At Tufts, we call ourselves quirky. We say that we're striving for equality and for inclusion. We say we want diversity. But who really is this "we"? Who is included in this narrative? In one of my seminar courses, I sit in the same seat every class. I won’t say that there is no shuffling, ...
In defense of the new protest policy that tries to muffle student activism by creating obstacles like prior registration, Director of Community Standards Kevin Kraft said that the policy was created for “safety concerns” and that it would “assist the university in coordinating police presence ...
It’s an odd sensation, sitting quietly in a room full of animated and passionate friends and wanting them to walk away with their hearts broken. It’s even odder when it’s the 12th inning. Odder still is during the 15th. Unquantifiable is the 18th. Ignoring the shenanigans from last week’s ...
Zachary Hertz (ZH): This week, we’re with senior and senior citizen Mary Carroll, whose most pop punk moment came when she tried to burn her Catholic school skirt after graduation. Mary Carroll (MC): I’d like to reiterate my disappointment that Trader Joe’s did not have mozzarella sticks because ...
The United States is not a democracy. The Senate, the Electoral College, the courts, the unaccountable security state and the concentration of power in regulatory agencies staffed by the people they’re supposed to regulate means the political process and the state are resistant to popular pressure. ...
Human history owes its success to women. While historically not occupying traditionally powerful roles, women have always held the true power in families and social groups, which are ultimately the major factors leading to the perseverance of our species. With the rise of the feminist movement and younger, more progressive generations, this power is finally becoming recognized publicly. My mom is the bread-winner in my family. Female senators are no longer a surprise to the public. Women in science are revolutionizing the field. Hillary Clinton won the popular vote in the presidential election but unjustly suffered from the outdated rules of old white men. I can’t wait to see where women take our world once all the sexist, racist, idiotic baby boomers finally die out -- why is it taking so long?
This is it. Today is the day. To all my avid readers: I know you have always wondered how I feel about the Jordan-LeBron debate. You must wait no longer.Who is the GOAT? It is one of the most highly-debated topics in sports. It seems inevitable that this will come up when a conversation brings up both ...
Last Thursday, I attended a talk on the rise of artificial intelligence (AI) by Matthias Scheutz, professor of computer science and director of the Human-Robot Interaction Lab at Tufts. Towards the end of the talk, someone asked Professor Scheutz whether he thought there would ever be a point at which AI can replicate human thinking, to which he gave a resounding “No.” He believes that at some point, AI will be able to replicate human behavior quite well, but to replicate thinking -- the actual underlying processes of the brain -- is another thing completely.
The chairman of the Maryland University Board of Regents, James T. Brady, stepped down early on Thursday, following immense criticism from students, fans, politicians and players regarding the board’s original decision to retain head football coach DJ Durkin. Durkin came under scrutiny following the ...
Boston has very close ties to colonial and revolutionary history, as well as a host of institutions dedicated to its preservation. For a notable example, the various homes where former presidents John Adams and John Quincy Adams lived are still standing in Quincy, Mass. The Adams National Historical ...
After the U.N.’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report on Oct. 8 -- the fifth of its kind -- we may be finally realizing the gravity of climate change. We have 12 years to limit devastating global warming, and as Vox explains, “we either invest now to clamp down on greenhouse ...
The U.S. Department of the Interior protects vast tracts of land across the United States, preserving the pristine beauty of the North American continent for generations to come. Sort of. Only 28 percent of the land in our country is federally owned, and when it comes to protecting the rest of our ...
Welcome to The Coin Toss, where I make bold predictions about your favorite professional sports.Nothing to recap from last week, as I made some NBA award predictions. This week, we'll get back to football for the NFL's week nine. Let's do it...Saints take down undefeated RamsThe Rams escaped ...
Okay, I’ll admit it. I love "Sex and the City" (1998–2004).Although "Sex and the City" was at one point immensely popular, garnering a viewership of 10.6 million people, mentioning that you chuckled at Samantha'smishap with her attempt at at-home-hair-bleaching now brands ...
While some students at Tufts pursue a single major from the 70 options they can choose from, many are passionate about a multitude of things and decide to add a minor, double or triple major. At times, people with a single major without a minor feel compelled to say that they’re “just” a computer ...
Put simply, babies are parasites. Don’t believe me? Just look at your own life. For your nine months as a fetus, you sat inside your mom literally doing nothing, not to mention the fact that you were connected to her via an umbilical cord siphoning away all her nutrients. Then you were finally born, but you were still taking your mom's nutrients because she had to produce all that milk that you sucked out of her chest. And you cried, puked and pooped yourself and didn’t even say thank you. Then you were a kid going to school, and you just used up your parents' time and money in the form of rides to school and keeping your lunchbox full. Now you’re a big adult, except your parents may still pay for your college tuition, which in this day and age, might be even worse than all those previous things combined. What’s my point? Raising kids is damn difficult. And that’s why some birds just avoid it all together.
A specter is haunting America: the specter of socialism. All of the rulers of America have entered a holy alliance to exorcise this specter: Trump and his fascists, Chuck Schumer and the neoliberals, billionaire ideologues and FBI hacks.In the 2.5 years since Bernie Sanders’ candidacy reintroduced ...
In the rare moments of self-reflection I eke out between bouts of screaming and flower arranging, I find myself puzzled by the fact that I continue to play video games. I generally take it for granted that, in any given week, I'm going to spend at least 10 or 12 hours chipping away at a set of ...
I am tired. I know a lot of baseball fans who are tired. Why are we so tired? Game 3. The third game of this year’s World Series clocked in at an astonishingly long seven hours and 20 minutes. The game was 18 innings long, twice as long as the regulation nine of a baseball game. The game itself was ...
The NFL has reviewed and revised a multitude of rules over the past few years as they have attempted to pin down what exactly a catch is, and recently, what exactly an acceptable tackle is. The changes are driven by good intentions, as the NFL has expressed a desire to bring down or stop the amount ...
