Opinion | Viewpoint

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Can Trump do what Biden could not regarding Venezuela?

By Evan Wang | January 28

Every president makes mistakes while in office, no matter the overall achievement of their term. Former President Barack Obama famously left office having failed in his campaign promise to close the Guantanamo Bay facility, and former President Woodrow Wilson exited the White House unable to convince the United States to join the League of Nations, which he created. Now after four hard years at the helm, former President Joe Biden has also left office with a black mark on his record:Venezuela.

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Why music matters

By Grant Moore | January 28

Though some of us prefer Apple Music and others prefer Spotify, we all have soft spots for the artists and genres that get us through our busy lives, accompanying the wide array of experiences we undergo. Among my own playlists lie folk acoustics for evening walks around campus, upbeat melodies for summer drives to the coast and high-energy classics for a night out with friends. Even in times of grief, hopelessness or contemplation, music can enhance our feelings, change our perspectives and allow us to relive memories. Although we all have different tastes in genres or artists, music universally helps us feel.

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California wildfires and the media’s blindspot

By Monica Reilly | January 24

Starting on Jan. 7, our screens became filled with harrowing images of the California wildfires. Near-dystopian videos of fires raging through neighborhoods that had never before been at risk of burning spread online. We all watched as the environmental disaster-filled future climatologists have been warning us about for decades finally arrived.

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I’m happy I stopped trying to love my body

By Rowan Chetner | January 22

I spent the night before I left for winter break crying to my friends. I opened the floodgates, ignoring my anxieties and sharing my recent body image issues. I have come incredibly far with my efforts to eat and exercise in ways that nourish, not drain, my emotional and physical health. However, in the weeks leading up to winter break, whispers of inaccurate and harmful rhetoric about food and exercise from a little invisible creature had been getting louder, and its presence had been creeping upon my shoulder more frequently.

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You’re not media literate, and it doesn’t seem like you want to be

By Olivia Zambrano | January 17

Generation Z craves community. It’s why we almost exclusively prefer relatable content curated specifically for us — tailored to our interests, dislikes and opinions. In fact, the majority of Gen Z gets news at least daily from social media platforms that capitalize on our desire for this community, in place of traditional news sources.

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‘New year, new me:’ Are New Year’s resolutions more toxic than constructive?

By Max Lerner | January 15

“Auld Lang Syne,” we sing as we clink champagne flutes and bid each other a happy new year; “Old Long Since” — when translated — suggests one final recognition of and reflection upon the year past. And yet, even before the cheers die down and the clock strikes 12:01 a.m., we turn our attention to the year ahead and make our New Year’s resolutions, pledging to change ourselves for the better.

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Organizing critical thinking

By Gretta Goorno | January 15

At Tufts, I am surrounded by curious students and knowledgeable professors. I have never been more cognizant of the inner dynamics of American politics, the countless Constantines of Byzantium, or the various dynasties of pre-modern China. Outside the classroom, I have long conversations with my friends about politics and social dynamics.

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An economic defense of H-1B visas

By Keshav Srikant | January 15

In recent weeks, the H-1B visa program has faced an onslaught of criticism. Intended to encourage skilled immigration to the United States, H-1B visas allow companies to hire temporary foreign workers in specialized occupations. Today, most H1-B visa holders hail from India or China and the biggest beneficiaries of the H-1B visa program are tech companies like Amazon, Google and Microsoft.

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The problem with presidential debates

By Monica Reilly | December 10

The year is 1960. In a blur of Cold War anxieties and lunch counter sit-ins, viewers await the presidential debate with bated breath. The assertion that this was the first televised presidential debate is technically false — that distinction belongs to former First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt and Sen. Margaret Chase Smith in 1956. Nevertheless, it is true that Americans in 1960 saw, for the first time in the nation’s history, two presidential candidates arguing important issues on live television.

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These veggie tales have nothing good to preach about America’s food safety

By Sadie Roraback-Meagher | December 10

If you’re like me, you’ve never thought much about baby carrots. At most, you’ve contemplated why they’re so small: Was it by natural design? Or was it something more heinous, like chemical mutilation? But the extent of your curiosity probably ends there. Until recently, I’ve never paid much attention to carrots, regarding them as a mere vehicle for hummus and not much else. But when dozens became sickened by carrots contaminated with E. Coli, I suddenly became fearful of those 4-inch orange sticks. What other innocent foods are Trojan horses for bacteria?  

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From pledges to progress: Why COP can’t be just a photo op

By Kaashvi Ahuja | December 10

The United States stands as the world’s largest economy by gross domestic product and a leading force in technology, mass media and the protection of free speech. For decades it has also been at the forefront of space innovation, sending humans to the moon and dispatching robotic explorers to Mars. It truly seems no frontier is beyond its reach. Yet, for all its remarkable achievements beyond Earth’s atmosphere, the United States remains the second largest emitter of carbon dioxide in the world. As the wounds of the climate crisis deepen, the onus will fall onto the next generation to bridge this paradox and push for climate reform through innovation, bold actions and urgently needed accountability.

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Democrats abandon the people … and their morals

By Gretta Goorno | December 9

In his recent piece, “Democrats, Let’s Get Real About Why Harris Lost,” former The New York Times Opinion columnist Frank Bruni admits that his bubble of liberal peers found it shocking that President-elect Donald Trump won the election, given his erratic behavior and inflammatory comments. At the tail end of his campaign, Bruni notes, Trump suggested we place former Rep. Liz Cheney in the line of fire with “nine barrels shooting at her,” called Democrats “demonic” and declared that he “shouldn’t have left” the White House — a clearly undemocratic message.

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Rehabilitation is a right

By Olivia Zambrano | December 9

How does a state or country navigate the complicated process of ethical prison management? As students at Tufts, we’re exposed to rehabilitative programs like Tufts Prison Initiative Program of the Tisch College of Civic Life, which provides incarcerated individuals with access to higher education. In El Salvador, however, a new mass imprisonment confinement center — Terrorism Confinement Center — has been designated as the optimal way to minimize crime.

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President Biden: A fighter for American progressive values

By Aaron Bolonick | December 9

During the early days of his term, some compared President Joe Biden’s goals to those of former President Franklin D. Roosevelt, a Democrat who enacted progressive legislation thats impacts are still visible today. But Biden had to contend with a different political landscape than Roosevelt, who enjoyed large Democratic congressional majorities. In contrast, during the 2021–23 legislative session, the Democratic majority in the Senate was so slim — split 50–50, with Vice President Kamala Harris acting as the tie-breaking vote — that two conservative Democrats successfully challenged efforts to introduce progressive legislation.

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It’s time to prepare for Trump’s economy

By Keshav Srikant | December 6

In less than one hundred days, President Joe Biden will leave office, passing the baton to President-elect Donald Trump, who will reassume control of the presidency with Republicans in charge of both chambers of Congress. This governmental trifecta means the incoming Trump administration will have a significant amount of power with which to enact their economic agenda — an agenda that could both raise prices and increase deficits.

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Is Trump qualified to handle the economy?

By Grant Moore | December 6

President-elect Donald Trump proposed an economy that demonstrated his rather skimpish knowledge of economics. Despite being perceived as a financial wizard and gritty negotiator from his time on “The Apprentice,” Trump has famously filed for business bankruptcy at least four times, even managing to bankrupt his own casino.

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Are the Democrats racist?

By Evan Wang | December 6

After Nov. 5, the Democratic Party was quick to point fingers at who lost them the election, with their targets ranging from vice-presidential pick Tim Walz to current President Joe Biden, to racist and sexist Americans. While the Democrats continue their endless blame game, it has become apparent to the rest of America that citizens are tired of Democratic governance. 

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American Girl dolls taught us how to be girls. Who's teaching us to be women?

By Sorsha Khitikian | December 4

American Girl dolls were the center of my elementary school life. I remember owning two, both the ‘make your own’ dolls. I named them both after Francis Hogden Burnett’s characters: Emily, after the doll in “A Little Princess,” and Mary, after the main character in “The Secret Garden.” I remember being so emotionally tied to my dolls, reading every American Girl book, watching the associated movies and playing the online games. I was truly obsessed with American Girl. And then, as every girl does, I grew up. I donated one of my dolls to my younger cousin and stored the other in the garage.

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The good, the bad, the Kennedy

By Alexander Degterev | December 4

President-elect Donald Trump has managed to do something that hasn’t been done since his last time in office. His postelection Cabinet picks so far, specifically, his choice of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as secretary of Health and Human Services, have brought a seemingly bipartisan feeling of displeasure.

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Should Thanksgiving be a day of mourning?

By Sorsha Khitikian | November 26

Since 1970, Indigenous people and their allies have gathered in Plymouth, Mass. on the fourth Thursday of November. This day, also the federal holiday of Thanksgiving, is known there by another name: National Day of Mourning. Those in Plymouth hear speeches, hold a protest and mourn for the millions of Indigenous people who died due to the genocidal tactics of European settlers.

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