Arts

Arts

Center Stage: The Jackson Jills

By Nate Hall | April 16

For more than 60 years, the Jackson Jills have been arranging, singing and performing at Tufts. The Jills were named after Cornelia Maria Jackson, who was the namesake of Jackson College, Tufts’ counterpart for female students at the time of its founding. The name stuck after the schools merged in 1980. Today, the Jills continue to honor their history while looking for new ways to innovate their sound.

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Arts

Anevay Ybáñez honors home and community through senior project

By Charlotte Hohneker | April 15

For Anevay Ybáñez, storytelling is not just an art; it is a commitment. Her senior thesis project is a powerful documentary that delves into the lived realities of the United States Mexico border, the place she calls home.

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Arts

DREAMGLOW’s ‘Photoplay’ is a synesthetic experience

By Spring LaRose | April 15

The colors on the screen rise and fall, nearly bursting from the borders of the geometric shapes.Walter Ruttmann’s 1921 short film “Lichtspiel Opus I”is oil paint on glass, but tonight in The Rockwell,the film is also sound and touch on sight. There is the seesaw of violin and song. Voices slip in and out of harmony. Triangles stab downward, and the voices become gasps and whistles. The dancer moves in front of the screen. Her arms roll over her body, which is enveloped in lime green. Aural crescendos match the swelling of shape and color.

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Arts

From Bruno Mars to Hunger Games: Tufts Dance Collective’s spring show highlights

By Fiona Hinrichsen | April 15

This past weekend, the Tufts Dance Collective put on an incredible performance led by an exceptional team: Kylie McNulty, Luke Morris, Mia Parangalan, Ali Wawner and Molly Sullivan. The show, titled“H.A.G.S,” featured a variety of creative dance compilations, including “The Lana Del Reaping,” “Does Bruno Mars is Gay?” and “Good Will Cunting.” 

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Columns

Adventures of an A-Lister: ‘The Amateur’ is for the underdogs

By Odessa Gaines | April 15

When I walked into the theaters this past weekend for nighttime showing of “The Amateur” (2025), I was not expecting for my eyes to be glued to the screen for every single minute.

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Arts

‘It’s about us’ — art, messaging at ‘Hands Off!’ Boston

By Sophie Herron | April 14

At the“Hands Off!” protest in Boston on April 5, Chantal Zakari, SMFA professor of the practice,was among the crowd.In 2020, Zakari taught a course called “Subversive Graphics: Socially Engaged Art,” which discussed recent artistic protest movements and art methods, including street graphics, books and short-lived print. Using this expertise,she gave her insight on the posters for the “Hands Off!” protest.

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Arts

Kelly Kimbis talks process behind her upcoming short, ‘The Hitman’s Laundromat’

By Ryan Fairfield | April 14

Since the summer of 2024, Tufts senior, writer and director Kelly Kimbis has been working on her narrative short film, “The Hitman’s Laundromat.” While the film is influenced by Kimbis’ love for crime films and the crime genre, the real inspiration for her film came from an unlikely place. 

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Arts

Bon Iver finally finds the light

By Annika Pillai | April 14

Justin Vernon has long been a reluctant prophet of pain. Ever since his now-mythologized retreat to a Wisconsin cabin to record “For Emma, Forever Ago” in 2007, the Bon Iver frontman has stood at the center of a tension between raw emotional expression and the performance of that expression — between self-exploration and the expectation of sadness. But “SABLE, fABLE,” Bon Iver’s long-awaited fifth studio album, dares to ask a question few saw coming: What if Bon Iver, but happy?

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Columns

Confessions of a College Shopaholic: Let’s talk retail therapy

By Ryan Fairfield | April 14

We’ve all been there: Finals begin approaching, you’re drowning in essays and readings and suddenly, a notification pops up for a 20% off sale, or you see a really tempting Instagram ad. Or maybe you’re one of those students who scroll through online shops in the middle of class (I always sit in the back of class and — trust me — there’s always at least three people online shopping). Retail therapy, right? For many college students, shopping provides a momentary escape from the grind of student life, giving us a chance to feel better, even if it’s just for a few minutes.

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Arts

‘Dahomey’ is the synthesis of matter and memory

By Noah Goldstein | April 11

On Jan. 20, 1894, Béhanzin, the 11th ruler of Dahomey — the kingdom in the area today known as Benin — stood before his subjects, fully aware it would be for the last time. Soon he would surrender Dahomey to the French, bringing three years of conflict to a close. With that, another West African kingdom fell to the spoils of colonial expansion.

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Columns

Video essayists you should watch: Lola Sebastian

By Basil Hand | April 11

God has dealt me a cruel hand: I am a biology major who yearns for the arts and humanities. Unfortunately, my course schedule has really limited the amount of arts classes I’ve been able to take in my four years at Tufts. Instead of taking classes on classical literature or contemporary plays, I’ve been burdened with biological knowledge, such as the organization of the fly’s nervous system or the way cells repair DNA damage. Fortunately, I’ve found a YouTuber who delivers content worthy of a college English class and with the humor and aesthetic taste of the contemporary world. Enter Lola Sebastian.

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Arts

Confessions of a College Shopaholic: The dos and don’ts of starting college

By Ryan Fairfield | April 10

Welcome to the beginning of what will likely be the weirdest, most transformative, emotionally chaotic and occasionally magical four years of your life. You’re probably gearing up for your final summer at home right now — graduation parties, late nights and maybe even a Pinterest board full of ‘dorm aesthetic’ ideas. You’re making lists, buying way too many things from Target and possibly imagining what it’ll feel like to walk onto campus as a brand new Tufts student.

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Columns

Trunks Full of Treasures: Revive your wardrobe at Vivant Vintage

By Fiona Hinrichsen | April 10

As you embark on your journey at Tufts, be sure to stop by Vivant Vintage at its new location on Newbury Street. From operating a unique mobile boutique — a tricycle-pulled cart named “Le Pants King and The Traveling Spectacular” — Justin Pomerleau and his wife, Emmy Sawich, transformed their vision into reality with the opening of Vivant Vintage on Newbury Street on March 1. After spending several years preparing for this high-profile second location, their hard work has finally paid off.

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Arts

Welcome new filmmakers: Take a peek into the Film and Media Studies Program at Tufts

By Odessa Gaines | April 10

As you begin to embark on your journey into Tufts, you may be wondering: What do I even do while here?

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Arts

What happens to the truth when we start to censor art?

By Odessa Gaines | April 9

On March 27, the current president of the United States of America signed an executive order to begin overhauling the Smithsonian Institution. This order comes from an effort to curb what has been called “woke ideology.” Paired with a crackdown on Diversity, Equity and Inclusivity programs, these new executive orders have instilled a very remarkable trait in our current administration: the ability to erase and change history.

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Arts

Back on the charts: Lady Gaga’s disco revival

By Dominic Matos | April 9

If all the world’s a stage, what does one do after succeeding in every role, with nothing left to prove? It seems like for Lady Gaga, the last thing she would ever do is let the curtain fall. She just keeps going.

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Columns

Adventures of an A-Lister: ‘Hell of a Summer’ is full of laughs

By Odessa Gaines | April 8

It may only be April, but summer is here with Finn Wolfhard and Billy Bryk’s directorial debut “Hell of a Summer.” After premiering at the Toronto International Film Festival on Sept. 10, 2023, the film is finally showing in theaters across the United States. Shockingly fun, “Hell of a Summer” follows a group of camp counselors returning to Camp Pineway led by 24-year-old Jason (Fred Hechinger). Jason, whom everyone is shocked to see return, struggles to connect with his team of teen counselors but plans to impress the camp owners enough to become the new “camp leader.” However, things quickly go downhill when a masked killer begins to murder the counselors one by one. Without cell phones, driveable vehicles and more than a single brain cell within the camp, the race for survival is on.

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Arts

‘Don’t Eat the Mangos’ explores relationships, sacrifice, liberation

By Odessa Gaines | April 7

Relationships are complicated. Those between family members are even more so. This is deeply the case for a family of five living in El Comandante, a small neighborhood in Puerto Rico in 2019. “Don’t Eat the Mangos” by playwright Ricardo Pérez González and directed by David Mendizábal follows the family’s relationships with and sacrifices for one another as secrets are uncovered at last. 

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Music

Ray Chen makes Boston Symphony Orchestra debut with Tchaikovsky’s ‘Violin Concerto in D Major’

By Erin Zhu | April 7

Acclaimed violinist Ray Chen made his Boston Symphony Orchestra debut on March 13, performing Tchaikovsky’s iconic “Violin Concerto in D Major” from March 13–16 alongside American conductor Teddy Abrams. 

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Columns

Confessions of a College Shopaholic: Why the ‘perfect’ anything doesn’t exist

By Ryan Fairfield | April 7

You’ve probably heard it before — innewsletters, ads, Instagram captions — it’s“The Perfect Tee,” “The Only Pair of Jeans You’ll Ever Need”or“We Finally Found the Perfect Pants.” And every time I read something like that, I roll my eyes. Not because I hate a staple — I love a good staple. But because there’s no such thing as a universal “perfect” anything in fashion. Not the perfect tee, not the perfect jeans, not even the perfect white sneaker.

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