News

University

Panelists at Cummings/Hillel ‘Survivors Speak’ event discuss prospects for healing, genocide education

By Ishaan Rajiv Rajabali | April 25

The Cummings/Hillel Program for Holocaust and Genocide Education hosted its annual “Survivors Speak” panel on April 19. This year’s panelists included artist Jack Trompetter, author Consolee Nishimwe, businesswoman Jasmina Cesic and activist Bol Riiny, who spoke about their experiences as survivors of the Holocaust and the genocides in Rwanda, Bosnia and South Sudan, respectively.  

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University

Students reignite movement to create club gymnastics team

By Anna Fattaey | April 25

Nikita Bhat, Carolina Lopes and Sarah Norris are three of the students working to create a club gymnastics team at Tufts. They are currently in the process of gauging interest and writing a proposal to submit to the Club Sports program over the summer.

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University

Solomont Speaker Series event with rapper Dee-1 disrupted by racist messages

By Aaron Gruen and Aditya Acharya | April 20

A Solomont Speaker Series event with rapper and activist Dee-1 was disrupted by messages containing racial slurs on April 19. University President Anthony Monaco and Dayna Cunningham, dean of the Jonathan M. Tisch College of Civic Life, condemned the incident the following morning in an email to the Tufts community.

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University

SCOTUS is expected to ban race-conscious admissions. What comes next?

By Elizabeth Foster | April 20

This year, Tufts accepted its “most compositionally diverse” class yet, citing student identities, especially racial identities, as an indicator. However, in October 2022, the Supreme Court of the United States heard arguments regarding the future of race-conscious college admissions in cases between Students for Fair Admissions Inc. and Harvard College, as well as SFFA and the University of North Carolina.

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University

TCU senators are working to make disability community center a reality

By Kaashvi Ahuja | April 20

Tufts Community Union senators Itamar Oelsner and Jose Armando recently launched a petition to establish a permanent Disability Center on campus. Oelsner, elected in February, is the TCU Senate’s first disability community senator; through the proposed center, he and Armando hope to provide a physical space where students with disabilities can feel supported.

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News

BREAKING: Elections Commission releases TCU election results 

By Aaron Gruen | April 20

The Tufts Community Union Elections Commission released the results of 2023–24 TCU election on April 19. 1,309 people voted, representing 20.14% of TCU members. The final Class of 2026 senator will be decided in a runoff between Anand Patil and Savannah Thompson during the TCU presidential election. The results are as follows:

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News

TCU Senate calls for TEMS compensation, investment in pedestrian infrastructure

By Matthew Sage | April 20

The TCU Senate passed a resolution during their weekly meeting on April 16 calling on the Tufts Department of Public Safety and Tufts University Health Service to compensate all Tufts Emergency Medical Services student members. The senate also passed a resolution calling on the university to invest in outdoor pedestrian infrastructure, citing safety concerns on multiple streets around campus.

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University

Bishop William J. Barber II on activism, calls for a ‘Third Reconstruction’

By Tessa Moore | April 19

On April 13, renowned orator and civil rights activist Bishop William J. Barber II spoke on his work with the Poor People’s Campaign and how he believes the moral crisis he sees in America can be addressed.

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University

Jason Rezaian, journalist once imprisoned in Iran, shares his experience

By Spenser Walsh | April 19

Jason Rezaian, an Iranian American and Washington Post writer, spoke about his imprisonment in Iran at an April 10 event at The Fletcher School. 

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University

Professor Craig Wilder talks relationship between slavery, higher education during annual Coit-Phelps lecture

By Ella Kamm | April 18

Professor Craig Wilder spoke about his work to uncover higher education’s connection to the slave economy on April 12 at the inaugural event for the Slavery, Colonialism, and Their Legacies at Tufts project. The event was co-sponsored by the Center for the Humanities at Tufts, the Center for the Study of Race and Democracy and the Office of the Provost.

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Local

Somerville passes new ordinance to prevent discrimination against people in polyamorous relations

By Katie Spiropoulos | April 14

The Somerville City Council passed an ordinance on March 23 seeking to combat discrimination against polyamorous people in the workplace and in interactions with law enforcement. The bill is one of the first of its kind, and comes three years after Somerville passed an ordinance officially recognizing polyamorous relationships. 

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University

TCU Senate shows support for dining workers union at weekly meeting

By Matthew Sage | April 14

The TCU Senate voted at their weekly meeting to endorse the Tufts Labor Coalition’s campaign to support higher wages for Tufts dining employees on April 9.

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University

SHAPE, a new pre-orientation program, to focus on local civic engagement

By Taylor Escudero | April 13

Tufts Student Affairs recently announced the creation of a new summer pre-orientation program called SHAPE, short for Students Heightening Actionable Political Engagement. Although the program is still in development, SHAPE aims to invite civically-minded and politically curious students to solve pressing issues in the Tufts community and beyond.

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News

Sen. Cory Booker talks fight for justice in Solomont Speaker Series

By Daniel Vos | April 13

Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., spoke about his work on building bipartisan consensus, criminal justice reform, farming and gun control legislation on April 10 as part of the Tisch College Solomont Speaker Series. He was joined by dean emeritus of Tisch College and former U.S. Ambassador to Spain and Andorra Alan D. Solomont, who moderated the talk.

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Local

Medford City Council passes ordinance to establish affordable housing trust

By Carly Cohen | April 13

The Medford City Council recently passed an ordinance to create an affordable housing trust for the city. This trust would allow a selected board to buy small properties and secure land to turn into more affordable housing. Medford residents would be able to buy or rent property from the city, and that property would be kept under market rates.

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News

Edward R. Murrow Award given to State Department’s Daniel Langenkamp

By Matthew Sage | April 12

Members of The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy gathered on April 5 to award the Edward R. Murrow Award to Daniel Langenkamp, a U.S. State Department public diplomacy officer who served in Ukraine at the beginning of the Russian invasion. The event, titled “Public Diplomacy on a Digital Planet: The View from Kyiv,” was co hosted by the Edward R. Murrow Center for a Digital World and the Institute for Business in the Global Context.

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University

Dr. Anu Gokhale discusses the implications of algorithmic bias during Tufts event

By Aditya Acharya | April 12

Dr. Anu Gokhale, professor and chairperson in the Saint Augustine’s University Department of Computer Information Systems, gave a lecture at Alumnae Hall titled “Algorithmic Bias: Myth or Reality?” on April 4. Gokhale was invited to speak about her insights and research as a leader in a STEM field.

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University

Shaun Casey discusses the role of religion in global affairs with Fletcher religion initiative

By Ishaan Rajiv Rajabali | April 11

The Fletcher School’s Initiative on Religion, Law and Diplomacy organized a book talk with Shaun Casey, former U.S. special representative for religion and global affairs, on his new book, “Chasing the Devil at Foggy Bottom: The Future of Religion in American Diplomacy” (2023), on April 4. The talk was moderated by Fletcher Military Fellow Chris Melvin.  

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University

Artist and activist Scheherazade Tillet discusses her work at Tisch Civic Life Lunch

By Anna Fattaey | April 11

Tisch College’s final Civic Life Lunch welcomed artist, activist and Tufts alum Scheherazade Tillet (LA’00) on April 6 to speak about her work and goals. Alonso Nichols, Tufts’ chief of photography, moderated the conversation.

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University

Darryll J. Pines, president of the University of Maryland, discusses STEM education program for high schoolers

By Joe Montalto | April 7

Darryll Pines, president of the University of Maryland, spoke at Tufts on March 31 to discuss a new venture he started to address the decline in college enrollment and the  low level of STEM interest at the high school level. The presentation was held as part of the Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Justice Colloquium Series.

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