Columns

Column

The Death of Education: In defense of the humanities

By Evan Wang | October 2

When I first began to apply to college, one seemingly easy question haunted me for many nights: What do you intend to major in? Even from a young age, I was drawn to the allure of history. From the tales of knights in shining armor to the details of gruesome diseases that ravaged the land hundreds of years before me, history was my passion. But when it came time to pick a major, I was hesitant.

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Columns

Minutia Matters: Symbolic connections.

By Leo Deener | September 26

My friend Owen cannot stop talking about “Gödel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid” (2019), a book about logician Kurt Godel, artist M.C. Escher and composer Johann Sebastian Bach. But really, Owen says the book is about the construction of significant context — like a written piece of music built from seemingly meaningless notation marks on paper. 

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Columns

Adventures of an A-Lister: How it all started

By Odessa Gaines | September 26

When I first mentioned to my fellow film peers that I do not catch enough new releases because of the outrageous prices of movie tickets these days (not to mention the sheer number of movies that come out every week), they quickly bullied me into joining the AMC Stubs A-List. 

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Columns

A Jumbo’s Journey: How to jaywalk across the Cummings intersection

By Ben Rachel | September 25

I’m from Chicago — and that is real Chicago. I’m not one of those fools who say they are from Chicago and end up actually being from Glencoe or Evanston. (Just for clarification for all those who just recently left the college application process, Northwestern and UChicago are both NOT in the ‘real’ Chicago.) Also, I know that it’s surprising, but I am not from O-Block; I have not met Chief Keef nor King Von, and I have neither ‘colors’ nor a ‘sign.’With that being said, having lived in the best big city in the United States — voted on by Condé Nast Traveler and many other outlets — I thought I had the necessary knowledge to cross a busy intersection. In fact, Chicago holds the accolade of housing some of the most dangerous intersections. However, I was in no way prepared for the intersection located between the Joyce Cummings Center and the Science and Engineering Complex. The continuous flow of cars, semi-trucks and buses and an overabundance of depressed and anxious students who are looking for any way to not do their next computer science assignment do not make a good combination.

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Columns

Shut Up and Play the Noise: Yo La Tengo’s ‘And Then Nothing Turned Itself Inside-Out’

By Ethan Essner | September 24

Rarely does a band manage to write a collection of songs that cohesively exemplify the entire thesis of an album. Hoboken trio Yo La Tengo gracefully accomplished such a feat on a plethora of occasions. But the tangible gloom of the 2000 album “And Then Nothing Turned Itself Inside-Out”is perhaps the greatest display within the band’s catalog.

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Columns

Read, Write and Be Merry: 'The Women'

By Merry Jiao | September 19

Welcome! I’m glad you’re here spending a bit of your day with me! This is the first edition of what will prove to be the absolute best, most Earth-shattering book column ever. Because, obviously, it’s being written by the coolest, funniest, most nonchalant managing editor turned study abroad liaison the world has ever seen.

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Columns

Hey Wait Just One Second: Handshakes

By Max Turnacioglu | September 17

Hey, wait just one second, and observe with me. Beneath all the big things that keep us moving, this world is defined by so many little things: quirks, oddities, patterns and skeins of social fabric. In this column, we’ll observe the absurdities of life while appreciating the beauty and meaning of that absurdity. Humor me as I employ some abstract thought, niche history and due diligence, and let’s unravel what we can this semester. 

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Columns

The Bookmark: ‘Happy Place’ by Emily Henry

By Natalie Bricker | May 16

For my last column, I’m giving the people what they need in their lives right now: a summer romance! My favorite romance writer is Emily Henry. She doesn’t just write average romance novels; her books capture the perfect mix of slow-burn romance, character depth, fresh, summery imagery and enough little plot twists to make it impossible to put down.

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Columns

Moments ‘til Madness: The top teams for the 2024–25 season

By Owen Short | April 29

With it being late April, it’s time for schools to start rebuilding their rosters and preparing for the next season. Teams like the University of Louisville and the University of Southern California already have full rotations of transfers coming in. The portal is still very active, but as teams stand right now, these are my current 2024 preseason rankings.

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Columns

DreamWorks: Jumbo Dreams

By Halia Frishman | April 29

Hello dreamers! This has been an incredible semester of dream searching. From lawyers, journalists and abortion providers to producers and playwrights, I have learned so much and I hope you have too. For this final edition I collected dreams from Tufts students. Some of them have known what they have wanted to do since they were little and others, like so many of us, are in the midst of the search.

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Columns

The Round-off Roundup: Olympic team predictions

By Sarah Firth | April 25

For my last column, I’m going to make the obligatory predictions for the U.S. women’s gymnastics Olympic team later this summer. This year, there will be five spots on the team and no individuals for the U.S. The highest-scoring all-around athlete from the combined two days of the Olympic trials automatically qualifies for the Olympic team. The remaining four athletes are chosen by the Athlete Selection Committee.

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Columns

Ukraine at War: New aid package, myths about Nazism

By Mariia Kudina | April 25

Around the same time as the U.S. House of Representatives approved a $60.8 billion aid package for Ukraine, one representative voiced concerns regarding “Nazi” ideologies in Ukraine.Timothy Snyder, the Richard C. Levin Professor of History and Global Affairs at Yale University, who specializes in the history and politics of Eastern Europe, debunked the myths about Nazism in Ukraine at the hearing.

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Columns

Ruminations from Rabat: Ending on a high note

By Chasya Cohen | April 25

With only a week left in Morocco, my mind is scrambled with a million thoughts and feelings. Though I should be stressing about finals, I can’t help but stress about how to best end this amazing semester.

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Columns

The Bookmark: ‘Girl, Interrupted’ by Susanna Kaysen

By Natalie Bricker | April 25

I’m not sure if I necessarily enjoyed reading this memoir, but it definitely sparked some contemplation and left me thinking about it days later, which is an indication of a good book. In “Girl, Interrupted,” Susanna Kaysen writes about her two year long experience in McLean Hospital’s psychiatric unit, and her story is nothing short of remarkable.

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Columns

Moments ‘til Madness: Best hires from the coaching carousel

By Owen Short | April 25

Now that we are a couple weeks out from the national championship game, the offseason is in full swing and the coaching carousel has almost completed its course. We already had what is most likely the biggest storyline of the summer with the University of Kentucky and John Calipari mutually parting ways, and the program hiring former Brigham Young University head coach Mark Pope to fill the role. We had other big high-major coaching changes like Pat Kelsey to the University of Louisville and Dusty May to the University of Michigan. Here are my favorite moves from the carousel as of now.

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Columns

Public Cinemy No. 1: Intellectual property in American cinema

By Sacha Waters | April 24

“Barbie” introduced a new trend that may come to dominate American cinema in coming years: films adapted not from books or plays, but from toys. Since the pink-coated blockbuster graced screens in the summer of 2023, many new toy-based projects have been announced by Mattel and its competitors.Mattel has 14 films in development, including projects based on American Girl dolls, Hot Wheels, Uno and even the Magic 8 Ball. Hasbro and Electronic Arts, meanwhile, are collaborating with Margot Robbie’s LuckyChap production company to produce a Monopoly movie and a Sims movie respectively.

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Columns

Brown and (Usually) Blue: Salman Rushdie’s ‘Knife’ is sharply witty, brilliant

By Ishaan Rajiv Rajabali | April 24

Salman Rushdie, famed Indian novelist, seems to have occupied the liminal space between fame and notoriety since the beginnings of his literary career. His second novel “Midnight’s Children” (1981) won him fame, admiration and the Booker Prize; his fourth, “The Satanic Verses” (1988), forced him to go into hiding as he reckoned with the potent forces of censorship and violence. It is not challenging to find an author with a life as tumultuous as the stories they spin, but rarely is it as brilliant as Rushdie’s. And this brilliance continues to define his work, as proven by his 2024 memoir “Knife: Meditations After an Attempted Murder,” published this April, a mere two years after he was attacked on stage at the Chautauqua Institution in August 2022. 

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Columns

Tok the Talk: The epidemic of iPad kids

By Annika Pillai | April 23

IPad kids have become somewhat of an internet meme — the children who can’t seem to go a few hours without gluing their eyes to a screen have become the latest laughingstock of the internet. However, beyond the comical nature of watching a child pull out Nickelodeon at a fancy dinner, there is a fundamental question to be raised: What impact has technology had on child development?

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Columns

Extra Innings: The Chicago White Sox are a joke

By Henry Blickenstaff | April 23

I’m aware that I’ve made fun of the White Sox before. But as a Cubs fan, I just can’t help myself. It’s hard to believe that just three seasons ago, this team was one of the best in baseball, winning the American League Central with 93 wins. But an abysmal start to the 2024 campaign is a reminder of how quickly the White Sox’ fortunes have changed.

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Column

The Policy Perspective: Reasons to hope

By Keshav Srikant | April 22

I’ve spent the last year writing columns about how U.S. public policy can be improved. From housing to public transportation to education to climate change, there are many areas where we can do better. For my last edition of this column, however, I wanted to write about beneficial public policies that have been passed and that are often missed or ignored in a media consumption environment with a strong negativity bias.

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