Opinion

Marijuana legalization must include efforts to dismantle systems of racial injustice

On March 31, New York became the 15th state to legalize the use of recreational marijuana. This new legislation comes as part of a growing national trend toward legalization and decriminalization of drugs. For many people, the news of legalization implies a positive shift toward freedom for personal, recreational use. While this cultural and political change is worth celebrating, it is important to recognize the implications of these changes on the racial inequities that have long plagued the economic and legal systems of marijuana usage.

The Honeymoon Period: Biden's ambitious climate agenda

One of President Biden’s favorite phrases is “science is back.” After four years of the Trump administration’s deregulatory policies, drilling permits for federal lands and denialism in the face of climate catastrophe, Biden makes a point of proving he will listen to scientists when it comes to preventing full-blown disaster. 

Editorial: Well-rounded education requires diversified curricula

At Tufts, like many other predominantly white institutions, curricula often center around the Eurocentric perspectives of Westerners — particularly white men — narrowing the worldview to which students are exposed. Not only does this reality undermine Tufts’ liberal arts foundation of exposing students to a wide array of subjects, it also fails to prepare students for civic stewardship in which they directly engage with the effects of patriarchy, colonialism and racism.

Tufts should mandate the COVID-19 vaccine for students returning to campus this fall

A fully vaccinated student body would provide a cushion of protection that would entirely change the student experience at Tufts. The spread of new, more contagious COVID-19 variants may complicate future projections, but the prospect of widespread vaccination nevertheless paves a promising path forward, delivering an end to the pandemic.

The issues of statehood in D.C. and Puerto Rico are not the same. Stop conflating them

It would be a disservice to both of these territories to view their potential shifts toward statehood in a monolithic way. Distinct local issues in D.C. and Puerto Rico affect both the merits of attaining statehood and the respective populations’ general consensuses on what should be done. Ultimately, in order to promote each of these territories’ self-determination, we have to understand the complex motivating factors surrounding each bid for statehood in their differing contexts.  

Op-ed: Amma for president

If you claim to want to help marginalized students, here is a perfect way to do it. Listen to what we are saying. Listen to what we are saying we want and need. Listen to our stories; listen to why Amma is the only one we trust with our vote. As a brown, first-gen, low-income woman, I know that values like equity and accountability are not only key words for Amma’s campaign; they come from real experience. 

Op-ed: Why I'm together with Tim

Tim is dedicated to making Tufts an accessible space for all students, uplifting the voices of marginalized students on campus and ensuring that Tufts promotes values of equity and justice. His time and accomplishments on TCU Senate are a testament to how hard he works for the Tufts community and that he can get stuff DONE.

Democracy in The Daily: Russia against the West

Russia’s behavior is nothing new. For the past two decades, Putin has worked to consolidate power by crushing the opposition. Currently, Russian opposition leader Navalny’s health is deteriorating in prison and his doctor stated that he “could die at any moment.” Through state-sponsored terror, Putin and his allies have attacked dissidents and worked to silence a free press. 

The Strike Zone: 'The Torture Letters' and police brutality

The documentary crafted narrative-based accounts of suffering instead of displaying explicit content, compelling viewers to listen to and center its subjects. “The Torture Letters” makes persuasive ethical claims on its audience because its first-person narration and focus on children’s experiences allow viewers to empathize with victims of police brutality. 

Building Blocks: Linguistics in education

In order to bolster full support and ensure the highest levels of success, contributions must be made to the students’ personal and academic lives. Informing and educating immigrant families will help foster a sense of confidence in students and could help cultivate feelings of belonging. In addition, rather than forcing cultural assimilation in schools through a lack of diverse thought and perspectives presented in the classroom, educators and curricula writers must work to ensure that there are an array of learning opportunities available for students of all backgrounds.

Cartoon: Long-term goals

American lives should come before our Second Amendment rights

We must make it clear to our representatives in Congress and our state legislatures that this issue is important, and that we must enact change now. Many legislators repeatedly send prayers and share poignant rhetoric, but do nothing to address the issue. Even as some lawmakers and lobbyists attempt to deflect blame and frame gun violence as a series of isolated, individual tragedies, we must remember that the problem is an institutional one.

Tufts made the right decision in shutting down its Confucius Institute

The Confucius Institute, which is funded, organized and supported by the Chinese Communist Party, has become a topic of controversy in light of various documented human rights abuses in China. The partnership of academic institutions with the Chinese Communist Party’s Confucius Institutes not only allows a space and platform for the party’s propaganda, but also implies support or, at best, naivete towards the climate of human rights abuses in China.

Democracy in The Daily: Democracy and oppression

Democracy doesn’t mean oppression is gone. Democracy isn’t justice. Democracies still experience many of the same systemic issues as authoritarian states; in fact, most are built on it. Few, if any, democracies were founded in an equitable fashion. Few are truly equitable today.

Cartoon: My dog: I think there has been a mistake

Tufts, other universities must diminish the influence of privilege in admissions processes

The quality of education a student has access to depends largely on their location and socioeconomic background; thus, admissions processes can often serve to institutionalize privilege and reinforce class structures. And even when schools try to take this inequity into account, families with higher incomes often have greater access to the “soft skills” valued in the college process. Having the means to pay for expensive niche sports, private college counselors and other extracurricular pursuits amount to other ways one student can have an unfair advantage over another.

The Honeymoon Period: Joe Manchin’s ridiculous defense of the filibuster

The Senate has always been and will always be a body that wildly overrepresents the interests of white, rural voters who skew more conservative. Despite this fact, Sen. Manchin believes Republican senators have a right to unilaterally obstruct Senate business. Democrats won control of the White House, the U.S. House and the Senate in just four years — for the first time since 1932 — and Manchin still will not relieve McConnell of his veto power. 

Editorial: Tufts should never return to requiring standardized tests

When the three-year window of the test-optional policy elapses, the university will have a critical decision to make: Tufts can either bring back its standardized testing requirement, making future generations go through the same process that current Tufts students endured, or it can repeat the process used to admit the Class of 2025, which saw the most diverse applicant pool in the university’s history.

Deriving a sense of community from Tufts’ geography during a year of isolation

My advice to the Class of 2025 is this: Do not let the incline and distance stop you from spending time with friends. Responsibly take advantage of every in-person moment, even if it means traipsing the Hill. Relish the sense of belonging the Hill bestows upon you. As the maxim goes, I must practice what I preach. Let me grab my room key and a mask and get going. I’ll be down there in 10.

How a cargo ship’s misadventure became a breath of fresh air for a generation

Despite the very real effects of this crisis, the internet was flooded with memes about the Ever Given. I saw a meme about the situation before I saw a headline, even though I receive New York Times notifications. When the ship was freed, the internet cried out for them to “put it back.” So why did the internet react with such delight to a giant container ship stuck in a canal in Egypt?