Skip to Content, Navigation, or Footer.
The Tufts Daily
Where you read it first | Wednesday, May 27, 2026
The Print Edition Print Subscription
Donate | About | Join Us
Advertise | Submit a Tip
Subscribe to our newsletters

News

IMG_2552
News

Tufts Medical Center adjusts procedures after wrongfully assuming Black stroke victim was intoxicated

By Skyler Goldberg | December 6

The Tufts Medical Center has implemented a number of drastic procedural changes following an incident of racial bias in 2019 that led to the mistreatment of a Black man who had suffered a stroke. The incident resurfaced in the media recently after the City of Boston reached a $1.3 million settlement with the victim, Al Copeland. Copeland was held at a Boston police station for several hours by law enforcement officials in April 2019 after he suffered a stroke that left him “barely conscious,” while driving on Massachusetts Avenue at night.

IMG_5129-scaled
Science

What’s different about COVID-19 transmission rates on college campuses? Experts weigh in.

By Sarah Sandlow | December 6

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to impact communities around the United States and the world, certain trends have emerged surrounding infection rates and their link with prevention measures including surveillance testing, masking and vaccine mandates. Experts agree that, especially on college campuses, these measures are essential in curbing the spread of COVID-19. 

NajibaAkbar99
News

Najiba Akbar assumes leadership of Muslim Chaplaincy

By Tess Harmon | December 6

Najiba Akbar began her position as Tufts University’s Muslim chaplain on Nov. 12. She previously served as the Muslim chaplain at Wellesley College and is currently the Muslim spiritual advisor at Northeastern University. She is a trained personal development coach and was an Islamic studies instructor at the Islamic Center of Boston. Akbar also served as a program co-facilitator for Tufts’ Pathways interfaith dialogue initiative from 2007 to 2009. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in peace and justice studies from Wellesley College and a master’s degree in social work from Boston College.

IMG_5231
News

IDHE report reveals record turnout among student voters

By Simran Patel | December 3

The Institute for Democracy & Higher Education (IDHE) at the Jonathan M. Tisch College of Civic Lifereleased a new report on college student participation in the 2020 election season.The data indicated that students voted at unprecedented rates, with a 66% turnout rate in 2020 compared to 52% in 2016.

rusty_the_smiling_guinea_pig__235589647_
Science

This Week in Science: Omicron variant, brain swelling linked to Alzheimer's medication, lyme disease vaccine, CDC recommendation for universal boosters

By Sophie Wax, Cindy Zhang and Maiah Islam | December 2

A new COVID-19 variant labeled omicron has recently emerged in several countries, including South Africa, Botswana and Hong Kong, and contains dozens of mutations from the original alpha variant,leading many scientists to discuss its implications for COVID-19’s future. Although the moment when omicron first started to infect people is not exactly known, infectious disease researcher Kristian Andersen hypothesizes that the variant could have emerged in September or October, indicating that it was initially slow to spread. However, this does not mean that it is less contagious than previous variants; in fact, researchers predict that the mutations associated with omicron may likely increase the virus’s resistance to the vaccine and its rate of infection, according to evolutionary biologist Jesse Bloom. Because of this,researchers are suggesting that people receive a booster shot to strengthen their protection against omicron.

Screen-Shot-2020-02-26-at-6.47.39-PM
News

Downhill on-campus residents report sporadic hot water outages

By Liz Shelbred | December 2

Residents in downhill dorms experienced sporadic bouts without hot water in showers throughout September and October, resulting in confusion about the cause of the hot water shortage and uncertainty regarding when the issue would be fixed. While Tufts Facilities Services concluded that issues regarding access to hot water have since been resolved, some residents have noticed a recent lack of consistent access to hot water.

DSCF0534
News

Tufts Dining commits to 30% locally sourced food by 2030

By Elizabeth Foster | December 2

Tufts University is working toward having 30% of its food be locally sourced by 2030, after meeting its previous goal of 20% locally sourced food by 2020, which was inspired by the Real Food Challenge. On Oct. 28, Tufts Dining hosted a Harvest Dinner featuring produce sourced from New Entry Sustainable Farming Project to advertise that Tufts Dining had reached this goal with 23% of food across on-campus locations being locally sourced in 2020. Tufts is also a part of the New England Food Vision, whose goal is to have New England produce 50% of its own food by 2060. 

4ED11F3E-E4C0-4D3F-A028-ABA8F7787B26_1_201_a
News

Tufts imposes no Thanksgiving travel restrictions this year

By Aaron Gruen | December 1

In a change fromlast year’s policy, Tufts allowed students who traveled during Thanksgiving to return to campus in the time between Thanksgiving and winter break. The policy was announced to the Tufts community on Nov. 9 in an email from Dean of Student Affairs Camille Lizarríbar.

Untitled-design-3-1
Science

3D-printing class pushes students to frontier of modern medicine

By Avery Hanna | November 30

Among the 3D printers throughout the room, Vincent Fitzpatrick, a postdoctoral biomedical researcher at Tufts University, holds up a gray unassuming piece of plastic, crisscrossed with a cage-like structure. Hidden beneath a series of support structures that have yet to be removed, he explains, lies a perfect replica of a patient’s bone — assembled from data isolated from a CT scan so that it would have a Cinderella-like fit if surgically implanted.

211116_9418_mckenzie017
News

Kenann McKenzie named director of GLAD Center

By Evelyn Altschuler | November 30

On Oct. 25, the Jonathan M. Tisch College of Civic Life announced that Kenann McKenzie, educator and civic leader,will direct the newly created Generous Listening and Dialogue (GLAD) Center. The GLAD Center was established this May andintended to "serve as a hub and educational resource for the Tufts University community to promote authentic dialogue and generous listening across differences."  

Screen-Shot-2021-11-17-at-5
News

Illinois Senator Tammy Duckworth discusses memoir, race, America in lecture

By Maggie Monahan | November 30

The Jonathan M. Tisch College of Civic Life hosted Illinois Sen. Tammy Duckworth on Nov. 17. She discussed the recent release of her memoir, a recent uptick in violence against Asian Americans and her experience during the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. She also brought to the discussion her story as one of the first women to fly combat missions while serving in the Iraq war, her experience co-founding the Senate's first environmental justice caucus and her status as the first U.S. senator to give birth while in office.

pexels-artem-beliaikin-2292932-2
Science

This Week in Science: NASA's armageddon mission, boosters for all adults, high-kicking frogs, the best way to hug, COVID-19 origin

By Peri Barest, Sophie Wax, Rachel Liu, Ian Lau and Maddie Yost | November 23

NASA plans to launch a spacecraft this week that, in late 2022, will intentionally crash into an asteroid, hopefully changing its trajectory. Planetary defense research has been conducted over the past several years in hopes of preventing foreseeable meteor crashes. Although scientists believe massive meteorites do not pose a significant Armageddon-level threat in the next few centuries, smaller astrological debris can be just as deadly, with the potential to decimate entire cities like Manhattan.  

Trending
The Tufts Daily Crossword with an image of a crossword puzzle
The Print Edition
Tufts Daily front page