Opinion

Editorial

Senate survey reflects students' opinion

January 26

For college students, public discourse and debate are staples of life. Throughout the past several months, debate over the installment of Tufts' alcohol policy has been on the minds of students on the Hill. The administration has undoubtedly had good reason to take action in an attempt to increase alcohol-related safety and awareness on campus. As overseers of campus life, it is the administration's duty to do its best to look out for its students. The university cannot simply ignore the fact that excessive consumption of alcohol and underage drinking are both serious problems on campus.While the Daily agrees that alcohol safety is certainly a vital concern, responses from the student body have made it clear that the current alcohol policy is extremely problematic and is not supported by the majority of students. Although past Tufts Community Union Senate surveys have been criticized as only interviewing a small subset of students on campus, the Senate's most recent survey took this potential bias into consideration. The Senate worked with Professor Kent Portney of the political science department to create a more accurate survey that reached a greater diversity of students on campus and addressed possible issues that might slant the survey in one direction.Results from the new survey show that 61.7 percent of students who participated claimed that the policy has not affected their drinking habits. Data also showed that 44.5 percent claimed that they are less likely to call Tufts Emergency Medical Services in a dangerous situation involving alcohol for fear that repercussions under the policy will lead to negative consequences for the students involved. Portney pointed out that this number may be skewed, because students who disapprove of the policy may have falsely reported their response to this question, but it nevertheless remains true that the policy has made many students uncomfortable looking to the university for help when an alcohol-related problem arises.The results of the Senate's new survey serve to reinforce a sentiment that students have been attempting to convey since the inception of these regulations: The benefits do not outweigh the problems with the policy.We appreciate that the administration is trying to help students, but ultimately, we should have more of a say in the decisions that are made on our behalf. The Senate exists so that students can have a say in the policies on campus and so that new rules are made as a community. If the administration refuses to listen to the pleas of the student body and its representative student government, the democratic function of the system is essentially nonexistent. The alcohol policy may have been well-intentioned, but overall it has become clear that the installment was not successful.We urge the administration to take the Senate survey results seriously and listen to what the student body has to say. If we cannot work together as a unified Tufts community and listen to each other's opinions, relations between students and the administration will undoubtedly become strained.

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Editorial

Tough Times

January 24

As the first age group to be reared with computers close at hand and as students with tight budgets and high tuition, our generation has come to expect that nearly everything we need in terms of information and entertainment can be found for free through the magic of the Internet. This belief, however, is about to meet new opposition. The New York Times last week announced that beginning in 2011 it will make its full online content available only to those who pay a flat fee. Under the new Times policy, an allotted number of free articles will be available to readers every month, after which they will be asked to pay for access to material on the site.The Daily understands the dire financial situation that has made it necessary for the Times to make such a difficult choice. With ad purchases in a downward spiral and more people opting to get their information from easy and free sources on the Internet than from print newspapers, it's no mystery why the Times had to make some drastic changes. But it is nonetheless a sobering reminder that quality and accurate journalism does not come for free.As members of the very age group whose constant Internet usage is said to be a primary factor in the decline of print media, we feel that this move by the Times will prevent greater readership of its coverage by the younger generation. Publications like the Wall Street Journal and the Financial Times, both of which have had relative success with charging for online content, are geared toward older and wealthier readers for whom business news is a focal point of their occupations.While it is certainly true that there are a number of Times readers from this age group, it is also clear that the Times' broader coverage appeals to a larger demographic that includes a swath of younger people, many of whom are college or graduate students and young professionals. College students in particular, who are notoriously strapped for cash, are unlikely to pay for online readership. Additionally, even those younger people who have graduated and may have landed a job are so accustomed to getting news for free that the Times' new fees will merely spur them to look to other sources for their news, especially for major stories that are likely to appear in a variety of media, whether that be in print, online or on television.In this way, the Times seems to be almost removing itself from younger people, alienating them by effectively limiting their access to sound reporting and journalistic excellence and making it even more unlikely that newspapers will regain their place as a touchstone of everyday life in the coming generation.

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Editorial

Haiti cries for not only supplies, but security

January 20

As the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, Haiti's ability to cope with the massive earthquake that hit the area on the evening of Jan. 12 is limited. The United States, one of Haiti's closest neighbors and the richest country in the Western Hemisphere, needs to pool its resources and wealth to give substantial aid to the suffering people of Haiti. So far, the United States has been actively responding to the disaster. Both government agencies and non-governmental organizations have been making an effort to help the Haitian people. Non-profit organizations such as UNICEF, the American Red Cross and World Vision have been seeking donations from the public to help Haitians and providing direct on-the-ground support in Port-au-Prince, the country's capital. In addition, the U.S. government has been providing provisions directly to the people.In the past year, it seems that the Republicans and Democrats of both the House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate have been unable to agree on any policies. However, despite their inability to agree on issues such as health-care reform, Republicans and Democrats have been able to see eye to eye on one thing -- that providing intensive aid to Haiti should be a priority of the U.S. government. Though the United States has taken initiative and is actively responding to the disaster, the issue of security has not yet been properly addressed. To allow for the provision of effective and far-reaching aid, the excessive looting and overall chaos that has overtaken Port-au-Prince needs to be quelled.According to an article that appeared in The Washington Post on Jan. 19, much of the medical care and food provisions already in the country have not been making it to the city's suffering population because the civil unrest has caused utter chaos in the streets. The Post said that 'security has emerged as one of the most formidable challenges in this earthquake-shattered capital ... limiting the ability of the United Nations and relief officials from elsewhere to distribute the food and medicine beginning to pile up at the airport.' Even though the U.S. military has come to Haiti to assist the struggling United Nations peacekeepers, the efforts have been focused primarily on distributing supplies rather than securing the situation.Because people are too afraid to leave their few possessions to seek medical care and food, they are dying of starvation or of wounds that could be taken care of by relief workers. Without securing the city, the medical supplies and food sources cannot get to the people; effectively controlling the chaos needs to be the top priority of the U.S. military.The U.S. government's efforts to aid the Haitian people in the wake of the 7.0 magnitude earthquake that destroyed Port-au-Prince have been laudable. Unlike with its response to Hurricane Katrina, the government has taken immediate action to alleviate some of the suffering that ensued after the quake. If the U.S. military can further secure Port-au-Prince, then the distribution of aid will be a much smoother process, and aid will reach a far greater segment of the population.

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Opinion

STEM education: How Tufts students can help

December 9

Science, technology, engineering and math education in the United States is at a crucial juncture. In an age of stem cell research, clean energy innovations and nanotechnology, scientific research and discovery are paving the way to a better future. Technology-driven professions have become increasingly common, with a central focus on innovative approaches to solving many of the world's pressing issues. A significant number of college graduates will find themselves employed in technological fields, and this number will only increase as less technical jobs are outsourced.

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Opinion

Timing is everything: Tisch should rethink hours

December 9

According to multiple student accounts, the Hirsch Reading Room was unable to accommodate the number of people who wished to make use of Tisch Library Late Night Study on Sunday and Monday. Although library staff denies that students were turned away, overcrowding in the Reading Room is indicative of a larger problem regarding late-night study spaces on campus.

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Opinion

Jacob Kreimer | The Salvador | We cannot do everything

December 9

It's been a long 11 weeks. At least once a week, I've had the privilege to have almost the exact same conversation. It goes like this: I start off by saying, "Oh man! I have a column to write." "Oh," the other person will reply. "You write a column? Sweet. Wait, what's it called? Oh. Wait, how do you write about El Salvador every week. What is there to say?"

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Opinion

A need for a Humanist chaplaincy at Tufts

December 9

Are you an agnostic? An atheist? Or simply non-religious? If so, you probably happen to identify with Humanism.

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Opinion

Focused and Engaged

December 8

While each campus publication has its own perspective and prism through which it views the world, each attempts, in some manner, to discuss present issues in ways that are digestible and relevant to the student body.     And thus I think it important to clarify the focus of the Observer article that Duncan Pickard referred to in his Dec. 7 op-ed, "On campus: Why we should lose our national focus." The article, entitled "Mind the Gap: The Future of Healthcare in America," attempts to address the issues of health care and health care reform from the perspective of young adults, and can be accessed at tuftsobserver.org.

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Opinion

Letter to the Editor

December 8

Dear Editor, Last Thursday, Dec. 3, a group of Tufts students testified at the State House and made this legislator and Tufts alum very proud.

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Opinion

Guarding a reputation, but sacrificing principles

December 8

Earlier this year, Jess Zimmerman, a junior at Butler University in Indiana and the author of the anonymous blog "TruBU," was sued by his school for supposedly writing libelous statements about Peter Alexander, dean of Butler's Jordan College of Fine Arts. The university used this lawsuit as a thinly veiled and unfair means to compromise the anonymity of the blogger and bring him to "justice."

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Editorial

Simplistic rankings do little justice to colleges

December 7

Kiplinger, a personal finance advice magazine, recently rated Tufts as the 22nd most valuable college in the nation, and once again high school students and their families are left wondering how accurate — or useful — these ratings actually are. Walk into the home of a high school senior and one is likely to find an array of college guidebooks, brochures and various charts printed from the Internet. US News and World Report's annual college ranking often sits at the top of this pile.

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Editorial

Headline goes here

December 7

Unbeknownst to many Tufts students, primary elections will be held today in the race for the U.S. Senate seat vacated after the death of Sen. Edward Kennedy. Although publicity for the election has been sparse, its results could hardly be of greater import. Aside from assuming all the responsibilities characteristic of a U.S. senator, Massachusetts' new representative will enter Congress in the midst of the most important debate over health care reform in decades. Every Tufts student registered to vote in Massachusetts is urged to head to the polls today and again on Jan. 19 for the general election.

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Opinion

Fighting a war without sharing the sacrifice

December 7

In what was arguably the most important speech of his young presidency, President Obama took the stand at West Point last Tuesday to announce his plan to send 30,000 more troops to Afghanistan. Attempting to rally public support for the cause, the President reiterated his belief that the enemy we fight in Afghanistan poses "no idle danger, no hypothetical threat" and that the "security of the United States and the safety of the American people [are] at stake in Afghanistan."

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Editorial

Major election deserved more publicity

December 7

Unbeknownst to many Tufts students, primary elections will be held today in the race for the U.S. Senate seat vacated after the death of Sen. Edward Kennedy. Although publicity for the election has been sparse, its results could hardly be of greater import. Aside from assuming all the responsibilities characteristic of a U.S. senator, Massachusetts' new representative will enter Congress in the midst of the most important debate over health care reform in decades. Every Tufts student registered to vote in Massachusetts is urged to head to the polls today and again on Jan. 19 for the general election.

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Opinion

Composting at Tufts made easy

December 7

With knowledge of the huge benefits of composting under your belt, do you find yourself wishing every day that you, a Tufts student, had an easy and convenient way to compost your own organic waste? Or maybe you've heard about composting, but have never given it much thought? In either case, proceed on, dear reader, because I have news for you.

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Opinion

The market for humanitarianism

December 6

It is David vs. Goliath. It is corporate America vs. small business. It is the ongoing struggle between One Laptop per Child (OLPC) and Intel. Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) professor Nicholas Negroponte founded OLPC as a non-profit organization in the hopes of expanding educational opportunities through the spread of personal computers to children in the world's poorest countries. Running operations out of its small MIT headquarters, OLPC managed to create a cheap, durable and effective computer, the XO-1. The goal was to distribute this computer to as many underprivileged children in the world as possible. Initially, the product proved to be a global success as orders were placed from Uruguay to Ghana. Seizing on OLPC success and an untapped market for sales, Intel introduced its own netbook. Its Classmate PC has become OLPC's largest competitor in these poorer countries and can now be considered the industry leader.

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Editorial

A mandate for no mandate

December 6

"Mandate" — it is a word that has been tossed around frequently as of late by everyone from pundits to politicians to news anchors and analysts. Every public opinion poll result, election or protest seems to somehow be a political mandate for one party or the other, justifying that party's actions and ideologies. While it is true that votes are one of the clearest ways to quantify support, one would be remiss to draw the conclusion that because people vote for a particular candidate or support certain aspects of an ideology, their views line up entirely with those of one political party.

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Opinion

From the Public Editor

December 6

The cover story of the Nov. 9 issue of the Tufts Observer was a feature called the "Future of Health Care in America." The article was three pages long. On the table of contents, the next four stories were slugged "national" or "international," and save one article, the page numbers to the left of the titles for the rest of the issue incremented by no more than two at a time.

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Opinion

Jacob Kreimer | The Salvador

December 2

If I ever work for the people who own Walt Disney World, there is no doubt I'd score a bonus big enough to make former JPMorgan Chase execs sick. The plan is simple: Create the ultimate theme park ride simply and appropriately titled Driving at Night in the Third World (DNTW). It doesn't sound that catchy, but anyone who has had this experience will feel their sphincters tense a little when they hear about the most terrifying, bada** ride ever to grace America.

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Editorial

Medical school costs affect more than just students

December 2

$157,607: That's the average debt owed by graduating medical students in 2008, according the American Medical Association (AMA). That's enough for roughly 300 flights to the Caribbean, a small apartment in the Boston suburbs or one very nice car.

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