Opinion

Get ready for your close-up, Tufts

Medford, Mass. is not a common place for celebrity sightings, but Tufts was set abuzz yesterday when an email to the Tufts community announced that a Hollywood movie crew would be coming to campus on Monday, Sept. 30 to film scenes for an upcoming film. Rumored to be Columbia Pictures’ “Sex Tape,” starring Cameron Diaz and Jason Segel, and set for a 2014 release, this film is no small-screen production.

Teaching requires intellectual preparation

I read the Sept. 19 Daily article about Tufts students and Teach for America with a mixture of pride and concern. On the one hand, Tufts is a place where social justice, commitment to community and education are taken seriously. Graduates are leaving the Hill with a desire to make the world better; I am proud that my institution fosters a belief that teaching is an opportunity to make change. As a colleague and 30-year veteran of the profession said, "Teaching has enabled me to meet my lifelong need to feel useful and appreciated." So, bravo to Tufts and to the graduates of this fine place for fostering commitment to the profession of teaching and the fulfillment it brings.

Safety comes first

Last week, the Tufts University Police Department (TUPD) released news of two armed robberies carried out near campus. These incidents add to the increasing number of safety alerts - five in total since the start of the term - that have been sent out, raising concerns for student safety. 

Letter to the Editor

Dear Editor,

Op-Ed: Putin's op-ed shows leadership

It is not often that a leader of a well-known and well-respected country makes a point to address the American public directly, let alone by the medium of an editorial in The New York Times. Vladimir Putin's stark message to the American people did not go unnoticed. Read by regular readers of the Times as well as people less attuned to political news, the harsh criticisms made by Putin have established him as perhaps the greatest political genius of our time. Putin's plan and its result were multifaceted: He embraced an aura of superiority, diminished American hypocrisy with a cloaked hypocrisy of his own, and established himself as a place holding leader for the American people, who lacked a clear leader on the issue of Syria. His greatest success was in playing on the already weary opinion of the American people while plopping himself into a leadership position, showing both a clear direction on the Syria issue and pointing out the flaws of the caustic nature of exceptionalism.

Op-Ed: Cultural reversion

This fall, many upperclassmen return to campus with more familiarity than novelty, in part by the momentous decision passed by the Greek Leadership Council (GLC) near the end of spring. Members of the Class of 2017 are not permitted at Greek parties until the Monday following Homecoming. While the weekend's implications are fairly obvious, with basements full of more familiar faces than new, it is worth noting the marked effects on campus culture, specifically the cultural divide so perfectly portrayed by the small groups loitering about Russell Sage residence hall.

Awareness of time-management tools

As the fourth week of classes begins, students are becoming progressively busier. Professors expect students to have obtained their required books and materials by this point in the semester and are looking to hold more meaningful classes than the introductory lectures of the past few weeks — a shift reflected in the larger homework load many students are already experiencing. The sheer number of students in the reading room at Tisch Library on Sunday nights is a testament to that.

Mail Services shows impressive recovery

It is very common for a huge volume of textbooks, supplies and other goods to cycle through Tufts University’s Mail Services at the beginning of the year. While the service sometimes becomes backed up and fails to notify students of packages that have already been delivered, more often than not, the system functions without a hitch, with several thousand packages flowing in monthly.

Op-Ed: To think outside the Balch

Letter to the Editor

Dear Editor,

Op-Ed: The other side of the TFA story

On Sept. 19, the Tufts Daily ran a laudatory article about Tufts' place as a "top Teach for America (TFA) college," trumpeting the school's consistent role as a TFA corps contributor. As a Tufts alum (LA '11), the celebratory article gave me pause. Tufts continues to stoke the heroic one-dimensional narrative of TFA as the cure-all to the problems of urban public education in the United States. TFA is not a solution and Tufts should exercise caution when boasting about its relationship to a program that has had such mediocre results.

Saturday night lights

This Saturday at 6 p.m., Tufts will travel to Wesleyan for the first ever New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) football game played at night under floodlights, making league history.

Elections today warrant more attention

Today Jumbos are taking part in the first elections of the academic year. Seven freshmen will be voted into Senate seats, while various class council positions will be decided by class-specific votes. The entire undergraduate campus will be voting on who should occupy the two available seats in the Tufts Community Union (TCU) Judiciary and the three available seats on the Committee on Student Life (CSL).

Op-Ed: Putin offers valuable insight on world

When the president of Russia is teaching the United States about democratic values, it's worth taking note.

Letter to the Editor

Dear Editor,

Op-Ed: U.S. News and World Rankings don't paint complete picture

Last week, U.S. News & World Report released its annual National University Rankings list.

Efforts to limit the financial burden of textbooks

Tuition at Tufts this academic year comes out to $45,590. This cost is often defrayed by financial aid, but after students and their families manage to sort through their finances, they are then faced with the cost of textbooks.

Efforts to limit the financial burden of textbooks

Tuition at Tufts this academic year comes out to $45,590. This cost is often defrayed by financial aid, but after students and their families manage to sort through their finances, they are then faced with the cost of textbooks.

Letter to the Editor

Dear Editor,

Why the Patriot Act needs revision

By now, most people know about the incarceration of the Japanese Americans during World War II. All the members of my family, on both my father's and my mother's side, were forcibly relocated to camps in Wyoming and Utah from their homes on the West Coast.