Though the Daily has been many things, it hasn't always been the lengthy and widely-read publication it is today.
"It took a while for the Daily to really grab hold of campus," said Professor of History Daniel Mulholland, who has taught at Tufts since 1968. "Back then [in the early '80s], the Observer was the substantial weekly newspaper, and the Daily was a flimsy handout."
Now, Mulholland observes, the roles have been reversed. "I look at the Daily and have been impressed by its improvement over the course of time," he said.
Phil Primack (LA '70), now a freelance journalist, was the editor of the Observer during his tenure at Tufts. Primack, who taught last semester's Ex College course "Horse Race: The Press and the Presidential Election," said that "it's tough to sustain a daily newspaper in a campus community."
"The Daily does a good job of highlighting the day's events, both on a campus and global level," Primack said, adding that "the role of a student-run newspaper to its community should be no different from the role of any newspaper to its community: to inform, to educate and occasionally, to entertain - preferably in a way that gives readers the information they need."
To English Professor Carol Flynn, who has taught at Tufts for 19 years, one of the most valuable ways the Daily does that is by facilitating a connection between faculty members and campus life.
"I think that [the Daily does] a very good job reporting news about the campus that, as a faculty member, I would never know anything about," Flynn said. "One of the things that's difficult for a lot of faculty members is a lack of connection to the University after we go home and [campus life] goes on, especially for those of us who live far away. I live in Jamaica Plain, and I'm usually not here [on campus] for lots of events."
"I really value the paper for making connections between student life and the life of the mind - I like that," Flynn added.
Pete Sanborn (LA '99), the Daily's editor-in-chief for the 1998 spring and fall semesters, appreciated what he learned working on the Daily. "I spent as much time in the Daily's offices as I spent in class," said Sanborn, who is now Tufts' Assistant Director of Public Relations. "It was part passion and part addiction, and it had a lot to do with why I loved being a student at Tufts."
"After all," he added in his e-mail, "when you're working in a windowless office at 3 a.m., putting the finishing touches on the next day's issue, you better love what you're doing.
"Publishing a daily newspaper is a huge responsibility, which is a double-edged sword," Sanborn continued. "In many respects, it was incredibly exciting to work for a campus organization that had such a central role in keeping students, faculty, staff, and alumni informed of the day-to-day business of the University. But it was a very demanding job that came with more than its fair share of pressure, criticism and second-guessing, much of it deserved."
For Daily alums like Sanborn, the training the paper provided - though arduous - has been formative.
"Both the good and bad decisions left lasting impressions on me and taught me a lot about the power of the press, and the precarious balance that student journalists must maintain when covering their classmates and professors," Sanborn said. "That's an incredibly valuable learning experience that can't be replaced by any journalism class, no matter how good the professor."
"Though I have nothing concrete to back this up, I think Tufts is disproportionate in how many students go on to become good journalists," said English Lecturer Nan Levinson, who has taught journalism courses at Tufts for "15 or 16" years. "Among the things that I think are good, as a teacher of journalism, is that the Daily provides an excellent training ground for students."
"The students involved [with the Daily] learn a lot from writing and putting out the paper," Levinson said. "They also become better news consumers - they think more critically and read more deeply."
The Daily isn't just a valuable resource for those students interested in journalism. In the way "it builds community and encourages dialogue," as Sanborn says, the Daily has served the entire campus community.
"When there were lots of discussions about fraternities and sororities a few years ago, the Daily was very good at reporting on that, and all the issues of both faculty and student opinions," Flynn said. "I think the Daily is good at getting a broad view of the differences of opinion on campus."
"When there's controversy - and even when there's not - I love to read the letters to the editor," Levinson added. "That and the Viewpoints section are an opportunity for people to debate the issues that matter to them, and they're usually well-written: when what you're writing's in print, you're careful with words."
Mulholland is also a fan of the Daily's Viewpoints and letters sections. "I've been miffed, but also appreciative of the fact, when I wished to write something, to have to go through the usual channels," he said. "[The Daily doesn't] seem to play favorites, which is a virtue."
Mulholland also noted, however, that "the letters department has been pretty dead of late."
"I do wish there was more college campus news and views," he added. "But maybe there simply isn't anything worth commenting on."
"Sure, there are times when it's hard to fill the pages with solid news," Sanborn said. "But there are just as many times - if not more - when there just isn't enough space in the paper to cover everything."
