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Columns

Tok the Talk: Ruby Franke, the reality behind family vlogging channels

Ruby Franke probably would not have seen the lights of superstardom, at least in the world of YouTubing, if it wasn’t for the major influx of family vlogging channels in the 2010s –– oh, and of course, the six children she paraded across the face of the internet, ignominiously, for years. Perhaps the strangest concave curve of the last decade is the rapid rise and painfully slow fall of family vlogging channels. For better or for worse, it’s hard to argue that there wasn’t a huge audience supporting family channels, including “The ACE Family,” “Bratayley” and “The LaBrant Fam.”


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Columns

Compost in the Daylight: A dead squirrel

There’s a note on my phone and it’s titled “What’s Important.” I think every writer or young person who’s thought they’ve had a great idea has something similar. It’s tucked away on their phone or in a journal or on scraps of paper floating in an accessible area. Those pieces of words never get off that list though, so I thought it was time they did. Or at least mine did. Here are some of the things I’ve written down:



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Column

The Policy Perspective: Designing effective climate policy

On Saturday, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration declared thatSeptember 2023 saw the hottest global temperatures for any September everon record. This shift was partly due to El Niño, but also largely due to climate change. This heat negatively affected people across the world. Although July and August were not as hot statistically, record heat alsocaused many deaths and hospitalizations in the U.S. This is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the effect of human-caused climate change.


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Columns

I Can’t Think Straight: From the top

I’m gay. For anyone who has ever seen me in person, that’s probably not that much of a shocker. But even though I’ve been out since high school, there’s still a part of me that doesn’t feel right saying it. The part of me that hides itself deep down, protected by a flimsy fortress of blue nail polish from the Davis Square CVS and a Tinder account which I’ve deleted several times over.


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Columns

Cabinet of Curiosities: The basement bathroom of Houston Hall

If you turn right on the basement floor of Houston Hall, you’ll see a signless grey door with a metal plate where the handle is supposed to be. Inside, you won’t find the popular ’70s R&B disco band Earth, Wind & Fire, but rather the stalls where Houston basement residents flush, brush and shower, surrounding you left, right and center.



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Columns

Moments ‘til Madness: The battle of conferences

With the season just weeks away, I created my rankings of the Power-6 conferences for the 2023-24 college basketball season. 6. Pac-12As most would expect, the Pac-12 found itself at the bottom of my rankings. Although none of the conference realignments will affect this season, the conference was already struggling mightily, finishing with just two teams in the top 40 of the 2023 KenPom rankings.


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Columns

The Hard Count: Brock Purdy and the 49ers distinguish themselves from the top of NFC

In October 2022, the San Francisco 49ers traded four mid-round draft picks for dual-threat running back Christian McCaffrey. A year later, and that trade seems like more and more of a bargain. The Niners destroyed NFC rivals, the Dallas Cowboys, 42–10 on Sunday Night Football, as McCaffrey notched his 14th straight game with at least one touchdown (including four in one game a week ago).


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Columns

In the Crease: NHL standings predictions

The Boston Bruins are in a vastly different position to start off this season than they were last. The retirement of legendary centers Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci leaves Boston with a gaping hole at the center position, where they clearly lack NHL-caliber center depth. Pavel Zacha, the team’s new first-line center, is a solid player, but not an adequate replacement.



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Column

Ukraine at War: The war-torn worlds of Ukraine and Israel in crisis

The Ukrainian media has been publishing in-depth coverage of the war between Israel and Hamas, as well as “end-of-the-day” summaries of key events of the last 24 hours. Some Ukrainian newspapers have been doing similar synopses of the main episodes of the war Russia has led against Ukraine since the start of the full-scale invasion. To state the obvious, observing two deadly wars happening simultaneously is unbelievable and heartbreaking.


graphic for Benjamin Rachel's A Jumbo's Journey column (features)
Columns

A Jumbo’s Journey: My very first Duo Mobile push

There are probably a plethora of questions: Why is a freshman writing a column titled “A Jumbo’s Journey”? What is this column, and why is it being published by the prestigious, apparently seventh-best college newspaper, The Tufts Daily? As I sit here in the darkness and loneliness of mysingle room, I understand that I can’t answer all of your questions just yet. Instead, I hope to give an overview of who I am and what this column will be.




The Step Back
Columns

The Step Back: The perfect NBA award predictions

We’ve made it y’all. The leaves are turning, Halloween is in the air and NBA basketball is almost back. As we approach tip off on Oct. 24, here are my official awards picks, dark horses and NBA Finals picks. Let’s see how wrong I am in six months.



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Columns

The Power of the Pen: What did Reagan do?

While the writers strike of this year has recently come to an end, the actors are still on the picket lines fighting for better pay and protections from big studios. The constant fight in the entertainment industry for actors’ fair treatment has gone on for decades — all the way back to the ...


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Columns

Extra Innings: 2023 postseason power rankings

The 2023 playoffs are here, and it’s time to rank all 12 teams that qualified, from the bluebloods to the pretenders. 12. Miami Marlins (84–77) The Marlins set a record this year — by having the worst run differential of any playoff team in MLB history at -56. Let’s face it, this team got stupidly lucky this year, and anything other than a first round exit would be a huge surprise.


Confessions of a Cooking Fanatic
Columns

Confessions of a Cooking Fanatic: Introduction

I pride myself on cooking good food. I tell this to my family when I return from college and take over cooking a few dinners a week — tripling everything to account for my “lax-bro” brother and STILL having leftovers. I tell this to my manager when, during my corporate girl summer, he asked if my lunch was homemade (it was). I tell this to myself when I question if my grocery bill could be (should be) any lower for the week.


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Column

Ramaswamy and the young Republican vote

Watching Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy perform Eminem’s “Lose Yourself” (2002) in Iowa was a sight to be seen. Opinions on it varied. To outsiders, it might be seen as a candidate trying to fit in. To Eminem, it was the first and last time he wanted to see Ramaswamy performing his song. To me, Ramaswamy’s “shady” performance was an attempt at capturing a unicorn of sorts — that is, the young vote for the GOP.