Everyone reads the "Please come to Tufts!" fliers sent out in the mail. After that quick perusal, visiting the campus during April Open House seemed like an even better way to get a grasp of what to expect for the next four years and the perfect opportunity to get a lay of the land - and maybe even converse with a real-life Tufts tour-guide!
Unfortunately, as orientation may be demonstrating, these attempts can never fully prepare you to handle the real thing. What can? Movies, of course.
1. Animal House (1978)
Tufts' campus houses eight fraternities, three sororities, and one random co-ed frat for sailors (don't ask). Logically, one would expect the social atmosphere that society (and John Belushi) prepares incoming college freshman for.
Well, the frat houses are certainly comparably grungy to the Delta House, but don't expect to convince Mrs. Bacow to attend any toga parties (although President Bacow will run the Boston Marathon with you!).
The truth of the matter is that one should view "Animal House" to get an idea of the exact opposite of the Tufts social scene. With one frat recently closed by its national chapter and miscellaneous controversies concerning others, the Greek scene on campus is nothing like that at the fictional Faber College.
2. (motha f*ing) Snakes on a (motha f*ing) Plane (2006)
Tufts prides itself on having a diverse student population. The student body contains folks hailing from all over the country, not to mention the rest of the world. Unfortunately, this means most Jumbos are doing a lot of flying.
Thankfully, this ingenious film introduces all sorts of possible aerial emergency situations (snakes being on the plane, for example) and, in turn, provides practical solutions to assure all out-of-state Jumbos' safety.
3. Good Will Hunting (1997)
This film displays many realities about the Boston area. First off, people in any way involved with Harvard (and, actually, MIT as well) routinely come to fisticuffs in bars due to dissenting views on America's colonial economy. In addition, the scenery throughout the film reveals the sights of South Boston and insights into pub night life.
Most importantly, for some, this film achieves a seemingly impossible feat: acclimatizing the inexperienced to the townie accent. While the "Medfehd" accent is arguably different from that of a true Bostonian, they are similar enough for this purpose.
4. Napoleon Dynamite (2004)
Tufts has an extremely active student senate (TCU). Pedro's campaigning activities in this film provide adequate preparation for Tufts' onslaught of fliers, chalking, Facebook.com groups and petition signings certain to plague campus during elections.
In addition, one must have viewed this film in order to understand every other word from those who feel the days of quoting "Napoleon Dynamite" are not over, despite the fact that it is an appalling film. These are also the people that wear the shirts.
5. FernGully (1992)
The Tufts campus is very environmentally and socially conscious. Recycling bins litter the campus, evil Coke products are extinct in the dining halls, and ECO, Tufts' environmental club, initiated the "Do It in the Dark" program to encourage electricity conservation in the dorms. Luckily, this film will introduce you to this mindset before ECO's glow-in-the-dark condoms do.
It's only days until classes begin, so get cracking. Cram in a few extra hours of preparation before Tufts' true colors (supposedly brown and blue, right?) are finally exposed.
