The Tufts health care insurance plan has recently undergone several significant changes that will take effect for the upcoming academic year. These amendments will make the plan more effective at providing both undergraduate and graduate students with the coverage that they deserve.
Last week, the Tufts Community Union (TCU) Senate proposed several important changes to the guest registration policy. These revisions, if approved by the Office of Residential Life and Learning (ResLife), will make the policy more practical and realistic. Even with the proposed changes, however, guest registration is likely to remain low. ResLife should therefore consider alternative means of achieving the goals for which the policy was created.
In the April 5 edition of the Tufts Daily, Ariella Charny wrote a response to a column written by Teddy Minch regarding U.S.-Israeli relations. While this article is not meant to be in support of Mr. Minch's article, it is in part a critique of some points made by Ms. Charny in her article and, in part, a brief analysis of some of Israel's foreign and domestic policies.
Tori Amos once sang, "How a lion becomes a mouse by the woods."
Syracuse University's (SU) recent decision to have Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of JPMorgan Chase & Co. Jamie Dimon (LA '78) as the keynote speaker at its Commencement ceremony has raised a significant amount of controversy within the university's community. Students, alumni and members of the SU community at large have formed a group - Take Back 2010 Syracuse University Commencement - to protest the choice. The group has collected over 900 signatures on an online petition protesting Dimon as this year's speaker.
Massachusetts has been given an invaluable opportunity to address its current serious lack of government transparency. Many Massachusetts state representatives, including Sen. Patricia Jehlen (D-Somerville) and State Reps. Carl Sciortino (D-Medford/Somerville) and Denise Provost (D-Somerville) are sponsoring a state budget transparency bill with the goal of making information about the financial matters of state agencies available to the public. The legislation, which would establish one Web site with comprehensive, detailed records of all of Massachusetts' revenue and expenditures, is a vital step in enhancing public accessibility of knowledge about the state's management of its fiscal resources.
Imagine a woman who weighs only 75 percent of the normal body weight for a woman her size. She is anorexic, and when she was hospitalized, she weighed only two?thirds of the normal body weight. However, because of her insurance company's narrow definition of anorexia, at 75 percent body weight she no longer qualifies for in?patient care and may have to be discharged long before her doctor's treatment plan would dictate. Because of health care guidelines for diagnosing mental disorders, this dangerous situation has occurred for millions of Americans with eating disorders.
Imagine a woman who weighs only 75 percent of the normal body weight for a woman her size. She is anorexic, and when she was hospitalized, she weighed only two-thirds of the normal body weight. However, because of her insurance company's narrow definition of anorexia, at 75 percent body weight she no longer qualifies for in-patient care and may have to be discharged long before her doctor's treatment plan would dictate. Because of health care guidelines for diagnosing mental disorders, this dangerous situation has occurred for millions of Americans with eating disorders.
Imagine a woman who weighs only 75 percent of the normal body weight for a woman her size. She is anorexic, and when she was hospitalized, she weighed only two?thirds of the normal body weight. However, because of her insurance company's narrow definition of anorexia, she no longer qualifies for in?patient care and may have to be discharged long before her doctor's treatment plan would dictate. Because of health care guidelines for diagnosing mental disorders, this dangerous situation occurs for millions of Americans with eating disorders.
Friday's announcement of Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens' retirement has raised somewhat of a dilemma for Republicans whose seats will be contested in the coming midterm elections. With the minority party gunning to regain Congressional seats and possibly the majority it lost in the 2006 elections in both the Senate and the House of Representatives, many current Republican members of Congress are torn between opposing President Barack Obama's forthcoming selection on principle, thereby appealing to their more conservative base, or avoiding the political fight that would ensue and confirming the nominee — who is predicted to be centrist — as long as he or she does not seem to hold views that veer toward the left.
Tori Amos once sang, "Yes, I wore a slinky red thing. Does that mean I should spread for you, your friends, your father, Mr. Ed?"
As I'm writing this, it is 11:28 p.m. on a Friday night. Miller Hall is quiet. I've already seen my friends off to their various social engagements, and anyone else who might be left behind is silently studying. But I have not made the choice to stay in this weekend for responsible reasons like catching up on schoolwork and sleep; it's just that the social scene, and really the whole campus of Tufts, is just not friendly to someone on crutches. It's something you don't really think about until you are "temporarily handicapped" (which I actually think is a bit of an overstatement — people seem to forget that I still have the use of my arms). Once you are handicapped, suddenly everything becomes an obstacle: the two flights of stairs you have to walk up to get to your friend's room, the distance between fridge and bed. That's really what it boils down to. Trying to go to a frat just seems foolish.
Wars are never fought entirely cleanly or easily, and this is especially true in the modern era of conflict in urban areas with disguised combatants and a constant media presence. A video taken in Baghdad in 2007 that was recently leaked illegally by WikiLeaks, a Web site that works to publish classified information from governments around the world, has created controversy due to its graphic illustration of how chaotic war can become in such an environment. The video shows the pilots of two U.S. Army helicopters monitoring a group of men — some of whom were armed — standing in a square, shooting them down from the helicopter and then opening fire on a van that came to rescue survivors.
President Barack Obama and Congress recently passed health care reform legislation that seeks to extend medical care to all Americans. While the passing of the legislation represents a victory for many Americans who require affordable health care, certain elements of the legislation are not in the best interest of Americans' public health. The legislation includes a renewal of $50 million of federal funding per year for abstinence-only sex education. It is inappropriate for policy intended to improve public health in the United States to fund programs that have been repeatedly proven to not prevent sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and unwanted pregnancies among teenagers. As mentioned in a recent CNN.com article, the programs that can apply to receive this funding must "teach that abstinence from sexual activity is the only certain way to avoid out-of-wedlock pregnancy, sexually transmitted diseases, and other associated health problems," according to the Department of Health and Human Services. What's more, the programs must also teach that premarital sex is "likely to have harmful psychological and physical effects." Programs that comply with these standards withhold important health information and should not be sponsored by federal health care funds. In order to maximize their health and safety, young people should be provided with full disclosure about the different ways to protect their sexual health. While students should know that abstinence is the only 100-percent guaranteed way to avoid STDs and pregnancy, it is also necessary for them to know that condoms, birth control pills and other contraceptives, when used properly, are highly effective in preventing STDs and pregnancy. In funding abstinence-only education programs, the health care legislation is ignoring the empirical evidence on the efficacy of sex education programs. A 2007 study by the nonpartisan National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy found that "there does not exist any strong evidence that any abstinence program delays the initiation of sex, hastens the return to abstinence or reduces the number of sexual partners" among teens. This finding has been reiterated again and again in various studies. Since evidence shows that abstinence programs do not positively impact teens' sexual health choices, there is no place for the programs in federal health care reform. The idea of postponing sexual activity should be part of sex education, but it is unfair to young people to exclude information about practicing safe sex. Public opinion research has shown that a majority of Americans favor programs that include both abstinence and contraceptive education. The conclusions of both the American public and research studies support comprehensive sex education; why then is federal legislation providing $50 million of tax-payer money for abstinence-only programs? Legislation reforming health care in the United States should fund programs that are the most effective in promoting sexual health among young people. Abstinence-only programs exclude important health-related information about contraception and have been repeatedly proven ineffective in changing teen sexual behavior. Educators should receive funding for programs that provide students with as much information as possible so that students can make fully informed decisions that protect their health and safety.
Teddy Minch's column published in The Tufts Daily on March 17, 2010, expressed that "the United States should have instilled great fear in the Israelis and made sure they understand who dictates policy in this international relationship" after Vice President Joe Biden's trip to Israel mid-March. Yet, with a sharp understanding of the international arena, it is clear that the United States-Israel relationship that has been cultivated for decades is vital to both sides, and it is not Israel but rather the United States that is tearing the alliance apart in the past few months. The United States and Israel face many of the same threats, including Iranian nuclear proliferation and state-sponsored terrorism. Many claim that Israel is the only true, stable democracy in the Middle East and has worked with the United States to overcome aggressors in the region and to support moderate regimes.
Shortly before spring, a small yet exquisite example of intellectual exploration took place on this very campus — a symposium analyzing the presidency of Barack Obama and the state of democracy, race relations, social inclusion and national identity. A group of experts, intellectuals, authors and activists gathered at Tufts to help speak to the complex events that have occurred in America these past 16 months. I attended this event not as a particularly active member of this conversation at Tufts, but more as a student and citizen hoping to reexamine this particular political figure who once ignited so much excitement and hope in me, but was beginning to leave me with more questions and confusion.
In an increasingly competitive job market, it seems that internships are becoming an essential facet of every qualified candidate's résumé. As such, college students as well as a number of recent college graduates are jumping at the chance to take advantage of the ever−growing number of unpaid internships offered. Recently, however, there have been questions raised about the legality of certain unpaid internships, specifically whether interns are being treated more as free labor as opposed to being given the learning experience and training that internships are supposed to offer.
In the wake of the Tufts Alcohol Task Force's recent decision to make Spring Fling dry this year — not allowing attendees of any age to bring in alcohol — many students have voiced frustration, skepticism or alternative suggestions. Yes, people are disappointed that they can't get absurdly drunk during the concert. Yes, people are upset that they can't even sip a beer or two at the show. And no, the current policy is not flawless. But we must remember that Spring Fling is still a school event, and safety must come first. Binge drinking is dangerous, as evidenced by last year's "mass casualty incident," and the administration cannot be expected to sit back and simply hope that such an occurrence doesn't repeat itself. Despite its potential problems, the new policy is defensible. One of the popular suggestions on campus, voiced recently in graduate student Karen Gerlach's Tufts Daily op−ed from March 29, is to permit students to leave and then reenter the concert. However, reentry is not possible due to logistics, safety concerns and cost. It would not complement the existing policy, nor would it work toward a long−term goal of reduced alcohol consumption at Spring Fling.
Tufts' administration has seen recent criticism regarding the university's sexual assault policies. Some students and various campus organizations have chastised the current policies, under which students rarely face serious repercussions for sexual assault and harassment on campus, and the Tufts Community Union (TCU) Senate is working with Students Active for Ending Rape (SAFER) to make changes to the policies that are currently in place. Efforts to increase the severity of repercussions for sexual assault violations are extremely important, and the regulations need to be revised. However, in addition to efforts to create stricter penalties for perpetrators of sexual assault, it is equally important that the administration addresses the issue of the clarity of sexual assault policies.
Op-ed submissions are an integral part of our connection with you, our readers. As such, we would like to clarify our guidelines for submitting op-eds and what you can expect from the process.
Read More
