The Tufts Community Union Elections Commission announced the incoming senators for the 2025–26 academic year on Saturday, shortly after voting concluded at 12 p.m. According to junior Luca O’Neil, the treasurer of the Election Commission, approximately 16.2% of students voted in the election, down from last year’s approximately 20%.
On Thursday, Rümeysa Öztürk’s legal counsel filed a motion to the United States District Court for the District of Vermont for her immediate release or, alternatively, her return to Vermont. The government’s counsel argues that Öztürk’s petition remains improperly filed and that the only court with the proper jurisdiction over her case is in Louisiana, where she is currently detained. In a Vermont hearing on Monday, the district court will consider its jurisdiction over Öztürk’s case.
On April 9, the Tufts Community Union Senate Elections Commission hosted their annual meet-and-greet event with candidates running for seats on the Senate, the Judiciary and the Committee on Student Life. The event offered Tufts students the opportunity to speak with candidates prior to TCU elections, which are occurring from April 10 to Saturday at noon.
On Monday, the Jonathan M. Tisch College of Civic Life hosted Democrat Seth Moulton, the representative forMassachusetts’s 6th congressional district. This event was co-sponsored by the Department of Political Science, Tufts ACTION, the Tufts Federalist Society and the Tufts Democrats.
The Office of Residential Life & Learning notified students on Feb. 25 that the Russian/Slavic and Central Asian Culture House will pause for the next academic year.“ Interest in the house is very low and Residential Life isn’t able to offer the Russian, Slavic, and Central Asian Culture House next year,” ResLife wrote in an email to students who had been offered a place in the house next year.
On March 3, the Jonathan M. Tisch College of Civic Life welcomed Cong Tony Sun as the new executive administrative dean. As the first executive administrative dean of Tisch College, he is at the forefront of developing the institution’s administrative and financial policies.
The Jonathan M. Tisch College of Civic Life hosted Oren Cass, conservative economist, author and founder ofAmerican Compass, to give a talk cosponsored by the Tufts Federalist Society and Tufts Republicans on Tuesday.
The City of Medford’s plans to revise and modernize zoning laws across the city recently resulted in rezoning in the Salem Street Corridor District. Medford City Council is planning new zoning with the help of consulting group Innes Associates and feedback from councilors and residents. Adopted by Medford City Council on March 11, the process followed the standard four-step procedure of proposal, review and recommendation by the Community Development Board and commentary from residents.
On April 2, JumboVote hosted an event in collaboration with Medford City Councilors Zac Bears and Kit Collins to discuss the role of local politics during periods of political uncertainty. The event was largely overseen by JumboVote Outreach Chair sophomore Teagan Mustone, who hoped to further educate students on the role of local government.
The visas of two Tufts graduate students have been terminated by the federal government, including the visa of Rümeysa Öztürk. The university confirmed on Monday that the federal government terminated the visa of a second graduate student on Thursday but did not disclose their identity.
Tufts University Prison Initiative of Tisch College held its fourth annual symposium on restorative justice and higher education on March 31. The event featured formerly incarcerated students, graduates and Tufts undergraduate students who work as teaching assistants in prisons and as program assistants in the Tufts Education Reentry Network program. The speakers addressed the importance of revolutionizing higher education, as well as the vulnerability and healing process that happens in the classroom.
On March 25, the Somerville Job Creation and Retention Trust Fund Board of Trustees held a meeting to begin brainstorming funding strategies to alleviate potential burdens for organizations that receive such money in the event that federal funding cuts occur.
U.S. District Judge Denise Casper ruled to move Tufts graduate student Rümeysa Öztürk’s case to Vermont on Friday, denying the government’s motion to dismiss Öztürk’s habeas corpus petition and request to transfer the case to Louisiana, where Öztürk is currently held.
In a U.S. District Court hearing in Boston Thursday afternoon, lawyers for Rümeysa Öztürk argued over the presiding Massachusetts judge’s jurisdiction over Öztürk’s case while a lawyer from the Department of Justice argued it should be transferred to a court in Louisiana, where Öztürk is currently being held.
Tufts first-year students Jesse Kitumba and Thomas Yi founded The Political Union, a campus club that will serve as a forum for structured, nonpartisan academic debate. “We exist to discuss and debate political issues today, and we want it to be a space where we can academically and intellectually challenge ourselves and others,” Yi said. “We’re going to be more confined to the political [topics].”
The City of Somerville opened applications for its Inclusionary Housing Program’s new Consolidated Rental Waitlist on April 1.
Tufts Democrats and Voters of Tomorrow Boston held an event Tuesday evening, bringing students together to directly call elected officials to demand support for Rumeysa Öztürk, a graduate student who was detained on March 25. Apart from this event, students and other supporters have taken several paths to advocate for her release, from participating in protests to signing petitions to donating money to her legal fund.
Beginning in March, all Tufts students and faculty gained free access to every Harvard museum through a program offered by Harvard to local universities for an annual fee.
In a walk-out organized by Coalition for Palestinian Liberation, over 200 students and local residents rallied outside Ballou Hall, calling for the release of Tufts doctoral student Rümeysa Öztürk and for the university to condemn her detainment.
A group of Jewish professors, lecturers and staff members sent a letter on Monday calling on University President Sunil Kumar and Provost and Senior Vice President Caroline Genco to resist equating criticisms of Israel with antisemitism. The letter also urges Kumar and Genco to defend students with legal support, if necessary, and requests a meeting with Kumar himself.
