Tufts University in popular culture
The following is a partial, incomplete list of references to Tufts University in popular culture.
Literature
- In the second Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, the character Win, Carmen's love interest, goes to Tufts.
- Hannah, the heroine in Curtis Sittenfeld's second novel, The Man of My Dreams, goes to Tufts. The heroine in Sittenfeld's first novel, Prep, was rejected from Tufts.
- Large portions of Tufts' alumnus and bestselling author Darin Strauss's forthcoming novel, More Than It Hurts You, take place at the university.
- Scott Adler, recurring character in Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan series and eventual U.S. Secretary of State, graduated first in his class at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy.
- Ken Erdedy, a character in the novel Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace and a marijuana addict and resident of Ennet House, likely attended Tufts University, evidenced among other things by the memorabilia in his household.[1]
- Jenna Blake in Christopher Golden's the Body of Evidence mystery novels attends Somerset University, a fictional version of the Tufts campus.
- Susan Silverman of Robert B. Parker's Spenser mystery series teaches at "Taft University," a thinly-veiled stand-in for Tufts, and Parker uses the Taft setting in several books.
- Blair Waldorf, the protagonist in Cecily von Ziegesar's young adult book series, Gossip Girl, is rejected from Tufts.[2]
Film
- Julie Merkel, a cutthroat prep school student in the film Cheats, a 2002 comedy starring Mary Tyler Moore, wants desperately to attend Tufts.
- Some outdoor footage of the Tufts campus was shot in fall of 1967 for the film Charly starring Cliff Robertson and Claire Bloom.
- The indoor shots of the prom scene in the movie The Next Karate Kid were filmed in the Cousen's Gymnasium at Tufts.
- In the movie Valentine's Day, Jessica Biel's character has Tufts paraphernalia in her office.
Television
- Pete and Berg, the lead characters in the sitcom Two Guys and a Girl, met as undergraduates at Tufts.
- In the episode "Investor's Meeting" of Party Down, Kyle befriends a young man while bartending who mentions his father will buy him a Bose sound system if he makes dean's list at Tufts.
- The gate to the President's Lawn was featured in the opening credits of the sitcom Sabrina, the Teenage Witch.
- Elaine Benes, portrayed by Julia Louis-Dreyfus in the sitcom Seinfeld, mentions that she attended Tufts, calling it her "safety school."
- In Daria, the title character goes off to attend fictional Raft College around Boston. Many Daria fans think that Raft may be a thinly veiled fictional version of Tufts.
- Dr. Jordan Cavanaugh, title character from Crossing Jordan, played by Jill Hennessy, graduated from Tufts' medical school.
- During Julie Taylor's senior year on Friday Night Lights, she and her mom (Tammy Taylor) visit Tufts, though the name is never revealed. While looking out over the Boston skyline from the top of Tisch, Tammy tells Julie that this was her dream school when she was applying to college.
- Amy Abbott on the WB drama Everwood was rejected from Tufts in an episode of the show.
- Dr. Jennifer Melfi, psychiatrist to Tony Soprano on The Sopranos graduated from Tufts Medical School.
- Kenny, a Stuckeybowl employee on the TV show Ed, graduated from Tufts (and, when asked about it by Ed, replies, "It's in Massachusetts.")
- Toyota ran an ad in the late 1970s/early 1980s that portrayed a student setting off for college in his new Toyota and driving cross-country from his home in Southern California. The ad finished with his triumphant arrival in front of Eaton Hall. For years, this commercial was shown before all campus movies.
- In the 2009 Simpsons episode "Bart Gets a 'Z'," Bart's substitute announces to the class that he received his Master's in teaching from Tufts.
- In the 2010 Simpsons episode "American History X-cellent," Mr. Burns mentions that anyone with a Tufts University jacket can see masterpiece art at a public museum.
- In the "Winter Madness" episode of 30 Rock, Toofer says "I went to college in Boston. Well, not in Boston, but nearby. No, not Tufts!"
References