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University

Science and Engineering Complex renamed the Tsungming Tu Complex after major donation from math professor

By Estelle Anderson | November 15

The Science and Engineering Complex has been renamed the Tsungming Tu Complex, or TTC for short. Tufts announced the change on Wednesday, following an over $10-million-dollar gift from mathematics professor Loring Tu. Tu made the donation in honor of his late grandfather, Tsungming Tu, a pioneer in modern Taiwanese medicine known for his work addressing opium addiction in Taiwan.  

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Local

What the approved ballot initiatives mean for Medford, Somerville

By Evan Vezmar | November 14

Local election results in Medford and Somerville show a largely successful campaign for proponents of the ballot questions in both municipalities. Voters in Somerville approved Question 6, which will increase the surcharge on the Community Preservation Act from 1.5% to 3%.

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Local

Medford commemorates veterans with Purple Heart City designation, new memorial at City Hall

By Tanya Dev | November 14

The city of Medford has officially been named a Purple Heart City, a U.S. military honor that commemorates local residents — both living and deceased — who were the recipients of Purple Heart medals. Bestowed by the president, the Purple Heart is not only the oldest but also one of the most revered military decorations in the U.S.

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Local

Medford seeks resident feedback to shape next 5 years of community funding priorities

By Marlee Stout | November 14

Medford, along with seven other Boston suburbs, is asking for input from residents as it develops a new plan to spend funding it receives as part of two separate programs through the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

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University

Onero Institute panel discusses state of US democracy in wake of 2024 election

By Carly Hope | November 13

The Tufts chapter of the Onero Institute, a student-led research organization focused on global affairs, held its inaugural panel on Friday. The panel, titled “The Democracy We Need,” focused on the state of U.S. democracy and the results of the 2024 election. Panelists included Consuelo Cruz, an associate professor of political science at Tufts; Malik Mufti, a professor of political science at Tufts; and Sheri Berman, a professor of political science atBarnard College.

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University

TCU Senate doles out club funds, confirms new vending machine in Tisch Library

By Spenser Walsh | November 13

The Tufts Community Union Senate covered committee work, supplementary funding requests for campus clubs and upcoming projects in its Veterans Day meeting, one of the last of the fall semester. The meeting began with a review of committee projects.

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University

Tufts campus reacts to President-elect Trump’s victory in 2024 election

By Samantha Eng | November 12

In the days after President-elect Donald Trump won the 2024 presidential election, Tufts students, professors and political group leaders expressed a range of emotions and anticipations for the future.

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University

Q&A: New Dean of the School of Arts and Sciences Bárbara Brizuela talks about her leadership journey, plans for the future

By Michael Onysko | November 12

Starting her official term as the new dean of the School of Arts and Sciences, Bárbara Brizuela met with the Daily on Friday to reflect on her career at Tufts and share her plans for the future.

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Local

Here’s how Somerville emergency responders, Tufts administrators helped students in the Raymond Ave house fire

By Estelle Anderson and Samantha Eng | November 8

In an email sent to the Tufts community Friday afternoon, Executive Director of Public Safety Yolanda Smith provided further information about the fire. “At approximately 11:05 a.m. this morning, a fire was reported at 74 Raymond Avenue in Somerville, a privately owned property where 10 Tufts undergraduate students lived. Somerville Fire and Police, as well as Tufts University police, EMS, and paramedics responded quickly,”

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University

Tufts to launch mobile-friendly parking permit system in 2025

By Tanya Dev | November 8

Tufts will roll out a new parking permit system on Jan. 2, 2025, designed to streamline the permit-purchasing process across its Medford/Somerville, Grafton and School of the Museum of Fine Arts campuses. This transition will replace the existing parking permit system, which will officially end on Dec. 23.

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University

From Tufts to the National Parks of Boston: Marc Albert’s environmental journey

By Zach Halverstam | November 8

Marc Albert, director of natural resource partnerships for the National Parks of Boston, spoke to the Tufts community on Oct. 31 as part of the Environmental Studies Program’s weekly Hoch Cunningham lecture series. Albert is a Tufts alumnus, holding degrees in American studies and in environmental studies. 

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University

Rebecca Corke hired as the new pre-law advisor

By Yasmeen Muñoz | November 7

Rebecca Corke is the new pre-law advisor at the Tufts Career Center. A graduate of Suffolk University Law School, she arrives at Tufts after serving as an Assistant District Attorney at the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office. As an ADA, she worked in the Family Protection Unit and prosecuted cases in the Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Unit.

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University

Tufts political science professor examines complexity of Israel-Hamas war, over a year into the conflict

By Carly Cohen | November 7

The Tufts Political Science Department hosted an event titled “One Year to the Israel-Hamas War” on Oct. 30, whereDr. Alon Burstein,a visiting assistant professor in the Department of Political Science and an Israel Institute Fellow, presented an overview of the ongoing conflict. The discussion aimed to shed light on the complexities of the Israel-Hamas war, over a year since Oct. 7.

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University

BREAKING: Bárbara Brizuela appointed as next dean of the School of Arts and Sciences

By Michael Onysko | November 6

Bárbara M. Brizuela will serve as the 18th dean of the School of Arts and Sciences after serving as interim dean since July 2024, the university announced on Monday. A professor in the Department of Education for over 23 years and the dean of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences since 2022, Brizuela’s appointment as dean is effective immediately.

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University

Tufts students to join 41 million Gen Z voters at the polls

By Amelia Sammons | November 5

Among members of Generation Z,41 million will be eligible to vote in the 2024 election. According to Alberto Medina, the communications team lead at Tufts’ Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement, there is high interest in voting from young people this year.

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University

Tufts Federalist Society hosts debate between Tufts professor, Project 2025 contributor

By Anika Parr | November 5

The Tufts Federalist Society held a debate on Oct. 24 focusing on whether Project 2025 —the Heritage Foundation’s 900-page blueprint for the next Republican president — is a threat to democracy. Jonathan Wolfson, a contributor to Project 2025 and the Chief Legal Officer and Policy Director at the Cicero Institute, and Samuel Gebru, Tufts professor of the practice in the department of political science, argued for and against Project 2025, respectively. The conversation was moderated by senior and Federalist Society co-President Trent Bunker.

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News

Local government workers experience lasting strain from pandemic

By Aaron Gruen | November 5

Four years after 2020, the country is still reckoning with the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and the presidential election. Among those who experienced upheaval are government workers — despite the attention national candidates attract, state and town employees often go unnoticed.

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University

Ben Adida, co-founder of VotingWorks, discusses importance of transparency in elections

By Anika Parr | November 5

The Jonathan M.Tisch College of Civic Life hosted a discussion titled “Voting Machines Everyone Can Trust,” led by Dr. Ben Adida, co-founder and executive director of VotingWorks on Wednesday. Adida spoke about the history of voting machines, current voting practices and his approach to building the next generation of voting machines.

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News

Headlines from off the Hill

By Matthew Sage and Nate Hall | November 5

Final election results may not be known tonight amid razor-thin polls Despite states implementing new rules to streamline voting systems, it’s likely that results from key states will not be known by the night’s end. While news networks will attempt to call races throughout the night, it can take ...

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News

States to watch: 2024 presidential election

By Michael Onysko, Varya Karpinskaya, Shayna Levy, Eli Brigham, Julian Glickman, Hannah Rajalingam and Josh Solomon | November 5

Pennsylvania’s history of switching between political parties makes it a critical state this year. President Joe Biden won the state in 2020 by less than 1.2%. Polling indicates that this state is even, leaning neither red nor blue. An average of Pennsylvania polling data showed a 0.2% lead in favor of former President Donald Trump, with statistics showing47.9% for Trump and 47.7% for Vice President Kamala Harris as of yesterday.

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