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University

Africana Center, Chaplaincy awards students with Voices of MLK Award

By Michael Onysko | February 5

The university held its annual Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. celebration in the Joyce Cummings Center on Jan. 31, featuring keynote speaker Christian Walkes, who studies race and inequality within the U.S. education system as a PhD student at Harvard’s Graduate School of Education. The event centered around the theme of a “single garment of destiny,” a concept first described by King in his 1963 “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” highlighting the shared nature of the future.

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University

Tufts launches Jumbo Spring Break civic engagement program

By Dhruvii Mehta | February 1

In March, students will have the opportunity to dedicate their spring breaks to civic engagement through a new program, Jumbo Spring Break, which was collaboratively designed over the last semester by the Dean of Students Office, Tufts Community Union Senate, Tisch College of Civic Life, Career Center and the Chaplaincy.

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News

Mass. House passes bill granting paid time off to workers on Election Day

By Samantha Eng | February 1

The Massachusetts House passed Bill H.4217, which protects employees’ right to paid time off in order to be able to vote. The bill is currently under consideration by the Senate Committee on Ways and Means. This bill would allow any employee to request paid time off on Election Day to exercise their right to vote in person with the condition that they give employers three business days’ notice.

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University

Earth Hacks’ co-founder champions environmental hackathons

By Lang Law | February 1

Sanjana Paul, the co-founder and executive director of Earth Hacks, explored the philosophy of her nonprofit’s mission to make hackathons more environmentally conscious on Jan. 25. The event, titled “Hacking the Climate Crisis: Environmental Hackathons as a Vehicle for Justice-Centric Climate Action,” was part of the environmental studies department’s ongoing Hoch Cunningham lecture series.

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University

Coalition for Palestinian Liberation holds ‘emergency protest for Palestine’

By Matthew Sage | January 30

More than 50 students gathered by the Mayer Campus Center’s lower patio and later marched through campus in an “emergency protest for Palestine” on Friday, organized by the Coalition for Palestinian Liberation at Tufts. The group’s first protest of 2024 follows a semester marked by activism over the Israel-Hamas war.

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University

Hemispheres journal launches its magazine counterpart

By Rebecca Barrie | January 30

Hemispheres: The Tufts University Journal of International Affairs, the country’s oldest undergraduate international relations journal, officially launched its magazine counterpart on Jan. 24.

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University

Family member of Israeli hostages speaks at Tufts Hillel

By Matthew Sage | January 26

Maya Roman — the family member of two women kidnapped by the U.S.-labeled terrorist organization Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023 — spoke in front of over 120 students at Tufts Hillel on Wednesday. At the Hillel-branded “Critical Conversations” event, Roman spoke about her experience and subsequent activism to earn the release of Israeli hostages — including one of her family members still held captive.

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University

Beelzebubs perform at White House holiday event

By Carly Cohen | January 24

The Tufts Beelzebubs performed at the annual holiday open house at the White House on Dec. 9, 2023. The a cappella group got a phone call two weeks before the performance and canceled a show they had planned for that day to fly to Washington, D.C., group members said.  

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University

UMass Boston prof. presents healing circles to support Black mental health

By Arvind Pillai | January 22

The Tufts University School of Medicine hosted the latest addition to its Global Health Seminar series on Wednesday, which focused on the emergence of African-centered healing circles to address long-standing effects of anti-Blackness in the U.S. Entitled “A People’s Mental Health Movement: Sawubona and the Rise of Healing Circles,” the event primarily featured Dr. Evan Auguste, assistant professor of psychology at UMass Boston, discussing his role in co-developing, leading and scaling community healing circles.

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University

Kumar publicly addresses campus climate, student activism

By Matthew Sage | January 19

For the first time since November, University President Sunil Kumar publicly addressed the Israel-Hamas war in relation to university activism in a video message emailed to the wider Tufts community on Tuesday.

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Local

Mayor Wu gives second State of the City address

By Sarah Firth | January 17

Boston Mayor Michelle Wu delivered her second annual State of the City address at the MGM Music Hall on Jan. 9, introducing new plans for housing developments and access to public education.

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Local

Somerville residents speak up for outdoor development

By Shannon Murphy | January 17

Representatives from the City of Somerville gathered feedback from community members at two public meetings earlier this month in order to update the city’s conservation and recreational development goals for the next seven years.

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University

Dean Glaser to depart in summer 2024

By Matthew Sage | December 21

Closing a chapter of 33 years, Tufts’ Dean of the School of Arts and Sciences James M. Glaser will depart the university to begin tenure at Santa Clara University in California as its executive vice president and provost come July.

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University

Tufts alum talks corporate climate change action in Hoch Cunningham lecture series

By Nicholas Prather | December 11

The Environmental Studies Program held its final Hoch Cunningham Environmental lecture series on Thursday, featuring Tyler McCullough (LA’17), manager of corporate climate action at the environmental advocacy firm Ceres. In the lecture titled “Investor Advocacy and Business Working to Address Climate Change,” McCullough discussed how Ceres facilitates corporate sustainability and how companies are transitioning to clean energy while maintaining financial ambition.

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University

TLC hosts first letter writing event for incarcerated artists

By Michael Onysko | December 6

Tufts Labor Coalition hosted an event on Monday in partnership with the Justice Arts Coalition where students wrote letters to support incarcerated artists. Sophomore TLC member Hunter Payne organized the event along with other JAC volunteers. Payne worked with the JAC this previous summer in Takoma Park, Md. In a message to the Daily, Payne wrote that similar events were also being set up at other colleges by the organization.

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University

Daniel Dennett calls for ethics in AI development

By Rebecca Barrie | December 5

“It’s emerging, it’s everywhere. It’s going to be even more everywhere, … and it’s scary and inspiring at the same time,” Jad Oubala, president and founder of the Tufts Artificial Intelligence Society, said when describing AI. For this reason, TAIS brought together computer science researchers and renowned philosopher Daniel Dennett to discuss the ethical concerns of developing AI technology at a panel discussion titled “Ghost in the Neural Net: Traversing the Ethics of AI” on Nov. 15. Matthias Scheutz and Tina Eliassi-Rad, both computer science professors at Tufts and Northeastern University respectively, joined Dennett on stage. Oubala, a first-year student, moderated the discussion.

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Local

Mayor Ballantyne rejects police chief candidate, sending search for a replacement into a fourth year

By Anna Fattaey | December 4

Somerville Mayor Katanja Ballantyne and Somerville’s Police Chief Search Committee announced on Nov. 9 that their search for the next chief of the Somerville Police Department will continue. Somerville has been in the process of selecting the new chief since December 2020, when former Chief David Fallon retired.

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Local

Somerville removes gender requirement from its marriage certificates

By Estelle Anderson | November 29

Somerville Mayor Katjana Ballantyne and City Clerk Kimberly Wells officially removed the gender identification requirement from Somerville marriage certificates on Oct. 19. Rather than having to select either “male” or “female” on their marriage certificates, Somerville couples can now choose to leave this field blank.

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Local

Medford breaks ground on new community path

By Grayton Goldsmith | November 28

On Nov. 2, the City of Medford broke ground on the half-mile Clippership Connector which will connect over 10 miles of preexisting greenways and bike paths whichreach from Boston to as far north as Lynn.The path, expected to be completed by 2025, will be the culmination of over 10 years of work by the city and the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation, as well as multiple civil society organizations.

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University

University holds winter mental health webinar for employees

By Dhruvii Mehta | November 21

As winter temperatures begin to drop, so will many people’s moods. The Tufts Employee Assistance Program facilitated a webinar titled “Maintaining Mental Health During Seasonal Change,” for employees on Nov. 15. Hosted by employee wellness organization KGA and sponsored by Tufts Human Resources, the webinar covered topics ranging from broader seasonal mood changes, how seasonal affective disorder can impact daily life and the risk of holiday-related stress.

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