Skip to Content, Navigation, or Footer.
The Tufts Daily
Where you read it first | Saturday, December 6, 2025
The Print Edition Print Subscription
Donate | About | Join Us
Advertise | Submit a Tip
Subscribe to our newsletters

Carmen Smoak

Carmen Smoak is a senior staff writer at the Daily who has previously served as executive features editor. She is a senior studying applied environmental studies and science, technology and society, and you can reach her at carmen.smoak@tufts.edu.

NIH.jpg
Science

So, how much money are we talking about?

By Carmen Smoak | May 14

In the first 100 days of his presidency, Donald Trump slashes government spending in multiple different departments. Some of the departments most hard hit are those that fund and support research at universities across the country. Notable standouts include the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), which houses the National Institute of Health (NIH), as well as the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Additionally, the Trump Administration has hit university research with restrictions to federal grant funding for university medical research. 

FilmPhoto.jpeg
Science

Film photography: Magic, art or science?

By Carmen Smoak | March 27

Magic, art or science? Film photography blurs the lines between these categories and creates permanent images from nothing but light and chemicals. This process feels like magic, even when you do it yourself from start to finish. So let’s look behind the curtain and learn how this chemical process comes to life.

Solitary Bees.jpg
Science

The solitary bee’s knees

By Carmen Smoak | March 4

When you think of bees, what comes to mind? It might be the sweet taste of honey or an ever present buzzing next to your ear. It may even be the 2007 cinematic masterpiece, “Bee Movie.”

image.png
Science

How to find a planet

By Carmen Smoak | February 3

Staring up at the night sky, you might see thousands of stars sprinkled above the horizon. It feels as though you can see so much of the universe beyond Earth; however, some of the most interesting aspects of space are hiding in the darkness between. Exoplanets, planets that exist outside of our solar system, can be discovered in the darkness if you know how to look.

Wanderlust12:5.heic
Features

Wanderlust: The balancing act

By Carmen Smoak | December 5

A week and a half remains in my study abroad experience. More than ever, time doesn’t feel quite real. The days are long and the weeks are all too short. I now stand where there is far more to look back on from this experience than to look ahead to. And so, now is the time to reflect on one of the most whirlwind experiences of my life.

IMG_0068.heic
Features

Wanderlust: Language barriers

By Carmen Smoak | November 18

German is hard. Everyone tells you this when you start to learn the language, especially Germans. There are three genders and four cases that come together to create six different ways to say “the”: der, die, das, den, dem and des. And so, when you want to use any given noun, you must first consider the completely arbitrary gender of the noun and then how the noun is being employed in the sentence. This, along with the many other complex and specific idiosyncrasies of the German language, leads to what I like to call “Deutsch delirium.”

CarmenHelene.heic
Columns

Wanderlust: Hurricane Helene

By Carmen Smoak | November 4

I am 4,489 miles from home. It sounds like a lot, but sometimes it doesn’t feel far at all. When big things happen back home, I feel as if my brain is separated from my body. My mind soars over the Atlantic Ocean at warp speed, seeing familiar places and faces, feeling as though nothing has changed and as if I never left.

Wanderlust2.heic
Columns

Wanderlust: A less colorful autumn

By Carmen Smoak | October 21

Once again, the season of vibrant reds, yellows and oranges has come. There is a slight nip in the air and pumpkins are slowly appearing on windowsills. The seasons are changing as they always do, but there is something different about autumn in Germany.

IE2023.51_meandferns_edit1.jpg
Features

Peace in the unknown: Maddy Noah looks back on her time at Tufts

By Carmen Smoak | May 18

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.

More articles »

Trending
The Tufts Daily Crossword with an image of a crossword puzzle
The Print Edition
Tufts Daily front page