The City of Somerville is redesigning and implementing protected bike lanes and floating bus stops in various locations in order to create a safer environment for cyclists and pedestrians, as well as a more walkable and environmentally sound city.
In collaboration with the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement, Snap Inc. has developed the Run for Office Mini, an application built directly into Snapchat to emphasize civic engagement among the app’s users.
Massachusetts State Representatives Jay Livingstone and Liz Miranda introduced an Act to reduce mass incarceration (H.1797) in the state House of Representatives on March 29.The bill would allow all people serving life sentences the opportunity to be eligible for a parole hearing after serving 25 years, also applying retroactively to currently incarcerated people.
Tufts' Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement released a report evaluating the Guardians of Democracy (GoD) program early this semester on Sept. 14. GoD,an initiative developed by the Lou Frey Institute at the University of Central Florida and the Illinois Civics Hub, offers free online courses on civics education pedagogy to K-12 teachers. The report found that the courses improved teachers' knowledge of civics pedagogy and increased their self-awareness about the methods they use to teach the material.
Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley, who represents Massachusetts’ Seventh Congressional District, announced her endorsements for the Nov. 2 Somerville municipal elections in October. Among other endorsements, Pressley supports Ward 7 City Councilor Katjana Ballantyne over City Councilor-at-large Will Mbah in the Somerville mayoral race.
On Nov. 2, Somerville residents will come together to elect a new mayor. This election is particularly notable for Somerville because it will be the first time in nearly 18 years that Joe Curtatone, Somerville’s current and longest-sitting mayor, will not be on the ballot. Instead, the election will come down to candidates Will Mbah and Katjana Ballantyne, both of whom joined the Tisch Council for Philanthropic Leadership for a forum over Zoom on Oct. 21.
Amid a general trend of increased in-person activities on campus and Greek life events as well as Halloween, one of the most party-filled weekends of the year for college students, Tufts officials emphasized the continued vigilance of COVID-19 policies in October.
The City of Somerville is set to receive nearly $78 million in funds designed to help with the COVID-19 recovery as a part of the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). President Joe Biden signed ARPA into law in March 2021. The law financially assists municipalities in recovering from the challenges caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Peter Arsenault, professor and division head of operational dentistry at the Tufts School of Dental Medicine, helped influence a new national standard for healthcare workers that seeks to fix a decades-old flaw in personal protection equipment, or PPE, along with a team of experts. Passed in July, this national regulation creates new protections against the infamous “bottom gap.”
A Food and Drug Administration advisory panelvoted on Tuesday to recommend the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for children ages 5-11 years old. The FDA is not bound by the panel’s decision, but it is expected to act accordingly and grant emergency-use authorization for the vaccine within a few days. If approved, vaccination eligibility will expand to some28 million children in that age bracket.
The Office of Alumni Engagement and Tufts University Advancement decided not to hold Homecoming events on campus in fall 2021 due to health and safety concerns related to COVID-19. This marks the second fall that Tufts has decided against holding an in-person Homecoming, another Tufts tradition upended by the pandemic.
Tufts Dining and the Tufts University Police Department collaborated to create awareness for National Fire Prevention Week during the annual Chili Fest. Held during lunch on Oct. 7 at Carmichael Dining Hall, the Chili Fest spread messaging focused on fire safety for students living both on and off campus.
The City of Medford hosted its annual Harvest Your Energy Festival, an event that promotes sustainability around the city and features the work of green businesses and organizations, on Oct. 16. The festival is part of Medford’s Go Green initiative, a program that works to raise awareness of local environmental and energy initiatives, such asclean energy, household composting and solar power.
Late Night Dining returned after an almost year-long hiatus on Oct. 15 to the Commons Marketplace. Late Night is a fourth meal period for students on meal plans that is available from 9 p.m. to 12:30 a.m. on Friday and Saturday nights.
Congress avoided a federal government shutdown in late September with the passage of a bill that would keep the government funded through Dec. 3. With this date looming, many in higher education are concerned about the effect a prolonged government shutdown might have on colleges and universities, which depend on federal funding for research, grants and financial aid.
The Tufts Community Union Senate heard supplementary funding requests and discussed the planned defunding of the Tufts Portuguese program in a meeting on Sunday night in the Sophia Gordon Hall Multipurpose Room.
Tufts announced changes to its policy on missing midterm or final exams due to illness in an email to undergraduate students on Oct. 1. Going forward, students will no longer be able to obtain notes excusing them from midterm or final exams via walk-in appointment with Health Service or Counseling and Mental Health Services. Instead, acutely ill students will now send an online form to their professors informing them of their illness, though the form does not automatically excuse students from exams or coursework. The university cited a need to allocate limited resources and waiting room space to those in need of medical attention as the reason for this change.
Tufts University removed the basketball hoops located outside Harleston Hall in an effort to create more court space for the men’s and women’s varsity tennis teams in early October. The decision temporarily removes the only available outside space for Tufts pickup basketball players.
An FDA advisory panelunanimously voted last week to approve the use of a booster shot for the Moderna vaccine and again voted unanimously yesterday to approve a booster for the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. Moderna’s booster only applies to certain groups of people, such as those over the age of 65, high-risk individuals between the ages of 18 and 64 or people whose jobs put them at risk of contracting COVID-19. The individuals in all three categories should wait at least six months after their second dose to receive their Moderna booster shot. Although the FDA panel unanimously decided to approve the booster for those categories, the panel did not make any decisions on whether to recommend booster shots for low-risk adults over 18. Some members believe it is too early to make the call; they argue that as more people become eligible for the booster, it will be crucial to determine if it is effective at providing better protection against COVID-19. Additionally, some scientists say that there is not enough evidence to suggest that vaccine efficacy is decreasing, which, if true, could make a booster shot pointless.
In the midst of the national conversation about reproductive rights, the Somerville City Council sponsored a resolution on Sept. 23 calling on Congress to pass the Women's Health Protection Act.
