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TCU Senate Services Committee continues commitment to providing free menstrual products in campus bathrooms

By Alexis Enderle | March 23

"We are very passionate about women’s reproductive health, and it is important that Tufts provides these products for their students, especially those who are low-income since they impose a significant financial burden," Kabra, a sophomore, wrote in an email to the Daily. "These menstrual products in public bathrooms are for people to take as needed and will help those who need it the most.

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Medford Mayor Lungo-Koehn proposes investments totaling $107.6 million over 6 years

By Jack Hirsch | March 22

The money will be invested into 123 different projects. The projects include investments in roadway quality, parks and recreational spaces, vehicles and equipment for staff, water and sewer infrastructure and capital projects. Of the $107.6 million, investments will be made from specific funds. The General Fund has $79.5 million and the Enterprise Fund $9.2 million, and more than $18.7 million will come from grants and other non-tax levy sources, according to the plan.

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TUSC organizes more than 100 events for spring break 'Staycation'

By Matthew McGovern | March 22

There is a wide variety of programming planned for the week, including kickboxing, yoga and zumba classes, grab-n-go events, cooking classes and mindfulness sessions. The events are taking place during what would have been a week-long spring break, had it not been for the pandemic. Kabra, a sophomore, spoke about how she hopes the "Staycation” can benefit students who are missing the typical mid-semester break.

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TCU Senate passes resolution to expand TUPIT program, discusses anti-Asian racism

By Chloe Courtney Bohl | March 22

The Tufts Community Union Senate passed a resolution calling on the university to give incarcerated and formerly incarcerated participants in the Tufts University Prison Initiative of Tisch College (TUPIT) the opportunity to earn a Tufts degree and discussed recent anti-Asian racism in a virtual meeting on Sunday evening.

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Stacey Abrams discusses youth civic engagement, voter suppression in virtual Tisch College event

By Peri Barest | March 19

Abrams also discussed her route to politics. Growing up in a family committed to social justice, she often missed the Saturday morning cartoons when accompanying her parents to protest, vote and volunteer at local soup kitchens, homeless shelters and juvenile justice facilities. Abrams said she was influenced by lessons her parents taught her.

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Tufts Women in IR opens dialogue around Intro to IR curriculum diversity

By Ava Autry | March 19

With this desire to make an impact on the curriculum, the organization created a questionnaire to gather feedback from students in the international relations community. It surveyed general opinions of respondents and asked questions targeting inequities within the course. Women in International Relations also sought suggestions for future readings as well as thoughts to mention to coordinators and professors from the international relations program.

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Somerville opens new high school amid slow return to in-person learning

By Sam Klugherz | March 19

In addition to the populations returning to in-person school on March 4 and March 18, other Somerville students will gradually return in person through the rest of March and April. All students between pre-kindergarten and eighth grade are expected to be back in person by April 29, utilizing hybrid learning models. However, this does not include students in grades 9–12 who are not in high needs special education programs or multilingual learning lab students.

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The Boxed Art Gallery provides opportunities for artists amid pandemic

By Jack Adgate | March 18

Second-year Tufts-SMFA combined-degree student Ned Carlson has teamed up with the School of the Museum of Fine Arts over the past year to create the Boxed Art Gallery, a virtual forum for artists in the Tufts and greater Boston communities to display their work.

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TCU Senator Claire Bolash calls for mandatory in-person components in fall 2021 classes

By Charlotte Chen | March 18

After a November 2020exit survey conducted by the Tufts Community Union Senate found a lack of academic engagement and social isolation among the student body, Claire Bolash, TCU Senator for the Class of 2024, proposed a resolution that called for the implementation of a mandatory in-person component for every class in the Schools of Arts and Sciences and Engineering. It passed TCU Senate on March 14, with sixteen senators voting in favor of the resolution, eight opposing it and one senator abstaining.

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Sororities adapt recruitment to fit university COVID-19 guidelines, local sororities emerge

By Ella Kamm | March 18

Tufts panhellenic sororities Kappa Alpha Theta and Chi Omega and newly incorporated local sororities The Ivy and Thalia recruited new members at the beginning of the spring 2021 semester while staying in accordance with university COVID-19 guidelines.

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CSPA releases report on Massachusetts unemployment insurance, finds depletion, debt

By Alicia Zou | March 17

The Center for State Policy Analysis at the Jonathan M. Tisch College of Civic Life released a report on Feb. 17 detailing the short-term and long-term challenges of Massachusetts’ unemployment insurance system. The report also included evidence-based ways for lawmakers to address these challenges.

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Tufts student to launch college social media app FuzeMee this April

By Flora Meng | March 17

Christopher Tsetsekos plans to launch FuzeMee, a college social networking app that helps students make friends, find roommates and explore on-campus events through a personalized feed, with co-founders David Graham of Ohio State University and Jon Krouse of Wake Forest University, next month.

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TCU Senate establishes $1,164,000 Pandemic Activities Restoration Trust

By Madeline Mueller | March 16

The purpose of the trust is to provide enhanced celebrations in the future for students who have been affected by pandemic-related cancellations, according to the resolution submitted by TCU Treasurer Sharif Hamidi. About half of the funds will go to post-pandemic events for students in the classes of 2020 and 2021.

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Friedman School releases study on impact of cardiometabolic conditions on COVID-19 hospitalizations

By Fernando Cervantes Jr. | March 16

Researchers at the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy conducted a study on the impact of comorbidities on COVID-19 infections in adults. The results of the study were published on Feb. 25.

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TCU Senate passes resolutions calling on Tufts to divest from private prisons, require all fall 2021 courses to offer in-person component

By Chloe Courtney Bohl | March 16

Tufts Community Union Senate passed two resolutions in a virtual meeting on Sunday night. The first, put forward by Tufts for a Racially Equitable Endowment, calls on Tufts to divest from private prison corporations. The second, which was introduced by the Education Committee of TCU Senate, calls on the university to offer in-person components for all fall 2021 classes.

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Uncertainty around Tufts' vaccination plans persists as Massachusetts continues through Phase 2 of vaccine rollout

By Sarah Sandlow | March 15

Caggiano said that due to both the evolving nature of the state’s vaccination rollout and continued public health guidance, there is generally much uncertainty surrounding Tufts’ vaccination plans. However, if Tufts does receive vaccines in the future, it is prepared to administer them.

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Testing anomaly reported as Broad Institute introduces more sensitive testing

By Alexander Janoff | March 15

The Tufts Daily uncovered an anomaly in university reporting on the Daily's COVID-19 dashboard. The anomaly occurred because the Broad Institute, the organization responsible for performing COVID-19 surveillance testing for Tufts and many other schools in the region, launched a new version of the test it uses to detect COVID-19.

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Medford faces plummeting revenue due to pandemic, calls on federal, state governments for aid

By Jack Hirsch | March 12

In a financial report delivered by Medford Finance Director Aleesha Nunley-Benjamin on Feb. 16, a troubling financial situation for the city of Medford was presented to the Medford City Council. Revenues plummeted due to the recession caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Chris Wallace talks moderating 2020 presidential debate, increase in biases in journalism

By Zoe Kava | March 12

Chris Wallace, host of Fox News Sunday, spoke to the Tufts community about issues in journalism in a livestreamed event on Thursday. The event, “Speaking Up and Speaking Out: Politics, Power, and Freedom of the Press,” was hosted by the Jonathan M. Tisch College of Civic Life.

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University Chaplaincy appoints Harsha Menon as interim Buddhist chaplain

By Flora Meng | March 12

Harsha Menon (MFA'17) was appointed last month as the interim Buddhist chaplain at Tufts following Venerable Priya Sraman’s mid-year transition to Emory University in January. The Rev. Elyse Nelson Winger, university chaplain, explained why the Chaplaincy chose Menon for the position.