The Tufts Community Union Senate discussed updates to club funding and proposals for committee projects, then began interviewing applicants for trustee representatives during its meeting on Sept. 15.
Throughout the month of September, those passing by Somerville City Hall may notice the 14 purple flags flanking its front lawn. Each flag honors a Somerville resident lost to substance use disorder in 2023. Last year, 22 flags were placed, representing the 22 overdose deaths that occurred in Somerville in 2022. The city’s end goal is to have zero flags outside the city hall one day.September is National Recovery Month, and Somerville is regularly hosting naloxone distribution events and training sessions throughout the month. Naloxone, more commonly known by its brand name Narcan, is an easy-to-use nasal spray that can rapidly reverse the effects of an opioid overdose.
Tufts has begun the development process for the largest residence hall in university history, the university announced Thursday evening. The building, which is scheduled for completion by fall 2027, will be located at 401 Boston Avenue and will exclusively house juniors and seniors.
The Tufts Community Union Senate convened for its first session of the 2024–25 school year on Sept. 8, discussing plans for new projects, the effects of the Supreme Court’s affirmative action ban and treasury policy, among other topics.
In an email sent to Tufts community members on Aug. 22, University President Sunil Kumar and 12 other university leaders announced new updates to the university’s “time, place and manner” policies around campus activism. The updated guidelines, which apply across all of Tufts’ campuses, serve as a revision to preexisting school policies designed to prevent general disruptions to students’ education, according to university leadership.
Tufts sent out an advisory to the university community on Aug. 27 warning about a rise in mosquito-borne illnesses throughout Massachusetts. The Massachusetts Department of Public Health has reported three human cases of Eastern Equine Encephalitis and seven human cases of West Nile virus so far in 2024.
With the presidential election coming up in just two months, Tufts faculty and students are witnessing the race between Democratic candidate Vice President Kamala Harris and Republican candidate former President Donald Trump.
The North Atlantic States Regional Council of Carpenters demonstrated in front of the Joyce Cummings Center for a third time on Aug. 31, protesting Tufts’ use of general construction contractors who hire subcontractors accused of wage theft and other labor law violations. Currently, six Tufts buildings are under renovation: 123 Packard Avenue, the East Wing of the Science and Engineering Complex, Eaton Hall, Halligan Hall, Blakeley Hall and Bacon Hall.
Tufts reported a decline in the racial diversity of its incoming first-year class, who represent the first wave of students to be admitted after the Supreme Court’s ruling last year to overturn race-based affirmative action in college admissions. 44% of the Class of 2028 identify as students of color, down from 50% last year.
Workers claiming wage theft protested outside the Joyce Cummings Center on Aug. 23 and 28, as incoming first-year students arrived on campus. Throughout the demonstrations, organized by the North Atlantic States Regional Council of Carpenters, protesters handed out flyers accusing Tufts of hiring contractors who exploit construction workers at Eaton Hall, Blakely Hall and Halligan Hall.
The Somerville City Council passed a resolution on July 11 to endorse the “Natural Psychedelic Substances Act,” an upcoming proposition on the November ballot that would legalize the usage of psychedelics in Massachusetts. If enough voters vote “yes” to the act, which will appear as Question 4 on their ballots, it would allow adults 21 and older to legally grow, possess and use specific amounts of psychedelics that have been shown to have therapeutic benefits for certain mental health conditions.
In an effort to make the process of doing laundry on campus more efficient, Tufts has installed a new laundry system in its residence halls that allows students to track and pay for their loads through a mobile app. Over the summer, the university replaced all old laundry machines with new ones from the commercial laundry service provider CSC ServiceWorks,which provides millions of laundry machines to colleges, hotels and other locations throughout North America and Europe.
Just days ahead of the Sept. 3 primary, former legislative staffer Kathleen Hornby is entering the final stretch of her campaign to unseat Rep. Erika Uyterhoeven, in what has become a heated battle for Somerville’s 27th Middlesex District. Uyterhoeven, a self-described Democratic Socialist who has served on Beacon Hill since 2021, represents an area that includes parts of Tufts’ lower campus, Davis Square, Magoun Square and Spring Hill.
Kelly Sims Gallagher will serve as the 15th dean of The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, the university announced on Thursday, over a year after appointing her interim dean in July 2023. An expert in climate policy who has taught at Fletcher since 2009, Gallagher said she plans to grow the school’s financial position, increase extracurricular opportunities for students and explore new approaches to how Fletcher addresses global challenges. Her appointment as dean is effective Sept. 1.
Ex-CIA analyst and former Tufts professor Sue Mi Terry was indicted for secretly working for South Korean spies in exchange for luxury goods and nearly $37,000 in funding for a public policy program she controlled. A Fletcher School graduate, Terry taught an Experimental College class called “U.S. Intelligence and Foreign Policymaking” in spring 2022, while allegedly serving as a foreign agent to benefit the South Korean government.
Undergraduate students at Tufts’ School of the Museum of Fine Arts will receive free, unlimited rides on local subways and buses beginning this fall. Tufts is the first school to partner with the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority for this two-year pilot program, called the “University Pass.”
Colleen M. Ryan will assume the role of vice provost for faculty on July 1, Provost Caroline Genco announced in an email on Thursday. Ryan currently serves as associate vice provost for faculty at Indiana University Bloomington, where she is a professor of Italian and an affiliate faculty member in the Department of Gender Studies.
Culminating an 11-year leadership tenure, chairman of the Board of Trustees Peter R. Dolan will step down this November. The board has elected Jeffrey M. Moslow, the current vice chair, as his successor.
Undeterred by rain, families and guests of the Class of 2024 turned out to Tufts’ 168th commencement ceremony on Sunday. After opening remarks by University President Sunil Kumar, students heard from this year’s keynote speaker, Durham University chancellor Fiona Hill. Shortly after the start of the ceremony, around 100 students walked out and assembled outside the event gates, leading chants and demanding that Tufts disclose its financial holdings and divest from Israeli companies.
Nearing the close of his first year in office, University President Sunil Kumar sat down with the Daily on April 29 to discuss all matters Tufts and reflect on the year marked by student activism and the university’s future.
