“Life is getting pretty real,” one of my friends said as I was attempting to peacefully eat my Hodge bowl in the hallway. When we sensually locked eyes, his pupils were filled with anxiety, nerves and worries. It wasn’t until later that night when I was staring at the ceiling of my dark, lonely single when I realized that life is, actually, getting real.
This week’s focus, although not a specific award, is on the most surprising teams from this season. These are the teams that most exceeded my expectations and are in a much better position than most thought that they would be in.
This past weekend, I made the long and grueling journey all the way back to the Motherland. In other words, I comfortably slept on the Amtrak for 2 ½ to go home for the weekend. Even though I already had a special spring break edition for last week’s kitchen write-up, I knew I had to seize the opportunity to cook in my very own home kitchen as a nod to my culinary roots.
A few weeks ago, I was sitting with my friend and her study group in The Commons Marketplace, working away on an assignment. As we talked spring break and the onset of March, the conversation turned to the Indian festival of Holi. “Oh yeah!” exclaimed someone at the table, “Isn’t that like Indian paintball?” I suppressed a chuckle, agreed and added that we also dance around a fire at midnight and offer a vial of our blood to celebrate springtime. The comparison did stay with me though, having struck me.
This past Sunday, I woke up early, hopped on the T, and spent my morning strolling around Central Square and the surrounding neighborhoods. For those interested in visiting, you can take the Red Line from Davis Square and reach your destination within 20 minutes.
“Bohemian Rhapsody.” “Blonde.” “Oppenheimer.” “The Iron Claw.” “Rocketman.” “Maestro.” “Elvis.” “Priscilla.” “Napoleon.” “Ferrari.” “Nyad.” All are films that came out in the last six years, and all are films that denote Hollywood’s staggering obsession with biopics. Biopics have always been a staple in American cinema, but their explosion in recent years is a Band-Aid over the fatal wounds dealt to Hollywood by streaming.
This tournament has flown by. Just two weeks ago, we had 68 teams in the field, ready to battle it out for the most important trophy in college basketball. Now, only four remain, with three very compelling games left to be played in Arizona. As always, the tournament has been almost unpredictable, but here are my picks for each game and the new (or not so new) National Champion.
When I was in middle school, I became seriously sick due to an asthma attack. While I recovered relatively well, I continued to use my sickness to persuade my parents to let me stay home which resulted in me missing weeks of school. While I felt great about not having to listen to my teachers or learn algebra, the results were predictable: I failed most of my classes during the last quarter of seventh grade. The ramifications of my actions continue to this day, as I struggle deeply with math because I skipped so many days of class back in seventh grade. My experience is not unique; chronic absenteeism, as this phenomenon is called, is a persistent problem for millions of American students.
Last Monday night Moroccan officials caught the first glimpse of the crescent moon, marking the beginning of Ramadan: the holy month of Islam in which Muslims abstain from eating and drinking until sunset. The beginning of Ramadan coincided with my spring break, meaning I was not able to experience the first few days of Ramadan in Morocco. But between watching the city frantically prepare for the holiday and returning to a new environment, completely immersed in the Ramadan spirit, I can now say that I’ve experienced the unique ethos of Ramadan in Morocco.
The stereotypical college spring break involves jet setting to the sunniest of beaches in countries with a lower drinking age. And yet, my spring break group was not yet sick of the cold. We traveled to Iceland last week and found ourselves in a remote fishing village in the Westfjords during their worst snowstorm this season.
As one of the main cultural hubs on the eastern seaboard, Washington, D.C. fosters a strong intellectual culture of discovery through its museums. As Tufts students, we’re spoiled with fairly easy access to incredible museums in Somerville, Cambridge, Boston and the outskirts of Massachusetts through the T.
The “Unissued Diplomas” exhibition is a collection of short stories about Ukrainian students who were killed in Russia’s war against Ukraine. To honor their memory, a series of digital postcards was created, detailing their majors, interests and the tragic stories of their deaths.
The NCAA gymnastics national championships are coming up in April, and there’s one thing we’re certain to see — leotards with completely open backs. These sorts of leotards have become standard issue in college gymnastics. On the one hand, an open back makes it possible to see the athletes’ muscles and appreciate how strong they are, especially on bars. However, there is one major issue with this design choice: the vast majority of backless leotards make it impossible to wear a sports bra.
After 10 years of silence, Kendrick Lamar has finally dissed Drake and J. Cole. Following the release of his verse on “Control” (2013) by Big Sean, wherein Lamar threatened several major hip-hop artists of the time, both Drake and Cole have released subliminal and conspicuous disses directed towards the rapper.
Finally, we’ve made it to March. And it’s been a great tournament so far. Somehow, each and every year, this playoff brings enthralling narratives that take over the sports world. Whether it's a Cinderella story, a dominant team or a new star of the sport, March Madness never fails to entertain. It’d be hard to capture everything that happened in the 40 games that have been played, so let’s take a look at the best storylines from the first two rounds.
Hi fellow dreamers! Today, I would like to share a story that is very fitting for the Daily: a story about a journalist. David Armstrong is currently a reporter for ProPublica, an independent nonprofit investigative journal. He graduated from the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University and went on to be awarded a Pulitzer Prize in 2002.
The spring break that we all know and love can be traced back to the 1930s when the Colgate University swim team popularized the idea of going to a sunny and warm destination at the midpoint of the semester. From there, the concept took off, and spring break now serves as a perfect window of time for college students across the country to travel with their friends, relax and make poor decisions. For me though, spring break brought something else: an opportunity to cook some scrumptious food in a non-dorm kitchen for the first time in seven weeks. So, while visiting a friend in Brooklyn, we whipped up a delicious meal of goat cheese and squash pasta, pesto tomato crostini and banana bread. Therefore, I present to you Dorms, Dishes and Delicacies: spring break edition.
Kate Middleton, also known as Princess Catherine of Wales, is dead, and Kensington Palace is trying to cover it up. At least, that’s what several royal conspiracy theorists proposed in the weeks after her public “disappearance.” When a photo released by Kensington Palace of the princess with her three children showed signs of being touched up, the public was sent into a frenzy. Either she was missing, dying or already dead. One X user wrote, “KATE MIDDLETON IS PROBABLY DEAD,” and followed it up with skull face emojis and crying faces. Aptly put by The Atlantic’s Helen Lewis, “The situation quickly turned into a ‘QAnon for wine moms.’”
Here are my predictions for the 2024 season, with each team’s 2023 record in parentheses. 10. Tampa Bay Rays (99—63)The Rays are tough to place. They’re coming off a fantastic regular season but will likely be missing their two best players — shortstop Wander Franco for legal issues and pitcher Shane McClanahan for Tommy John surgery — in 2024.
Honorable Mentions:Austin Riley, 3B, Braves; Francisco Lindor, SS, Mets; Julio Rodríguez, CF, Mariners10. Matt Olson, 1B, Atlanta BravesOlson has been one of the game’s best sluggers for the past several seasons. Since 2021, he has 127 homers and 353 RBIs with a .902 OPS, and he’s missed only six games in that span.
