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Caffeinated Commentary: The ultimate guide to coffee shops near Tufts

By Natalie Bricker | April 25

I’ve always loved coffee shops. The atmosphere, the cute aesthetics and (obviously) the coffee. This semester, I’ve leaned into my love of coffee shops and set out to explore a new coffee shop near Tufts every week. I’ve looked forward to my coffee shop adventure each week! Now, as the semester comes to a close, I’ve compiled all my reviews to conclude my column. This is not a comprehensive review but rather a summary of the reviews I’ve written this semester for my “Caffeinated Commentary” column. My columns on each coffee shop are linked in the coffee rating column below, so you can check out my in-depth review of each place. I hope you enjoy reading about the coffee shops in the area! Also, I rated one shop when I was in Michigan, so Vertex is sometimes included in these lists but not in others.

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Features

Tufts’ connection to slavery, Part 4: How community stakeholders are addressing the legacy of slavery

By Guillem Colom | April 20

The initiatives to address Tufts’ connections to slavery are broad and growing in strength. As previous and current Tufts students contribute to conversations and scholarship surrounding Tufts’ connections to slavery, community stakeholders outside of Tufts are not only continuing to address this history but seeking ways to improve public knowledge of it.

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Features

English professor and students create a college literary canon

By Owen Bonk | April 19

Do you remember the books you read in high school English? If you grew up in the United States, chances are your reading list bears striking resemblance to the syllabi of students across the country. It’s also likely that titles like “The Great Gatsby” and “To Kill a Mockingbird” bring back not-so-fond memories of color-coded annotations and slideshow presentations put on by apathetic classmates. 

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Features

Notes from the New York Underground

By Halia Frishman | April 18

I enter from the West 86th Street station on Saturday, Feb. 18. I scan through the turnstile using Apple Pay, thinking about how taking the subway felt much more romantic when the only option was a MetroCard, and I make a mental note to buy one for the way back. On the platform, a girl pulls her boyfriend away from the tracks as the train pulls into the station. I push myself into the car. The downtown bound 1-train is packed.

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Columns

Caffeinated Commentary: Vertex Coffee Roasters

By Natalie Bricker | April 18

This past weekend, I took a trip back to Ann Arbor to visit the school I used to go to: the University of Michigan. The trip gave me a surplus of déjà vu and bittersweet feelings, but that’s a story for another time. Even away from Tufts, my mind was still focused on finding a coffee shop to review …

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Columns

Kolumn: Collecting memories wisely

By Koloris Wu | April 14

This spring semester, I am interning at a senior citizen’s private house, helping him to scan, curate, allocate and categorize over 30,000 prints and contact sheets passed down from his parents.

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Features

Asian American Center celebrates 40th anniversary, power of student activism 

By Kendall Roberts | April 13

The Tufts Asian American Center was founded in 1983 as a resource for Asian and Asian American students, and this year marks its official 40th anniversary on campus. The center’s anniversary underscores a rich history of student activism and demands for diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives on Tufts’ campus.

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Features

Lesser known majors offer rich academic experiences

By Kaitlyn Wells | April 13

Picture the trunk of a tree, and imagine that it is an academic department. Its branches are majors, and perhaps its leaves can be students. Majors are the primary way through which Tufts students consolidate their intellectual pursuits. Some of them exist outside of the spotlight, yet despite being younger or smaller in size, they are no less in value and profundity. The Daily spoke to faculty from four such departments to learn more.

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Features

Through snow and springtime, PE students earn credit training for a half-marathon

By Sarah Firth | April 13

At Tufts, students can gain credits on a pass/fail basis for running a half-marathon — or at least seriously training for one. The physical education department offers a section of Physical Fitness specifically designed to train students over a semester to run the 13.1-mile race. For some, this might be harder than taking a traditional academic course.

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Features

Tufts and its host communities: Won’t you be my neighbor?

By Carmen Smoak | April 12

Walking across campus, it is easy to forget that Tufts occupies an integral space within two communities, Medford and Somerville. The campus passes seamlessly over the dividing line between these two cities, making for a campus that feels completely removed from the surrounding community.

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Features

Tufts’ connection to slavery, Part 3: How previous and current students are impacting the scholarship on Tufts’ connections to slavery

By Guillem Colom | April 11

Editor’s note: Nina Joung is a former executive features editor of the Daily. Joung was not involved in the writing or editing of this article.

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Columns

Caffeinated Commentary: Revival

By Natalie Bricker | April 11

This week, I reviewed Revival, which resides at 197 Elm St. in Davis Square. It’s nestled right next to Dakzen, and is easy to spot with the cool giraffe mural on the side of the building. There’s a bench outside which is a great spot for sunny days. The seating is really minimal inside (only five tables) so I wouldn’t count on Revival as a study spot, but if you are able to grab a seat, it’s a great environment with lovely natural lighting.

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Columns

What I Wish I Knew: European university calendars are super different

By Abby Stern | April 6

When I applied to study at the Tufts in London Program at University College London, I was made aware that I would have to be in school for two terms. The first would take place January through March and would contain 10 weeks of classes. Then, I would be on break from March 25 to April 25, whereupon I would then return to school for the “exam” term.

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Features

The Wren Creeper: Campus myth or threatening truth?

By Trey Lawrence | April 5

After an exhausting day, many students find themselves in their dorm, common room or suite looking to relax within the private luxury of their living space. However, you may find that college dorm buildings are not as secure as one may expect. Last semester, rumors of the “Wren Creeper,” a mysterious figure who sneaks into the rooms of unsuspecting students living in Wren Hall at night, made waves around campus, sparking concerns over campus security.

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Features

When love makes it worthwhile: College couples undeterred by distance

By Kaitlyn Wells | April 4

“I learned that your relationship with someone lasts a lifetime. What you [learn] from them lasts a lifetime without having to be together for it all,” Becca Zajac said.

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Features

A chronicle of coeducation at Tufts

By Alice Fang | April 3

Like many schools across the country, Tufts today is a coeducational institution. However, this hasn’t always been the case. Tufts’ progression from an all-male institution to its current state has been quite complex. Following the broader historical discourse on gender equality, rather than a linear development, Tufts’ inclusion of women students saw multiple waves. 

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Features

Inside the extraordinary house on College Ave., the Museum of Modern Renaissance

By Sarah Firth | March 30

There is a strange house on College Avenue, right near Powderhouse Square. The house at 115 College Ave. has always been a little bit mysterious to the Tufts students who walk by it on their way to Davis Square. The brightly colored building stands out from the adjacent apartment building and other houses nearby. It has aluminum panels with colorful designs featuring roosters, plants, a sun of sorts and the words “Museum of Modern Renaissance” covering the façade. A stylized bull sits on the front door, its eyes windows into a small vestibule. A large face with bulging eyes and a frightening mouth hangs above the entrance. Hundreds of students walk by this house every day, but few know what it is, and even fewer have been inside.

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Columns

Personal Praguenosis: Hard goodbyes

By Sacha Waters | March 30

I’ve said before that film production is about collaboration. If you can’t work with others, inspire them and bond with them, film is not the career for you.

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Features

9th annual TEDxTufts conference celebrates new ideas, connections

By Elizabeth Zacks | March 29

TEDxTufts hosted its 2023 conference, titled “[De/Re] Construct,” on March 11–12, which featured 10 groundbreaking talks given by speakers from across the Tufts community, ranging from undergraduate students to faculty to alumni. 

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Columns

Kolumn: Destigmatizing giving up halfway

By Koloris Wu | March 28

On my computer, there is a folder in which I put my writing pieces. Simply judging by the number of Word documents that exist in that folder, I appear to be a writer who is welling up with ideas. But in fact, one hand is enough to count the finished ones. I gave up on all the others halfway. 

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