Classes will be conducted virtually through Friday, Jan. 24 for students in the Schools of Arts and Sciences and Engineering, the School of the Museum of Fine Arts and The Fletcher School.
In an email to the Tufts community on Sunday, Jan. 2, Provost and interim Senior Vice President Caroline Attardo Genco, University Infection Control Health Director Michael Jordan and Executive Vice President Mike Howard confirmed an in-person start to the spring semester and announced new public health guidelines the university will implement in response to the current steep increase in COVID-19 cases in Massachusetts and the United States. These protocols include an increase in testing frequency, a return to individual PCR testing and a shift to grab-and-go dining only.
In an email to the Tufts community on Thursday, the deans of the Schools of Arts and Sciences and Engineering, as well as Dean Nancy Bauer of the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Dean of Student Affairs Camille Lizarríbar and University Infection Control Health Director Michael Jordan announced that all final exams will be conducted virtually effective Friday, Dec. 17 at 9 p.m., and urged students to leave campus for their winter break destinations as soon as possible.
University President Anthony Monaco announced in February that Tufts would prohibit direct investments in 120 coal and tar sands companies. In addition, the university committed to investing between $10 to 25 million in positive impact funds, which seek to make a positive environmental impact in addition to generating a return on investment over the next five years. These efforts to advance sustainability come after demands from student groups, faculty and a Responsible Investment Advisory Group (RIAG) to divest from fossil fuels. This semester, the Tufts Investment Office has continued to pursue these goals, publishing a website and dashboard with updates on their progress and explanations of how the endowment functions.
A study by Tisch College’s Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE) examined how teens below the voting age engage with social media in ways that encourage political engagement and activism. The survey, conducted from September to November of 2020 and published in October of 2021, found that teens who engage in media creation about social and political issues feel politically informed and empowered to engage in political conversations.
Tufts reported 463 cases of COVID-19 across campuses this semester, or approximately 33 per week, according to Patrick Collins, Tufts executive director of media relations. This represents a 12.6% decrease in the number of cases compared to last spring, when the university reported 530 cases.
COVID-19 vaccine boosters will be strongly recommended — but not yet required — for students across Tufts’ campuses, university officials told the Daily last week. Testing frequency and pandemic protocols are also currently expected to remain unchanged going into the Spring semester.
After Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker decided not to run for a third term in the 2022 Massachusetts gubernatorial election, the Daily sat down with one of the election’s Democratic hopefuls, Tufts alumnus and former adjunct professor Ben Downing (AG’08) to discuss his platform and goals for transportation and environmental justice in the state.
Throughout her career, Ayse Asatekin, associate professor of chemical and biological engineering at Tufts University, has sought to use filters to prevent illness and protect the environment. One mineral that performs this function is fluoride, which results in dental and skeletal fluorosis. Fluorosis is a degradation of bones or teeth that happens when fluoride is consumed in excess quantities at a young age. Now, Asatekin has finally found a solution to filtering fluoride out of water.
The Dean of Student Affairs Office released itsannual report detailing community standards violations of the 2020–2021 academic year last week, including 2,058 alleged violations of the Fall 2020 Campus Guide. Tufts' current report lists 2,056 violations due to an error and will be updated shortly, according to Lindsay Ferguson, Tufts’ assistant director of community standards. The document, which summarizes complaints against undergraduate students, graduate students and student organizations across the School of Arts & Sciences, the School of Engineering and the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, disclosed 3,994 allegations of overall misconduct during the 2020–21 academic year.
The Tufts Community Union Senate heard supplementary funding requests, held internal elections and reflected on its work this fall during its last meeting of the semester on Sunday, Dec. 5.
The Tufts University Department of Music sent an email on Nov. 5 notifying students that the Granoff Music Center would be altering its policies regarding personal protective equipment. Now, students warned three times for not using proper PPE in the Granoff practice rooms will have their access to the practice rooms revoked until the end of the semester.
Ericka Miranda and Allison Vander Broek joined the advising team as senior academic advisors for the School of Arts and Sciences on Nov. 1. They replace Tara Zantow, who now serves as the senior academic advisor for the School of Engineering.
Massachusetts colleges have seen a rapid increase in public health programs in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The number of applications to the Tufts University School of Medicine's Master of Public Health program increased threefold.
The omicron variant, the newest COVID-19 strain, may be more contagious but cause milder symptoms than other coronavirus variants, a new study suggests. Venky Soundararajan, a bioengineer who co-wrote the study, explained to the Washington Post that as viruses evolve to become more widespread, symptoms generally become less severe. Still, researchers caution that more information is needed about the novel variant.
President Joe Biden signed a comprehensive, bipartisan infrastructure deal into law on Nov. 15. The law’s $550 billion in new spending will be allocated among the 50 states, with many Massachusetts and Somerville officials hopeful that some funding can be used to ground the McGrath Overpass.
Students studying at Edwin Ginn Library have been increasingly violating Tufts' COVID-19 policies. Director of Ginn Library and Information Technology at the Fletcher School Cyndi Rubino said that eating and not wearing masks in the library puts the community at risk.
A Tufts University graduate student was placed on leave from WMFO, the university's student-run radio station, by administration, for failing to wear a mask, allowing guests into the studio, covering up a security camera and tampering with studio equipment during a Nov. 8 radio show. During their show, the student shared misinformation about COVID-19 and questioned the efficacy of mask-wearing, vaccines and booster shots.
The Tufts University Prison Initiative of Tisch College (TUPIT) recently hosted an event that invited formerly incarcerated members of the Tufts Education Reentry Network (MyTERN) to speak about their experiences in and out of prison. The speakers, who are currently seeking education through MyTERN, discussed questions ranging from the difficulty of reentry to how important education and programs like MyTERN are to facilitate these processes. They are quoted anonymously to respect and protect their privacy.
Boston Mayor Michelle Wu’s administration has resumed the clearing of the houseless encampment around the intersection of Melnea Cass Boulevard and Massachusetts Avenue in Boston, also known as "Mass. and Cass," after previously pausing the initiative begun by then-acting Mayor Kim Janey's administration. The stoppage came after courts denied a request by the ACLU to halt the tent removal project. Wu has also appointed officials and made statements addressing her administration's plans for the tent city.
