University leaders condemned all forms of antisemitism and Islamophobia while reiterating community values and protestor guidelines in a community statement on Nov. 8. The email cited community members’ concerns about campus climate following the Israel-Hamas war.
The Fletcher School hosted its fifth annual Decolonizing International Relations Conference on Oct. 20. The symposium featured five different panels with a variety of faculty from both Fletcher and other leading institutions in international affairs in addition to a decolonization-themed fashion show. The keynote speech was given by J. Kēhaulani Kauanui, professor of American studies and anthropology at Wesleyan University.
Somerville has a rat problem. “I mostly see them in parks and around my house, especially at night,” Elizabeth Lohr, who lives near Davis Square, said. “You can hear them scurrying around and sometimes darting into the path.”
The first Gen Z member of Congress, Florida Rep. Maxwell Frost, visited the Jonathan M. Tisch College of Civic Life during a Solomont Speaker Series conversation on Oct. 30. The conversation, moderated by Tufts ACTION President Alison Cedarbaum, covered topics including gun legislation, the future of Congress and voter registration.
An open Tufts Community Union meeting with University President Sunil Kumar was quickly cut short on Sunday by student protesters calling for the university to divest from Israeli companies. Immediately after Kumar delivered opening remarks at the 8 p.m. meeting, protesters began chanting and posted signs with an image of Kumar underneath the words “genocide enabler.” Video obtained by the Daily showed protesters engaged in a die-in, lying on the ground around Kumar and obstructing his ability to leave the room.
A Tufts student might soon represent local residents as city councilor in Somerville’s upcoming election cycle. Jack Perenick, a member of the Class of 2025, is running for the Ward Five city councilor position against Naima Sait, an Algerian immigrant and long-time educator. At bimonthly meetings, the Somerville City Council is responsible for passing ordinances on issues ranging from zoning laws, creating special boards and commissions and approving mayoral budget modifications. Ward Five encompasses the center of Somerville and includes the business districts of Magoun Square, Ball Square and Porter Square. Council positions are part-time and span two years.
Medford City Councilor Rick Caraviello is running against incumbent Mayor Breanna Lungo-Koehn in the city’s municipal election on Tuesday. Both candidates plan to give Tufts students more recreational and dining opportunities and revitalize the city as a whole.
Tufts Climate Action filed a legal complaint with the attorney general of Massachusetts’ office on Monday. They claim the university’s estimated $90 million in fossil fuel investments constitutes a violation of their duties to the public as a nonprofit institution. The filing was made alongside five others at the University of Pennsylvania, the University of Chicago, Pomona College, Washington University in St. Louis and Pennsylvania State University. TCA’s filing was co-signed by several professors and local and international organizations.
Shortly before the Supreme Court’s decision to strike down Affirmative Action in June, Massachusetts legislators introduced a state bill that, if passed, would discourage colleges and universities from using admission practices that favor wealthier applicants.
Clean Water Action and the Mystic Valley area branch of the NAACP held a public forum at Medford City Hall on Saturday to discuss the problem of lead contamination in drinking water and how communities in the Mystic Valley area can protect themselves against it. The presentation was hosted by Maureo Fernández y Mora, Clean Water Action’s state co-director for Massachusetts. Fernández y Mora focused on the relationship between environmental contamination and social justice.
“The Charge and the Challenge: Tufts Presidents from Ballou to Kumar,” a new exhibit by the Tufts Archival Research Center, opened on Oct. 6. The exhibit celebrates the legacy of Tufts presidents for the inauguration of President Sunil Kumar. The exhibit features wall graphics at the Tisch Library main entrance formatted as a timeline of each of Tufts’ presidents since former university president Hosea Ballou in 1852, as well as an online component featuring artifacts curated by TARC with a connection to each of the presidents.
The Department of Music at Tufts presented an installment of its “Tufts Composers” series in the Distler Performance Hall on Oct. 19. Titled “Might as Well, Now That We’re Back,” the variety concert was curated by Professor of Music John McDonald and featured pieces by McDonald, guest composer Julia Werntz, faculty guest composer Stephan Pennington, faculty composer and alumnus Sid Richardson, alumni Jason Coleman and Yasaman Ghodsi and eight current students.
Students across campus walked out of classes and protested yesterday in solidarity with Palestine. The walk-out, which was organized by Tufts Students for Justice in Palestine, began at 2:30 p.m. when more than 120 students congregated to chant and hear speeches outside the Olin Center for Language and Cultural Studies.
The Petey Greene Program, Tufts University Prison Initiative of Tisch College and the City of Boston’s Office of Returning Citizens hosted a documentary screening and panel discussion on Oct. 18 titled “Overcoming Housing Barriers After Incarceration,” featuring social entrepreneur Yusuf Dahl. When Dahl moved to Allentown, Pa. two years ago, his application to rent a house was denied because of a drug distribution sentence from 25 years prior. Frustrated that he couldn’t move to the school district he felt would best support his daughter’s education, Dahl wrote an op-ed for the Washington Post in 2022 and made a documentary with VICE Media called “Backgrounded.”
The Tufts University Police Department has introduced several initiatives in order to foster better relationships with the community, including a new comfort dog, Pepper. Yolanda Smith, executive director of public safety, explained in an email to the Daily that Pepper will serve as a community resource, offering emotional comfort.
Tufts’ grab-and-go options have returned in full after Kindlevan Café’s reopening on Oct. 12. After being closed for construction since last spring, both Hodgdon Food-on-the-Run — which reopened at the start of the semester — and Kindlevan Café sport new looks and provide more options for on-campus dining. Plans for renovations began during the COVID-19 pandemic when Tufts issued a $250 million bond to secure capital for future projects. Part of this money was set aside to improve on-campus dining.
Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell visited Tufts on Oct. 17 as part of Tisch College’s Solomont Speaker Series. In a conversation with Taina McField, Tisch’s associate dean for strategy, Campbell reflected on her first year in office, discussing the office’s initiatives and the role faith and family has played in her career.
Over 1,500 students and 150 employers gathered for Tufts’ largest in-person career fair yet, held on Sept. 29 in the Gantcher Center. During the event, over a dozen students from campus groups including the Revolutionary Marxist Students gathered outside to protest the presence of several employers.
Timothy Kensinger, Massachusetts Field Coordinator for Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s presidential campaign, spoke to students on Oct. 11 about the campaign’s priorities and strategies for the upcoming election season. Organized by Tufts Republicans, the event took place only days after Kennedy, who was formerly registered as a Democrat, declared that he would be running for president as an independent.
Somerville hosted its first-ever Civic Day on Sept. 30, where visitors were invited to learn about a variety of city-wide departments. In an interview with the Daily, Somerville Mayor Katjana Ballantyne shared details about the city’s aspirations and priorities. The event, which took place at Somerville High School, focused on introducing residents to the city’s government services and programs. Along with the mayor, the city’s Rat Czar and several councilors were also in attendance.
