Opinion | Viewpoint

Viewpoint

The death of the hobby: Creativity is perishing at the hands of hustle culture

By Olivia Zambrano | February 6

Hobbies — any activity engaged in for pleasure ranging from crafting to gardening — are a scarce delicacy for college students, whose day-to-day lives don’t often allow for leisure time. The mental, emotional and physical health benefits of hobbies are frequently overlooked and treated as luxuries in a schedule packed full of academic and personal endeavors.

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JoJo Siwa: Misunderstood

By Rowan Chetner | February 6

JoJo Siwa is undoubtedly one of the most cringey — and hated — artists of our generation. Her music video for “Karma” earned the most dislikes of any YouTube music video by a female artist in 2024, and the comment sections on her songs are constantly filled with animosity, with comments such as, “Gonna play this at my funeral so people would be jealous im in the coffin” under her most recent music video for “Choose Your Fighter.” Although I agree Siwa is eminently cringy, I believe people are often too quick to judge her. Too many allow their discomfort with her persona to overshadow any attempt to understand her.

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How Trader Joe’s branding style made the grocery chain beloved

By Sorsha Khitikian | February 4

Trader Joe’s is beloved by all. By all, I mean students, soccer moms, snack fanatics — and me. I’ve been to every single Trader Joe’s you can get to by the T. The best: the one in Allston, where you cross the bridge and walk by the HarvardStadium. It’s giant, has countless products and features a beautiful walk that guides customers into its wonderful doors. The worst: the one off of Copley, which happens to be the smallest Trader Joe’s in the U.S. Guess why it’s the worst!

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Your life is not The Hero's Journey: What it means to adventure in the 21st century

February 4

History is littered with the remains of our innate desire to escape the monotony of everyday life and seek adventure. As humans, we reject notions of impossibility and obligation, dreaming of a day when we can break free from the status quo through sheer passion and curiosity, carving our own paths to greatness.

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A leftist’s case for political diversity at Tufts

By Aaron Bolonick | February 3

In 2023, a study found that young people’s voting habits are heavily influenced by the voting patterns of where they grew up. That has certainly been the case for me. I grew up in Oakland, Calif., which belongs to the most Democratic-leaning congressional district in the country. I went to a high school with a very progressive student body, and now I’m at Tufts with a similarly progressive student body.

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Picking better battles

By Daniel Chung | February 3

In the weeks since he reassumed office, President Donald Trump’s actions on the global stage have shocked observers, both internationally and domestically. Most recently, the U.S. State Department froze nearly all foreign aid for 90 days, subjecting foreign aid projects to a review based on which projects, in the words of Secretary of State Marco Rubio, serve to make America “safer, stronger and more prosperous.” This move has set off alarms, especially among Latin American countries, with some pointing out that a decrease in U.S. support is likely to result in increased immigration to the United States.

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Can Trump do what Biden could not regarding Venezuela?

By Evan Wang | January 28

Every president makes mistakes while in office, no matter the overall achievement of their term. Former President Barack Obama famously left office having failed in his campaign promise to close the Guantanamo Bay facility, and former President Woodrow Wilson exited the White House unable to convince the United States to join the League of Nations, which he created. Now after four hard years at the helm, former President Joe Biden has also left office with a black mark on his record:Venezuela.

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Why music matters

By Grant Moore | January 28

Though some of us prefer Apple Music and others prefer Spotify, we all have soft spots for the artists and genres that get us through our busy lives, accompanying the wide array of experiences we undergo. Among my own playlists lie folk acoustics for evening walks around campus, upbeat melodies for summer drives to the coast and high-energy classics for a night out with friends. Even in times of grief, hopelessness or contemplation, music can enhance our feelings, change our perspectives and allow us to relive memories. Although we all have different tastes in genres or artists, music universally helps us feel.

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California wildfires and the media’s blindspot

By Monica Reilly | January 24

Starting on Jan. 7, our screens became filled with harrowing images of the California wildfires. Near-dystopian videos of fires raging through neighborhoods that had never before been at risk of burning spread online. We all watched as the environmental disaster-filled future climatologists have been warning us about for decades finally arrived.

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I’m happy I stopped trying to love my body

By Rowan Chetner | January 22

I spent the night before I left for winter break crying to my friends. I opened the floodgates, ignoring my anxieties and sharing my recent body image issues. I have come incredibly far with my efforts to eat and exercise in ways that nourish, not drain, my emotional and physical health. However, in the weeks leading up to winter break, whispers of inaccurate and harmful rhetoric about food and exercise from a little invisible creature had been getting louder, and its presence had been creeping upon my shoulder more frequently.

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You’re not media literate, and it doesn’t seem like you want to be

By Olivia Zambrano | January 17

Generation Z craves community. It’s why we almost exclusively prefer relatable content curated specifically for us — tailored to our interests, dislikes and opinions. In fact, the majority of Gen Z gets news at least daily from social media platforms that capitalize on our desire for this community, in place of traditional news sources.

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‘New year, new me:’ Are New Year’s resolutions more toxic than constructive?

By Max Lerner | January 15

“Auld Lang Syne,” we sing as we clink champagne flutes and bid each other a happy new year; “Old Long Since” — when translated — suggests one final recognition of and reflection upon the year past. And yet, even before the cheers die down and the clock strikes 12:01 a.m., we turn our attention to the year ahead and make our New Year’s resolutions, pledging to change ourselves for the better.

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Organizing critical thinking

By Gretta Goorno | January 15

At Tufts, I am surrounded by curious students and knowledgeable professors. I have never been more cognizant of the inner dynamics of American politics, the countless Constantines of Byzantium, or the various dynasties of pre-modern China. Outside the classroom, I have long conversations with my friends about politics and social dynamics.

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An economic defense of H-1B visas

By Keshav Srikant | January 15

In recent weeks, the H-1B visa program has faced an onslaught of criticism. Intended to encourage skilled immigration to the United States, H-1B visas allow companies to hire temporary foreign workers in specialized occupations. Today, most H1-B visa holders hail from India or China and the biggest beneficiaries of the H-1B visa program are tech companies like Amazon, Google and Microsoft.

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The problem with presidential debates

By Monica Reilly | December 10

The year is 1960. In a blur of Cold War anxieties and lunch counter sit-ins, viewers await the presidential debate with bated breath. The assertion that this was the first televised presidential debate is technically false — that distinction belongs to former First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt and Sen. Margaret Chase Smith in 1956. Nevertheless, it is true that Americans in 1960 saw, for the first time in the nation’s history, two presidential candidates arguing important issues on live television.

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These veggie tales have nothing good to preach about America’s food safety

By Sadie Roraback-Meagher | December 10

If you’re like me, you’ve never thought much about baby carrots. At most, you’ve contemplated why they’re so small: Was it by natural design? Or was it something more heinous, like chemical mutilation? But the extent of your curiosity probably ends there. Until recently, I’ve never paid much attention to carrots, regarding them as a mere vehicle for hummus and not much else. But when dozens became sickened by carrots contaminated with E. Coli, I suddenly became fearful of those 4-inch orange sticks. What other innocent foods are Trojan horses for bacteria?  

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From pledges to progress: Why COP can’t be just a photo op

By Kaashvi Ahuja | December 10

The United States stands as the world’s largest economy by gross domestic product and a leading force in technology, mass media and the protection of free speech. For decades it has also been at the forefront of space innovation, sending humans to the moon and dispatching robotic explorers to Mars. It truly seems no frontier is beyond its reach. Yet, for all its remarkable achievements beyond Earth’s atmosphere, the United States remains the second largest emitter of carbon dioxide in the world. As the wounds of the climate crisis deepen, the onus will fall onto the next generation to bridge this paradox and push for climate reform through innovation, bold actions and urgently needed accountability.

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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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