Gretta Goorno - The Tufts Daily

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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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A time when conspiracy theories are … perhaps good?

By Gretta Goorno | November 4

On Sept. 16, after 10 months of public accusations, larger-than-life hip-hop rapper and executive Sean “Diddy” Combs was arrested at a New York City hotel. The next day, his indictment was unsealed. The 14-page document charges Combs with racketeering, sex trafficking and transporting individuals for use in prostitution. Although his trial is not set to occur until May 5, 2025, the sheer number of men and women who have come forward against Combs makes his conviction seem very likely.

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Should the Olympics ignore international conflict?

By Gretta Goorno | September 30

From Aug. 4 to 6, I was in Paris, watching some of the most talented athletes in the world compete at the33rd Olympiad. As someone who loves watching sports as much as she loves people-watching, I found the Games thrilling. On the streets of Paris, hundreds of thousands of fans sang their countries’ fight songs. Royal orange filled up each stadium — evidence that the Dutch had arrived. Each French athlete — from the unranked sprinter to the record-holder swimmer — was greeted with passionate shrieks from the home crowd. I, of course, rooted for my fellow Americans, waving my flag proudly until my arms burned. But amid this sea of national pride, there was one huge demographic missing: the Russians.

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A Harris win won’t shatter the glass ceiling

By Gretta Goorno | September 9

At the Democratic National Convention in August, Hillary Clinton alluded once again to that famed glass ceiling. You know, the one she hoped to triumphantly shatter through — pantsuit and all — during her unsuccessful bids for president in 2008 and 2016. Clinton recycled much of her old feminist rhetoric for her speech at the DNC nominating Harris, suggesting that Harris — like herself — was in a long line of successful women in politics and that the day to break the ceiling was finally here.

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The issue with celebrity worship

By Gretta Goorno | April 23

If the #MeToo movement didn’t expose the dark and twisted side of stardom for you, the past month certainly should have. When Kate Middleton went missing, conspiracy theories flooded TikTok accounts, claiming that the Princess of Wales was killed in a Diana-esque incident, had a mental breakdown or even had a Brazilian butt lift.

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The overdiagnosis and overmedication of ADHD: Shortage or shortcut?

By Gretta Goorno | March 8

When I was five years old, I would climb onto my family’s circular oak table and hoist myself into the air, miraculously dangling – and swinging – from the faux-crystal chandelier. My third grade teacher can thank me for her fashionable rubber-band “bracelets.” She tallied my “blurt-outs” on them, granting me a prize if I was under ten by the end of the week.

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Biden, the ball is in your court

By Gretta Goorno | February 23

On Feb. 8, the Biden-Harris Administration announced a “historic partnership” with 14 professional sports leagues and player associations across the United States. The partnership features commitments to food provisioning, education and physical activity. It is part of a slate of commitments in the White House Challenge to End Hunger and Build Healthy Communities.

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The job of a college president: Education, not edicts

By Gretta Goorno | February 5

Given the current political turmoil and societal tendency to attack an individual for one verbal slip-up or ill-informed decision, being the president of a university is a virtual death trap. Often seen as the face of the university, a college president represents hundreds of thousands of students, faculty and alumni. As they make decisions and statements, they juggle both approval and morality.

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Meme them, don't meme us: Political satire in America

By Gretta Goorno | December 6

Though the digital age has certainly changed the style in which American politicians, or their communication directors, relate to younger voters, the practice of satirizing the opponent while bolstering oneself via imagery has always been a fundamental part of American politics.

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From Las Vegas to Liverpool, the AI invasion has already begun

By Gretta Goorno | November 21

Flying cars, learning machines and domed cities — since the Industrial Revolution, humans have envisioned a future filled with striking, complex machinery. Hollywood has expanded on this concept, producing intense science fiction films like “Blade Runner” (1982) and “The Terminator” (1984) in which evil machines hide among humans, overtaking mankind and wreaking havoc on the planet.