Columns

Columns

A Jumbo’s Journey: My very first Duo Mobile push

By Ben Rachel | October 12

There are probably a plethora of questions: Why is a freshman writing a column titled “A Jumbo’s Journey”? What is this column, and why is it being published by the prestigious, apparently seventh-best college newspaper, The Tufts Daily? As I sit here in the darkness and loneliness of mysingle room, I understand that I can’t answer all of your questions just yet. Instead, I hope to give an overview of who I am and what this column will be.

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Columns

Confessions of a Cooking Fanatic: Double or nothing

By Elizabeth Foster | October 11

I find it hard to justify the time I’ve spent cooking if the food I’ve cooked cannot be spread out over multiple meals. This usually means doubling a recipe, or doubling the protein component and scaling everything else to preference.

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Column

MisCONceptions: Peace in our times?

By Trent Bunker, Nicholas Rishi, João Ribeiro, Katherine Brown and Nicholas Femia | October 11

This past weekend, we saw more violence in the Middle East. Hamas, a U.S.-designated terrorist group that receives support from the Iranian government, fired thousands of missiles over the border of the Gaza Strip into Israeli territory, killing hundreds and injuring thousands. Israel has declared a state of war after the attacks.

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Columns

The Step Back: The perfect NBA award predictions

By Sam Dieringer | October 10

We’ve made it y’all. The leaves are turning, Halloween is in the air and NBA basketball is almost back. As we approach tip off on Oct. 24, here are my official awards picks, dark horses and NBA Finals picks. Let’s see how wrong I am in six months.

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Column

Antisemitism Broken Down: Weaponization of the label ‘antisemitism’ hurts Jews and Palestinians

By Ben Choucroun | October 5

On Sept. 2, 50 neo-Nazis marched through the suburbs of Orlando, Fla., waving flags adorned with swastikas. In recent months, dozens of synagogues have been targeted with bomb threats and “swatting” calls. Canada’s parliament recently gave a standing ovation to a veteran of ...

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Columns

The Power of the Pen: What did Reagan do?

By Odessa Gaines | October 5

While the writers strike of this year has recently come to an end, the actors are still on the picket lines fighting for better pay and protections from big studios. The constant fight in the entertainment industry for actors’ fair treatment has gone on for decades — all the way back to the ...

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Columns

Extra Innings: 2023 postseason power rankings

By Henry Blickenstaff | October 5

The 2023 playoffs are here, and it’s time to rank all 12 teams that qualified, from the bluebloods to the pretenders. 12. Miami Marlins (84–77) The Marlins set a record this year — by having the worst run differential of any playoff team in MLB history at -56. Let’s face it, this team got stupidly lucky this year, and anything other than a first round exit would be a huge surprise.

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Columns

Confessions of a Cooking Fanatic: Introduction

By Elizabeth Foster | October 4

I pride myself on cooking good food. I tell this to my family when I return from college and take over cooking a few dinners a week — tripling everything to account for my “lax-bro” brother and STILL having leftovers. I tell this to my manager when, during my corporate girl summer, he asked if my lunch was homemade (it was). I tell this to myself when I question if my grocery bill could be (should be) any lower for the week.

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Column

Ramaswamy and the young Republican vote

By Trent Bunker, Nicholas Rishi, João Ribeiro and Katherine Brown | October 4

Watching Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy perform Eminem’s “Lose Yourself” (2002) in Iowa was a sight to be seen. Opinions on it varied. To outsiders, it might be seen as a candidate trying to fit in. To Eminem, it was the first and last time he wanted to see Ramaswamy performing his song. To me, Ramaswamy’s “shady” performance was an attempt at capturing a unicorn of sorts — that is, the young vote for the GOP.

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Columns

Sports and Society: You can't trade your best player

By Oliver Fox | October 3

I don’t think it should be allowed for a team to trade their best player unless it is approved by a popular vote of all fans. I’m not kidding around.This idea came to me when the entire baseball world was discussing if the Los Angeles Angels should or shouldn’t trade Shohei Ohtani, potentially the greatest player of the generation and one of the most multi talented athletes in the history of humanity.

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Column

The Policy Perspective: The pathway to affordable housing

By Keshav Srikant | October 2

As sophomores settle in at Tufts, many are already thinking about off-campus housing for next year. This happens for a reason: Housing in the Medford and Somerville area has gotten increasingly expensive, while still being difficult to find. There is no doubt that Tufts University and its students play some role in this, but this trend isn’t just occurring in Medford and Somerville — it’s occurring in many cities across the country.

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Columns

Extra Innings: The tragedy of Stephen Strasburg

By Henry Blickenstaff | September 29

For his career, Stephen Strasburg boasts a 3.24 ERA, 1.096 WHIP and a 4.37 strikeout to walk ratio. He became a Nationals hero in 2019 when he went 5–0 with a 1.98 ERA in the postseason, leading the Nats to their first championship in franchise history and earning World Series MVP honors along the way. And yet, Strasburg’s career is one of the most tragic stories in recent baseball memory.

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Columns

Moments ‘til Madness: Predicting the unpredictable

By Owen Short | September 28

Just like in every preseason, the speculation around which team could be raising the trophy in 2024 is non-stop. The University of Kansas, the consensus pick for the No. 1 team for 2023–24, took advantage of the transfer portal after winning the Big 12 title last year.

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Columns

The Power of the Pen: The strike comes to an end

By Odessa Gaines | September 28

As of Wednesday, Sept. 27, the Writers Guild of America has officially ended their nearly five-month strike against big studios. Most employed writers returned to work later that day. The decision to end the strike came from an agreement made between the union and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers. This agreement includes negotiations about payments, staffing, streaming terms and AI use for the next three years — until May 1, 2026. Final negotiations took place over five days with the CEOs of Disney, Warner Bros. and Netflix all in attendance.

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Column

Ukraine at War: Navigating daily challenges and massive disasters

By Mariia Kudina | September 28

To better introduce intricate software as a solution tool, one of my professors asked the class to name a problem we encounter in our daily lives. My first thought was, “There is a war in my country.” I stayed silent for that part of the class, as a simple solution for this kind of problem does not exist. We talked about ways to free up space on iPhones and moved on to learning the program further.

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Column

misCONceptions: Which way, conservatives?

By Trent Bunker, Nicholas Rishi, João Ribeiro and Katherine Brown | September 27

The photograph that will live in infamy: equal parts indignant, humiliating, resolute and spray-tanned. In many ways, the recent mugshot taken of former President Donald Trump in the wake of his fourth indictment is a poignant analogy for the future of American politics.

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Columns

The Step Back: What we can learn from the James Harden soap opera

By Sam Dieringer | September 26

The 2023 NBA offseason featured many seismic headlines. However, there was perhaps none bigger than the ongoing James Harden-Philadelphia 76ers debacle. Harden, 34, requested a trade in July following a contract dispute with team management. I’m not going to outline the full saga and assume you know what I’m talking about. If you don’t, you can find more information on ESPN.

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Columns

Sports and Society: Zach Wilson and quarterback ethics

By Oliver Fox | September 26

Do football teams have a responsibility to their fans? I think they probably do, but I had never thought about this much until I watched the New York Jets voluntarily start Zach Wilson at quarterback — someone who is incapable of winning NFL football games — for a second consecutive week. Should they be required by law to replace him?

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Columns

Extra Innings: The remarkable turnaround of the Baltimore Orioles

By Henry Blickenstaff | September 21

From 2018–21, the Baltimore Orioles had acombined winning percentage of 34.6%. But after being ranked dead last in the 2022preseason power rankings by ESPN, Baltimore posted awinning record of 83–79 last season. The Orioles have taken another huge step forward in 2023, as they currently hold thebest record in the American League and have alreadyclinched a playoff spot for the first time since 2016. 

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Columns

The Power of the Pen: Streaming and residuals

By Odessa Gaines | September 21

If you’ve been paying attention to the world of entertainment over the past several months, you may be familiar with the continuing strikes among film and TV workers. The first domino fell on May 2, when the Writers Guild of America went on strike. Approximately 11,500 screenwriters all refused to continue work until the union’s demands were met.

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