Opinion

Opinion

Still searching for affordable health care

October 18

Universal health care took much of the stage throughout the summer. Debates were constant, and many people sat glued to their television screens watching the vote. The reforms that were implemented do several wonderful things. They extend the length of time children can be covered under their parents' plans (as a college student, this is something I will appreciate in the future), make it more difficult for insurance companies to drop expensive customers and remove lifetime caps on medical costs. Yet huge issues remain. People are kidding themselves if they think this reform will suddenly make everyone able to afford adequate health care.

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Opinion

The message from Chile

October 18

Last week's successful conclusion of the mission in Chile to rescue 33 miners trapped more than 2,000 feet underground has led to an explosion of joy and a sense of solidarity both in Chile and around the world.

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Opinion

Elisha Sum | Our Genderation

October 18

Tori Amos once sang, "Tell me what you think they'll do when they find you out … find out you're just a p----, my sweet boy."

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Opinion

From the Public Editor | A new year for the public editor

October 17

With the official vote in from the Media Advocacy Board, I can now confidently and legitimately accept the position of public editor. Conceived back in 2008, the public editor position was created to encourage healthy, meaningful campus conversation by having someone outside the Tufts media universe provide critical opinions on what is written, how stories are reported and what crosses the line of community acceptability.

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Opinion

Fly your (rainbow) flags high

October 17

Tufts observed National Coming Out Day on Wednesday amid much fanfare. A large crowd gathered at the Mayer Campus Center to hear speeches about overcoming anti-gay discrimination and to show support for students and faculty from the queer community while gay-pride flags fluttered across campus.

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Opinion

A burden to carry: Why we must remember our past

October 17

We all have to carry our own burdens. Even though most of us have no kids to support, no mortgages on houses and no jobs on the verge of being outsourced to the other side of the globe, we know what it feels like to have worries. Some are bigger than others: Did I choose the right major? Will I be able to pay tuition for yet another semester? Some are small but still unnerving: Will I finally finish that essay that was due last week or go to see "The Town" at the movie theater?

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Editorial

Balancing the narratives: Israel and Palestine

October 13

At a university that prizes humanitarianism and the just recognition of all voices in conflict, events like tomorrow's Tufts Sderot Awareness Day present a serious imbalance. Tufts' chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine urges the Tufts community to review contending narratives and hear the Palestinian voice. It is our hope to initiate a campus−wide, inclusive discussion that respectively incorporates all voices on behalf of Israel and Palestine.

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Opinion

Joshua Youner | Conscientious and Contentious

October 13

Earlier this year, the Supreme Court issued a staggering decision in the case Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission. The Court struck down parts of the 2002 Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act, known as the McCain−Feingold Act. In doing so, the Court has unequivocally allowed corporations, both of the for−profit and non−profit variety, to spend unlimited amounts of money in political campaigns.

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Opinion

Sex talk revolution?

October 13

Sex is BIG. It's big, and it's everywhere. The media is saturated with sex. It floods the forums on the website College ACB at Tufts, the cast members of " Jersey Shore" have an entire room dedicated to "smushing," and on?camera teen moms juggle jobs, schoolwork and screaming babies in the background (a big slap?in?the?face reminder to use protection). It's on our minds constantly: Girls think about it all the time (...right?), and guys definitely do (if I'm ever questioning this, I simply tune in to the constant conversations of my two male roommates talking about the "bangable" girls they see at the gym). Apparently we Tufts students are so sexually charged that the administration had to lay down the law with some dorm room policies last year. If you've resorted to the sketchy scenario of sex a few feet away from a "sleeping" roommate, dear God, read on, and hopefully you've been able to think of some creative solutions since then. Even if you're not actively doing the deed - because of misfortune or personal choice - don't skip ahead to the Sudoku puzzle just yet. Let's be honest, reading this is probably a lot more fun than Sudoku.

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Editorial

Lack of religious knowledge concerning

October 12

While the United States is a highly religious country, an assessment of religious knowledge has revealed that the American people are generally not very knowledgeable about matters of general theology and religious history. The survey, conducted by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life, consisted of 32 questions pertaining to general knowledge of world religions. Americans, on average, answered only about half of the questions correctly. This finding begs scrutiny by religious and nonreligious people alike.

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Editorial

Quality news doesn't grow on trees

October 12

Recognizing that giving content away for free may not be the most lucrative  business model, this week The Boston Globe joined the ranks of some other regional and national newspapers by announcing that it will launch a subscriber-only, fee-based website next year.

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Opinion

Peace Prize should not be a political tool

October 11

Winning an award is usually a cause for celebration. Winning the Nobel Peace Prize is something else entirely: It is the recognition of efforts that are already intrinsically valuable. It means that you have dedicated your life to the progress of humanity, and that is certainly something to be proud of.

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Opinion

Elisha Sum | Our Genderation

October 11

Tori Amos once sang, "Look, I'm standing naked before you; don't you want more than my sex?"

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Opinion

Think 2040: What will your future be?

October 10

Oct. 11, 2040: You wake up to the sound of the television in the background; CNN is covering the 20th anniversary of the Israeli−Palestinian ceasefire. After breakfast, you walk out of the house to find your newly wedded neighbors, Mike and David, mowing their lawn. You step into your hydrogen−powered car and drive to the office, a wind−turbine company centered in Detroit.

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Opinion

Confronting Columbus Day: Education, not celebration

October 10

For most students in the United States, our first introduction to genocide probably came to us during elementary school in the looming form of lessons about the Holocaust. We learned the facts of the Nazi atrocities from the outside looking in, shocked that a government could sponsor the slaughter of millions of its own people. Genocide was a foreign concept. We were relieved that the United States was not responsible for such state−organized killing.

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Editorial

More consistent surplus distribution needed

October 10

The Tufts Community Union (TCU) Senate's newest plan for the allocation of surplus funds, most of which are leftover from the Student Activities Fee, proves to be another lacking, albeit honorable, attempt at fairly distributing this money.

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Opinion

Where have all the students gone?

October 10

With a beautiful quad on which to relax, varsity sports games to attend and residential dorms in which to socialize, one would expect the campus to be bustling with students every moment classes are not in session. But some students claim that week after week, as soon as Friday classes come to an end, the quads start to empty — and stay that way until Monday morning, leaving those who emerge from their rooms on Saturday afternoons asking: Where have all the students gone?

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Opinion

Cyber bullying

October 10

The tragic suicides of gay students on college campuses in recent weeks are the latest striking reminders of the devastating consequences of harassment and of cyber bullying. College and university communities have seen electronic victimization on the basis of race, gender, sexual identity and religious and ethnic background in growing numbers. No university can claim to be welcoming and free from discrimination until all of its students, staff and faculty feel safe.

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Opinion

Protect offensive speech

October 6

The disgusting protests of a small Kansas church over the past few years have provoked and angered attendees of the funerals of American service members who are understandably shaken and distressed to encounter hateful picketing during such a private moment of grieving. But as deplorable as this obnoxious behavior is, the right of the members of the Westboro Baptist Church to exercise their right to free speech must be upheld.

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Opinion

Joshua Youner | Conscientious and Contentious

October 6

Did you know that today is the ninth anniversary of the start of the war in Afghanistan? Probably not. Earlier this year, the war in Afghanistan surpassed the Vietnam War as the longest war in American history, yet we had no idea.

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