Features

Features

Halloween 2020 to look different than years past

By Abby Stern | October 30

There’s a full moon in the sky, a crisp fall chill, the excitement of a Saturday night, and because of daylight saving time, the promise of an extra hour of sleep the next day hangs in the air. It’s Halloween 2020, and students stream out of their dorms in elaborate costumes adorned with capes and hats and face masks. But, of course, it’s Halloween 2020, so instead of those face masks being Frankenstein or the Joker, they will be blue and surgical.

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Features

Religious communities persevere, innovate in wake of pandemic restriction

By Ryan Shaffer and Kevin Du | October 29

'No matter the obstacles, we all crave meaningful connection': Chaplaincy finds new ways to connect amid COVID-19 restrictions.

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Features

Students, professors adjust to remote exams

By Julian Perry and Emma Bittar | October 28

Alternative to traditional in-person exams range from assigning open-book, take-home exams, often without strict time limits, to making students take timed exams under the supervision of a virtual proctor.

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Features

Applying to a Tufts graduate school? Here's what to expect

By Kayla Butera | October 27

As with everything else COVID-19 has impacted, the application process to graduate schools is evolving under the circumstances.

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Podcast

Since You Last Saw Me: Walking away

By Owen Bonk | October 27

The power of a long, meandering walk is often underestimated. Even before quarantine made walking one of the only things that kept me sane, it was still an important part of my life.

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Columns

Tuff Talks: Opening up

By Jenny Lu | October 27

Dear J: How do you find a girlfriend/talk to girls if you are truly a nice person but are quiet until you get to know someone well?

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Features

Dorm recipes: How to make overnight oats

By Aisha Catena | October 26

There are many things one could cook in the dorms — this is the first installment of a series on dorm recipes.

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Columns

Little Bit of History Repeating: Gravestone depictions

By Lena Leavitt | October 26

Strolling along any old New England cemetery (as one does), you’ll most likely find gravestones with winged skulls curling across their crests. I remember staring at these “Death’s Heads” for too long during elementary school field trips to Boston’s Granary Burying Ground: their hollow eyes and teeth in a row, wings unfurled in cracked yet perfect symmetry. There’s a stark blankness to their gaze, a tiredness in the curved shape where their noses would be. 

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Features

2020 vision: Warby Parker co-founder Neil Blumenthal discusses brand’s civic engagement, new store opening

By Rebecca Barker and Hannah Harris | October 22

Preserving financial accessibility and a people-first mindset is paramount for Neil Blumenthal, a Tufts alumnus who co-founded the high-quality and fashionable eye-glasses company, Warby Parker. Blumenthal graduated from Tufts in 2002 with degrees in international relations and history. 

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Features

Mass. requires flu vaccinations for college students, Tufts urges quick compliance

By Katie Furey and Saya Ameli Hajebi | October 21

In August, the Massachusetts Department of Public Health released a statement requiring all students attending college in Massachusettts to receive the influenza vaccination annually.

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Columns

Since You Last Saw Me: Idle worship

By Owen Bonk | October 21

Celebrity culture, or “standom” as people call it these days, has always fascinated me. In this new world, artists aren’t mere mortals; they’re gods that people idealize and pay tribute to. Stars like Charli are within closer reach than they’ve ever been thanks to online platforms like Twitter and, in this case, Zoom.

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Features

In new program, CELT pairs students, faculty to address inequity in classrooms

By Ethan M. Steinberg | October 20

This semester, the Center for the Enhancement of Learning and Teaching (CELT) launched the Pedagogical Partnership Program, an initiative that pairs faculty and students to foster conversation about pedagogy and equity in Tufts’ classrooms.

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Columns

Tuff Talks: Long-distance relationships, midterms

By Jenny Lu | October 20

Dear J: How do I handle a long-distance relationship?

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Features

Alumni Interview: Jonathan Wood Rosen, freelance writer

By Ari Navetta | October 19

Rosen is introducing a new generation of Tufts students to journalism with his ExCollege course, “Behind the Reporter's Notebook: The Practice of Global Journalism in the 21st Century.”

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Columns

Little Bit of History Repeating: Salmon sushi

By Lena Leavitt | October 19

Salmon sushi did not exist before the 1990s, and no one told me. I have been taking its “authenticity” (whatever that means) as a Japanese dish for granted, when really we have Norway’s ridiculous persistence to thank for its creation.

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Features

'A lot is at risk in this election': Students, faculty weigh in on Supreme Court confirmation

By Chris Duncan | October 16

Tufts experts and students discuss President Donald Trump's Supreme Court nomination of Judge Amy Coney Barrett.

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Columns

Since You Last Saw Me: Antisocial media

By Owen Bonk | October 14

Although I’ve been wary of social media for a while, the decision to actively regulate my usage was precipitated by “The Social Dilemma” (2020), a Netflix documentary centered around Tristan Harris, a former Google employee and cofounder of the Center for Humane Technology. He uses the ominous phrase “human downgrading” to describe the effect social media has on our minds, and has spent much of his career pushing tech companies like Facebook and Apple to adopt more ethical guidelines to govern their interfaces.

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Features

Who returns, who gets tested? New England schools differ in COVID-19 response

By Amelia Becker and Olivia King | October 13

In the face of the uncertainty and challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic, universities across the country had to decide if and how to bring students back to campus. These choices differed greatly, even among schools with a number of similarities. 

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Columns

Tuff Talks: Finding friends

By Jenny Lu | October 13

Dear J: How do I meet new people/make new friends if I am an introvert and have a hard time just going up to people and talking to them?

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Features

TREE builds campaign toward ending private prisons, proposes divestment

By Allie Birger | October 12

Tufts for a Racially Equitable Endowment (TREE), a new organization on campus, raises awareness of the private prison system and, according to TREE's Facebook page, pushes Tufts to divest.

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