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Tufts SJP advocates for investigation into defacement of cannon

By Madeline Wilson | April 25

A message painted on the Tufts cannon by Tufts Students for Justice in Palestine was anonymously defaced on April 20. Tufts SJP painted the message — which read “Free Palestine” — for Israeli Apartheid Week, the club’s annual series of events raising awareness of “Israel’s apartheid system over the Palestinian people.” The cannon was found covered by blue spray paint on Thursday. The identity of the perpetrator remains unknown.

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University

This Week in COVID-19: Tufts reaches highest number of recorded cases in a day, students isolate in dorms

By Flora Meng | April 25

​​COVID-19 cases are on the decline following a surge on the Tufts' Medford/Somerville campus. The university reported 25 new cases on Friday, down from 79 new cases on April 12th, when Tufts set a record for the most positive cases reported in a single day. The previous record was set on Jan. 3 and April 8, when the university reported 68 cases in a day. 

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University

“We need places to sleep:" Rising sophomores frustrated by housing selection process

By Claire Ferris | April 22

After selecting housing for the 2022–23 school year on April 7, rising sophomores received an email from the Office of Residential Life and Learning on April 8 informing them of plans to redo the selection process for all doubles and triples groups on April 11.Students who wished to select housing in the general selection category, originally scheduled for April 8, were told by ORLL that their registration would be moved to April 12.

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University

Tufts' faith communities observe Easter, Passover, Ramadan and Holi in celebration-packed weekend

By Madeline Mueller | April 22

The past week was active for many of the faith communities at Tufts, marking the celebration of Passover and Easter, the ongoing celebration of Ramadan and a belated Holi celebration. The University Chaplaincy offered in-person events to mark these holidays after two years of virtual celebrations.

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University

Skywalk, Therrapu, Active Heirs take top prizes in Derby $100K New Ventures Competition

By Coco Arcand | April 22

​​The Derby Entrepreneurship Center at Tufts announced the winners of the $100k New Ventures Competition following the virtual final round of competition on April 8. First-place winners included startups dedicated to technological innovation, advancements in wound care and building Black generational wealth.

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University

Tufts abandons plans to drop mask mandate as infection rates swell

By Ella Kamm | April 21

The coronavirus is spreading more rapidly than ever before on Tufts’ campus, forcing hundreds of students and some professors back into their bedrooms and onto the Zoom screen in a routine that’s become all too familiar after two years of pandemic learning.

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University

Tisch College appoints Taina McField new associate dean for strategy

By Charlotte Chen | April 21

Taina McField was appointed the new associate dean for strategy at the Jonathan M. Tisch College of Civic Life this month, the university announced in a statement.

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University

Resources fair connects students to on-campus academic, safety, identity resources

By Spenser Walsh | April 20

The Tufts Community Union Senate Education Committee held a resources fair on April 6 to educate students about the resources and organizations available to help them with academic work, keep them safe and enhance student life on campus. 

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University

Psychology department hosts second annual anti-racism colloquium

By Elizabeth Zacks | April 20

The psychology department hosted its second annual Psychology of Anti-Racism Series talk titled, “What We Learn From Where We Live,” on April 15. The Zoom webinar featured Dr. Neil Lewis Jr., an assistant professor of communication and social behavior at Cornell University, who spoke about how to foster an anti-racist society by understanding the connection between people and the places in which they live.

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University

TCU hears capital expenditure requests, passes resolutions in final meeting of year

By Tess Harmon | April 20

The Tufts Community Union Senate heard supplementary funding and capital expenditure requests and voted on resolutions about the presidential search committee and student mental health on Sunday night in the Sophia Gordon Multipurpose Room. The meeting was the body’s last of the semester.

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University

University seeks to control enrollment, admits fewer students this year

By Ethan M. Steinberg | April 15

Jana Dia has never been to the United States before, but she knows she wants one of her first stops to be Medford, Mass.

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University

'Bo Days return for the Class of 2026

By Claire Ferris | April 15

For the first time in three years, the Office of Undergraduate Admissions will welcome thousands of high school seniors to campus this month for a batch of rebranded Jumbo Days — known as ‘Bo Days — in hopes of offering members of the admitted class a glimpse into life at Tufts.  In-person events, divided across six days, will supplement a month-long supply of virtual programming for admitted students, a remnant of the pandemic.

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University

New hybrid public safety model to supplement armed police with unarmed security officers

By Madeline Wilson | April 15

Tufts will transition to a “hybrid” model of arming its university police department based on the recommendations of the Working Group on TUPD Arming, according to a March 29 message to the Tufts community from Executive Vice President and WGTA Chair Mike Howard. The working group recommended that authorities transition to a hybrid model of arming that specializes the response to the nature of the call.

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University

New TUSM center to harness power of community, combat maternal health inequities

By Aaron Gruen | April 15

Tufts announced on April 8 that it will open a new Center for Black Maternal Health and Reproductive Justice (CBMHRJ) within the School of Medicine. Dr. Ndidiamaka Amutah-Onukagha, the Julia A. Okoro professor of Black Maternal Health at the Tufts University School of Medicine, will direct the center.

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University

BREAKING: The Mods and quarantine hotels near capacity, students may have to isolate in residence halls

By Flora Meng | April 13

Tufts announced revised COVID-19 isolation procedures in an email to the university-wide community on April 13 as The Mods and hotel rooms used for isolation neared capacity.

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University

Tufts unable to divest completely from Russia due to exposure through commingled funds

By Skyler Goldberg | April 13

Tufts University Executive Vice President Mike Howard discussed divestment from Russian securities — which currently amount to $5.7 million out of the approximately $2.5 billion in Tufts’ endowment — at a special session of the University Faculty Senate on March 23. Howard said that fully divesting from these securities would be “too risky for the endowment,” but that the university is working with its investment managers, who are seeking to minimize their funds’ exposure to Russian money.

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University

Congressman Peter DeFazio talks democracy, term limits, youth activism in Solomont Speaker Series event

By Emily Thompson | April 13

U.S. Congressman and Tufts alumnus Peter DeFazio, D-Ore, spoke about his work as the chair of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and his time in Congress with Professor and Chair of the Department of Political Science Deborah Schildkraut as part of the Tisch College Solomont Speaker Series. DeFazio (A’69) has represented Oregon’s 4th Congressional District for 36 years and plans to retire at the end of his current term. Although originally scheduled to speak at Tufts in person, DeFazio joined the event via Zoom from his office because he recently tested positive for the COVID-19 virus.

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University

TCU Senate budgets over $2.6 million to student organizations for FY23

By Tess Harmon | April 12

The Tufts Community Union Senate held their annual Budget Day — allocating $2,608,225 to over 200 student organizations for the 2023 fiscal year — and heard two resolutions in a meeting on Sunday night in the Sophia Gordon Multipurpose Room.

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University

This Week in COVID-19: Cases rise following spring break, Tufts reinstates mask mandate

By Flora Meng | April 12

COVID-19 cases have increased on the Medford/Somerville campus following students’ return from spring break. The University reported 28 new cases on Saturday and 68 the day before. This marks the second time Tufts has reached the highest recorded number of cases in a day. The average number of COVID-19 cases in a day increased by around 10% in the past week, with an average of 29 students testing positive each day in the week before Saturday. 

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University

New temporary dormitories on Professors Row to house 150 first-years this fall 

By Zoe Kava | April 11

Temporary housing at the current site of The Mods will be used to house 150 first-year students in fall 2022, Dean of Student Affairs Camille Lizarríbar informed the Tufts community in an April 8 email. Construction of three separate buildings, which will house 50 students and three resident assistants each, will begin once the university’s plan is approved by the City of Somerville.

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