Doomscrolling Isn’t Inherently Bad
I can pin the very moment I first realized I was “doomscrolling.” It was March 2020, a turning point in many of our young lives, and one where the only path forward I saw was ignoring the state of the world outside my room. The doom lay in the fact that I did not think […]
Doomscrolling Is Inherently Bad
Throughout the overwhelming majority of human history, our knowledge acquisition faced meaningful spatial and temporal constraints. In prehistory, human knowledge was limited to communal memory and oral traditions. In early civilization, the accumulation of information expanded with the innovation of the written word stored on clay tablets. Accessing their extant knowledge, however, remained an arduous […]
The Full Package: Tufts Athletics and Access
If you’re a “NARP,” or a non-athletic regular person, you may not be in the know. For those who are paying attention, though, it is clear that Tufts sports teams are dominating. “We have six teams in the NCAA tournament. We’re hosting NCAA tournaments in soccer…field hockey, volleyball…” Director of Athletics Ryan Pisarri said. “It’s […]
Tufts Shouldn’t Have a “Great Books” Requirement
As an English major, I humbly confess that I have never read Dante’s Inferno, nor have I read Homer’s Iliad or Odyssey. The endeavor to read all the classics is a daunting one. How does one balance coursework, chores, and friends with the myriad of incredible books that beckon to be read? Though a required […]
Tufts Should Have a “Great Books” Requirement
Several weeks ago, as I walked to Spanish class from Professor Vickie Sullivan’s Western Political Thought I lecture, I ran into four classmates who were deep in conversation about that day’s reading from Plato’s Republic. I quickly joined the lively conversation, offering my opinion on whether or not Plato was advocating for a tyrannical form […]
All Roads Lead to Tufts: International Student Admission at Tufts
The American university is made up of a vast range of students from different places and backgrounds. And given their exalted status, these universities often draw students not just from all around America, but around the world. But the tensions between noble ideals of a global campus and real-world practical challenges remain. According to Dean […]
Beyond Good and Bad: How SMFA Evaluates its Artists
In a culture that is becoming oversaturated with emphasis on GPA and career outcomes, the School of the Museum of Fine Arts (SMFA) at Tufts University follows a markedly different path. Classes are listed on students’ transcripts as either for credit or not for credit, rather than being accompanied by an evaluative letter grade. Professors […]
Why Can’t We Just Print More A’s? Grade Inflation at Tufts
Grade inflation has been a persistent trend in higher education. The median college GPA increased from 2.9 to 3.28, a 13% from 1990–2020 in the United States, according to data from the National Center for Education Statistics. A landmark 2012 study published in the Teachers College Record surveyed 200 universities and found that the percentage […]
Rewriting the Rules: Tufts After Affirmative Action
Last semester, The Tufts Tribune was informed that the Africana Center was not given its “class list” for the incoming 2029 undergraduate class, despite reports that other Division of Student Diversity and Inclusion (DSDI) centers received theirs, raising concerns of unfair treatment by the university. Tufts’s Executive Director of Media Relations Patrick Collins later clarified […]