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The Old Guy Project
Posted by Amelia Cohen in Faculty, School of Arts and Sciences, Student Experience, Students on March 19, 2013
The Old Guy Project is an Independent Film Production course through the drama department taught by Professor Jennifer Burton. Only 10 students were allowed into this advanced film making class where they actually become part of a production team. The students will gain real-life experience for executing strategies for successful producing, including budgeting, fundraising, contracts, copyrighting, casting, scheduling, location scouting, shooting, editing, marketing and distribution.
One of the 10 students in the class, Sam Plasmati, A13, says:
We’re getting first hand experience in film production. We’ve spent the semester so far preparing for filming - doing PR, location scouting, dealing with equipment, casting. We just had our first shoot at the Tufts Campus and nearby locations in Medford and Somerville and it was a huge success. We students had an active role in all aspects of the shoot – helping produce, helping with sounds, helping film.
“Old Guy” is intended as a comedic look at how aging is represented in the media.This project is a collaboration between Tufts University and the LA-based production company that Professor Burton co-owns, Five Sisters Productions. The goal is to create a web-series which is roughly based on the experiences of Burton’s father, a professor turned actor at age 75, working in the entertainment industry.
For a behind-the-scenes look at what Professor Burton, Sam and the other students are doing, take a look at their Twitter account and follow them for more updates. And be on the lookout for the release of “Old Guy”!
Daylight Saving Time
Posted by Amelia Cohen in Faculty, Research, Video on March 14, 2013
This past weekend was Daylight Saving Time, when most people in the U.S. set their clocks an hour forward. CBS reported on this event and noted that some find Daylight Saving’s useful while others find it to be quite frustrating.
Tufts faculty member Michael Downing, the author of Spring Forward, a book all about Daylight Saving Time, explained the origin:
Daylight saving was originally meant to save electricity with lighting at homes.
He also remarked about some long standing Daylight Saving Time errors that have occurred. For example, what happened after Russia sprung forward for the first time in 1928:
When October came, the Russians forgot to fall back. It wasn’t until 1985 that an AP reporter stumbled onto the fact that the clocks were all wrong in Russia.
For more facts and insights from Downing, watch the rest of the CBS report here.
Recyclemania Feels So Good
Posted by Veronica Richter in Environment, Student Experience, Students, Video on March 12, 2013
This year marks the eighth year Tufts Recycles has participated in RecycleMania, an eight week long competition among colleges and universities to see who can reduce their waste the most. This year, the Tufts Eco-Reps have stepped their game up with a catchy recycle-themed parody.
Check it out below and remember: you can recycle your daily Tufts Daily, plastic take out containers, paper cups and their plastic lids, juice and cardboard boxes, yogurt containers and more!
RecycleMania at Tufts from Arshiya Goel on Vimeo.
For more information on participating in Recyclemania, check out Tufts Recycles’ Facebook event and their tips for winning the competition.
GlobeMed at Tufts University
Posted by Amelia Cohen in Active Citizenship, International, Student Experience, Students on March 11, 2013
GlobeMed at Tufts is a group dedicated to building a movement of people who believe in health and justice for all. They partner with Nyaya Health, a U.S. non-profit that works to provide free healthcare to the people of Achham, Nepal.
In 2012, Nyaya Health treated more than 30,000 patients as they began to implement a sustainable healthcare system in the region. Tufts GlobeMed is proud to be a partner of this dynamic organization.
Check out GlobeMed’s new promo video:
Major: Undecided on a Winning Streak!
Posted by Amelia Cohen in Social Media, Student Experience, Students, Web on March 8, 2013
This year was the Third Annual Boston Funderdome, a sketch comedy competition at Boston University. Five sketch comedy teams from various Boston based colleges and universities competed to see which group would rise above the rest. For the third year in a row, Tufts’ very own Major: Undecided were crowned the champions.
Major: Undecided, Tufts only sketch comedy group, was founded in 2004,when a small group of freshman were looking to bring laughs to their peers at Tufts. The group creates and performs all originally written sketches. They hold two shows a year at Tufts and have more performances in the Boston and New England areas. Their YouTube channel is full of sketch promos and clips from old shows, if you want to see just how hard they can make you laugh.
Check out what was tweeted about the Funderdome and Major: Undecided’s winning performance:
The Power of Engineering
Posted by Veronica Richter in Faculty, Life Sciences, Research, School of Engineering, Video on March 7, 2013
Chemical engineering students and faculty at Tufts have the opportunity to join AIChE, the American Institute of Chemical Engineers. According to their website, AIChE is the world’s leading organization for chemical engineering professionals, with more than 45,000 members from more than 90 countries.
One of the Institute’s greatest benefits is connecting members to one another and allowing them to participate in conferences around the world. In one of such event, AIChE members discussed the power of engineering in improving our world and our lives.
Ayse Asatekin, assistant professor of chemical engineering at Tufts, took part in the discussion and added to the passionate voices of other chemical engineering students and educators from all over the country.
Watch the video and see Professor Asatekin’s remarks:
The Innovation Catalog
Posted by Amelia Cohen in Active Citizenship, Blogs, Students on March 6, 2013
Tufts student Shriya Nevatia, A14, writes about educational technology and the future of learning in her blog The Innovation Catalog. Shriya looks at everything through the context of her own background as an individual interested in education, mathematics, computer science, philosophy, technology, culture/media and the visual & performing arts. She interacts with a range of issues in the educational field including the affects of race, gender and class.
Here’s an excerpt from a post she wrote entitled “Risk-Taking and Feminism: The Limited Entrepreneurial Education of Girls”:
We need to cultivate a culture that tells girls to take risks just as much as it tells boys to, and reinforces the idea that a failed business or underground activity in their young years will not turn into a scary mark on their permanent record or a trip to juvie. Many of the entrepreneurs that the Western world worships (George Foreman, Walt Disney, Henry Ford, Richard Branson, Simon Cowell to name a few) were rebellious risk-takers in their young years. They were also all male. The women who are prominent entrepreneurs and self-made millionaires/billionaires went through more traditional paths.
Med Students Dance for a Cause
Posted by Veronica Richter in School of Medicine, Student Experience, Students, Video on March 5, 2013
Students at the Tufts Medical School recently showcased their talent for a cause at their annual Multicultural Performing Arts Show (MPAG). Proceeds of the show went toward the Colleen Romain Scholarship Fund, a scholarship that subsidizes college application fees for underprivileged high school seniors from the Boston Public School System.
The Medical School’s class of 2015 contributed to the effort with a bhangra/bollywood dance that highlights Tufts’s multi-talented students as well as the support and pride they find in this community. Check out their performance:
Fletcher Summer Institute
Posted by Amelia Cohen in Active Citizenship, International, Students, The Fletcher School, Video on March 4, 2013
Applications are now available for the Fletcher Summer Institute for the Advanced Study of Nonviolent Conflict (FSI). This is the only executive education program in the interdisciplinary study of nonviolent conflict, taught by leading scholars and practitioners of strategic nonviolent action and authorities from related fields. This program offers a certificate in the Advanced Study of Nonviolent Conflict that draws upon its multidisciplinary approach to global affairs.
Since the program was founded in 2005, more than 300 individuals from more than 50 different countries have come together during this week-long seminar and shared their experiences. They have learned all about non-violent conflict, which is under-recognized in most history books and contemporary news media, as well as the fact that many hold widespread misconceptions about its use.
Watch the video below to get an overview of what this program encompasses.
For more information, visit the program website.
ROTC at Tufts
Posted by Amelia Cohen in Student Experience, Students, Video on March 1, 2013
ROTC students are just like everyone else – except for that in addition to normal classwork and activities, they participate in physical training programs and take ROTC classes at MIT.
The first ROTC program at Tufts started in 1941 and about 100 individuals were enrolled. In 1969, as the Vietnam protests sprung up all over campus, faculty voted to ban the ROTC program at Tufts. It was not until 2011 that the ban was lifted and students could have ROTC recognized on their transcripts.
During the last academic year, about 20 Tufts students were participating in the ROTC program. Below is a video of just one ROTC student, Jonathan Bowie. Watch the video below to learn more about what he does in the ROTC program.
For more of the history of ROTC at Tufts, visit this article from the Tisch College of Citizenship and Public Service.