WikiLeaks began on Sunday the process of releasing a cache of over a quarter-million U.S. diplomatic cables to the public. In anticipation of the leak, the U.S. Department of State warned foreign governments of the impending release, and world leaders braced for an embarrassing diplomatic fallout.
The Office for Institutional Diversity (OID) was created in the spring of 2006, upon the recommendation of the university president, the provost and other members of the Tufts community. The office was officially established in January 2007 with the appointment of Lisa Coleman as its executive director.
The Tufts Community Union Senate on Sunday adopted a resolution that urges the Board of Trustees, the administration and the faculty of the School of Arts & Sciences to start transitioning the Africa in the New World minor — currently affiliated with the Center for Interdisciplinary Studies — to an Africana studies major. The resolution says this should be accomplished by increasing the number of related courses offered and goes on to call for the creation of an Africana studies department as soon as it is financially possible.
Following the recent implementation of the 1998 Digital Millennium Copyright Act's (DMCA)Performance Complement provisions, WMFO Tufts Freeform Radio this semester must begin paying $500 annually to a non?profit that distributes royalties to owners of sound recording copyrights.
National Public Radio [NPR] recently terminated the contract of longtime news analyst Juan Williams for his remarks on ["The O'Reilly Factor"] that, according to NPR, "undermined his credibility as a news analyst." After asserting that he is a proponent of civil rights, Williams said, "But when I get on the plane, I got to tell you, if I see people who are in Muslim garb and I think, you know, they are identifying themselves first and foremost as Muslims, I get worried. I get nervous." Despite his provocative statements, Williams should not have been fired - he was well within his rights to express his personal opinion when he was speaking outside his home news organization. It is impractical to claim that news reporting is independent of bias, and, in this case, it seems that Williams' remarks were viewed as a problem particularly because they seemed to stand contrary to NPR's own editorial views. News organizations must realize that every employee harbors personal beliefs.
At a rally last week for Kentucky Republican senatorial candidate Rand Paul, a protestor had her face and neck stomped on by a Paul supporter.
At a university that prizes humanitarianism and the just recognition of all voices in conflict, events like tomorrow's Tufts Sderot Awareness Day present a serious imbalance. Tufts' chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine urges the Tufts community to review contending narratives and hear the Palestinian voice. It is our hope to initiate a campus−wide, inclusive discussion that respectively incorporates all voices on behalf of Israel and Palestine.
While the United States is a highly religious country, an assessment of religious knowledge has revealed that the American people are generally not very knowledgeable about matters of general theology and religious history. The survey, conducted by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life, consisted of 32 questions pertaining to general knowledge of world religions. Americans, on average, answered only about half of the questions correctly. This finding begs scrutiny by religious and nonreligious people alike.
Recognizing that giving content away for free may not be the most lucrative business model, this week The Boston Globe joined the ranks of some other regional and national newspapers by announcing that it will launch a subscriber-only, fee-based website next year.
The Tufts Community Union (TCU) Senate's newest plan for the allocation of surplus funds, most of which are leftover from the Student Activities Fee, proves to be another lacking, albeit honorable, attempt at fairly distributing this money.
College, at its most basic level, is about learning through the exchange of different ideas and beliefs. While every student has the right to express his or her opinion in a classroom setting, however, the question of whether a professor should be allowed the same degree of expressive freedom begets no simple answer.
The recent, tragic death by suicide of Rutgers student Tyler Clementi, one of five deaths by suicide among gay youths around the country reported in the last few weeks, has stirred up conversations about the importance of tolerance on college campuses. Homophobic bullying has played a prominent role in some of the deaths, which have left some scratching their heads, wondering how homophobia and bullying are still rampant when so much energy has been dedicated to eliminating them.
"Support our troops" is an American mantra. It is a phrase plastered on our SUVs and stamped on our front yards. To a politician, these three words are hallowed ground. The U.S. military defends our freedoms, protects our borders and makes sacrifices for our country: These phrases form the current U.S. military narrative.
The Obama administration yesterday desperately tried to salvage the Israeli−Palestinian peace process, calling for a 60−day extension of the Israeli settlement construction freeze that expired on Sunday. While Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu may rebuff the administration's plea, President Barack Obama must stand strong and continue to oppose the expansion of Israeli settlements. Failure to do so will likely mark the death knell of current Middle East peace negotiations — a threat to American national security and our nation's strategic interests in the region.
After an extensive, yearlong review, the collaborative efforts of Students Active in Ending Rape (SAFER), the Tufts Community Union Senate and the administration have resulted in the crafting of Tufts' new sexual assault policy and adjudication process.
The Tufts administration's gradual "thaw" of the university's two year old flexible hiring freeze has brought on 30 new faculty members and is a strategic move in a time of economic recession. Emerging from the economic crisis in an advantageous position relative to that of other universities, Tufts has been able to offer competitive salaries and benefits which have attracted professors from around the country. While budget constraints have forced the university to put projects such as renovating athletic facilities or providing need blind admissions to incoming students on hold, bringing some of the nation's best and brightest professors to campus is a worthy investment in the education of current and future Jumbos.
The Tufts administration's gradual "thaw" of the university's two−year old flexible hiring freeze has brought on 30 new faculty members and is a strategic move in a time of economic recession. Emerging from the economic crisis in an advantageous position relative to that of other universities, Tufts has been able to offer competitive salaries and benefits which have attracted professors from around the country. While budget constraints have forced the university to put projects such as renovating athletic facilities or providing need−blind admissions to incoming students on hold, bringing some of the nation's best and brightest professors to campus is a worthy investment in the education of current and future Jumbos.
The Tufts community was shocked last week to learn that its leafy green campus topped a list of the 50 most dangerous colleges in the country. The blogosphere, Twittersphere and local media went crazy as university officials tried to save face.
Op-ed submissions are an integral part of our connection with you, our readers. As such, we would like to clarify our guidelines for submitting op-eds and what you can expect from the process.
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