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The Casual Death of Education: Lots of children left behind

Imagine that you are a kid in middle school, and you are struggling with algebra. You go in, take a midterm and score a C. Not bad, but also not great. To improve your next test score, you’re hoping to receive some extra attention from the teacher and maybe some out-of-class tutoring. Now imagine if none of those things happen. Instead, your school is closed, your teachers have been fired and you must move to another school. Unfortunately, this isn’t an imaginary situation, it is the reality being lived by millions of American students and teachers at this very moment.


Weekly Wellness Column Graphic
Columns

Weekly Wellness: All about adaptogens

Among the Erewhon enthusiasts and holistic health junkies alike, a new profound interest in adaptogenic herbs has peaked in recent years. These powders and supplements contain various dried plant and root substances with supposed calming effects on the body and mind.






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Columns

Munching with Max: Boston bites

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.”


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Columns

For the Culture: Why do some rappers promote violence?

As Tufts’ artist-in-residence, professor of the practice and activist Dee-1 has poignantly noted, the promotion of violence in hip-hop is overwhelmingly common. According to Billboard, at the end of 2023, at least four of the five top rap artists incorporated violent lyrics in their discography. Recently ...



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Columns

A Jumbo’s Journey: A day which will live in infamy — lotto numbers

The infamous housing lottery numbers: they can tear apart friendships, induce murderous plots and force students to contemplate transferring. For months, the first-year class has heard rumors and stories about these numbers. And, of course, we’ve heard about the laudable 10-person Latin Way suite. Wow. Even after numbers have dropped, I still get butterflies whenever someone mentions Latin Way.


Confessions of a Cooking Fanatic
Columns

Confessions of a Cooking Fanatic: Substitution secrets

My journey with substitutions began when I was a senior in high school. I was planning to visit one of my dearest friends in college and decided to bring her a batch of dairy-free chocolate chip cookies, made with coconut oil. Then one of my closest friends in college didn’t eat eggs, so the chocolate chip cookie recipe evolved to include a flax egg.


"Moments 'Til Madness " Column Graphic
Columns

Moments ‘til Madness: The top dog in March

Monday afternoon graced us with a new No. 1 team, the University of Houston Cougars. This is the first time Houston has been at the top of the rankings all season, with the University of Kansas being the only other Big 12 Conference team to do so this year. Following them are No. 2 Purdue University and No. 3 University of Connecticut. 


Graphic by Charlene Tsai
Column

The Policy Perspective: What caused the inflation crisis?

In June of 2022, inflation hit a 40-year record high, with consumer prices rising 9.1% over the course of one year. It surpassed economists' expectations and captured rising costs in everything from rent to automobiles, particularly in food and energy. Understandably, the magnitude of the inflation spike sparked a debate as to what was responsible for such high levels of inflation.


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Columns

T Time: Double feature — Copley and Washington Square

This past weekend, my mom visited, and we decided to spend the day inBoston. During our excursion, we traveled to two different T stations:Copley andWashington Square. When considering what to write this week’s column about, I could not choose which station to cover so I decided to cover both! 


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Columns

Brown and (Usually) Blue: ‘New Kings of the World’

“Every day, 14 to 15 million Indians go to the movies. India produces between 1,500 and 2,000 films a year — more than any country in the world.” The first section of Fatima Bhutto’s book, “New Kings of the World: Dispatches from Bollywood, Dizi, and K-Pop” (2019), dives right into an astute analysis of Bollywood, one of its three subjects. The fact that the Hindi film industry brought in a whopping $1.3 billion in 2023 only affirms the global scope and influence Bhutto examines in her book.  



Public-Cinemy
Columns

Public Cinemy No. 1: Has reality television become more progressive?

American reality television in the 2000s was infamous. Strange concepts abounded, such as“My Strange Addiction” (2010–15), where subjects would confess to anything from eating half a roll of toilet paper a day to being in love with a car and “Bridalplasty” (2010–11), where brides competed in challenges to win a wedding and desired plastic surgeries. 


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Columns

Extra Innings: Spend more money

I am well aware that just last month, I went on a tirade claiming that baseball was broken because of the lack of spending limits. But, just because I don’t like the system doesn’t mean certain teams aren’t stupid for not taking advantage of it. Boston Red Sox and Chicago Cubs — I’m looking at you.


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Columns

Ruminations from Rabat: Urban or rural?

As evidenced in my last installment of Ruminations from Rabat, traveling has been a main priority of mine this semester. I have been particularly committed to traveling within Morocco and to experiencing all the rich cultural diversity the country has to offer. I spent the first three weekends traveling to Tangier — a colorful Andalusian wonderland — Essouira — an artsy beach town on the Atlantic coast — and lastly Casablanca, the buzzing heart of Morocco.


The Casual Death of Education Column graphic (UPDATED)
Column

The Casual Death of Education: What is the point of public education?

I started this column to discuss the ongoing collapse of America’s educational system in the face of limited funding, lack of parental involvement and bad policies. But before we get to any of that we must address a very serious question: Why do we have a taxpayer funded mandatory public education system in the first place?