Opinion

Cartoon: More than 25 cents

Letter to the Editor

If the part-time lecturers’ one-day walkout happens next Wednesday, October 11, I will not cross the picket line. I encourage all faculty to do the same.Part-time lecturers are paid by the piece: $7,300 per course base salary. For some, one course is all the work they can get. Right now, the administration ...

Bored & Confused: Why some people sleep easily, and others don't

If you’re like me, you likely need total darkness and quiet to get a good night’s sleep. Even then, it’ll take over an hour of lying in bed, pretending to sleep, before you actually fall asleep. If you’re like me, you also envy those who can fall asleep at a moment’s notice, seemingly by command. ...

Editorial: Part-time lecturers deserve better contract

We all know that a Tufts University diploma is an exorbitantly priced piece of paper. Somewhere along the line, we have decided to justify steep tuitions and forthcoming debt with the notion that it will all be worthwhile. We will graduate with a sterling education, coated with wisdom passed down ...

Cartoon: October is coming

Murphy's Law: We need less empathy

In our current political climate, many issues caused by identity politics stem from empathy. On this topic, Yale Psychology Professor Paul Bloom explains the dangers of empathetic decision-making in "Against Empathy: The Case for Rational Compassion" (2016).Firstly, empathy is identifying ...

Op-Ed: Different classes in education

As a graduate student, there is only one question I dread more than those asking how my dissertation is coming along: “So you want to become a professor?”I do. That’s not the point.When someone asks me that question, I need to make a decision: Will I smile and say yes, or will I tell the harsh ...

Op-Ed: The chicken salad sandwich: dangerously overrated

The chicken salad sandwich. A Kosher Deli staple. Most commonly ordered on a bagel; however, those in the know take it on flatbread because you get one and a half scoops instead of the measly one. “Have you tried the chicken salad at KD?” your roommate asks you freshman year. “It’s sooooo good. ...

P.S. …: The good, the bad and the bunny

Content warning: This column mentions sexual violence.Few people have had as flamboyant, controversial or divisive of a public persona as Hugh Hefner. I myself have had wavering opinions about Hefner, beginning in childhood (I grew up in Los Angeles, so in many ways Playboy was part of my community). ...

Cartoon: Do you know what's the most commonly used resource at the MFA by SMFA students?

Editorial: TCU should create more initiatives like Textbook Exchange

Amidst talk of tuition hikes and increased housing costs, it’s refreshing to finally see a headline about saving students money. The TCU Senate’s Textbook Exchange, which took place from Sept. 4–12 saved students an estimated $30,000 in total. The event will hopefully be the first of many events ...

Cartoon: the T

Bored & Confused: Why is avocado so popular?

“Millennial: your generation got houses and jobsBoomer: yes but we lived with constant fear of nuclear winterMillennial: hold my avocado” — Twitter user @kennethnKen Norton’s tweet may be the ultimate embodiment of the millennial generation: one fraught with worries about future employment and ...

Looking Out: Europe moved on

Ever since the Brexit referendum that ended with a small leave victory, the British public and media have been talking about the monumental decision: Brexit, Brexit, Brexit. There are so many moving parts to talk about: the opinions of different parties and politicians, the disagreements in the Tory ...

Cartoon: The voices in my head

Op-Ed: In defense of critical economics

In "Saving Capitalism: For the Many, Not the Few" (2015) Robert Reich writes that the concept of a “‘free market’ separate and distinct from government has functioned as a useful cover for those who do not want the market mechanism fully exposed ... the mythology is useful precisely ...

Op-Ed: How to care about people and also major in economics

Recently, I read an article in the Tufts Observer that recommended the economics department teach theories other than capitalism in order to prepare students to confront the racism, sexism and inequality in our society. The article cites capitalism as the cause of these problems and argues that the ...

Editorial: Use of Voatz is a step in the right direction

More than 720 first-years voted in the most recent Tufts Community Union (TCU) Senate election, greater than the number of first-year voters in 2015 and 2014, the two most recent years where this data is readily available. Increasing voter turnout is especially important given the low rates of participation ...

Cartoon: The leaves of fall

Murphy's Law: At Tufts, capitalism is intellectual diversity

In response to a recent call to move “beyond capitalism” in the economics department at Tufts, I think it is important to remind ourselves that any academic department’s mission is to teach students to apply the tenets of its field to complex problems and their future careers, not to obsess over ...