Steven Rourick ’27, a sophomore in Silliman, is best known as the “Taylor Swift guy” for singing Taylor Swift songs as he walks around campus. Join us as host Xavier Guaracha ’25 talks with Steven about the origins of his music walks, his relationship with Taylor Swift’s music, and the current musical landscape.

Producers: Xavier Guaracha ’25 and Joanne Lee ’26
Music: Blue Dot Sessions

The post Silhouette E20: Steven Rourick on music walks, Taylor Swift, and music today appeared first on Yale Daily News.

Editor’s Note: This data was calculated prior to the Bulldogs’ first-round appearance at the NCAA-DI March Madness tournament in Denver, Colorado.

Yale nearly swept the Ivy League regular season this year, dropping only one conference game to Harvard in a 74–69 nail-biting away matchup. 

During the postseason, the Bulldogs bested the Cornell Big Red and the Princeton Tigers in the Ivy Madness tournament to secure their first-ever consecutive March Madness appearances. With a 22–7 overall record, Yale boasts a 75.9 percent win rate, the 28th-highest in the NCAA-DI. 

These wins — including a 13-game win streak in January and February — were hard-earned, and the Bulldogs’ persistence is evident on the stat sheet. 

On average, Yale beat out Ivy and non-conference opponents in every statistical category. Led by Nick Townsend ’26 — who had 7.2 rebounds per game on average — the Elis dominated the glass, securing nine more off the board per game than Ivy opponents. Notably, they ranked 18th in the NCAA-DI for defensive rebounds and 26th for total rebounds. 

Bez Mbeng ’25, two-time Ivy League Defensive Player of the Year, anchored Yale’s defense and led the roster in assists and steals. Backed by center Samson Aletan ’27, who averaged 1.6 blocks, the Bulldogs held opponents to only 69.7 points per game. 

The team’s hustle also translated to the other end of the court. Led by John Poulakidas ’25, Townsend and Mbeng, each of whom averaged double-digit points, the Bulldogs scored an average of 81.7 points per game. In the 2024–25 season, Yale had the 17th-highest point differential — defined as (points scored) – (points allowed) — in the NCAA-DI.

Yale’s style of play is focused on scoring inside the arc. Contrary to the popular philosophy of the “3-point revolution,” the Bulldogs get most of their points — 57.7 percent — via layups and midrange shots. They take 19.7 3-point shots and 41.4 2-point shots on average per game, ranking 310th and 18th in these respective categories. 

As shown below, this strategy is successful for the squad and results in a highly efficient offense. 

Yale is notably more efficient than its opponents, converting 53.9 percent of 2-point shots and 38.8 percent of 3-point shots. Despite not taking as many 3-pointers, the Bulldogs rank 8th in the NCAA-DI for 3-point percentage. Moreover, the team’s field goal percentage, which takes 2-pointers and 3-pointers into consideration, is the 11th-highest in the nation. 

Yale won the Ivy League men’s basketball tournament in 2019, 2022, 2024 and 2025. Their season ultimately concluded in a hard-fought battle versus Texas A&M, losing 80–71 in the first round of March Madness.

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With the summer abroad season approaching, the News looked into past study abroad statistics and figures, analyzing the data provided by the Office of International and Summer Programs from 2018 to 2024. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, international travel was suspended from the summer of 2020 until the spring of 2022. These years have been omitted from the graphs below. Data is grouped in terms of academic years, which includes each succeeding summer. 

Ever wonder where Yalies fly off to when they study abroad? Check out the graphs below to check out the top regions they choose for academic adventures:

Europe has consistently been the most popular travel destination, with 72 percent of study abroad experiences taking place across the continent during the 2023-24 academic year. Asia and Latin America were the second and third most visited regions, respectively. 

Assessment and Director of Study Abroad Kelly McLaughlin told the News that the percentages of participation by class year tend to remain relatively stable. 

During the 2023-24 academic year, the majority of participants — approximately 53 percent — were rising sophomores. Rising juniors made up nearly 24 percent of Yale students studying abroad and rising seniors around 23 percent. 

Economics, history, political science, computer science and MCDB — molecular, cellular and developmental biology — were the top five most common majors amongst students who studied abroad last year, while the majority of participants were undeclared. 

Approximately 23 percent of graduating seniors in the class of 2024 studied abroad for credit during their time at Yale, a two point increase from the preceding class year. However, McLaughlin emphasized the impact of the pandemic on these figures.

He suspects that the graduating class’ participation in study abroad will eventually rise towards 50 percent, noting that 47 percent of the pre-COVID-19 class of 2019 studied abroad for credit. However, he acknowledged that there was no “guarantee” that the numbers would increase. 

The majority of study abroad experiences occur over the summer, as opposed to during the academic year or individual semesters. 

The number of students participating in YSS and non-Yale study programs this year has yet to be finalized. However, McLaughlin expects the data from the 2024-25 academic year to be similar to previous years’ statistics, with possibly higher numbers overall. 

He noted that the Office of International and Summer Programs was conscious of the travel bans recently announced by President Donald Trump. The office is working to assess the situation alongside the Office of International Students and Scholars, as well as other colleagues in the field of study abroad. 

“In terms of travel bans, we’re watching this very closely together,” he said. “We aim to provide the best guidance and support possible to students as/if needed. This landscape is still evolving, of course.” 

The United Kingdom was the most visited country throughout all three academic years. 

Cecile Tchano Tchandja ’28 will attend the London School of Economics over the summer. She noted her excitement to experience a new culture alongside other Yale students.

She added, “Personally, I love — not bad weather — but dreary, gloomy weather, and that is what London and the UK is so famous for. So I’m excited to kind of be a part of that and see London’s culture.”

Sofiia Tiapkina ’28 plans to pursue studies in Chinese at the CET Beijing program this summer. She will receive full funding for her trip — including financial coverage of room and board, tuition and transportation — through Yale’s Richard U. Light Fellowship Award. 

Tiapkina emphasized her anticipation for the program. She noted that although she was still in the process of applying for a visa and securing plane tickets, this final preparation was an “exciting challenge.”

“Language learning is really important,” said Tiapkina, referencing the program’s “language pledge,” which encourages students only to speak in Chinese. “I would really like the opportunity to really focus on language … In a way, it’s kind of restricting, but also, liberating.”

Waitlisted Yale Summer Session programs abroad applicants will receive a decision by April 1. 

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