President Joe Biden signed a $1.9 trillion stimulus package titled the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) of 2021 in March. Massachusetts received about $5.3 billion in funding from the bill for post-pandemic recovery efforts. On Oct. 29, the Massachusetts House of Representatives voted unanimously to appropriate around $3.6 billion of the ARPA funding.
An analysis of ancient animal DNA samples has helped identify the genetic homeland of modern horses from around 4,200 years ago. A team of archaeologists spent the last five years collecting thousands of horse samples — from bones to teeth — in locations where the animals could have originated. Researchers utilized radiocarbon dating to figure out the age of different samples and tracked several horse populations before, during and after domestication. By comparing these different populations, the team concluded in a recent report published in Nature thatmodern domestic horses originated from the steppes — which are grasslands located in present-day Russia — before spreading across Eurasia and replacing all preexisting horse lineages.
In Somerville's mayoral election, Ward 7 City Councilor Katjana Ballantyne secured 9,997 votes to City Councilor-at-large Will Mbah's 6,726. This created a margin of victory of 18.27 percentage points.
The Tufts School of Arts and Sciences decided to terminate the Portuguese minor this fall due to lower than optimal enrollments. The unexpected news was recently announced to Portuguese language students and lecturers, who previously believed that the school would preserve the program.
The Tufts Community Union Senate voted on its first resolution of the semester, heard an appeal from Tufts Republicans and heard supplementary funding requests in a meeting on Sunday.
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.
