Maxwell Shoustal
Tufts says it will maintain relationship with Rep. Moulton following his comments on transgender athletes
By Maxwell Shoustal | November 15Tufts recently announced that it will maintain its relationship with Rep. Seth Moulton’s office, despite reports indicating that David Art, chair of Tufts’ political science department, severed the university’s ties with the congressman following Moulton’s recent remarks about transgender athletes. Moulton has been involved in Tufts-sponsored events in the past and has worked with the Tufts political science department to provide internship opportunities for students.
Trump vs. Biden: A tale of the tape
By Maxwell Shoustal and Henry Blickenstaff | November 5Undoubtedly, the largest question on voters’ minds as they head to the booths this November is who would win in a golf match between Republican candidate former President Donald Trump or President Joe Biden. Conversation around the topic rose to such a fervor that it was argued during the June 27 debate between the two candidates at the time. Trump claimed that he “just won two club championships — not even senior, two regular club championships,” and boasted that he could easily beat Biden in a match. Biden retorted that he would be “happy to play golf” with the former president on the condition that Trump was willing to carry his own bag. Alas, presidential elections are not chosen via golf; most voters are likely unconcerned with who the superior player is, and Biden is no longer the Democratic nominee following the disastrous debate. However, we will nonetheless analyze who would win in a hypothetical match between the two in order to hopefully lighten the mood of a very serious election.
Battle for the Senate: Nine key races
By Estelle Anderson, Maxwell Shoustal, Zach Halverstam, Nate Hall, Julieta Grané and Nicholas Prather | November 5Thirty-four Senate seats are up for grabs today. Democrats currently hold a slim majority in the Senate, where they sit in seven of the nine most competitive seats. Democrats must win seven of these seats and the presidency in order to achieve a majority.
Tufts dance program spotlights novel practices in inaugural artist residency
By Maxwell Shoustal and Julieta Grané | October 21From Oct. 15–17, the Tufts Dance Program hosted an artist residency in collaboration with several other departments, including the Program in Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies and the Department of Studies in Race, Colonialism, and Diaspora. Maria Bauman, a multi-disciplinary artist and director of the New York-based dance company, MBDance, held three different events over the course of the three-day residency.
On the nature of daylight
By Maxwell Shoustal | November 8I absolutely hate waking up early. This semester, I am taking a grand total of one class before 10:30 a.m. — the first of my college career. The entire day before class, I dread the thought of having to wake up at such an ungodly hour. Coming from Los Angeles, I am quite used to having a plethora of sunny days throughout the year.
Stop calling it a border crisis
By Maxwell Shoustal | October 30As sensationalist media coverage on the so-called “border crisis” continues to ramp up, we must acknowledge that pushing this narrative spreads nothing but deceit and ill will. The media has dubbed the fairly significant number of migrants arriving at our southern border as a “crisis.” There are indeed many aspects of the situation that could be described as a crisis. The U.S.’ indefensible treatment of migrants at the border is exemplified by the Trump administration’s “zero-tolerance” policy that led to the separation of 5,000 children from their families. Trump’s border policy was guided by the notion that migrants would be deterred from entering the U.S. through the southern border if they knew that they would be met with a response of “zero tolerance.”
The tragedy of Kevin McCarthy
By Maxwell Shoustal | October 23Hyper-partisan politics have become very strongly entrenched in our nation’s political system. Still, some events manage to display just how shockingly fractured party loyalties are. The most recent example is the removal of Kevin McCarthy as speaker of the House of Representatives. McCarthy was ousted as speaker by far-right members of his party after McCarthy negotiated with Democrats to avoid a government shutdown. For McCarthy, it was only a matter of time until he was removed as speaker, given that to appease the so-called “Freedom Caucus” enough to win the position in the first place, he reinstated a House rule that would require only one member to call for a vote for the speaker’s removal.
Clean Your Room
By Maxwell Shoustal | September 5As the new year of college begins, especially for those beginning their first year at Tufts, it may be helpful to remember Peterson’s principle of the importance of cleaning your room. He doesn’t exactly mean it literally; it’s meant to be a metaphor for taking control of your life. Before you solve any larger issues plaguing you, you can start by simply cleaning up your room.