There are several things I thought about when reading the students' response to University President Lawrence Bacow's commitment not to expand Tufts ("Expanding Horizons," Dec. 10). What first came to mind was the issue of what Medford gives back to Tufts. Well, how about our police, our fire department and our Department of Public Works - all to a university that pays very little in taxes to the city?
Next, I realized that the students did not really answer what Tufts gives back to Medford residents. They arrogantly believe that because Tufts exists in Medford, we should bow down to university expansionism. To this, I think of how many working- and middle-class communities have been knocked out because of university expansionism - and for what purpose other than imperialism by the universities?
They went on to push for science and research in order to "stay competitive amongst other research universities" - which would entail research that provides specific jobs for academics. According to a recent Boston Globe article, biological science is a niche market that does not provide a diverse selection of jobs for the broader community - thus putting all others at the bottom of the list in job creation.
Where are these students' social responsibilities? As economists, they provide a very narrow and less socially responsible view of the broader community.
I am a lifelong Medford resident and am pleased that Bacow has "made a commitment [that Tufts will not expand] to our host communities." When I was a young boy growing up in South Medford, I enjoyed playing in Spicer Field. Today it's a remote part of Alumni Field and the parking lot is private property reserved only for Tufts students and faculty.
My first school was the Dame School on George Street, which is now Tufts property. When Mayor Michael McGlynn announced during his inaugural celebration that Tufts was paying property taxes on this building, I could not have clapped any harder!
As a young man, I learned my first trade at Acme Printing, 4 Colby St. Acme had a state-sponsored apprenticeship program and hundreds of local residents were trained in graphic arts, printing, bindery and all the other related fields by a company that employed over 200 residents. Acme Printing is now Tufts' Science and Technology Center.
Some of us who have lived in Medford for over 50 years have watched helplessly as Tufts' expansion has continued to take prime property off the tax base. It is like a form of eminent domain, and it affects all Medford citizens - landlords and tenants alike. Over the years, Tufts has purchased every building on Boston Avenue, from the Post Office down to Harvard Street and beyond. They have bought property all along Boston Avenue in the Winthrop Street area, with the exception of the Dry Cleaners and Joe Sarno, who refuse to sell to them.
Unfortunately, Tufts students do not seem to know the Medford and Somerville community at all, especially all of the developments that are ongoing and planned - the Assembly Mall complex, Station Landing, Rivers Edge, the Medford Square revitalization and all the potential Smart Growth developments at the Somerville Green Line stops.
I think that living on the Hill does not provide students a broader vision of our community, and I would recommend that they get out more. A good place to start is Jim's Market at the top of Fulton Street in Medford. While I was there the other day, I saw something I'd never seen before in Medford - a house with a foreclosure sign on it. A friend of a friend is also in the process of losing her home in the Hillside area.
When the St. James Church and complex on the Fellsway shut down, private developers built 20 townhouse condos, which are now for sale and will bring in over $50,000 in property taxes every year - not to mention all the money that the residents will spend in Medford on cars, shopping and clothing. When the Sacred Heart complex on Winthrop Street closed, Tufts bought it, and again Medford received nothing.
Times are not so good for some of us - and yet Tufts has more money than it can spend. They get millions of dollars in federal and state money - our money. They receive tens of millions in alumni donations. We subsidize them, and they reward us by increasing our taxes.
It's not Tufts' "expansion" that many of us oppose - it's the taking of property off of the tax rolls. All Tufts has to do is pay taxes on the property it purchases - for example, the Dame School - and then we would think of them as a "good neighbor." Until that day comes, we will continue to organize, post flyers, write letters and support elected officials who really care about our neighborhood and preserving our way of life.
Jim Morse is a resident of Medford.
