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(05/17/24 4:03am)
Undoubtedly, the American college experience is unique compared to other countries. Besides crippling student loan debt, frat parties and wearing shower shoes, perhaps the most distinctive element of attending college in America is the country’s unwavering love for collegiate sports. Between the 9.86 million viewers of March Madness and the $7.67 billion of revenue collegiate sports merchandise brings in, it’s clear that America cherishes college athletics. But hidden by our jerseys and bustling stadiums is a ugly problem: From admissions to finances, athletics has made college an unfair game.
(04/24/24 4:01am)
Content warning: This article contains mentions of suicide.
(04/08/24 4:05am)
On March 29, Beyoncé dropped her latest album, “COWBOY CARTER.” This sprawling, 79-minute epic has been the subject of constant talk since she first teased it during the Superbowl with singles “TEXAS HOLD ‘EM” and “16 CARRIAGES” The record was immediately termed Beyoncé’s ‘country album.’ Some theorized that the album would be a reaction to her performance of her song “Daddy Lessons” with the Chicks at the 2016 Country Music Association Awards, which created intense, racially charged backlash for not being “country enough” (despite the clear bluegrass genre of the song). Beyoncé set the narrative straight, however, in the days leading up to the album’s release, posting, “This ain’t a Country album. This is a ‘Beyoncé’ album.”
(04/05/24 4:05am)
A recent article published in the Daily argued that Diversity, Equity and Inclusion efforts are detrimental in a variety of ways. Particularly, it argued that DEI in the medical field prioritizes diversity over merit, disadvantaging patients. However, evidence indicates that DEI improves medical care for minority communities without affecting the overall quality of care. Furthermore, DEI initiatives across all professions work toward creating more equitable outcomes and combat systemic biases inherent in society.
(03/14/24 6:13am)
(03/06/24 5:03am)
Early Monday morning, the Tufts Community Union Senate voted to pass three resolutions pertaining to the Israel-Hamas war, calling for divestments from many companies with ties to Israel, an apology and a change in rhetoric from the administration. Then, Monday afternoon, the administration sent an email to the student body condemning the resolutions and the larger boycott, divestment and sanctions movement. Regardless of one’s stance on the war, one thing is clear: This statement is an insult to the student body and disrespectful to student voices on campus.
(02/28/24 5:03am)
In today’s America, polarization is seemingly everywhere: in a gridlocked congress, in knock-down drag-out election campaigns, in city council meetings. While ideological divides will always exist, the level of vitriol aimed at the political other can conceal the fact that Americans are often more closely aligned on issues — such as gun rights and abortion — than we are led to believe. Why, then, do we feel so divided? The real root of the issue is the ‘politics of demonization,’ in which we view people of different or opposing political views as evil or as our enemies. Ultimately, this causes people to overlook compromise in favor of putting one past the political other. This cycle of hatred is liable to pull anything into its path, and once something gets caught, the results can be dramatic. And in the case of wolves, it can even be deadly.
(02/14/24 5:01am)
Beliefs about queerness being dangerous to children are not new. Ever since the gay liberation movement began gaining traction, accusations of corrupting children and pedophilia have been hurled at people in the LGBTQ+ community. Today, these boogeymen manifest in many ways, such as bans on books and drag shows, and “Don’t Say Gay” laws like the one infamously passed in Florida in 2022.
(01/30/24 5:03am)
One of the more dystopian aspects of the beginning of this semester has been learning professors’ policies on artificial intelligence. The development of these new policies follows that of AI itself, as generative models like DALL-E 2 and ChatGPT have exploded into the public consciousness. These AIs have gained extreme popularity over the past year due to their unprecedented text and image generation abilities. They’ve been hailed by many in the media as revolutionary. However, the reality of AI has turned out to be a dark, cautionary tale of greed and disregard for humanity.
(12/11/23 5:03am)
A couple of weeks ago, I opened my phone to a message from one of my best friends that made my stomach drop. “The debt collectors called,” she said. Last year, she went through family-related financial difficulty and was unable to pay for her spring semester tuition in full. Suddenly, $6,000 of debt had been dropped into her lap, and there was seemingly nothing she could do about it. Working paycheck to paycheck in food service and having already transferred to community college to keep costs down, she started scrambling to figure out how to stay financially afloat. Later in our conversation, she asked, “Is it selfish to start some sort of GoFundMe for this?”
(11/20/23 5:05am)
Perhaps one of the most tired takes in American politics is that Americans aren’t patriotic enough. However, this sentiment conceals a wealth of presuppositions about what it means to be an American. This is perhaps no better exemplified than by the Zac Brown Band’s song “Chicken Fried” (2005). The chorus describes the ideals of the American heartland: “A cold beer on a Friday night / A pair of jeans that fit just right … See the love in my woman’s eyes / Feel the touch of a precious child / And know a mother’s love.”
(11/14/23 5:07am)
Recently, some members of the Tufts community have called for the decolonization of the Russian Program. Their reasoning is that, by continuing with the program and further celebrating Russian culture, Tufts is complicit in the genocide of thousands of Ukrainians. Undoubtedly, it is understandable to feel anger and resentment towards a country that has continuously been an imperialistic force, caused devastating humanitarian impacts for former Soviet states and deprived people of their lives, happiness and peace. These brutalities that the Russian government has inflicted are undeniable, and the continued suffering of Ukrainians is beyond appalling. That being said, it’s important to make a distinction between the Russian government — one that rigs elections, silences expression and poisons opposition — and the Russian people.
(11/06/23 5:05am)
I am not a particularly huge fan of the new House Speaker Mike Johnson. He wouldn’t be much of a fan of me either: He has described certain queer people like me as “inherently unnatural” and living a “dangerous lifestyle.” In fact, he’s even cautioned that the legalization of gay marriage would be the end of democracy as we know it. If only the ‘gay agenda’ were so powerful, perhaps queer people couldn’t be legally denied housing based on their identity in 29 states right now.
(10/19/23 6:03am)
Recently, much of the discussion around the MBTA has been focused on its numerous issues, especially its slow zones. Though it’s certainly an important discussion to have, it’s also important to ask what happens after these slow zones are fixed. There are a couple of projects that have been overshadowed by the slow zone repairs that are pivotal to the future of the system.
(10/11/23 4:07am)
In what is a massively unsurprising turn of events, within the past month, long swaths of the Green Line Extension between the Medford/Tufts and Lechmere stations have forced trains to move at three miles per hour. What has the MBTA’s response been? Empty pacification. Phillip Eng, the MBTA’s recently appointed general manager, called the slowdown “unacceptable,” saying that as a Green Line rider himself, he sympathizes with the public’s frustration. That doesn’t change the fact that, in the weeks since the slowdown, we’ve gotten little more information on what the issue is beyond one interesting revelation: The tracks are narrowing.