Opinion

Viewpoint

Tufts should make course syllabi open to students

By Kunal Botla | November 30

I’m a first-semester undergrad in the five-year combined degree program with the School of the Museum of Fine Arts at Tufts. In my time at Tufts, I’ve noticed that registering for courses is made difficult by a significant factor — not knowing the specifics of how the classes I’m enrolling in are taught until the class’ first meeting or when the syllabus is posted on Canvas. From what I’ve heard, I’m far from the only one being impacted.

---

Viewpoint

Trump’s insane language concerning his opponents

By Evan Wang | November 30

Donald Trump’s rhetoric on the campaign trail and in office has never been tame by any standards. Ranging from quoting the fascist dictator Benito Mussolini to calling white supremacists “very fine people,” Trump seems to incite controversy whenever he opens his mouth. Yet, as the 2024 election approaches, Trump has accomplished the amazing task of spouting even more controversial language than ever.

---

Column

From Classroom to Clinic: Medicine and motherhood, the case for cryopreservation in residency training

By Deeksha Bathini | November 29

For most women, medical training coincides with their reproductive prime.The average age to matriculate to a medical residency program is 27.5 years old. In 2016, a study found that 24.1% of female physicians attempting conception struggled with infertility, compared to11% of the general female population in the U.S. When asked if study respondents would do anything differently, some subjects said they would have tried to have children sooner, chosen a different medical specialty or tried cryopreservation.

---

Viewpoint

Joe Biden should take some cues from George Washington

By Kevin Golub | November 29

Joe Biden just turned 81 years old. He has served as U.S. President for three turbulent years, in which he has disastrously withdrawn from Afghanistan, ignored the people of East Palestine, Ohio and presided over a truly shocking crisis at the southern border. Despite these undeniable failures, Biden is still running for reelection, though he has hardly spent any time campaigning compared to his Republican counterparts. While Biden’s old age and mental acuity continue to concern voters, Karine Jean-Pierre, White House press secretary, nevertheless proclaimed during a press briefing that “eighty is the new forty.” This raises the question of why Biden needs to use the lower stairs of Air Force One, which allow him to enter the plane on a shorter staircase out of view from the media. Denial is rampant in the Biden administration, and the country is screaming for Biden to move aside for a younger, more able candidate to lead the country. Yet Biden refuses to back down, despite numerous gaffes and his frequent trips to the beach.

---

Viewpoint

Let’s give thanks without the history lesson

By Reya Kumar | November 28

I can still recall my elementary school Thanksgiving celebrations. Using construction paper, we made “Indian” feather headdresses and Pilgrim hats to don at our Thanksgiving feast. We celebrated the voyage of the Mayflower (as we had those of the Niña, Pinta and Santa María a month before) and the friendship of two peoples. Considering that 90% of the Indigenous population of the Americas was killed by violence and disease following Christopher Columbus’ famed 1492 voyage, this story is false and deeply misleading.

---

Guest

Op-ed: The antidote to pre-med burnout? Caring connections.

By Andreea Liao | November 28

As an undergraduate pre-med student at Tufts University, I decided to pursue medicine because I wanted to ease the immense mental health burden and apprehension that patients and families feel when facing serious illness or disability. I’m also a second-year transfer student who, incentivized to immerse myself in the world of healthcare with other similar, like-minded individuals, came to Tufts excited to prepare myself for the journey to become a doctor. But here’s a secret: Lately, the nonstop stress and grind of the pre-med track makes me sometimes lose sight of the purpose that inspired me in the first place.

---

---

Viewpoint

Sophomore slump: The new senioritis

By Bela Silverman | November 21

At the beginning of my sophomore semester, I woke up at my desk with my alarm ringing — from what my roommates had informed me — for the last 45 minutes. A half-drunk Celsius sat beside a red solo cup filled with stale Cheerios that had replaced my dinner, and I had exactly five minutes to get to my morning class. It was official: I had entered the sophomore slump.

---

Viewpoint

Joe Manchin needs to stop trying to be the hero

By Dylan Tanouye | November 21

As the least progressive Democrat, Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia has been thrust into the national spotlight numerous times for his staunch opposition to many aspects of Biden’s agenda. Despite the criticism Manchin gets from his more liberal counterparts, his recent announcement that ...

---

Viewpoint

From Las Vegas to Liverpool, the AI invasion has already begun

By Gretta Goorno | November 21

Flying cars, learning machines and domed cities — since the Industrial Revolution, humans have envisioned a future filled with striking, complex machinery. Hollywood has expanded on this concept, producing intense science fiction films like “Blade Runner” (1982) and “The Terminator” (1984) in which evil machines hide among humans, overtaking mankind and wreaking havoc on the planet.

---

Column

The Budget Line: Boston under 30 bucks

By Justin Hong | November 20

We finally made it.Fall break officially starts on Wednesday, though for some, perhaps, it started as early as last Thursday. For many, it means heading home and catching up with family or friends from high school.

---

Column

The Policy Perspective: The importance of climate policy

By Keshav Srikant | November 20

Over the past few years, Tufts has made it easier and easier for students to act in environmentally conscious ways. One only needs to walk a few steps into the Joyce Cummings Center to see the carefully separated trash, recycling and compost bins with useful labels to help students dispose of their waste sustainably. These steps aren’t insignificant, but they’re often less significant than we are told or may assume. 

---

Viewpoint

Music for a different kind of patriotism

By Liam Chalfonte | November 20

Perhaps one of the most tired takes in American politics is that Americans aren’t patriotic enough. However, this sentiment conceals a wealth of presuppositions about what it means to be an American. This is perhaps no better exemplified than by the Zac Brown Band’s song “Chicken Fried” (2005). The chorus describes the ideals of the American heartland: “A cold beer on a Friday night / A pair of jeans that fit just right … See the love in my woman’s eyes / Feel the touch of a precious child / And know a mother’s love.” 

---

Viewpoint

Tufts has acquiesced in the face of anonymous hate speech

By Kevin Golub | November 20

Sidechat has become a forum for dangerous, anonymous discourse ever since Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7. Furthermore, physical anonymity has been widespread at recent protests at Tufts — protestors have worn surgical masks or other face coverings to hide their identity. The recent fighting instigated by Hamas has exposed the darker side of anonymity, including the unchecked spread of hate speech and inaccurate reporting, as well as pro-Palestine rallies featuring protestors with their faces covered.

---

Viewpoint

Tufts’ financial quandary, Part 2: How Tufts can correct its past failures

By Kevin Golub and Reya Kumar | November 17

In our last article, we explained the reasons for and ramifications of Tufts’ high tuition. But how can we lower it? The solution is raising money and better focusing funds.

---

Guest

Op-ed: Introducing the Coalition for Palestinian Liberation at Tufts

By Coalition for Palestinian Liberation at Tufts | November 17

The Coalition for Palestinian Liberation at Tufts is a coalition of student organizations fighting for a free Palestine by demanding action from our institutions. As we engage in the long work to end Tufts’ complicity, we also rally students to demand an immediate ceasefire, an end to the siege on Gaza and an end to all aid from the so-called U.S. to apartheid Israel. We believe there is nothing more powerful than community and solidarity, and we reject the attempts of those in power to divide, isolate and intimidate us. CPLT aims to learn from one another and educate the student body on how our struggles are deeply intertwined. We believe that the liberation of Palestine is connected to the liberation of all oppressed people and thus seek an end to all interlocking systems of oppression through collective action and solidarity. We stand proud as we build on a rich history of student organizing, including the 12-year struggle for Tufts to fully divest from apartheid South Africa. Together, we are growing student power and will not stop until the university heeds to all our demands and divests from Israeli apartheid.

---

Viewpoint

Tufts’ financial quandary, Part 1: The reasons for and ramifications of high tuition

By Kevin Golub and Reya Kumar | November 16

It is no secret that Tufts is expensive. Tufts is the fifth most expensive school in the country, with tuition for the 2023–24 school year being more than $66,000, well above the national average for private colleges, which is approximately $42,000. This astronomical price tag has numerous implications. For one, it limits the socioeconomic diversity of our student body. A 2017 study found that Tufts is ranked 10th in the nation for colleges with the highest median family income and 50% of Tufts students come from the top 5%. Only 44% of Tufts students are on financial aid, versus 55% at Harvard or 56% at Amherst. These stats are to be expected, with tuition as high as it is. There are certainly many qualified students who would love to attend Tufts, but aren’t here because they simply can’t afford it. Our campus is missing their perspectives and contributions.

---

Viewpoint

Biden’s low polling isn’t the end of the story

By Reya Kumar | November 15

President Joe Biden is currently polling lower than most of our last six presidents at this point in their first term. The only one who consistently matched these abysmally low numbers is his likely opponent in 2024, former President Donald Trump. The 2024 election is looking to be a rematch between two of the most deeply-disliked presidents in America’s recent past.

---

Opinion

Letter to the Editor

By Gary Leupp | November 15

Dear Editor, I would like to respond to two responses to my letter of Oct. 30. Asher Berlin states that my letter indicates ignorance of “legitimate fears of Jewish students on campus,” and does not address what students’ pro-Palestine protests are in his view supporting, which he thinks is the butchering of Jews.

---

Column

From Classroom to Clinic: Navigating reproductive rights in the wake of Ohio’s Issue 1

By Deeksha Bathini | November 15

As a native Ohioan, the recent statewide referendum that included Issue 1, formally titled “The Right to Reproductive Freedom with Protections for Health Safety,” has been on my mind. The citizen-initiated amendment that passed on Nov. 7 provides the “right to make and carry out one’s own reproductive decisions, including but not limited to decisions” on abortion, contraception, continuing one’s own pregnancy, miscarriage care and fertility treatment.

---

Viewpoint

The importance of celebrating Russian and Ukrainian cultures

By Liam Chalfonte and Sadie Roraback-Meagher | November 14

Recently, some members of the Tufts community have called for the decolonization of the Russian Program. Their reasoning is that, by continuing with the program and further celebrating Russian culture, Tufts is complicit in the genocide of thousands of Ukrainians. Undoubtedly, it is understandable to feel anger and resentment towards a country that has continuously been an imperialistic force, caused devastating humanitarian impacts for former Soviet states and deprived people of their lives, happiness and peace. These brutalities that the Russian government has inflicted are undeniable, and the continued suffering of Ukrainians is beyond appalling. That being said, it’s important to make a distinction between the Russian government — one that rigs elections, silences expression and poisons opposition — and the Russian people.

---