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The Tufts Daily
Where you read it first | Monday, April 14, 2025

Columns

For the Culture
Columns

For The Culture: Don’t bite the bait!

Hip-hop has a problem: unoriginality. Espoused by “oldheads” and hip-hop traditionalists for years, criticism of unoriginality in hip-hop is now an established sentiment within the community. Although some hip-hop artists and groups like JPEGMAFIA, Smino, EARTHGANG and Griselda maintain the experimental and innovative spirit of the genre, mainstream hip-hop is overwhelmed with strikingly stale records.


GC In Dc column graphic
Columns

GC in DC: Tales From the Swamp: The DC college rivalries trifecta

It’s a frigid Saturday afternoon in the middle of a January snowstorm, and I just convinced myself that it would be a great idea to walk 25 minutes in near 15-degree temperatures to Georgetown. I planned on meeting one of my hometown friends who’s a senior at Georgetown University for coffee, and she informed me that she was bringing along another mutual friend who attended American University. He majored in international relations, and I thought that it would be the perfect opportunity to yap about the ignominious failures of Kevin McCarthy.




From Classroom to Clinic Column Graphic
Column

Diet drugs: A paradigm shift in weight management?

Ever since Ozempic took center stage, it’s been hard to look away. In my family medicine clinic, it seems like every patient is inquiring about weight loss drugs. These drugs seem like little miracles stuffed in once-per-week injectable pens, boasting weight loss of up to 34 pounds after about a year of treatment. We know that obesity is dangerous. I recall the exhaustive lectures on how excess adiposity increases your risk of stroke, heart attack, Type 2 diabetes and death. Now, we have this drug that seems like a cure for obesity, an issue that ravages about 2 in 5 adults in the United States.


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Columns

Dream Works: The producer

The unconscious mental voyages to weird places and with stranger people, the daytime rambles that are only slightly more rational — I’ve always been good at dreaming. To my chagrin, but not my surprise, I was recently informed that my biggest red flag is that my head is often off somewhere in the clouds. Yet, despite all this dreaming, in college I find myself a tad bit lost: How do people discover their dream jobs? In this column, I endeavor to not only stumble upon my future career but maybe yours too…



Public-Cinemy
Columns

Public Cinemy No. 1: Is ‘Barbie’ a feminist film?

​​One of the most talked-about films of this past year is undoubtedly Greta Gerwig’s “Barbie” (2023). The public consensus on the film’s politics is divided: In one camp, many praise it for portraying their experiences and highlighting feminist principles; in another, they complain of its attacks on patriarchy and toxic masculinity.


DDD2
Columns

Dishes, Delicacies and Dorms: Miller Hall

Despite Punxsutawney Phil’s prediction that spring is on its way, I headed over to Miller Hall on Friday armed with my kitchen kit to make a classic winter dish: chicken noodle soup (minus the chicken). I was suspicious of the Miller kitchen — it seemed too good to be true.


extra innings-henry blickenstaff
Columns

Extra Innings: Baltimore blockbuster

News that ace pitcher Corbin Burnes was being traded from the Milwaukee Brewers to the Baltimore Orioles was about the last thing I expected to see on Thursday night. It was looking very much like the 2021 NL Cy Young winner would be in Milwaukee until at least the trade deadline. Instead, the Orioles swung one of the biggest offseason moves in franchise history.




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Columns

A Jumbo’s Journey: Why I have beef with the +C in calculus

The term +C that is pasted in the answers of indefinite integrals in calculus has always troubled me during my 1 ½ year tenure as a calculus scholar. Its anomalous obscurity. Its pestering nature. Its constant and continual reminder that we are merely specks of dust floating in an ever-growing universe.



CookingColumn1
Columns

Dishes, Delicacies and Dorms: Carmichael Hall

Long ago (last semester), I embarked on a culinary journey (spent two weeks searching for a pot to make chili in my dorm). After much anticipation, my dream came true on Oct. 17 in none other than the Carmichael Hall kitchen, and I don’t mean the one in the dining hall.


extra innings-henry blickenstaff
Columns

Extra Innings: Let us watch baseball

MLB’s TV policy is asinine. For a league that ostensibly wants (and actually needs) to grow the game of baseball, they sure do enjoy making it hard for fans to watch it. Right now, the money MLB makes from regional sports networks is more important to them than making the game more accessible.


T-time column graphic
Columns

T Time: The mystery of Riverside Station

If you have ever looked at a map of the MBTA on your phone, you may have noticed that the D branch of the Green Line extends far west of Boston like a long, green tentacle, ending at Riverside Station. This quirk of the T has always intrigued me. Why does the D branch extend so much farther than other branches of the Green Line? What mysteries lurk at Riverside Station? To answer these questions that rattle in the back of my mind, I dove into the world of investigative journalism and journeyed to Riverside Station.


Confessions of a Cooking Fanatic
Columns

Confessions of a Cooking Fanatic: Pistachio pinwheels

I float several recipe ideas to friends. Among the options: Erin Jeanne McDowell’s vegan chocolate chip cookies (too safe of an option) and Sue Li’s orange, pistachio and chocolate shortbread (I read too many comments saying that people didn’t like candied orange peels). Claire Saffitz’s pistachio pinwheels are selected. I consider substitutions for the butter and egg yolk.


Policy Perspective Column Graphic (updated)
Column

The Policy Perspective: The case for charter schools

The idea of charter schools is simple. They are publicly funded by taxpayers but operated by independent groups. In the face of traditional public schools that seemed to be failing, charter schools were an alternative. Unlike traditional public schools, charter schools face less governmental regulation, but they must meet accountability standards. They are also not beholden to teacher unions and can experiment with different learning styles. 


GC In Dc column graphic
Columns

GC in DC: Tales from the Swamp: The initiation

Scandals, special interests, George Santos: Washington, D.C. is the ‘swamp’ of American politics. National media outlets clamor to cover the next big political controversies from supposed adults. However, the perspectives and experiences of undergraduates living and working in D.C. are often left out of meaningful conversations on what the demands of political life mean for a future generation of leaders already confronting the effects of political decisions.


Confessions of a Cooking Fanatic
Columns

Confessions of a Cooking Fanatic: Meal planning manifesto

As I began making my first grocery list this semester, I found myself overwhelmed by variables, many resulting from my lack of a set routine while my schedule was still up in the air. By the end of the fall semester, I had a stable routine and knew how many meals I was cooking in a week. Whether you are looking to cook more meals yourself this semester or are still adjusting to off-campus living, here’s how I’ve learned to structure my grocery shopping: