On-campus revolution

The Daily Arts section has a mission this semester: to grow its coverage of the Tufts arts scene. This may come as a surprise to some, since the mission seems so obvious; of course Tufts’ school paper would cover the plethora of artistic and cultural events going on across campus. Yet over the past couple of semesters, on-campus coverage has made up only a sliver of the content produced by the Arts section. This should change.

The relationship between the Daily and campus arts groups has not always been as healthy as it should be. Decent journalism requires a professional distance between writer and subject, but there is such a thing as too much distance. Since the Arts section shares an interest with student and faculty artists in publicizing the latter's artistic achievements, there is no reason why the Daily and student art should not be in closer dialogue.

Last semester, visiting lecturer in the Department of Drama and Dance Gibson Cima reached out to the Daily for a review of his production of “Richard III.” His invitation led to a nuanced interview that enhanced our coverage of his and the students’ work. Outreach like Cima's makes it more attainable to achieve our mission.

Work toward our mission this semester is already underway; the first two Weekenders -- the Arts section’s weekly extended feature that explores a topic or event in depth -- covered Tufts University Television and Tufts Podcast Network. This week’s edition explores the Know Tomorrow Music and Climate Festival, and its coverage is almost entirely due to the desire of Tufts students to get the word out about their event -- both for the cause and for the music. Obviously, this is something we hope will continue, but there is still more to do.

As members of the Tufts community, Arts editors care about the events happening around us, and it's important for us to be aware of them early enough to allow for quality coverage. So, let us know about your event -- reach out to us at dailyarts@gmail.com. This section of the Daily is making an effort to better serve the Tufts arts community, and we welcome your help in pursuing this goal.

Sincerely,

Joshua Podolsky Executive Arts Editor