This is the first in a two-part series on free activities, items, food and events available to Tufts students.
Attending a university that costs over $160,000 for four years is not easy, especially in an economic climate that makes keeping a job a struggle and grocery shopping a guilty pleasure. Yes, the degree might be worth it in the end, but after you graduate as a struggling, entry-level professional $20,000 in debt, you might appreciate having had some pointers about inspiring ways to squeeze every penny's worth out of your tuition.
Not the average trick turning: The Hodgdon-Dewick dilemma
For those who spent the entirety of the first few months of freshman year on some other campus, here's the way it works: According to Tufts Dining Services, during a single meal period, unlimited meal plan customers are permitted to eat either in one of the buffet-style cafeterias or at the made-to-order option, Hodgdon Good-To-Go — but not both.
However, for reasons unbeknownst to the student body, a flaw in the system permits Dining Services to prohibit only one dual-dining order (Hodgdon and then Dewick/Carmichael, or vice versa) at a time. Naturally, to minimize the casualties, the order is switched often and at random.
But Tufts students are known to take active citizenship very seriously, which is why a Tufts student started a group on Facebook.com during his freshman year dedicated to updating members on the system's order. The newer Twitter.com account does the same. Members of the group are encouraged to post as soon as they undergo an unsuccessful trick-turning experience, letting the student body know in which order to use the loophole.
Shabbat dinner: Chabad House
During the school week, the Tufts Chabad House, home to Tzvi and Chanie Backman and their six children, is hardly distinguishable from any other house on Chetwynd Street. On Friday nights, however, the Backmans' living room is transformed into a family-style dining space, usually host to around 50 students who come to experience the Shabbat service or just partake of the free meal that follows at 7:30 p.m.
Dinners consist of a completely kosher, multi-course meal, and they always include classic Chabad-goer favorites like homemade challah, warm soup, chicken and Chanie's famous butternut-squash pie.
"It's a zero pressure, total pleasure experience," Chanie Backman said. "You don't have to recite a bar-mitzvah speech; there are no strings attached. It's just a delicious home cooked dinner in an atmosphere of family warmth."
Movie night out: Tufts Film Series
Sure, Somerville Theatre offers cheap matinee screenings during the school week, but how often does one get a chance to take off a weekday afternoon? Instead, have a real movie night with a big screen and homemade popcorn (not included), and forget the $10 movie tickets.
Every weekend of the school year, Tufts Film Series screens two different movies in Barnum 008, ranging from blockbusters to classics to indie flicks to the occasional viewers' choice.
"We get a pretty good selection of films every semester because we pick movies we want to see rather than try to predict which movies will be the most popular," Secretary of Tufts Film Series Coorain Devin said in an e-mail to the Daily.
Screenings take place on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, with times changing only slightly to accommodate lengthier films. The current schedule is available at tuftsfilmseries.com.
Movie night in: Media Center
For those who prefer to spend movie nights curled up in a ball on the sofa, the Bernstein Media Center on the third floor of Tisch Library is a good choice. The Media Center loans up to three DVDs or VHS tapes to each Tufts student for three days at a time, charge-free.
No, the Media Center does not deliver; and yes, it can get annoying when language classes reserve every copy of the one good film that a country produced that year. But the Media Center is stocked with movies in all sorts of wacky genres, a classroom with a huge screen you can sometimes use for private screenings and friendly student staffers who are usually willing to give you their movie-buff advice, not to mention approximately 8,300 DVDs and 6,700 VHS tapes.
The Media Center is open Monday through Thursday 8:30 a.m. to 11:30 p.m., Friday 8:30 a.m. to 9 p.m., Saturday 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sunday noon to 11:30 p.m.
Live on stage: WMFO giveaways
WMFO, Tufts' freeform radio station, has access to a limited number of local concert tickets available for DJs to give away to their listening communities for free. While the concerts usually take place at smaller venues like Johnny D's and The Middle East, WMFO sometimes gains access to bigger concerts at larger locations like the House of Blues and the Orpheum. Recent ticket giveaways have included the Dropkick Murphys, Of Montreal, The Blues Brothers and Indigo Girls.
Listeners' fates depends on the generosity of the DJs in possession of tickets, but it's worth listening in for upcoming contests, or trying the phones at (617) 627-3800, and chatting up whichever DJ happens to be on the air.
Flex your muscles: Personalized Performance Program
The gym is a great resource for diligent athletes with enough self-motivation not to cheat on push-ups, but those who need more accountability don't have to be doomed to the Freshman 15 forever, either. Every Tufts student can sign up for five free personal training sessions funded by Tufts' Personalized Performance Program. For the necessary forms, visit the Physical Education Web site.
Easy listening: Lilly Music Library
Aside from the musically inclined, few students venture into the depths of the Granoff Music Building. Those who do, however, find a gem among gems: The Lilly Music Library in the basement, home to approximately 15,000 books, 15,000 scores and 15,000 sound recordings across all genres and available for loan to Tufts students.
In addition to the rentable materials, the music library offers a quiet, cozy study space, plug-in Internet connection and access to the many streaming audio databases it subscribes to, which students can listen to in the library or at home. The music library can be especially practical for those who live on lower campus, and if one feels inspired to take up an instrument during study breaks, the practice rooms down the hall, equipped with pianos and music stands, are compeltely free.
