Students gathered outside of the Mayer Campus Center on March 3, before the Global Climate Strike in Boston, to protest Tufts’ fossil fuel investments and rising global carbon emissions. Rachel Kyte, dean of The Fletcher School, spoke at the rally, offering support to protesters calling for divestment.
The Tufts Department of Theater, Dance, and Performance Studies recently announced changes to its major requirements, including increasing flexibility in terms of electives and a decrease in certain required classes. Students matriculating in fall 2023 will be the first class required to adhere to the new curriculum for TDPS.
The Edward R. Murrow Forum on Issues in Journalism will return to Tufts for the first time since 2018 at noon on April 3 with CNN’s Abby Phillip slated as this year’s speaker. Sponsored by Tisch College’s Solomont Speaker Series, Phillip will discuss her work at CNN with Tufts alumnus and trustee Neil Shapiro (A’80).
Over 100 students, workers and union leaders rallied for a new contract for Tufts Dining Services union employees outside the Mayer Campus Center on March 1.
The Tufts Community Union Senate held a weekly meeting on Feb. 26, hearing an abstract calling on the university to fully divest from fossil fuels and achieve carbon neutrality by 2030. During the meeting, roughly 20 students gathered in the Joyce Cummings Center atrium outside the meeting room holding posters with phrases such as “protect the right to protest.”
A bill that would allow parents running for public office to use campaign funds for childcare was recently introduced by Massachusetts State Senator Patricia Jehlen, who represents Medford, Somerville, Cambridge and Winchester.
Massachusetts Democrats plan to use the 2023 legislative session to further gun control legislation in the state. The Democrats hold a majority in both the state House and the state Senate. Along with recently elected Democratic Gov. Maura Healey, state legislators and activists have high hopes for a major gun safety package.
The City of Somerville is requiring Somerville Media Center to relocate from its current home in Union Square by April 30. Formed in March 1983, SMC produces local radio shows and TV shows as well as youth programs that seek to educate children in the use of media tools to tell their own stories.
Tufts Community Union Senate debated and approved JumboCast’s request for supplementary funding to cover new cameras on Feb. 20. They also introduced abstract proposals calling on the university to create a Middle Eastern and North African (MENA) space on campus and divulge all course costs on SIS enrollment pages.
Editor’s note: The Daily’s editorial department acknowledges that this article is premised on a conflict of interest. This article is a special feature for Daily Week that does not represent the Daily’s standard journalistic practices.
Tufts recently announced the “Champions Scholars Fund” scholarship, which aims to increase educational access and equity. The scholarship is a part of the Women Impact Tufts and was endowed by four alums: Kalahn Taylor-Clark (LA’99), Joy Ebanks-Frederick (LA’95), Lanique Eubanks (LA’99) and Danika Tynes (LA’98).
Jonathan M. Tisch College of Civic Life and The Fletcher School hosted a conversation with former President of Costa Rica Carlos Alvarado Quesada on Feb. 15. Moderated by Alnoor Ebrahim, professor of management at Fletcher and Tisch College, the event focused on the critical role of small countries in the climate crisis, given that conversations about climate change are typically dominated by larger nations.
Protestors disrupted an Israel-Palestine discussion event in Tisch Library on Tuesday evening.
In the weeks following a deadly earthquake in Turkey, the Tufts Students of Turkey club has organized several fundraising events, including a bake sale and a supply drive, to support victims of the disaster. So far, the club has raised more than $16,000 for survivors.
Somerville’s Zoning Board of Appeals voted unanimously on Feb. 1 to approve permit requests for a new Winter Hill building complex, representing a major step towards the area’s long-desired revitalization. Located at 299 Broadway, the site of a closed Star Market, the development would consist of two mixed-use buildings, multiple retail spaces and a civic plaza, in addition to a pocket park along Seawall Street.
Chris Campbell began work in January after he was appointed the new director of the FIRST Resource Center. Campbell comes to Tufts from the College of the Holy Cross, where he served as the director of student inclusion and belonging.
Tisch College’s Susan and Alan Solomont Distinguished Speaker Series began on Feb. 9 with a Civic Life Lunch with writer, activist and Tufts alumna Sabrina Cartan (A'15). Titled “Activists, Assemble!,” the talk focused on how pop culture fandoms can integrate into spaces for activism and social change.
Hodgdon Food-On-The-Run, commonly known as “Hodge,” will close for renovations after March 9, according to Patti Klos, director of dining and business services at Tufts. The popular dining location is set to be revitalized with a new layout designed to minimize overcrowding and streamline the grab-and-go system.
A surge of new artificial intelligence tools is stirring concern among some faculty while others embrace it as university administrators move to address the new reality marked by chatbots capable of spitting out code and writing assignments in mere minutes.
Students and community members gathered outside of the Gantcher Center on Feb. 10 to protest student recruitment at the career fair by military-industrial organizations. Sponsored by the Tufts Career Center, the fair featured booths from defense organizations like The MITRE Corporation, MIT Lincoln Laboratory and the U.S. Army New England, among other non-military organizations.
