Matthew Sage is the Daily’s managing editor. He has previously served as news exec. Matthew is a junior studying sociology, and you can reach him at matthew.sage@tufts.edu.
Nearing the close of his first year in office, University President Sunil Kumar sat down with the Daily on April 29 to discuss all matters Tufts and reflect on the year marked by student activism and the university’s future.
As Tufts’ newspaper of record, the Daily sees many students contribute to its black-and-white newsprint pages, but not all work their way up to its masthead. The Daily staff spoke with eight members of the Class of 2024 who have all served on the newspaper’s managing or executive board and left their mark on the organization’s history.
Arielle Galinsky, the Tufts Community Union Senate President, sat down with the Daily to reflect on her fourth and final year on student government, highlighting accomplishments and responding to criticism.
Bárbara Brizuela, the current dean of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, will serve as the undergraduate school’s interim dean, as announced by the Office of the Provost on May 7. Brizuela, a professor in Tufts’ Department of Education for 23 years, will continue to serve in her current role while overseeing operations at Tufts’ largest undergraduate school.
Protesters began dismantling the “Gaza Solidarity Encampment” on the Academic Quad Friday night. The encampment, starting on April 7, had stood on the Academic Quad for nearly a month.
The “Gaza Solidarity Encampment” has grown, despite the university’s warning on Tuesday that protesters will be considered trespassing if they do not leave the Academic Quad. Now, almost 50 tents and a makeshift barrier built from tables, chairs and other items surround the encampment’s “Apartheid Wall.” Student protesters, who erected the encampment on April 21, have previously vowed to remain on the quad and continuously demanded the university heed calls for Israeli divestment.
Joel Omolade will serve as the next president of the student body and the Tufts Community Union Senate for the 2024–25 academic year, as announced by the Tufts Elections Commission on its website earlier today. Total election turnout was 30.36% of the student body, and over half of those students voted for Omolade — putting him ahead of the next candidate by 429 votes.
In the largest protest Tufts has seen this semester, over 300 students, faculty, nearby residents and Somerville High School students rallied on Friday in solidarity with Gaza. The demonstration, stretching from the Academic Quad to the front steps of the Mayer Campus Center, follows a wave of heightened student activism across the country.
Editor’s note: The TCU Judiciary reinstated the disqualified candidate on Monday, allowing the election to take place as initially planned. Ballots will be open from noon on Thursday to noon on Saturday. The fate of the Tufts Community Union Senate presidential election — currently set to be held on Wednesday — is up in the air, following the TCU Elections Commission’s decision to disqualify a candidate on Thursday for campaign misconduct. In an email to the Daily, ECOM wrote that a decision on the election’s timeline will be made public by 12 p.m. Monday.
The Tufts Community Union Elections Commission announced the incoming senators for the 2024–25 academic year on Friday, shortly after voting concluded at 12 p.m. According to ECOM Chair Charles Mitchell, approximately 20% of students voted in the election — 23.8% of whom were first-years, 36.6% of whom were sophomores, 25.8% of whom were juniors, 13.4% of whom were seniors and 0.4% of whom were fifth-years.
