To the Tufts community:I sent the following to the Tufts administration after receiving their email regarding the student protests on campus, published here with a few revisions:
I attended my first Passover Seder in four years on April 22 with Chabad and 200 other Tufts students. Jews have attended Passover Seders every year since at least 90 BCE, and I celebrated the holiday every year up until college with my grandparents. Passover, like many Jewish holidays (i.e.Rosh Hashanah, Sukkot, Shmita, Tisha B’Av and TuBiShvat), is directly tied to our claim of indigeneity based on a continuous 3,000-year-old history to the land of Israel, as it celebrates the arrival of the Jewish people to Israel from slavery in Egypt. Today, the “world’s oldest hatred” continues to be influenced by its past and morphs to fit the present social fabric. Simultaneously, we are connected to each past generation of Jews who each faced different challenges.
In journalism, facts matter. In its latest editorial, The Tufts Daily’s editorial board distorted the facts beyond recognition.
The School of the Museum of Fine Arts at Tufts saw negotiation between SMFA’s part-time lecturers and the university this past fall. The Professors of the Practice, SMFA’s full-time faculty, are now beginning bargaining sessions for a set of contract improvements through posters and a banner draped on Bessie, the rhinoceros mascot of SMFA.
I want to write this piece to express my disappointment in the regressive state of laws regarding women in the U.S. Three weeks ago, on April 9, the Arizona Supreme Court reinstated a Civil War-era near-total abortion ban that makes the procedure illegal except when the mother’s life is in danger.
Summer in Qatar is unbearable; most days reach a high of at least 104 degrees Fahrenheit. The air feels void of vapor, the land is arid and cracked, but most of all, the heat from the sun is unforgiving. Every summer, I remember accompanying my mom to the nearest auto repair shop to replace our leather car seats, which melted from the scorching heat of the metallic seatbelts. It was quite an inconvenient endeavor. When the temperature is high enough to irritate your skin, there isn’t much to do during the day, unless your idea of fun is visiting the same handful of indoor malls the country has to offer.
Joel Omolade has never been known to settle for anything less than great. He seeks to improve every system, organization, and space that he’s a part of. When he says “Better starts now,” he means it. When casting your vote for the next Tufts Community Union president, take a second to consider the candidate who turns words into action.
Journalists play a crucial role in documenting humanitarian catastrophes by holding truth to power and telling stories when there is no one else to tell them. For over six months, while facing unimaginable challenges, Palestinian journalists in Gaza have been telling the world the truth about Israel’s actions in Gaza — actions which, as described by UN experts, constitute genocide.
While engagement with the Israel-Palestine conflict has increased dramatically since the Israel-Hamas war started on Oct. 7, 2023, it is far from a new topic at Tufts University. The Daily’s website includes articles on the subject dating back to 2000, and I am sure that many more exist in the physical archives of the Daily and other Tufts publications. Since at least 2000, the terms “pro-Palestine” and “pro-Israel” have graced the pages of the Daily and existed within the discourse on our campus.
Around the same time as the U.S. House of Representatives approved a $60.8 billion aid package for Ukraine, one representative voiced concerns regarding “Nazi” ideologies in Ukraine.Timothy Snyder, the Richard C. Levin Professor of History and Global Affairs at Yale University, who specializes in the history and politics of Eastern Europe, debunked the myths about Nazism in Ukraine at the hearing.
I lived in Carmichael Hall during my first year at Tufts, so naturally I would frequent Fresh at Carmichael Dining Center. Dewick-MacPhie Dining Center, Hodgdon Food-on-the-Run, Pax et Lox Glatt Kosher Deli and Kindlevan Café were all wonderful options; however, they required a trek downhill and back up again. While all of these locations were admittedly less than a 15-minute walk from my dorm, that journey wasn’t one I was willing to make most of the time, especially not after a long day of classes or on a cold winter night. I was thus stuck with going to Carmichael Dining Center (dubbed “Carm” by many), the only uphill dining option. Unfortunately for me, Carm is entirely gluten-free.
One of my favorite opportunities offered to Tufts students is the wide array of events we are invited to participate in. When I saw that there would be an event on “The Israel-Hamas War and Jewish Life on Campus,” my curiosity was piqued. I did not want to miss hearing from speakers who connected international events with our local community, especially amid rising antisemitism and anti-Palestinian racism. I came to this event ready to learn and to hear perspectives both familiar and new to me. Unfortunately, this event fell short of my expectations of this institution.
Throughout college, I’ve often had to explain to people that I do not, indeed, have an Instagram account. In fact, I’ve been social media-free for most of my life, which has often felt like both a social detriment and a personal benefit. People are quick to point out the cons of going offline: It is more difficult to meet people, exchange contact information and keep up with (or keep tabs on) your high school friends you don’t talk to anymore.
If the #MeToo movement didn’t expose the dark and twisted side of stardom for you, the past month certainly should have. When Kate Middleton went missing, conspiracy theories flooded TikTok accounts, claiming that the Princess of Wales was killed in a Diana-esque incident, had a mental breakdown or even had a Brazilian butt lift.
Perhaps the most notable oddity of former President Donald Trump’s business career is the diversity of his ventures. Besides real estate, the former president has sold NFTs, wine and golden “Never Surrender” high-top sneakers. Most recently, Trump has embarked on his newest scheme: Bibles. For $59.99, the “God Bless the USA” Bible, which holds the King James translation, the Pledge of Allegiance, the U.S. Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, can now be purchased online. While the “God Bless the USA” Bible is another laughable odyssey of Trump’s business career, it’s more importantly emblematic of his dangerous codependent relationship with Christian nationalism.
On Thursday, April 18, the Tufts Community Union Elections Commission voted to disqualify a candidate from the election for president of Tufts’ student body. In response, the candidate filed an appeal to us, the TCU Judiciary, on the basis that they were denied due process, substantial information was not provided to them at the time of resolution and the consequences were unduly severe.
I’ve spent the last year writing columns about how U.S. public policy can be improved. From housing to public transportation to education to climate change, there are many areas where we can do better. For my last edition of this column, however, I wanted to write about beneficial public policies that have been passed and that are often missed or ignored in a media consumption environment with a strong negativity bias.
American progressives have long derided the right for its attacks on education and schools; however, it is long past time for the American left to look at itself in the mirror and realize its own hubris. This is not to let the hard right off the hook when it comes to education, but it is necessary for the left not to lose sight of its own failures.
The American education system is in crisis: a shortage of teachers, post-pandemic declines in learning and lack of proper funding plagues an already battered education sector. Instead of helping to reform this crumbling system and helping America’s youth, political figures on both sides of the aisle seem more willing to engage in culture war nonsense. While the left isn’t innocent in any of this deadlock, the main failings when it comes to the politicization of education still belong to the right.
National Public Radio, previously one of America’s most trustworthy news sources, had a major lapse in judgment. Uri Berliner, formerly an NPR senior business editor, recently authored an eloquent piece in The Free Press, where he detailed his career at NPR and the media outlet’s prolonged ideological decline. He discussed how NPR gradually became more liberal throughout his 25-year-long career at the business desk.
Op-ed submissions are an integral part of our connection with you, our readers. As such, we would like to clarify our guidelines for submitting op-eds and what you can expect from the process.
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