n my travels across New England, I've developed a fondness for downtrodden former industrial cities. My motto is, if you can't afford to see Paris in the springtime, Worcester in winter is an okay substitute.
The very best of these cities have gained the "All-America City" award from the National Civic League. I'm not sure, but I think the criteria for judging this award relies on a complicated rubric that takes into account the number of Rent-A-Center locations and the efficacy of the local needle exchange program. If the city buses are made to look like old-fashioned trolleys, it's a good sign you're in an All-America City. That red, white and blue shield at the city limits is essentially a signal for overanxious suburbanites to lock the doors of their SUVs.
One thing that all these cities have in common is that they are generally small enough to warrant no positive press outside of the community. Thus, places like Brockton and Lowell continue on with the unfair burden of a bad reputation and little good press to make up for it. Some civic-minded individuals try to close the reputation gap through such awards as All-America City and through advertising campaigns targeted at raising civic pride. Anyone want an "I Love New Haven" bumper sticker? Did you know that Tavares first started performing together in New Bedford?
In a way, Tufts is kind of like an All-America City - minus the bulletproof glass on the drive through windows, of course. We're small, we have some very selective strengths, and we have an active community of students and faculty who want to see Tufts succeed. At the same time, however, Tufts does have a lot to be proud of that it doesn't need to shout from the rooftops. In fact, when we do it appears that we have some sort of shortcoming for which we are trying to overcompensate. It's like the first time I ever went to Alabama and told people I was from Massachusetts. "We have good hospitals here, too," they told me, even though I had just introduced myself. Although they were telling me the truth, their overzealousness made me wonder whether a bypass in Birmingham would be such a good idea.
One item in particular at Tufts reeks of insecurity worse than a guy coated in Axe: the "Tufts in the News" boards that seem to grace several building entryways. These pathetic attempts at milking the already noteworthy achievements of members of the Tufts community are oozing Tufts Tokenism. Let the awards and achievements stand for themselves. Alumni magazines, professional conferences, and individual offices are appropriate venues for kudos. Putting up articles from trade magazines smack dab in the entrance hall of Ballou is lacking in both style and grace. "Oooh, oooh, pick me, Mr. Kott-errrr!!" they scream.
I can even deal with appropriate displays of pride. If an unsung hero in the library wins a prestigious but discipline-specific award, put the magazine cover up for a few weeks. But some of these articles are from before I matriculated. It's like how Wing Works won Best of Boston sometime before Joan Rivers' most recent face, but they still brag about the award on their menus.
What might actually be a joke is that there are articles from the Tufts Daily posted on the "Tufts In The News" board at the School of Engineering. This becomes a lot funnier when I tell you that the most recent Daily article on the board was published on page three over two years ago.
Even worse than Tufts' lack of humility is its failure to capitalize on major events that tie into the University. A New York Times Magazine article on Daniel Dennett mentions Tufts exactly once. A Google News search for "Daniel Dennett" gives 60 results; the same search with "Tufts" added brings up only 12. Out of 2,198 results for "Meredith Vieira," only seven mention her alma mater.
Tufts isn't a pathetic school. Tufts is a great school. Tufts professors and especially Tufts students have achieved great things that I hope will boost the street cred of my own resume. However, if Tufts keeps on tooting its own horn, it'll just look like there aren't enough people in the band.
