Opinion

Letter to the Editor

Dear Editor,

Letter from the Editor

Dear Readers,

Right idea, wrong execution

The Obama administration recently unveiled tweaks to rules for health insurance that would have compelled church−affiliated organizations to cover contraceptives for female employees under the insurance progams they provide. These provisions enraged many Catholics. The updated rule would not have applied to people who work directly for the Catholic Church, but it would have extended to affiliated organizations owned by the Church, such as Catholic hospitals and universities. Due to the extensive uproar that this policy provoked, the administration has since backtracked, instead placing the burden of financing contraception on insurance companies.

Should universities have their own drinking ages?

Unique drinking laws for universities. How attractive it seems, the opportunity to drink legally while polishing that paper or arguing with a fellow student about how to save the world! Yet not only do I consider this to be an ineffective idea, I think it's entirely counterproductive to the American idea — universal freedom — that it is intended to further.

Foxconn audits only a start

Apple shares climbed above $500 on Monday, clearly to the delight of shareholders and the Apple faithful. The company, valued at more than $460 billion, is the most valuable in the world and worth more than rivals Google and Microsoft combined. While this is good news for Apple, it's unlikely that this news will mean much to many individuals whose hard work contributes to the success of Apple products — the Chinese factory workers assembling the gadgets "Designed by Apple in California."

Separate and Unequal

Walt Laws-MacDonald | Show Me The Money!

Jacob Passy and Alex Kaufman | Sassy Cinema

When you think of movie musicals, a host of people come to mind: Judy Garland, Fred Astaire, Liza Minnelli and Julie Andrews, just to name a few. This last individual arguably did more for the musical than any other movie star. Really, who hasn't seen her sing of hills that are alive with the sound of music? What child didn't want the loveable, quirky Ms. Poppins to come knock on their door? Her career was unique in this way; she chose a wide array of work to produce. But Andrews is the poster child of a generation of film stars whose mark is sadly missing from film today.

Alyson Yee | Odd Jobs

Here are some qualifications for a potential job that I think I might be able to meet: smile that lights up a room, referred to as the life of the party, ability to fake tears, busty body type (Oh, wait.). Before you scream about discrimination in hiring practices, this listing is for a stand−in bridesmaid, listed as one of CareerBuilder.com's most unusual jobs in a survey. Those specifications were taken from an actual ad, which humorously specified that the following people need not apply: WWE wrestlers, home wreckers and MILFs.

College by the numbers

President Obama unveiled a plan last week to make government "scorecards" for every college in the country. The initiative aims to deliver on a promise Obama made in his State of the Union address to make higher education more affordable for American families. 

Downsizing the military: a smart move by the Obama administration

At the end of January, two documents were released by the Pentagon: "Defense Budget Priorities and Choices" and "Sustaining U.S. Global Leadership: Priorities for the 21st Century Defense." Together, these documents propose radical changes to the posture and size of the U.S. military. With an epicenter at the Pentagon, these documents have created rumblings that reach from the Senate Armed Forces Committee all the way to the Ministry of National Defense in China.

New nuclear permits long overdue

Today, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission is expected to approve the plans of Southern Company, allowing for the construction of two new nuclear reactors at the Plant Vogtle nuclear power plant in Georgia. This would mark the first American approval of a nuclear reactor since 1978, a year before the Three Mile Island meltdown in Pennsylvania. The Georgia plant currently houses two nuclear reactors and the plans would double its operation with the addition of two more, both of which would be state of the art.

PETA's White Whale

A U.S. District Court judge yesterday considered arguments in a hearing regarding a lawsuit filed by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) against SeaWorld. The complaint seems pretty routine, until one learns that five of the suit's plaintiffs are orcas — also known as killer whales.

Dream Awake: Opportunities at the BrandHaiti Symposium

It is no longer 1968, and the struggles people of color have had to face in generations past are no longer the ones faced by their children and grandchildren. In fact, the latter have discovered that there are giants in the land of promise. Though they have stepped into a place flowing with milk and honey, the struggle is far from over.  Speaking prophetically, Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. envisioned a time when "a true revolution of values [would] soon cause us to question the fairness and justice of many of our past and present policies." In that poignant speech delivered a year before his assassination, however, one of his most insightful remarks seems to have gotten lost amid a growing cloud of self-praise and shortsightedness.

The elusive fourth sorority

As any college student understands, the Greek scene is an important part of campus social life, whether you are a brother or sister pledged to a chapter or simply a visitor when the weekend rolls around. Life at Tufts, with 10 fraternities and three sororities on campus, is no exception. Greek life is hardly the center of most Jumbos' social lives, but it still plays a significant role, so it should be as accessible as possible to everyone on campus interested in pledging.

Alyson Yee | Odd Jobs

Let me preface this column by saying this: I am a senior. This means that, as we edge closer and closer to graduation, I need to find better hiding places. I'm spending most of my time evading the inevitable Question. Total strangers want to know my Plans for the Future before they even know my name.

Why I fight child sex slavery

In October of 2010 during my junior year at Tufts, I was sexually assaulted on campus by a student from a different university. Too ashamed to burden my friends with the immediate aftermath, I turned to Tufts' counseling center and Health Services for some much-needed support. Thankfully, it also happened to be sexual assault awareness month at Tufts, and there were weekly events that allowed me to connect with other women on campus with similar experiences. I remember wordlessly sitting in the cold with an enraged yet loving friend. I remember attending a concert, lighting a candle on the Tisch roof, decorating a T-shirt, all in honor of victims of sexual assault. I remember waking up every morning wishing it was all just a very bad dream. Although I was physically present at these events, the me on the inside was not nearly ready to fully accept what had happened. For several months, I harbored such a fearful hatred toward men that I could not even begin a real journey toward recovery from rape. 

Letter from the Editor

Dear Readers,

In primaries, thousands speak for millions

The Nevada caucuses came to a close on Saturday with a clear winner. Mitt Romney won the state by a sizable margin, obtaining about 15,000 votes so far with 89 percent of precincts reporting at the time of publication. Last month, Rick Santorum took away 13 delegates from the Iowa caucuses, beating Romney by a narrow margin of 34 votes. Last Saturday, Romney came out on top again in the Florida primary with 46.4 percent of the vote, earning 50 delegates.

Jacob Passy and Alex Kaufman | Sassy Cinema

When Viola Davis received an Academy Award nomination for her leading performance in "The Help" (2011), she achieved a feat that only one other black woman had before her. She received the second Oscar nomination of her career. The other woman to have done so is Whoopi Goldberg, who won an Oscar for her performance as Oda Mae Brown in "Ghost" (1990).