Editor’s note: The Daily’s editorial department acknowledges that this article is premised on a conflict of interest. This article is a special feature for Commencement 2026 that does not represent the Daily’s standard journalistic practices.
Matthew Sage joined the Daily by accident. But in his eight semesters writing and leading, he grew to be one of its most impactful figures.
Before Tufts, he wrote news articles and served as a photo editor at his high school paper. However, facing burnout and impending college, he decided that journalism was not for him.
Upon matriculating at Tufts, Sage was not interested in joining the Daily, even after attending a general interest meeting with Justin Solis, who joined the Opinion section.
One rainy Sunday, someone in his dorm floor brought Sage to DailyCon, the Daily’s semesterly training of staff. Then-executive news editor Emily Thompson (LA’24) assigned him an article at the end of that day.
“It was almost a mistake that I joined the Daily,” he said. “I think at every point of that first semester I considered quitting. I was like, ‘Okay, this is going to be my last article.’”
Sage was promoted up the editor ranks by Thompson’s successor, Aaron Gruen (A’25), who had previously congratulated him on his first article about Tufts breaking ground on the Sol Gittleman Park. Sage points to Gruen as an early and continuous mentor.
One story during his second semester got Sage to remain in the Daily — it concerned a Somerville homeowner who was trying to rent out rooms in his house to Tufts students, but encountered resistance from former Somerville Mayor Katjana Ballantyne’s office.
“It took a while to get that homeowner to want to speak on-the-record with me, and took a lot of talking and careful consideration,” he said. “But I did ultimately, and [I] wrote the story and [it] was one I was proud of. And that homeowner emailed me back a couple weeks later to say that he thought it made a real difference.”
Sage became executive news editor in spring 2024, a semester dominated by a defining story: Campus activism calling for Tufts to divest from Israel, culminating in the “Gaza Solidarity Encampment” during finals period.
“That was very hard, to be covering multiple groups of students who were frustrated with each other,” he said. “A lot of them were my friends, and often they disagreed vehemently with my coverage, and I ended up making a lot of mistakes that semester, most certainly.”
Sage reflected that the semester taught him the value of clear communication, being a more effective teammate and collaborator.
Sage’s educational and attentive leadership as executive news editor yielded passionate news writers and editors, including myself and former executive news editor and managing editor Samantha Eng.
“He brought back a sense of community to the News section that was kind of lost in the semesters before, at least in my first semester on News,” Eng said. “We started having meetings back in the office. We met every single week, and I got to know the people that I was working with.”
Sage eventually dialed back his commitment to the News section, taking on a position as a managing editor.
“It was nice to get the chance to see the Daily more holistically, as both a community and as a newspaper,” he said.
Although he never fully returned to News, he assisted Eng for the defining story of the spring 2025 semester: the detainment of then-graduate student Dr. Rümeysa Öztürk.
Sage did far more than his news editor title required of him in the initial fallout of Öztürk’s arrest, digesting legal documents and taking additional editing shifts.
“As a reporter, I wanted to take a step back from the Daily, but felt like my experience was needed,” he said, reflecting on his decision to assist with reporting on the Öztürk’s developing proceedings. “[It was] gratifying to be able to provide that experience and to be able to help out in whatever way I could as a reporter.”
Sage is tied with former editor-in-chief Rachel Liu (A’25) for most executive positions held in the Daily — five: executive news editor, managing editor, website manager, Education Committee chair and executive social media manager.
As social media manager, Sage is proud to have begun a process of modernization and being more intentional about how the Daily uses social media.
“I’m very grateful to have shifted the perspective on social media and alternative platforms within the newsroom, and to get people thinking about the ways that they can reach readers wherever they may be,” he said.
The Daily’s Instagram page now stands at over 10,500 followers — a gain of 1,500 in a single semester under his stewardship.
Sage is looking to continue journalism in some form, whether local, political or in multimedia.
He shared a final reflection about mentorship.
“If you’re around long enough, you’ll receive that mentorship early on, you’ll grow and benefit from it, and then at some point, you’ll realize that you’re the mentor, and you get to help others grow and learn,” he said. “That’s … a very gratifying experience, and something I love about the Daily.”
