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News

Tufts alum's novels take on religion, sexual orientation

September 21

Tufts University has produced more than a few successful writers over the years. The latest Tufts alumnus to produce a published work of fiction is Wayne Hoffman, a 1991 graduate from the School of Arts and Sciences. His novel, "Sweet Like Sugar," examines the tensions that exist in the life of a gay man who was raised as a Conservative Jew. Although the book is not strictly autobiographical, many elements of Hoffman's own life are present in the narrative thread, as he dealt with many of the same issues.

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News

Angad Bagai | A Whole New World

September 21

This first edition focuses on something that struck just a few days after I arrived in the United States on Aug. 23. It must have been a day or two later (I'm not sure; time gets really warped when you're spending all your time buying sheets and trash cans at Bed, Bath and Beyond), when I heard of "Hurricane Irene," which was heading up the coastline, scheduled to hit a few days later. The days following were centered almost entirely on the threat of the hurricane — which flopped back and forth between being a hurricane and a tropical storm. Every single news channel on TV had its coverage focused on the natural disaster. You all know the impact of it on flights, as most of the freshman class was on their way up here for Orientation. My roommate was stranded in the Los Angeles airport for a good three days as every plane out was canceled. People mobbed the supermarkets all over, trying to stock up on supplies so as to avoid being stranded by the hurricane.

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News

Upon trees

September 21

During these final few days of summer heat — and have no illusions, they will not last — stroll around this campus and gaze upon the trees. The leaves begin to turn vibrant colors of fire and float to the ground. A breeze calmly flows through, conducting a little ballet of colorful flora. Inhale slowly. Simply stare. Appreciate these beauties that allow us to breathe air.

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News

Tufts administration tweaks alcohol policy

September 21

With Tufts' new alcohol policy, which underwent revision this summer for the second time in two years, first-time offenders of university regulations will receive a warning rather than automatically being placed on Disciplinary Probation One ("pro-one"), according to Dean of Student Affairs Bruce Reitman.

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News

Top Ten | Best Frat Party Themes

September 21

Most frat party themes at Tufts are pretty generic. We're not necessarily unpatriotic, but one more America-themed bash, and we may just become expatriates. We thought up a few ideas to spice things up. Take them. Please.

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News

Tufts celebrates Car-Free Week, promotes sustainability

September 21

The Office of Sustainability is partnering with MassRIDES this week to promote Car-Free Week, which began on Monday and will conclude on Saturday.

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News

Class of 2015 is Facebook forward

September 21

It is common for recent high school graduates to view their upcoming arrival on a college campus with excitement as well as trepidation. These nerves stem partly from the fact that many will arrive on campus without the anchor of a solid group of friends and acquaintances.

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News

Walt Laws-MacDonald | Show Me the Money!

September 19

When Congress established the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in 1934, it sought to create an external body that could monitor and regulate the stock market and investment banking. Since the Great Depression, the finance sector as a whole has undergone drastic changes; millions of shares of stock can be traded in the snap of a finger, on a system that reaches from New York to Singapore. Banks have created derivatives of which even they don't know the risk, and complex algorithms have been implemented where common sense used to rule.

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News

Faith on the Hill: Judaism

September 19

As September draws to a close, the Tufts Jewish community is preparing for its two-day new year celebration, Rosh Hashanah. The holiday falls each year within a few weeks of the start of every new academic year, a time when Tufts Hillel, the second largest student organization on campus, can look forward to welcoming new Jewish Jumbos to its very large on-campus community. And whether you consider yourself an observant Jew or not, that community strives to provide an environment in which students can explore their Judaism and discover what it means for them.

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News

A Dramatic Turn of Events' is actually business as usual for Dream Theater

September 19

When drummer and vocalist Mike Portnoy announced his decision to quit Dream Theater last September, the band's future seemed to hang in the balance. Portnoy's brash leadership, meticulous musicianship and leviathan drum sets had been an essential element of the progressive metal juggernaut's sound and image for 25 years.

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News

Professor affiliated with Tufts Med takes controversial stance on transgender issue

September 19

A group of students painted the cannon Sunday night in protest of an editorial that Keith Ablow, an assistant clinical professor at the Tufts School of Medicine, wrote for Fox News stating that children should not be allowed to watch a television show that cast a transgender individual.

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News

Soderbergh's 'Contagion' plagued with stale narrative

September 19

Intrepid filmgoers are likely to come across a few pictures so incendiary that they can't help but be talked about, discussion burning up the aisles as people file out. The rarer experience, though, is to be caught in the converse: a film so basely palatable that it resists conversation almost entirely. "Contagion," in spite of an impressive directorial pedigree and a star−studded cast, is one of the latter. By favoring broad appeal over depth in storytelling, director Steven Soderbergh dials in some of his tamest work yet, though it's hidden beneath a sheen of generic prestige.

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News

Tufts switches janitorial service provider

September 19

The job security and working conditions of Tufts' janitorial staff may be impacted by the university's recent switch in campus-cleaning services from American Building Maintenance (ABM) Industries to UGL Unnico, according to sophomore Liam Walsh-Mellett, co-chair of the Jumbo Janitor Alliance (JJA).

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News

New OCL policy allows outside guests at events

September 19

The Office for Campus Life (OCL) this summer revamped its policy regarding the admittance of non-Tufts students at student-run events held in the Mayer Campus Center in an effort to increase the yield of attendees at group-sponsored events.

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News

Tufts laptop with confidential personal information stolen

September 18

A Tufts−owned research laptop containing the personal information of 73 applicants to the Tufts Graduate School of Arts and Sciences (GSAS) was stolen in April, though there has been no sign of misuse of the information to date.

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News

Sustainability group grows under new leaders

September 18

There comes a moment in the life of every student group when it must say goodbye to the proud parents that fostered it from infancy and strike out into the world of the Tufts community on its own. For the Tufts Sustainability Collective (TSC), that moment came early — a few months after its birth last spring, when its two co−founders graduated.

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News

Jumbos in the Peace Corps serve abroad

September 15

For many seniors returning for their final year at Tufts, the realities of post-graduation life are becoming much clearer; finding a job, getting an apartment, learning to pay the bills. But imagine if your plan for life after graduation instead included no running water, no electricity, no roads and no English.

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News

The Magician King' fills the fantasy book void for Potter fans

September 13

I'm just going to come right out and say what many of us have been thinking since "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2" (2011) came out this summer: As the camera zoomed out to show one final panorama of Hogwarts, a gaping void opened in my life. It's not that I haven't read other enjoyable books since, but there's just something about a really good fantasy story — particularly a fantasy story that adults can't be mocked (too much) for reading.

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News

Campus post office branch considered for closure

September 13

The United States Postal Service (USPS) is considering closing the Tufts University Post Office located at 470 Boston Ave. due to low activity, Dennis Tarmey, a communications specialist for the USPS Greater Boston District, said.

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News

Australian artist and Harvard chair to converse about aboriginal culture at Tufts Art Gallery

September 13

This Thursday from 5:30 to 8:00 p.m., the Tufts University Art Gallery will hold an opening reception for its two fall exhibits, "Richard Bell: Uz vs. Them" and "Ken Gonzales-Day: Profiled." Attendees will be able to both view the new shows and take advantage of the night's special events, including a conversation between artist Richard Bell and Mark Dodson, visiting chair of Australian Studies at Harvard University.

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