Opinion | Editorial

Editorial

No parking anytime - especially for sophomores

March 23

As Jumbos return to the greater Boston area today from their various spring break locales, they'll be greeted with the familiar quirks of Beantown: funny accents, kick-ass sports teams, an intolerable climate and traffic congestion unlike most other places on earth. Of course, here on the Hill, traffic problems usually manifest themselves in the form of parking woes that have become the bane of many an undergrad driver's existence.

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Editorial

If Greeks want a better reputation, they must earn it

March 12

Well, it happened again.

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Editorial

Endowment mandates are misguided

March 11

The U.S. Senate Finance Committee has proposed legislation that would require colleges to spend five percent of their endowments annually.

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Editorial

Tufts should consider a student-run safe-rides program

March 10

In light of the assault and armed robbery that took place near campus last week, many students may feel uneasy walking home alone at night. For the next few weeks at least, the Tufts University Police Department (TUPD) may see increased use of its student escort service, which offers students free rides from TUPD officers to or from any on-campus location.

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Editorial

Students' safety should be a constant focus

March 9

Yet another robbery occurring in the downhill Powderhouse Blvd. vicinity should make the entire Tufts community - students, administration and police alike - take note. Friday morning's incident is the fourth off-campus armed robbery of Tufts students this school year and the second at the intersection of Powderhouse Blvd. and Packard Ave.

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Editorial

United Nations should sober up

March 5

Two days ago, the United Nations wrote a letter that lambasted Great Britain for what it called the "leniency shown to celebrity drug users."

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Editorial

Pro-life speaker provided much-needed balance

March 4

Last night, the pro-life group Jumbos for Life invited MIT professor James Sherley to speak to students about the ethics of abortion. Sherley, a staunchly pro-life academic, clearly and articulately delivered an argument that many Americans believe deeply - and with which most Tufts students likely would disagree.

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Editorial

New initiative could level the playing field between club and varsity sports

March 3

McDonald's and Burger King have managed to coexist peacefully for the last 54 years, and Pepsi and Coke have been enjoying each other's company for the better part of a century. So why can't club and varsity sports at Tufts work something out?

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Editorial

Tufts should be wary in policing direct-connect file sharing

March 2

The news that the university has shut down DC++, the intra-Tufts peer-to-peer file-sharing program, is undoubtedly a disappointment to many students who enjoy the benefits - however illegal - of free music downloads. It also marks a drastic policy change for the Tufts administration from passive to active policing of student downloading.

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Editorial

Obama has denounced and rejected - now he should build an impenetrable bubble

February 27

At Tuesday's Democratic debate in Cleveland, Ohio, a great deal of time was spent talking about Louis Farrakhan, the anti-Semitic leader of the Nation of Islam who has praised Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.). Although Obama has repeatedly and fervently denounced Minister Farrakhan and his views, Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) insisted that denouncing was not the same as rejecting. Obama, obligingly, denounced and rejected Farrakhan's statements.

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Editorial

Nader's presidential bid is misguided

February 26

Ralph Nader has thrown his hat into the election ring, where, presumably, it will sit like the old, irrelevant, misguided artifact it has become.

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Editorial

After transition, colleges should view Cuba as academic opportunity

February 25

Raúl Castro became president of Cuba on Sunday. Though many opponents of former President Fidel Castro lament the choice of his brother as the new leader, the change still has some potential to change students' academic lives.

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Editorial

Sternberg's potential departure would be a big loss for Tufts

February 24

The news that Dean of Arts & Sciences Robert Sternberg may leave his post after only three years on the Hill is sad indeed. In his short time here, Sternberg has not only effected valuable changes within the university but also made an effort to connect with the student body, making himself a known and approachable figure on the Hill.

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Editorial

After Castro, U.S. needs to rethink Cuba policies

February 20

On Feb. 19, Fidel Castro stepped down from his post as president of Cuba. The Marxist revolutionary outlasted nine U.S. presidents and survived numerous CIA-sponsored assassination attempts (from the Bay of Pigs in 1961 to an attempt to present him with a fungus-ridden skin-diving suit in 1963), and the United States has spent nearly his entire tenure in a state of embargo against Cuba. Now that Castro has stepped aside, it seems an appropriate moment to discuss the future of the U.S.-Cuba relationship - a relationship that has remained largely static for more than 40 years.

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Editorial

What good is the Advisory Committee without the ability to advise?

February 19

On Jan. 23, the Advisory Committee on Shareholder Responsibility had its first meeting.

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Editorial

NIU shooting hits close to home for Tufts

February 18

The tragic shootings at Virginia Tech last year were a wake-up call to college students across the country. But in Medford, we could at least take some level of comfort from the fact that Tufts is really not that similar a university to Virginia Tech.

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Editorial

Edwards should follow his heart, not his ego, as he prepares to endorse

February 13

Love is a very fickle emotion. During most of the 2008 presidential primaries, former Sen. John Edwards was cordial, even affectionate towards Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.). It was assumed that the eventual backing of Obama by Edwards was a virtual certainty.

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Editorial

Senate's judicial review proposal will help protect falsely accused students

February 12

On Sunday the Tufts Community Union (TCU) Senate passed a resolution calling for the creation of a judicial review board to review academic dishonesty cases. Students and TCU senators had been calling for reforms after freshman Steven Li, who was suspended for academic dishonesty, said he was denied a hearing during his case because there was irrefutable evidence against him.

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Editorial

America should be sure to find justice for accused Sept. 11 attackers

February 11

Nearly seven years after Sept. 11, those allegedly responsible for planning the attacks will finally be brought to trial after the U.S. government brought a total of 169 charges against six Guantánamo Bay prisoners this week.

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Editorial

Morals aside, educating illegal immigrants' children makes economic sense

February 10

Governor Deval Patrick's initiative to allow in-state tuition for children of illegal immigrants has ruffled more than a few feathers. Patrick's plan would circumvent the state legislature, which shot down a similar proposal three years ago, by going directly to a vote from the state Board of Higher Education.

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