Opinion - The Tufts Daily

Editorial

Editorial: A one-day reading period is unacceptable

By The Tufts Daily | December 6

As the semester nears completion, the anxiety provoked by yet another semester of masking, COVID-19 cases and general uncertainty will grow exponentially. In 2019, we published an editorial that asked Tufts to extend the reading period beyond just three days. In hindsight, three days sounds luxurious; fall semesters at Tufts tend to only have a two-day reading period, and this semester is ending with a disconcerting one-day reading period.

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A love letter to Hodgdon

By Idil Kolabas | December 6

"Günaydın!"

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In Poland, 'Law and Justice,' or 'How to lawfully dismantle justice?'

By Makram Bekdache | December 3

The right-wing Law and Justice (PiS) party has been governing Poland for the last six years. The ruling coalition has turned a blind eye to and even discretely defended societal measures that go directly against the European Union’s stance, notably on issues like abortion and LGBTQ rights. These measures are a populist attempt by the PiS to ensure the loyalty of their crucial rural base, and they have already maintained the party at the helm through two elections. The country that birthed Lech Walesa and the fight against Soviet hegemony abruptly turned back on its history, bringing the Kaczyński twins, Jaroslaw and Lech, and their bigoted party to power.

Column

The Strike Zone: Urban China and the hukou system

By Eli Striker | December 2

During the last four decades, China has undergone a radical change, metamorphosing from a predominantly agrarian nation to a city-centric, economic powerhouse. The Chinese Communist Party has actively facilitated this trend of mass urbanization.

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The passage of Biden’s infrastructure bill and the consequences of our polarized political climate

By Faye Shen Li Thijssen and Sara Kessel | December 1

On Nov. 15, President Joe Biden signed the long-awaited $1.2 billion infrastructure bill into law. The U.S. is now able to finally begin infrastructure projects that were previously put on hold, investing $550 billion over the next five years. These projects includerebuilding our roads and bridges, investing in public transit and easing Amtrak’s maintenance backlog, expanding broadband systems to aid rural and low-income communities and furthering environmental infrastructure through climate resilience and renewable energy sources.

Column

A Better Consensus: We need filibuster restoration

By Jacob Fridman | December 1

There’s a growing consensus in the Democratic Party to eliminate the Senate filibuster. Even President Biden is now open to at least reforming it.

Column

The Journey: If the walls could talk

By Elizabeth Buehl | November 30

As Thanksgiving approaches on an annual basis, I naturally tend to find myself reflecting on everything I have to be grateful for. Last year, during my pandemic-laden freshman experience, I spent my first college Thanksgiving away from home. Although I was with friends I had met just a few weeks before, we shared a sense of home among each other. From making cranberry sauce in a noodle pot to baking a pie in the Carmichael Hall kitchen and commiserating over the sad state of the university-issued turkey, we made the best out of a less-than-ideal situation.

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A divided house in need of big repairs

By Trent Bunker | November 23

As the night of the Nov. 2 election progressed and it became clear that Republican candidate and businessman Glenn Youngkin would defeat former Democratic Governor Terry McAuliffe in the race for governor of Virginia, talking heads and pundits were instantly tasked with diagnosing our tumultuous political moment. After all, the state has been relatively blue since the Obama presidency and yet a candidate with the endorsement of former President Donald Trump, whom the state rejected in the 2020 election, was able to scrape together a winning coalition of rural Republicans and suburban Democratic defectors.

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Glenn Youngkin’s win in Virginia should be a wake-up call to Democrats

By Faye Shen Li Thijssen and Lily Langrind | November 23

On Nov. 2, Republican businessman Glenn Youngkin was declared the new governor-elect of Virginia with just over 50% of the vote.Youngkin’s victory marks a notable moment in the state’s political history, as he'll be Virginia’s first Republican governor in over a decade.In the wake of this historic election and political polarization of the past several years, this election may set an important precedent for the tone of national politics in upcoming election cycles.

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The unnerving implications of Mark Zuckerberg’s ‘metaverse’

By Gian Luca Di Lenardo | November 22

Mark Zuckerberg has changed Facebook’s corporate name to Meta to reflect the company’s growing focus on creating an all-encapsulating virtual reality known as the “metaverse,” a decision that has elicited a wide array of reactions. For those who consider themselves technologically inclined, Zuckerberg’s decision may be in line with that of a visionary, a progenitor of a new, exciting era of tech. For others, myself included, Zuckerberg’s decision reflects a growing gap between the world of everyday Americans and the world of people like Zuckerberg. In a world where lockdowns and social distancing have become realities, the last thing many of us desire is to live in a world mediated by holograms and finely tuned avatars. Zuckerberg is calling for nothing less than a reimagination of our relationship with technology and this should make us, at the very least, uneasy.

Editorial

Editorial: Students deserve better support from Tufts in the housing process

By The Tufts Daily | November 19

There’s a housing crisis at Tufts. This is, of course,nothing new; however, the COVID-19 pandemic has worsened this problem, forcing first-year students to live over a mile drive from campus, exacerbating unpredictabilities for sophomores preparing to lose guaranteed housing as juniors and creating uncertainties for those stuck with leases and planning to go abroad. There are three factors we discuss below that contribute to a pressing anxiety among the student body, all interconnected and centered around a basic human necessity: shelter.

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Managing expectations: How we can see hope in global climate summits

By Henry Murray | November 19

From Oct. 31 to Nov. 13, the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference, known as COP26, took place in Glasgow, Scotland. After years of climate summits filled with unkept promises and a worsening global climate crisis, many were skeptical that this climate conference would be any different. Amidst the summit, popular environmental activist Greta Thunberg called COP26 a failure.However, it is important to try to think about the effort in its entirety and to find a more positive attitude about these meetings. While I agree with Thunberg’s sentiment and exhaustion following speech after speech filled with claims and commitments that we can’t help but question, I believe COP26 offered promising outcomes.

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Boston’s new mayor Michelle Wu: A historic win for Boston and progressive politics

By Reya Kumar | November 18

On Nov. 2, Michelle Wu was elected mayor of Boston. This result was predicted — Wu was leading the polls for weeks — but it represents a historic achievement for the city of Boston. The outcome of this election would have been historic regardless of the winner, as both Wu and her opponent, Annissa Essaibi George, are women of color in a city that has only ever elected white men. In fact, all of the top four candidates in the primary election were women of color, illustrating the growing voice of minority populations that make up over 50% of Boston’s populace.

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The deadly 2021 Astroworld Festival: Travis Scott should not be allowed to perform again

By Idil Kolabas and Emily Nadler | November 18

Content warning: This article discusses violence, death and the disturbing details of the 2021 Astroworld Festival.

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Reclaiming the Jamahiriya

By Makram Bekdache | November 17

A decade ago, following in the footsteps of its Tunisian neighbor, Libya revolted against the decades-long dictatorship of Muammar Gadhafi. The self-proclaimed “king of kings” of Africa responded in a typically bloody fashion by firing on demonstrators and imposing harsh repression. Bolstered by its European allies, notably Nicolas Sarkozy’s France, the U.S. assembled a wide-reaching NATO operation in support of the rebellion. The UN declared Libya a total no-fly zone, and months of round-the-clock aerial bombings quickly tilted the advantage into the rebellion’s hands. Gadhafi’s Jamahiriya (which, ironically, translates to “state of the masses”) fell in late 2011, and the dictator was captured and killed in October of that year.

Column

A Better Consensus: Let's do a public option instead

By Jacob Fridman | November 17

President Biden finally reached a deal for his Build Back Better bill on Medicare drug pricing. Medicare, the program that gives health insurance to everyone over the age of 65, would be able to negotiate with drug companies for lower prices on life-saving drugs. It would also limit how much seniors would have to pay for drugs bought at pharmacies and keep insulin prices at a maximum of $35 a month. The administration and Congress are also working to have Medicare cover routine dental care, glasses and hearing aids, and also to expand Medicaid, the program for low-income individuals and those with disabilities.

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The arrest of a houseless person in Harleston Hall: Moving toward a more restorative approach

By Sara Kessel | November 16

On Sept. 7, a houseless manentered Harleston Hall behind two students, looking for a place to stay for the night. When residents on the fourth floor found him asleep on a common room couch, they turned to the Tufts University Police Department to address the situation. However, the outcome of their concern was more severe than they likely expected. After being called, TUPD chose to arrest and charge the man with trespassing. He now awaits a criminal case in court.

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Racial disparity among Tufts faculty and students must be addressed

By Faye Shen Li Thijssen | November 12

Tufts University has longtaken pride in the racial and ethnic diversity of its student populations. Diversity among incoming classes hasincreased steadily over the past several years. Nearly half of students in the Class of 2025, for example,identify as students of color. The value of a diverse student body is indisputable, but a topic often lost within these conversations of diversity is the discussion of faculty diversity.

Editorial

Editorial: Ending the Portuguese minor goes against Tufts' values

By The Tufts Daily | November 10

The Tufts School of Arts and Sciences recently announced the decision toend the Portuguese minor, placing the ability to learn the Portuguese language at Tufts in jeopardy. Current students who have already begun the minor sequence will be able to finish, and the department will continue to offer Portuguese language classes through the 2022–23 academic year. However, with the elimination of the minor, the Portuguese program as students know it will soon cease to exist, depriving members of the Tufts community of meaningful opportunities to engage with the language.

Column

A Better Consensus: Expand the Child Tax Credit into a basic income

By Jacob Fridman | November 10

Democratic Senator Joe Manchin’s concerns about the labor participation and budgetary costs of the Child Tax Credit have forced lawmakers to consider extending it for only one more year, not to 2025 as the Biden administration had proposed. Manchin’s demands would cap recipients’ earnings just $60,000 in income and add work requirements.