I feel the need to clear a few things up and once again play the role of special agent to the Tufts media KGB before I move on to this week's subject matter. I will not be discussing the Greek system this week as I originally had planned. This week I was inspired to write about something else, and I can't possibly be expected to ignore or plan personal inspiration.
That said, I will be addressing the Greek system at some point this semester, so the brothers and sisters of Tufts shouldn't rejoice just yet. I haven't forgotten about you.
In other news, apparently I am "afraid" to go see "Brokeback Mountain," as one of my esteemed colleagues here at the Daily implied in his most recent column. I assume that this columnist was just trying to be humorous, because as far as I'm concerned there is a clear difference between fearing something and not preferring it.
For example, as a child I didn't prefer to watch "David the Gnome" because the show was incredibly boring. However, that certainly doesn't mean I feared David. After all, he is just a philanthropic gnome who lives in the woods. Why would I fear him?
In any case, getting back to my exciting, event-filled life, I had the chance this past weekend to attend arguably the best event on campus since Ann Coulter came to Tufts last year. The event that I didn't (regrettably) attend last year, but did this past weekend was the EPIIC symposium.
Although I went to several of the panel discussions, the event I enjoyed the most was a discussion on "The Causes and Consequences of Anti-Americanism," featuring the quite witty Gwyn Prins, a professor at the London School of Economics - and in my opinion the best part of EPIIC. (One might be tempted to cite Nobel Peace Prize-winning lawyer Shiran Ebadi as the most gratifying part, but unfortunately she gave a very clich?©d speech that, frankly, was quite disappointing)
Before I go into detail about the aforementioned event, I think I should mention a few things. Right after the conclusion of this past winter break, I officially declared my major: political science. It's not that this process is extremely significant, but for me any commitment comes with a bit of consternation.
My anxiety had slowly been building up in the days following my declaration, and it was making me exceedingly uncomfortable.
I soon realized that the reason I was feeling so apprehensive was due to the political atmosphere in which I found myself learning and growing as a person.
This campus is certainly not a comfortable environment for those who are conservative or even those who lean to the right politically.
As a consequence of Tufts being so politically liberal, the conservatives on campus seem to have banded together and taken on somewhat of a caricatured image. This isn't necessarily the image that I really want to be associated with.
Herein was my problem. I realized that the political dynamic at Tufts was depressing. Those on campus who are ideologically liberal will forever remain liberal and never really question what they believe. Those on campus who are conservative will feel intellectually threatened and retreat to extremism as a consequence. There seems to be no solution, right?
A few weeks ago I pretty much just accepted this, but even as a very cynical and negative Machiavellian I can honestly say that I felt reenergized as a political science student here at Tufts after attending EPIIC. I in no way feel as if my dilemma has been solved, but I felt almost reassured about declaring myself as a political science major after hearing productive political dialogue.
Many of the speakers who comprised EPIIC's panels were experts at the top of their respective fields. The deliberations were fascinating, as the speakers offered insight into the specific topic of the session.
Perhaps the most refreshing part of the discussions was the unprecedented level of moderation found within each of the discussions.
Although there was some radical rhetoric, it was to a large extent nonexistent. It was quite, well, just plain cool to see extraordinarily bright people rationally discuss the Bush Administration without taking up immediate prejudice and condemning it as the spawn of Satan or resorting to ridiculous labeling, which is never productive.
I found myself agreeing with those panelists who asserted that while the intention of the Bush Administration in trying to democratize Iraq was laudable and that Saddam was a horrible leader, the postwar planning was simply reprehensible.
I found myself much more open to compromise and conversation because the panelists didn't see every issue in black or white. That sort of thinking is a rarity at Tufts.
While events like EPIIC are great for Tufts, I don't expect this atmosphere of relative harmony to last very long. After all, most of the panelists aren't directly associated with Tufts, and many won't return.
However, this experience was exactly what I needed. It reminded me that while Tufts may unfortunately be a lost cause, there is still room in this country for healthy political debate.
