Moon Shines in Presidential Election, Defeats Poe Sutherland
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
THETUFTS DAILY \WhereYou Read It First Wednesday, April 26,2000 Volume XL. Number 60 1 Moon shines in presidential election, defeats Poe Moon wins elections by ten percentage points; proposed cabinet amendment fails byMATHEWKANE I’m planning on accomplishing,” rate ballot. As a result, students Daily Editorial Board Poe said. “The people have spo- were able to cast a presidential The moon shone brightly over ken. I congratulateDave on a hard- vote, while opting not to vote on Walnut Hill last night as students fought battle. I’m disappointed, the cabinet amendment. The elected junior David Moon as the but itwilljustmake mewcrk harder. amendment,whichwas also voted next Tufts Community Union I love this place, and I’ll continue on last spring, was brought up for (TCU) Senate president. Moon, to love this place and there’s so a separate vote this year after the who served as the chair of the much that needs to be done to TCU Judiciary ruled that the per- Senate’s Culture, Ethnicity, and improve it.” centage of students voting on the CommunityAffairs Committee this Poe proposed several ideas amendment last year was indeter- year, bested former Senate Vice during her service-oriented cam- minable. President Moira Poe, receiving6 18 paign, includingan effor:toallevi- Moon noted that the xrotes(55 percent)toPoe7s505(45 ate the housing crunch. Among amendment’s failure would have percent). her solutions were deferred enroll- little impact on his presidency. “I “I’m really shocked,” Moon ment for incoming freshmen and didn’t like the cabinet amend- said last night. “A lot of people incentives for upperclassmen to ment.. I would rather just have said I would lose by a landslide. leave Tufts if they have enough any student who wants to get in- It’s a really good feeling to come credits to graduate early. volved just do so,” Moon said. “I from behind and win. I think people While23.4percentofthe4,798 still think it was sort of an elitist responded really well to the re- Tufts students voted in sort of proposal.” formist attitude.” Throughout his vesterdav’selection. only 829 stu- ELBO Chair Bruce Kessler said - .I campaign, Moon trumpeted the dents, or 17.2 percent, c:ast votes that there should be no questions Junior David won Tcu presidentialJaCOD SIlOW&?g elec- idea that as a relative outsider to on theproposedpresideritial cabi- about the validity of yesterday’s tion, defeating Moira Poe by a ten-percent margin. the Senate hierarchy, he would net amendment. The low voting results, though the election pro- reform the Senate to better reflect total killed the initiative, as the cess itselfwasnotwithoutcompli- ofinterestasamemberofELB0,as for either Candidate in this elec- the feelings and opinions of the TCU Constitution mandates that cations.Late Mondaynight,Moon she had been “actively campaign- tion,” she said. “I remained com- student body. at least 20 percent of students sentan e-mail toKessler,as well as ingforoneoftheTCU presidential pletely impartial throughout the “We have a good team as- must cast ballotsfor constitutional to administrators and other cam- candidates, ie: assisting in chalk- Process.” sembled fornextyear,”Moon said. amendments to be considered. pus leaders, requesting the re- ing, strongly advocating through Moon, who admitted that he “We have many good ideas ready One ofthe potential causes for moval of ELBO member Sandra the Daily....” Kessler responded never Personally Obm~edFried and we’re going to turn this boat the lower turnout on th: cabinet Fried from working on the elec- by removing Fried from the elec- campaigning Or advocating for a E.round. ! think that the main thrust amendment vote may have been tion. In the e-mail, Moon alleged tion. candidate, regretted not having ofmy campaign is turning around an Elections Board (ELBO) deci- that Fried, a Production Manager Fried denied Moon’s charges. the image ofthe Senate as a bunch sion to putthe initiativeon a sepa- for TheTuftsDaily,facedaconflict “I’ve done nothing to campaign see MOON, pagel6 of egotistical politicians and we canrmber definitely of [my doideas] that. are A highly good Sutherland speaks on P:,siblegoalsandtherestare ideo- stroit;logical studentand will effort.” require a very activism and history Moon citedresidence hall fines, by ILENE society, and the value of history as the parking policy, and theTEMS STEIN Daily Editorial Board a teaching tool. policy as issues he hopes the Sen- Renowned racial justice advo- HistoryprofessorGeraIdGill, who ate will work to change next year. cateandAfricanfreedomfighterBil1 wrote a dissertation on Sutherland, Reflecting on his opponent, Sutherlandspoke to an enthusiastic introduced the speaker as an activ- Moon said, “Moira Poe has done group of students this past Mon- istrolemodel.“BillSutherland ismy an excellentjob as vice president, day night in the East Hall lounge. hero, he is both a gentleman and a and I look forward to working with The discussion, which was spon- gentleman. He issteadfastin adher- her next year, and I wish her the sored by the Coalition for Social ence to his cause on the basis of best of luck.” Justice, focused on Sutherland’s commitment and steadfast to his Unlike many of her predeces- experiences as a leader in both the principles,”Gillsaid. SGX, Poe has vowed not to leave US civil rights movement and the Sutherlandcited his childhood the Senate in the face of defeat. Pan-African freedom movement, as the most formative experience ‘‘!’VI: said since the presidential Renowned racial justice and African freedom fighter Bill duringwhichhefoughttofree~fr~- in his evolutionasan activist.~~l~ve nomination rneeting that I’m not Sutherland spoke to students yesterday about his experiences can nations from colonial rule. A been involved since the begin- going anywhere, staying on as a social activist and the lessons he learned while partkipat- recumngthemeinSoutherland’stalk ning with racial justice, with me Senate. There are a lot Of things ing in the African nations’ struggle for independence. was the importance of activism in and my sister living in a white community in New Jersey where we experienced real raciwhe ;anel discusses ]Hinduism and science said. “Although African Ameri- cans are a combination of Native Bose also contestedNanda’s beliefthat left- by WILL KINLAW forarevampmg ofschool textbooks, which she American, white, and African, it’s Daily Editorial Board cited as the biggest obstacleto reform in India. ist, postmodemist scholars in India had paved because ofour ‘African-ness’that Tufts philosophy professor Daniel Dennett One of Nanda’s biggest concerns was the the wayforhndamentalists,whoarenowtrying we experienced our anguish.” led ti panel discussion in Cabot on Monday recent incorporation of the nuclear bomb, the to incorporate everything from the big bang During his speech, Sutherland night io addressing the clash between Hindu so-cal1ed“HinduBomb,” into Hinduism. Huge theory to the nuclear bomb into traditional also emphasized the important role fundamentalism and westem-style science in mobs gathered in New Delhi to celebrate the Hinduism. He disagreed with her assertion that that Gandhi and the Indian non-vio- India. The panel, which attracted 25 students successful 1998 nuclear tests, and religious a nuclear arsenal under Hindu control was in- lence movement played in shaping and faculty members, featured author Meera temples havz been built at a number of test herently more dangerousthan an “enlightened” hisview ofsocialactivism. Atayoung Nanda, Tufts professor Sugata Bose, and ln- sites. Nanda said that this union between westem arsenal. Towards the end of his brief dian journalist Rakesh Kalshian. science, government, and religion is extrem.ely remarks, Bose did stipulate that some sort of age, Sutherland was introduced to the power ofGandhi’snon-violence In !?er hour-long opening remarks, Nanda dangerous. reform was necessary, but seemed to advocate a form of protest and a catalystfor laid out a detailed argument against left-wing “For the sake of all that is decent, I hope a gentler approach than Nanda. as change, and he went on to use many Indian postmodernists, who believe that sci- against hope that this union ceases to exist,” Kalshian spoke last and shared stories from of these non-violent tactics in his ence is just one among a myriad of ways to she said. his experiences as a journalist on the subcon- work towards a fi-ee Africa. arrive at truth, and right-wing Hindu funda- Bose, who spoke second, praised Nanda’s tinent. He agreed with Nanda’s assertion that Recently, Sutherland and Matt mentalists. She criticized the postmodemists work but contested a few of her key points. He intellectualshad fostered an environment con- Meyerco-authoredabook illustrat- for failing to take responsibility for the wide- acknowledged that there has been some ducive to a fundamentalisttakeover, but said ing the close relationship between spread implications of their ideas, and con- staunch resistance to modernization in India that any modernization must not take place at the Pan-African movement and demned !he fundamentalists for taking but said that the level of resistance has been the cost ofculture. “We have not engaged with Gandhi’sindependence movement. postmodern ideas to such extremes that mod- exaggerated by the pro-science faction. religion,” he said. “We have kept it at an arms Guns and Gandhi in Apica: Pan- em science and technology are now either length.” “This whole movement to celebrate Indian Apican Insights on Nonviolence, shunned altogether, or are encompassed into science is being blown out of proportion,” he Kalshian also substantiated Nanda’s claim ArmedStruggleand Liberation re- Hinduism and thus de-legitimized. said. Bose went on to say that the Western that myth and magic are often used in place of “Ifthere is no distinction between truth and rigorous, scientific investigation. As an ex- counts the history of the African world does not fully acknowledgeIndia’s sig- independence movement using false, what is to stop anyone from calling nificant contributions to the development of ample, he cited an epidemic that had occurred -Falsehood truth or myth science?” Nanda said.