Tufts Blogs

Now that I’m home, I’ve been reflecting on my first year at Tufts. Although cut short, it was still the best school year of my life. I grew more as a person, student, and dancer this year than I ever have previously. During my reminiscing, I realized that there were so many little parts of my life at Tufts that I never predicted. None of the research in the world can prepare you for the actual experience of living on a college campus. So I’ve compiled a list here of all the sweet, small things about Tufts that I never expected to find and am extremely glad I experienced.

• The grassy area on Professors Row in between Metcalf Hall and Dearborn House ALWAYS smells like laundry. The scent wafts out the windows of the Metcalf laundry room in the basement and comes as a welcome surprise for those cutting between the buildings to get further downhill.
• BUNNIES. Tufts is overrun with rabbits. Even in the dead of February, it’s pretty common to see them hopping around the grass anywhere on campus, and even more common for me to shout very loudly anytime I see them. 
• What I like to call “Arts Row” on Talbot Avenue is made up of Granoff Music Center, Cohen Auditorium, Aidekman Arts Center, Balch Arena Theater, and Jackson Gym. Any student involved with theater, dance, or music on campus will spend a lot of time here, and the SMFA shuttle also picks up art students in front of Granoff. What’s unique about these buildings is that they’re ALL CONNECTED UNDERGROUND. You can start in Lily Music Library and make your way all the way over to Jackson Dance Lab without ever going outside. This is also a great way to sneak into Cohen (shhhhh) if you don’t have a ticket to a performance. 
• As an undergraduate, you will never feel more adolescent than when studying in Ginn Library. As the library for the Fletcher School of International Law and Diplomacy, everyone in there has beards, briefcases, and blazers. I personally really enjoy studying here because it forces me to actually get my work done (you don’t feel comfortable messing around on your phone when you’re surrounded by real adults). Still, many undergrads feel, understandably, totally under-qualified to be in this space. If anybody ever mentions that they spent the whole day in Ginn, it’s a hugely impressive feat.
• One of the most wonderful feelings is seeing a tour on campus and realizing that you are on the opposite side of that experience. Before I became a tour guide, I would always feel giddy when I saw a tour passing through, knowing that I had transitioned from a high schooler on a foreign campus to a college student in her natural habitat. Seeing prospective students touring will make you feel like a real member of the Tufts community. This excited, adrenaline-based feeling is the reason I became a tour guide; I love being able to connect with prospective students and explain to them all the reasons they should come to Tufts. 
• During the rare pockets of warmth that Boston winter provides in February and March, campus comes alive in the most beautiful way. On the first 60-degrees day of 2020, I remember being in shock that so many students actually go to Tufts. It’s easy to forget about 5,600 students when they’re all hunkering down indoors. But on this gorgeous day, Prez Lawn was packed with students coming out of winter hibernation to soak up the treasured sunshine. Hammocks were strung up all across campus, students gathered to play frisbee and spikeball, and for once, commenting on the weather did not signify a dull conversation. I myself got zero homework done that day, as all I could focus on was how wonderful the sun felt after a winter (albeit, a mild one) of cold, gray days. 

There are so many other extraordinary things about Tufts: Dewick’s cheesy eggs on Sundays, the chandeliers in Eaton Computer Lab, walking out of the Davis Square T station and immediately catching the Joey back to campus, Kindlevan smoothies, the Rez quad with a fresh coat of snow, stopping by Tisch roof on a clear day, the way Idah (the cashier from Hodgdon Food-on-the-Run) always checks you out with a beaming smile. Every student has a different Tufts experience, and every student would come up with a distinct small, sweet thing to mention about their life at Tufts if asked. I hope that my own collection has helped you understand a little bit more about living on campus, even though you won’t be able to visit for the time being.