Opinion

Editorial Cartoon: April 1, 2015

Maligning millennials 102: the safe spaces edition

Last Saturday, March 21, the New York Times ran an op-ed by Judith Shulevitz titled “In College and Hiding From Scary Ideas” -- naturally, several adults in my life immediately and gleefully passed it along to me.Essentially, Shulevitz argues, in a rather condescending manner, that students today ...

Time to retire the term 'townie'

Early Saturday morning, the Tufts community once again found itself victim of an incident of anti-Semitic graffiti. This time, the vandalism took place behind Theta Delta Chi Fraternity (more commonly known on campus as 123). According to an email sent out by the Tufts University Department of Public ...

Editorial Cartoon: Spring has Sprung!

An open letter to survivors

Trigger warning: This article discusses sexual assault and rape.Dear Survivors,On March 1, a concerned brother wrote about his love for his sisters.On March 24, a concerned mother wrote a letter to her daughter about safety on college campuses. Both of these articles had authors who hoped to protect ...

Kesha choice sets a precedent, resists double standard in today's music

A testimony to the efficiency and ubiquity of the information network on a campus as small and interconnected as Tufts, not a student could be found who hadn’t caught wind of Kesha’s anticipated performance at Spring Fling 2015 a mere hour after the news was released.As is expected of any major ...

Editorial Cartoon: Prepping Prez Lawn for Kesha

Reclaiming our monologues

This past Thursday, I went to see "Not Your Mother’s Monologues." The performance was made up of 19 unique pieces, and I was thoroughly impressed by how powerful each woman’s performance was. I, for one, can barely speak at a normal rate in front of my Spanish class when I’m just giving ...

Boston should listen to residents when considering 2024 Olympic bid

Only a third of Bostonians support a bid for the 2024 Summer Olympics, according to recent polls. Boston 2024, the group that organized the bid, is now pushing for a statewide referendum on the issue. This unexpected move has spurred debate regarding the importance of public opinion with respect to ...

Bibi wins, but change is afoot

I’m sorry to say that Prime Minister Netanyahu’s tenure will continue. Despite considerable Israeli and American surprise at this news, this victory was to be expected. This election is being characterized in a number of different ways, most prominently called “The Referendum on Bibi.” I prefer to call it a de-facto “Referendum on the Israeli Left.”

In college and protesting harmful ideas

On March 21, Judith Shulevitz, a contributing op-ed writer for the New York Times, published an article titled “In College and Hiding From Scary Ideas.” In this article, she discussed the various actions students on college campuses have taken against speeches and published writing that they have ...

Editorial Cartoon: The Pluggle is Real

For unemployed graduates, opportunity can be found in new places

With 10.9 million jobs created since President Barack Obama took office, this year’s Commencement would seemingly be expected to be filled with more sunshine than dark clouds for current seniors. However, the high level of millennial unemployment still accounts for approximately half of the national ...

Letter to a rising first-year regarding women's safety on campus

My dear Catherine,I’m sure you have heard about what happened at Penn State, at Vanderbilt and at countless other schools. And if it’s happening at one, I’m sure some version of it is happening at all of them. My friends and I have been talking about it a lot lately: How could over 100 students ...

Twenty years without female Spring Fling headliner is far too long

It’s that time of year again. Spring break has ended, finals anxiety is building, the snow is melting (well, not really) and soon we’ll find out who our Spring Fling headliners will be. As always, rumors began early this year. If Yik Yak and Tufts Confessions are any indication, students are extremely ...

Slashing the budget is an art, not a science

Tufts University has some performance issues. It’s not that Tufts can’t get it up – in fact, the sheer size of Tufts’ membership in groups that encompass all kinds of theater, music and dance is astounding.However, the performing arts at Tufts are often dismissed as unnecessary or not important ...

The meaning of apartheid

It is undeniable that apartheid has entered mainstream discourse on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.Jimmy Carter penned his book “Peace Not Apartheid” in 2006. Archbishop Desmond Tutu and many others who experienced South African apartheid have described Israel as an apartheid state. Even Secretary ...

Gay pride in St. Patrick's parade is victory, should not be reversed

While many Tufts students were enjoying spring break in less snow-covered locales, a small piece of history was made on March 15 at the St. Patrick’s Day Parade in Boston when two gay rights groups were allowed to march in the parade for the first time ever. After Mayor Marty Walsh refused to march ...

Editorial Cartoon: There's no place like vacation! There's no place like vacation!...

Student Bill of Rights is right bill for students

As students, we are constantly told that college is an invaluable investment in our futures. Current societal expectations tell us to sacrifice whatever we can to attend college because it will be worth it in the long run; but this isn’t always correct. The college experience is often laden with ...