A Tufts alum, single and working as a copy editor in New York City, discusses her collegiate education and describes her illustrious alma mater as her personal "safety school."
No, this is not a preview of you or your roommate's future life, but a scene from the wildly popular sitcom "Seinfeld," in which the fictional female lead character Elaine Benes explains her college selection process.
Perhaps the most famous of such examples, the "Seinfeld" reference is just one of a large number of allusions to Tufts University in works of fiction, movies and commercials, typically placed strategically by Tufts alums working in the entertainment industry.
As the reputation of Tufts grows both in prestige and geographic acknowledgement, references to Tufts in pop culture appear, however, to remain inside jokes between students and alumni.
"I feel like we have just enough people in the [entertainment] industry to get us in there," senior and English major Prescott Gadd said, noting the lingering small-school vibe and lack of name recognition associated with Tufts. "But nobody really knows about Tufts, and if they do, they probably think of it as a quirky, but pretty good school."
Other references are more flattering. The successful fiction author Curtis Sittenfeld, while strangely not a former Jumbo, highlighted Tufts in one of her recent novels. Sittenfeld's "The Man of My Dreams," published by Random House in 2006, follows the life of Hannah Gavener as she comes of age during her time at Tufts.
Similar plots revolve around a high school student hoping to gain admission to Tufts in the cancelled WB drama "Everwood." In NBC's cancelled show "Ed," the character Kenny Sandusky, a bowling alley employee, graduated from Tufts with a 3.7.
While admitting that the issue of such references "raises an interesting question," University Director of Public Relations Kim Thurler said in an e-mail that she didn't believe these would have a significant impact on the image of Tufts as a national university.
"While it is preferable for any organization to be mentioned in a positive context, my own guess is that, as a rule, brief references ... don't have enormous, widespread impact either way," she said.
Tufts junior Megan Carter agreed. "It's fun to see or hear things about your own school, but I don't think it has a large impact," she said.
Many students, however, seem to find allusions to their home institution at least mildly entertaining, if not satisfying.
"I think the pop culture references are very interesting," junior Sam Lee said. "Especially the fact that the gate to the President's Lawn was featured in the opening credits of the TV show 'Sabrina the Teenage Witch' - it really makes you feel like you are a part of something bigger."
--by Liz Yates
