Max Druckman is a first-year who has yet to declare a major. He can be reached at max.druckman@tufts.edu.
Over the last eight months, my taste buds have traveled far and wide, encompassing breakfast, lunch, dinner and all cuisine variations. But, for my final column of the year, I thought it would be fitting to finish with my initial munching inspiration, one of the tastiest creations of all time: pizza.
Winning is hard. Winning consistently is even harder. And yet, for the graduating seniors and fifth-years of the Jumbos softball team, winning has come naturally. Across their entire collegiate careers, the graduating class has compiled a record of 121–30, with a 45–5 NESCAC mark. So, on senior weekend, the best way to honor the program’s veterans was by winning, and that is exactly what occurred.
Entrepreneurship. For many, the word prompts an ominous connotation. An image comes to mind of tense individuals traversing a seemingly endless pathway to the “Shark Tank,” flanked on both sides by creatures of the deep blue sea. The entrepreneurs are then placed in front of five vicious, ready-to-bite veterans of the business world who then judge their company down to its barest bones.
Something terrible happened over spring break. No, I didn’t fall off a zipline exploring the jungles of Costa Rica. I — it’s embarrassing for me to say this — had a latte. Twice (insert shocked emoji). To paraphrase Obi-Wan Kenobi’s words, I’d become the very thing I swore to destroy. After years of decrying those highfalutin beverages with endless varieties of milk and flavored syrup, I not only tried but enjoyed two swanky coffees. So, in breaking with my usual hot coffee and hazelnut creamer, I thought I’d take my primed palate back to Medford and sample Tufts’ coolest caffeinated creations.
Every spring has that one weekend. The first weekend where you can go outside without a jacket and bask in the sunlight. The vibes, as the kids say, are immaculate. The dreariness of winter is finally washed away. For the Tufts softball team, that weekend was this weekend.
St. Louis Cardinals Hall of Fame second baseman Rogers Hornsby once famously said that when there was no baseball in the winter, he would stare out the window and wait for spring. For the Tufts Jumbos softball team, this sentiment holds resoundingly true.
Typically, I structure my munching around a specific theme or location. However, for this edition, I’m relaying a valuable life lesson — your plan may not always pan out the way you expect, kids. In the iconic words of Forrest Gump, “Life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you’re going to get.” And so, due to my meal planning failures, I present a menagerie of munching.
On Nov. 26, 2023, as the Tufts community savored the final hours of their Thanksgiving break, the Tufts men’s hockey team fell 3–2 to the then No. 10 ranked Salve Regina University Seahawks.The loss brought their record to 0–4–1, as the 2023–24 campaign looked to be over just five games after it started. Fast forward to March 2, and that losing streak is a distant memory.
Since 1630, Boston has stood strong. Many, from the British Redcoats to the Los Angeles Lakers, have tried and failed to conquer this great city. However, it has taken until 2024, some 394 years, for Boston to meet its greatest foe — Max Druckman. Yes, the cuisine czar, master muncher, yours truly, has finally taken his taste buds to the streets of the “City Upon a Hill.”
On Feb. 3, the Jumbos women’s basketball team welcomed the Bowdoin Polar Bears to Cousens Gymnasium on Senior Day. Though the Polar Bears emerged victorious with a final score of 77–63, the Jumbos showed that they could compete with the NESCAC’s top dog.
