Last week, my Twitter timeline was filled with discussions on Penguin India's decision to pull all unsold copies of "The Hindus: An Alternative History"(2009) by University of Chicago professor Wendy Doniger. The decision came after protests across India by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, the Hindu hard-liners and a lower-court order. The publishing house decided not to contest the decision in a higher court.
Last week, my Twitter timeline was filled with discussions on Penguin Indias decision to pull all unsold copies of The Hindus: An Alternative History(2009) by University of Chicago professor Wendy Doniger. The decision came after protests across India by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, the Hindu hard-liners and a lower-court order. The publishing house decided not to contest the decision in a higher court.Strong responses to books or works of art are not new phenomena in India. After the release of Salman Rushdies The Satanic Verses in 1989, India was the first country to ban the book ahead of countries like Pakistan and Iran. The great Indian gem artist MF Husain lived in a self-imposed exile between 2006 and his death in 2011, as a response to threats made against him for his portrayal of Hindu goddesses.Professor Doniger focuses on the role of outsiders in Hindu history in the book (which is available in Tisch library). The status of women, pariahs and the ogres elements of the Hindu society that conventional texts have paid little attention to, is analyzed as it has changed over the ages. Professor Doniger focuses particularly on female sexuality and the portrayal of female goddesses. Her critics have latched on to that point, arguing that she has sexualized Hinduism to sell her book. The second issue of contentment is the issue of the role of Islam in medieval India. Most serious academics in the field agree that the relationship between the Muslim rulers and Hindu subjects during the Mughal era was flexible, one of give-and-take. Elements of the Hindu right portray it as one of the foreign oppressor and the indigenous oppressed, portraying themselves as Americas Indians and the Mughals (and Muslims as general) as European oppressors. Professor Ayesha Jalal at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy (and currently on academic leave) also argues in her books and in her classes that the oppressor invader Muslim theory is a recent one, espoused by the Hindu right to discredit Muslims in India. Most of Donigers thesis is water-tight, the protests are not against the academic weakness of the book but against the disproval of the historically-unfounded myths the right wing uses to mobilize its followers against anyone that comes in its path, which has included Muslims and Sikhs in the past.Assume for a moment that The Hindus was absolute trash a collection of fabricated lies about sex intended to sell the book (a religious history book using sex to sell in an age of online porn go figure!). Even if not a single fact in the book were true, it is indefensible for a book to be banned for its merits. A critical, religious-historical perspective is absolutely necessary in understanding the way people have lived, and this book would still be an important addition to that field. Forget free speech even within the Indian governments narrow and vague define-as-you-go framework of free speech, it is an important piece for it opens up a discussion on the legacy of the religion on different social institutions. An academic work shouldnt be destroyed because its not right it should be corrected through more academic work. In that, the book is valuable even if it were to be absolutely false.Speaking of academia, Tufts own Hindu Students Council has stayed rather mum on the issue. Its quite surprising -- an article published in the Daily defending the open, accepting and assimilative nature of Hinduism was fiercely disputed with great zest. One would assume there would be greater interest in the issue. One is told that the author of the article defending appropriation of Holi received strong comments that were not entirely academic in nature. One has yet to hear about students getting up-in-arms about this issue.In The Hindus, Doniger goes into extreme detail on adaptability of the religion. She explains how Hinduism wasnt really a concept till the 1830s when the British decided to name all the peoples with vaguely similar belief systems after the river Indus. She shows how gods travelled from one culture to another, springing up out of nowhere in religious books of different communities at different times. Theres even the story of Santoshi Ma, a previously non-existing goddess who gained many followers in Indian women after Bollywood created her in the 1960s.The Hindu Students Council has shown appreciation of the appropriation of Hinduism, including Holi and the Color Run. It has looked positively (from what I can tell of my friends involved with it) to the connecting of the Tufts Mascot to the Hindu god Ganesh. Considering that, it surely believes that if someone decides to appropriate Hindu symbols, the more power to them there is no central authority to set the beliefs, and differences in beliefs are a part of the accepting bosom of the religion. Perhaps then, the organization should come out defending the book. This is especially important since a large part of the crowd that protests against the book is from the diaspora: Doniger had eggs thrown at her in New York in 2003 by an Indian man who disagreed with her. The HSC should explain why it agrees with Doniger and act as a beacon for greater discussion amongst Hindus at Tufts. If it disagrees with Donigers thesis, it should come forward to say what it disagrees with, and why. In liberal religious cultures, the crisis of religion is often talked about. The biggest crisis of religion today is that religious liberals choose to stay quiet, allowing the hardliners and fundamentalists to have the full say. As a result, religion often comes off as something unaccepting, irrational and narrow-minded even though it is often the opposite for most followers. If the liberals talked louder and more often, it would be clearer that the religion can be more liberal.12
Foreign policy enthusiasts, policy- makers, world-changers and activists are among those who consider foreign aid to be one of the most powerful tools in ending world poverty. The popularity of foreign aid is hardly surprising given its direct approach: it's hard to question the efficacy of giving money to people who need it to eat. This train of thought has produced decades of foreign aid ideologies with mixed success. From grandiose, corrupt projects like dams and highways to strings-attached, IMF reform pack- ages that can give as much aid as damage, foreign aid packages have left something to be desired.
Tufts has made positive strides in its decision to create Bridge Professorships that will, according to the university, "enable the hiring of faculty whose scholarship bridges academic units across or within schools." The inaugural program, set to begin next year with financial support from the Provost's office, will give Tufts students the opportunity to connect with joint faculty members who will teach a subject offered in two Tufts schools. These new hires will transcend conventional academic structures by providing expertise in subjects which often see overlap between different schools. Additionally, the university announcement stated that "the proposals should identify a defined joint interdisciplinary area for the position, not a person; we are interested in building strong areas of interdisciplinary work rather than targeting individuals." Valuing a candidate's potential contributions to the campus environment over his or her personal reputation is a fantastic example of pushing the boundaries of what an interdisciplinary education means. By creating the Bridge Professorship position and subsequently finding the right person to fill this role, it prevents the university from limiting creative minds to just one school's approach.
Holocaust Remembrance Day specifically commemorates the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, an event in which the Jews of Warsaw fought courageously against the Nazis. At this point the Jews, living off 180-360 calories a day and with nothing to look towards except their death, decided to fight back. Until much later, it was not understood or taught to the next generation of Jews the unlivable and nightmarish situation that those persecuted by the Nazis faced. The starvation and fear was not comprehensible, nor was the ultimate vulnerability of the Jewish people to the Nazi regime. Jews were subject to legalized discrimination through the laws of the Third Reich, Jewish stores were looted and burned, and in concentration camps Jews were told they were going to shower and instead would be gassed.
This week, the Tufts Labor Coalition, in partnership with professors, alumni and other student groups, is working to increase campus awareness around the contract negotiations that our adjunct professors and their union began last Friday with the university administration. We celebrate the adjuncts' overwhelming support to unionize despite fear of backlash from the university. It took no small amount of courage for our professors to stand up for their rights to a living wage and job security. It was an important victory, but only a first step. This week, we want to remind the Tufts community that continued public support is vital for the success of the adjuncts in their negotiations.
This week, the Tufts Labor Coalition, in partnership with professors, alumni and other student groups, is working to increase campus awareness around the contract negotiations that our adjunct professors and their union began last Friday with the university administration. We celebrate the adjuncts overwhelming support to unionize despite fear of backlash from the university. It took no small amount of courage for our professors to stand up for their rights to a living wage and job security. It was an important victory, but only a first step. This week, we want to remind the Tufts community that continued public support is vital for the success of the adjuncts in their negotiations.
Tufts adjunct faculty voted in September to join the Service Employees International Union, the United States' largest labor union, as part of its Adjunct Action campaign to collectively bargain for part-time professors at universities across the country. The adjunct faculty's union representatives are in the process of negotiating with the university for higher wages and a better benefits package, a cause that should be supported by both students and the university.
As the small Russian coastal town of Sochi begins to receive the world for the 2014 Winter Olympic Games, plans to bring the summer games to Boston in 2024 are already in motion. In November of last year, Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick approved an exploratory committee to look into the feasibility of Boston hosting the games. While many obstacles stand in the way of Bostons bid being chosen, including possible bids from Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, Dallas, Philadelphia and San Francisco to win the favor of the U.S Olympic Committee, the most important are not competition from other U.S. cities. Boston will have to solve a myriad of issues, including transportation, housing and cost to citizens before placing a bid in 2015 for the 2024 Summer Games, which will be selected by the International Olympic Committee in 2017. As the committee proceeds with constructing a bid, it should move with all due caution and consideration, and examine the proposal from every possible angle.
Even first-year students have heard the appalling tales of last year's Winter Bash. Stories from upperclassmen are accounts of drunken, apocalyptic horror - every university official's nightmare. We, as the student body, were not only irresponsible in terms of our own health - with at least 15 students needing medical attention from paramedics - but were downright disrespectful toward a venue that was willing to host an event for thousands of college students. Dangerously intoxicated students threw up and even urinated in the lobby of the Westin Copley Place Boston Hotel, managing to capture the attention of Fox News and The Boston Globe, both of which rightfully depicted our actions as those of bad-mannered and insolent youths.
Published in todays edition of the Tufts Daily is an op-ed from members of the Committee on Student Life , announcing its decision to no longer allow student organizations to apply for a justified departure from the Tufts Community Union Judiciarys non-discrimination policy, as well as the creation of a new policy toward Religious and Philosophical Student Organizations (RPSOs). This is an important step in ensuring that the university does not sanction discriminatory student organizations, but some of the specifics of the new policy could use further clarification.
In the fall of 2012, the Tufts Community Union Judiciary (TCUJ) derecognized the Tufts Christian Fellowship (TCF) on the grounds of failure to comply with the TCUJ non-discrimination policy in its process for electing officers. The TCF later appealed to the Committee on Student Life (CSL), a standing faculty committee whose members include students as well as faculty. The CSL upheld the ruling on the grounds that the TCUJ acted appropriately according to existing rules of process in the TCU Constitution, and then developed a new policy that attempted to better meet the needs of Tufts multi-faceted community on this complex issue. The CSL developed a minimum set of requirements under which religious doctrine could lead to an allowable departure from the TCUJ non-discrimination policy. The resulting policy still required all religious student organizations to allow all comers as members, but it allowed an organization to apply for a justified departure from the TCUJ non-discrimination policy in determining eligibility for leadership positions. A justified departure required two ingredients: approval by the Tufts University Chaplaincy and complete transparency on the part of the organization about who could and could not run in leadership elections. Those of us on the CSL felt at the time that these rules would allow religious student organizations to live their doctrines in harmony with the spirit of the TCUJ non-discrimination policy. The CSL approved this policy on Dec. 5, 2012. While some felt that the ruling struck an appropriate balance, others did not. There was particular concern that this ruling opened the door to discrimination on the basis of gender, sexual orientation and religion. The TCU Senate passed a resolution asking the CSL to rescind the justified departure policy. The Equal Educational Opportunity Committee (EEOC), a faculty committee that also includes students and staff, urged a reconsideration of the policy. The Tufts University Chaplaincy also came to a consensus view that religious student organizations should comply with the TCUJ all-comers non-discrimination policy. In the meantime, no student organization applied for recognition based upon a justified departure. There was also a subtle but profound shift in the CSLs own thinking about the purpose of the policy governing participation in religious student organizations. Is a religious student organization primarily a chapter of an external religious community, the committee asked, or is it a group of Tufts students whose purposes include exploring and learning about a religion as well as practicing it? We began with the premise that religious student organizations are primarily Tufts chapters of external religious communities. Over time, however, evidence grew in favor of the latter interpretation: an organic group of Tufts students in which religion can be explored even by non-believers or members of different faiths as well as practiced. In the latter interpretation, these organizations should be fully open to all students, rather than partially exclusive. This realization led the CSL to re-evaluate the student organization policy. If religious student organizations are fundamentally student organizations, then they must comply with the TCUJ non-discrimination policy with which other student organizations must comply. In modifying the policy we also wanted to acknowledge student organizations that are not necessarily religious but that explore personal fulfillment and enlightenment. These organizations such as the Tufts Freethought Society had always been regarded in the same TCUJ category but not explicitly mentioned in the policy. Thus, on Dec. 6, 2013, the CSL approved a new policy that includes both kinds of student organizations and refers to them as Religious and Philosophical Student Organizations (RPSOs). In creating the RPSO policy, the CSL did not fully overturn its decision of Dec. 5, 2012. Rather, we modified it in significant ways. The new policy removes justified departures and requires all RPSOs seeking TCUJ recognition to conform to the TCUJ all-comers non-discrimination policy for election of officers, in harmony with the Tufts University non-discrimination policy. At the same time, the revised policy continues to mandate total transparency on the part of all student organizations about their mission and purpose, refines and codifies the role of the TCUJ and Tufts University Chaplaincy in recognition decisions, and explicitly empowers the TCUJ to deny or revoke recognition if these guidelines are violated. Importantly, student organizations can continue to select the best leaders for themselves, through a democratic election or other process, but they cannot exclude students from eligibility based on their membership in a protected category. All students must be able to run for leadership in all organizations. 12
In the fall of 2012, the Tufts Community Union Judiciary (TCUJ) derecognized the Tufts Christian Fellowship (TCF) on the grounds of failure to comply with the TCUJ non-discrimination policy in its process for electing officers. The TCF later appealed to the Committee on Student Life (CSL), a standing faculty committee whose members include students as well as faculty. The CSL upheld the ruling on the grounds that the TCUJ acted appropriately according to existing rules of process in the TCU Constitution, and then developed a new policy that attempted to better meet the needs of Tufts' multi-faceted community on this complex issue. The CSL developed a minimum set of requirements under which religious doctrine could lead to an allowable departure from the TCUJ non-discrimination policy. The resulting policy still required all religious student organizations to allow "all comers" as members, but it allowed an organization to apply for a "justified departure" from the TCUJ non-discrimination policy in determining eligibility for leadership positions. A justified departure required two ingredients: approval by the Tufts University Chaplaincy and complete transparency on the part of the organization about who could and could not run in leadership elections. Those of us on the CSL felt - at the time - that these rules would allow religious student organizations to "live their doctrines" in harmony with the spirit of the TCUJ non-discrimination policy. The CSL approved this policy on Dec. 5, 2012. While some felt that the ruling struck an appropriate balance, others did not. There was particular concern that this ruling opened the door to discrimination on the basis of gender, sexual orientation and religion. The TCU Senate passed a resolution asking the CSL to rescind the justified departure policy. The Equal Educational Opportunity Committee (EEOC), a faculty committee that also includes students and staff, urged a reconsideration of the policy. The Tufts University Chaplaincy also came to a consensus view that religious student organizations should comply with the TCUJ all-comers non-discrimination policy. In the meantime, no student organization applied for recognition based upon a "justified departure." There was also a subtle but profound shift in the CSL's own thinking about the purpose of the policy governing participation in religious student organizations. Is a religious student organization primarily a chapter of an external religious community, the committee asked, or is it a group of Tufts students whose purposes include exploring and learning about a religion as well as practicing it? We began with the premise that religious student organizations are primarily Tufts chapters of external religious communities. Over time, however, evidence grew in favor of the latter interpretation: an organic group of Tufts students in which religion can be explored - even by non-believers or members of different faiths - as well as practiced. In the latter interpretation, these organizations should be fully open to all students, rather than partially exclusive. This realization led the CSL to re-evaluate the student organization policy. If religious student organizations are fundamentally student organizations, then they must comply with the TCUJ non-discrimination policy with which other student organizations must comply. In modifying the policy we also wanted to acknowledge student organizations that are not necessarily religious but that explore personal fulfillment and enlightenment. These organizations - such as the Tufts Freethought Society - had always been regarded in the same TCUJ category but not explicitly mentioned in the policy. Thus, on Dec. 6, 2013, the CSL approved a new policy that includes both kinds of student organizations and refers to them as "Religious and Philosophical Student Organizations" (RPSOs). In creating the RPSO policy, the CSL did not fully overturn its decision of Dec. 5, 2012. Rather, we modified it in significant ways. The new policy removes "justified departures" and requires all RPSOs seeking TCUJ recognition to conform to the TCUJ all-comers non-discrimination policy for election of officers, in harmony with the Tufts University non-discrimination policy. At the same time, the revised policy continues to mandate total transparency on the part of all student organizations about their mission and purpose, refines and codifies the role of the TCUJ and Tufts University Chaplaincy in recognition decisions, and explicitly empowers the TCUJ to deny or revoke recognition if these guidelines are violated. Importantly, student organizations can continue to select the best leaders for themselves, through a democratic election or other process, but they cannot exclude students from eligibility based on their membership in a protected category. All students must be able to run for leadership in all organizations. 12
Academy Award-winning actor Philip Seymour Hoffman died on Sunday of an apparent heroin overdose, and once again discussions of drug addiction have entered the national media spotlight. Death by overdose is a common sight in the modern American landscape and Hoffman was just the latest high-profile example - the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that a whopping 105 people die from drug overdoses every single day in the United States, 78 percent of which are accidental. Yet despite these staggering statistics, the conversation surrounding addiction rarely focuses on taking action toward reform. Not until we, as a country, are prepared to have a serious discussion about ending the failed war on drugs and supporting state-sponsored rehabilitation and medical treatment can we claim that the death of our celebrities, neighbors and friends are not in vain.
During Tuesdays State of the Union address, I was proud to hear our president talk about the issues that matter to Americans, especially those that impact us as students. From the skyrocketing cost of college to the importance of raising the minimum wage, the vision the president laid out last week is distinctly American infused with the optimism and pragmatism that has always kept our nation moving forward. President Obamas continued, unwavering commitment to womens rights, LGBT rights and middle-class priorities stand in stark contrast to the antiquated vision of America offered by congressional Republicans and Tea Party sympathizers. The presidents commitment to students is one of the most striking examples of this difference.
President Obama has been in office for just five years, but with Tuesday nights State of the Union address, it can begin to feel like he has been a lame duck president for a while. Conservatives among us would scoff and declare that his administration hasnt kept its campaign promises since day one. He never had the traditional 100 days that has served as an unofficial ceasefire of partisan hostilities since Franklin D. Roosevelts first 100 days of crisis management in 1933. Indeed, once Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky declared at the beginning of the presidents first term in office that the goal of the GOP would be Obamas failure, his agenda even in the relatively sacrosanct 100 days was fought at every turn.
Tufts traditionally strives to be on the forefront of academic exploration, and in 2014, the reality should be no different. As Jumbos we take pride in being a premier research and liberal arts university, which we're reminded of whenever we are in earshot of any campus tour. Unfortunately, as all universities do, Tufts is struggling to keep up with ever-increasing academic demands, and computer science is one of those gaps.
In an Op-Ed published in the Daily last Thursday, Tufts senior and TCU Senator Andrew Hunter proposed the addition of an on-campus bar. Citing his experience with campus bars during his time studying abroad in London, as well as the absence of an on-campus spot for upperclassmen to gather, Hunter invited students of legal age to come join him at Hotung Cafe last Friday night. His efforts to demonstrate that there is a real interest in the prospect of an on-campus bar elicited significant interest from the student body. In light of the points that Hunter made in his Op-Ed, the creation of an on-campus bar would be a welcome addition to campus life.
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
