Tenure, divestment, racial issues and sexual orientation discrimination have been the major polarizing topics of the past 25 years at Tufts which the Daily has covered.
Jumbos from Generations X and Y have held a variety of civil-disobedience events, including rallies on Professors Row and sit-ins at prominent campus buildings.
In late April, 1983, when sociology professor Peter Dreier was denied tenure by the administration, over 400 students rallied in his defense. Although the Tenure and Promotions Committee recommended tenure for Dreier, President Jean Mayer exercised his veto power and denied Dreier tenure. On April 27, 250 students held a sit-in in Ballou Hall, hoping to change President Jean Mayer's mind; they were not successful.
Tufts student Ian Kremer was the center of a campus controversy in 1987 when he submitted a false police report about an on-campus assault. Kremer, a known student activist, wrote an article for the Tufts Observer titled "Students Tolerate Bias and Racism," and then claimed he was attacked because of his writing. After a solidarity march on Professors Row by over 100 other Jumbos which resulted in further campus violence, the police discovered that Kremer had fabricated the story.
Three years later, over 2,000 students gathered outside Ballou Hall amidst a sleet storm to protest a proposed drop in financial aid. At the Tufts Community Union (TCU) Senate sponsored rally, University Chaplain Scotty McLennan and history professor Gerald Gill supported the students and their efforts to help maintain Tufts' status as a diverse university. Students braved cold weather and skipped classes - then-Provost Sol Gittleman's German 188 course was missing 202 of its 345 enrollees - to listen to speeches on the subject.
McLennan cited the history of Tufts as a "poor man's college" and Gill urged his fellow faculty members to donate some of their salary to help keep Tufts diverse. TCU President Billy Jacobson spoke to the large crowd from the steps of Ballou, saying, "We are simply asking the trustees to stick with that winning formula and guarantee sufficient aid for the next year and all subsequent years."
As this year's seniors were graduating high school, approximately 20 Tufts students staged a sit-in at Bendetson Hall. The protestors, most of them members of the Tufts Students Against Discrimination (TSAD), demanded that the Administration clarify the language in its policy of allowing groups to discriminate. This arose out of a controversy involving the Tufts Christian Fellowship's decision to refuse a leadership position to an openly gay student. After discussions with administration officials including Dean of Students Bruce Reitman and then-President John DiBaggio, the sit-in ended after 35 hours of negotiations.
Perhaps the most recent on-campus controversy was that following President Bush's decision to pursue a war in Iraq. A group composed of both students and professors, TCOWI, the Tufts Coalition Opposed to the War in Iraq, planned a walkout and teach-in to take place the day after the first attacks on Iraq.
In the lead-up to the war, students and administrators discussed the financial ramifications should professors walk out on their classes. Math professor David Isles agreed to reimburse his students if class were cancelled because of the teach-in. With the attacks beginning during spring break, the rally was poorly attended. TCOWI still has a presence on campus, continuing to speak out against the Bush administration's foreign policy initiatives.
When the Daily prints its 30th anniversary issue, what will be the galvanizing topic that brings the current Jumbos to hold rallies or sit-ins? Will it be the pursuit of academic freedom or the reinstitution of the draft? Perhaps there is a campus activist out there planning the next school-wide act of civil disobedience. As history shows, there will always be something to protest.
