Have you ever wondered, in those moments when the world seems especially hateful, how humanity as a race keeps going, not just on, but forward? We often seem to inhabit a world full of people whose empathy comes with an off switch when it comes to anyone outside their ‘tribe’ (race, ethnicity, nation ...
The recent ‘deweaponisation’ advertisements by the Sindh government provide a classic case study of how one can ‘appear’ to be executing a task, without actually wanting or intending to do it. Spread over 12 days, these quarter-page ads, which cost some 20-25 million rupees, resulted in the ...
Over the years, I often have found myself wanting to point out to young women that if they get blind drunk they run a very serious risk of being raped. But I know that the advice will be misunderstood and misused.So I leave it unsaid because some listeners will inevitably conclude that I am blaming ...
But that is exactly what I got last week by traveling to the China-Myanmar border area to visit Chinese village schools with the leaders of Teach for All, the network of 32 countries that have adopted the Teach for America model of recruiting highly motivated college graduates to work in their country’s ...
MY son is 13 and already cultivating an eclectic sense of himself. His friends span the American rainbow, and taken together, look like an ad for Gap Kids. I once heard him tell a group of giggling teenage girls, “You’re the first girls from Georgia” — the country, not the state — “I’ve ...
Enzi, the conservative senator from Wyoming who’s trying to fend off a carpetbagger challenge from Liz Cheney, is lucky he wasn’t hunting buddies with the trigger-happy former vice president.Then he might not be in the race at all.One of the best things about the 2008 race was ushering out the incalculably ...
It is not every day that America finds itself facing open rebellion from its allies, yet that is what is happening with Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Israel. The Obama administration has denied there are serious problems. But there are clearly differences, some perhaps irreconcilable.Here’s a quick summary: ...
Consider this: If every human being on earth lived and consumed as Americans do, we would need over four earths to support ourselves. This is called global overshoot, and it is like living off our ecological credit card. Our current unsustainable way of life is borrowing from the future. Is this sustainable? Hardly. So, as Tufts students, as young people coming of age at a time of deep social and environmental injustices, what should we do? We didn't create these problems; we inherited them. Yet the responsibility to act falls squarely on our shoulders.
Given the overwhelmingly college-centric lives we lead, it is easy to forget that, as Tufts students, we are also residents of Medford and Somerville. The university has therefore embarked on a new partnership with the two cities in an effort to bolster relations with the surrounding community. With a donation of $1.375 million over a five-year period a portion of which will go toward local police and fire departments the university hopes to build a mutually beneficial relationship with our local governments and communities. This partnership is a commendable one, as it is necessary for Tufts to give back to and maintain a good standing with the community.
Last spring, the Tufts administration made the decision to allow American Sign Language (ASL) to fulfill Part I of the foreign language requirement for students. After a perennial debate as to whether the requirement should be revised to include ASL, university faculty voted to approve the proposal. Now, the three available ASL classes included within the Eliot Pearson Department of Child Developments course listings can be taken to count toward either Part I or Part II of the requirement.
Being born and raised in the Hindu tradition, all the stories I have learned growing up are very different from western fairytales. A lot of the cultural traditions are fiercely integral to the religion itself, and instead of first hearing the story of Rapunzel's very long hair, I learned about how a young boy managed to survive being burned alive. It's some heavy stuff. But, like any good story, it operates within the culture it is written or spoken in. We see how these kinds of parables shape everyday thinking in many ways. David and Goliath, for example, is an Abrahamic story that doesn't just make us feel good about the underdog, but it shows us that greater intellect and technology (in the form of a slingshot) can triumph over brute force alone. It also shows us that, with faith, one can overcome monstrous adversity. The story of Prahlada, and subsequently, the story of Holi, is very similar.
The Primary Source is returning to Tufts, and Tufts should be thankful for that.
The Primary Source is returning to Tufts, and Tufts should be thankful for that.
This article is meant to inform mechanical engineering students at Tufts, particularly freshmen, as to some useful course options available to them. All information is given from the perspective of a Class of 2013 graduate but should still be applicable. (This may change with changes in curriculum.)
On a campus where students and faculty are constantly in pursuit of opportunities for learning and research, it is no wonder that the need for more space is also pressing. At Sunday night's Tufts Community Union Senate meeting, University President Anthony Monaco mentioned a number of construction projects that the university is considering, one of which would be located at 574 Boston Ave. This address is the site of a four-story, 96,000-square foot Tufts-owned warehouse that was previously inhabited by Somerville artisans, and is now under consideration to receive some serious renovations. Althought the use of the space at 574 Boston Ave. will undoubtedly be beneficial to the university community, Tufts should do more to aid those artists who previously utilized this building.
There are few topics so dislocated from daily life as that of sexual assault. Despite the numerous statistics thrown at us - there were 63 cases of sexual misconduct reported at Tufts last year - or the comic performances of a group like Sex Signals at Orientation, it is always difficult to fully come to grips with the dark reality of this form of violence. It is therefore imperative that the university provides a platform for discussion of sexual violence, which is often not at the forefront of campus discourse. It is equally important for students to take advantage of the opportunities to engage in meaningful dialogue about sexual assault and misconduct.
Since the admission of the Tufts Class of 2014, wherein 1,317 students matriculated, the number of matriculating students has fluctuated between 1,310 and 1,317. However, as the cost of the academic year at Tufts has gone up, approaching $60,000 for the 2013-2014 school year, students who qualify for financial aid require more every year. Dean of Undergraduate Admissions Lee Coffin stated that, despite growing financial need, the number of students receiving aid has remained relatively constant.
The Office of the Dean of Arts and Sciences is currently deliberating over the inclusion of massive open online classes (MOOCs), based on the summertime report of the Arts and Sciences Online Learning and Education Working Group. This is an important step toward cultivating a better online presence, but Tufts must take steps to ensure that MOOCs are used to aid students and professors and not as replacements for necessary time spent in a classroom.
We Americans are in a bad mood about our nation and our public life. Three quarters say the country is on the wrong track. Some of us may be especially angry at the current Congress, at President Obama - or both - but the roots of our discontent go deeper than that.
Racially and culturally insensitive Halloween costumes have become a ubiquitous presence in the United States, and Tufts is in no way an exception. For many members of marginalized communities, Halloween has become a moment in which to prepare ourselves for insensitive and willfully ignorant portrayals of ourselves and our communities as stereotypes and simplistic, violent images. This costumed appropriation of culture, race and identity causes a kind of psychological violence when you see someone wearing you as a costume. As we approach Halloween, I write this in hopes of engaging all members of our community in a dialogue on representation, violence and empathy.
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