News

Local

Somerville School Committee approves evangelical private school

By Aaron Gruen | April 29

The Somerville School Committee voted on April 25 to approve Real Life Learning Center’s application to establish a K–8 private school. The vote came after a months-long standoff between Somerville’s subcommittee on Education Programs and Instruction and Vida Real Church, the founders of RLLC, who say they were unfairly targeted based on their religious beliefs.

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University

Jaden Pena wins TCU presidential election

By Emily Thompson | April 29

With 58% of the vote, Jaden Pena won the Tufts Community Union Senate presidential election on April 26–27. Both referendums on the ballot passed this year: one in favor of giving TCU the power to establish additional community senator seats, the other in favor of permitting the addition of two Indigenous community senator seats. 

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University

Tisch College recognizes 19 students with Presidential Award for Civic Life

By Evelyn Altschuler | April 29

The Jonathan M. Tisch College of Civic Life recognized the service and leadership of 19 undergraduate and graduate students with Presidential Awards for Civic Life at an April 22 ceremony in Breed Memorial Hall. Amber Asumda, Claudia Guetta, Emma Downs, Jay-Miguel Fonticella, Leanne Loo and Maycon Santos, all seniors, are this year’s undergraduate winners. Ricardo Moreno, Delia Burns, Lark Escobar,Avis Carrero, Logan Schwartz, Iris Montes, Joshua McLinden, Qimei Liu,Cora Evans, Charles Christopher Hines III, Anshelle Reen Tucker, Tara Ahmadi and Alex Coston are this year’s graduate winners. 

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University

University Chaplaincy seeks to fill Africana spirituality chaplain position

By Simran Patel | April 29

The University Chaplaincy is hiring for the role of Africana spirituality chaplain. Its goal is to find a staff member who can aid in creating a space for worship and fellowship that is welcoming to students, staff and faculty who identify as members of the African diaspora.

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University

Protesters shut down recruiting event for top defense contractor General Dynamics

By Chloe Courtney Bohl | April 27

A General Dynamics Mission Systems recruiting event in the Science and Engineering Complex was cut short on Monday evening when student and community protestors disrupted the event with chanting and civil disobedience.

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University

Tufts mourns UEP Professor Sheldon Krimsky

By Chloe Courtney Bohl | April 27

Sheldon Krimsky, the Lenore Stern professor of humanities and social sciences in the Department of Urban and Environmental Policy and Planning, passed away unexpectedly over the weekend. James Glaser, dean of the School of Arts and Sciences, informed the Tufts community of Krimsky’s passing in an April 25 email.

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University

Q&A: TCU Presidential candidates talk experience, Senate vision

By Tess Harmon | April 25

Elections for the 2022–23 Tufts Community Union president will take place from April 26 to 27. The three candidates are Max Morningstar, Jaden Pena and Enrique Rodriguez. All three are rising seniors. They spoke with the Daily about their experience, qualifications and campaign platforms.

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University

Tufts mourns unexpected loss of Danielle Abrams

By Zoe Kava | April 25

Danielle Abrams, professor of the practice in the performance department at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, has passed away unexpectedly, Interim Dean of the School of the Museum of Fine Arts Nate Harrison and Faculty Affairs Advisor to the Dean Eulogio Guzmán announced in an April 21 email to the Tufts community.

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University

Tufts SJP advocates for investigation into defacement of cannon

By Madeline Wilson | April 25

A message painted on the Tufts cannon by Tufts Students for Justice in Palestine was anonymously defaced on April 20. Tufts SJP painted the message — which read “Free Palestine” — for Israeli Apartheid Week, the club’s annual series of events raising awareness of “Israel’s apartheid system over the Palestinian people.” The cannon was found covered by blue spray paint on Thursday. The identity of the perpetrator remains unknown.

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University

This Week in COVID-19: Tufts reaches highest number of recorded cases in a day, students isolate in dorms

By Flora Meng | April 25

​​COVID-19 cases are on the decline following a surge on the Tufts' Medford/Somerville campus. The university reported 25 new cases on Friday, down from 79 new cases on April 12th, when Tufts set a record for the most positive cases reported in a single day. The previous record was set on Jan. 3 and April 8, when the university reported 68 cases in a day. 

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University

“We need places to sleep:" Rising sophomores frustrated by housing selection process

By Claire Ferris | April 22

After selecting housing for the 2022–23 school year on April 7, rising sophomores received an email from the Office of Residential Life and Learning on April 8 informing them of plans to redo the selection process for all doubles and triples groups on April 11.Students who wished to select housing in the general selection category, originally scheduled for April 8, were told by ORLL that their registration would be moved to April 12.

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University

Tufts' faith communities observe Easter, Passover, Ramadan and Holi in celebration-packed weekend

By Madeline Mueller | April 22

The past week was active for many of the faith communities at Tufts, marking the celebration of Passover and Easter, the ongoing celebration of Ramadan and a belated Holi celebration. The University Chaplaincy offered in-person events to mark these holidays after two years of virtual celebrations.

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University

Skywalk, Therrapu, Active Heirs take top prizes in Derby $100K New Ventures Competition

By Coco Arcand | April 22

​​The Derby Entrepreneurship Center at Tufts announced the winners of the $100k New Ventures Competition following the virtual final round of competition on April 8. First-place winners included startups dedicated to technological innovation, advancements in wound care and building Black generational wealth.

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University

Tufts abandons plans to drop mask mandate as infection rates swell

By Ella Kamm | April 21

The coronavirus is spreading more rapidly than ever before on Tufts’ campus, forcing hundreds of students and some professors back into their bedrooms and onto the Zoom screen in a routine that’s become all too familiar after two years of pandemic learning.

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Local

Somerville will open a supervised consumption site where people who use drugs can use safely

By Aditya Acharya | April 21

The city of Somerville partnered with Fenway Health in March to prepare for the opening of a supervised consumption site where people who use drugs can consume drugs in a safe environment under medical supervision to prevent overdoses. Somerville signed a $40,000 contract with the healthcare and research organization — which caters specifically to people in the LGBT community, people of color and other underserved communities — to determine optimal locations for the supervised consumption site, establish a community advisory board and study existing models of drug use monitoring to determine how the site should operate.

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University

Tisch College appoints Taina McField new associate dean for strategy

By Charlotte Chen | April 21

Taina McField was appointed the new associate dean for strategy at the Jonathan M. Tisch College of Civic Life this month, the university announced in a statement.

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University

Resources fair connects students to on-campus academic, safety, identity resources

By Spenser Walsh | April 20

The Tufts Community Union Senate Education Committee held a resources fair on April 6 to educate students about the resources and organizations available to help them with academic work, keep them safe and enhance student life on campus. 

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University

Psychology department hosts second annual anti-racism colloquium

By Elizabeth Zacks | April 20

The psychology department hosted its second annual Psychology of Anti-Racism Series talk titled, “What We Learn From Where We Live,” on April 15. The Zoom webinar featured Dr. Neil Lewis Jr., an assistant professor of communication and social behavior at Cornell University, who spoke about how to foster an anti-racist society by understanding the connection between people and the places in which they live.

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University

TCU hears capital expenditure requests, passes resolutions in final meeting of year

By Tess Harmon | April 20

The Tufts Community Union Senate heard supplementary funding and capital expenditure requests and voted on resolutions about the presidential search committee and student mental health on Sunday night in the Sophia Gordon Multipurpose Room. The meeting was the body’s last of the semester.

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University

University seeks to control enrollment, admits fewer students this year

By Ethan M. Steinberg | April 15

Jana Dia has never been to the United States before, but she knows she wants one of her first stops to be Medford, Mass.

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