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University

BREAKING: Joel Omolade to sit as next TCU president

By Matthew Sage | April 27

Joel Omolade will serve as the next president of the student body and the Tufts Community Union Senate for the 2024–25 academic year, as announced by the Tufts Elections Commission on its website earlier today. Total election turnout was 30.36% of the student body, and over half of those students voted for Omolade — putting him ahead of the next candidate by 429 votes.

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Local

Tufts students, local community rally at ‘Gaza Solidarity Encampment’

By Estelle Anderson and Matthew Sage | April 26

In the largest protest Tufts has seen this semester, over 300 students, faculty, nearby residents and Somerville High School students rallied on Friday in solidarity with Gaza. The demonstration, stretching from the Academic Quad to the front steps of the Mayer Campus Center, follows a wave of heightened student activism across the country.

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University

‘Site of solidarity’: Students set up encampment for Palestine on Academic Quad

By Estelle Anderson and Julieta Grané | April 25

Amid a national wave of encampments for Palestine on college campuses, Tufts students have set up tents on the Academic Quad to demand that Tufts divest from Israel and that charges against student protesters across the country be dropped.

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Local

H Mart to open in Davis Square

By Dhruvii Mehta and Carly Cohen | April 25

A new branch of the beloved Asian supermarket, H Mart, is expected to open in Davis Square, according to employees of company locations in both Burlington and Cambridge. Over the phone, one worker told the Daily that although the opening has been continuously delayed, she believes its doors will open this summer.

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University

TCU Senate budgets over $2.9 million to campus organizations

By Anna Fattaey | April 25

The Tufts Community Union Senate finalized next school year’s student organization budget of over $2.9 million, approving it at its most recent meeting on Sunday. The 2024–25 academic year’s budget will rise 3.7% over this year’s budget of $2,843,373.

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University

Here’s what happened at last night’s TCU presidential debate

By Chloe Courtney Bohl | April 24

At a Wednesday night debate in the Joyce Cummings Center, Krystal Mutebi, Joel Omolade and Mikayla Paquette each presented their vision for the Tufts Community Union presidency. All three are juniors and current TCU senators.

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University

Meet the three TCU Senate presidential candidates

By Julieta Grané and Josué Pérez | April 23

Three senators are vying to be the 2024–25 president of the Tufts Community Union Senate: Krystal Mutebi, Joel Omolade and Mikayla Paquette. Ballots will remain open from Thursday to Saturday. In interviews with the Daily, each candidate highlighted the need for the Senate to serve as the voice for underrepresented groups on campus.

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News

Tufts receives $30,000 grant from Interfaith America to promote religious pluralism

By Tvisha Goel | April 23

Tufts recently received the Advancing Religious Pluralism grant from Interfaith America, a nonprofit organization that promotes religious diversity across leaders and institutions nationwide. Tufts will use the $30,000 grant to create more opportunities for interfaith dialogue and civic learning among undergraduate students.  

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University

BREAKING: TCU Judiciary overturns ECOM decision, reinstates presidential candidate

By Marlee Stout, Rachel Liu and Arielle Weinstein | April 22

Joel Omolade will be allowed to appear on the TCU presidential ballot after the TCU Judiciary overturned the Election Commission’s decision on Thursday to disqualify him, the Judiciary announced in an op-ed Monday afternoon. After two hearings on Sunday, the Judiciary voted unanimously to reinstate his candidacy, having found that ECOM failed to uphold due process in its investigation of campaign rule violations.

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University

TCU Senate presidential candidate to appeal disqualification

By Matthew Sage | April 22

Editor’s note: The TCU Judiciary reinstated the disqualified candidate on Monday, allowing the election to take place as initially planned. Ballots will be open from noon on Thursday to noon on Saturday. The fate of the Tufts Community Union Senate presidential election — currently set to be held on Wednesday — is up in the air, following the TCU Elections Commission’s decision to disqualify a candidate on Thursday for campaign misconduct. In an email to the Daily, ECOM wrote that a decision on the election’s timeline will be made public by 12 p.m. Monday.

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Local

Medford receives $300,000 grant to fund decarbonization efforts

By Josué Pérez | April 22

The City of Medford has received a grant from the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center’s EmPower Massachusetts program to help low-income residents reduce their carbon emissions. Medford received $300,000, the maximum amount they could apply for, from MassCEC.

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Local

Somerville pilot program to provide families with guaranteed basic income

By Grayton Goldsmith | April 19

In March, Mayor Katjana Ballantyne announced that Somerville will begin a one-year guaranteed basic income pilot program this July. Approximately 200 households will receive monthly payments of $750 to use for self-identified expenses with the ultimate goal of increasing financial and housing stability. Much of this program’s funding comes from the American Rescue Plan Act, established in 2021.

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Local

Residents conflicted over Boston-based developer’s plans to revamp Union Square’s ‘Somernova’ campus

By Grayton Goldsmith | April 17

After withdrawing its original rezoning proposal, Boston-based developer Rafi Properties has gone back to the drawing board with its plans to redevelop “Somernova,” a commercial facility in Somerville’s Union Square neighborhood.

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University

BREAKING: 2024–25 TCU Senate election results announced

By Matthew Sage | April 12

The Tufts Community Union Elections Commission announced the incoming senators for the 2024–25 academic year on Friday, shortly after voting concluded at 12 p.m. According to ECOM Chair Charles Mitchell, approximately 20% of students voted in the election — 23.8% of whom were first-years, 36.6% of whom were sophomores, 25.8% of whom were juniors, 13.4% of whom were seniors and 0.4% of whom were fifth-years.

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University

Seasoned journalists discuss experiences in political reporting at annual Tufts Democrats Symposium

By Lucas Frota | April 12

Tufts Democrats held its annual symposium titled “Democrats in Motion: The Future of Progressive Policy” on April 5, featuring speakers including U.S. Sen. Ed Markey, Somerville Mayor Katjana Ballantyne, political consultant Elaine Almquist, expert political campaign organizers, reporters and Tufts political science professors across four different panels.

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University

TCU Senate hosts second annual Leadership Gala

By Michael Onysko | April 12

The Tufts Community Union Senate hosted its second Leadership Gala on April 7, honoring leaders of the student organizations and clubs at Tufts for their commitment to leadership. Five different awards were handed out to a total of eight winners, with several awards having multiple recipients.

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University

‘The campus just stopped’: Solar eclipse captures students’ attention

By Matthew Sage | April 11

“Since the next total eclipse visible from the Eastern Seaboard won’t occur until 2024, a great many amateurs will also be out to look at, and photograph this event,” an article in the Tufts Observer read the day before the last total eclipse fell over New England in 1970. But in a rare moment, scientific spectacle again eclipsed students’ usual academic schedules to bring hundreds of Tufts students flocking to President’s Lawn, basking in the dim light of the most recent partial eclipse on Monday. From the Medford/Somerville campus, students were able to catch a glimpse of a 93% covered sun using pairs of eclipse glasses, smartly passed between friends.

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University

Tufts’ cost of attendance reaches record-breaking $92,167 for upcoming academic year

By Estelle Anderson | April 11

Tufts’ total cost of attendance has broken the $90,000 barrier for the 2024–2025 academic year, reflecting the rising costs of higher education across the country. For incoming undergraduate students at Tufts, the new price of attendance is approximately $92,167 — a figure that includes ...

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University

Here’s what to know about Fiona Hill, 2024 Commencement speaker

By Carly Cohen | April 11

Fiona Hill, a former advisor to three U.S. Presidents and the current Chancellor of Durham University, will deliver the commencement address to the class of 2024. University President Sunil Kumar announced Hill as the speaker on March 27.

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University

Q&A: Meet Saffiyah Coker, this year’s Wendell Phillips speaker

By Carly Cohen | April 11

Saffiyah Coker, a senior studying economics and international relations, was selected as the winner of the Wendell Phillips award and will deliver an address at this year’s Baccalaureate Ceremony. The award, established in 1896, is named for the attorney, women’s and Native Americans’ rights activist and abolitionist. The award is given to a senior who demonstrates marked ability as a public speaker and a sense of public responsibility.

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