On Nov. 13, a bomb exploded in Istiklal Avenue located in the Beyoğlu district of Istanbul, Türkiye. Six people, including a 9-year-old girl, died and at least 81 people were injured.
The same morning the Supreme Court heard arguments for the case that could end affirmative action in America, Tufts students received an email affirming the university’s commitment to inclusive, holistic admissions.
Since the inception of the communist party, China has had contentious relationships with major foreign powers, and its political structure has been under the scrutiny of the international community. Academics and politicians across the world have studied China in an attempt to understand its development. Much of the analysis on China is, however, conducted through the lens of international relations and political science. The heavily theoretical nature of this approach obscures a more intimate, cultural understanding of China.
Elon Musk and Twitter have been in a rocky relationship since April, when Musk first agreed to buy Twitter, until October, when he entered Twitter’s headquarters with a sink in his hands. Yeah, let that sink in.
In a note accompanying her order, a client of a Ukrainian publishing company wrote, “I am now in occupied Kherson. I want to pre-order the book. [I am] attaching my address; if by the publication of the book we are still under occupation, I will find someone from the free region and change the address for the delivery.” After Kherson, a city in the southeast region of Ukraine, was liberated last week, the company posted the screenshot of the anonymous note on Facebook. Someone in the comments offered to pay for the book, but they were informed that the woman had already paid for it. Ukrainian publishers are again able to freely send books to Kherson.
Every winter season, the world experiences a months-long intensification of influenza outbreaks, commonly known as the flu season, that usually starts when the weather gets cold and lasts until the start of spring. The Southern Hemisphere typically experiences winter from June through September which allows countries like Argentina and Australia to serve as guides for what the Northern Hemisphere flu season will look like. Australia’s alarmingly severe 2022 flu season has caused concern for American epidemiologists heading into the start of flu season.
The wait is over. Despite delays involving the COVID-19 pandemic and unusually hot weather, the world’s biggest sport is having its most important event. The FIFA World Cup will begin on Nov. 20 in Qatar. In the time leading up to the event, sports fans have followed a number of narratives surrounding the Cup: the USA’s return to the event, superstars Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo chasing their first World Cup victories and France’s title defense amid concerns about early international play. One of the most pressing stories, however, doesn’t concern any of the players who will take the field.
On Oct. 31, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments from lawsuits against both Harvard University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, who are being sued over the legality of affirmative action. A Supreme Court ruling that affirmative action is unconstitutional would prevent institutions like Tufts from cultivating diversity within their student body.
The security architecture of the world will soon be changed as the United States somewhat recedes from its role as guarantor of global security and challengers seek regional hegemony to take advantage of America’s apparent weakness. The two main trends I have pointed to, the fracturing of critical supply chains and global depopulation, are depleting resources across the globe, and subsequent increasing scarcity enforces the feeling by states of being forced to play their hands before they lose the power to do so.
Will it ever be possible to not freeze from grief and tremble from anger at the mention of Mariupol? The name of the Ukrainian port city decimated by Russian forces triggers shivers all over the body. So do the words Azovstal, a demolished metal plant nearly twice the size of Midtown Manhattan which served as a shelter for civilians and the site of the city’s last stand, and Azov, the group of fighters that protected it, some of whom are still in Russian captivity.
Joe Biden is on top of the world. Or at least he should be. Throughout his presidency, Biden has been quietly making changes popular with the American people. Yet, polls show Republicans are highly likely to win back the House from Democratic control and are more likely than not to win the Senate. Given the popularity of Biden’s policies, our electoral system ought to be altered to better reflect the will of the people.
In an era of political polarization, the increasingly-rare swing voter becomes all the more important. Campaigns rush to promote their ideas as well as discredit the opposition’s. Of course, these goals have always been present, which is why the campaign debate has become one of the most honored traditions of each election cycle. However, debate numbers have been dwindling recently and some worry that this is the start of a scary new trajectory.
On Oct. 24, Dano Weisbord became the new executive director of sustainability and chief sustainability officer, and “plans to further Tufts’ commitment to becoming a high education leader in sustainability and climate matters,” according to previous reporting by the Daily. As a past graduate of Tufts’ masters program in urban and environmental policy, and past associate vice president for campus planning and sustainability at Smith College, Weisbord’s leading efforts in sustainability are encouraging signs that his claim will hold true for the Tufts community.
The late Roman Republic is, in many minds, synonymous with political violence, civil war and the erosion of republican values. Less remembered, however, is how it got there. Rome wasn’t built in a day, as the saying goes, and neither did it — or at least its republican version — fall in a day. Thus the long path to Caesar began with a man who, unlike Caesar, never got a Shakespeare play: Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus. Gracchus’ life and career are surprisingly unimportant in examining his impact. Suffice it to say that, after pursuing radical populist solutions to economic problems and obtaining political power through uncustomary methods, he incurred the wrath of a conservative faction of the Roman senate. Given his policies, this was unsurprising. What was surprising is how they stopped him: by gathering a mob to massacre him and his followers. Violence had, for the first time, become a political tactic, one that soon became irresistible.
Daily trips to the Park Street T station in Boston bring back memories of riding a train to get to Kyiv’s city center. First and foremost, I am also taking the Red Line, with the starting point in the suburbs. The T also goes above the ground, passing a river. The only difference is its name — the Charles, not the Dnipro.
What do lawyers, soldiers, peanut farmers and movie actors have in common? They are all former professions of U.S. presidents. While the first two seem like a better fit to the presidency title, the different professions of politicians influence the way they serve constituents in different ways. The benefit of public officials with a background in law is that they tend to comprehensively understand systems of government; soldiers have experience serving their country; farmers understand the food and agriculture industry that feeds the nation. However, celebrities’ benefit to their constituents seems more ambiguous.
In this column, we come to the heart of the matter. Due to deglobalization and the breakdown of fragile global supply chains, major sectors — especially agriculture — will see reshuffling and deterioration over the next few years.
Content warning: This article discusses murder, cannibalism, violence, rape and necrophilia.
Just like New England, Ukraine is lucky enough to enjoy all four seasons. Yellowish and reddish fall leaves inevitably trigger the memories of the beginning of school. Cherry trees blooming signal the forthcoming of the warmer days. We know it is summer when everyone is complaining about the heat while still enjoying the time spent in nature without heavy jackets and boots. Winters are reserved for evenings at home when it is snowing outside as well as celebrating Christmas and New Year’s.
Venezuela was once Latin America’s wealthiest country and was praised for its functioning democracy. Often called South America’s Saudi Arabia due to its oil-dependence, Venezuela was known for its booming economy in the 1970s. Yet, New York Times headlines about Venezuela have turned from “Democracy, as Usual, in Caracas” and “Democracy in Venezuela” to “The Disaster That Is Venezuela” in recent years.
