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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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Viewpoint

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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Viewpoint

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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Viewpoint

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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Viewpoint

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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Viewpoint

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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A lesson on taking your time

By Grant Moore | November 26

There are countless things in life that just take time. When I first arrived at college in the bustling area of Medford/Somerville, I was impressed with the university’s private campus embedded in a public suburb. The T lines, buses, cars (that arguably drive too fast), bikes and everyday people zig-zagged between the paths of college students alike. Once my parents departed with hugs and some wise words, it was off to orientation and the next chapter of my life.

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Viewpoint

Project 2025 – A threat to democracy?

By Aaron Bolonick | November 25

On Oct. 24, the Tufts Federalist Society hosted an event entitled “Is Project 2025 a Threat to Democracy?: A Dialogue.” It was a debate between Samuel Gebru, a Tufts political science professor of the practice, and Jonathan Wolfson, chief legal officer and policy director of the Cicero Institute, a Texas-based think tank. Wolfson, who had served as policy director in the Department of Labor during the first Trump administration, argued that Project 2025 is not a threat, while Gebru argued otherwise.

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2028 will be the most important election of our lifetimes

By Daniel Chung | November 25

In the wake of the recent 2024 U.S. election results, many articles — including two published by the Daily — have circulated the internet as a preliminary electoral autopsy, examining the causes of Vice President Kamala Harris’ loss which ushered President-elect Donald Trump back into the White House. I do not intend to write such an article. Instead, I aim to look ahead to the 2028 elections. Those, I posit, will really be the most important elections of our lifetime, despite rhetoric going back years that every preceding election has fulfilled that role.

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Speech is free on college campuses — unless the administration doesn't like it

By Liam Chalfonte | November 21

I vividly remember last semester’s protests. I remember the encampment first appearing on the Academic Quad in early April just as I remember the messy aftermath of the Tufts Community Union Senate resolution votes. But most of all, I remember the chill in the air that came after Tufts’ administration first threatened to send in police to arrest the protestors — that icy April night on the eve of finals, being filled in my bones with the fear that many of my classmates would be leaving our campus in the back of cop cars.

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Viewpoint

The intersection of AI and the downfall of long-form literature

By Max Lerner | November 21

Although it seems to be the argumentative equivalent of spilling a glass of water into the Pacific with the goal of flooding Sydney, I’m voicing my concern for the humanities in the ever-expanding face of artificial intelligence. The arguments against AI’s encroachment in academic settings, though prolific, have done nothing to mitigate it. A similar source of adversity facing English departments in particular, is the growing inability of college students to read long-form literature. Note my usage of the word in ability; students are not expressing boredom or a lack of time in response to being assigned novels, but rather a complete inability to read them.

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Viewpoint

There is no one reason Harris lost

By Keshav Srikant | November 19

On Nov. 5, 2024, Democrats were handed their worst defeat in a presidential election since 2004. Donald Trump decisively defeated Kamala Harris, winning the popular vote by around two points and sweeping every swing state. The “tipping point” state in the election was Pennsylvania, which Harris lost by two points, roughly the percentage by which she lost the national vote. This was not a close election and Harris’ loss cannot be attributed to Electoral College bias or depressed voter turnout. On Election Day, American voters sent a loud and clear signal they wanted Donald Trump back in the White House.

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Viewpoint

It’s time to cut the cord with your helicopter parents

By Bela Silverman | November 15

There’s a point in many people’s lives that we deem our parental “cut off” date — an official end to our reliance on our parents and their support. Some say it’s when we blow out the candles on our 18th-birthday cakes, others claim it’s when we walk across the stage at college graduation and some even declare independence when our parent’s medical insurance kicks us off the policy at age 26. For my family, there wasn’t a precise date on our calendars when my bags had to be packed and out on the front porch. Rather, my parents’ progressive withdrawal of themselves as my constant safety net through adolescence left me ready for college without the baggage of parental dependency.

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Viewpoint

Europe’s tourism problem

By Daniel Chung | November 15

2024 has been one of the biggest years for tourism in history. As of September, 790 million people had traveled abroad, 96% of 2019’s numbers, signaling that tourism has recovered from both COVID and inflation. In southern Europe, tourism has boomed, with tourist spending in Portugal forecast to be 20% higher than 2019. This has led to recent efforts by European countries to dial back on tourism.

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