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WOMEN’S TRACK AND FIELD As TikTok continues to grow worldwide, questions arise about future of app Jumbos find success, score sever- see ARTS&LIVING / PAGE 4 al top-5 finishes at home meet Men’s track and field impress at Cupid Challenge with SEE SPORTS / BACK PAGE multiple season-high performances see SPORTS / BACK PAGE THE INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF TUFTS UNIVERSITY EST. 1980 HE UFTS AILY VOLUME LXXIX, ISSUE 13T T D MEDFORD/SOMERVILLE, MASS. WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2020 tuftsdaily.com Tufts reassures students following expansion of ORLL to Trump administration’s travel ban eliminate by Caleb Symons Staff Writer lead resident Last week, The Tufts International Center assistant role contacted students from three of the coun- tries recently added to the Trump adminis- for next year tration’s travel ban to clarify the updated ban’s provisions and to offer a number of travel and by Alejandra Carrillo counseling resources. News Editor The expansion of Presidential Proclamation 9645 to bar residents of Eritrea, The Office of Residential Life and Learning Kyrgyzstan, Myanmar, Nigeria, Sudan and (ORLL) told lead resident assistant (RA) appli- Tanzania from permanently immigrating to cants by email on Jan. 31 that they would be the United States was announced on Jan. 31. eliminating the lead RA role entirely, and there- It will go into effect on Feb. 21. fore would not be interviewing any candidates In response to the updated ban, to fill the position next year. International Center Director Andrew This announcement came at the end of Shiotani sent an email on Feb. 3 to stu- the week during which interviews would have dents from the affected countries who taken place, but the ORLL did not notify the are also non-permanent residents of the applicants that they were considering eliminat- MENGQI IRINA WANG / THE TUFTS DAILY ARCHIVES United States. ing the role. The outside of international center on March 4, 2019. see TRAVEL BAN, page 2 Lead RAs, a position that is still operational this semester, are similar to RAs but work more Part of ceiling collapses in Eaton Hall classroom closely in assisting the resident directors and mentor other RAs. by Natasha Mayor porary closures in four rooms in Eaton LiBassi added that the Department of Associate Director for Residential Education News Editor in 2017. Sociology, which is housed in Eaton, has been Nadia Vargas indicated that the ORLL did not John LiBassi, an administrator in the sociol- consistently supported during issues like this. make this change due to the pool of candidates A portion of plaster in room 202 of Eaton ogy department, said that he noticed the dam- “We’ve had some issues with the building, and that the decision had instead been in the Hall came loose and fell through the ceiling age on the Monday morning after it occurred but I have to say that Facilities and actually making for some time. over the weekend of Jan. 25 to 26, accord- and immediately notified Associate Registrar the administration has been very responsive, “It was not a reflection of the quality of candi- ing to Director of Building Operations in Sarah Harvey. particularly with this last incident,” LiBassi said. dates … I think this past year, we’ve had several Medford Jeff McKay. “She had already received the information Chair of the Department of Classical conversations regarding just leadership devel- There were no injuries as a result of the and was working to reschedule all the classes,” Studies Bruce Hitchner, whose department opment in general,” Vargas said. plaster falling, as there was nobody in the room LiBassi said. “She was able to reassign the class- is also housed in Eaton Hall, explained Vargas explained the implications of the lead at the time, according to McKay. He added that rooms, and actually the room was ready to be that difficult but important decisions are RA title and the misconception that this is the this incident does not indicate a lack of struc- opened up again the following Monday.” see EATON, page 2 only role that carries leadership qualities. tural integrity in the building. “One of the things that we’re noticing … “The plaster ceiling in this room and many is that there is a lack of agency if you don’t other areas of the building is original to the have the title of lead, and I want folks to have building construction dating back to 1908,” ownership over the fact that they are leaders McKay wrote in an email to the Daily. “This type regardless of whether or not they are in the of failure is common in buildings with this type lead role,” Vargas said. of construction and the approach that Tufts Vargas underlined that there is a possibil- has taken to remediate the issue is typical in ity the lead RA position will be reinstated in the industry.” the future, depending on the ORLL’s need for Once the Facilities Services Department support, adding that first-year Residence Hall was informed of the damage, McKay said they Councils might create a need for additional assessed the ceiling in its entirety and decided support from ORLL student staff. the best course of action was to remove all the According to the ORLL website, Hall Councils existing plaster as an extra precaution. allow first-year students to take on leadership “New sheetrock and new acoustical drop positions within their residence halls and work ceilings have been installed and the room is on strengthening relationships with key mem- back in service,” McKay said. “In addition to bers of the Tufts community. this work, facilities crews are in the process Vargas indicated that she would like to create of surveying the ceilings in the rest of the a common identity among RAs first before con- building.” sidering the reestablishment of the lead RA role. McKay explained that the damage “I want to foster a cohesive team identity of was in the ceiling itself, unlike the dec- what it means to be a leader outside of your title TUFTS DAILY ARCHIVES orative plaster damage that caused tem- Eaton Hall is pictured on April 20, 2018. see RESIDENT ASSISTANT, page 2 For breaking news, our content archive and Please Contact Us NEWS............................................1 FUN & GAMES ........................6 recycle this exclusive content, visit newspaper P.O. Box 53018, tuftsdaily.com Medford, MA 02155 FEATURES.................................3 OPINION ....................................7 Partly Cloudy [email protected] /thetuftsdaily @tuftsdaily tuftsdaily tuftsdaily ARTS & LIVING ......................4 SPORTS ........................... BACK 44 / 34 2 THE TUFTS DAILY | NEWS | Wednesday, February 12, 2020 tuftsdaily.com THE TUFTS DAILY Hartman, Vargas of ORLL discuss restructuring office RYAN SHAFFER Editor in Chief tuftsdaily.com EDITORIAL ORLL can depend on the whole team to be lead- apply are very, very strong student staff mem- Alex Viveros RESIDENT ASSISTANT Nathan Kyn continued from page 1 ers, not just those who hold the leadership title. bers,” Hartman said. Managing Editors … and then we can revisit what it looks like to Josh Hartman, the director of residential life This was a programmatic decision that Tys Sweeney Associate Editor have a lead,” Vargas said. and learning, said that such restructuring is not was designed with the goal of enhancing the Robert Kaplan Executive News Editor She explained that the reason for having unique in his department. He acknowledged ORLL’s leadership development, according to Alejandra Carrillo News Editors announced the elimination of the RA position that within the ORLL there have been several Hartman. Connor Dale Abbie Gruskin after students had already applied was because similar changes throughout the years, empha- Katherine Powers applied to be a lead RA Natasha Mayor Matt McGovern the ORLL was unsure about making this change. sizing that for the ORLL to continue to adapt to and expressed her disappointment at the Sara Renkert Anton Shenk “There were ongoing conversations and … the needs of students, current structures must ORLL’s abrupt decision to eliminate the role. Seohyun Shim I didn’t want to make that call prematurely,” be reevaluated. “It’s certainly disappointing, but more Daniel Weinstein Maddie Aitken Assistant News Editors Vargas said. “I wanted to see what a full semes- “I think that in order for us to be evolving to than that I’m really frustrated by how it Carolina Espinal Alex Janoff ter looked like, and I wanted to come back the changing needs of our student population happened,” Powers, a sophomore, told the Renner Kwittken and make that decision more informed after we need to look at the structures we have,” Daily in an email. “We were all left in the Bella Maharaj Stephanie Rifkin training.” Hartman said. dark for a week, preparing for interviews Sarah Sandlow Elli Sol Strich She underscored that all applicants had to By assessing the various roles and structures, that were supposed to happen in the week Amelia Becker Executive Features Editor indicate if they were interested in being a lead the ORLL may reallocate resources in a different after we applied.” Sid Anand Features Editors Jessie Newman and then the ORLL would proceed with lead way, according to Hartman. He echoed Vargas’ However, Powers added that she will apply Sean Ong interviews. statement that the decision to eliminate the again next year and will reuse her application. Michael Shames Fina Short “I felt like it was better to ask people if they lead RA position was not due to the quality of “The same application I submitted will be Madeline Aitkin Assistant Features Editors Claire Fraise were interested and gauge interest, and then applicants. used as an application to be an RA next year … Jillian Collins from there make a decision,” Vargas said.