The TCU Senate voted at their weekly meeting to endorse the Tufts Labor Coalition’s campaign to support higher wages for Tufts dining employees on April 9.
Tufts Student Affairs recently announced the creation of a new summer pre-orientation program called SHAPE, short for Students Heightening Actionable Political Engagement. Although the program is still in development, SHAPE aims to invite civically-minded and politically curious students to solve pressing issues in the Tufts community and beyond.
Dr. Anu Gokhale, professor and chairperson in the Saint Augustine’s University Department of Computer Information Systems, gave a lecture at Alumnae Hall titled “Algorithmic Bias: Myth or Reality?” on April 4. Gokhale was invited to speak about her insights and research as a leader in a STEM field.
The Fletcher School’s Initiative on Religion, Law and Diplomacy organized a book talk with Shaun Casey, former U.S. special representative for religion and global affairs, on his new book, “Chasing the Devil at Foggy Bottom: The Future of Religion in American Diplomacy” (2023), on April 4. The talk was moderated by Fletcher Military Fellow Chris Melvin.
Tisch College’s final Civic Life Lunch welcomed artist, activist and Tufts alum Scheherazade Tillet (LA’00) on April 6 to speak about her work and goals. Alonso Nichols, Tufts’ chief of photography, moderated the conversation.
Darryll Pines, president of the University of Maryland, spoke at Tufts on March 31 to discuss a new venture he started to address the decline in college enrollment and the low level of STEM interest at the high school level. The presentation was held as part of the Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Justice Colloquium Series.
Just before midnight on Feb. 27, several students gathered in a room on the third floor of 1047 Beacon St. to decide whether to kill a live mouse stuck in a glue trap. After months of submitting work orders and calling for assistance that night, it was clear to residents that no one would be coming to help. Together, the residents came to a conclusion: Killing the mouse was the right thing to do. After placing the mouse in a trash bag, one resident offered to step on it.
Abby Phillip, CNN’s senior political correspondent and weekend anchor, was the featured guest speaker at the 15th Edward R. Murrow Forum on Issues in Journalism on April 3. Sponsored by Tisch College’s Solomont Speaker Series, the event was the first in-person Murrow Forum in four years.
The Experimental College on March 30 hosted its first-ever event exploring reproductive rights, entitled “Reproductive Freedom in the Wake of Dobbs.” The discussion featured perspectives from the legal, health care and educational intersections of the landmark Supreme Court case, Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, which ended the constitutional right to abortion last year.
Ambassador Kyaw Moe Tun, the permanent representative of Myanmar to the United Nations, spoke at Tufts on March 31 about Myanmar’s ongoing crisis. During the event, called the “International Responsibility in Responding to Myanmar’s Crisis,” Tun discussed his country’s recent military coup — and the ensuing international response — with David Muehlke, Fletcher’s state department fellow.
The Fletcher Center for Strategic Studies hosted a dialogue on diverse sociopolitical interpretations of security on March 13. CSS Director Monica Toft moderated the discussion, titled “Global Views, Common Security.” The event featured panelists professor David Ekbladh, professor Eileen Babbitt, CSS Assistant Director Scott McDonald and former President of Costa Rica Carlos Alvarado Quesada.
Writer and podcast host Dahlia Lithwick visited Tufts as part of Tisch College’s Solomont Speaker Series. In conversation with Dr. Nancy Thomas, founding director of Tisch College’s Institute for Democracy & Higher Education, Lithwick discussed her new book, “Lady Justice: Women, the Law, and the Battle to Save America,” as well as several women who have changed judicial history.
United Nations Deputy Secretary-General Amina J. Mohammed will deliver the commencement address to the Class of 2023, the university announced on March 30. Mohammed will receive an honorary degree along with six other individuals at the commencement ceremony on May 21.
Flo Rida, Cheat Codes and Charlie Curtis-Beard will perform at Spring Fling, Tufts University Social Collective announced on March 29. The annual concert will be held on April 29, and tickets will be available starting April 18.
Tufts Persian Students Association hosted professor Neda Moridpour on March 15 to kick off the club’s new lecture series, entitled “Iran’s Political History: Resistance and Revolution.” The series was organized in light of the murder of Jina ‘Mahsa’ Amini, who was arrested and killed by the Iranian morality police for allegedly not wearing the hijab in accordance with government standards.
Tadeu Carneiro, chairman and CEO of Boston Metal, gave a lecture in the Hoch Cunningham Environmental Lecture Series on March 16 about a new electrochemical process for decarbonization that his company recently pioneered. The process, known as molten oxide electrolysis, has the potential to make an industry which produces 10% of global carbon emissions greener, Carneiro said.
Tufts admitted 9.5% of students to the Class of 2027 from roughly 34,000 applicants, it announced on March 22. Acceptances were granted to the most diverse applicant pool the university has ever seen. This year’s class is one of the most selective in the university’s history, following last year’s record-low 9.7% acceptance rate.
The Jonathan M. Tisch College of Civic Life hosted a Civic Life Lunch on March 14 to discuss the possibilities of bipartisanship in Massachusetts and national politics. The virtual event, titled “The Massachusetts Model: Bipartisanship on Beacon Hill,” was co-sponsored by the Political Science Department, Tufts ACTION, Tufts CIVIC, the Tufts Democrats and the Tufts Republicans.
Lee Edelman discussed his new book “Bad Education: Why Queer Theory Teaches Us Nothing,” with fellow Tufts English professor Jess Keiser on March 9 at an English department event. Edelman, the Fletcher professor of English literature at Tufts, and Keiser unpacked the book’s key theses and its relevance in today’s context.
The Institute for Global Leadership at Tisch College hosted the annual Education for Public Inquiry and International Citizenship Symposium from March 9–11. Titled “Power and Prejudice: Race and International Relations,” the three-day event hosted several panel discussions on the prevalence of racial issues in global politics. Desirée Cormier Smith, special representative for racial equity and justice in the U.S. Department of State, delivered the keynote address for the symposium.
