Opinion

Editorial

Make cheap birth control readily available

April 26

Students at Tufts are now receiving contradictory messages when it comes to sexual health and birth control. On one hand, stacks of pamphlets at Tufts Health Service inform college students about the benefits and proper use of different contraceptive methods. On the other hand, easily accessible and cheap birth control packs, formerly offered by college health centers across the country, are no longer available due to a cut enacted in the 2005 federal budget.

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Editorial

Let market determine academic effectiveness

April 22

As final exams near, the federal government wants to make sure college administration and faculty are not left out of the examination mix. A Sunday Boston Globe article highlighted the Department of Education's attempts to introduce accountability standards into higher education in order to determine just how well and how effectively students are learning.

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Editorial

Hotung ID issue is one of miscommunication

April 11

Two days ago Hotung re-opened to great fanfare for throngs of excited students waiting to get a panini and a bottle of Sam Adams to slake their thirst and fulfill all their fantasies of an on-campus pub.

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Editorial

Developing Davis Square

April 8

The results of a new survey highlighting the potential benefits of a hotel in Davis Square may contribute to the ongoing development of the Tufts, Davis Square and Somerville communities. This advance is an opportunity to assess the potential benefits of a new hotel project to a vibrant and changing area.

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Editorial

Patrick is off to a rough start

March 29

It is disappointing to see Governor Deval Patrick's first term get off to such a rough start. After an uproar over the Democrat's opulent spending on office furniture, a suspicious telephone call during which Patrick offered himself as a character reference for a company subject to Massachusetts state regulation, and the announcement of his wife's worsening depression, the new executive is now facing charges of putting the welfare of administration insiders before that of the Commonwealth.

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Editorial

Politicians juggle personal, public responsibilities

March 25

News of Massachusetts state Senate President Robert Travaglini's resignation to pursue private interests highlights the central role money plays in politics as well as the human scale and reality of a system that often seems larger than any one individual.

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Editorial

Diversity committee should define goals

March 15

It is with high expectations that we welcome the news that the Tufts Community Union (TCU) Senate is building a committee on student diversity.

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Editorial

Too many losers in the housing lottery

March 14

Coming on the heels of the university's recent plans to better Tufts residential life with Stratton, this year's housing lottery was quite the disappointment, particularly for some of Tufts' rising sophomores, a group that has historically been, and is currently, guaranteed on-campus housing.

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Editorial

Capping health care costs may be inefficient

March 11

Massachusetts Senator Patricia Jehlen's bill to reduce health care administrative costs addresses a serious problem, but ultimately is not the best way to achieve her desired end. Though Jehlen's bill identifies a key problem with the American health care system, we must consider the ramifications if its passes.

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Editorial

Diplomacy is the first line of defense

March 7

Yesterday, former Secretary of State Madeleine K. Albright gave the Issam M. Fares Lecture in the Gantcher Center before an enthusiastic audience of students, faculty and alumni. Albright, who at the time of her unanimous confirmation by the Senate was both the first female Secretary of State and the highest-ranking woman in the history of the United States government, gave an interesting and spirited lecture on the past, present, and future of conflict and resolution in the Middle East. An overarching theme was the need for increased diplomacy in managing such conflict.

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Editorial

Protect our soldiers at home

March 5

It looks as if there won't be any smiling photos of the President posing with recovering soldiers published in the near future. The Commander-in-Chief has his work cut out for him after a series of articles printed last month in the Washington Post revealed squalid conditions at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. The problems unveiled by the Post's reporting - from black mold and rodents in recovery rooms to inadequate medical care - will not be solved by some glossy publicity and a few photo-ops.

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Editorial

EPIIC panel addresses corporate responsibility

March 4

Despite chalkings outside Fletcher, rumors of protest, and the presence of a metal detector and bag check, Saturday evening's EPIIC panel, "Global Governance and the Multinational Corporation," progressed unmarked by the high level of conflict anticipated. The event, a discussion of corporate responsibility, should be regarded as a success and a model for further discussion on campus.

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Editorial

Too little, too late for Carmichael roof

February 28

At this time of year, there are a multitude of factors that make Tufts students anxious. Bad weather, worse midterm exams, and study abroad applications all combine to stress out Jumbos as they navigate the perilous slog to summer. Yet residents of Carmichael Hall have one more concern, one that won't go away until the summer: the holes in their dorm's roof.

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Editorial

College funding plan a start, but incomplete

February 25

The President's commitment to make college more affordable through the expansion of the federal Pell Grant program is laudable but sadly incomplete. In expanding the Pell Grant program, some students are aided while others are left behind.

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Editorial

Grassroots to riches

February 22

The new Democratic governor of Massachusetts is learning that he cannot cruise through the next four years on charisma alone. His first self-admitted "screw up" in office put Deval Patrick in the limelight this week, and the publicity was not positive. As Republican critics and various media sources questioned Patrick's excessive spending - from the roughly $12,300 spent on new office draperies to a $72,000 yearly salary for his wife's new aide - the governor apologized for some, but not all, of his expenditures.

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Editorial

Parade is not the same old song and dance

February 21

The culmination of Intercultural Week, Parade of Nations makes its annual return this weekend. Always well attended, this event allows students to enjoy a variety of ethnic foods, performances, sights and sounds and to bask in the glow of multiculturalism.

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Editorial

Give students a reason to go Greek

February 19

Former Director of Fraternity and Sorority Affairs Todd Sullivan may be missed on campus, but the Greek system has learned from his tenure. This semester's low recruitment numbers aside, fraternities and sororities at Tufts have avoided the destructive scandals that marked the past few years.

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Editorial

Not another Iraq

February 14

On Aug. 22, 2002, at the Veterans of Foreign Wars 103rd National Convention, Vice President Cheney said that there was "no doubt that Saddam Hussein now has weapons of mass destruction."

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Editorial

Summers may have something to say at Snyder Lecture

February 12

For many Tufts students and faculty members, the invitation of this semester's Snyder Lecturer Lawrence Summers represents the latest debacle by an insensitive administration.

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Editorial

Faust breaks Harvard's glass ceiling

February 11

The appointment of historian Drew Gilpin Faust as Harvard's next president is a historic first. As the esteemed university's first female president, Faust takes over an office that is older than the Presidency of the United States and matched by few in its public profile.

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