History on the Hill: Greek life’s fluctuating relationship Returning to teams, with the university, student body players-turned-coaches see FEATURES / PAGE 3 take on new role Tufts’ homegrown indie band Guster reminisces on SEE SPORTS / BACK PAGE lauching a music career from campus see WEEKENDER / PAGE 4 THE INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF TUFTS UNIVERSITY EST. 1980 THE TUFTS DAILY VOLUME LXXII, NUMBER 60 MEDFORD/SOMERVILLE, MASS. FRIDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2016 tuftsdaily.com White House aide David Simas calls for Dean of Fletcher engagement, empathy School James by Kathleen Schmidt Stavridis meets Executive News Editor with President- David Simas, special assistant to President Barack Obama and director elect Trump of the White House Office of Political by Joe Walsh Strategy and Outreach, spoke to a News Editor group of about 25 people in Dowling Hall yesterday during the last of the Admiral James Stavridis, dean of the semester’s Civic Life Lunch events Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, met sponsored by the Jonathan M. Tisch with President-elect Donald Trump yester- College of Civic Life. day at his office in Trump Tower in New York Dean of Tisch College Alan City, according to Fletcher School Public Solomont began the discussion by Relations Specialist Juli Hanscom. introducing Simon Rosenberg (LA ’85), The meeting has fuelled speculation that founder of the New Democrat Network Stavridis, who was previously the Supreme and member of the Tisch College Allied Commander at NATO, is under con- Board of Advisors, who is also a friend sideration to be Trump’s secretary of state, and colleague of Simas. Rosenberg according to Politico. described Simas as a “rare creature” MATTHEW SCHREIBER / THE TUFTS DAILY In an interview with reporters outside of in Washington because of his ability David Simas, assistant to the president and director of the Office of Political Strategy and Trump Tower, Stavridis said that his meeting to keep his colleagues grounded and Outreach, participates in a Q&A as part of Tisch College’s Civic Life Lunch Series. with Trump went well, but he did not com- remind them of the importance of pub- ment on whether he is being vetted for the lic service when such work becomes he said. “I mean, when you work with on the remaining 43 days of Obama’s secretary of state job. particularly difficulty. [Simas], you feel important, you feel big, presidency and all that had been accom- “When I first heard there was a shortlist, I “In a town where no one has enough you feel honored, you feel heard and lis- plished over the previous eight years. thought they were referring to a list of short time, no one can return phone calls or tened to and it’s an incredibly rare skill “There was a tremendous amount people, which, as you see, I would definitely emails, where people get blown off all … Barack Obama’s lucky to have him.” of fear and anxiety that people were be on,” Stavridis said. “But in terms of any the time and made to feel small because After thanking Solomont for his ser- justifiably feeling, and into the breach job, I’d say: ‘why don’t you talk to the folks you’re in the big White House, David vice to the country and Rosenberg for upstairs [in Trump Tower].'” [Simas has] done the exact opposite,” his help and friendship, Simas reflected see SIMAS, page 2 According to Stavridis, he and the pres- ident-elect had a constructive conversa- tion about defense, foreign policy and national security. Tufts Democrats holds discussion on future of However, during the presidential cam- paign, Stavridis and Trump often disagreed. progressive movement In June, Stavridis signed a letter calling for by Joe Walsh and Tashwita Pruthi was treated by party elites as though she justice causes as long as democracy the United States to welcome more refugees News Editor and Staff Writer was entitled to be president. Canham- isn’t functioning the way it’s supposed to the country, whereas Trump has sharp- Clyne’s was also critical about how to,” Gallagher said. ly criticized such proposals. Stavridis also Disclaimer: Aneurin Canham-Clyne little the Obama administration had Emma Plankey, a junior from wrote an article for Foreign Policy maga- is a staff writer at the Daily. He was achieved. He suggested that moving the Tufts chapter of Amnesty zine in October urging the United States to not involved in the production of this forward, the party should organize on International, agreed that progressives participate in the Trans-Pacific Partnership, article. a grassroots basis and develop leaders should work to combat conservative which Trump has vowed to reject. Tufts Democrats held a symposium from within rather than rely on elites. rhetoric, but she also urged for more Additionally, in a July interview entitled “The Future of the Left” to dis- “Anyone whose life became more open dialogue. She said that progres- with Bloomberg, Stavridis warned that cuss why Democratic presidential can- precarious in the last eight years sives need to listen to voters’ opinions, the “bromance” between Trump and didate Hillary Clinton did not win the would have no reason to vote for the offer them a strong message and follow Russian President Vladimir Putin could 2016 election cycle and how progres- Democratic Party unless it offered up with concrete actions. embolden Russia. sives can become more successful in them a radical, material vision for the “I feel like the Obama administra- This is not the first time that Stavridis has the future. The event took place in the improvement of their lives,” Canham- tion said ‘yes, we hear you, we are been the subject of political speculation. mostly-full Varis Lecture Hall in Granoff Clyne said. concerned about your issues’ and In July, former Secretary of State Hillary Music Center on Thursday night. Senior Shana Gallagher of TCA said then didn’t do anything,” Plankey said. Clinton’s presidential campaign reportedly It opened with a panel discussion that many politicians are more behold- “That created this sense of being heard considered Stavridis for Clinton’s running including representatives from Tufts en to corporate interests than to voters, and not cared about, which is almost mate, according to the New York Times. Labor Coalition (TLC), Tufts Climate which has prevented important issues worse than not being heard.” In an interview on Wednesday with Action (TCA) and the Tufts chapter such as climate change from being The panelists disagreed somewhat on how NBC’s The Today Show, Trump said that he of Amnesty International. Senior Ben discussed seriously. For that reason, the progressive movement should improve will likely announce his choice for Secretary Kaplan, president of the Tufts she concluded that campaign finance its voter turnout. Plankey argued that the of state next week. He confirmed that he Democrats, moderated the discussion. reform is a crucial first step to making Democratic Party should avoid alienating is considering several candidates for the Sophomore Aneurin Canham-Clyne politicians more accountable to voters. centrist voters. In contrast, Canham-Clyne position, including former Massachusetts from TLC argued that the Democratic “We’re not going to be able to make Governor Mitt Romney and former New Party did not fare well because Clinton progress on any of our various social see DEMOCRATS, page 2 York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani. Contact Us Please For breaking news, our content archive and recycle this exclusive content, visit P.O. Box 53018, NEWS............................................1 newspaper Medford, MA 02155 COMICS ......................................6 tuftsdaily.com FEATURES ................................3 617 627 3090 SPORTS ........................... BACK Partly Cloudy FAX 617 627 3910 /thetuftsdaily @tuftsdaily tuftsdaily tuftsdaily WEEKENDER .........................4 35 / 20 [email protected] 2 THE TUFTS DAILY | NEWS | Friday, December 9, 2016 tuftsdaily.com THE TUFTS DAILY Special assistant to president discusses political, social ARIN KERSTEIN Editor-in-Chief polarization EDITORIAL SIMAS social media allowing individuals to ple on a social level as a result of polit- Sophie Lehrenbaum continued from front surround themselves with like-minded ical divisions. Jake Taber comes a senator from Illinois,” he said. people and opinions and to rarely hear In an interview with the Daily, Simas Managing Editors “When I look back eight years later, by disagreements on their points of view. said that people increasingly define oth- Evan Sayles Associate Editor every single measure that we look at, According to Simas, this has begun ers purely based on whom they voted the country is demonstrably better. to jeopardize the idea of objectivity, for or their political affiliations rather Kathleen Schmidt Executive News Editor And so when we leave on January 20, which holds serious repercussions. than taking in the person as a whole. Gil Jacobson News Editors Melissa Kain as the president said, with our backs “There was a focus group I saw This comes along with a presumption of Robert Katz straight and our heads held high, we a couple of weeks ago where I was someone’s motives for voting one way Liam Knox Catherine Perloff will know that we did the job that we depressed. Not because of what people or another, he said, which engenders Jei-Jei Tan set out to do.” were saying about the candidates but polarization and a lack of empathy into Hannah Uebele Joe Walsh Though Simas was pleased with the because … they didn’t believe a thing how people approach politics. Juliana Furgala Assistant News Editors progress made by Obama and where about anything that they were hearing “This is why listening, true listen- Jesse Najarro Danny Nelson he has taken gotten the country, he in the news. There were no facts. There ing, is so much more important, rather expressed fears about the current polit- was no truth … and when nothing is than simply dismissing someone as a ical climate.