Election fever gripped Tufts and the nation; as we returned as sophomores, many of us came with determination to see our chosen presidential candidates take the White House in our first election.
With mock debates, faculty panels, plenty of discourse and even presidential drinking games, Tufts got political, and only as college students know how. After a contentious election (albeit without the hanging chads we remember from high school), the blue states were certainly blue as they suffered the close loss of Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry (D-MA).
After President George W. Bush was elected for his second term, Democrats at Tufts were (at least partially) assuaged by this year's Fares Lecturer, and the first one that our class had to opportunity to hear speak: Hillary Clinton (D-NY). Though the senator received a standing ovation from the crowd of roughly 2,300 members of the Tufts community, there were some not so pleased with her visit; Tufts Socialist Alternative protested her lecture, handing out leaflets because of the senator's vote in favor of the war in Iraq.
Debates continued throughout the year; in March, Lecture Series brought Republican pundit Ann Coulter and The New Republic editor Peter Beinart, who faced off and spoke on moral values in America in Cabot to a packed audience.
Morality was a discussion point again at a polarizing panel called to discuss the sociological and health risks of homosexuality. Parents' Rights Coalition (PRC) speaker Brian Camenker, researcher Dr. John Diggs and political analyst James Lafferty made the case that, in the words of Camenker, "there is no such thing as gay people."
Controversy related to homosexuality After an extended discussion between the Leonard Carmichael Society (LCS), which sponsors campus blood drives, and senior Matt Pohl (LA '05), who found its policies discriminatory to men who have had sex with men, LCS petitioned the Red Cross to reexamine its policies regarding eligibility to give blood.
Despite divisive politics, Tufts students rallied when our beloved Red Sox accomplished the impossible, broke the curse, and won the World Series. To commemorate, students gathered, as has been the trend, outside the president's house, to cheer, to celebrate, and in one student's case, to punch a cop.
Spring Fling became a little more literal this year; with rain all day long, students gamely adapted to the mud pits that became the President's Lawn and flung (and flung mud) as they had not yet flung before at Tufts. Unfortunately, headliner Busta Rhymes and his electronic equipment were not quite so flexible; the rapper was unable to take the stage due to the weather.
