Columns

Columns

Hey Wait Just One Second: Dreams

By Max Turnacioglu | September 24

Every night I dream of Jumbo. The “Everything Dreams Book” tells me that these lurid, pachydermic visions portend “wealth, honor, and a steadfast character.” However, when I bring my good fortunes up in conversation, people seem to look at me strangely. Dreams are uniquely “intimate and decidedly singular,” yet we all inevitably succumb to them. They are an intensely personal experience but simultaneously universal, a form of a sleeping contradiction.

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Columns

Shut Up and Play the Noise: Yo La Tengo’s ‘And Then Nothing Turned Itself Inside-Out’

By Ethan Essner | September 24

Rarely does a band manage to write a collection of songs that cohesively exemplify the entire thesis of an album. Hoboken trio Yo La Tengo gracefully accomplished such a feat on a plethora of occasions. But the tangible gloom of the 2000 album “And Then Nothing Turned Itself Inside-Out”is perhaps the greatest display within the band’s catalog.

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Columns

Read, Write and Be Merry: 'The Women'

By Merry Jiao | September 19

Welcome! I’m glad you’re here spending a bit of your day with me! This is the first edition of what will prove to be the absolute best, most Earth-shattering book column ever. Because, obviously, it’s being written by the coolest, funniest, most nonchalant managing editor turned study abroad liaison the world has ever seen.

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Columns

Hey Wait Just One Second: Handshakes

By Max Turnacioglu | September 17

Hey, wait just one second, and observe with me. Beneath all the big things that keep us moving, this world is defined by so many little things: quirks, oddities, patterns and skeins of social fabric. In this column, we’ll observe the absurdities of life while appreciating the beauty and meaning of that absurdity. Humor me as I employ some abstract thought, niche history and due diligence, and let’s unravel what we can this semester. 

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Columns

A Jumbo’s Journey: We are SO Back

By Ben Rachel | September 11

In short, we are SO back. Actually, we have never been more back than we are right now. As a newly christened sophomore, I can officially say that I am back. Whether you are like me and have one year under your belt and are still forced into a meal plan or you just had your last FDOC, we are BACK!! Freshies, you all have a lot to learn.Coming back to campus in late August was surreal. Driving through the Cummings intersection and around Professors Row was a wash of nostalgia. A four-month break from Dewick and overpriced coffee changed me as a person. At least for me, the summer was a refreshing, relaxing and grounding experience — a detox. It was so much so that toward the end of July, Tufts started to feel like a fever dream. All those parties, brutally boring lectures and quirky people seemed like a figment of my imagination. It seemed all too fanciful to be real.

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Columns

GC in DC: Living through (and living up to) the burden of history

By Guillem Colom | September 9

To say that the past 100 days transformed the trajectory of American history would be a gross understatement.Our generation has experienced significant upheavals merely in the past few years: the desolation wrought by the COVID-19 pandemic, increasing threats against elected officials and the rollback of legal precedents, ranging from abortion rights to long-standing environmental regulations.

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Columns

The Bookmark: ‘Happy Place’ by Emily Henry

By Natalie Bricker | May 16

For my last column, I’m giving the people what they need in their lives right now: a summer romance! My favorite romance writer is Emily Henry. She doesn’t just write average romance novels; her books capture the perfect mix of slow-burn romance, character depth, fresh, summery imagery and enough little plot twists to make it impossible to put down.

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Columns

Moments ‘til Madness: The top teams for the 2024–25 season

By Owen Short | April 29

With it being late April, it’s time for schools to start rebuilding their rosters and preparing for the next season. Teams like the University of Louisville and the University of Southern California already have full rotations of transfers coming in. The portal is still very active, but as teams stand right now, these are my current 2024 preseason rankings.

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Columns

DreamWorks: Jumbo Dreams

By Halia Frishman | April 29

Hello dreamers! This has been an incredible semester of dream searching. From lawyers, journalists and abortion providers to producers and playwrights, I have learned so much and I hope you have too. For this final edition I collected dreams from Tufts students. Some of them have known what they have wanted to do since they were little and others, like so many of us, are in the midst of the search.

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Columns

The Round-off Roundup: Olympic team predictions

By Sarah Firth | April 25

For my last column, I’m going to make the obligatory predictions for the U.S. women’s gymnastics Olympic team later this summer. This year, there will be five spots on the team and no individuals for the U.S. The highest-scoring all-around athlete from the combined two days of the Olympic trials automatically qualifies for the Olympic team. The remaining four athletes are chosen by the Athlete Selection Committee.

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Columns

Ukraine at War: New aid package, myths about Nazism

By Mariia Kudina | April 25

Around the same time as the U.S. House of Representatives approved a $60.8 billion aid package for Ukraine, one representative voiced concerns regarding “Nazi” ideologies in Ukraine.Timothy Snyder, the Richard C. Levin Professor of History and Global Affairs at Yale University, who specializes in the history and politics of Eastern Europe, debunked the myths about Nazism in Ukraine at the hearing.

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Columns

Ruminations from Rabat: Ending on a high note

By Chasya Cohen | April 25

With only a week left in Morocco, my mind is scrambled with a million thoughts and feelings. Though I should be stressing about finals, I can’t help but stress about how to best end this amazing semester.

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Columns

The Bookmark: ‘Girl, Interrupted’ by Susanna Kaysen

By Natalie Bricker | April 25

I’m not sure if I necessarily enjoyed reading this memoir, but it definitely sparked some contemplation and left me thinking about it days later, which is an indication of a good book. In “Girl, Interrupted,” Susanna Kaysen writes about her two year long experience in McLean Hospital’s psychiatric unit, and her story is nothing short of remarkable.

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Columns

Moments ‘til Madness: Best hires from the coaching carousel

By Owen Short | April 25

Now that we are a couple weeks out from the national championship game, the offseason is in full swing and the coaching carousel has almost completed its course. We already had what is most likely the biggest storyline of the summer with the University of Kentucky and John Calipari mutually parting ways, and the program hiring former Brigham Young University head coach Mark Pope to fill the role. We had other big high-major coaching changes like Pat Kelsey to the University of Louisville and Dusty May to the University of Michigan. Here are my favorite moves from the carousel as of now.

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Columns

Public Cinemy No. 1: Intellectual property in American cinema

By Sacha Waters | April 24

“Barbie” introduced a new trend that may come to dominate American cinema in coming years: films adapted not from books or plays, but from toys. Since the pink-coated blockbuster graced screens in the summer of 2023, many new toy-based projects have been announced by Mattel and its competitors.Mattel has 14 films in development, including projects based on American Girl dolls, Hot Wheels, Uno and even the Magic 8 Ball. Hasbro and Electronic Arts, meanwhile, are collaborating with Margot Robbie’s LuckyChap production company to produce a Monopoly movie and a Sims movie respectively.

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Columns

Brown and (Usually) Blue: Salman Rushdie’s ‘Knife’ is sharply witty, brilliant

By Ishaan Rajiv Rajabali | April 24

Salman Rushdie, famed Indian novelist, seems to have occupied the liminal space between fame and notoriety since the beginnings of his literary career. His second novel “Midnight’s Children” (1981) won him fame, admiration and the Booker Prize; his fourth, “The Satanic Verses” (1988), forced him to go into hiding as he reckoned with the potent forces of censorship and violence. It is not challenging to find an author with a life as tumultuous as the stories they spin, but rarely is it as brilliant as Rushdie’s. And this brilliance continues to define his work, as proven by his 2024 memoir “Knife: Meditations After an Attempted Murder,” published this April, a mere two years after he was attacked on stage at the Chautauqua Institution in August 2022. 

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Columns

Tok the Talk: The epidemic of iPad kids

By Annika Pillai | April 23

IPad kids have become somewhat of an internet meme — the children who can’t seem to go a few hours without gluing their eyes to a screen have become the latest laughingstock of the internet. However, beyond the comical nature of watching a child pull out Nickelodeon at a fancy dinner, there is a fundamental question to be raised: What impact has technology had on child development?

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Columns

Extra Innings: The Chicago White Sox are a joke

By Henry Blickenstaff | April 23

I’m aware that I’ve made fun of the White Sox before. But as a Cubs fan, I just can’t help myself. It’s hard to believe that just three seasons ago, this team was one of the best in baseball, winning the American League Central with 93 wins. But an abysmal start to the 2024 campaign is a reminder of how quickly the White Sox’ fortunes have changed.

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Column

The Policy Perspective: Reasons to hope

By Keshav Srikant | April 22

I’ve spent the last year writing columns about how U.S. public policy can be improved. From housing to public transportation to education to climate change, there are many areas where we can do better. For my last edition of this column, however, I wanted to write about beneficial public policies that have been passed and that are often missed or ignored in a media consumption environment with a strong negativity bias.

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Columns

Dorms, Dishes and Delicacies: Bush Hall

By Katie Hankinson | April 22

After a day full of dancing, singing, waiting in line and trying to touch Jordin Sparks’ hand at Spring Fling, the student body at Tufts was quite tired out — myself included. But what’s a better way to refuel after a long day than with a nice homemade meal? So, for my very last kitchen review this semester, I headed down to Bush Hall to make some quinoa-stuffed zucchini boats.

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