Opinion

Opinion

Behind the secret government

April 25

The Watergate Scandal marks one of the most shameful events in the history of the United States government. Yet as shocking and disappointing as the episode was, it taught us an important lesson: to look beyond the surface and question everything. Bob Woodward, one of the two journalists who played a crucial role in exposing the scandal, spoke at Tufts yesterday to remind us that although Watergate occurred over 30 years ago, it is imperative that the spirit of investigation, of finding out the truth no matter how difficult that may be, survives in the modern world.

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Opinion

Ashish Malhotra | Follow the Leader

April 24

No, the political unrest in the Middle East has not stopped. And yes, the domino effect might just keep on going. On Saturday, the president of Yemen, Ali Abdullah Saleh, stated that he would relinquish power to his deputy 30 days after signing a hypothetical agreement that would give him, his family and his political allies immunity from prosecution.

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Opinion

To put words into action, Garcia for TCU president

April 24

Next year's Tufts Community Union (TCU) Senate president will be the first to work with University President-elect Anthony Monaco. He will not only help shape the agendas of both Monaco and a new group of high-level administrators but will also set a crucial tone for the relationship between the Senate and an incoming university administration. This makes tomorrow's election a particularly important one; it is essential that the student body take advantage of the opportunity to make an impression on Tufts' new appointees. Tomas Garcia is the right choice for such a task.

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Opinion

The unblessed who give rather than receive

April 24

Atheism, more often than not, extends far beyond merely not believing in gods. A common misconception exists that atheists are merely intellectuals unconcerned with activism and community service. To the contrary, many atheists count themselves among the Humanist movement, dedicated to empathy and compassion as well as reason and evidence. Thus, a significant aspect of the life of a Humanist is a dedication to charitable giving and enthusiastic service: doing good for goodness' sake rather than supernatural appeasement.

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Opinion

4/20 crackdown highlights administrative hostility

April 24

Last Wednesday marked the fourth year in a row in which I have attended the informal Tisch Library roof gathering on April 20, or "4/20" as it is affectionately called by those familiar with its distinguished status as the international holiday of the marijuana counterculture. Like each of the previous years, the minutes approaching 12 a.m. and 4:20 p.m. saw a massive influx of students proudly displaying their knitted ponchos, Bob Marley T-shirts and glossy red eyes. But unlike each of the previous years, also in attendance this year were various administrative deans and a large Tufts University Police Department (TUPD) contingency. IDs were taken, joints were stomped out and, in at least one instance, a student was tackled and forcibly restrained (for reasons, I may add, which entirely avoided me as I watched on in surprised disbelief).

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Opinion

Letter to the Editor

April 20

Dear Editor,

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Opinion

The truth about Facebook 'privacy'

April 20

Are you worried about your privacy on Facebook? Currently, 85 percent of college students have a Facebook account. Many employers check potential employees' Facebook profiles to get an idea of what kind of people they are. Compromising pictures and comments left by friends can ruin job opportunities and consequently change your life. Many graduates in the job market have learned the hard way that it might be a good idea to put concerns of personal privacy above the social-networking aspect of Facebook.

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Opinion

Club sports program needs financial overseer

April 20

Following a lack of administrative communication that resulted in a failure to properly allocate funds to club sports, the Tufts Community Union (TCU) Senate on April 10 passed a resolution calling for the university to appoint an administrator who would oversee the finances of the Athletics Department. The miscommunication — which occurred over the past two years and involved confusion between the Senate and athletics administrators regarding which funds went to Tier I and Tier II club sports — resulted in $10,000 of the club sports budget remaining overlooked and unused.

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Opinion

Why swap clothes?

April 20

On April 22, which happens to be Earth Day, the Tufts Eco-Reps will be hosting the second (hopefully annual) clothing swap. You're excited, I know. A chance to get rid of those old clothes taking up drawer space and maybe pick up a few "new" items. But a clothing swap has more value than a fun, free way to spruce up your wardrobe. The benefits fit into two categories: before and after.

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Opinion

Monsanto does not meet Tufts' standards of environmental sustainability

April 19

One of Tufts' most alluring qualities for me (as I'm sure it was for many of you) as a high school senior was its reputation as a globally conscious institution whose highest goals were to be a "model for society at large," to further human equality, to fight for the undeniable rights of all human beings, to maintain peace and to increase environmental sustainability. But two weeks ago when Jumboleaks published a list purported to be the university's outdated investment holdings, I was thoroughly disillusioned with the contradiction of these high standards and disturbed to find what companies we were allegedly connected with. With drastically increasing populations, society needs agricultural companies that can provide the products needed for increased food production without damaging the environment or the health of peoples. Monsanto, who was listed on Jumboleaks.org as one of Tufts' investments, is not this kind of company. In fact, the Monsanto Company embodies the exact opposite of the principles that our Tufts community so ardently values; Monsanto is a corporation that will do anything, often at the cost of polluting the environment, endangering health and violating rights, in order to increase personal gain and company profit.

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Opinion

A small name may bring big reward

April 19

The Daily last month revealed that Charles Vest, president of the National Academy of Engineering and president emeritus of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), will deliver this year's commencement address. Vest does not boast rock−star fame; he made his name mainly in academia. But we should not shun him out of hand.

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Opinion

Prashanth Parameswaran | The Asianist

April 19

As thousands of representatives convene in Phnom Penh today for a donor conference, Cambodia is mulling a draft NGO law that forces associations and non−governmental organizations to undergo an onerous registration process. While the government says the bill aims to stem crime and promote transparency within these institutions, it doesn't take a lawyer of Atticus Finch's acumen to grasp this as another veiled attempt by Prime Minister Hun Sen to curb dissent and destroy the fabric of civil society in the country.

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Opinion

Elisha Sum | InQueery

April 18

To branch off of my discussion of semiology and the unstable signifier "woman," this column will address transfeminism. Historically, various strands of feminism, from radical separatist lesbian feminism to Marxist to cyberfeminism, have all shaped today's version. Throughout the critiques and tweaks, the question of what is a woman comes up and results in the exclusion of trans women and leads to transphobic rhetoric leveled against them. The late radical feminist Mary Daly described trans people as "Frankensteinian" in "Gyn/Ecology" (1978), professor Janice Raymond asserts that trans women partake in a patriarchal intrigue to subvert feminism in "The Transsexual Empire" (1979), and Germaine Greer, a prominent voice of second−wave feminist discourse, characterized trans women as a "ghastly parody" in a 2009 Guardian piece. Need I continue?

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Editorial

Tufts should offer gender-neutral housing

April 18

Students Acting for Gender Equality (SAGE) earlier this semester submitted a proposal to the administration for the creation of gender-neutral housing at Tufts. The proposal, titled "Recommendations for Gender Neutral Housing at Tufts" outlined an "option in which two or more students may share a multiple-occupancy bedroom, in mutual agreement, regardless of the students' sex or gender."

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Opinion

The essential nature of laughter

April 13

The Light on the Hill seems a bit dimmer as of late. I see a lot of people on campus who appear to be struggling day to day just to get by. It may just be finals approaching, it could be the awareness of the weather irregularities and the general state of things or it could be the economic situation straining our personal finances. I get a sense that a lot of people are feeling the blues, ennui or, perhaps, nothing at all.

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Opinion

Once again, ECOM flouts its responsibilities

April 13

Following an inadequately advertised pre-election process, 17 students last week walked onto the Tufts Community Union (TCU) Senate uncontested. The Senate did not even manage to fill the 21 seats that were available to rising sophomore, junior and senior students, meaning that Tufts Elections Commission (ECOM) will have to organize another election in the fall to fill the empty spots.

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Opinion

Celebrating at 63: Revisiting the birth of Israel

April 13

More than 80 years ago, Albert Einstein famously declared, "Zionism springs from an even deeper motive than Jewish suffering. It is rooted in a Jewish spiritual tradition whose maintenance and development are, for Jews, the basis of their continued existence as a community." With Einstein's sentiments in mind, the Tufts community prepares once again to congregate in the Mayer Campus Center tomorrow to celebrate our annual I−Fest tradition as Israel turns 63 years old. Nonetheless, several questions have been raised regarding the legitimacy of celebrating the State of Israel's independence and its basic right to exist.

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Opinion

Setting the right precedent for journalism

April 12

Labor activist Jonathan Tasini yesterday filed a class-action lawsuit against The Huffington Post, the popular online news and opinion website, as well as HuffPost owner AOL and HuffPost co-founders Arianna Huffington and Kenneth Lerer on behalf of thousands of uncompensated bloggers. Tasini, a former HuffPost blogger himself, filed the $105 million suit on the claim that Arianna Huffington unjustly profited from the work of the site's regular bloggers and other contributors, which add up to over 9,000 writers. Beyond the legal bases of the suit, Tasini's case places upfront and center the question of author rights, a question that needs an answer as we move ever closer to the age of digital-only journalism.

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Opinion

Prashanth Parameswaran | The Asianist

April 12

Late last month, the World Trade Organization (WTO) reversed its past finding and ruled in China's favor on countervailing duty and anti−dumping measures in U.S.−China trade. The decision rankled the United States and validated the view among some Chinese that international rules can work in their favor. But it also points to the need for Washington to be more strategic about taking China to the WTO on trade disputes in the future and to think critically about the best approach to use.

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Opinion

The dark side of Israeli Independence Day

April 12

"If I were an Arab leader, I would never sign an agreement with Israel. It is normal; we have taken their country … There has been Anti−Semitism, the Nazis, Hitler, Auschwitz, but was that their fault? They see but one thing: We have come and we have stolen their country. Why would they accept that?" — David Ben−Gurion, founding prime minister of Israel.

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