Dear Tufts Community,
These are trying times. With heavy hearts, we will leave our Hill behind this weekend, many months too early. Nevertheless, our community has shown incredible resolve, facing these rapid and unprecedented changes in stride and coming together as the vibrant community we are. Kindness, support and generosity have poured forth for those students affected most — low-income students, international students, students with pressing health needs and those from impacted areas. Though we will be physically apart, we will remain close through our shared experiences and love for our community. Although circumstances have changed, the Tufts Daily will continue to publish regularly this spring, uploading articles online, releasing a weekly newsletter and maintaining our coverage of the Tufts community, wherever we may be.
Changes have been swift and disruptive, but nevertheless, over the past days we have seen student organizations step up to address the needs of all of those affected. Tufts Mutual Aid, launched on March 10 after the initial announcement of changes to university operations, has organized the distribution of necessary food, cleaning products, storage space, funds and transportation services for students in need. In partnership with the FIRST Resource Center, its work has been admirable in managing multitudinous needs and resources during this difficult time. Yesterday, the TCU Senate announced that funds from the student activities fee will be allocated toward the Unexpected Hardship Fund for Student Needs led by the FIRST Center. We encourage students to contribute to these campaigns in whatever capacity they can. In these times of uncertainty, the intentionality and coming together of these groups echoes the “light on the hill” values that this university was established upon.
Undoubtedly, the experiences that our community will face this semester are unprecedented. As one of many established publications on campus, we believe that capturing the spirit and experiences of our community is more important than ever. With this in mind, the Daily intends to remain as an active platform to represent the voices of the entire Tufts community. Moving forward, the Tufts Daily will continue to regularly publish online, covering the community as it navigates the changing situation and as it comes back together over the coming months. Our writers and editors are dedicated to documenting this campus and this community, although we will not be printing the Daily.
We encourage members of the community to use the Daily as a platform to express the student experience through letters to the editor and op-eds. As reflected in the Editor in Chief’s semester-opening letter, we think of the Daily as our own small-town newspaper. In the months to come, though our small town will be dispersed across the globe, the values of this community will continue to animate our coverage and spread peace and light to all corners of the world.
Sincerely,
The Managing Board,
Ryan Shaffer, Editor in Chief
Alex Viveros, Managing Editor
Nathan Kyn, Managing Editor
Kristina Marchand, Production Director
Tys Sweeney, Associate Editor
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