Gray skies and light rain did not deter Tufts' extended family from gathering yesterday on the Academic Quad for the university's seventh annual Community Day.
Approximately 1,400 people from Tufts and the surrounding residential community attended the open event, which was cosponsored by Tufts' Office of Community Relations and the cities of Medford and Somerville.
The main stage featured performances by 10 student groups, among them the a capella groups Essence and sQ!, the Tufts Tap Ensemble and the step team BlackOut. A side stage offering entertainment for the younger members of the audience featured performances by the children's theater troupe Traveling Treasure Trunk and magicians.
Children decorated Jumbo masks and picture frames, painted pumpkins and iced cookies. Student volunteers from the School of the Museum of Fine Arts (SMFA) helped with face painting and portrait drawing for youngsters.
Director of Community Relations Barbara Rubel was undaunted by the damp weather. "We looked around and said, ‘Let's just go for it,'" she said.
All festivities were held outside. Plans call for the event to be held rain or shine, with cancelation a possibility only in the event of severe weather.
"I think we lose a lot when we move indoors," Vice President of University Relations Mary Jeka said. "One year, we had almost torrential rain, but people stayed out and just congregated under the tents. It was amazing."
The event enlisted the help of close to 60 organizations, including many non-Tufts groups based in the surrounding communities. Among others, Tufts Emergency Medical Services, Medford Health Matters, and the Somerville-based immigrant-advocacy organization Centro Presente had booths at the event. Though the forecast forced some groups to cancel, most weathered the storm, bringing along tents and umbrellas.
Other activities veered more toward the academic side. The chemistry department's Xtreme Analytical Chemistry booth exhibited three-dimensional images of Mars, DNA puzzles and molecule building.
Many attendees reported bringing their children to the Hill year after year for the festivities.
"This is our third year coming," Somerville resident Rachel Hamilton told the Daily. "It's fun, something to do with the kids … It's been really nice, even with the rain."
Though many of the activities were geared toward young children, the event attracted community members of all ages. Phillis and Guy Salvo, a couple from the Medford area, have a longstanding acquaintance with Tufts; their youngest daughter graduated three decades ago.
"We've been coming out to Community Day for a couple years now," Guy Salvo told the Daily. "Good food, excellent food."
Rubel said the event helps local residents who are unfamiliar with Tufts get a better feel for their university neighbor.
"I'm often amazed to talk to people who grew up around campus and have never been here," she said. "When [University President Lawrence] Bacow became president, he really helped to open up the campus. We really love doing it."
Bacow and Somerville Alderman-at-Large Jack Connolly masterminded the event seven years ago as a way to forge better relations between Tufts and the surrounding community.
"A lot of people don't know [the Tufts] campus at all," Connolly told the Daily. "All they know is getting chased out of the gym or off the tennis courts. The idea was, ‘Let's invite the neighborhood onto campus.' We all share the community together."
The idea was put into action quickly. In 2003, the gathering saw moderate success, garnering about 250 community members.
"Every year, we get more sophisticated with it," Jeka said. "Once we figured out how to advertise it, the turnout has gotten bigger every year."
Bacow praised the way the event showcases students. "[Community Day] gives the outside community the opportunity to see our students in a whole variety of settings, as volunteers, as student performers," he told the Daily yesterday.
Though Tufts advertises the event on local cable channels and newspapers, Rubel said that a lot of the press for Community Day comes from the event-goers themselves.
"A lot of it is word-of-mouth," she said. "People tell their friends and their neighbors, and pretty soon they're all here."
Senior Marie Cole has been a Community Day volunteer for a number of years, and sees it as a chance for Tufts students to become acquainted with their neighbors.
"I love getting to know people in the community," Cole said. "I feel like we live in this bubble at Tufts, and while some groups on campus get to do community outreach, this is a great chance for our community to get to know us and vice versa. It's a nice mixing of worlds; we need more of that."
Sophomore Sasha deBeausset saw it as a chance to escape from the stresses of school. "It's a nice break from typical Tufts life, with all the academics," she said. "I love it, the kids are happy. And if they're not, we can make them happy."
