With Tufts tuition costing upwards of $26,000 a year, skipping a single class can be a pricy venture in monetary terms. But there are many classes that, if skipped, cause Tufts students to lose more than just money, and, as this year's seniors testify, some classes are worth more than others.
As the Class of 2005 spends a week indulging in sentimental moments and general nostalgia, they are more than willing to reflect on the best courses of their collegiate careers.
Courses taught by English Professor Lee Edelman received consistent praise.
"He commands that you delve into your intellectual capacity more than you ever knew was possible," said senior Jesse Belodoff, who was so impressed with Edelman's classes on films that he persuaded others to take advantage of the professor's lectures.
"I never did any of the papers or took the tests, but I just went to class with Jesse anyway - that's how amazing it was," senior Stephanie Albin said of Edelman's course on Alfred Hitchcock.
Edelman's other course, How Films Think, also received rave reviews. "He's a real scholar," senior Matthew Nathanson said. "He had opinions and wasn't just regurgitating other people's work. He had his own arguments, which we could take or leave. He came to lectures completely prepared, [and] he talked very fluently, never saying 'um' or 'like.'"
Other favorites ranged from the hardcore realism of international relations to the abstractions of psychology.
"U.S. Foreign Policy with [Assistant Political Science] Professor [Jeffrey] Taliaferro [was my favorite course]," senior Alexander Duncan said. "He's an excellent professor and really gets you engaged in the material." Other courses on Duncan's top list were also related to international relations, and included Soviet/Russian Foreign Policy, Stalinism and History of South Africa.
Senior Matt Leeds reached into the depths of his memory to pay tribute to a course from his freshman year, Introduction to Psychology. The course was team-taught by three faculty members: Senior Psychology Lecturer Sinaia Nathanson, Associate Psychology Professor Lisa Shin and Psychology Lecturer Daniel Hannon.
"It's the reason that I'm a triple major," Leeds said of the course. "It changed the way I view the world."
Other students enjoyed the more comedic side of the Tufts faculty.
"He's an absolute maniac," senior Larry Perchick said of Associate Political Science Professor Robert Devigne. "His class, The Political Philosophy of Nietzsche, had some of the best subject matter of any I've had. He's very entertaining and relates to the students."
Although many Tufts students lament forced enrollment in core requirements, senior Sangeeta Parekh managed to find one core class that she came to love.
"I would say one of the most useful and informative classes I took, even though I'm not a science major, was Community Health 107: The Practice and Science of Medicine," Parekh said.
Courses in the art and drama departments were also popular.
"As an art major, I loved my classes with [Assistant Art and Art History Professor] Adriana Zavala," Parekh said. "Especially 20th-Century Mexican Art.'"
"I'd say directing, but I guess that's not really a class," senior Dan Balkin said. "Shakespeare's Rome was a favorite of mine. It's great material."
The EPIIC Symposium was another course that produced excellent responses.
Senior Kirit Radia discovered his career path through a course taught by University College of Citizenship and Public Service Lecturer Roberta Oster Sachs.
"[My most influential class was] Producing Films for Social Change - it inspired me to go into journalism," Radia said. "Professor Oster Sachs really treated us like professionals."
