Akwaaba! Welcome to Ghana! Just for a minute, while you read this column, try to forget that you are in Medford, and join me instead here in West Africa, where I’m spending the semester with Tufts-in-Ghana at the University of Ghana in Legon, Accra.Tufts-in-Ghana is billed as an English-language program, ...
Football is religion in the American South.Though metaphorical, this aphorism is actually lived out on a weekly basis when the South -- along with the rest of the country -- ensconces itself in stadiums, on sofas and virtually in fantasy leagues, eyes riveted and mouths agape.In Georgia, the phrase ...
I’ve always been kind of a comic weenie. I’m no alpha nerd or anything, but I’ve read the classics. I remember reading when Tony Stark -- from "Iron Man" (1968-present) -- lost control of his drinking habits and spiraled into depression. I’ve seen everything from spousal abuse ...
Hello again, fellow book lovers!Let me begin by saying I love movies. They’re able to sweep us off our feet with visual effects, compelling storylines and impressive acting. However, watching movies is a very one-sided experience. I’m told how to explicitly brand the characters, and the plot shoves ...
Weird things happen over the summer. University students find odd jobs, Danny Zukos meet the girls of their dreams and, if they’re crazy, people go barefoot. If they’re crazy attractive they don’t wear shirts, but that’s just not most of us.Most of us, “us” as in people who employ reason ...
A week or two ago I injured my left wrist, resulting in a mild sprain that I thought would vanish as quickly as my enthusiasm for dining hall food. It proved remarkably persistent, however, and even worsened after I wisely performed such wrist-heavy activities as boxing and econometrics homework. So ...
I wrote a column about the cult of Apple nearly three years ago. It was a simpler time then. A time when my tremendous playlist making skills were heralded throughout the halls of the Dirty Lew (there was a joke about the football team here, but OH MY GOD WE WON), a time when NQR was more than just ...
The clock ticked down on the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) World Cup 2014 in Barcelona, leaving the United States on top of the podium for the second straight World Cup. The U.S. dominated throughout the tournament and won the gold medal game against a much-improved Serbian squad by ...
If you find yourself at Fenway Park for the Red Sox’s final homestand this week, chances are most of the local starting nine will be unfamiliar. That’s because the current outfit hardly resembles the one that beat St. Louis in the World Series last year. Gone are most of the scruffy bearded veterans ...
When I was a sophomore in high school, I inherited my grandparents’ old records. I wiped away the dust and obtained the proper Kallax series shelving unit from Ikea to house them. I pulled out my dad’s old boxy turntable and hastily fastened a belt out of a headband -- totally with the intention ...
I have been sitting at this cafe for far too long just trying to type out the words of the first sentence of my first column. It’s ironic that I had been striving for some sort of perfection, the perfect first line, when this is a column that will be dedicated to imperfect experiences. As much as ...
We are Rebecca and Pooja, two juniors at Tufts with essentially undecided majors and decidedly major ideas -- and here’s why you need our advice. We like to think of ourselves as a modern day "Sex and the City" (1998-2004) column, or rather, Single in the Suburbs. Together we aim to be a ...
Just a year ago, I was starting a pretty average sophomore year at Tufts. I lived on the first floor of Metcalf Hall; I juggled work-study, an internship and classes; I climbed the hill to Olin three days a week and hated every minute of it.The beginning of my junior year could not be more different. ...
Hey Hillary,First off, just got to say that the pantsuit you were wearing at your appearance in Cali the other day was on point. The pop of leopard print was just genius. Was it Bill’s idea? It was totally Bill’s idea. I always knew he had a penchant for fashion. Especially those blue dresses! Too ...
Hello everyone. My name is Vincent Carbone, and I’ve somehow managed to score a job writing a weekly arts column in this fine paper you’re reading right now.This isn’t going to be an ordinary arts column. See, I’m not going to review any shows or movies, and I’m not going to blather on about ...
A lot of people write about sports, but who writes about sportswriters?In the political journalism sphere, it is a long-standing tradition to assume bias of information. Consumers of this type of content are quick to bring up the source of a particular statement and incorporate it into their understanding ...
According to my pick-a-major pressure sensor, and exemplified by my grimy but capable Hillsides suite, I’m not a freshman anymore. I’m a sophomore, with all of the typifying accouterments: the swagger, the social circles, the babies and all.But although time has passed, I can still reap the benefits ...
Disclaimer: this will now be the third semester that I’ll be writing this column for the Daily, but the title is still being misreported. At this point I don’t really even think I can say the title is being “misreported,” since there’s now a year of evidence for the imposter version, but I ...
My motivation is twofold: I write both to stay within range of public opprobrium, hoping beyond hope that it does not flame out like all the others have, and to encourage insightful criticism, as opposed to the sort of fulminating that has compromised journalistic integrity in recent weeks.After a quiet ...
Hello everyone, I’m Helen Schmidt! Together we’ll travel on enthusiastic voyages through books you may have never heard of and talk about why they’re essential for modern readers.When we read for pleasure, it’s usually because we want a break from the stress of our responsibilities. However, ...
