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Local

Here’s what non-incumbent Medford City Council candidates have to say about their campaign goals

By Estelle Anderson, Alex Boyle, Tvisha Goel, Ananya Shah, Evan Vezmar, Dariush Raissi and Julian Glickman | November 3

The Daily is conducting interviews with City Council candidates ahead of the municipal election on Nov. 4 where residents will be able to choose up to seven candidates. This story will be updated with additional interviews as they are completed. All interviews have been edited for length and clarity.  

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University

TCU Senate hears funding requests, event updates in October meeting

By Shayna Levy | October 31

The Tufts Community Union Senate discussed an upcoming tuition transparency event with senior university leadership, as well as projects, initiatives and funding requests in its Sunday meeting.

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Local

Medford School Committee candidates share platforms

By Arinze Ezem-Osakwe, Julian Glickman and Jessica Michael | October 29

The Daily is conducting interviews with Medford School Committee candidates ahead of the municipal election on Nov. 4 where residents will be able to choose up to six candidates. This story will be updated with additional interviews as they are completed. All interviews have been edited for length and clarity.

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University

Tufts plans groups for orientation to foster community among first-years

By Amelia Sammons | October 23

Tufts is introducing changes to its undergraduate orientation next year, implementing a plan to place students into randomly assigned groups. The format will mimic that of the university’s pre-orientation program and will be led by student leaders who will aim to provide a more welcoming and close-knit environment for new students through various events and bonding activities.

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Local

Medford residents to vote on new city charter in November

By Evan Vezmar | October 23

Medford residents will vote on a new city charter during the Nov. 4 election after the Massachusetts state legislature voted to approve, and Governor Maura Healey signed, the charter on Sept. 19. The charter, which establishes the city’s government, was last changed in 1986 and was only two pages long.

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University

Tufts Climate Action hosts banner drop for Make Polluters Pay

By Sophie Herron | October 22

Tufts Climate Action hosted a banner drop in support of Make Polluters Pay on Oct. 3. The campaign aims to raise public and legislative support for climate superfund bills. Organized with student groups Sunrise Smith, Sunrise UMass and Sunrise Harvard, the banner drop was preceded by the gathering ...

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University

TCU Senate discusses project updates, Treasury spending

By Shayna Levy | October 22

On Sunday, the Tufts Community Union Senate shared project updates from each General Board Committee and reviewed Treasury spending thus far.

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University

New H-1B visa fees raise concern among international students

By Amaani Jetley | October 21

A substantial increase in the H-1B fee, issued by President Donald Trump on Sept. 19, may significantly affect the ability of international students at Tufts to work in the United States after graduation. The new one-time fee of $100,000 upon submission of any new H-1B visa applications, applies to all petitions filed after Sept. 21.

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Local

Ballantyne, pushed out of mayoral election, leaves November race to Wilson and Burnley Jr.

By Matthew Sage and Josh Litvak | October 21

On Sept. 19, Somerville residents voted to deny incumbent Mayor Katjana Ballantyne another chance to hold onto the city’s top executive position, signaling widespread disapproval of her four-year tenure. 

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University

UPDATE: Canvas, Piazza back online after hours-long outage

By Josué Pérez | October 20

Canvas shut down early Monday morning due to an ongoing failure of Amazon Web Services. Piazza, a forum utilized for out of class questions between students and professors, is also out of service.

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News

Blakeley Hall residents report ongoing maintenance, safety issues following renovation

By Carlos Del Cañal Fernández and Zoe Herrmann | October 17

Residents of Blakeley Hall, Tufts’ newly renovated sophomore dorm, have reported a series of maintenance problems that have raised concerns about the building’s safety and overall functionality.

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Local

Davis Square Neighborhood Council hosts learning session on development, zoning and transparency

By Jake Ren | October 16

The Davis Square Neighborhood Council hosted a co-learning session in the Joyce Cummings Center on Monday for community members to educate each other on the inner workings of development and zoning in Davis Square and the leverage residents have over such changes.  

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University

CARE introduces Community Integrity Program

By Amelia Sammons and Neveah Joseph | October 15

This year Tufts’ Center for Awareness, Resources and Education is rolling out the CARE Community Integrity Program, an educational initiative geared toward helping students who have caused, or are concerned about causing, harm to another member or group in their community. CCIP is a revised version of the national Science-based Treatment, Accountability and Risk Reduction for Sexual Assault program, which was created for people found in violation of sexual misconduct law, opting for a more personalized approach. 

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News

Updates to Medford linkage exaction program pass Massachusetts House of Representatives

By Julian Glickman | October 15

The Massachusetts House of Representatives approved updates to Medford’s linkage exaction program, which enables the city to charge developers fees to offset the cost of public infrastructure improvements, sending the bill to the State Senate.

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University

Tufts Public Safety to offer civilian response training for active shooter scenarios

By Eli Brigham | October 14

On Wednesday from 10–11 a.m., Tufts Public Safety will host a training session on civilian responses to an active shooter. The training, which has been offered every semester since 2022, equips students with strategies to address and reduce the risk of a potential active shooter situation.

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Local

Somerville School Committee candidates share their platforms

By Anika Parr and Alexandra Tse | October 14

The Daily is interviewing candidates for the Somerville School Committee before the municipal election on Nov. 4. All interviews are edited for length and clarity.

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Local

Somerville residents air grievances on Davis Square public safety, homelessness at annual meeting

By Anika Parr | October 10

The city of Somerville hosted a meeting on Oct. 6 to discuss public safety and homelessness in the Davis Square and Seven Hills area. Residents continued to express concerns and frustrations despite city officials outlining steps they have taken to address the issue.

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Local

New 'Eat Out in East' initiative aims to support local businesses in East Somerville amid increased ICE activity

By Angela Palma and Josué Pérez | October 9

Eat Out in East, a new initiative led by Somerville Ward 1 City Councilor Matthew McLaughlin, intends to get residents to support local businesses — many of which are immigrant-owned — in East Somerville. The program comes amid increased activity from Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Massachusetts, particularly in Somerville.

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Local

Some Medford residents experienced issues at polling stations during September preliminary election

By Evan Vezmar | October 9

During the Sept. 16 preliminary elections for Medford City Council, multiple Medford residents were told that they were no longer active voters on the voter roll. Massachusetts law requires cities to send a census every January, requiring all registered voters to confirm that their place of residence is accurate, with voters only being marked as active voters after the Medford Elections Commission receives the census. However, when some voters went to the polls in September, they were told they were inactive, despite having mailed the census.

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Local

Medford School Committee reviews policy for generative AI use in classrooms

By Carly Cohen | October 9

The Medford School Committee approved the first reading of a new policy, “Use of Generative AI in Medford Public Schools,” on Sept. 22. Though the policy still must pass a second reading before it is formally adopted, the committee voted to include it in the school handbooks, offering guidance on how teachers and students can choose to responsibly use artificial intelligence while the committee takes time to adopt the policy.

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