The Tufts Daily THE
INDEPENDENT
STUDENT
NEWSPAPER
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TUFTS
UNIVERSITY
E S T. 1 9 8 0 Medford/Somerville, Mass.
Thursday, September 19, 2024
VOLUME LXXXVIII, ISSUE 3
UNIVERSITY
Q&A: Louisa Terrell, former White House legislative director, talks politics, Harris campaign, favorite stories from Capitol Hill Estelle Anderson
Executive News Editor
Editor’s note: This interview has been edited for length and clarity. The Tufts Daily (TD): First of all, welcome back to campus! What does it mean for you to be back at Tufts? Louisa Terrell (LT): It is lovely to be here. For me personally, this is the place I became myself. It was where I got that kernel of starting to really think about politics and policy in a different way. TD: What drew you to a career in politics? Are there any classes or other experiences at Tufts that helped lead you toward this path? LT: With American Studies, you could weave in a lot of interesting topics … and intellectually see the interconnectivity between a lot of strands of different academic thought. There’s a way in which politics is that same concept of weaving together a lot of pieces, and I felt like I learned some of that and came to appreciate that as well suited for me.
TD: As Director of Legislative Affairs for the Biden administration, you helped pass landmark bills including the Inflation Reduction Act and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. What was your approach to getting legislation passed and working across party lines in such a divided Congress? LT: You really have to invest in relationships across the aisle from the very beginning. When I got the job, one of the first things I did was make sure I literally went door to door to every Republican up on the Hill. There were going to be lots of Republicans that we were never going to have any consensus points with, but it was also just a sign of respect to say that the president was here to advance an agenda for all Americans, and that our door was open to figure out where there are ways that we could work together. I think to have really good bipartisan discussions with an end result, you have to live by your word. It was important in those environments that, as a team, we were always really clear on what
we could deliver and what we couldn’t deliver. TD: You are currently a senior advisor for the Harris campaign. In your opinion, what are the most important elements of a successful presidential campaign? LT: A successful campaign has a theory of “the case.” [It] has touchstones of who the candidate is, how she describes herself and yet, at the same time, it can also be nimble. I think Vice President Harris has a very clear-eyed message about who she is and the kind of vision she wants for our country, and she stays clear about that, but the campaign itself is really nimble about how they’re delivering that message. So you’re nimble in what platforms [you use] and how you’re reaching voters, but you’re also not switching messages all the time. You’re really clear and organized and driving some anchor messages. TD: What have you found most rewarding about your role advising the Harris campaign? see TERRELL, page 3
COURTESY TISCH COLLEGE
Former White House Legislative Director Louisa Terrell is pictured.
LOCAL
Somerville Central Library to maintain reduced schedule amid fears of teen violence Marlee Stout
Senior Staff Writer
Somerville Public Library staff announced on Aug. 27 that, starting the next day, the library’s Central branch would close in the hours surrounding the dismissal time of nearby Somerville High School. The move comes as a result of unsuccessful talks between library leadership and Mayor Katjana Ballantyne’s office after years of violent behavior from teenagers. The Central branch, which is located next door to the high school in Gilman Square, is now closed from 2–4 p.m. on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays, and from 11:30 a.m.–2 p.m. on Wednesdays, when the school has early dismissal. The schedules of the library’s East and West branches will remain unchanged. In interviews with the Daily, Central Library staff described 4 FEATURES
Fun-filled Fluff Festival
MARLEE STOUT / THE TUFTS DAILY
The Somerville Central Library is pictured on Sept. 12. some of the incidents that led up to the decision to reduce the hours. Librarians were granted anonymity due to fears of retaliation. According to the librarians, teenagers have thrown rocks at people leaving the library, gotten into physical altercations 6 ARTS & POP CULTURE
Tufts artist traverses two worlds page 7
inside of the library and thrown firecrackers into the building through the book drop, among other incidents. In July, librarians had to intervene to stop teenagers from attacking an adult patron as he was leaving the library. The man “got jumped by
a group of about eight to 10 kids outside,” said one librarian. “He came back in and he was bleeding from his face. The teenagers followed him back in, they grabbed books and began throwing them at this man and at staff members.” Police logs confirm that the man sustained “minor injuries.” This incident forced the library to close for the remainder of the day and “changed the course of how we were expecting reopening to go,” according to the librarian. The day after the library implemented its modified schedule, Mayor Ballantyne visited the Central branch to hear from staff about their experiences and to ask for solutions that would allow the library to reopen. Some librarians felt that Ballantyne placed too much responsibility on library staff and leadership, rather than proposing solutions that would address the root causes of the teenagers’ behavior.
9 OPINION
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The triumphs of trees
Heroes of homecoming
“We were hoping that the city would be open to kind of seeing that this was a community responsibility and not one for the library,” one librarian said. “And I don’t think she really came at it from that perspective, which was frustrating for a lot of staff.” In a statement to the Daily, a city spokesperson wrote that “City and Library staff are working closely to implement effective and long-lasting solutions including installing cameras and hiring a social worker to work from the Central Library to help de-escalate issues and connect patrons of all ages with supportive services as needed.” The Somerville City Council addressed the closures at its meeting on Thursday. Multiple councilors said that they learned about the closure at the same time as the public and expressed frustration at the administration’s lack of transparency. see LIBRARY, page 3 News Features Arts & Pop Culture Fun & Games Opinion Sports
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