At the close of 2007, the world seems like a very frightening place. The threat of global warming is looming ever larger; political and religious extremism has gripped nations from Pakistan to Russia to the Middle East; thousands of U.S. soldiers are going above and beyond the call of duty in a war that seems to have no end. It has been a very scary year.
The Tufts Democrats and the Alliance Linking Leaders in Education and Services (ALLIES) deserve accolades for the symposium that they put on this past weekend. Devoted to discussion about civilian-military relations in the 21st century, the event featured a panel on the contentious issue of private military contractors (PMCs).
Yesterday, prominent author and Harvard Professor Stephen Walt spoke to students in Barnum Hall about his controversial new book "The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy." The book, which he co-authored with John Mearsheimer, asserts that the Jewish lobby in Washington has a disproportionate and detrimental influence on the American government.
Federal Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly has ordered the Recording Industry Association of America to show why the subpoenas sent to 19 George Washington University students in the case Arista v. Does 1-19 should not be quashed. Doe 3, an unnamed GW student who is a defendant in the case, argued that the RIAA has acted wrongfully under the Cable Communications Policy Act (CCPA) to obtain subpoenas for the names of students linked to specific IP addresses.
Dean of Student Affairs Bruce Reitman released a statement yesterday reporting that the employment of Director of Student Activities Jodie Nealley had been terminated for misappropriation of funds.
The facts speak for themselves: Proposed GPS tracking for the Jeoy is still nowhere in sight. Nearly three semesters after the system was supposed to launch, the project is at yet another crossroads, and student enthusiasm for the initiative is waning.
The Daily's Features Department ran an article yesterday that dissected the nutritional makeup of the Thanksgiving turkey and its culinary sidekicks.
We're happy to see that Tufts is putting its money where its mouth is when it comes to dedication to public service. The Loan Repayment Assistance Program (LRAP) that offers financial help to graduates pursuing nonprofit and government careers will be a boon to the university when it gets off the ground next year.
Environmental responsibility is all the rage, both nationwide and on campus. This fall, students promoting tap water have made a buzz on campus. Yesterday, the New England Patriots made their own environmentally conscious announcement that will surely have its fans at Tufts.
Yesterday, President Bush vetoed a $606-billion spending bill that would have funded education, health and labor programs for the current fiscal year because it contained what he saw as wasteful spending.
This Monday, 12,000 movie and television writers, members of the Writers Guild of America, went on strike to demand a bigger share of the revenue generated by the distribution of their work on the Internet and from DVD sales.
Davis Square is a haven for diverse dining options, both in terms of kind of food and price range. But for the average Tufts student on a limited budget, shelling out cash to eat at one of the many Davis restaurants can be a financial burden that forces many to forego that option.
A new test for would-be American citizens was released last month, and its reviews are mixed. Although the exam will not be administered until 2008, scholars and critics are already throwing their diverse judgments into the ring of public opinion.
Earlier this past semester, the Daily ran an editorial about the importance of scientific literacy in the general population. The conflagrations ravaging California during the past week couldn't have provided a more perfect example of what goes catastrophically wrong when policy is made in ignorance of scientific fact.
Imagine a simple program local governments could undertake to reduce the rate of HIV and hepatitis transmission in their jurisdictions. The program would be inexpensive and have little negative side effects, and it has been proven to cut the number of sick citizens. The problem? This program also represents a tacit endorsement of illegal activity.
When it comes to money, it seems that a moral mess is never very far away. The current hubbub surrounding the transparency (or lack thereof) of Tufts' endowment is a clear example of what happens when practical financial affairs meet ethical concerns.
Last month, the Daily published an editorial that wrote "the downloading issue is not one which will go away any time soon." Indeed, the issue is back, as last week the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) sent a letter to Tufts that listed 15 IP addresses of Tufts students who had illegally shared music on peer-to-peer networks. Tufts now has to notify these students of their legal options - accept lawsuits from the RIAA or pay pre-lawsuit settlements.
In the months after Sept. 11, the Bush administration actively reminded Americans to continue their normal routines and to remain strong in the face of terror. We were famously told to go shopping in an attempt to keep the economy strong; we knew that to do otherwise would be "to let the terrorists win."
Fletcher Professor of International Environmental Policy William Moomaw made a key observation in his interview published in today's Daily. The Tufts professor shared a slice of this year's Nobel Peace Prize in recognition of his service on the United Nations' Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). Moomaw noted the distinction between the science and policy analysis carried out by this panel and the corresponding publicity work done by fellow Nobel recipient Al Gore.
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