In a message to its e-list on Monday, Tufts Students for Justice in Palestine praised the “creativity” of the Hamas-led surprise attacks on Israeli civilians launched on Oct. 7. Tufts denounced the student group’s message and University President Sunil Kumar called the attacks acts of “pure barbarism.”
Sunil Kumar was formally inaugurated as president of Tufts University on Oct. 6 on the Residential Quad after starting the job this July. Among those who introduced him were Peter Dolan, chairman of the Board of Trustees, TCU Senate President Arielle Galinsky and Ronald J. Daniels, president of Johns Hopkins University.
A group of Tufts graduate student workers walked out of President Sunil Kumar’s inauguration ceremony on Oct. 6, right before the opening remarks of Peter Dolan, Board of Trustees chairman. Following the walkout, demonstrators circled the Olin Center wearing purple shirts to represent their union, Service Employees International Union Local 509, which also represents part-time lecturers at Tufts. Holding megaphones and styrofoam signs, graduate student workers demanded higher wages, stronger health care resources and better overall appreciation from the university. Some led call and response chants such as, “What do we want? Contracts! When do we want them? Now!”
The Medford City Council voted to proceed with plans for a $50 million to $60 million state-of-the-art research and lab building designed by Ci Design — an architecture firm specializing in science and research — at a meeting on Oct. 3. The development will be located at 243 Mystic Ave.
The Somerville City Council met on Sept. 28 to discuss a variety of issues including plans for the Armory building as well as a prison moratorium and elder parole policies. The Center for Arts at the Armory is housed in a historic building in Somerville that serves as a venue for art, music, cultural and community events.
The bfresh grocery store located in Davis Square will close after Oct. 12. Opened in 2017, the store has been a go-to source for Tufts students to purchase healthier options and organic groceries at affordable prices.
Tufts held its annual Community Day event on Oct. 1 at the Academic Quad. Neighboring community members from Medford and Somerville were invited to campus to attend family-friendly activities and performances organized by Tufts students, faculty and staff.
The Federalist Society chapter at Tufts called TUPD in response to a pro-choice protest at a discussion event on the morality of abortion on Sept. 29. The two speakers at the event, Harvard law professor Stephen Sachs and Boston College philosophy professor Gregory Fried, were invited by FedSoc to discuss pro-life and pro-choice views.
How will the addition of six new countries to an important supranational organization influence the global balance of power? Could it weaken the United States? Fletcher School Professors Daniel Drezner and Abiodun Williams along with Senior Fellow Mihaela Papa unpacked those questions during a panel discussion on Sept. 28 in Cabot Hall.
Rosebud American Kitchen and Bar, which was built in 1941 and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1999, has closed for renovations following brunch on Sunday, Oct. 1. The popular 381 Summer St. location, known for its modern American cuisine and formerly owned by Alpine Restaurant Group Inc., was purchased by Bindaas Concepts Inc., which is owned by Babu Koganti.
Rosanna Xia, an environment reporter at the Los Angeles Times, 2020 Pulitzer Prize finalist and Tufts alum, presented at Tufts. This presentation is part of the series of events hosted in celebration of her newly published book, “California Against the Sea: Visions for Our Vanishing Coastline.”
Tufts faculty members Julie Dobrow and Jennifer Burton discussed their new short-form media project, “Half the History,” at this year’s first Tisch College Civic Life Lunch on Sept. 19. The project aims to spread the untold stories of prominent women from American history through various forms of media on its website, which will fully launch next March.
The new Tufts Community Union Constitution, which the Tufts student body voted to ratify last spring, includes a provision that requires all student organizations to receive Green Dot training.
Tufts dropped from 32 to 40 on the US News and World Report’s list of the best universities in America and ranked 287th out of 400 on the Wall Street Journal’s list earlier this month. Both publications tailored their algorithms this year to focus on alumni outcomes, analyzing metrics like graduation rates and graduates’ salaries when compiling their rankings.
Serhii Plokhii, the Mykhailo S. Hrushevs’kyi professor of Ukrainian history and director of the Ukrainian Research Institute at Harvard University, spoke at the Fletcher School about his new book, “The Russo-Ukrainian War: The Return of History” on Sept. 19.
Cities@Tufts kicked off its first digital colloquium of the fall semester with writer Audrey Petty on Sept. 20. Petty authored “High Rise Stories: Voices from Chicago Public Housing,” a collection of narratives from individuals who lived in now-demolished public housing high rises in Chicago.
Thousands of people perished from an 6.8 magnitude earthquake that hit the Atlas region of Morocco on the night of Sept. 8. The Tufts Arab Student Association responded by starting relief initiatives, calling for donations and raising awareness of the tragedy. The earthquake reached as far as Marrakech city, which was 40 miles southwest from the epicenter, but most of the destruction was experienced by the small rural communities of the High Atlas mountain range.
The United Labor of Tufts Resident Assistants voted to sign a union contract in agreement with Tufts University on Sept. 25. The contract signing ends a seven-month-long effort that included an organized strike to earn benefits and union representation for the university’s 141 RAs.
The Jonathan M. Tisch College of Civic Life has named hip-hop artist and activist David Augustine, known by his stage name Dee-1, as the inaugural Alan Solomont Artist/Scholar-in-Residence. The residency was created by Alan Solomont, Tisch College Dean Emeritus, with the purpose of acknowledging the link between art and social activism.
This September saw an increase in local COVID-19 cases, according to Tufts medical personnel. Students are highly encouraged to visit the on-campus vaccination clinics that will be offered this fall, in addition to following the university’s COVID-19 guidelines.
