Columns

Column

A Better Consensus: Why ranked-choice voting is awesome

By Jacob Fridman | October 6

We all know how elections go: the most polarizing candidate or the bland incumbent often wins with less than half the overall vote, or the race has so many candidates that just a few hundred votes decide the winner. In 2016, Trump won the Republican primaries with 1,543 delegates, well over half. However, he won only 44.95% of the popular vote. Flash forward to 2020, my own congressional district, Massachusetts’ 4th, had a nine-candidate Democratic primary. First place Jake Auchincloss beat second place Jesse Mermell, 22.4% to 21%, a margin of 2,145 votes in a race with over 157 thousands total. The other candidates had vote totals in the thousands, well over the 1.4% difference. These results are not representative, and in the case of Trump, these ‘plurality’ wins can be disastrous. How do we stop such close wins and candidates who thrive on a minority of the electorate? The answer is ranked-choice voting.

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Columns

Sports and Society: Privacy politics

By Oliver Fox | October 6

Last summer, NBA players said they were done playing America’s games. Fed up with national apathy with the senseless killing of Black Americans by law enforcement, the Milwaukee Bucks put their foot down and on Aug. 26, they boycotted their playoff game, changing how America’s elite athletes used their superstar platform. The game no longer just spoke for itself; the players had a loud voice too. 

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Columns

On Demand: 'Generation,' confusion, emotion and other things that end in -ion

By Raga Chilakamarri | October 5

I’ve only recently reconciled with the fact that I’m a member of Generation Z. Beyond being a Sagittarius born in the Year of the Dragon, I’m not quite sure where I expected to lay in the generational matrix; though, one viral tweet did confirm that I’m an honorary member of the Black Eyed Peas.

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Columns

Keeping up with the 617: Scattered thoughts on the 2021 Patriots

By Matt Goguen | October 5

Will this Patriots team ever stop giving me aneurysms? Coming off the heels of the biggest offseason for the New England Patriots in recent history, this football team seemed destined to improve. Even after the surprise release of Cam Newton to open up the QB1 position for rookie Mac Jones, many Patriots fans did not doubt the fact that this team was a playoff team on paper.

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Columns

Tales from the T: MBTA-0001

By Kevin Zhang | October 5

The T, greater Boston’s transit system, is one of the quickest, cheapest ways to get around the city — but it can certainly be confusing for first-time riders. Maybe you’re from the suburbs and are too used to driving everywhere. Or maybe you’re from outside the U.S. and are too used to trains that actually run logically. In any case, here’s a brief, by no means comprehensive, guide on how to use the T. 

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Columns

Blind Luck: Date No. 1

By Emika Brown and Nick Januario | October 4

Welcome to Blind Luck,  your new favorite dose of drama and source of vicarious living. Your scheming hosts, Nick and Em, have turned their attention to all the potential loves and connections on the Tufts campus. Every week, we will set up two people on a blind date from sources of our own notes, our little birdies and YOU. If you have a pairing in mind or just a friend who’s down, send them along to nicholasjanuario@gmail.com. 

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Columns

Beyond Sports: Stop cyberbullying high schoolers

By David Cooperman | October 4

On Sunday, Aug. 29, high school football powerhouse IMG Academy defeated Bishop Sycamore High School 58–0. This was not an ordinary game. After their defeat, investigations into Bishop Sycamore began to bring its predatory practices to light. 

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Column

The Journey: Imposter syndrome

By Elizabeth Buehl | October 4

Today was my first day back in in-person classes. After grabbing a mid-morning iced coffee at The Sink, I sat down in a big, comfortable blue armchair in the Mayer Campus Center. As I bent back the pages of Edith Wharton’s “The Age of Innocence” (1920), I was transported to 19th-century New York City. Despite my fascination with her commentary on the complex inner workings of the city’s upper echelon, I couldn’t help but notice a tour group out of the corner of my eye. The spirited guide took a big step up onto a bench, and I had a moment of realization: I really am a Tufts student.

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Columns

K-Weekly: Why 'Loser=Lover' needs to be in your playlist

By Odessa Gaines | October 4

If you’re not familiar with the ever-growing world of K-pop, or international music in general, you may be looking at this section and wondering, what even is "Loser=Lover?" But never fear, dear reader, as I am here to shed some light on who TXT is and why you need to stream the group’s music.

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Columns

For the Culture: Why does hip-hop love Takashi Murakami?

By Paul Osmond | October 1

Ubiquitous in pop culture since the early 2000s, Japanese contemporary artistTakashi Murakami is familiar with co-relating high and low culture. Among other achievements, he founded the “superflat” theory, which draws on traditional “flattened” Japanese printing with anime and pop culture imagery. He is also famed for his strong collaborative relationship with high fashion label Louis Vuitton, with whom he produced several legendary pieces, and he frequently teams up with fellow fashion icon Virgil Abloh. Perhaps most incredibly, he has had his work exhibited at the Palace of Versailles in France. However, Murakami remains legendary in my mind for the special relationship he has formed with modern hip-hop.

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Columns

Over-the-Top Football: The new reality on transfers

By Michael Wallace-Bruce | October 1

There’s something I need to get off my chest. Players’ transfer fees should not be used to assess the quality of a soccer player in modern soccer. Here’s why.

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Columns

Spoonfuls: Guru the Caterer

By Sonia Richter | October 1

I grew up eating Rhode Island fried seafood dipped in white chowder, my mother’s hearty Russian borscht and my French-Canadian mémère’s meat pie — homey, no-frills food made from unwritten recipes with no want of potatoes. When COVID-19 began, I knew places like our favorite clam shop were just inching by. It was shocking to see more and more windows boarded up with ghosts of help wanted signs scrambling for staff overdue. In Medford and Somerville, places like Hulun Beir in Davis and The Dark Horse Public House in Magoun Square have since closed their doors, shocked by an epidemic which made eating out a newly daunting experience. Spots like these, which lack the campus reputation to keep business flowing, are undoubtedly hit the hardest by such notoriously unprecedented times.

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Columns

The Vintage and the Vogue: Almond milk is Lindy

By Robert Kaplan and Michael Friedman | September 30

Michael: Hey Robert, what is “Lindy?”

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Columns

Dreaming of Sandman: The hero's grumpy start

By Sadie Leite | September 30

The comic book series "The Sandman" (1989–) by Neil Gaiman, is the story about stories written by a writer who loves all other stories. This column is a story about the story about all other stories.

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Columns

Keeping up with the 617: A harsh reality check

By Matt Goguen | September 30

It's stretches like these that make me contemplate why I cheer for the Red Sox. In the most important part of the season, the Red Sox have failed to play disciplined baseball; there is no passion, no effort and no emotion on this baseball team. This weekend's series against the New York Yankees underscored the Red Sox's season: uninspiring. With their most recent loss to the last-place Baltimore Orioles, the Red Sox perilously hold the second-place wild card spot in the American League, with the spunky Seattle Mariners and dangerous Toronto Blue Jays nipping at their heels.

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Column

The Strike Zone: Music and identity in Israel and Palestine

By Eli Striker | September 30

During the formation of Israel, aspects of two distinct cultural groups — European Ashkenazi Jewish people and Arabic Mizrahi Jewish people — were fused to form a shared national identity within the supposed Jewish homeland. However, Israeli society remains hierarchical; many Ashkenazi Jewish Israeli individuals have long suppressed both Mizrahi Jewish individuals and Palestinians, who claim indigeneity over much of Israel but have long been confined to the margins of Israeli society by the government.

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Column

A Better Consensus: The importance of civic education

By Jacob Fridman | September 29

Everyone has suggestions for how national politics should be run, but with my background in independent journalism, civic education and opinion and interview podcasting, I have the experience of explaining complex topics, starting conversations, and promoting new ideas. This is “A Better Consensus.”

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Columns

Potty Talk: Tisch Library

By David Wingens and Sam Russo | September 29

For the last three semesters, many buildings and facilities on campus have sat either empty or at severely reduced capacity. Scores of Jumbos have never seen Tufts' campus in all its glory, with students milling between classes and avoiding that person whom you haven't spoken to since they shared their deepest secrets with you during “Bridging the Herd.”

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Columns

NFL Week in Review: Rookie QBs

By Oliver Fox | September 29

Let me make one thing clear: Rookie quarterbacks are not treated fairly in the world of sports criticism.

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Columns

Brands who deserve your dollars: Unspun

By Colette Smith | September 29

Denim jeans are an item that most people have in their closet, but they are also one of the worst offenders in the apparel industry when it comes to polluting the environment.To grow just enough cotton to make one pair of jeans, 1,800 gallons of water are required. Furthermore, the additional dyeing process and machine washing used to make jeans means that one pair uses around 9,982 gallons of water. So while it is clear the industry needs to change to help the environment, it is sometimes unclear what steps in the production process can be changed to make improvements. 

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