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Where you read it first | Friday, October 18, 2024
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Opinion | Guest

The Setonian
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Op-ed: One Jew’s view on the problems of Israel and Palestine

By Joel Rosenberg | October 19

I know this is overdue — but my hesitation is part of the story. As director of the Tufts program in Judaic Studies, I’ve been puzzling for some time over an appropriate response to the horrific events that have befallen those who live at the juncture of three continents at the edge of the Mediterranean Sea. That realm has long been a preoccupation of mine — both in my biblical studies courses and in my film studies courses, where (in the latter, at least) a central preoccupation is what I’ve called the Era of Catastrophe (1914–45), regarding especially the perils of human rights and the plight of stateless persons and peoples.

The Setonian
Guest

Op-ed: Leaving Medford

By Makram Bekdache | October 17

Freshly landed in Boston, I was sitting in an Uber heading for Tufts’ Medford/Somerville campus on move-in day in 2021. The COVID-19 pandemic was seemingly finally starting to recede after more than a year of being mostly stuck at home, and there I was halfway across the world on the cusp of starting my college education in the United States. Tufts had not been part of my initial shortlist, but I kept hearing increasingly good things about it. I felt it was starting to gain name recognition at my school and in my home country of Lebanon.

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Op-ed: The importance and virtue of reserving judgment

By Kyongbum Lee and James M. Glaser | July 14

A story last fall in the Daily reported on anonymous allegations about the admissions office and its leadership, including allegations of a “toxic” admissions workplace and questions of alleged bias and discrimination. The story also disclosed the existence of an investigation into the complaints. The story was deeply troubling to our community and to us as deans. And it was especially devastating to JT Duck, dean of admissions and enrollment management for the Schools of Arts and Sciences and Engineering, with whom we share a commitment to making Tufts a diverse and welcoming community for all — as evidenced by the admission under his leadership of the most diverse classes in the university’s history. 

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Op-ed: Arielle Galinsky for TCU President

By Natalie Rossinow and Krystal Mutebi | April 27

As the ballots open for Tufts Community Union Senate president, it is time to consider who will best support you and the Tufts community during the 2023–24 school year. One candidate in particular stands out: Arielle Galinsky, who has the experience, dedication and passion needed to be an excellent leader for Tufts. 

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Op-ed: Tufts graduate workers need a just contract

By Tufts University Graduate Workers Union Bargaining Committee | April 27

On April 10, over 100 graduate workers filed into the Alumnae Lounge to meet with Tufts administrators and lawyers. As members of the SEIU 509 Tufts University Graduate Workers Union, it is our right to negotiate with Tufts Management over a new collective bargaining agreement — the contract that sets the terms of our working conditions. Our proposal is grounded in essential principles: We deserve fair compensation and deserve to be treated with respect and dignity. We need a just contract with wages, benefits and workplace protections that meet our basic needs.

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Op-ed: It's time democratic governments fight for all political prisoners

By Aisha Catena | April 25

Last week, Russian authorities unlawfully sentenced dissident Vladimir Kara-Murza to 25 years in prison. Kara-Murza has been incredibly brave in the name of freedom, and his arbitrary detainment should be widely condemned. The news of his arrest made it to the front page of the Financial Times and several other well-respected news sources. Considering this media spotlight on Kara-Murza, I think it’s time we bring attention to the millions of other political prisoners around the world. 

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Op-ed: Dear EPA, keep your paws off Americans’ cars

By Kevin Golub | April 25

In 2022, electric cars made up 7% of all new car sales in the United States. Furthermore, the average new electric vehicle costs nearly $59,000 in March 2023, about $11,000 more than the industry average, according to Kelley Blue Book. Yet, despite these low numbers, the Environmental Protection Agency wants to tell you and your family what type of car to buy — and it’s not one from the 93%. Just a few days ago, the EPA announced new regulations for a massive reduction in carbon dioxide emissions from cars and trucks sold after 2027, effectively mandating that over half of all new vehicles in 2032 be electric. The announcement has leading automakers putting pedal to the metal to shift their vehicle portfolios to electric. What does all of this show? Just how radical Biden’s environmental, social and governance agenda really is.

The Setonian
Guest

Letter to the Editor: Data can help us talk about gun violence

By Nicoleschuller | April 19

I applaud The Tufts Daily Editorial Board for calling on the university to establish a Center for the Study of Gun Violence in its April 6 editorial, “Tufts should step up to fill the gun violence research gap.” The board raises excellent questions detailing our lack of understanding about gun ownership and our culture, as well as mental health and access to firearms, and how we can collectively work toward gun safety that can’t fall prey to the trappings of politics — by looking at data.

The Setonian
Guest

Op-ed: Freedom of speech and the freedom to listen: The keys to transformative experiences 

By Hedda Harari Spencer | April 4

In a recent interview for the New York Times, American poet Jane Hirshfield discusses the transformative power of poetry. “A poem … tries to see the wholeness of things from every angle and every side in order to see more clearly,” she says. In one sense, going back to the Ancient Greek origins of the word, “poiesis,” a poem attempts “to make” a new world for the reader as it offers a different view of reality.  

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Op-ed: Dear TCU Senate and TCA, mind your own business

By Kevin Golub | March 29

Tim Buckley, the CEO of asset manager Vanguard, recently came out in support of his firm’s choice to not subscribe to environmental, social and governance investing. “Mr. Buckley … knows that Vanguard can’t promise to be a fiduciary to its clients while also committing to align its assets with the 2050 net-zero target,” said the Wall Street Journal’s Terrence Keeley. Buckley sees that investing clients’ capital in ESG funds is effectively betting on a future rooted in unproven technology and unpredictable government policy, both of which pose investment risks for the future. Recent action by the Tufts Community Union implies that this future, to them, is somehow knowable.

The Setonian
Guest

Letter to the Editor: Moral degeneration? Give me a break

By Justin Hong | March 8

When I read the first column in the new misCONceptions series, I was irked by it. This column’s authors surely knew they’d take a lot of heat for expressing their opinions and I admire that greatly. As much as one might disagree, they have every right to continue publishing their work in the Daily. In fact, they should continue because they’re right; Tufts students aren’t exposed to people with substantially different politics very often, and that ought to change. Studies have shown that not only are we rarely exposed to views we disagree with, but that liberals and conservatives literally do not speak the same language. We can articulate the same problems, yet describe them and their causes in dramatically different ways.

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Op-ed: Join the global climate strike to end fossil finance

By Tca | March 2

“An important goal of the conversion to oil,” political theorist Timothy Mitchell writes, “was to permanently weaken the coal miners, whose ability to interrupt the flow of energy had given organized labor the power to demand the improvements to collective life that had democratized Europe.” In his seminal work “Carbon Democracy," Mitchell provocatively argues that transitions in global energy regimes are based less on inherent needs than transnational capital’s assault on democratic pressures from below. For a school that prides itself on its civic education and vast alumni network in public and international service, Tufts University has yet to take a committed stance on fossil fuels, whose contribution to climate change poses the gravest threat not only to liberal democracy but also to our very survival. With the conviction that Tufts should and is able to become a leading institution in shaping a greener future, we as Tufts Climate Action have teamed up with climate activist groups across Massachusetts to organize a climate strike on Friday, March 3, on Tufts campus at 10:15 a.m. at the Mayer Campus Center’s lower patio. We will then travel together to downtown Boston at 11:15 a.m. to join the city-wide rally.

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Op-ed: Pediatric hospital bed shortages in Mass. reveal a critical public health failure

By Elizabeth Allen | February 24

Amid the current COVID-19 pandemic, another crisis bubbles just below the surface. Pediatric inpatient and ICU beds are at a critical level nationwide — capacity is strained to the brink as respiratory syncytial virus cases rise in parallel with a growing trend of pediatric hospital bed closures. From 2008–18, pediatric inpatient units across the country decreased by 19% as hospitals sought more lucrative services. In Massachusetts, children in need of an inpatient or ICU bed often wait an unacceptable length of time, or they are forced to seek care in neighboring states plagued by their own shortages.

The Setonian
Guest

Op-ed: Bashar al-Assad is manipulating you

By Sairah Aslam | February 16

Across social media, calls have been mounting for the U.S. and the EU to lift sanctions against the Syrian government. One particularly influential post, which accumulated over two million views in just three days, claimed, “the US and EU refuse to lift the sanctions which prevent Syrians from receiving direct aid from many countries. Remember this the next time they lecture the world about human rights.” It seems that this take has garnered considerable popularity, especially among younger liberals who are genuinely wrestling with the legacy of a complex and morally ambiguous history of U.S. foreign policy.

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