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The Department of English and Tufts University Art Galleries (TUAG) co-hosted a full day, marathon reading of the entirety of Mary Shelley's "Frankenstein" (1818)in the Tisch Family Gallery this Halloween.
Tufts ranks near the bottom of gender parity among Massachusetts colleges, according to a new study released by the nonprofit Eos Foundation on Sept. 27.
Muhammad Jusuf Kalla, vice president of Indonesia, spoke about his country's place in world affairs at a conversation hosted by The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy on Sept. 21. Indonesia is the fourth-most populous country and most populous Muslim-majority country in the world.
This week, Mike Hughes, a California limousine driver, intends to launch himself 1,800 feet (549 meters) high on a homemade rocket. His goal is to photograph the earth, to show proof of the flat Earth on which we live. “It'll shut the door on this ball earth," Hughes said in an interview with a flat-Earth group for the flight. Hughes is a member of the Flat Earth Society, a group that affirms that the Earth is a flat disc, not a sphere. The group denies photographs of the Earth from space, which one would think would disprove such flat-Earth theories. They say that NASA is being controlled by round-Earth Freemasons and Elon Musk makes fake rockets from blimps. While entertaining for some of us, conspiracy theories are not always harmless. The notion that vaccines cause autism has led to a decrease in vaccinations in some areas, and climate change denial is putting our entire (round) planet at risk. But where do these theories come from? What makes people latch on to seemingly ridiculous ideas, rejecting what should be common consensus? Conspiracy theories offer simple explanations for complex situations and often allow people to believe they know something that the elite and powerful wish to hide. For this reason, conspiracy theories are especially potent in dictatorships, where information, especially from the government, is often unreliable. Conspiracy theories are especially problematic because some are nearly impossible to refute. The U.S. government cannot prove that it didn’t fake the moon landing, nor can it prove that it does not have aliens in a lab in Nevada. But how do conspiracy theories come to be? While conspiracy theories are popular under dictatorships, they also are prevalent in democratic states, such as the United States. This is because, says sociologist Stanley Cohen, it begins as a moral panic. “A condition, episode, person, or group of persons emerges to become defined as a threat to societal values and interests; its nature is presented in a stylized and stereotypical fashion by the mass media,” he says. A crucial feature of the moral panic is a “folk devil” which is typically a scapegoat who has nothing to do with the threat. Cohen says, “The folk devil often takes the form of a conspiracy.” For this reason, conspiracy theories are most common during economic downturns, but they also flourish during economic upturns. For example, the idea that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) was building secret concentration camps was popular on the left during the 1980s and on the right in the 1990s, both of which were periods of high economic growth. However, the variable in this case was which political party was in power, which supports the notion that whatever party is out of power has worried that the party in power would turn fascist. Today, the United States seems to be again in the midst of a moral panic, which may be a significant cause in the rise of groups such as the Flat Earth Society. With Hughes’ launch expected on Tuesday of this week, maybe we’ll find out for certain if those wretched Freemasons have been lying to us all along.
Foreign aid, in the modern sense, has meant government to government transactions in which the United States gives a huge amount of relief supplies to countries in need. According to Professor Angus Deaton of Princeton University, “$134 billion of official aid still flows from donor governments to recipient governments.” However, all of this “aid” is almost never put into action with the consent of the people of the recipient nation, and is therefore inherently anti-democratic. That aid often does more harm than good, corrupting the recipient state and inhibiting their ability to develop strong institutions of their own.The majority of aid rarely reaches the poorest sectors of the region. Today, poverty is not the result of lack of resources. Poverty is caused by corrupt institutions and poor governance, perpetuated by foreign aid.The mantra of foreign aid embodies the conception that developed nations must take it upon themselves to save those less fortunate. Singed with undertones of colonialism, this philosophy is often more harmful to recipient nations than helpful. First, in a rejection of the traditional idea that the key to triggering growth is to throw money into a country's roads, industry, and infrastructure, Professor William Easterly of NYU found that lots of foreign aid flowing into a nation actually led to lower economic growth and vice-versa. Second, by trying to help poor people in poor nations, rich countries often end up corrupting those countries and stymieing growth. This happens because as aid flows into a nation, the government becomes less accountable to its people, instead relying on outside powers for legitimacy. Further, foreign aid undermines a country’s ability to develop strong institutions and accountable government in the first place, key to a nation’s developmental success. Finally, foreign aid is often used for the benefit of rich nations themselves rather than for the nations and people in need. Countries like the United States use aid to support our allies, investments or political beliefs rather than the interests of the local people.The most notable example of this is the U.S. support of the despotic Ethiopian government in exchange for their suppression of Islamic fundamentalism. Rich nations also benefit economically from foreign aid before any long-term growth from the recipient nation. For every $1 of aid donated from rich countries to poor countries, $7-10 returns to rich countries, due to debt repayment, interest and capital flight. The UN Conference on Trade and Development estimates that there has been a net transfer of $200 billion from poor countries to rich countries — not ideal development conditions.If foreign aid is not the answer to global poverty, then what is? First, we should begin by selling fewer weapons to despots, and ensure that developing countries get a fair deal in trade agreements and relax trade barriers. We should also invest in developing vaccines for global diseases, such as malaria. It took western nations 200 years to reach the level they are at today, while we expect today’s developing nations to do so in about a decade or even less. The answer is not foreign aid, rather we must let countries find their own path to success, at their own pace.
Midterm season often feels like the world is ending; there are tests, projects and deadlines coming from left and right. But while we’re here freaking out about the possible end of our worlds coming from the end of our academic careers, when and how will the world actually end? Let’s explore how different sources explain impending apocalypses.According to the interpretation of the Bible by Jehovah's Witnesses, the “end of the world” is actually considered to be "the end of the framework of human society" in that “‘evil men will be done away with’” for “good people” instead. So, Earth will still exist. The Bible further explains that we’ll know that the world is ending when the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse — Conquest, War, Famine and Death — arrive. When these four tragedies begin to occur on a worldwide scale, the apocalypse will have begun.There are scientific ways that predict the end of the world, as well. This January, in fact, the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists officially predicted that we are 30 seconds closer to midnight on theDoomsday Clock, a countdown to the apocalypse.The Bulletin of Atomic Scientists explains that nuclear arms, climate change, environmental degradation, hyper-nationalism and even the election of President Donald Trump all contribute to a more dangerous atmosphere.Astronomers predict further that the apocalypse could occur through solar storms. Solar storms are an unpredicted increase and flash of light from the sun, causing an extreme disruption in the environment. Additionally, there is worry ofpandemic as well. The time is ripe for a deadly global pandemic, because half of Homo sapiens live in cities — plus, we have airline travel, so we can ship the pandemic disease around the globe in less than 24 hours.With an increase in globalization, technology, cities and population, there is an increased likelihood of interaction and the spread of disease. Not only should we be concerned about a pandemic in humans, but also a crop pandemic. Many worry about food supply, and if crops fail or there is a lack of food production, possible famine or food riots could occur.You've heard about thecaldera volcano under Yellowstone, which could erupt at some point and release enough lava to pave over Yellowstone Park. But that's nothing compared to the damage that can be done by alarge igneous province, which is a volcano that doesn't explode. Instead, a huge crack opens in the Earth's crust — often between tectonic plates — and lava just starts bubbling out.All these events combined would truly destruct the world as we know it.Finally, literature also explains possible ways to apocalypse. For example, George Orwell’s1984 predicts an end of normal society and the beginning of mass oppression through war and censorship.Max Brooks’ World War Z predicts an apocalypse by “the great zombie war.”With all these definitions of the apocalypse in mind, maybe now that awful midterm or paper you need to write won’t feel quite so bad. Your Western Political Thought midterm? Really bad. Yellowstone erupting? Even worse.
At Tufts, students seem to despise the wealthy classes, striking down anything that represents power, aristocracy or elitism. Tufts students think of themselves as above the elitist nature one would find at, say, Harvard. We’re down to earth. We don’t sell out to Wall Street. We’re quirky. However, Tufts is elitist, too. When asking the question “Am I an elitist?”, Tufts students rebuke, claiming to fight for the crucial social and political issues ailing the working classes. Tufts students do, in fact, support these issues and are politically active. However, we are elitist simply by attending a school like Tufts. Our social encounters are nowhere close to that of the average Boston resident and even less so for the average American. We can (and should) work to help the underprivileged. What escapes the minds of many of us so-called “social justice warriors” is the ability to genuinely relate to and converse with the people we fight for. William Deresiewicz, author of "Excellent Sheep" (2014), recognizes this paradox that exists mainly at elite schools. He says, “because these schools tend to cultivate liberal attitudes, they leave their students in the paradoxical position of wanting to advocate on behalf of the working class while being unable to hold a simple conversation with anyone in it.”Elite universities were founded under the Protestant values that people with good prospects should recognize their privilege and the mechanisms that got them there. Today, we are constantly preaching inclusivity, diversity and acceptance. Yet, we fail to recognize one major factor: our definition of inclusivity has not included, to any significant extent, the inclusion of lower social classes. Thus, many students at schools like Tufts lack the ability to communicate with anybody who has not received an elite education. Deresiewicz puts it bluntly when recounting an experience with a plumber, “A handful of Ivy League degrees, and there I was, stiff and stupid, struck dumb by my own dumbness. I could carry on conversations with people from other countries, in other languages, but I couldn’t talk to the man who was standing in my own house.” We are learning to become incredible global citizens, working to help people around the world. However, when it comes to those struggling at home, many elite students have no idea where to begin. So, are you an elitist? Probably. Nearly half of Tufts students attended a private high school. Our student body is the eighth richest elite university in the country in terms of median parent income. Simply put, our interactions don’t include people outside of our own elite social circles. While some students do call for a greater push for socioeconomic diversity in admissions, it cannot be only on the administration. It’s on us. It’s on us to not see a less-educated, less-talented person as beneath us. It’s on us to measure value not only in grades, SAT scores or prestigious jobs or internships. So yes, you are probably an elitist. But we all can do more to fix that.
If you’re like me, you likely need total darkness and quiet to get a good night’s sleep. Even then, it’ll take over an hour of lying in bed, pretending to sleep, before you actually fall asleep. If you’re like me, you also envy those who can fall asleep at a moment’s notice, seemingly by command. Why do these differences in sleep exist? Is there any way for a less sleep-prone person to become a person who is? To figure out why some people fall asleep easier than others do, we should find out just why we fall asleep in the first place. The reason has to do with the body’s circadian rhythm. Circadian rhythm is a human’s sense of day and night — when to sleep and when not to sleep. The natural cycle of day and night reinforces maximum energy during the day and drowsiness after 8 p.m. to ensure a healthy sleep; however, circadian rhythm is easily manipulated by bright lights, melatonin and other sleep factors.Moreover, there is a definite guideline for the perfect amount of time before someone falls asleep: An average sleeper should fall asleep in five to 15 minutes. Twenty to 30 minutes is worrying, implying insomnia, whereas five minutes is too short, implying unhealthy exhaustion. So, if you’re falling asleep in only a few minutes, you might just be sleep-deprived. Similarly, if you have trouble falling asleep, you might just need to sleep a bit less. A powerful inhibitor of falling asleep is obvious: today’s particularly high-stress, workaholic culture. In the constant hustle of work and play, those who don’t sleep as easily can look at themselves to blame. While sleep can be the ultimate relaxer, many people have rejected sleep and instead turned toward social and leisure activities to counteract the grind toward productivity. And when they attempt to sleep, they often are still plagued by the desire to either work or play, disparaging sleep as neither fun nor productive. This rupture in sleep leads to many repercussions, completely wrecking a human’s natural circadian rhythm. Another difference between people who sleep well and people who don’t is, ironically, their focus on falling asleep. People who don’t sleep well often cannot sleep because they become too hyperaware and stressed over whether or not they are falling asleep. Anxiety can grow so heightened that sleepless people then associate the bedroom with wakefulness, rather than rest and calm. Contrastingly, people who sleep well associate the bedroom with calm thoughts, which lead to good sleep. Sufficient sleep is the most crucial factor to a productive, rewarding day. Without it, most people can hardly function. In today’s high-stress work environment, we tend to neglect the importance of sleep, and even when sleep is the goal, some people still have trouble falling asleep. While that may just be due to overthinking about the amount of sleep we get, stress and anxiety are the more likely culprits. If you are one who simply cannot get to sleep, the answer may be easier said than done: Just relax.
“Millennial: your generation got houses and jobsBoomer: yes but we lived with constant fear of nuclear winterMillennial: hold my avocado” — Twitter user @kennethnKen Norton’s tweet may be the ultimate embodiment of the millennial generation: one fraught with worries about future employment and stability, yet comforted by the promise of a rich, creamy avocado to quell its fears. Americans eat a whopping 80 million pounds of avocados on Super Bowl Sunday, and the average American eats five pounds of avocados a year, surpassing the apple. While it’s a no-brainer that avocados are delicious, one can still ask: why are avocados so popular?The avocado’s popularity is, in fact, the result of tireless, decades-long work by avocado organization California Avocado Growers' Exchange and public relations firm Hill & Knowlton. In the beginning of the 20th century, the avocado had a pretty bad rep. This probably had a lot to do with its former name: the “alligator pear.” The rough, dark green skin of the avocado did slightly resemble an alligator, but many were not keen on eating a fruit that reminded them of a swamp creature. “Alligator pear” was such a distasteful name that the California Avocado Growers' Exchange accused it of causing the fruit’s devastatingly low sales. Thus, they advocated for a name change to “avocado,” suggesting a sort of exotic opulence to U.S. consumers. And while the name change was ultimately achieved, the public still felt unsure on how or why they should eat such a foreign, unfamiliar fruit. Enter Hill & Knowlton. Hill & Knowlton had a seemingly impossible challenge: to spread the joy of avocados to the then unbeknownst masses. The PR company first attempted to market the fruit as fun and relatable. So, naturally, they gave the avocado a mascot: Mr. Ripe Guy. Mr. Ripe Guy was a pretty cool dude, traveling in an avocado-colored car and bringing avocados (his favorite fruit, of course) wherever he went. He soon even had a female counterpart: Ms. Ripe. This piqued the interest of the American public, eager for another fun mascot and role model to join the iconic likes of McDonald’s Ronald McDonald and KFC’s Colonel Sanders. Hill & Knowlton’s quest for avocado victory culminated in the Super Bowl, or more appropriately, the “Guacamole Bowl.” In 1992, the PR company presented guacamole samples to Super Bowl audiences and enlisted NFL players to publish their favorite avocado or guacamole recipes, reaching out to the vast American public. Its “Guacomole Bowl” tactics were a success. Soon after, the economic value of the avocado skyrocketed 70 percent from 1988 to 2000, declaring the avocado, Hill & Knowlton and the California Avocado Growers' Exchange the true winners of the Super Bowl. Since then, avocados have become a staple in many millennials’ as well as many U.S. families’ diets.So, next time you eat an avocado, stop and think about the unlikely, long-fought victory of the “alligator pear." And then eat the avocado because it’s delicious.