This is the second article in a two-part series on free activities, items, food and events available to Tufts students.
It costs a lot to attend Tufts. The least a kid can do is take advantage of the few extra thingsthe university gives us. The thing is, those extra offerings aren't always easy to find. Here is a little bit of help spotting them.
Mooch off your professors: SPIRIT fund
Practice networking skills and simultaneously enjoy a delicious cup of joe by treating a professor to drinks at Tower Café, compliments of the Tufts Students and Professors Integrating Recreation, Intellect and Teaching (SPIRIT) fund. The fund aims to do all that by financing formal and informal Tower Café meetings between students and their professors.
If Tower goes well, students and their favorite professors can bond over a cost-free meal through SPIRIT's Take a Faculty Member to Lunch program. SPIRIT will also contribute up to $85 so that professors can entertain students in their own home, but convincing them to host is another matter.
Will tweet for food: FreeFoodAtTufts Twitter
If free-loading as much food as possible from professors, follow the FreeFoodAtTufts Twitter.com account, run by one hungry graduate student. The account updates readers on the many general interest meetings, club gatherings and campus events that offer free food. While the account does not provide a completely comprehensive list of all the complimentary food events on campus, it does do a good job of updating frequently and proposing creative ideas.
Get crafty: Crafts Center
The Crafts Center, sponsored and staffed by the Crafts House, is open to all students looking to work on independent art projects, make a gift for Mother's Day or just spend an afternoon with an expansive crayon collection. The center provides supplies and machinery for silk-screening, button-making, ceramics, sewing, candle-making, wood-shopping, drawing, painting and miscellaneous crafts. On Saturdays, members of the volunteer staff hold workshops to teach visitors a specific craft.
The Crafts Center is open Monday through Thursday from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m., and Friday through Sunday from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. It is accessible through the basement of Lewis Hall or the lawn between Lewis and Tilton Halls.
"The only expectation is that you go crazy, have fun and get creative," said Crafts House member Tom Calahan, a junior.
Get artsy: MFA admission
Because Tufts is affiliated with the Museum of Fine Arts (MFA), Tufts students need only their school IDs to gain admission to the respected museum. Home to 450,000 works of art, the MFA changes its exhibitions frequently and often hosts special events. The museum is located at the Museum of Fine Arts T stop, but Tufts provides a shuttle bus that brings students there straight from the Aidekman Arts Center. For information about hours and tours, visit the MFA's Web site.
Point your toes: Dance classes
Students who would rather break a sweat while expressing their inner passion can attend a variety of free on-campus dance lessons. JumboDance offers drop-in, student-led classes in multiple types of dance. Student group La Salsa also offers weekly introductory, intermediate and advanced Salsa lessons in Jackson Dance Lab. For soloist types, space in the Jackson Dance Studio can be booked by contacting the dance department.
Ultimate wingman: Health Service
As part of its campaign to promote safe sexual behavior on campus, Tufts Health Service offers a number of sex-related products up for grabs. Students can save themselves a CVS trip before a hot date, because aside from the cool brochures, Health Service will provide latex condoms, oral dams, polyurethane female condoms and lubrication for free.
Mayer, that good Samaritan: Bike pump
The Mayer Campus Center, along with its yummy food options and study spaces, has a bike pump to assist with repairing flat tires. Students that find themselves with a broken bike by the time they make it halfway up the hill only need to stop by the Campus Center Information Booth and the desk attendant will direct them to the pump.
Study up: ARC
Nervous about a big test? The Academic Resource Center offers to set each student up with a one-on-one tutor in any subject for up to one hour per week. Book an hour using the Online Tutor Finder on the ARC Web site.
Save your JumboCash: Free printing at the Women's Center
Sick of spending money on the often-dysfunctional library printers? Head to the Women's Center during their Wednesday night Evening Study Hours (7 p.m. to 11 p.m.) for free printing galore. The Center will even provide entertainment, tea and snacks, wireless Internet, computers and cable TV.
