Opinion

Viewpoint

The MBTA must crack down on fare evasion

By Keshav Srikant | October 14

In September, the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, responsible for Boston’s public transit network, announced they would be cracking down on fare evasion — the practice of traveling on public transit without paying. This move comes after the MBTA has already lost tens of millions of dollars from unpaid fares. According to a 2021 MBTA analysis, the system lost between $5 million and $6 million in annual revenue from unpaid fares on subways, trolleys and buses. Including the commuter rail, the MBTA lost an additional $10–20 million each year. When an NBC investigative team scoped out several Green Line stations near Boston University, they found that almost every passenger boarded the train without paying.

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Viewpoint

Zohran Mamdani and the power of leftist policies

By Monica Reilly | October 10

Ever since President Donald Trump was voted into office in 2016 — and arguably even before that — Democrats have scrambled to regain their voter base. We saw these efforts succeed in former President Joe Biden’s 2020 election but then falter in former Vice President Kamala Harris’ 2024 loss. In the midst of defeats among Democrats that followed, a politician by the name of Zohran Mamdani drew sudden attention.

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Viewpoint

Let us not take inspiration from comrade Mamdani

By Evan Wang | October 10

As the New York City mayoral race enters its final stretch, it is looking increasingly likely that, without anything drastic happening, Zohran Mamdani will be crowned the eventual winner — and a lot of progressives are excited. Mamdani, relatively new to the political scene, is expected to shake up the Democratic scene with his youthful support base and socialist policies. While this might win him the election in overwhelmingly leftist NYC, it should not serve as a blueprint for Democrats across the nation as they try to win back Congress this midterm season. 

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Viewpoint

To be human is to be chimpanzee: The legacy of Jane Goodall

By Kaashvi Ahuja | October 10

I remember little from my early years in central London, though the city still feels like an echo of home. I was 4 years old when we left, and my childhood memories exist mostly as fragments: my favorite park, the hum of traffic and a toy monkey. This monkey was about the size of a small bag of potatoes, poorly stuffed with uneven stitching, and it was my favorite thing in the entire world. I would sleep with it; I would eat with it. I was devoted to this humble lump of fabric and, as far as I was concerned, it was under my protection. We all remember our childhood object of affection, fiercely defended with disproportionate love. To protect something fragile simply because it cannot protect itself — this is, in retrospect, our first expression of selflessness and empathy, an instinct we too often unlearn as we grow and mistake detachment for maturity.

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Column

Through Indigenous Eyes: Tribe-run tourism

By Sorsha Khitikian | October 10

After spending our first night with a family member in Las Vegas, my mom and I hit the first destination on our road trip: the Grand Canyon. A bucket-list item for both of us, we decided to make the most of the drive. Along the way we stopped at cool sites such as the Glen Canyon Dam and Wahweap (where I even got to touch the Colorado River!). But by far the standout of these stops was Upper Antelope Canyon.

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Editorial

Editorial: The Daily’s guide to spectacular sips

By The Editorial Board | October 9

The last day of Starbucks’ operation in the Joyce Cummings Center was marked by confusion and disappointment, as the closure was announced with only two days’ notice. The grab-and-go, pick-up only cafe not only provided fast drinks and bites to students and faculty going in and out of one of Tufts’s busiest buildings, but it was also a place for socialization, studying, networking and conversations over coffee and sweet treats. Starbucks was also a convenient place for the numerous guests coming in and out of the JCC while touring Tufts and a hot spot for families that visited. The grief from much of the student body is justified: Tufts lost a popular multipurpose cafe that served a wide range of audiences.

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Viewpoint

Cat-didates or candidates? What a cat election tells us about the state of politics

By Jachin Lam | October 9

On Sept. 16, a new, special mayor was announced in Somerville: one who emerged from a tight, grueling race over the summer, in a campaign that had residents sitting on the edge of their seats. Oh, and the preliminary elections for Somerville mayor happened too.

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Column

Forgotten Fronts: USAID cuts will kill millions in Sudan and leave America destitute on the world stage

By Alexander Degterev | October 7

President Donald Trump’s dismantling of the United States Agency for International Development was never just a budgetary decision; It was a political declaration that welfare abroad be damned — ushering in a new era of direct and in-your-face U.S. intervention. 

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Viewpoint

Reap the entrepreneurial benefits that Boston has to offer

By Linda Huang | October 7

On Sept. 19, I attended the Cross University Student Innovators Mixer at Tufts, hosted by the Derby Entrepreneurship Center, right after 2025 Startup Boston Week. While Elaine Chen, director of the Derby Entrepreneurship Center, kindly told me that I, too, am an “innovator” despite never having started a business myself, I knew I was part of the majority of Tufts students who have never seriously considered launching a startup at this stage in life. To put it bluntly: There are far fewer startups coming out of Tufts compared to many other universities, and I’m one of the reasons why there isn’t one more.

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Editorial

Editorial: Defending free media starts with sustaining local news

By The Editorial Board | October 2

On July 24, President Donald Trump’s Rescissions Act was signed into law, stripping over $1 billion in allocated funding from NPR and PBS and marking a dark day for public broadcasting. From providing educational programming like “Sesame Street” to delivering breaking news, public broadcasting has long served as an integral part of American life across all divides and is a vital resource to staying informed.

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Guest

Op-ed: A crash course in seasonal work

By Soeren Euvrard | October 2

I stood outside a hangar at the Anchorage airport, facing the morning sun, one week after finishing my first year at Tufts. If I had turned around and flown home at that moment, no one would have faulted me — and my heart might have stopped trying to leap out of my throat. The last thing on my mind was school. Gone was the friendliness of my dorm, but gone too was the pressure and low self-esteem that had dragged and dragged on me all year. I blinked hard, walked inside and thus began my journey through seasonal work.

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Viewpoint

Consider eating less meat this fall

By Keshav Srikant | October 1

As a new semester at Tufts begins, food is everywhere — at dining halls, social bonding events, late-night study sessions and parties. It is ubiquitous, a triviality many of us neglect to consider, yet essential for survival — and for most Americans, food is also synonymous with meat. 89% of Americans include meat as part of their regular diet, while only 4% of Americans identify as vegetarian and a minuscule 1% as vegans. However, as we enter the fall, I would like to respectfully urge those who enjoy meat to consider eating just a little less of it this semester, or at least consider the notion before rejecting it immediately. 

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Column

The Bigger Picture: How I see the world through the camera

By Linda Huang | September 30

Most people who have read my viewpoints probably know by now that I am an enthusiastic opinion-haver on political and socioeconomic issues (check out my previous column “Coffee Table Socioeconomics!”). What they might not know, however, is that I’m also an avid movie-watcher and amateur reviewer. Combine these interests, and this column is born. 

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Viewpoint

Nice try, Tufts

By Liam Chalfonte | September 25

After over a year of debate over a neutrality policy, Tufts has adopted a position of “institutional pluralism,” involving a plot in which the word “neutrality” has been swapped out for “pluralism,” to make it seem like Tufts is actually doing something productive. Spoiler alert: they’re not.

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Column

Through Indigenous Eyes: A great (Native) American road trip

By Sorsha Khitikian | September 25

Hello! Welcome back to another semester of “Through Indigenous Eyes.” I realized that I never introduced myself last semester: My name is Sorsha Khitikian, and I am a junior at Tufts. I am Yurok, a tribe on the Klamath River in Northern California, but I grew up away from my tribe’s reservation, making me an ‘urban Indian.’

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Viewpoint

Reading for pleasure shouldn’t mean reading to get off

By Sorsha Khitikian | September 22

BookTok is difficult to describe. It is, in its earliest form, a forum that originated on TikTok for people to talk about books across social media. Now, though, BookTok has developed into the be-all and end-all of readership opinion. If a book is popular on BookTok, then it is virtually guaranteed to sell well; if BookTok doesn’t popularize it, then it’ll fade into the noise.

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Editorial

Editorial: Who are we?

By The Editorial Board | September 18

Since 2022, the Daily has published 35 collectively written opinion pieces on issues relevant to Tufts students under what is called the Editorial Board. But what does this board entail, and why does its position matter? We, the Daily’s seventh Editorial Board, believe it is time to finally define who we are, what we do and why our work within the Daily matters.

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Viewpoint

The revolution will not be televised: How media suppresses protest coverage

By Monica Reilly | September 18

As counterintuitive as it may sound, protest, revolt and revolution are embedded in American culture. Our very country was founded on the American Revolution, with radical acts like the Boston Tea Party celebrated by our founding fathers. Suffragists endured hunger strikes and prison sentences just so women could secure the right to vote. Civil rights leaders organized bus boycotts so effectively that the very legislation surrounding them changed. Disability activists staged sit-ins in politicians’ offices for weeks on end to advocate for laws protecting disabled people. These acts of resistance are now remembered as honorable acts of courage, necessary for the development of our country. That same support, however, has not been extended to modern movements.

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Viewpoint

Colonialism’s unlikely successor: Religious mission trips in Central and South America

By Olivia Zambrano | September 18

As a native Texan, I’ve spent my fair share of time at Christian overnight camps, where many of my former bunkmates gradually shifted their summer plans from Bible study and kayaking to religious mission trips. These missionaries, predominantly white and Christian, waste no time posting on Instagram to commemorate the end of their missions. They often capitalize upon South American communities and exploit their interactions with children to garner empathy and praise from their peers without the consent of the families they work with.

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Guest

Op-ed: In honor of Charlie Kirk

By Tufts Republicans | September 16

We were all left shaken by the assassination of Charlie Kirk on Wednesday afternoon. To many of us, Charlie was more than a national figure on the news. He was a role model, a source of inspiration and a living example of what it means to stand for one’s beliefs with respect and conviction.

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