Washington

Washington 2025 and Santiago 1973 – The Tufts Daily

Published

9 months ago

March 11, 2025

Washington 2025 and Santiago 1973 – The Tufts Daily

I, along with many other left-of-center individuals, am deeply worried about President Donald Trump’s administration’s recent actions which smack of anti-democratic inclinations. Today, however, I want to touch on a very disturbing aspect of authoritarian regimes that I don’t think people adequately address: the sheer feeling of alienation that comes from living in them. By alienation I do not mean physical isolation from others, but rather the feeling of loneliness that arises from the inability to trust anyone, including oneself.

There are two works, both from Chile, that I believe display the incredibly damaging capability of this loneliness. The first is a 1990 play by Ariel Dorfman called “La muerte y la doncella,” which translates to “Death and the Maiden,” and the second a 2004 film called “Machuca.”

Both works deal with the dictatorship of Augosto Pinochet, lasting from his 1973 coup against the democratically-elected President Salvador Allende until a plebiscite removed him from office in 1988. Between those years, Pinochet ruled Chile with an iron fist as leader of a right-wing military junta, and was responsible for the executions or “disappearances” of 3,095 people and the torture of an estimated 27,255.

“La muerte y la doncella” takes place immediately following the end of the Pinochet regime. It concerns a politician named Gerardo who is helping to lead the redemocratization process, and his wife Paulina, a former political prisoner who faced terrible treatment at the hands of the military and now lives an isolated life. One night, Gerardo invites a stranger named Dr. Miranda over to their house whom he says helped him fix a flat tire, and Paulina becomes convinced that he was one of the men who tortured her. Thus, she places him at gunpoint and forces him to confess, despite it being unclear whether or not he actually was the culprit or if her PTSD is simply deluding her. Just before she is about to execute him, the play skips forward in time to a symphony performance in which Gerardo and Paulina are in attendance, and she sees the ghost of Dr. Miranda seated in the audience, staring at her, implying that she will forever be haunted by the fact that she may have killed an innocent person. This self-doubt and guilt will further isolate Paulina, just as her own torture by the military did.

The play’s power lies in the incredible profundity of Paulina’s sheer feeling of alienation. The regime may have ended by the time this play takes place, but it has nevertheless done long-term, possibly irreparable damage to its victims. And as a result, it’s possible that an innocent person got caught in the fray.

Unlike “La muerte y la doncella,” “Machuca” takes place in the time leading up to and immediately after the Pinochet coup. It follows Gonzalo, a well-off schoolboy attending a private Catholic school, who meets a poor indigenous boy named Pedro. Despite their socioeconomic differences, the two develop a close and beautiful friendship. However, immediately after the coup and as a result of the subsequent political turmoil, the two boys’ friendship falls apart. The film concludes with a dramatic scene in which Gonzalo visits Pedro’s shantytown only to find it under siege by the military, with soldiers violently rounding up the town’s inhabitants, presumably to be tortured or killed. As Gonzalo runs away from the bedlam, he locks eyes with Pedro. What is so particularly tragic about this scene is that Pedro’s look is one of anger, as if Gonzalo — and the Pinochet-supporting side of Chilean society which he represents — is at fault for all of this.

When I first saw “Machuca” as a 16-year-old, it shocked me. And it has stuck with me until this day as a warning sign of just how much damage an authoritarian regime can do to a society. Even though Gonzalo, at the very end, returns to his fancy Santiago neighborhood with all the comforts of a wealthy life, he is emotionally ruined, the beautiful friendship he had now gone forever.

I want the characters of Paulina and Gonzalo to stick in my readers’ heads, just as they have stuck in mine. They are emblematic of the immense damage that authoritarian regimes can do to societies beyond the archetypal images of death squads and censorship. They isolate people and inflict severe emotional damage.

About a month ago, The New York Times published a fascinating and disturbing video in the Opinion section that interviewed people who had been targeted by, and subsequently fled, authoritarian regimes. One of the interviewees, a former nonprofit leader in Nicaragua driven out by the Ortega regime, provides a powerful line: “I wish I had paid more attention to those flashes of authoritarianism. We ignored it…”

As the chaotic next four years unfold, be diligent in viewing what might be new signs of authoritarianism because those little signs could eventually snowball into a much larger attack on freedom. Keep the lessons of Paulina from “La muerte y la doncella” and Gonzalo from “Machuca” in your head; we should never allow society to become that terribly lonely.

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Washington

Report: Arizona football to hire Washington’s Aaron Knotts as general manager

Published

12 hours ago

December 19, 2025

Press Room

Report: Arizona football to hire Washington’s Aaron Knotts as general manager

Arizona is closing in on its next general manager.

The UA is set to hire Aaron Knotts as GM, according to ESPN’s Pete Thamel. Knotts has spent the last 12 years at Washington, where he most recently served as Director of Internal Operations and Football Strategy. Knotts previously worked as Chief of Staff and Associate Athletic Director at UW.

As general manager, Knotts will be tasked with managing Arizona’s roster through player retention, the transfer portal and high school recruiting.

Arizona’s front office is undergoing a shakeup after former GM Gaizka Crowley left for the same position at Arkansas. Crowley and Director of Scouting Fletcher Kelly played a big role in building Arizona’s roster in the first two years under Brent Brennan. Kelly is expected to follow Crowley to Arkansas, according to Jason Scheer of Wildcat Authority.

Knotts began his coaching career as a tight ends coach at Division III Centre College (Ky.) before joining Chris Petersen’s staff at UW in the fall of 2014. Prior to working in operations and administration, Knotts served in various recruiting and personnel roles at UW.

Knotts was promoted to Associate Athletic Director/Chief of Staff in 2024. In his role as Associate Athletic Director, Knotts part of a three-person search committee for UW’s head football coach in 2024, which resulted in the Huskies hiring Jedd Fisch from Arizona.

Now Knotts in departing Fisch’s UW program to run Arizona’s front office.

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Washington

Washington Capitals 2025-26 W Magazine Now Available | Washington Capitals

Published

2 days ago

December 18, 2025

Press Room

Washington Capitals 2025-26 W Magazine Now Available | Washington Capitals

Arlington, Va. – W Magazine, a lifestyle publication produced by the Washington Capitals, is now available for purchase online at www.washcaps.com/wmagazine and at the Team Store at Capital One Arena and at the Team Store at MedStar Capitals Iceplex. The fan-favorite magazine, which features content surrounding every Capitals player along with hundreds of personal, never-before-seen family photos, is available for $8 plus shipping. In addition, season ticket members will receive a complimentary issue, with copies for season ticket members available at the Planholder Hub on the 100-level concourse during Capitals home games.

The cover story, written by Capitals senior writer Mike Vogel, goes in-depth with forward Pierre-Luc Dubois. Vogel speaks with Dubois, his teammates and family members for an extensive feature on the phone call that changed Dubois’ life and shaped his future with the Capitals franchise. Spanning more than 200 pages, W offers exclusive photography of Capitals players and their families, along with lifestyle content and interviews with every member of the 2025-26 roster. Highlights include:

John Carlson on fishing in Maryland with his sons
Brandon Duhaime on spearfishing and his related YouTube channel
Ryan Leonard on moving to D.C. and living with the Dubois family
Charlie Lindgren on his first offseason as a dad
Alex Ovechkin on celebrating back home after becoming the NHL’s all-time leading goal scorer
Logan Thompson on his love of dogs
Trevor van Riemsdyk on pop-a-shot and pickleball

The magazine also features an in-depth look at the Capital One Arena transformation project, including exclusive photos, insights into future phases and Capitals player reactions to the new Capitals locker room complex. A special interview with Monumental Sports Network’s Joe Beninati and Craig Laughlin reflects on the historic 50th anniversary season, while a day-in-the-life piece with Caps Radio’s John Walton and Katie Florio brings readers behind-the-scenes of a home game radio broadcast.

Additional features include a look at a regular day for former Capitals service dog in training Biscuit – now a facility dog at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center – and a photographic recap of Alex Ovechkin’s historic 2024-25 season. A new “Beyond the Boards” section spotlights community stories, while the fan-favorite “Short Shifts” section returns with Capitals players sharing thoughts on topics such as the best singer on the team, funniest teammate, personal goals beyond hockey, what everyone should try at least once, their ideal entrance theme song and more.

The magazine also profiles members of the Capitals Black Hockey Committee and introduces fans to the team driving the organization’s youth hockey initiatives.

W design services were provided by Matt Ryan. Player photography was provided by Greg Powers with assistance from Damon Banks. The cover featuring Pierre-Luc Dubois was photographed on the Potomac River in Washington, D.C., with the assistance of captains and crew from City Cruises. Players were photographed for the publication at Origin in Arlington, Va.

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Washington

Ginger’s Journey: Walking from Washington State to Washington, D.C.

Published

3 days ago

December 17, 2025

Press Room

Ginger’s Journey: Walking from Washington State to Washington, D.C.

Imagine setting out, on foot, for a journey not knowing how long it would take. Now imagine doing it with two animals as traveling partners from Washington State to Washington, D.C.

“Now I’ve started this leg of the journey in Morton, Washington where I was spiritually requested to go to Washington, D.C. and sing the song ‘Imagine’ by John Lennon on the Capitol steps,” says Jacob Holiday.

Jacob Holiday is on his way across America so he can sing a song he says signifies peace in the hopes, he says, of ending violence everywhere.

“I want so much peace. Cops would no longer carry firearms. We’re going to send the militaries of every country, I don’t care which one you’re talking about but every country, home to go to sleep. I don’t care what they do. But I want all this violence, everything, all this violence to stop.”

He has two wagons and his traveling companions are a dog and a goat. Holiday started in Washington State in July and he’s not worried about how long his hike across America will take.

His multi-state trek has seen him encounter a lot along the way, including a run-in with a bear.

He carries food for himself and his dog and his goat on carts that he says weigh a couple hundred pounds. Besides necessities, Holiday has one thing he’d greatly appreciate receive being able to buy as he continues his mission.

Holiday says he knows his mission isn’t an easy one, and he uses it as a metaphor for life as a whole.

We caught up with Holiday in the early part of November on a 70-degree day in Cambridge, Nebraska then spoke to him again a few days later in the rain as he headed east on Highways 6 and 34, so no telling how far he’s gotten now.

After we met with Holiday, we did notify the local sheriff to perform a welfare check, but we’re told Holiday wanted to continue his walk with his Capitol Steps goal still ahead of him. We also offered him food for himself and his animals, which he declined saying he had enough food on his carts.

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