Opinion

Opinion

Moussa Koussa decision a good strategy for Libya

April 5

The Obama administration announced on Monday that financial sanctions it imposed last month against Moussa Koussa, Libya's former foreign minister, have been dropped. The move follows Koussa's recent defection to the United Kingdom. Despite being free at the moment, Koussa has not been granted immunity regarding any possible criminal charges. So long as it follows certain conditions, the removal is a positive move by the administration.

---

Opinion

Now that we've heard their stories, we must take action against genocide

April 4

My grandparents are Holocaust survivors. Throughout my mother's childhood, the subject was never mentioned around the house, but as time passed, my grandparents slowly let the topic into the forefront of conversation. Now my grandfather is president emeritus at the Anne Frank Center USA and lectures to kids and adults all over the country about tolerance and his past experiences. During my childhood he shared his knowledge about the Holocaust with anyone who would listen. Except me. I always was sheltered from hearing of these atrocities, even though they were so close to my own life. I had no idea about the stories within my family: I knew little of what was said at the lectures my grandparents gave to communities of every kind, of the love letters they wrote between concentration camps that were later translated and published in the book "Steal a Pencil for Me" (2000) or of the documentary of the same name, released in 2007, about their miraculous love story.

---

Opinion

Elisha Sum | InQueery

April 4

Last week I talked about hate crimes legislation (HCL) and its buttressing effect on the criminal justice system. To continue, this column will highlight issues with the prison industrial complex (PIC) because the conversations on penalty enhancement due to HCL and the hyperincarceration of marginalized people, among others, all intersect.

---

Opinion

STIR had no part in recent information leak

April 4

This Saturday, Jumboleaks posted on its website a "leaked document" of the university's investment holdings. The data is thus far unsubstantiated and administrators have not confirmed any of its contents. The list has now been circulated online, its controversy revolving around the university's investments in companies such as Monsanto, the world's leading producer of genetically engineered seeds and a corporate enemy of sustainability advocates.

---

Opinion

Military trial better than none at all

April 4

The administration of President Barack Obama has abandoned plans to try Khalid Sheikh Mohammad, the alleged mastermind of the 9/11 terrorist attacks and four co−conspirators in a civilian court. Attorney General Eric Holder announced yesterday that Mohammad will be tried for war crimes by a military tribunal at Guantanamo Bay.

---

Opinion

Great power and great responsibility

April 3

A new organization called Jumboleaks, composed of current and former Tufts students, on Saturday released confidential information online regarding the university's investment holdings. The leaked document contains the names of companies that the group alleges the university invested in during 2010. The administration later denied that the information was current to the Daily, calling into question the slipshod manner in which the information was disseminated.

---

---

Opinion

Democracy rising in Morocco

April 3

Wandering through downtown Casablanca, Morocco, I suddenly found myself on a boulevard filled with people, a festival of up−thrust fists and ideals. I had noticed orange−and−white barriers and immaculately groomed policemen surrounding the area and assumed that some sort of protest must be going on (this is North Africa in 2011, after all). But I was not prepared for the scale of it all. The weathered Art Deco facades of French Imperialism that line Boulevard Mohammed V stood over a great crowd of people: Moroccan Arabs, sub−Saharan Africans, Berbers in traditional garb with bright colors and golden baubles and European and American tourists bumbling confusedly past. The crowd seemed a perfect microcosm of this country, perched between Europe, Africa and the Middle East — a great crossing point of people and cultures.

---

Opinion

Eugene Kim | Alleged but Not Convicted

April 3

Kids these days, man, they don't know what they are missing. When I was growing up I got to watch "Predator" (1987) with The Governator, "Demolition Man" (1993) with Sylvester Stallone and "Universal Soldier" (1992) with good old Jean−Claude Van Damme. These action movies shaped my childhood and made it totally awesome.

---

Opinion

Food allergies: Something to take seriously

April 3

On Friday night, Tufts students received yet another security alert from the university. Yet unlike the usual stories of students in danger while walking off−campus, this security alert detailed the possible attempt of a Tufts student to attack a female by triggering her food allergy. Yes, Friday was April Fool's Day and it may have seemed funny to pull a prank on someone. Yes, the perpetrator was later found to not present a credible threat, according to the Tufts University Police Department. But food allergies are serious and the repercussions of the near−prankster's actions could have been as serious. While I cannot attest to the potential victim's peanut allergy, serious food allergies generally can lead to anaphylaxis, an intense reaction in which an allergen causes anything from vomiting to breathing trouble and, in cases like mine, can be deadly.

---

Opinion

Ashish Malhotra | Follow the Leader

April 3

Leading a country with extreme inequalities, poverty and a massive population must be tough for Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. But if you ask Indian cricket captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni what the toughest leadership position in India is, he might just say it's his. That's because for many of India's 1.21 billion people, the prime minister is not the leader they follow most closely. Rather, their eyes and the weight of their hopes, expectations and dreams are perpetually on Dhoni and his team. This was never more the case than over the past 10 days as India romped through the final stages of the International Cricket Council Cricket World Cup, beating three−time defending champions Australia and regional archrivals Pakistan and Sri Lanka to become the World Champion.

---

Opinion

Obama energy plan must be enacted now, not later

March 30

President Barack Obama yesterday delivered a speech at Georgetown University, calling for a one-third reduction in U.S. oil imports by 2025 and emphasizing the need for the development and cultivation of alternative energy sources. While Obama addressed issues of rising oil prices — and noted that in order to reduce foreign imports, the United States will need to take advantage of domestic oil options in the meantime — he insisted that we cannot rely on a resource that is eventually going to run out. Instead, he said, alternative energy should be the real focus of energy policy efforts.

---

Opinion

An Epicurean break

March 30

With all the students returning to classes this week, it is only natural that the topic of spring break comes up, especially in those first few minutes before the class actually begins. Some students stayed local, some went to Florida or Mexico and some crossed continents; unfortunately, there were even those who had to work most of the break. For some reason, we seem to live in a country made up mostly of extreme types of people. When it comes to vacations and leisure, there are those on one side who party and drink to excess, and then there are those on the opposite extreme who hardly ever take a break. I spent part of my break reading up on Epicureanism, a misunderstood philosophy that partially discusses the importance of leisure and peace.

---

Opinion

Letter to the Editor

March 30

Dear Editor,

---

Opinion

Prashanth Parameswaran | The Asianist

March 29

As pools of radioactive water leak from Japan's crippled Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant, some are suggesting that the world should stem the tide in favor of nuclear energy over the last few years. That would be a tragic mistake. Nuclear power, like all other forms of energy generation, has its share of risks. But if the world can manage them, nuclear power can contribute significantly to providing access to the billions that still lack it, satiating soaring energy demands and mitigating the threat of climate change.

---

Opinion

ROTC deserves credit beyond transcript recognition

March 29

The Tufts Community Union (TCU) Senate on Sunday passed a non−binding resolution regarding the university's policies on the military's Reserve Officers Training Corps (ROTC). The resolution, which passed 21−0 with three abstaining, includes two proposals concerning recognition for participation in ROTC. The first proposal calls for notation of ROTC participation on students' transcripts upon their completion of the program. The second proposes recognizing ROTC participation on final transcripts for every semester a student takes ROTC courses. We at the Daily urge the faculty to support both of these measures when it votes on them in the coming weeks.

---

Opinion

Welcome to the Beehive

March 29

"The life of the bee will be the life of our race" - Nikola Tesla.

---

Opinion

Eve and Mary at the grocery store

March 28

I picked up some almonds in the store the other day and noticed the label: "No Salt. No Guilt." Excuse me? I had heard about "guilt−free eating" blogs but hadn't thought much about them, and then I came face to face with this trend of attempting to assuage (predominantly female) guilt about eating. Where does this come from? Why does my grocery store want to convince me not to feel guilty about eating? I already don't feel guilty about eating! By presupposing guilt, they help to create it. They have given me a free pass because I've bought the unsalted almonds, but if I bought the salted ones, we'd have a problem. Horrible feelings of shame as I bring the roasted, salted nut to my lips. Laugh, but I think the connection between guilt surrounding food and guilt surrounding sex is pretty clear. Female desire is seen as shameful, terrifying and dangerous for everyone involved. Our friends in the almond advertising business have picked up on this and they want to help! Help to curb your insatiable lust with plain almonds, just don't get fancy!

---

Opinion

Elisha Sum | InQueery

March 28

On October 28, 2009, President Obama signed into law the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act. This legislation widened the scope of its landmark 1969 precursor, extending hate crimes to include those based on a person's sexual orientation, gender, gender identity and disability. Its passage was followed by praise and adulation from voices both from within and outside of mainstream LGBT groups. As expected, such a one−sided story fails to paint a complete picture about the issues surrounding hate crimes legislation (HCL). So I'd like to look at some other perspectives, particularly but not limited to that of queer peoples.

---

Opinion

Perspective on NQR: Finding a new tradition

March 28

Now that we are back from spring break, we, as Tufts Community Union (TCU) president and co−chair of the Programming Board, would like to take this opportunity to explain how we are moving forward following the announcement about the decision to end the Naked Quad Run (NQR).

---

Opinion

Times paywall a difficult step in the right direction

March 28

Four hundred fifty−five dollars is no pittance. But as of yesterday, that is the amount of money per year one has to pay to read The New York Times across all digital platforms. Subscriptions start at $15 every four weeks, $195 a year, for website and smartphone access and jump to $35 every four weeks, $455 a year, for unlimited website, smartphone and tablet access. Compare this to The Wall Street Journal and The Economist, two other news giants that charge for digital access, whose price tags come in at $207 and $110, respectively, for yearly access. There is no doubt that the Times is asking for a large amount of money for access to its content, but it is a price worth paying, and the newspaper is taking a logical step.

---