Guest

Letter from the Editors: The Tufts Daily Diversity & Inclusion Report, 2024–25

By Ethics and Inclusion Committee | May 14

The 2024–25 Diversity & Inclusion Report continues the Daily’s effort to gather insights into the composition of our staff and their experiences in our organization. The report was created by a group of Daily staff members under the purview of the paper’s Ethics & Inclusion Committee, formerly known as the Intentionality & Inclusivity Committee. The Daily is committed to upholding accuracy and inclusivity in our coverage and fostering an equitable environment for all staff. We seek to continually move the organization forward by improving our internal and external facing practices. To this end, the Ethics & Inclusion Committee has compiled this third annual report to offer transparency into our newsroom, identify ways in which we can work to better inform our coverage and assess how to make the Daily more inclusive and representative of the communities we serve and cover.

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Viewpoint

The road ahead looks grim, but what the hell?

By Talia Wilcox | May 14

If you’re part of the Class of 2025, you’re likely no stranger to the emotional whiplash of dread, anger and anxiety, sometimes punctuated by flickers of hope and anticipation, that has characterized the last few months. Perhaps you’re part of a student research project whose funding was cut. Or, the jobs that once defined your dream career no longer exist. Maybe, like most of us, you’re facing adauntingly high level of competitiveness for entry-level jobs. In short, the future does not feel bright.I, for one, do not feel limitless career potential. Regardless of what commencement speakers may say, it is objectively a terrible time to graduate from college. So, how can we, as a graduating class, cope with the fact that our plans are being forced to change due to factors beyond our control?

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Viewpoint

Life is a bit, so you might as well commit

By Rowan Chetner | May 14

As I prepare to graduate from Tufts, I find myself reflecting on what I’ve learned over the last four years. I’ve learned an incredible amount academically, grown emotionally and matured as an adult. Still, the piece of knowledge that grabs my shoulders and shakes me, screaming, “I am the most important!” is my new, glimmering mindset. Over my time at Tufts, I have realized that our perceptions of “reality” are often fake. As such, why not commit to living authentically, despite what others may think of you?

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Guest

Op-ed: Congratulations, Class of 2025! Welcome to the Tufts University Alumni Association!

By Elizabeth Amador | May 14

Dear Class of 2025, As you walk across the stage and receive your diploma, remember that this is your Commencement — a beginning. It is the start of your life as a Tufts graduate! When you graduate, you automatically become a member of the Tufts University Alumni Association, a 130,000-plus person network of Jumbo alumni that I am proud to lead as president.

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Viewpoint

Stop publishing authors’ works posthumously

By Max Lerner | May 13

On April 22, Knopf Publishing Company released “Notes to John,” a posthumous collection of journal entries Joan Didion wrote after sessions with her psychiatrist.The 224-page work marks the first release of new content by the writer since her 2011 memoir, “Blue Nights.”

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Viewpoint

Education as reorientation

By Daniel Chung | May 13

When I arrived at Tufts in 2021, I knew who I was and what I wanted. When I introduced myself across countless icebreakers that fall, I made sure to let anyone and everyone know that I was here to major in international relations and minor in economics, aiming to work in a think tank after I graduated to be close to the political world. This confidence, at the time, seemed well justified. After all, since middle school, I had maintained a passionate interest in Model UN as a vehicle by which I could learn about international affairs and diplomacy, and in my International Baccalaureate program, I regarded my classes as preparation for delving deeper into international relations.

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Editorial

Editorial: Time for a Tufts glow up — 2025 edition

By The Editorial Board | May 13

Summer is upon us! As yet another school year comes to a close, the Editorial Board has brainstormed some changes that we hope can improve students’ experience at Tufts.

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Viewpoint

Water we doing? Gen Z needs to reevaluate their water bottle obsession

By Sadie Roraback-Meagher | May 12

Walking through the halls of Tisch, desperate to find a study spot, my eyes can’t help but dart to what rests on everyone’s desk. No, it’s not books that my peepers are gazing at but the vast array of colorful Owala water bottles that have taken over campus. I don’t think I’ve gone a single day this school year without seeing one of those brightly-colored vessels shoved into the side pocket of a backpack or standing tall on a desk. Even the Tufts Bookstore has caught on to the epidemic, now selling a variety of Owala bottles for students to hydrate with. Yet, as I sip on my microplastic-infused water from my deteriorating bottle, I find myself struggling to understand this trend. Wasn’t it just last year that everyone was clenching their Stanley cups? And what about those insulated Hydro Flasks that would thunder when they hit the floor?

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Viewpoint

Apply to the next on-campus job you see!

By Linda Huang | May 12

When I was notified by my supervisor at the Student Accessibility and Academic Resources Center — also known as the StAAR Center — at the end of my first year that I had been accepted as a writing fellow, I was overjoyed. First of all, it was the first job I had ever been offered. Second, it was the only on-campus job I had been accepted to after applying to countless random positions at the Mayer Campus Center and Tisch Library through Handshake. I had always wanted an on-campus job because it seemed so cool and rewarding. Now, two years later, I can confidently say I was right, and that my Tufts experience wouldn’t have been nearly as meaningful without it.

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Viewpoint

Improvement or imprisonment: Mental hospitals, prisons in the US share scary similarities

By Michaela Loughran | May 12

People tend to believe that prison is one of the worst places one can end up in America. Little do they know, psychiatric hospitals are eerily similar to prisons. Like prisons, the food is unappetizing and flavorless; the mattresses are stiff as boards and not at all conducive to sleep; and the showers have minimal privacy and tiny towels that come nowhere close to covering one’s full body. Both healthcare professionals and patients characterize the inpatient hospital environment as carceral in a way that, according to the AMA Journal of Ethics, is “not conducive to well-being or recovery.” Yet the websites for inpatient programs still tout “exceptional care” with false promises that patients will get better.

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Viewpoint

How to stop the bleeding in the Congo

By Alexander Degterev | April 28

Having previously written two articles detailing the renewed strife in the eastern Congo, I have admittedly not been too forthcoming with my own opinions on how to confront the issue. My primary reason for this is that I do not think I have the expertise to offer any serious prescriptions, but I now believe that this shouldn’t stop me from at least trying.

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Column

Ukraine at War: How Ukrainian businesses and students adjust to the war

By Mariia Kudina | April 28

With the start of the full-scale war in Ukraine, businesses faced existential challenges and had to find ways to survive in the midst of the military aggression. Students pursuing careers in business found themselves navigating a world where traditional paths would no longer work, having to adjust to studying despite the Russian bombings. Yet, amid the destruction and uncertainty, according to Ukrainian venture investor Ruslan Tymofieiev, the startup ecosystem has emerged stronger than before, supporting students as they deal with the war threats. This article is based on the experience of Tymofieiev, who founded CLUST SPACE, a charity project of smart shelters for students at Ukrainian universities. It will explore how Ukrainian businesses and the next generation of entrepreneurs are adjusting to a radically changed economic climate.

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Guest

Op-ed: Not in my name

By Karen Shmukler | April 28

On the first night of Passover, when Jews around the world reflect and celebrate the Jewish people’s passage from oppression to freedom, my mind was preoccupied with the fate of Rümeysa Öztürk. Öztürk is a Turkish Fullbright Scholar now pursuing a degree in Eliot-Pearson Department of Child Study and Human Development at Tufts University, where I lecture. As I sat down for the Passover Seder, she sat in deplorable conditions in an Immigrations and Customs Enforcement detention center in Louisiana, awaiting a hearing brought by her defense team to get her released or at least returned to the Northeast.

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Guest

Op-ed: TCU Treasury should reevaluate its budgetary process

By Andrew Rozenblit | April 28

As incoming president of the Tufts Debate Society, I recently had the displeasure of going through the budgetary approval process for the 2025–26 academic year. To say that this process was predatory and untransparent is an understatement. I strongly encourage there to be a reevaluation of the way this process operates.  

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Viewpoint

Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month is stupid

By Evan Wang | April 25

May is just around the corner and with it comes the beginning of AAPI Month. This convoluted acronym officially stands for Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. However, in my experience, you’ll be hard-pressed to find many Americans, much less Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders, actually celebrating an event dedicated to them. AAPI Month remains a useless holiday used to virtue signal fake acceptance of these populations as part of the “diverse” American dream.

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Guest

Op-ed: It’s time to give kids a chance

By Project SHARE Civic Advocacy Committee | April 25

What if there was a world where every kid with cancer was given the chance to fight for a brighter and more fulfilling life? What if we had the power to make that world a reality? Last year, Congress held this power in its hands. They had the opportunity to pass the Give Kids a Chance Act, which would allow companies to study pediatric cancer and develop life-saving drugs to ultimately give children the same chance as adults at living cancer-free lives. However, on Dec. 18, 2024, the House of Representatives was threatened on social media by Elon Musk. Representatives were warned that they could be pushed out of office if they voted in favor of the end-of-year package that included the Give Kids a Chance Act and three other important acts relating to pediatric cancer. The next day, the bill was crushed by the House before it could even come to a vote, reverting the efforts of patient advocates to square one.

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Guest

Op-ed: Enough is enough for antisemitism at Tufts

By Larry Azer | April 25

I am a proud alumnus of Tufts University (LA’93) and an even prouder alumnus of the Daily, serving as executive business director and a sports columnist during my years on campus. I am also a member of the Tufts Daily Alumni Council.

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