concern Dezotell will need to address entering the season is replacing stalwarts in his backline. Antic, Akhtarzandi-Das and Ben Brown have returned, though other crucial defenders, such as center back Taylor Feinberg (LA’25) and full-back Mateo Bargagna (LA’25), have departed. Players such as Jett and right-back Alex Johnson, a sophomore, will be tasked with ensuring that the rock-solid defensive front refrains from faltering after losing many of its mainstays. Despite all the expectations and questions, the Jumbos understand what it takes to win and are confident in their abilities. While it is often said that the sequel never tops the original, the 2026 Jumbos will put that wisdom to the test. “We honestly feel no pressure. The guys carry a sense of pride and confidence from last season but we have all moved on and know we are going to get every team’s best shot at us which is just more motivating,” Ben Brown wrote.

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TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 2026

THE TUFTS DAILY