The walk to the auditorium was a quiet one — and cold. The rain-smelling April 16 night gave little notice that any kind of event, let alone a heavily promoted concert to support Ukraine amid the 2022 Russian invasion, was about to begin. It was only as the streetlamps leading to the Granoff Music Center fizzled to life that the open door to the center came into view.
Graduating senior Eli van der Rijn is a double major in international literary and visual studies and biopsychology. In his academic career, classes that stood out include a Spanish class on the Argentine short-story writer Jorge Luis Borges and Experiments in Physiology,a class that gave its students a certain amount of freedom, as they designed their own experiments. Between classes, van der Rijnhelps students better their writing skills as a writing fellow. This semester, he assumed the leadership role of head fellow. After graduation, he will take a position as a research assistant at a neurobiology lab in Boston.
It was a Wednesday afternoon, and Sadie and Ellie had a fire in their tummies. They had just gotten yelled at. On hump day?! The audacity.
The Class of 2022 will always be remembered for our extremely historically unprecedented undergrad experience. Obviously, the worst thing to ever happen to us, collectively, was when an a cappella group had to sing its cover of “Dancing Queen” (1976) by ABBA in 97-degree heat at matriculation. Otherwise, our four years at Tufts were remarkably calm, normal and free of turmoil.
On April 23 and 24, the Tufts Department of Theatre, Dance, and Performance Studies presented this year’s Spring Dance Concert, a performance dedicated to sharing the senior capstone projects of its hard working students. With over 20 student dancers across 10 unique performances, each choreographed by a graduating Tufts senior, this year’s concert provided viewers with a final opportunity to witness an impressive display of the chemistry and relationships developed within the department over the past four years.
On-campus activities were undeniably an extremely fulfilling and rewarding facet of my college experience. While I’ll do my best to describe my experiences and navigation through the sea of extracurriculars that Tufts has to offer, I want this reflection to mostly serve as advice. There are two focal points of advice that I have; both incoming classes of Jumbos and current Jumbos of any class can follow them. First, trust the process. Sticking with what makes you happiest and pursuing it will lead you in exciting new directions. Second, take every opportunity you’re presented with and actively seek new ones. These ideas ended up making me feel very fulfilled and satisfied with my time at Tufts, and I hope that anyone that feels lost or uncertain can take these into account and find something they’re passionate about.
This academic year was a big one for the movies. Major, long-anticipated blockbusters finally hit the theaters after being delayed by the pandemic. As COVID-19 restrictions relaxed, the film festival season also picked back up and delivered some excellent smaller productions that fostered discussion, praise and accolades.
Good things come to those who wait. At least, that’s what we tried to convince ourselves as the minutes grew in our wait for hot pot at Q Restaurant in Boston. Fifteen minutes turned into 40, and we simply were not having it.
Editor’s Note: This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
The “Scream” franchise has always been self-reflective. Since “Scream” (1996), the movies have reflected, subverted and, at times, invoked various horror tropes. Throughout the initial installment and four sequels later, it has been praised for its clever — and at times feminist — genre commentary. But the newest flick, “Scream” (2022), the first in the installment not directed by Wes Craven, has perhaps taken the schtick one film too far.
Here we are, the final “Compendium of Actors.” I’m somewhat unsure of whether anything has been accomplished here — has any knowledge been gained on the nature of acting, or have I spent the last semester simply reveling in the idea of celebrity? I don’t know how to answer that question, and maybe I don’t care. Maybe celebrity culture is a fun respite, so we may look upon our favorite actors and actresses as idyllic figures and tales to tell. With that in mind, for the last issue of this column, it seems necessary to lean all-in to that call of celebrity culture. So, putting aside all of my basic journalistic ethics and ideals, this last column will be in a somewhat dreaded form: listicle. Here it is, my favorite acting moments of the last year (roughly).
Last November, the world lost a giant of musical theater when Stephen Sondheim died at the age of 91. His musicals, including “Sweeney Todd” (1979), “Sunday in the Park with George” (1984) and “Into the Woods” (1986), had a profound impact on generations of performers and theatermakers. His work lives on in last year’s film adaptation of “West Side Story” (2021) and a recent off-Broadway production of “Assassins” (1990), but perhaps the best commemoration of Sondheim since his passing is the revival of “Company” (1970), currently playing on Broadway at the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre.
Today, we’re gonna be talking about an uncontested staple. The lifeblood of every Jewish family. The centerpiece of the Seder. The magnum opus of every little grandmother chanting “Dayenu” for the umpteenth time: matzo ball soup, bitch.
Sterile, green text slowly crawls across a black screen reading, “5 billion people will die from a deadly virus in 1997 … The survivors will abandon the surface of the planet … Once again the animals will rule the world.” A brief line of text attributing the quote to a “clinically diagnosed paranoid schizophrenic” appears and disappears. Finally, the sounds of the arrangement “Suite Punta del Este” (1982) by Ástor Piazzolla cut through the eerie silence. The moment is unexpected, gripping, a bit strange and oddly alluring — a perfect illustration of what’s to come.
People have long stopped discussing Tom Hooper’s infamous “Cats” (2019), which features flat jokes, horrifying visuals and an Idris Elba cat that somehow manages to be so much more naked than any of the other cats. And I’m here to do the thing nobody asked for: bring it back.
Since its premiere in 2016, the NBC family drama series “This Is Us” has become known for its honest portrayals of family dynamics, its punchy emotional moments and its interconnected plotlines that chronicle the life of the Pearson family over the course of several decades. The series has been received with critical acclaim, and it has seen high viewership at a time when network television has struggled to compete with streaming services. As it wraps up its sixth and final season, the series continues to engage viewers, albeit without some of its original charm.
Introduced in the 1989 spring summer collection, the Tabi shoe has become the most iconic piece synonymous with the French luxury, high fashion brand Maison Margiela. Its polarizing silhouette, a split-toe sock reminiscent of hooves, has amassed a ‘colt’ followingready to defend Tabis to their very last breath.
Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert’s “Everything Everywhere All at Once” (2022) is a breathtaking visual delight, spun by an action-packed plot and brought to life by Michele Yeoh in the lead. We follow Evelyn Wang, a laundromat owner juggling a failing marriage, a dwindling relationship with a resentful Gen-Z daughter and her father’s failing health, all while enduring a tax audit. Exhausted and exasperated, Evelyn is roped into a mind-bending mission to save the multiverse.
K-groups make their musical comebacks throughout the year, but these next few months are going to be extra exciting with groups like Monsta X (April 26), TXT (May 9) and BTS (June 10) all confirmed to come back with new albums over the next few months, with others rumored to make 2022 comebacks and debuts.
Art comes in many forms, and it permeates all facets of life. No matter how removed from artistic practice some people may be, it’s undeniable the impact that art has on everyone. Two editors of the Daily dive into their own experiences with the arts and how they came to join a greater community of Tufts students who appreciate and celebrate art in all its forms.
