Opinion
Letter from the Editor in Chief: A semester of growth and gratitude
By Chloe Courtney Bohl | December 12Dear Tufts community members and Tufts Daily staff,
Opinion
Opinion
Op-ed: Protests in China reveal possibilities for change
By Anonymous | December 8On Sunday, Nov. 27, a rare anti-lockdown, pro-free speech protest broke out in Beijing. Demonstrators crowded the Liangmaqiao diplomatic district, holding up pieces of blank, white paper to show their opposition to China’s draconian zero-COVID policy. Protests also broke out in other major Chinese cities such as Shanghai, Guangzhou and Chengdu following a fire in Urumqi, the capital of Xinjiang, where at least 10 lives were lost due to COVID-19-related “barricades and locked doors” that slowed down the fire evacuation.
Viewpoint
Royals celebrate climate progress in Boston, but Earthshot is still out of reach
By Maxwell Shoustal | December 8Boston was recently honored with a royal visit from Prince William and Princess Catherine for the purpose of announcing the winners of their Earthshot Prize Awards, which go to individuals across the globe who are working on solutions to repair the planet by 2030. The awards were presented in partnership with the Boston-based John. F Kennedy Foundation, which is how the city was chosen as the host of this year’s awards. The concept of “Earthshot” is reminiscent Kennedy’s “Moonshot,” the commitment he made during a speech at Rice University in 1962 to put a man on the moon. Earthshot emphasizes the urgent need for global climate action.
Opinion
It's Happened Before: The battle for America's soul
By Asher Berlin | December 8In 1892, an immigrant from the Russian Empire stepped off a ship into the bustling city of Boston with nothing but the clothes on his back. He did not come to the country by choice: Indeed, when he was younger, he did not imagine that he would ever leave his village, much less Europe. The situation in Russia had changed, however, and those of his Jewish faith faced increasing violence and attacks by mobs, while the state hardly lifted a finger to stop them. In the United States, he worked hard and brought his family still in Russia over, one by one. It was a good thing too: If they had remained, they would in all likelihood have been murdered by the Germans in the Holocaust. The U.S. saved his life, and the life of his family. It also saved the life of his unborn descendants, who came to prosper in a way inconceivable in the “old country.” That man’s last name was Berlin — he was my great-great-great-grandfather.
Opinion
Letter from the Editors: Announcing the inaugural Tufts Daily Diversity & Inclusion Report
By The Tufts Daily | December 7The Diversity & Inclusion Report embedded below represents The Tufts Daily’s first comprehensive effort to gather insights into the composition of our staff and their experiences in our organization. The report was compiled by a group of the Daily’s current and former student leaders under the purview of the paper’s Intentionality & Inclusivity Committee.
Opinion
Ukraine at War: Coping with trauma
By Mariia Kudina | December 7The majority of people, including those whose countries are not affected by wars, are stressed before the holiday season. As everyone is wrapping up a year of work and a semester of studying, let’s explore how Ukrainians cope with psychological tension from the war ahead of the harsh winter. In the past few months, missiles from Russia demolished more than half of Ukrainian energy infrastructure.
Opinion
The End of the World Has Just Begun: A new way forward
By Daniel Chung | December 7The next three decades — at least — in global politics are bound to be a wild ride. Even if my previous columns are incorrect in their predictions — and I do hope that the scale of the global collapse and regional conflicts to come will not be as devastating as I fear — the major trends of depopulation, deglobalization and the result of the regionalization of economics, politics and security remain certain. Another almost-certain constant, though, is the United States’ primacy. What should the United States do with all this remaining power, and its relative position in the international system?
Viewpoint
Nuclear war is closer than we think
By Justin Solis | December 6Fans of the 1983 blockbuster “WarGames” will likely recall the game-turned-reality threat of “Global Thermonuclear War.” I do not in any way look forward to nuclear war, yet, in today’s current international climate, we are advancing dangerously close to such a case. It is evident from recent rhetoric and conflicts in the Russia-Ukraine War that Russian President Vladimir Putin could likely detonate a nuclear weapon, but this fact seems to be largely ignored by mainstream media.
Viewpoint
The dark side of the lottery
By Maxwell Shoustal and Julieta Grané | December 5Many Tufts students may have opened their e-bill and wished the lottery ticket in their pocket would win them a few hundred thousand dollars; however, digging into the origins of the lottery and the aftermath for the rare few who actually win often exposes the dark underbelly of an institution that falsely promises a shot at the American Dream.
Viewpoint
Why the holiday season may not be so cheery for college students, and what to do about it
By Bela Silverman | December 5Part of the appeal of attending a New England university is experiencing the seasons — the bright fall foliage and white snow blanketing campus. I came further up north for college fully expecting a picturesque winter. I imagined holiday lights, sledding down President’s Lawn and lots of hot chocolate — something straight out of a Hallmark movie. Snow and hot beverages are sure to arrive in the coming months, but currently, as temperatures are dropping and the ground lays bare with dead grass and fallen leaves, the winter blues are upon us.
Viewpoint
Action is key to the advancement of feminism
By Annabel Zhang | December 2Content warning: This article briefly mentions suicide.
Viewpoint
Young voters fortified the blue wall, but there's more to build
By Toby Winick | December 1The 2022 United States midterm elections have been seen as one of the most consequential in recent history. Of course, every House seat was up for election, putting a Democratic majority in question amid newly drawn districts, though many were non-competitive. Moreover, Republicans were favored to win the Senate leading up to the election, overturning predictions for a Democratic victory. Surprisingly, the election results did not mirror these predictions. Despite the history of poor incumbent party performance in midterm elections, Democrats came out retaining at least an even Senate, featuring key victories in Pennsylvania and Nevada. As it turned out, the foreseen “red wave” was stopped with a “blue wall.”
Viewpoint
The productivity paradox: How to rewire our brains as college students
By Annabel Lieblich | December 1As overachieving students, I know that many of us will graduate with an expectation to achieve the best in all areas of our lives. However, this understanding that we have of success and productivity is negative in that it has become a commanding authority in our daily lives.
Opinion
Ukraine at War: Russia violates international law by kidnapping Ukrainian children
By Mariia Kudina | November 30Freezing during the first weeks of the war in a village in the western part of Ukraine — I had to flee there from Kyiv on Feb. 24 — I thought about the war stories that are not yet being told. Since the full scale invasion, journalists in Ukraine have revealed a solid amount of reports, helping to see the conflict through human eyes. Due to the scale of the war, however, the international community hears only a fraction of Ukrainian tragedies. The kidnapping of Ukrainian children is one type of the Russian war crimes that is often overlooked.
Viewpoint
Polarizing prospect: The rise of Ron DeSantis against Donald Trump
By Henry Murray | November 29As President Joe Biden nears the halfway mark of his term, we begin to look toward the next presidential election. One of the biggest stories so far has followed one of the Republican Party’s most promising new candidates, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. After a decisive gubernatorial reelection victory, DeSantis could capitalize on his momentum and avoid missing his opportunity like others have in the past. However, a familiar face stands in the way of DeSantis’ path to the nomination: former President Donald Trump announced his campaign for the 2024 presidency on Nov. 15, following his failed 2020 reelection bid. While DeSantis’ win in Florida will give him a solid boost to launch a possible campaign, Trump’s loyal base and stubborn attitude ensure that the race for the 2024 Republican nomination will be closely fought.
Opinion
The End of the World Has Just Begun: America sheltered from the storm
By Daniel Chung | November 29As is likely evident from my prior articles, I reject the oft-stated predictions of the decline of American power. In fact, I believe American primacy will remain a fact of international affairs, and not just because many other nations may soon see their gains from globalization wiped out.
Opinion
Op-ed: Why Djokovic isn't the GOAT despite Federer's departure
By Kevin Golub | November 22During his trophy acceptance speech at the 2017 Australian Open, newly crowned champion Roger Federer acknowledged the competitive nature of the match against longtime rival, Spain’s Rafael Nadal in a simple yet meaningful way: “Tennis is a tough sport, there are no draws. But if there was going to be one, I would have been happy to accept a draw tonight and share it with Rafa, really.”
Opinion
It's Happened Before: With social media, it actually hasn’t
By Asher Berlin | November 22Public speech has traditionally been, well, public. Before the advent of the internet and social media, if one wished to make their voice heard they merely had to find a printing press or, failing that, climb up onto a soapbox and speak. The great movements of history have often been sparked by public speech. Martin Luther, for instance, kicked off the Protestant Reformation by nailing (or maybe pasting) a pamphlet to a door; likewise, Thomas Paine made a significant contribution to the American Revolution with his pamphlet. Contemporary political campaigns also produce public speech in the form of speeches and posters. The beauty of all of this is that, at least in this country, it is free. Speech does not have to be popular to be heard. We can criticize our leaders and their policies; we can even criticize each other. We might find the speech of others horrendous or untrue. Yet their speech has an opportunity to provoke, challenge and perhaps even sway other minds.
Opinion
Op-ed: Gun violence prevention — youth action in place of reaction
By Talia Wilcox | November 21Talia Wilcox is a sophomore studying international relations.
Opinion
Op-ed: The 2022 midterms proved it is Gen Z’s moment. It’s time to seize it.
By Mark Lannigan | November 21Mark Lannigan is the president of the Tufts Democrats.
Trending
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| September 11
Antisemitism in the Ivy League
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