Features

Columns

Astana: The city that is not Almaty

By Max Turnacioglu | November 7

Besides its claim to the title of second coldest capital city in the world, Astana, Kazakhstan is renowned for its architecture — in fact, mentions of the city are always accompanied by reference to its futuristic architectural style. After 17 hours of pacing, playing cards, intermittent sleep on a stiff fold-down bed and watching the low hills of the Kazakh Steppe race by the train window, I was prepared to be unimpressed by the city of Astana. Yet, even bleary-eyed and weakly shuffling after our tour guide, the sleek, fantastical skyline of Astana throttled me into amazement. 

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Columns

Munching with Max: Second chances

By Max Druckman | November 5

We all make mistakes. Whether it be hitting your 5-year-old brother in the face with a pitch or smashing your side-view mirror into your friend’s mailbox, sometimes, we just mess up. (Don’t ask me where I came up with those examples.)

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Features

What is Somerville’s plan for the Winter Hill Community Innovation School?

By Audrey Peel | November 4

Since the Winter Hill Community Innovation School closed in June 2023 after a piece of concrete fell from the ceiling, students have been relocated across the city, continuing their education in temporary spaces. It has been a long journey for the children and their families. After missing four days of school, students were divided among the Capuano Early Childhood Center, Olin Hall at Tufts University and the former Edgerly Education Center. The student body was reunited last fall in the Edgerly building at 8 Bonair St., where they have remained since.

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Features

Meet the dog mayor behind Somerville’s most important paw-licies

By Claire Wood | November 4

Friday marked an interesting milestone in my journalism career: I conducted my first-ever interview with a dog. Meet Jake — or, as his constituents affectionately call him, Jake the Dog — Somerville’s first and newly elected dog mayor. A longtime resident with over a decade of experience sniffing out the city’s best parks, Jake knows Somerville inside and out. From meeting neighbors on his daily walks to attending events, he is very active in the community. His owner (and campaign manager), Shani Leichter, spoke to the Daily about Jake’s campaign experience as well as his plans for his mayorship.

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Features

What are Tufts students getting out of their distribution requirements?

By Navya Singh | November 3

Distribution requirements are a core part of the Tufts liberal arts curriculum. While fulfilling them may feel like a burden for students, the university offers courses specifically tailored for humanities majors who need to fulfill natural science or mathematics requirements, and STEM majors who need to complete their humanities or arts requirements.

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Features

Biology meets language immersion: The new Tufts in Costa Rica summer program

By Katie Galligan | October 31

Tufts in Costa Rica is a new summer program that promises a transformative experience for students by combining Spanish language immersion and culture with biology field work. The five-and-a-half-week program will take place fromMay 18th to June 25thin San José as well as two research stations in the rainforest.

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Columns

A Jumbo’s Journey: midterms are calling OUR phones

By Ben Rachel | October 29

Well here we are again. Midterm season. Let’s do some math together. This is my third year writing “A Jumbo’s Journey,” equating to just under five semesters. Given that each semester comes with a midterm season — some lasting months — this makes midterm piece number five. Wow, I am quickly losing content.

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Features

Tufts comedians react to Jimmy Kimmel’s cancellation and reinstatement

By Max Lerner | October 28

When ABC took Jimmy Kimmel off the air on Sept. 17, many of us were simply experiencing it as concerned Americans. However, there are people around the country — including many at Tufts — who experienced it through a much more specific lens: that of the comedian.

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Columns

Munching with Max: Learning to strike out

By Max Druckman | October 27

Those of you who know me will understand that the 50% of my brain not occupied by food is concentrated on baseball (I know, scientists have already asked to study it). Most of the time, this arrangement isn’t productive — thinking about Trader Joe’s Buffalo Chicken Dip doesn’t help me when staring down a 3–2 count. Other times though, my dual thought processes can be fruitful.

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Features

Exploring Trader Joe’s fall items

By Sanya Bandekar | October 24

As the air turns crisp and bright leaves fall from the trees lining President’s Lawn, a familiar taste of cinnamon, maple and chai — and perhaps some notes of consumerism — fills the aisles of a fan-favorite grocery store: Trader Joe’s. 

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Columns

Almaty: The city of night buses

By Max Turnacioglu | October 24

The bitter memory of a homophobic stand-up routine continued to curdle in my mouth as I looked out into the street beside me. A few cars idled at the light, but the night was otherwise silent. Trolley Bus No. 8 was nowhere to be found. In a night already punctuated by poor jokes, this may have been the worst: my phone lay dead in my pocket — willingly discarded in the name of challenge — and my only guide home was a Soviet-era Russian–English dictionary, with pages 28, 31 and 79 dog-eared as an ingenious reminder of which buses I needed to take.

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Features

Epitomizing intellectual curiosity: The students behind Tufts’ 2025 Summer Scholars program

By Olivia Bye | October 23

One day at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts this past summer, fifth-year combined-degree student Clara Davis took a box of 10,000 photos of legs from her locker and laid them out like a mosaic on classroom tables. This is just one example of what a typical day could look like for a Tufts Summer Scholar. The Summer Scholar program is a 10-week program that allows rising juniors and seniors to conduct independent research projects on campus under the guidance of a faculty mentor. 

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Columns

Worth Going Broke?: On your parents’ dime

By Eloise Bernstein | October 23

Even the best dining halls at Tufts can only do so much, and, after over a month of the same options every day, I’m desperate for something new. (Sorry, Dewick-MacPhie Dining Center!) Even Hodgdon Food-on-the-Run, my beloved, can get tiring after having salads or Chipotle-style bowls for almost every meal during the week. As much as I want to get the most out of my meal swipes, there is no way I’m setting foot in a dining hall this weekend while my parents are in town.

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Theater

Theater at Tufts: A place of community, passion and so much love

By Abilene Adelman | October 23

Ben Platt opened his intimate “An Evening with Ben Platt” show held in the Granoff Music Center on Oct. 11 with a cover of Billy Joel’s “Vienna,” seemingly singing directly to the place that he was inhabiting — a college campus full of students always in need of a reminder that there is more to life than their upcoming midterm.

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Columns

Yours Truly, T: The art of waking up with a smile

By T | October 22

I eased the door open, letting a sliver of golden morning light slip into the dim room. My two friends were fast asleep on the bed, cocooned in a jumble of plush blankets. From beneath a subway cloud of white sheets, a few strands of my best friend E’s blonde hair peeked out.

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Features

Fifth-year students at Tufts balance freedom and limitations

By Isabella Jin | October 21

There’s much splendor surrounding graduation: the glitz and glamor of the senior gala, the intimate community bonding at the baccalaureate and, of course, the proud walk across the stage to receive one’s hard-earned diploma. Fifth-year students at Tufts have the opportunity to attend most of these events alongside their classmates. Unlike their peers, however, they also carry the knowledge that they will return to campus next year, while most of their friends enter a new stage of life.

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Features

Tufts students reflect on ‘No Kings’ protest in Boston Common

By Arielle Flaherty | October 20

On Saturday, thousands of people flocked to the “No Kings” protest in Boston Common. The protests against the administration of President Donald Trump, which occurred across all 50 states, followed a series of demonstrations that occurred in June.

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Features

Should I blame Hinge for killing my rom-com dreams?

By Sera Kwon | October 16

I will admit it — I have always been a hopeless romantic. Despite what the data says about fewer young people having romantic relationships, or the fact that dating apps make finding a connection as simple as a tap, I will forever be waiting for that moment of bumping into the person of my dreams on the T — or for Hugh Grant to spill orange juice on my white shirt like in “Notting Hill” (1999).

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Features

Peter Bendix takes Tufts education with him to the big leagues

By Jaden Gardiola | October 15

Tufts alumnus Peter Bendix (LA’08) does not have a fixed job description. As the president of baseball operations for MLB’s Miami Marlins, Bendix’s work spans across the organization and involves numerous aspects of the team, from player development to creating a successful culture within the clubhouse.

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Columns

A Jumbo’s Journey: And the universe said…

By Ben Rachel | October 15

Telling people that I am a part of a DJ duo is super strange. It’s not because of the actual act of DJing, but because my first-year self would probably have a heart attack if I told him what I was doing with my time. My partner and I are going into our second year as the DJ duo known by the name rnr.dj (everyone should go follow on Instagram: @rnr.dj_).

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