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Tufts Dining commits to 30% locally sourced food by 2030

By Elizabeth Foster | December 2

Tufts University is working toward having 30% of its food be locally sourced by 2030, after meeting its previous goal of 20% locally sourced food by 2020, which was inspired by the Real Food Challenge. On Oct. 28, Tufts Dining hosted a Harvest Dinner featuring produce sourced from New Entry Sustainable Farming Project to advertise that Tufts Dining had reached this goal with 23% of food across on-campus locations being locally sourced in 2020. Tufts is also a part of the New England Food Vision, whose goal is to have New England produce 50% of its own food by 2060. 

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Tufts imposes no Thanksgiving travel restrictions this year

By Aaron Gruen | December 1

In a change fromlast year’s policy, Tufts allowed students who traveled during Thanksgiving to return to campus in the time between Thanksgiving and winter break. The policy was announced to the Tufts community on Nov. 9 in an email from Dean of Student Affairs Camille Lizarríbar.

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3D-printing class pushes students to frontier of modern medicine

By Avery Hanna | November 30

Among the 3D printers throughout the room, Vincent Fitzpatrick, a postdoctoral biomedical researcher at Tufts University, holds up a gray unassuming piece of plastic, crisscrossed with a cage-like structure. Hidden beneath a series of support structures that have yet to be removed, he explains, lies a perfect replica of a patient’s bone — assembled from data isolated from a CT scan so that it would have a Cinderella-like fit if surgically implanted.

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Kenann McKenzie named director of GLAD Center

By Evelyn Altschuler | November 30

On Oct. 25, the Jonathan M. Tisch College of Civic Life announced that Kenann McKenzie, educator and civic leader,will direct the newly created Generous Listening and Dialogue (GLAD) Center. The GLAD Center was established this May andintended to "serve as a hub and educational resource for the Tufts University community to promote authentic dialogue and generous listening across differences."  

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Illinois Senator Tammy Duckworth discusses memoir, race, America in lecture

By Maggie Monahan | November 30

The Jonathan M. Tisch College of Civic Life hosted Illinois Sen. Tammy Duckworth on Nov. 17. She discussed the recent release of her memoir, a recent uptick in violence against Asian Americans and her experience during the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. She also brought to the discussion her story as one of the first women to fly combat missions while serving in the Iraq war, her experience co-founding the Senate's first environmental justice caucus and her status as the first U.S. senator to give birth while in office.

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This Week in Science: NASA's armageddon mission, boosters for all adults, high-kicking frogs, the best way to hug, COVID-19 origin

By Peri Barest, Sophie Wax, Rachel Liu, Ian Lau and Maddie Yost | November 23

NASA plans to launch a spacecraft this week that, in late 2022, will intentionally crash into an asteroid, hopefully changing its trajectory. Planetary defense research has been conducted over the past several years in hopes of preventing foreseeable meteor crashes. Although scientists believe massive meteorites do not pose a significant Armageddon-level threat in the next few centuries, smaller astrological debris can be just as deadly, with the potential to decimate entire cities like Manhattan.  

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Medford reinstates Director of Veterans Services Michael Durham

By Jack Maniaci | November 19

Medford Director of Veterans Services Michael Durham has been reinstated afterbeing placed on administrative leave on Sept. 17. According to a notice emailed to Durham on Oct. 15, Mayor Breanna Lungo-Koehn authorized his reinstatement after Dr. Joseph Begany found him psychologically fit for duty. 

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Tufts Mock Trial hosts 14th annual Mumbo Jumbo tournament

By Claire Ferris | November 19

Tufts Mock Trial hosted its 14th annual Mumbo Jumbo Invitational tournament in the Science and Engineering Complex on the weekend of Oct. 30. The tournament attracted a number of schools from all over the country, including Harvard, Yale, Brown, MIT, Cornell, Northwestern and UCLA.

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Foy discusses role of private enterprise in climate advocacy

By Carl Svahn | November 19

Doug Foy, an environmental advocate and businessman, sat down with Tina Woolston, director of the Office of Sustainability at Tufts, to discuss climate change at the final Tisch College Civic Life Lunch of the semester, titled “Extreme Weather, Climate Change & the Fight for Environmental Change,” on Nov. 10.

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Local vaccination rates plateau, racial disparities remain

By Peri Barest | November 18

COVID-19 vaccination rates in Tufts University’s surrounding Medford and Somerville communities have plateaued recently, despite remaining high compared to others in the state. As of Nov. 11, 79% of Medford residents have received at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose, compared with 77% as of Oct. 28. In Somerville, 85% of residents have received at least one dose, compared with 82% in October. Only Somerville remains above the state’s single-dose vaccination rate of 83%.

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Economics, CS faculty moving into $90 million Cummings Center this month

By Ethan M. Steinberg | November 18

Faculty from the Departments of Economics and Computer Science this month are moving into the university’s newest academic facility at the intersection of Boston and College Avenues. Construction of the $90 million building is set to wrap up in the coming weeks after weathering anon-site worker injury and apandemic-induced delay since crews first broke ground more than two years ago. 

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Science

This Week in Science: Orangutan paintings, engineered bacteria kills tumors, biodegradable glitter

By Sarah Sandlow, Rachel Liu and Chris Tomo | November 18

A recent study analyzed drawings done by five orangutans in a Japanese zoo and found that the drawings — especially those of one orangutan, Molly —correlate with environmental factors like seasons, daily life events and even changes in keeper identity. In total, 790 orangutan drawings were studied, 656 of which were chosen randomly from those done by Molly.Researchers found differences in color preferences that related to the current season; the orangutans tended to use purple in the spring and green in the summer and winter. In addition, Molly used more red in her drawings when another orangutan in a separate location was giving birth. The content and patterns of the drawings also changed in relation to more mundane, daily events in Molly’s life. These included new art supplies on one day, when an elementary school class visited on another and the change of her keeper once over the course of the experiment.

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DSDI announces plans for new Indigenous student identity center

By Madeline Mueller | November 17

The Tufts Division of Student Diversity and Inclusion recently announced its plans to form a new on-campus identity center for students who identify as Indigenous and Native American. The creation of the center was among the recommendations of the Compositional Diversity Workstream that took place this past February. The creation process will be led by Ellise LaMotte, who started her tenure as associate dean in the division of student diversity, inclusion, and success on Nov. 1.

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Tufts Dining reintroduces reusable takeout container program, pauses Dining2GO

By Ava Autry | November 17

Tufts Dining reimplemented its reusable takeout container program on Nov. 1 that had first beenlaunched in 2019 in the Carmichael and Dewick-MacPhie dining centers , and stopped Dining2GO due to low participation. Both programs serve as ways for students to eat outside of the dining halls while also reducing food waste, Patti Klos, director of Dining and Business Services, said. 

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