Welcome to Tufts! If you’re reading this article, you’re likely a newly admitted student — so congratulations! The Editorial Board of the Tufts Daily (us!) looks to impart some wise words on you (or current students who are reading this for fun).
A campus bar is a staple of any university — a special place where students can celebrate a big game, grab a beer with an advisor or put their karaoke skills on full display. At Tufts, the MacPhie Pub was once a thriving part of campus life. Following its inception in the ’70s, the pub staged musical performances, organized special comedy acts and hosted trivia nights. While most of the acts were led by Tufts students, the venue occasionally featured outside performances including shows from Tufts alum Tracy Chapman (J’86), who played at the pub for “$5 and a free meal.”
Since 1980, The Tufts Daily has been “where you read it first” — though our official slogan was originally “the first word in campus news.” For the past 45 years, we have prided ourselves on continuously delivering important, insightful and accurate news to Tufts’ campuses and host communities ...
Dissenting views at Tufts are often not taken well. From conversations about living uphill or downhill to if you should nap or work after Spring Fling to political positions, conversations that strike strong feelings are everywhere. However, without open, constructive, civil discourse, it is extremely difficult to discuss — or even point out — the elephant in the room when everyone in the room seems like they will instantly dismiss it if it was voiced out loud.
Lane Hall often goes unnoticed, tucked on the northeastern side of the Hill. While currently home to the Department of Earth and Climate Sciences, Lane has an uncertain long-term future as the department is slated to relocate to Bromfield-Pearson Hall and the renovated Bacon Hall. Per Tufts’ Director of Campus Planning, Lane’s “condition will be evaluated to determine whether it should be renovated or potentially demolished to make way for new development.”
Israel has obliterated every single university in Gaza. Palestinian academics have been targeted, killed and kidnapped by Israeli forces in an attempt to wipe out Palestinian society that human rights groups have said constitutes “scholasticide.” These crimes have prevented 625,000 Gazan students from attending school. United Nations schools have provided shelter for many Palestinians displaced by Israel’s assault, but these schools have been repeatedly bombed and attacked by Israeli forces. The Israeli army has also become notorious for systematically targeting Palestinian school children, and 44 out of 53 American doctors who treated children in Gaza during the past year saw Palestinian children with sniper wounds to their head or chest.
Since Donald Trump’s victory in the presidential election, the Democratic Party has searched for answers to explain Vice President Kamala Harris’ defeat, pointing to the Democrats’ weak economic agenda, Harris’ failure to address voters’ concerns in the Middle East and Biden’s initial reluctance to leave the race. On Nov. 7, The New York Times published an article analyzing the Democrats’ defeat, in which Rep. Seth Moulton, a Democrat who represents Massachusetts’ 6th congressional district, criticized the party’s stance on transgender rights.
Tufts has undergone numerous changes since its founding. The next phase of Tufts’ largest academic program, led by Bárbara Brizuela, the dean of the School of Arts and Sciences, sets the stage for the future of a liberal arts education as Tufts heads toward its 175th year and beyond.
On Election Day, Massachusetts residents will be voting on five state ballot questions. These questions cover a wide variety of topics, including standardized testing, restaurant wages and psychedelic drugs. The Daily’s Editorial Board has taken a position on each of the five questions.
If you’re reading this, you may be a parent or guardian of a Tufts student. Maybe you’re even the parent of a first-year, in which case this letter could possibly help you all the more. Or possibly you’re just a Tufts student trying to spy. Whatever the case may be, your child’s transition to college is certainly hard, and we feel for you. Remember, it’s hard for us too! As the Editorial Board, we hope reading the Daily can help you feel more connected to what’s going on in your student’s world.
