Among some of its more notable alumni, Tufts can claim former New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson (LA '70), J.P. Morgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon (LA '78), eBay founder Pierre Omidyar (LA '88), and "Wicked" (1995) author Gregory Maguire (GSAS '90). Senator Scott Brown (R-Mass., LA '81) is also on that list.
Thus, it came as a surprise last week when, in response to a comment made by Democratic senatorial candidate and Harvard Law School professor Elizabeth Warren concerning Brown's nude spread in Cosmopolitan during his time in law school at Boston College, he announced that he had in fact graduated from "the school of hard knocks" and not from Harvard. Warren, by the way, did not attend Harvard as a student.
While we at the Daily are aware that we do not attend Harvard, Tufts is a far cry from the story Brown is telling.
Though Brown's Jumbo pride could be categorized as questionable, the real intention of the comment was to make Warren seem like an out-of-touch elitist, a common allegation made by politicians toward their opponents. We are less concerned about who — if anyone — is actually the elitist, and more about the fact that both sides of the aisle seem to have adopted the mentality that political leaders should be — or at least pretend to be — nothing more than the "average Joe."
From Sarah Palin to Michele Bachmann, it seems that every Republican is intent on proving how having his or her own reality TV show or being a successful tax lawyer or even having a college education does not, in fact, make them in any way out of the ordinary. There is a dangerous aversion in America away from leaders who appear too educated, too intelligent or, dare we say it, too qualified for their positions. While the beauty of the U.S. political system is that anyone can rise to become president, it does not mean that just anyone should be president.
It would not be right to advocate for political leadership that is out of touch with the American public, but one would hope that those people whom we choose to be our leaders are above the average. We would hope that the people who are making policy decisions that impact the entire American population are more educated, more eloquent, more experienced and more worldly than the common American citizen; that they will be able to make difficult and informed choices; that they will accomplish greater things than the average person and that they will avoid the mistakes that an average person might make.
So Scott Brown, we at The Tufts Daily — all hurt feelings and wounded pride aside — would like to remind you that you received a good education from a great university, that you have a degree from a renowned law school and that you shouldn't have to sell yourself or your opponent short for being educated, qualified and knowledgeable — for being above the average.
