Editor’s note: The 2018–19, 2019–20 and 2020–21 recaps in this article are reprinted from the2020–21 Commencement Issue of the Daily.
Tufts’ Working Group on TUPD Arming anticipates releasing new recommendations regarding TUPD’s arming status this semester, Executive Vice President Mike Howard confirmed in an email to the Daily.
The Baker-Polito administration announced a series of emergency orders to address waning hospital care capacity onJan. 14, following a surge of COVID-19 cases statewide. The measures focus on reducing unnecessary emergency room visits andincreasing the flexibility of hospital workers who have been subject to staffing shortages, given the rapid escalation of cases.
The Dean of Student Affairs Office released itsannual report detailing community standards violations of the 2020–2021 academic year last week, including 2,058 alleged violations of the Fall 2020 Campus Guide. Tufts' current report lists 2,056 violations due to an error and will be updated shortly, according to Lindsay Ferguson, Tufts’ assistant director of community standards. The document, which summarizes complaints against undergraduate students, graduate students and student organizations across the School of Arts & Sciences, the School of Engineering and the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, disclosed 3,994 allegations of overall misconduct during the 2020–21 academic year.
The physics department celebrated Black in Physics Week for the first time with a mix of in-person and virtual events during the week of Oct. 24–30. Black in Physics Week began inOctober 2020 with the intent of recognizing and commemorating the contributions of Black physicists to the scientific community.
The City of Medford implemented a new Adopt-a-Drain program in August, allowing residents to clean storm drains in their neighborhoods and check the drains for leaves, trash and debris.
Greek life is back to in-person activities for the first time since the spring 2020 semester. This fall, new local sororities Thalia and The Ivy are holding their first in-person events for their Membership Application Processes (MAP). However, Delta Tau Delta (DTD) has been placed on probation and Zeta Psi was disbanded by the university after both fraternities violated Tufts University COVID-19 guidelines last year.
The Class of 2021's time at Tufts was marked by historic events and systemic changes. From student activism to an overhaul of Greek life to a pandemic that changed the way students learn and live on campus, the Daily has documented some of the most memorable moments in the past four years. As the Class of 2021 looks forward to graduation, the Daily is reviewing the history it leaves behind at Tufts.
Though Tufts is making students who live on campus move out of their on-campus housing before these events, most of the senior class lives in off-campus houses in the Medford/Somerville area. TCU Senate President Sarah Wiener, Vice President Grant Gebetsberger and Treasurer Sharif Hamidi conducted a survey and found that 95% of respondents had finalized plans to stay in the Medford/Somerville area for Senior Week.
Woolston explained that the public nature of Zero Waste Week — in which one’s trash is easily visible to others through the bags provided by the Office of Sustainability and Eco Reps — allows for participants to reevaluate their relationship with trash. Woolston further noted that one of the biggest challenges for those who have engaged with Zero Waste Week in the past has been the embarrassment that people feel about their waste.
