Opinion

Viewpoint

Despite different college admissions processes, pressure is universal

By Annabel Zhang | October 24

Content warning: This article includes mentions of suicide. 

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Viewpoint

Rap lyrics to a rap sheet: California is finally affirming rappers' freedom of speech

By Justin Solis | October 20

California just passed legislation that limits the use of rap lyrics and other forms of artistic expression against artists in court. Assembly Bill No. 2799, also known as the Decriminalizing Artistic Expression Act, requires judges to carefully determine whether the corroborative value of the evidence outweighs the danger of unfair bias caused by its use.  

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Viewpoint

How the Democrats lost Florida

By Toby Winick | October 20

0As midterm elections draw closer and voting registration deadlines pass, pundits look at the polling of “swing states” — states with a roughly even population of Democrats and Republicans that have the potential to vote either way in national elections. The results are especially important this year as polls show neither party has a large advantage in either congressional chamber, with Democrats favored in the Senate and Republicans favored in the House. The governorships are also significant, as state law determines hot-button issues like abortion, education and immigration. 

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Opinion

It’s Happened Before: Putin’s scare tactics won’t work

By Asher Berlin | October 20

 In the 1930s, Britain was terrified of the bomber. It was thought of as the ultimate weapon: It could swoop in virtually undetected and deliver devastation of biblical proportions upon vulnerable cities, wiping them out. A massive aerial first strike, some military experts claimed, could bring Britain to its knees before it had a chance to fight back. In World War II, these ideas were put to the test. Nazi Germany, victorious in France by 1940, moved on to Britain. 

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Viewpoint

High maintenance: Biden works to reform federal marijuana policy

By Henry Murray | October 19

Last week, president Joe Biden announced a pardon for all those with federal charges for simple possession of marijuana, calling on governors to do the same at the state level and announcing that current classification of marijuana would be reviewed. The move is restorative, just, and a first step toward reform. Biden acted completely within his domain and made a reasonable adjustment to the national policy on marijuana that focuses on helping people, specifically people of color, rather than just focusing on legalization. 

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Opinion

Ukraine at War: What does grief feel like?

By Mariia Kudina | October 19

Each time I hear about another Russian military crime, I naively think that the situation cannot get any worse. It always can; apparently, it hits differently when a friend is killed. For me, the grief feels like a heavy fabric thrown all over the body. 

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Viewpoint

Smoking is making a comeback and its harmful effects must be addressed

By Julieta Grané | October 18

When I arrived on campus for the first time in September, many things surprised me: How beautiful the trees on President’s Lawn are, how intensely the early 2000s have come back into fashion and, unfortunately, how many people I saw smoking cigarettes. 

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Baseball

A game worth playing: the importance of celebration in sports

By Maxwell Shoustal | October 18

In the 10th inning of a scoreless game, Freddie Freeman bloops a single into short center field at Petco Park to give the Los Angeles Dodgers a 1–0 lead. The Dodgers won the game and set a new franchise win record with 107 wins.

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Viewpoint

PestWorld Boston 2022: Could this be the “pest” time of your life?

By Lucas Chua | October 17

Where can you find an opening ceremony led by the Boston Police Gaelic Column of Pipes and Drums, a speech by Seinfeld star John O’Hurley, and a 5K run that donates 20% of its earnings to Comfort Zone Camp? You guessed it — PestWorld Boston 2022! It was love at first sight; I knew this was the perfect convention for a casual pesticide enjoyer like myself. However, apart from the $600 entrance fee, there is one condition holding me back: Is it ethical to attend PestWorld Boston 2022?

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Viewpoint

Snowden's newfound Russian citizenship reignites the debate of privacy versus safety in the US

By Annabel Lieblich | October 14

We all remember the infamous Edward Joseph Snowden: National Security Agency contractor, Rubik’s Cube holder, and the person responsible for leaking the highly classified online surveillance program PRISM in 2013, which revealed that the  NSA was spying on American citizens through SMS messages, tracking phone calls, contact information and a slew of other personal records.

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Opinion

The End of the World Has Just Begun: No policeman

By Daniel Chung | October 14

Of the points raised in my last piece concerning the origins of the globalized system, the most relevant to today’s affairs may be the fact that free trade has sprung up under American auspices — particularly the exertion of naval supremacy as the U.S. Navy underpins 90% of global commerce, or over $4.6 trillion worth of trade. However, the lack of a navy with true supremacy in our global system furthers the argument that our experiment in globalization is doomed to fall apart. This article will, consequently, serve as a review of global navies and their ability to protect the sea lanes of trade and communication.

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Viewpoint

Italy's election is evidence of a right-wing swing

By Maxwell Shoustal and Julieta Grané | October 13

On Sunday, Sept. 25, Italy joined the growing list of democracies led by right-wing governments when it voted the Brothers of Italy leader Giorgia Meloni into office. The 45-year-old politician and journalist who now serves as prime minister has gone viral for a speech in Rome where she proclaimed she is a “woman, mother, Italian and Christian.” This slogan holds a mirror to the veiling of xenophobia under the guise of protection of family values by directly emphasizing Meloni’s nationality, religion and duty as a mother stemming from her sex. The mere fact of Meloni’s gender should not be a reason to celebrate her election. Italy joins Iceland, Denmark and New Zealand as a developed country with a female leader; however, unlike the latter three countries, Italy is headed in a direction that is clearly not feminist. Meloni has stated that she does not intend to abolish Italy’s abortion law, but the law provides inadequate support and resources for women wanting an abolition, which results in limited abortion access in Italy. By not amending this law, Meloni ensures that abortion will remain difficult to access in Italy. 

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Viewpoint

We can't buy into Hollywood's dangerous glamorization of drug abuse

By Esma Erdem | October 13

Content Warning: This article includes mentions of suicide and drug abuse. Find on- and off-campus resources for substance abuse recovery here.

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Viewpoint

Bridging the gap: Brazil's presidential election

By Toby Winick | October 12

As the United States prepares for its elections in about a month, so too does one of its closest South American allies, Brazil. Amid the tension of the United States’ midterm election season, few are thinking of the past presidential election. Yet, Brazil’s current presidential election cycle is eerily reminiscent of the 2020 election in the U.S. Like the United States, Brazil’s election will feature a closely contested race between two major political players, with one seeking to oust an incumbent. Perhaps more importantly, there’s just as much political leverage at stake. 

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Opinion

Ukraine at War: We don't need another post-nuclear war art movement

By Mariia Kudina | October 12

Have you ever looked at a painting in a museum of modern art and felt extremely confused attempting to understand the artist’s message? When and why did American creators ‘decide’ that realism is too limited for expressing ideas? What caused the transformation of traditional art to a conceptual one? The phenomena of abstract expressionism and the movements that followed it have blossomed in the United States after 1945, the year U.S. bombers dropped the world's first deployed atomic bombs over two peaceful Japanese cities. 

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Viewpoint

Has China's "zero-Covid" policy taken on a more insidious political dimension?

By Yilan Batista and Frank Li | October 7

When the coronavirus first began to spread across the world, countries were gripped by fear and uncertainty. At the initial stages of the pandemic, China and the United States demonstrated two starkly different approaches to handling the virus. China immediately implemented strict centralized efforts: Lockdowns were put into place and new hospitals were built within weeks. The U.S. however was sorely lacking in efficient and organized efforts. The country faced mass shortages of medical resources and was led by a president who downplayed the severity of the situation and exacerbated many Americans’ distrust of scientific guidelines.

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Viewpoint

Putin's war falls on shoulders of Russia's ethnic minorities

By Dzheveira Karimova | October 6

While brave Ukrainians continue to relentlessly defend their right to existence, freedom and democracy, Moscow’s restaurants are filled with glamorous Instagram influencers indulging in their Sunday brunch. If you were to visit the largest and richest Russian cities, you would not believe that you are located in a country that is currently perpetrating a full-scale war. It’s all business and entertainment as usual. 

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Viewpoint

International students at Tufts face challenges but gain new perspectives

By Esma Erdem | October 6

For decades, the United States has been the most popular destination to go to college internationally. Known to be the ‘land of opportunity,’ students from all around the world choose to go to the world’s top colleges in the United States for the education quality, infinite opportunities and study abroad experience. In fact, according to research from the Institute on International Education, over one million foreign-born students were enrolled in colleges in the U.S. for the 2019–20 academic year, though that number has dipped since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Coming from over 200 countries, millions of international students share the same goal: finding an opportunity to succeed. 

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Viewpoint

Why Tufts' search for our new president must prioritize fossil fuel divestment

By Bela Silverman | October 6

With President Anthony Monaco stepping down in the summer of 2023, Tufts is getting prepared to lose a leader who “strengthened the university by every possible metric,” as Board of Trustees Chair Peter Dolan stated in an email to the Tufts community in February. It’s inarguable that Monaco's contributions to Tufts have been tremendous in their efforts to rebuild and strengthen the Tufts community. Yet, while many have expressed their disappointment in Monaco’s farewell, his departure has also been met with great anticipation.

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Opinion

It's Happened Before: To pardon, or not to pardon

By Asher Berlin | October 6

In a recessionary economy, there is one group whose future looks very bright: Trump’s lawyers. Now fighting battles on three legal fronts, former President Trump is spending millions to hold off a growing cast of opponents. Initially only dealing with a House of Representatives investigation into his involvement in the Jan. 6 debacle, Trump now has to contend with a New York state investigation into financial impropriety and, since early August, an FBI investigation into illegal removal of classified material from the White House. Out of this staggering litany of incredible misconduct, the most dangerous to Trump is his potential breach of federal laws relating to classified material. On a memorable day in American history, the FBI searched Trump’s property at Mar-a-Lago and recovered, among other things, top-secret material, which, were it to fall into the wrong hands, might devastate American national security. While Trump has faced legal problems before, it seems that in this investigation he might finally face real consequences, which could include a 10-year sentence.

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