Federal authorities detained a Tufts graduate student last night outside an off-campus apartment in Somerville. University President Sunil Kumar announced in an email around 11:30 p.m. Tuesday night that the university is seeking more information about the cause and circumstances of the arrest.
Medford Fire Chief Todd Evans was sworn into his role on Feb. 24, with the inauguration ceremony taking place on Mar. 12. He had served as interim chief for 11 months, following the retirement of Chief John Freedman. The chief was chosen via assessment center examination. According to the city’s press release, Chief Evans earned the highest score out of two candidates on the assessment center exam. Mayor Breanna Lungo-Koehn had interviewed all five deputy chiefs, including Evans, in March 2024 to choose an interim chief.
Tufts students and faculty joined hundreds of protesters at the Stand Up for Science Rally on Mar. 7at the Boston Common. Protesters advocated in support of federal funding for science research.
On March 5 Tufts junior Meirav Solomon testified before a U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary hearing regarding antisemitism, arguing that college campuses should focus on conversation and protecting equality for students.
Tufts accepted 10.5% of applicants to the undergraduate Class of 2029, Tufts’ admissions office announced. The acceptance rate shows an increase of half a percentage point from last year’s acceptance rate and is one percent higher than in 2023. Decisions were released on March 20.
The Jonathan M. Tisch College of Civic Life hosted Mick Mulvaney, former chief of staff under President Donald Trump’s first administration, on Tuesday as part of its Solomont Speaker Series. The talk was moderated by Eitan Hersh, a professor of political science at Tufts and an advocate for bipartisan discourse, who teaches a course on modern American conservatism, the first of its kind in the United States.
A presidential memorandum signed by President Donald Trump on Jan. 20 suspended the leasing and permitting of federal spaces for offshore wind development, rattling faculty and students in Tufts’ offshore wind energy engineering programs at the graduate level.
The Medford City Council Committee of the Whole approved updates to the City Charter on March 4, sending the new charter to a final vote. The updates include a highly-debated district-based council composition plan, setting it up to be sent to the state legislature for final authorization.
Tinashe, Quinn XCII and Hot Chelle Rae will perform at Spring Fling, the Tufts University Social Collective announced on Wednesday. The concert will take place on April 26 at 12:30 p.m. on the Academic Quad. The headliner, Tinashe Jorgensen Kachingwe, who performs just under her first name, is known for hit songs “Nasty” and “2 On (feat. ScHoolboy Q).” She also recently appeared on the song “B2b featuring tinashe” from Charli XCX’s remix album “Brat and it’s completely different but also still brat.” Tinashe previously headlined Spring Fling in 2017, though she was originally set to be an opener. She stepped in after T-Pain cancelled due to the performance conflicting with his son’s birthday.
The Film and Media Studies Program has announced changes to the requirements of its major, with students now required to take a seminar as an additional core course. FMS seminars have an in-depth focus on an aspect of the industry, and their requirement for the major replaces the need to take an upper level elective.
On Monday, the Department of Education sent Title VI warning letters to 60 universities, including Tufts, that are under investigation for “violations relating to antisemitic harassment and discrimination.”
On Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Angel Kelley ruled to impose a preliminary injunction on the National Institutes of Health, preventing the cuts on indirect medical research costs from taking effect nationwide.
TEDxTufts hosted its 2025 conference, titled “Catalyst: The Power of a Single Spark,” on Saturday in Cohen Auditorium. The event featured eight talks given by current Tufts students, professors and alumni that explored a diverse range of topics.
The city of Somerville announced on Feb. 19 that it is participating in a Rodent Fertility Control Study using Evolve, which is a hormonal fertility control product designed to curb rat reproduction in a humane manner. This is in partnership with the Cambridge Public Health Department and Cambridge Inspectional Services Department.
Somerville-based entrepreneur and community advocate Jason Mackey announced on Feb. 20 his candidacy for mayor, joining other candidates, including the incumbent Mayor Katjana Ballantyne; City Councilors at-Large Jake Wilson and Willie Burnley Jr.; and perennial candidate William Tauro.
The cities of Somerville and Chelsea filed a lawsuit in a Massachusetts district court challenging federal immigration policy on Feb. 24. The cities, represented by Lawyers for Civil Rights, argue that recent federal actions unconstitutionally pressure sanctuary cities to participate in federal immigration enforcement.
Professors of the practice at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts at Tufts most recently held a bargaining session for their first contract with the university on Feb.25, continuing negotiations that began in April 2024. The professors are seeking wage increases, heightened research support and increased transparency on hiring practices from the contract.
On Tuesday, Tufts Democratsdecided to lobby in support of a bill that would improve accessibility for homeless individuals applying for Massachusetts identification cards. The groupbegan preparing for the multistep lobbying on Beacon Hill at theMassachusetts Legislature.
The Tufts Community Union Senate met with representatives from the Office of Residential Life & Learning to discuss student housing concerns. Senators discussed the club funding, late stays at the end of the semester for international students and possible collaborations between ResLife and Tufts Dining among other issues.
Tufts Community Union Senate unanimously passed two resolutions. Submitted by Class of 2028 Senator Jesse Kitumba, the resolutions requested an expansion of language options for students during the Senate meeting on February 17.
