Whenever starry−eyed investors knock on his door at the Vietnamese embassy in Washington, D.C., Tung Nguyen, the boyish, bespectacled deputy chief of mission, is sure to inject a dose of reality into their sunny optimism.
Much news these past days has rightly focused on the terrible disaster happening in Japan. Most of the coverage has been on the ongoing problem of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station. The situation there is critical, and it seems now highly likely that there could be a significant release of radioactive matter. As frightening as this is, the continuing news coverage has helped me realize the thing I fear the most in the world.
"This is a republic of peace. We seek peace, cooperation and friendship … peace with our neighbours … and friendship with the great nations of the world." South African Prime Minister Verwoerd made these remarks in celebration of the nation's fifth anniversary.
There's a joke that goes something like this: "A CEO, a Tea Partier and a union member are sitting in a room. Someone brings in a plate full of cookies. The CEO grabs all but one of them, looks at the Tea Partier and says: ‘You better watch out, he's trying to take your cookie.'" As much one may want to chuckle, the kernel of truth hidden in this jest has now become too outrageous to bear.
President Barack Obama yesterday gave a speech outlining his desire for education reform at Kenmore Middle School in Arlington, Va. He announced his plans to significantly alter the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 by changing the criteria for judging schools' success as well as doing away with the 2014 deadline for academic proficiency.
Researchers in Toronto, Canada, published a study in 2005, reporting that bisexual males have homosexual tendencies and concludes that, "indeed, with respect to sexual arousal and attraction, it remains to be shown that male bisexuality exists." In pop culture, the gay character Blaine from "Glee" confirmed this finding in the "Blame It on the Alcohol" episode when he took a dip in the mythic pool of bisexuality and came out as gay again. Additionally, another gay character, Kurt, angrily reacting to Blaine's exploration of his sexuality, denies the very existence of bisexuality in the same episode.
In 2002, I had my first encounter with the Naked Quad Run (NQR). That year, two students nearly died the night of the run due to alcohol poisoning. In addition, we had many reports of broken bones and sprained ankles and wrists; we also heard accounts of students being tripped and groped by spectators. At the time, the event was completely unmanaged. When I saw the carnage, I sent a message to the community expressing my own strong opinion that it should end. I was persuaded otherwise by students and alumni who argued that the run was a cherished tradition at Tufts and that it could be managed to make it safe. I was also persuaded by those who argued that if we tried to eliminate the run, it would only reappear in other forms that might pose even greater risk to our students.
University President Lawrence Bacow has decided that the university will no longer allow the Naked Quad Run (NQR) to continue. The ritual of streaking around the Res Quad is a decades−long Tufts fixture, and its loss is regrettable, but we at the Daily support Bacow's decision to put an end to it.
Have you been paying attention to U.S. politics lately? The U.S. Senate thankfully just voted down a bill to defund any family planning clinic that offers abortion, including Planned Parenthood. Abortion already cannot be federally funded. Instead, the Title X funds in question serve to create affordable pelvic and breast exams, HIV and STI testing, cancer screenings, birth control and related doctor's visits. Eliminating funding for Title X would make the continued existence of Planned Parenthood nearly impossible. The disappearance of Planned Parenthood would keep millions of Americans from access to basic healthcare. As Planned Parenthood functions on a sliding scale of payment based on income, this disappearance would have the harshest effect on low−income families without health insurance, who see the greatest benefit from Title X funding.
Thus far, 2011 has not been a good year to be the leader of a North African nation. January saw Zine El−Abidine Ben Ali, President of Tunisia for over 23 years, flee to Saudi Arabia after a 28−day popular uprising against him. In February it was Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak who was forced to step down after 30 years of autocratic rule.
An initiative launched last year by a group of students from five American and Canadian universities, Israel Peace Week seeks to inform college students about Israel's democratic character and efforts at forging peace with its neighbors. Israel Peace Week also strives to highlight the multicultural, multiethnic and multi−religious aspects of Israeli society to students who may otherwise only associate Israel with the turmoil of the region or who may never even think about Israel at all. More than 20 different campuses successfully executed the campaign last year and, one year later, 50 campuses nationwide have adopted the educational initiative — including Tufts University.
Tufts' janitors are in limbo as a new contract negotiation could either ensure the security of their futures at Tufts or put their jobs in jeopardy. Tufts is in the midst of searching for a new janitorial services provider following the expiration of the university's contract with ABM Janitorial Services over a year ago. The university's justification for finding a new provider is to update the current contract and come up with one that is "more efficient," according to Dick Reynolds, vice president for operations.
For most students who were raised in religious households, arriving at Tufts represents a unique fork in the road. Gone are the watchful eyes of parents and the familial pressure to attend religious services and live devoutly. We are left with a newfound freedom in which we encounter troves of new ideas and new people. We can abandon the ideas we grew up with if we come to the conclusion that they were imposed on us. On the other hand, some of us might realize at college that our faiths are more than just rituals and we might become more interested in deepening our understanding. Students who don't come from religious backgrounds might find that college raises a new set of questions about life, and they too might be interested in exploring faith.
As Tufts students we understand that it is possible to feel overwhelmed with the sense of obligation to actively support social justice issues and how difficult it can be to find an issue which truly resonates with you. Whether you believe there are too many causes to choose from or not enough that align with your values, it can be difficult to find ways to meaningfully dedicate your time to a cause you truly care about. Although we don't purport to have the ability to solve this problem entirely, the Tufts Social Justice Arts Initiative (SJAI) is actively seeking a solution through Issue as Muse, an event designed to bring local and international issues to the awareness of Tufts students through the performing arts.
President Barack Obama on Monday rescinded his two-year-old directive banning military tribunals at Guantanamo Bay. In a new executive order, Obama clears the way for resuming military trials at the naval base. This is regrettable, considering the president campaigned on — and committed to, once taking office — closing Guantanamo within a year of his inauguration. Still, the concession is a prudent one. Guantanamo is a nearly impossible issue, one that may be black-and-white in moral terms but is very gray in practice, and the reforms that the president has included in his most recent order alleviate much of what Americans have found so distasteful regarding the military base.
For this week, I'd like to focus again on silenced queer voices, this time vis-à-vis the military service. But before I talk about "don't ask, don't tell" (DADT) and queer criticisms, let's briefly look at queer activism's history.
"Child trafficking" is a dangerous euphemism for one of the most unexposed yet horrific forms of modern slavery. As the student-run Love146 concert cafe night highlighted Saturday evening, the real issue is sex slavery — now the second-most lucrative crime in the world. Every year, it is estimated that at least 1.2 million children are sexually exploited. The sickening tragedy is that children are sold into prostitution every minute, and most people have absolutely no idea this is happening.
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