Editor’s note: The Daily’s editorial department acknowledges that this article is premised on a conflict of interest. This article is a special feature for Commencement 2024 that does not represent the Daily’s standard journalistic practices.
“In high school, I had two friends who were the heads of the newspaper and they would not shut up about it. I became very anti-newspaper,” RaiAnn Bu said — a surprising revelation for someone who has written for the Daily since her sophomore year.
Bu is from Southborough, Mass., and bravely refused to let her misgivings about student publications hold her back when it came to the Daily. She credits her friend, Jack Clohisy, who served as executive arts editor in fall 2022, with convincing her to join.
“[The Daily] seemed chill,” Bu said. “I think I wrote two or three articles my first semester, mainly focusing on fashion. … After that, I applied to be an assistant arts editor and I was a nice little cog — I did my editing, and I moved up.”
After joining the Arts section in fall 2021, Bu quickly became more involved in the Daily.
“I worked on a column, which is long gone, but it was a good challenge,” Bu said. “I tried to come up with something to write every week. ... It was something to put creative energy into.”
Bu’s column, “Micro-Trend of the Week,” explored various phenomena in the fashion world and was published in spring 2022.
Bu expressed her appreciation for the community and discussion that the Arts section offered her.
“It’s a really fun way for students to get out of the traditional academic backgrounds,” she said. “It’s really easy to bond with anyone from the Arts section because you guys all have the same pop culture knowledge and can bounce off each other about that.”
One of Bu’s highlights during her tenure with the Arts section was being able to attend a press screening of the endearingly campy horror film “M3GAN” (2022).
“I was a big fan of the trailer, ... and because of the Daily, we got to attend a free first screening,” she relayed. “And so, the semester after, I did a [Tufts Dance Collective dance] called ‘M3GAN Thee Stallion,’ inspired by the robot.”
Bu underscored her editorial role at the Daily as her most meaningful contribution to the paper.
“I tried to make sure that my articles are finished, and tried to make sure that I’m [fact-checking articles] correctly,” she explained.
“I think I had pretty creative beats [as well],” Bu said, recalling her reinvigoration of the Arts section’s fashion coverage.
“I’m very blessed to have a last name early in the alphabet … because then I get higher on the masthead,” Bu joked. “Even though I have the same title as everyone else.”
