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BREAKING: Bárbara Brizuela appointed as next dean of the School of Arts and Sciences

By Michael Onysko | November 6

Bárbara M. Brizuela will serve as the 18th dean of the School of Arts and Sciences after serving as interim dean since July 2024, the university announced on Monday. A professor in the Department of Education for over 23 years and the dean of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences since 2022, Brizuela’s appointment as dean is effective immediately.

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University

Tufts students to join 41 million Gen Z voters at the polls

By Amelia Sammons | November 5

Among members of Generation Z,41 million will be eligible to vote in the 2024 election. According to Alberto Medina, the communications team lead at Tufts’ Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement, there is high interest in voting from young people this year.

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University

Tufts Federalist Society hosts debate between Tufts professor, Project 2025 contributor

By Anika Parr | November 5

The Tufts Federalist Society held a debate on Oct. 24 focusing on whether Project 2025 —the Heritage Foundation’s 900-page blueprint for the next Republican president — is a threat to democracy. Jonathan Wolfson, a contributor to Project 2025 and the Chief Legal Officer and Policy Director at the Cicero Institute, and Samuel Gebru, Tufts professor of the practice in the department of political science, argued for and against Project 2025, respectively. The conversation was moderated by senior and Federalist Society co-President Trent Bunker.

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University

Ben Adida, co-founder of VotingWorks, discusses importance of transparency in elections

By Anika Parr | November 5

The Jonathan M.Tisch College of Civic Life hosted a discussion titled “Voting Machines Everyone Can Trust,” led by Dr. Ben Adida, co-founder and executive director of VotingWorks on Wednesday. Adida spoke about the history of voting machines, current voting practices and his approach to building the next generation of voting machines.

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University

Tufts will operate a pub Thursday nights in Hotung Café

By Spenser Walsh | November 4

After years of student advocacy, Tufts Dining will operate a “pop-up pub” on Thursday nights in Hotung Café, with the first pub night scheduled for Nov. 7 from 5–9:30pm. The pub, tentatively titled “Pop Up Pub: The Tufts Campus Pub & Social Spot,” will be open to Tufts community members of all ages, according to Patti Klos, senior director of dining services.

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University

TUPIT panel discusses impact of excessive sentencing on re-entry

By Noah Frick | October 29

Tufts University Prison Initiative of Tisch College hosted a panel discussion titled “Ending Excessive Sentencing & Mass Incarceration” on Wednesday. The panel featured activist and writer Kenneth Hartman, MyTERN graduate Swinks Laporte, civil rights lawyer Michael Meltsner and TUPIT bachelor’s student Kentel Weaver.

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University

Tufts Democrats, Republicans participate in annual Cooperation and Innovation in Citizenship debate

By Toby Winick | October 25

On Monday, Tufts Cooperation and Innovation in Citizenship hosted its annual debate between Tufts Democrats and Tufts Republicans, focusing on the issues of immigration, the economy and gun violence, with the upcoming general election coming in just a few weeks.

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Local

After Tufts pauses Master in Public Policy, future of Neighborhood Fellows Program remains unclear

By Eli Brigham | October 25

After Tufts’ Graduate School of Arts and Sciences paused its Master of Public Policy earlier this year, local community members have mobilized in support of the Neighborhood Fellows Program, which annually selects up to five urban leaders to participate in the masters program. The leaders come from underrepresented groups and have experience working in urban communities within the Boston area.

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University

Tufts EWB discusses goals, upcoming plans for recently opened greenhouse near student garden

By Hannah Rajalingam | October 24

Tufts Engineers Without Borders is continuing to develop its mobile greenhouse, which opened in May 2024. Members of the club hope to give hands-on engineering experience to children from local elementary schools, Medford and Somerville residents and Tufts engineers. The club is a chapter of the worldwide organization Engineers Without Borders, which works with professional and aspiring engineers to construct projects within communities in need.

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University

Nic Sheff, author of ‘Tweak,’ discusses addiction, recovery during Tisch College event

By Olivia Bye | October 24

Tisch College hosted a conversation with Nic Sheff, an author and advocate who writes about his experience with addiction and recovery. The Oct. 16 event was part of the Tisch College Solomont Speaker Series.

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University

Delta Upsilon holds third annual speaker series, featuring nonprofit leaders and Tufts women’s rowing coach

By Julian Glickman | October 23

The Delta Upsilon fraternity held its third annual speaker series on Thursday, centered on building leadership skills in nonprofit organizations. The event, which focused on sports, featured a three-person panel: Jay Calnan, a Tufts alumnus and co-founder of Team IMPACT, which matches disabled children with college sports teams; Lily Siddall, the head coach of Tufts women’s rowing; and Chris Nowinski, the co-founder and CEO of the Concussion Legacy Foundation, which fights neurological diseases common in combat sports.

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University

TCU Senate discusses on-campus pub, syllabus access, club funding

By Spenser Walsh | October 22

Sunday’s meeting of the Tufts Community Union Senate covered club funding requests, a new campus pub and their long-running effort to increase syllabus access.

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University

Eaton Hall set to open this spring, university says

By Anna Fattaey | October 21

Eaton Hall, which has been undergoing a complete renovation since November 2023, is set to be completed by the spring 2025 semester. The building, which first opened in 1908 as the university’s main library, has most recently housed the anthropology, classical studies, religion and sociology departments.

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University

New space for SWANA community set to open in two weeks

By Evan Vezmar | October 18

After over two years of discussion, a room in West Hall will be opened within the next few weeks as a community space for Southwest Asian and North African students to study and socialize.

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University

Student groups collaborate to host annual farmers market on Tufts campus

By Shayna Levy | October 17

The Student Garden Club, Sustainable CORE Fellows, TCU Senate and the Tufts University Social Collective collaborated for the third annual farmers market, which was held at the Campus Center on Oct. 4. The market featured local produce and student artwork, along with educational tabling regarding environmental justice and food insecurity at Tufts. 

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University

Student-run food vendors ‘Grilled Cheesus’ and ‘Tufts Crepes’ to continue hosting events around campus

By Carly Hope | October 17

“Grilled Cheesus” and “Tufts Crepes,” the popular, unofficial student groups hosting food vending events around campus, plan to continue functioning despite intervention into Grilled Cheesus’ operations from Residential Life staff and changing business plans. 

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University

Zeta Beta Tau returns from almost two years of probation

By Michael Onysko | October 17

Following the completion of a social probation issued in April 2023, the fraternity Zeta Beta Tau will resume hosting social activities starting this fall, while remaining under disciplinary probation.

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University

Founder of Center for State Policy Analysis leads information session on Massachusetts ballot questions

By Josh Solomon | October 16

In less than a month, Massachusetts voters will vote on a range of issues from psychedelic drug legalization to rideshare unions in the form of ballot questions. Evan Horowitz, executive director of the Center for State Policy Analysis, engaged Tufts students and community members in a discussion about this year’s state ballot initiatives during an event on Oct. 9.

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University

Tufts Health Service is now providing medication abortions. Here’s what that looks like

By Carly Cohen | October 15

Tufts Health Service has begun to provide medication abortions, a method for terminating pregnancies up to 11 weeks.

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University

Salvadoran journalist and Boston civil rights lawyer discuss democracy, 2024 election, immigration policy during lecture

By Varya Karpinskaya | October 10

The Department of Romance Studies hosted a discussion on Oct. 3 titled “The High Cost of Democracy, Freedom of the Press, and Immigration Policy,” focusing on the political climate in El Salvador and its parallels with politics in the United States. The event featured two speakers: Óscar Martínez, a Salvadoran journalist and co-founder of Latin America’s first digital newspaper, El Faro, and Iván Espinoza, executive director of Lawyers for Civil Rights in Boston.

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