Tufts University Administration's decision to transfer management of the Tufts Educational Day Care Center (TEDCC) -- or as it is affectionately known, "Little Tufts" -- was rushed and lacked transparency. In making this change, Tufts University dismantled a program that has been an important part of our community since 1973.
Welcome back to all students, faculty, staff and administrators as we start another semester on the Hill. Hopefully you've all had enjoyable summer breaks and are settling back in nicely.
When I came to campus, I was excited, nervous and ambitious. I tried out many new things, experienced my own set of successes and failures and came to know a few individuals who later became my close friends. There are so many tips and guides for freshmen to remember and think about as they embark on ...
On behalf of the entire Tufts community, I would like to officially welcome the class of 2018 to campus. My name is Robert Joseph, and this year I will be serving as your student body president. I'm sure today is a wild emotional roller coaster for many of you — moving into your new homes, meeting ...
Yes, it's really happening — your freshman year of college starts now. It's not spring of your senior year in high school anymore, when you sent in your deposit and lost all motivation for schoolwork (don't worry, everyone has procrastinated on the Tufts Facebook pages). And it's ...
The first few weeks of freshman year pass by in a blur. The minute-by-minute urgency of parental advice, picking classes, meeting roommates and finding your way around campus as a new Jumbo predominates all other concerns. There is plenty of advice around — from movies, TV shows, older students, ...
Arizona Governor Jan Brewer vetoed SB 1062 last night, after days of national attention and activist scrutiny toward the bill, which sought to protect any individual, association or corporation from discrimination lawsuits if their actions are based on sincerely held religious beliefs," according to a Feb. 26 The New York Times. Brewer, a Republican who has previously signed laws that are morally questionable, declared that vetoing this bill was in accordance with Arizona values. While the veto is a victory for anyone who has paid any attention to the long histories of discrimination in this country, Brewer's intentions here should not win her any praise.
I think I first heard the phrase Israeli Apartheid" when I was a sophomore here at Tufts. It wasn't something I had ever heard before, and I'll admit that I was taken aback. That's an understatement: I was repulsed. Comparing the struggle of Israelis and Palestinians over ancient lands and modern dreams was, to my mind, nothing like the blatant denial of human dignity to which South Africa subjected a subset of its own population on the basis of skin color. To appropriate the struggle of blacks in South Africa to demonize the state of Israel disgusted me.
Dear Members of the Tufts Community Union,For the past year I have had the distinct honor of serving as your Tufts Community Union (TCU) president. I came to you last April with an upbeat attitude, an open heart and an ambitious agenda that reflected my values. This agenda was not left to sit on a shelf ...
We are writing this piece as six students who identify as Palestinian. We were born into different religions: Christianity, Islam, Judaism and atheism, although none of this should matter. What matters is that all of us identify as Palestinian because our parents and/or our grandparents (and generations ...
Last summer's extended stymied action in the United States House of Representatives (113th Congress) was ludicrous as an example of representative democracy, and embarrassing to America's worldwide reputation; but it wasn't a unique instance in America's 226-year history. For a historical parallel, we need only refer to the 51st Congress of January 1890, when the newly elected Speaker of the House was Thomas Brackett Reed, Republican from the first district of Maine. Back then, the obstructing faction was the Democrats, mostly from the South, who opposed federal legislation designed to safeguard the right of Negroes to vote. The Republicans commanded a bare majority of 168 to 160, and the quorum - the number required to be present to do business under the rules of the House - was agreed to be 165.During a vote on a controversial measure, every Democrat without exception refused to answer the roll call, and thereby claimed the lack of a quorum. Speaker Reed ruled that a quorum was present, notwithstanding the Democrats' refusal to reply when their names were called. The parliamentary battle that followed was of the utmost stridency and lasted three days, until all absent Republicans could be summoned back to the House for the deciding vote, which came in at 166-0.
Just seven miles away in Waltham lies the corporate office of Spectra Energy, a company that extracts natural gas, refines it and pumps it throughout the U.S. Natural gas has been billed as a clean alternative to other fossil fuels. According to Spectra, natural gas is the cleanest burning conventional fuel," and as such the company is "committed to making sustainable choices... [and to] represent[ing] the best in economic, environmental and social values and practices." Unfortunately, natural gas's image as a "clean" source of energy has not proven true. Methane, the primary greenhouse gas emitted in natural gas extraction and combustion, is about 85 times as potent as carbon dioxide in its contribution to climate change (over a 20 year period).
There's a myth out there that a degree in the humanities is a ticket to post-graduation employment behind a fast-food counter. As shown in a Tufts Daily article published last week, we've begun cultivating another myth that humanities and English majors in particular are only eligible to become journalists, teachers or publishers. The idea that English majors might understand something like (*gasp*) business has, apparently, become ludicrous.
While it may be the butt of jokes, the Joey is a very important part of life on the Hill, especially as the temperature drops. The Joey provides students with a quick and warm ride to Davis Square and back, allowing safe passage to the Davis Square T Stop, restaurants, convenience stores and everything else that Davis has to offer. That is, the Joey provides safe passage when it actually comes on time.
This past month, Tufts invited President Paul Kagame of Rwanda to speak. After President Kagames lecture, an op-ed was submitted to the Daily criticizing the university for giving him a platform on our campus. The article written by Alex Gladstein and published on April 24 was one-sided in a way that is detrimental to any attempt at a complete discussion about the country and President Kagame's leadership. When analyzing Rwanda, it is necessary to look at the country's history. An open political space is a privilege of countries without legitimate worries about the takeover of genocidal ideology. It is true that, under President Kagame's leadership, there have been massive human rights violations. The Rwandan Patriotic Front takeover in 1994, while not genocide, did result in great casualties and war crimes, and the subsequent invasion of Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo) was similarly tainted. There is not complete freedom of speech in the country, nor is there space for dissenting political opinions. Rwanda is not a full and thriving democracy, but 20 years after the genocide, can it be? Twenty years ago, Rwanda was destroyed. After the genocide, in the wake of an unprecedented judicial backlog, ruined infrastructure and endless trauma, the country needed strong leadership. Today, that leadership is still needed. A 2010 survey showed that 39.9 percent of Rwandans agreed with this statement: "Although it is against the law, some Rwandans would try to commit genocide again, if conditions were favorable." I am not saying this to give President Kagame a free pass for political oppression, but for some people to slam the quelling of free speech without contextualizing the issue is rash and ill-advised. It is true that only two questions during the Q&A session were "hard-hitting," and those questions were important and deserve space in a discussion. But why delegitimize questions about economic development and regional and continental integration? Rwanda, while still an incredibly impoverished country, has seen notable economic growth. Eighty percent of firms in Rwanda were started between 2006 and 2011, and the country continues to attract foreign investment by being the safest country in the region. President Kagame is vocal about wanting to move the country away from dependence on foreign aid, and Vision 2020, an economic plan for Rwanda, hopes to make the nation a middle-income economy in the next six years. It is not a given that these goals will be accomplished, but it's worth talking about. In the face of a devastated economy in 1994, Rwanda needed a forceful leader. It was under President Kagame's leadership that the country has had such notable achievements. Only 20 years ago, the country needed to completely rebuild basic necessities, like food and shelter, were prioritized. It is unreasonable to assume that a country where people struggled to survive is capable of implementing a democracy. President Kagame is not comparable to former president of Iran Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. If we are going to start clumping together all leaders who have committed human rights abuses, we should add many United States presidents and other democratic leaders to the list. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees has issued a Cessation Clause for Rwandan refugees, essentially saying that it should be safe for all Rwandan refugees to return to the country and that Rwanda wants them back. This is indicative of the strides the country has taken to reconstruct the security and human rights status of the nation. President Kagame's actions must be contextualized by the real security threat Rwanda faces from political opponents and genocide deniers. Making radical comparisons does nothing to contribute to a conversation about why Rwanda might need a more authoritarian regime. I did not write this to minimize the many problems with the Rwandan government, but I do think it is necessary to take into consideration the context of Rwanda before hitting President Kagame with un-contextualized criticism. Twenty years ago, Rwanda was in the midst of genocide. Democracy does not happen overnight, and political freedom is a privilege. If we are going to make a space at Tufts for a discussion about Rwanda as it is today, then it must include both the criticism and an understanding of Rwandan society. Rwanda is still healing. The effects of the genocide are still relevant, and that must be taken into consideration when understanding the country today. I'm excited to have a dialogue about Rwanda on campus, but if it is not holistic, it will be unproductive.
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
