Columns

Columns

Queeries: Queer artist advances the future of LGBTQIA+ in Iran

By Saba S. | October 4

Mahsa Merci is an Iranian-born queer multidisciplinary artist. Merci uses various forms of visual media to challenge society’s traditional concepts of beauty. Her art specifically revolves around gender binaries and queer identities. Merci’s work is an extension of the suppressed role of LGBTQmembers of Iranian society and raises awareness of the discrimination and violence that occurs against sexual minorities in Iran.

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Columns

Extra Innings: "All Rise," a historic season for Aaron Judge

By Henry Blickenstaff | October 3

Aaron Judge is larger than life, and not just because he’s 6 feet, 7 inches tall and 282 pounds. The Yankee slugger is having one of the greatest hitting seasons in recent memory. All eyes have been on his pursuit of the American League single-season home run record of 61, set by the Yankees’ Roger Maris in 1961. After hitting his 61st homer on Wednesday in Toronto, he seems primed to break the record. But Judge’s remarkable 2022 season is about more than one record. It’s one of the greatest hitting campaigns of the 21st century. Here’s why. 

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Local

Winkler's Weekly Symphony Guide: The classical meritocracy and 'A Toast!' to the BSO

By Matthew Winkler | October 3

The Boston Symphony Orchestra opens its 2022–23 season with a program that is emblematic of its philosophy and serves as a historically and musically diverse preview of what’s to come. The lineup includes seemingly disparate works that reach over three hundred years back into the Baroque with J.S. Bach’s “Keyboard Concerto in A” before rocketing into the here and now with Jessie Montgomery’s “Rounds” (2022), a work whose inception was only a few months ago following its premiere in March. 

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Columns

Roster Rundown: Week 4

By Timothy Valk | September 30

And then there were two. Heading into Week 4, the Philadelphia Eagles and Miami Dolphins remain undefeated — a surprising duo according to most analysts’ preseason predictions. Yet these teams have a similar makeup. Each traded for a star wide receiver over the summer: Tyreek Hill for the ’Fins and A.J. Brown for the Eagles. Each have stout defenses led by top-notch corners, Xavien Howard and Darius Slay, respectively. Quarterback development is what’s truly propelling these franchises. Tua Tagovailoa and Jalen Hurts have each taken junior year leaps and are second and third in passing yards respectively.

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Columns

The Final Whistle: Can South America reclaim its throne in Qatar?

By Bharat Singh | September 29

On July 13, 2014, the world witnessed two footballing giants go head to head in a final for the ages. Ironically, in Brazil’s iconic Maracanã Stadium, it was Argentina taking on its fierce rival, Germany. The biggest prize in the game, an 18-karat gold trophy standing just 36 centimeters high, stood between the teams’ dugouts at the edge of the touchline. The fairytale ending was almost a reality until Mario Gotze’s extra-time winner broke Argentine hearts. A month-long festival of football on South American soil culminated in German joy. Lionel Messi wore silver as semifinalist Brazil, having been demolished 7 ー 1 a few days earlier, settled for fourth.

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Columns

Sports and Society: Pay up

By Oliver Fox | September 27

Since a 2019 California law blew the lid off of student athletes getting paid, American governmental bodies have been gunning for the borderline illegal monopoly the NCAA and college athletic departments have had on revenue streams. The California law and subsequent measures held that student athletes could receive compensation for their names, images and likenesses, known collectively as NIL, a major step for student athlete compensation, but stopped miles short of actually paying them for their work. 

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Columns

Roster Rundown: Fantasy football preview Week 3

By Timothy Valk | September 22

Hey football fans, welcome back! This is Year 2 of Roster Rundown, and I’m so excited to bring you week-to-week fantasy content once again. Let’s face it: A lot has happened since the end of last year. The Los Angeles Rams won Super Bowl 56 — in Los Angeles. The Deshaun Watson saga finally ended in an 11-game suspension. Tom Brady retired — and unretired. 

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Columns

Community Table: An apple a day with Vedant Modi

By Gwendolyn Brown | September 22

Every night, Vedant closes his day with a snack: a crisp Granny Smith apple. 

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Columns

Sports and Society: Discipline is dead

By Oliver Fox | September 16

Robert Sarver and Donald Sterling are both despicable people, each credibly accused of uniquely reprehensible actions that spanned years and sometimes decades. Only Sterling, former owner of the Los Angeles Clippers, was truly reprimanded permanently. Sarver, the still-owner of the Phoenix Suns, got the equivalent of a parking ticket and a timeout. Both admit no wrongdoing, lost essentially no money, and the NBA seems just fine with that. 

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Columns

The Final Whistle: From Turin to Rome, the Dybala story

By Bharat Singh | September 12

Some fans might recall the days when rumors of a young Argentine talent began emerging from southern Italy. Clad in the flamingo pink and black of Palermo, Paulo Dybala regularly dazzled defenders with his relentless pace, close control in tight areas and lethal left foot. Dubbed the “new Sergio Augero” by his club president in reference to the famous Argentine soccer player, the young forward quickly made headlines for his match-winning performances. The newly promoted Sicilian side had clearly landed a gem. 

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Columns

Kate in Paris: The end

By Kate Seklir | May 22

Endings, as I am sure we have all heard or felt ourselves, are often bittersweet. There is sadness in closing one chapter and knowing that things will likely never be exactly as they once were, and there is apprehension in the thought of what might come next. Will it match what came before? Did we make the most of the time we had when we had it, before it was gone?

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Columns

The Art of Good Soup: Biggest one yet

By Sadie Leite and Ellie Lester | May 21

It was a Wednesday afternoon, and Sadie and Ellie had a fire in their tummies. They had just gotten yelled at. On hump day?! The audacity.

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Columns

Talking Transit: Transit funding is on the ballot this fall — please vote for it

By Chris Duncan | May 21

You’ve (maybe, hopefully) voted before, and you may have come across specific questions on your ballot asking whether you want a certain policy to pass. There are tons of examples of big-deal ballot questions from places like Massachusetts and California, states where many Tufts students come from. 

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Columns

Potty Talk: The wide world of bathrooms

By David Wingens | May 20

In honor of commencement and the last ever Potty Talk, I have decided to turn my attention briefly away from Tufts University and toward everywhere else. In these next 500 words, I will attempt to review all of the world’s bathrooms that are not on Tufts University’s campus with my four-metric scale that some have called infallible. I can already hear the complaints of people who think that the earth has too many bathrooms to review them all in one column, but folks, I’ve probably spent more time reviewing bathrooms over the last two semesters than I have doing readings for class — I think I can handle this.

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Columns

The Final Whistle: Erik Ten Hag, Manchester United’s latest managerial hope

By Bharat Singh | May 20

Since Sir Alex Ferguson left Old Trafford in 2013, Manchester United has endured its worst-ever decade in the club’s modern era. From a side that once boasted the likes of Ryan Giggs, Eric Cantona, Paul Scholes and David Beckham, United is a shadow of their former selves. With a squad that includes World Cup winners Raphael Varane and Paul Pogba alongside club legends David de Gea and Cristiano Ronaldo, it’s not so much the names but rather the revered identity that has faded since the Ferguson days. After sacking Ole Gunnar Solskjær in November 2021, Interim Manager Ralf Rangnick has overseen the club and will now be permanently replaced by Dutch manager Erik Ten Hag.

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Column

In Pursuit of Eggcellence: The finale

By Julia Appel | May 20

For my birthday this year, my mom got me an egg cup that is shaped like a knight. It has a little spoon for a lance. You take off the helmet, whack the eggshell with the little spoon until it opens, and eat the egg out of the suit of armor like a ravenous dragon. I highly recommend the experience. All I need now is a hoard.

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Columns

Sports and Society: Championship banners

By Oliver Fox | May 20

The All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, which annually hosts Wimbledon, one of the world’s most prestigious tennis tournaments, made a historic announcement earlier last month. The organization announced that it would ban all Russian and Belarusian players  from the competition due to the two nations’ roles in the ongoing Russia-Ukraine War.

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Columns

Innocent Pleasures: Nature's poetry

By JoJo Lee | April 29

Spring: The flirt of the seasons, in turns coquettish and bold and shy, is now upon us — at long last! Though loath to be disparaging of any such earnest enthusiasm (and respectful of the very real impacts of seasonal affective disorder), I cannot number myself among those rejoicers. 

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Columns

The Intangibles: Signing off

By Aiden Herrod | April 29

I’ve written about sports for four years now. I joined the Daily’s sports section as a freshman, first taking on game recaps as most early writers do. Eventually I edited, wrote features and started this column. I spent a year as a podcaster. Every year at Tufts, through thick and thin, I have always returned to my desk to write about sports. I’ve approached organized sports from every angle. I’ve broken down trades, given fantasy advice, previewed playoffs and even tried my hand at power rankings.

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Columns

A Compendium of Actors: One final listicle

By Henry Chandonnet | April 27

Here we are, the final “Compendium of Actors.” I’m somewhat unsure of whether anything has been accomplished here — has any knowledge been gained on the nature of acting, or have I spent the last semester simply reveling in the idea of celebrity? I don’t know how to answer that question, and maybe I don’t care. Maybe celebrity culture is a fun respite, so we may look upon our favorite actors and actresses as idyllic figures and tales to tell. With that in mind, for the last issue of this column, it seems necessary to lean all-in to that call of celebrity culture. So, putting aside all of my basic journalistic ethics and ideals, this last column will be in a somewhat dreaded form: listicle. Here it is, my favorite acting moments of the last year (roughly).

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