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Local

Residents will decide how Somerville spends $1 million of its budget next year

By Chloe Courtney Bohl | December 8

For the first time in the city’s history, Somerville will let its residents decide how to spend a portion of the city budget next year. Mayor Katjana Ballantyne has set aside $1 million of the city’s $293-million fiscal year 2023 budget for participatory budgeting, a method designed to fund small-scale community improvement projects while engaging locals — particularly those from historically marginalized communities — in the political process.

Local

Gov. Baker vetoes funds for education campaign about crisis pregnancy centers, disappoints reproductive rights advocates

By Estelle Anderson | December 8

Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker vetoed funds for a public education campaign aimed at crisis pregnancy centers, or anti-abortion clinics that pose as authentic medical centers in order to deceive pregnant people into taking their advice, on Nov. 11. The funding had been part of a significant economic development bill passed unanimously by the state House of Representatives and the Senate on Nov. 3, much of which was devoted to supporting access to reproductive care.

University

Engineering professors present research on new sociotechnical component of intro course

By Hannah Cox | December 8

Desen Özkan and Chelsea Andrews of Tufts’ Center for Engineering Education and Outreach hosted a discussion on Dec. 2 presenting findings from their ongoing research project “Improving Students’ Sociotechnical Literacy in Engineering.” Özkan is a postdoctoral researcher at the CEEO and the Institute for Research on Learning and Instruction, and Andrews is a research assistant professor.

Local

Somerville named a leading global city for climate action

By Daniel Vos | December 7

Somerville has made the 2022 Carbon Disclosure Project’s cities A-List, an award for leadership on environmental action and transparency. Only 12% of the 1,002 cities evaluated worldwide received this designation based on commitment to long-term climate action plans, fossil fuel emission reduction targets and local climate risk assessments.

University

Tufts Republicans object to TCU Senate’s National Day of Mourning statement

By Ella Kamm | December 7

The Tufts Republicans issued a statement on Nov. 23 accusing TCU Senate of spreading hateful and divisive rhetoric in their post about the National Day of Mourning and the history of the Thanksgiving holiday.

University

TCU Senate approves resolution calling for ASL minor

By Aaron Gruen | December 7

The TCU Senate approved on Dec. 4 a resolution to add more American Sign Language courses to the Tufts curriculum, which would allow students to minor in the language. During the meeting, the Senate also read the text of two new resolutions and approved 14 supplementary budget requests.

University

Fletcher hosts “Rising Power Alliances” conference

By Ishaan Rajiv Rajabali | December 7

The Fletcher School hosted the “Rising Power Coalitions: Reimagining Global Governance”conference on Dec. 1 and 2, a series of discussions that covered themes such as changing power dynamics, foreign policy and new challenges in international affairs.

Local

Tufts Medical Center relaunches liver transplant program after 15 years

By Ariana Phillips | December 6

Tufts Medical Center will relaunch its liver transplant program in 2023 through its newly established Abdominal Transplant Institute. The institute, which will be led by clinical co-directors Dr. Fred Gordon and Dr. Martin Hertl, aims to build an effective and patient-focused liver transplant program.

University

Karen Panetta, graduate engineering dean, honored with engineering service award

By Arvind Pillai | December 6

Karen Panetta, the Tufts School of Engineering dean of graduate education, was awarded the 2022 Distinguished Service Award from the honor society of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, IEEE Eta Kappa Nu (IEEE-HKN). IEEE-HKN’s Distinguished Service Award is given annually to a member who has made major contributions for the development of the society and its activities, resulting in a significant benefit to all its members.

University

New textile, food waste bans to affect Tufts

By Amelia Colafati | December 5

The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection recently added textiles and mattresses to the list of materials banned from waste disposal and further lowered the threshold on banned commercial food waste to include facilities generating more than half a ton per week. Tufts will need to expand its preexisting textile and food waste collection programs in order to adhere to the bans as well as revise its mattress disposal procedures.

University

'Gender as a Show!' combines drag with deeper reflection

By Madeline Mueller | December 2

Local drag artists Briar Blush, Rusty Hammer, Arabella LaDessé and Hal Apenyo joined the Tufts community in Curtis Hall on Nov. 29 for “Gender as a Show!,” an afternoon of drag performances followed by a panel on the role of gender in drag. The event was sponsored by the Tufts Department of Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies with support from the LGBT Center. WGSS instructor Matisse DuPont moderated the panel in the role of Monstera Délicieux and also offered an introductory performance to start the show.

University

BREAKING: Monroe France appointed as DEIJ vice provost

By Ariana Phillips | December 1

Monroe France will become the inaugural vice provost of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Justice, as announced in an email to the Tufts community on Dec. 1. France will also receive an appointment as a professor of practice at the Jonathan M. Tisch College of Civic Life and will start both roles on April 3, 2023.

University

Friedman School awarded $6.6 million NIH grant for Mississippi-based nutrition research

By Katie Spiropoulos | December 1

The Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts received a $6.6 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to research community-based nutrition programs in the Mississippi Delta area. The project seeks to bolster local produce consumption and production.

University

Students call for free laundry, laundry assistance programs

By Ella Kamm | December 1

The Tufts chapter of Young Democratic Socialists of America has created a petition calling on the university to provide free use of laundry machines in all residential halls. They join groups like the Tufts Community Union Senate in considering how laundry costs act as a barrier to equity, though their proposed solutions differ.

University

TCU Senate project places free menstrual products around campus

By Matthew Sage | November 30

A new TCU Senate initiative is bringing free tampons and pads to bathrooms across campus.

News

Tufts prepares for various outcomes in Supreme Court affirmative action case

By Aditya Acharya | November 30

On Monday, Oct. 31, the Supreme Court heard arguments about whether the race of applicants should be considered during the college admission process. These cases were raised against Harvard College and the University of North Carolina. The conservative supermajority on the Court seems prepared to overrule the landmark precedent from Grutter v. Bollinger, the 2003 case that made affirmative action policies in college admissions legal.

Science

Tufts researchers lead preliminary study on new treatments for Alzheimer’s

By Tvisha Goel | November 30

The path of life is a whirlwind, filled with the good, the bad and the ugly. But the memories you make along the way are what make you who you are. But somewhere down the road, you have lost that part of you, because the very memories that built your foundation have dissipated. This is the reality for more than 6 million Americans who have lost who they are and who they were to become due to Alzheimer’s disease (AD).

News

Tufts Department of Theatre, Dance, and Performance Studies wins multiple ASTR awards

By Akisha Tokwe | November 30

Several members of the Tufts Department of Theatre, Dance, and Performance Studies were recognized in this year’s American Society for Theatre Research awards. Among this year’s winners are two faculty members and three alumni.

University

Tufts presents Distinction Awards to staff members

By Spenser Walsh | November 29

Tufts administration, faculty, staff and other community members convened on Nov. 16 at 51 Winthrop St. for the annual Distinction Awards ceremony, a celebration of outstanding members of the Tufts staff. Nominations for the award are decided by the President’s Office and the Human Resources Department at Tufts.

Local

Students react to Massachusetts gubernatorial election, ballot questions 1, 4

By Zoe Kava | November 29

In an election night of historic firsts in Massachusetts, voters elected Democratic gubernatorial candidate Maura Healey as the state’s first female governor and one of the nation’s first openly lesbian governors. Several ballot measures also scored victories, including a tax on incomes above $1 million and a law allowing undocumented individuals to obtain state driver’s licenses.