Opinion

Opinion

Re: Why we must not target the Mormon Church

November 19

It was only a matter of time, I knew, before we would begin to hear about the impropriety of criticizing the Mormon Church for its staunch opposition to the equality of marriage. As the author of an op-ed in the Nov. 10 issue of the Daily, "A modest response to Proposition 8," which did indeed briefly target The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, I feel rather compelled to issue a response to Monday's piece by Gregory Kastelman, "Why we must not target the Mormon Church."

---

Opinion

A call to financial arms

November 19

I am glad that last Friday's edition of the Daily covered the proposals for what we should do with the recovered funds. But since so few students attended the last town hall meeting and many haven't heard the full extent of the financial crisis, I do believe the argument bears repeating here.

---

Opinion

Marijuana is still illegal

November 19

On the night of Nov. 4, in the midst of the various festivities at Tufts commemorating the election of Barack Obama, some students found something else to celebrate. Instead of -- or maybe just before -- heading to one of the impromptu Obama rallies, they lit up their joints and smoked away in honor of the passage of Question 2.

---

Opinion

Stevens has no place in Congress

November 18

In a democracy, the people get the government they vote for. Fortunately, it appears that this government will no longer include Sen. Ted Stevens, a recently convicted felon.

---

Opinion

Letter to the editor

November 18

Dear Editor,

---

Opinion

A necessary evil

November 17

Since the invention of the Model T Ford in 1908, the U.S. automobile industry has been the backbone of America's industrial economy. Today, the Big Three — General Motors, Ford and Chrysler — are in danger of collapsing under the weight of a bad economy and self-inflicted policy blunders. In its lame duck session, Congress will vote on whether to use part of the Wall Street bailout funds to dig the auto industry out of its financial quagmire. We reluctantly support this rescue initiative.

---

---

Opinion

The problem with Prop 8 and the Mormon Church

November 17

In an article in Monday's edition of the Daily, "Why we must not target the Mormon Church," Gregory Kastelman made the case that calling the Mormon Church out for its vehement promotion of Proposition 8 is a bad idea that will only promote intolerance of the religion. I could not disagree more.

---

Opinion

Tufts: Not the tree-hugging, progressive school we pretend it is

November 17

I've heard the notion batted around that Tufts is an almost disturbingly progressive school, and in some respects it's true. We, the members of the student body, are committed to promoting universal human rights and making this world a better place. We believe in a globally equitable response to the recent financial crisis. We are morally outraged at the international community's relative silence on the rising violence in the Congo. We hate the scientists who hurt defenseless rabbits and chimpanzees, and we scoff at anything labeled "conservative" (with the exception of those brave contrarians who work for the Primary Source).

---

Opinion

Why we must not target the Mormon Church

November 16

I feel very wronged. Proposition 8 has stripped me and hundreds of thousands of Californians of the basic civil right to marry. The passing of Prop 8 is a huge setback for human rights in America.

---

Opinion

Obama should close Guantanamo

November 16

The American people took the first step in restoring America's international reputation when they elected Barack Obama president on Nov. 4. But it was still just that: a first step.

---

Opinion

Reduce, reuse, recycle

November 16

America's economy is based on endless consumption. We each produce an average of 4.6 pounds of trash per day. If your family is of "average" size, you will produce 5,272 pounds of trash each year. We recycle 31.4 percent of our waste, while countries like Switzerland recycle 52 percent. According to the National Recycling Coalition, the energy saved by the number of cans, bottles (glass and PET plastic), newspaper and corrugated cardboard we recycled last year was equivalent to 11 percent of the coal-produced energy in the United States.

---

Opinion

An overused trump card

November 12

When a conflict arises between the military and the environment, the military wins, according to a new Supreme Court decision. The court ruled yesterday to lift bans and restrictions on submarine training exercises that have the ability to harm marine mammals. In a 6-3 ruling, the court reasoned that the possibility of damage to the environment is not enough to warrant restrictions on military training.

---

Opinion

Undiagnosed conditions present a real problem

November 12

I am writing in response to the Nov. 11 news article "TCU senator wants retroactive-removal process for grades." I have reservations about the retroactive-removal process stemming from the potential for abuse of the process and concerns about transcript integrity. Dean of Undergraduate Education James Glaser's comments regarding the necessity of such a grade-removal process, however, must be addressed. These comments present a misguidedly optimistic view of mental and physical health care and counseling — both at Tufts and nationally — and simplify the capacity of mentally or physically ill students to identify the reason for their suffering grades.

---

Opinion

Mikey Goralnik | Paint The Town Brown

November 12

There are a lot of things people do at shows that make me want to gargle with Drano, but near the top of the list is when some "jaded vet" seeks you out to say, "Yeah, man, I remember when (the band) used to play in VFW halls/basements/some other hellhole venue." OMG … really? You were there all those years ago?!?! You are sooooo cool!

---

Opinion

India getting ready to answer the '1-800-Future' call

November 12

Chandrayaan-1, the first Indian spacecraft sent to the moon, began its voyage on Oct. 22 from Satish Dhawan Space Center in Andhra Pradesh, India, carrying 11 scientific instruments, including five of its own and six from various other space agencies. It also carried the aspiration of a billion people.

---

Opinion

An interview with Joe the Plumber

November 10

Every presidential election has distinct images and words that come to people's minds when they reminisce. In 1960, it was the New Frontier. In 1980, it was Morning Again in America. In 2008, it was Joe the Plumber.

---

Opinion

Some needed support

November 10

Currently, students who are diagnosed with mental disorders like depression are given the opportunity to withdraw from their classes and have records from the semester expunged. What is not taken into account under the current system, however, is the case of a student who performs poorly because of a mental condition that he or she does not recognize or have diagnosed until after the semester is over. At the moment, Tufts has no recourse for a student whose poor performance in a particular semester was due to an undiagnosed condition.

---

Opinion

Some encouraging results for women's rights

November 9

Much of the press this past week that was not centered on the triumph of Sen. Barack Obama has focused on the narrow victory of California's Proposition 8, which defines marriage as the union of a man and woman. For those progressives despairing at what is obviously a step backwards for the rights of homosexuals, however, take comfort in the fact that the one great progressive leap of electing Obama has not suddenly thrown all other reforms into reverse. On Tuesday, both Colorado and South Dakota, two states that voted Republican in both the 2000 and 2004 elections, struck down ballot initiatives that would in effect illegalize abortion.

---

Opinion

Letter to The Editor

November 9

Dear Editor:

---

Opinion

Taking back our reputation

November 9

Over the past few years, Greek life on the Hill was thought to have become a cloistered and taboo relic on the fast track to obscurity. A nationwide decline in recruitment, along with several shameful incidents perpetrated by a host of Tufts fraternities and sororities led many to believe that our Greek system was destined to a slow death. Many chapters in the past decade have skirted the threshold, barely surviving pressure to close down from their national organizations and the Tufts administration. It wasn't always like this. In the past, fraternities and sororities represented something more than the occasional hosts of weekend blowouts. The Greek community once hosted large campus-wide events, which students and faculty looked forward to. The individual houses spent large amounts of time and money on fundraisers and philanthropy, using their manpower and dues money to help the community and those in need. Fraternities and sororities even used to have faculty mentors and good relationships with professors and deans. In short, wearing letters around campus didn't automatically label someone as a drug dealer, bigot, hazer or womanizer.

---