On Oct. 6, Emma Do will be flying over 8,000 miles home to Vietnam after having to say a premature goodbye to their beloved Tufts community.
Whether seeking a Bachelors of Fine Arts or combined degree, Tufts students are acutely aware of the nearly 6-mile trek between the university’s Medford/Somerville and Boston campuses. Now, six years after the Fenway-located School of the Museum of Fine Arts formally became a part of Tufts University, the art school’s Student Government Association is looking to bridge both the physical and emotional distance between the two school’s student bodies.
My friend Owen cannot stop talking about “Gödel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid” (2019), a book about logician Kurt Godel, artist M.C. Escher and composer Johann Sebastian Bach. But really, Owen says the book is about the construction of significant context — like a written piece of music built from seemingly meaningless notation marks on paper.
I’m from Chicago — and that is real Chicago. I’m not one of those fools who say they are from Chicago and end up actually being from Glencoe or Evanston. (Just for clarification for all those who just recently left the college application process, Northwestern and UChicago are both NOT in the ‘real’ Chicago.) Also, I know that it’s surprising, but I am not from O-Block; I have not met Chief Keef nor King Von, and I have neither ‘colors’ nor a ‘sign.’With that being said, having lived in the best big city in the United States — voted on by Condé Nast Traveler and many other outlets — I thought I had the necessary knowledge to cross a busy intersection. In fact, Chicago holds the accolade of housing some of the most dangerous intersections. However, I was in no way prepared for the intersection located between the Joyce Cummings Center and the Science and Engineering Complex. The continuous flow of cars, semi-trucks and buses and an overabundance of depressed and anxious students who are looking for any way to not do their next computer science assignment do not make a good combination.
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.
This Saturday marks the 19th annual “What the Fluff? A Tribute to Union Square Innovation” festival. This year’s theme is “Somerville over the Rainbow… There’s no place like Fluff.” On the festival day, Somerville residents lean into their quirky side to celebrate the invention of Marshmallow Fluff which dates back to 1917 when Somerville resident Archibald Query was cooking the original recipe and selling it door-to-door.
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.
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.
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.
“I remember as a kindergartner, watching [the] news with my grandfather. … [The] Soviet government presented [a] certain image of Western news, that everything was bad,” Associate Professor of Political Science Oxana Shevel said, reflecting on her upbringing under communist rule in Kyiv, Ukraine. “As a young child, you don’t question it.”
The graduation ceremony is a culmination of four years of living and learning. On a beautiful May morning, thousands of students, donning voluminous robes and eager to see their caps fly into the sky, pack onto Tufts’ Academic Quad. As they take their seats, perched in front of the imposing stage, they know that only a few hours separate them from the rest of their adult lives.
Each year, Tufts University grants the Presidential Award for Civic Life to students who demonstrate both academic excellence and civic impact. Awarded to undergraduate and graduate students, the award constitutes the highest recognition for service, leadership and civic engagement at Tufts.
First-year roommates can be a bit of a hit or miss. Just because two people have similar sleep schedules does not mean they will be compatible, which is something that the housing survey from the Office of Residential Life & Learning unfortunately cannot predict.
As the time comes for seniors to move their tassels, many are looking back on their time at Tufts with a newfound perspective. Certainly, no college experience is without its twists and turns, mistakes and lessons and memories and discoveries. This is deeply true for Maddy Noah, a graduating senior in the SMFA combined degree program.
The phrase “double major” brings multiple plausible combinations to mind: for instance, computer science with mathematics, or perhaps English with philosophy. These pairings, while applauded for exhibiting a student’s hard work, do not turn heads for being unique. However, academic combinations such as English with biology, economics with music and even biology with Greek and Latin — belonging to seniors Ella Johnson, Aliza Kibel and Axel Ladd respectively — do just that.
As the Class of 2024 approaches the end of their final semester at Tufts, some have concluded this year with a senior thesis, a culmination of their academic journey. These students have worked incredibly hard throughout the year to complete extensive papers and capstone projects in their respective courses of study.
Cheers erupted from the teams lining the sides of the field. The Files of Kicks had just scored an equalizing goal, propelling their team into contention for the final game. It was April 30, 4:30 p.m. and there was an important soccer semifinal game taking place.
Venturing deep into the basement of Tisch Library, you will find Tufts Archival Research Center, also known as TARC. Its collection exceeds 12,000 boxes of material, from the founding of the university in 1852 to the present day. Director of TARC Dan Santamaria explained TARC’s role on campus and beyond.
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.
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.
