Federal immigration enforcement activity has recently been reported in areas surrounding Tufts’ Medford/Somerville campus, according to an email sent to the Tufts community from the Office of Public Safety. The office and the municipalities of Somerville and Medford are coordinating efforts to monitor the situation.
Resident assistants have not yet received reappointment forms as the university considers changing aspects of the role in order to reduce RA responsibilities. The yet-to-be-announced changes come as the United Labor of Tufts Resident Assistants prepares to bargain for a new contract, as the existing one expires this summer.
Last fall, Tufts entered the next stage of its ELEVATE strategic visioning initiative, aiming to promote “institutional inclusive excellence,” according to the project’s website. Following its official launch in Oct. 2024, the ELEVATOR Ambassador program was rolled out after a year of community sessions and feedback to create specific plans for Tufts’ improvement.
All university campuses will be closed from Sunday at 12 p.m. through Monday due to a winter storm expected to blanket much of North America this weekend, the university announced Saturday evening.
On Jan. 19, the Tufts Community Union Senate met for its first meeting of the spring semester, in which it held internal elections for Parliamentarian and Diversity Officer, presented data from the TCU Senate Student Experience Survey, and voted on proposed changes to the Treasury Procedures Manual.
The Tufts Community Union Senate did not pass any resolutions last semester, which marks a difference from previous semesters that can be attributed to changes in how the Senate approaches student feedback. Resolutions are formal lobbying tools often used by student groups and individuals to necessitate Senate action on an issue.
Tufts administrators are evaluating a potential overhaul of the university’s heating and cooling systems as part of a broader plan to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050. The proposal under consideration involves adopting ground-source heat pumps, an all-electric technology that administrators say could significantly reduce emissions while lowering long-term energy costs.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit released a decision on Jan. 5 reaffirming the lower court’s move to block funding limitations that the National Institutes of Health proposed last year. The circuit court placed a permanent injunction on the proposed policy.
Tufts officials reaffirmed existing campus safety protocols after the December shooting at Brown University that resulted in the death of two students.Yolanda Smith, chief of police and executive director of public safety at Tufts, said the university would continue to review its safety protocols after students returned to campus this month.It was not immediately clear whether specific changes were made over winter break.
The Fresh at Carmichael Dining Center reopened for service on Jan. 14 following a required closure due to flooding toward the end of the fall semester. The dining hall first closed on Nov. 11 after a backup in the drainage system caused flooding in multiple areas. Many food items were thrown out, and much of the center needed to be sanitized.
Medford will enter a three-year contract with a new ambulance provider, Cataldo Ambulance Service, on Jan. 19, ending a 25-year agreement with Armstrong Ambulance. Mayor Breanna Lungo-Koehn ultimately decided to switch services due to contractual and performance concerns with Armstrong.
Following his swearing-in as mayor of Somerville on Jan. 3, members of Jake Wilson’s transition team say that his administration will prioritize community input and collaboration following months of outreach and preparation.
Private music lessons will resume this spring after a semester-long hiatus due to a staffing vacancy in the director of applied music position. Mawunyo Kobla Titiati is taking over as program administrator of applied music.
Medford Mayor Breanna Lungo-Koehn and a new City Council and School Committee were sworn in on Jan. 4 as the city prepares to move forward with its rezoning project and build a new Medford High School.
The Office of Public Safety announced temporary “security enhancements” for buildings on the Medford/Somerville and Grafton campuses in an email to the Tufts community Monday afternoon.
U.S. District Court Judge Denise J. Casper granted Tufts graduate student Rümeysa Öztürk’s motion for a preliminary injunction Monday afternoon, ordering the government to immediately reinstate her Student and Exchange Visitor Information System record retroactive to the date it was terminated — March 25.
Concerned Tufts staff members have distributed a petition in conjunction with Tufts Labor Coalition demanding that no workers be laid off as part of Tufts’ Operating Model Transformation, an initiative restructuring the university’s administrative functions.
Six courses at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts at Tufts University were canceled this fall after failing to meet the required minimum enrollment of eight students. This fall semester saw an unusually high number of cancelled classes that left some professors of the practice without opportunities to teach as many courses and some students facing last-minute schedule changes.
On Thursday, the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts heard arguments on a motion for a preliminary injunction that seeks to require the government to reinstate Tufts graduate student Rümeysa Öztürk’s Student and Exchange Visitor Information System record. U.S. District Judge Denise J. Casper did not issue a ruling, but committed to making a prompt decision.
The Fresh at Carmichael Dining Center has closed for the rest of the fall semester due to flooding following nearly a month of intermittent closures.
