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Crossword: Giving Thanks

Mini Crossword: Howdy

Somerville celebrates the unveiling of public art installation ‘Letters Rewoven’

Somerville celebrated the unveiling of “Letters Rewoven” on Nov. 8, a new public artwork by local artist Anna Fubini at Lou Ann David Park. The piece was created through the combined efforts of community members, who wrote messages on scraps of paper that were turned into a pulp mixed with wildflower seeds. The mixture was then plastered onto the sculpture’s panels and will eventually grow into flowers. The installation was supported by the Somerville Arts Council and will remain on display until spring 2026.

Somerville faces SNAP delays as households and local food providers brace for more instability

Many in Somerville found themselves among the roughly 1.1 million Massachusetts residents who were left in limbo when a federal government shutdown delayed the distribution of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits. The federal program provides monthly assistance to low-income individuals and families to help them purchase groceries. 

Sherlock Holmes wishes you a Merry Christmas

“Moriarty is dead, to begin with.” And after spending three years without his nemesis, master detective Sherlock Holmes is bored and depressed. No case in London tempts him, and he is estranged from his now-married friend Dr. John Watson, even refusing to come to his house for Christmas. Worse, he imagines that he sees Moriarty’s ghost around London. Gloomy, grouchy and very much not in the Christmas spirit, Holmes mopes alone on Christmas Eve — until a doctor asks him to investigate a mysterious death.

Can woke keep winning?

With the holidays approaching, I find myself bracing for accusations of being the ‘woke’ sibling — the one who has been influenced, if not wholly indoctrinated, by the radical ways of his liberal arts college. In all honesty, this may not be far from the truth. But rather than being radicalized by some higher-education agenda, I’ve merely found myself among peers having conversations that reflect political awareness, intelligence and urgency. This bloc embodies a hunger for institutional change and a willingness to actually take action that, I would argue, form the bedrock of our ‘American experiment.’

What’s up with the campus pub?

It’s a Thursday evening, and the normally cozy, inviting Hotung Café is blocked off from the rest of the Mayer Campus Center. Deep purple mood lighting fills the space. The counter that serves vanilla lattes and chocolate croissants by day is now a fully stocked bar serving alcoholic beverages to those 21 and older. The café’s glamorous alter ego that only comes out to play once a week from 5–9 p.m. is here: the Pop-Up Pub.

Letter from the Editor

Dear reader,

Jewish students, unfiltered

On a chilly spring evening in 2024, 150 student protestors placed their arms around each other's backs and gently swayed to avoid being broken apart by police. Tents where protestors had been sleeping for almost a month dotted the Academic Quad, where a large, makeshift wall constructed of plywood and paint stood tall. Despite the break from chanting “From the river to the sea” and “Apartheid kills, Tufts pays the bills,” the scene was tense. A mere two hours earlier, University President Sunil Kumar had issued a “no trespass order” to all students remaining in the encampment. Students anxiously waited to see whether their sleepy Massachusetts campus would erupt into the kind of violent confrontation between police and protestors seen at Columbia University and University of California, Los Angeles.

Is AI generating more questions than answers?

Everyone at Tufts seems to have a metaphor for AI.

Aca-demia at Tufts

If you’re a Tufts student, chances are you’ve met at least one member of an a cappella group — and didn’t even know it. Tufts is the proud home to 10 a cappella groups, each with a unique history, repertoire and membership. From Enchanted, which sings almost exclusively Disney music, to S-Factor, Tufts’ all-male group specializing in music of the African diaspora, Tufts offers no shortage of opportunities for students interested in entering the a cappella scene. Because of the sheer number of groups, each occupying its own musical niche, it can be difficult to grasp what a cappella culture actually looks like on campus. To find out, I decided to start at the source, and interview leadership from three groups on campus: the Jackson Jills, the Beelzebubs and Shir Appeal.

Crossword: Turkey Day

Mini Crossword: Spacey

Three Tufts-owned storefronts sit empty, community pushes for local tenants

Within the next few years, Tufts is poised to own three retail spaces along the 700-yard stretch of Boston Avenue between College Avenue and Winthrop Street. Two existing properties — the recently vacated Starbucks location in the Joyce Cummings Center and a property by the intersection of Winthrop Street and Boston Avenue — are currently empty. The third upcoming retail space will be located on the ground floor of the new Boston Avenue dorm.

The man-made neuron: The future of bioelectronic discoveries

Neurons are the specialized cells that allow our bodies to transmit impulses, like factories that process inputs. They send signals that help us catch a ball, recognize a favorite song or pull our hand away from something hot; their structure and electrical properties make these rapid responses possible.

Men’s soccer advances to NCAA tournament Final Four

San Antonio Spurs Hall of Famer David Robinson once remarked, “It’s the playoffs. There’s no room for okay.”

Men’s Basketball beats Suffolk after hard fought game

On Nov. 18, Tufts defeated Suffolk 54–47. While the Jumbos maintained a single-digit lead for most of the game, it remained competitive up to the very end, when junior Zion Watt scored a three-pointer to seal the deal with less than a minute to go. Senior Scott Gyimesi led the team with 12 points. 

FTR: Tisch Library Exhibitions

Sitting next to the lush greens of President’s Lawn is Tisch Library, a building we all know and love that serves as a center of academic learning and scholastic research at Tufts. Students utilize the library for a wide range of purposes, which include creating in the Digital Design Studio, meeting group members in Tower Cafe and finishing a last-minute homework assignment in one of the reading rooms.

Fantasy football permeates students’ lives

In preparation for this article, I was sitting in Tisch Library writing questions for interviews when, either serendipitously or ordained by a higher power, I overheard a strikingly topical conversation.

From stage to screen: The play, ‘Kim’s Convenience,’ that inspired the Netflix hit

For fans of the TV sitcom “Kim’s Convenience,” the play delivers a sense of deja vu — it’s laugh-out-loud funny, brimming with witty banter and sharp humor. This play, which inspired the Netflix series, premiered in 2011 at the Toronto Fringe Festival. Playwright Ins Choi drew from his own experiences growing up in an immigrant Korean family in Canada. Adam Blanshay Productions presents the Soulpepper Theatre Company production in association with American Conservatory Theater, which runs at The Calderwood Pavilion from Nov. 6 to this Sunday.